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LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  Of 
CALIFORNIA 


THE  WORKS 


OF 


HUBERT  HOWE  BANCROFT 


THE  WORKS 


OF 


HUBERT  HOWE  BANCROFT 

VOLUME   XXIII. 


HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

VOL.    VI.    1848-1859 


PRINTED    IN    FACSIMILE    FROM   THE    FIRST    AMERICAN  EDITION 


PUBLISHED  AT  SANTA  BARBARA  BY  WALLACE  HEBBERD 


COPYRIGHT  1970  by  WALLACE  HEBBERD 


To 
RAY  ALLEN  BILLINGTON 


Your  name  is  great 

In  mouths  of  wisest  censure. 

Othello,  Act  II 


THE  WORKS 


OF 


HUBERT  HOWE  BANCROFT. 


THE  WORKS 


OF 


HUBERT  HOWE  BANCROFT. 


VOLUME   XXIII. 


HISTORY  OF   CALIFORNIA. 

VOL.  VI.     1848-1859. 


SAN   FRANCISCO: 
THE   HISTORY  COMPANY,  PUBLISHERS. 

1888. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  Year  1888,  by 

HUBERT  H.  BANCROFT, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


All  Rights  Reserved. 


V  . 


CONTENTS   OF  THIS  VOLUME. 


CHAPTER  I. 

CALIFORNIA   JUST   PRIOR   TO   THE   GOLD    DISCOVERY. 

January,  1848. 

PAGE 

The  Valley  of  California — Quality  of  Population — The  Later  Incomers— 
Kispano  American,  Anglo-American,  and  Others — Settlers  around 
San  Francisco  Bay — San  Jose — The  Peninsula — San  Francisco — 
Across  the  Bay — Alameda  and  Contra  Costa  Valleys — Valleys  of  the 
San  Joaquin  and  Sacramento — Sutter's  Fort — Grants  and  Ranchos^- 
About  Carquines  Strait — Napa,  Sonoma,  and  Santa  Rosa  Valleys — 
San  Rafael,  Bodega,  and  the  Northern  Coast — Natural  Wealth  and 
Environment 1 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE   DISCOVERY   OF   GOLD. 

January,  1848. 

Situation  of  Sutter — His  Need  of  Lumber — Search  for  a  Mill  Site  in  the 
Mountains — Culuma — James  W.  Marshall — The  Building  of  a  Saw 
mill  Determined  upon — A  Party  Sets  Forth — Its  Personnel — Char 
acter  of  Marshall — The  Finding  of  Gold — What  Marshall  and  his 
Men  Thought  of  It — Marshall  Rides  to  New  Helvetia  and  Informs 
Sutter— The  Interview— Sutter  Visits  the  Mill— Attempt  to  Secure 
the  Indian  Title  to  the  Land 26 

CHAPTER  III. 

THE   SECRET   ESCAPES. 

February,  1848. 

Bennett  Goes  to  Monterey — Sees  Pfister  at  Benicia — 'There  is  What  will 
Beat  Coal!' — Bennett  Meets  Isaac  Humphrey  at  San  Francisco — Un 
successful  at  Monterey — Sutter's  Swiss  Teamster — The  Boy  Wimmer 
Tells  Him  of  the  Gold— The  Mother  Wimmer,  to  Prove  her  Boy  not  a 
Liar,  Shows  It— And  the  Teamster,  Who  is  Thirsty,  Shows  It  at  the 
Fort — Affairs  at  the  Mill  Proceed  as  Usual — Bigler's  Sunday  Medi 
tations — Gold  Found  at  Live  Oak  Bar — Bigler  Writes  his  Three 

(v) 


8276 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Friends  the  Secret— Who  Unite  with  Them  Other  Three  to  Help 
Them  Keep  It — Three  Come  to  Coloma — Discovery  at  Mormon  Island 
—The  Mormon  Exit. . .  42 


CHAPTER    IV. 

PROXIMATE   EFFECT   OF  THE   GOLD   DISCOVERY. 

March- August,  1848. 

The  People  Sceptical  at  First— Attitude  of  the  Press— The  Country 
Converted  by  a  Sight  of  the  Metal — The  Epidemic  at  San  Francisco 
— At  San  Jose,  Monterey,  and  down  the  Coast — The  Exodus — De 
sertion  of  Soldiers  and  Sailors — Abandonment  of  Business,  of  Farms, 
and  of  All  Kinds  of  Positions  and  Property 52 

CHAPTER   V. 

FURTHER   DISCOVERIES. 

March-December,  1848. 

Isaac  Humphrey  again — Bidwell  and  his  Bar — Reading  and  his  Indians 
on  Clear  Creek — Population  in  the  Mines — On  Feather  River  and 
the  Yuba — John  Sinclair  on  the  American  River — The  Irishman 
Yankee  Jim— Dr  Todd  in  Todd  Valley— Kelsey— Weber  on  Weber 
Creek — The  Stockton  Mining  Company — Murphy — Hangtown — On 
the  Stanislaus — Knight,  Wood,  Savage,  and  Heffernan — Party  from 
Oregon — On  the  Mokelumne  and  Cosumnes — The  Sonorans  on  the 
Tuolumne — Coronel  and  Party 67 

CHAPTER  VI. 

AT   THE   MINES. 
1848. 

Variety  of  Social  Phases — Individuality  of  the  Year  1848 — Noticeable 
Absence  of  Bad  Characters  during  this  Year — Mining  Operations — 
Ignorance  of  the  Miners  of  Mining — Implements  and  Processes — 
Yield  in  the  Different  Districts — Price  of  Gold-dust — Prices  of  Mer 
chandise — A  New  Order  of  Things — Extension  of  Development — 
Affairs  at  Sutter's  Fort— Bibliography— Effect  on  Sutter  and  Marshall 
— Character  and  Career  of  These  Two  Men . .  82 


CHAPTER   VII. 

BROADER   EFFECTS   OF    THE   GOLD    DISCOVERY. 

1848-1849. 

The  Real  Effects  Eternal— How  the  Intelligence  was  Carried  over  the 
Sierra — To  the  Hawaiian  Islands — British  Columbia — Oregon  and 
Washington — The  Tidings  in  Mexico — Mason's  Messenger  in  Wash- 


CONTENTS.  vii 

PAGE 

ington— California  Gold  at  the  War  Office — At  the  Philadelphia 
Mint — The  Newspaper  Press  upon  the  Subject — Bibliography — 
Greeley's  Prophecies — Industrial  Stimulation — Overland  and  Oceanic 
Routes — General  Effect  in  the  Eastern  States  and  Europe — Interest 
in  Asia,  South  America,  and  Australia 110 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

THE  VOYAGE   BY   OCEAN. 

1848-1849 

Modern  Argonauts — Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Company — Establishment  of 
the  Mail  Line  from  New  York  via  Panama  to  Oregon — Sailing  of  the 
First  Steamers — San  Francisco  Made  the  Terminus — The  Panama 
Transit — The  First  Rush  of  Gold-seekers — Disappointments  at  Pan 
ama — Sufferings  on  the  Voyage — Arrivals  of  Notable  Men  by  the 
First  Steamship 126 

CHAPTER   IX. 

THE  JOURNEY  OVERLAND. 
1849. 

Organization  of  Parties — Brittle  Contracts  of  These  Associations — Missis 
sippi  River  Rendezvous — On  the  Trail — Overland  Routine — Along 
the  Platte— Through  the  South  Pass— Cholera— The  Different  Routes 
-Across  the  Desert — Trials  of  the  Pilgrims — Starvation,  Disease, 
and  Death — Passage  of  the  Sierra  Nevada — Relief  Parties  from 
California — Route  through  Mexico — Estimates  of  the  Numbers  of 
Arrivals — Bewilderment  of  the  Incomers — Regeneration  and  a  New 
Life 143 

CHAPTER   X. 

SAN    FRANCISCO. 

1848-1850. 

Site  and  Surroundings — Rivals — Effect  of  the  Mines — Shipping — Influx 
of  Population — Physical  and  Commercial  Aspects — Business  Firms — 
Public  and  Private  Buildings — National  Localities — Hotels  and  Res 
taurants  —  Prices  Current  —  Property  Values  —  Auction  Sales — 
Wharves  and  Streets — Early  Errors — Historic  Fires — Engines  and 
Companies — Immigration  and  Speculation — Politics — The  Hounds — 
City  Government 164 

CHAPTER   XL 

SOCIETY. 

1849-1850. 

Ingathering  of  Nationalities — Peculiarities  of  Dress  and  Manners — Phys 
ical  and  Moral  Features — Levelling  of  Rank  and  Position — In  the 


viii  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Mines — Cholera — Hardsmps  and  Self-denials — A  Community  of  Men 
— Adulation  of  Woman — Arrival  and  Departure  of  Steamers — Sani 
tary  Condition  of  San  Francisco — Rats  and  Other  Vermin — The 
Drinking  Habit — Amusements — Gambling — Lotteries  and  Raffles — 
Bull  and  Bear  Fighting — The  Drama — Sunday  in  the  Mines — Sum 
mary 221 

CHAPTER   XII. 

POLITICAL    HISTORY. 

1846-1849. 

The  Slavery  Question  before  Congress — Inaction  and  Delay — Military 
Rule  in  California — Mexican  Forms  of  Civil  and  Judicial  Govern 
ment  Maintained — Federal  Officials  in  California — -Governor  Mason 
— Pranks  of  T.  Butler  King — Governor  Riley — Legislative  Assembly 
— Constitutional  Convention  at  Monterey — Some  Biographies — Per- 
sonnel  of  the  Convention — Money  Matters — Adoption  of  the  Consti 
tution — Election  ...  251 

CHAPTER   XIII. 

POLITICAL   HISTORY. 

1849-1850. 

The  First  Legislature — Qrestioii  of  State  Capital — Meeting  of  the  Legis 
lature  at  San  Jose — Organization  and  Acts — Personnel  of  the  Body 
— State  Officers — Further  State  Capital  Schemes — California  in  Con 
gress — Impending  I3sues — Slavery  or  No  Slavery — Admission  into 
the  Union — California  Rejoices 308 

CHAPTER   XIV. 

UNFOLDING    OF    MINERAL    WEALTH. 

1848-1856. 

Extent  of  Gold  Region  in  1848-9— American  River  the  Centre — El  Do 
rado  County— South  Fork  and  Southward— Middle  Branch — Placer, 
Nevada,  Yuba,  Sierra,  Plumas,  Butte,  and  Shasta  Counties — Trinity 
and  Klamath— Gold  Bluff  Excitement,  1850-1— Del  Norte,  Hum- 
boldt,  and  Siskiyou — In  the  South — Amador,  Calaveras,  and  Tuol- 
umne — Table  Mountain  —  Mariposa,  Kern,  San  Bernardino  —  Los 
Angeles  and  San  Diego — Along  the  Ocean _ 351 

CHAPTER   XV. 

GEOLOGICAL    AND   SOCIAL   ANATOMY   OF  THE   MINES. 

1848-1856. 

Physical  Formation  of  the  California  Valley— The  Three  Geologic  Belts 
— Physical  Aspect  of  the  Gold  Regions — Geologic  Formations — In- 


CONTENTS.  ix 

PAGE 

dications  that  Influence  the  Prospector — Origin  of  Rushes  and  Camps 
— Society  along  the  Foothills — Hut  and  Camp  Life — Sunday  in  the 
Mines — Catalogue  of  California  Mining  Rushes — Mariposa,  Kern, 
Ocean  Beach,  Nevada,  Gold  Lake,  Lost  Cabin,  Gold  Bluff,  Siskiyou, 
Sonora,  Australia,  Fraser  River,  Nevada,  Colorado,  and  the  Rest — 
Mining  Laws  and  Regulations — Mining  Tax — Discrimination  against 
Foreigners 381 

CHAPTER   XVI. 

MINING   METHODS. 

1848-1856. 

Primitive  Mining  Machinery — Improved  Means  for  Poor  Diggings — 
California  Inventions — Tom,  Sluice,  Fluming — Hydraulic  Mining — 
Ditches,  Shafts,  and  Tunnels— Quartz  Mining— The  First  Mills— Ex 
citement,  Failure,  and  Revival — Improved  Machinery  —  Coopera 
tion — Yield  —  Average  Gains — Cost  of  Gold — Evil  and  Beneficial 
Effects  of  Mining 409 

CHAPTER   XVII. 

BIRTH   OF  TOWNS. 

1769-1869. 

Mexican  Town-maKing — Mission,  Presidio,  and  Pueblo — The  Anglo- 
American  Method — Clearing  away  the  Wilderness — The  American 
Municipal  Idea — Necessities  Attending  Self-government — Home 
made  Laws  and  Justice — Arbitration  and  Litigation — Camp  and 
Town  Sites — Creation  of  Counties — Nomenclature — Rivers  and  Har 
bors — Industries  and  Progress 429 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

CITY   BUILDING. 

1848-1888. 

The  Great  Interior — River  and  Plain — Sutterville  and  Sacramento— Plan 
of  Survey — The  Thrice  Simple  Swiss — Better  for  the  Country  than 
a  Better  Man — Healthy  and  Hearty  Competition — Development  of 
Sacramento  City — Marysville — Stockton — Placerville — Sonora — Ne 
vada — Grass  Valley — Benicia — Valle jo— Martinez — Oakland  and  Vi 
cinity — Northern  and  Southern  Cities 446 

CHAPTER   XIX. 

CALIFORNIA   IN    COUNTIES. 

1848-1888. 

Affairs  under  the  Hispano-Californians — Coming  of  the  Anglo-Americans 
— El  Dorado,  Placer,  Sacramento,  Yuba,  and  Other  Counties  North 
and  South — Their  Origin,  Industries,  Wealth,  and  Progress 481 


x  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XX. 

MEXICAN   LAND   TITLES. 

1851-1887. 

PAGE 

The  Colonization  System — Land  Grants  by  Spain  and  Mexico — Informal 
ities  of  Title— Treaty  Obligations  of  the  United  States— Effect  of  the 
Gold  Discovery — The  Squatters — Reports  of  Jones  and  Halleck — 
Discussions  in  Congress — Fremont,  Benton,  and  Gwin — The  Act  of 
1851 — The  Land  Commission — Progress  and  Statistics  of  Litigation — 
Principles — Floating  Grants — Surveys — Fraudulent  Claims — Speci 
men  Cases  —  Castillero — Fremont — Gomez — Limantour  —  Peralta — 
— Santillan — Sutter — Vallejo — Mission  Lands — Friars,  Neophytes, 
and  Church — Pico's  Sales — Archbishop's  Claim — Pueblo  Lands — The 
Case  of  San  Francisco — Statistics  of  1880 — More  of  Squatterism — 
Black  and  Jones — Attempts  to  Reopen  Litigation — General  Conclu 
sions — The  Act  of  1851  Oppressive  and  Ruinous — What  should  have 
been  Done 529 

CHAPTER   XXL 

FILIBUSTERING. 
1850-1860. 

Attractions  of  Spanish  America  to  Unprincipled  Men  of  the  United 
States — Filibustering  in  Texas — The  Morehead  Expedition  from 
California  to  Mexico — Failure — Charles  de  Pin  dray's  Efforts  and 
Death — Raoulx  de  Raousset-Boulbon's  Attempts  at  Destruction — 
Capture  of  Hermosillo  and  Return  to  San  Francisco — Trial  of  Del 
Valle — Raousset's  Death  at  Guaymas — Walker's  Operations — Re 
public  of  Lower  California — Walker  in  Sonora — Walker  in  Nicara 
gua — His  Execution  in  Honduras — Crabb,  the  Stockton  Lawyer ....  582 

CHAPTER   XXII. 

FINANCES. 

1849-1869. 

An  Empty  Treasury — Temporary  State  Loan  Act — State  Debt — Licenses 
and  Taxation — Extravagance  and  Peculation — Alarming  Increase  of 
Debt — Bonds — State  Indebtedness  Illegal — Repudiation  Rejected — 
Thieving  Officials — Enormous  Payments  to  Steamship  Companies — 
Federal  Appropriations — Indian  Agents — Mint — Navy-yard — Fortifi 
cations — Coast  Survey — Land  Commission — Public  Lands — Home 
stead  Act— Educational  Interests— The  People  above  All 604 

CHAPTER   XXIII. 

N       POLITICAL   HISTORY. 

1850-1854. 

Quality  of  our  Early  Rulers — Governor  Burnett — Governor  McDougal — 
Senatorial  Election — Sowing  Dragon's  Teeth — Democratic  Conven- 


CONTENTS.  xi 

tion— Senator  Gwin,  the  Almighty  Providence  of  California— Party 
Issues — Governor  Bigler — Broderick — White  vs  Black — Slavery  or 
Death  !  — Legislative  Proceedings — Talk  of  a  New  Constitution — 
Whigs,  Democrats,  and  Independents — Another  Legislature 643 

CHAPTER   XXIV. 

POLITICAL   HISTORY. 

1854-1859. 

Warm  and  Wicked  Election — One  Party  tho  Same  aa  Another,  only 
Worse — Senatorial  Contest — Broderick's  Election  Bill — Bitter  Feuds 
— A  Two-edged  Convention — Bigler's  Administration — Rise  and  Fall 
of  the  Knowiiothing  Party — Gwin's  Sale  of  Patronage— Broderick  in 
Congress — He  is  Misrepresented  and  Maligned— Another  Election — 
Chivalry  and  Slavery — Broderick's  Death  Determined  on— The  Duel 
— Character  of  Broderick 678 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

POPULAR   TRIBUNALS. 

1849-1856. 

State  of  Society — Miners'  Courts — Crimes  and  Punishments — Criminal 
Class — The  Hounds — Berdue  and  Wildred — Organized  Ruffianism — 
Committees  of  Vigilance — The  Jenkins  Affair — Villanous  Law  Courts 
— James  Stuart — Political  and  Judicial  Corruption — James  King  of 
William — His  Assassination — Seizure,  Trial,  and  Execution  of  Crim 
inals — A  Vacillating  Governor — A  Bloody-minded  Judge — Attitude 
of  United  States  Officials — Success  of  the  San  Francisco  Vigilance 
Committee  under  Trying  Circumstances — Disbandment 740 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

ANNALS   OF   SAN    FRANCISCO. 

1851-1856. 

A  Period  of  Trials — Land  Titles — City  Limits — Mexican  Grants — Spu 
rious  Claims — Water  Lots — Fluctuations  of  Values — The  Van  Ness 
Ordinance — Villanous  Administration — A  New  Charter — Municipal 
Maladministration — Popular  Protests — Honest  and  Genial  Villains 
—  Increased  Taxation — Vigilance  Movements — Reforms — Another 
Charter — Real  Estate  Sales— The  Baptism  by  Fire  and  Blood — Ma 
terial  and  Social  Progress — Schools,  Churches,  and  Benevolent  Socie 
ties—The  Transformed  City 7£5 


HISTORY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

CALIFORNIA  JUST  PRIOR  TO  THE  GOLD  DISCOVERY. 
JANUARY,  1848. 

THE  VALLEY  OF  CALIFORNIA — QUALITY  OF  POPULATION — THE  LATER  INCOM 
ERS — HISPANO-AMERICAN,  ANGLO-AMERICAN,  AND  OTHERS — SETTLERS 
AROUND  SAN  FRANCISCO  BAY — SAN  JOSE — THE  PENINSULA — SAN  FRAN 
CISCO—ACROSS  THE  BAY— ALAMEDA  AND  CONTRA  COSTA  VALLEYS — VAL 
LEYS  OF  THE  SAN  JOAQUIN  AND  SACRAMENTO — SUTTER's  FORT— GRANTS 

AND  RANCHOS — ABOUT  CARQUINES  STRAIT — NAPA,  SONOMA,  AND  SANTA 
ROSA  VALLEYS— SAN  RAFAEL,  BODEGA,  AND  THE  NORTHERN  COAST — 
NATURAL  WEALTH  AND  ENVIRONMENT. 

ALTHOUGH  the  California  seaboard,  from  San  Diego 
to  San  Francisco  bays,  had  been  explored  by  Euro 
peans  for  three  hundred  years,  and  had  been  occu 
pied  by  missionary  and  military  bands,  with  a 
sprinkling  of  settlers,  for  three  quarters  of  a  century, 
the  great  valley  of  the  interior,  at  the  opening  of  the 
year  1848,  remained  practically  undisturbed  by  civili 
zation. 

The  whole  of  Alta  California  comprises  a  seaboard 
strip  eight  hundred  miles  in  length  by  one  or  two 
hundred  in  width,  marked  off  from  the  western  earth's 
end  of  the  temperate  zone;  it  was  the  last  to  be  occu 
pied  by  civilized  man,  and,  to  say  the  least,  as  full  of 
fair  conditions  as  any  along  the  belt.  The  whole 
area  is  rimmed  on  either  side,  the  Coast  Range  roll 
ing  up  in  stony  waves  along  the  outer  edge,  and  for 

VOL.  VI.    1 


2         CALIFORNIA  JUST  PRIOR  TO  THE  GOLD  DISCOVERY 

background  the  lofty  Sierra,  upheaved  in  crumpled 
folds  from  primeval  ocean.  The  intervening  space  is 
somewhere  overspread  with  hills  and  vales,  but  for 
the  most  part  comprises  an  oblong  plain,  the  Valley 
of  California,  the  northern  portion  being  called  the 
Sacramento  Valley,  and  the  southern  the  San  Joa- 
quin  Valley,  from  the  names  of  the  streams  that 
water  the  respective  parts.  The  prospect  thus  pre 
sented  opens  toward  the  setting  sun. 

Humanity  here  is  varied.  There  is  already  round 
San  Francisco  Bay  raw  material  enough  of  divers 
types  to  develop  a  new  race,  howsoever  inferior  the 
quality  might  be.  It  is  a  kind  of  refuse  lot,  blown 
in  partly  from  the  ocean,  and  in  part  having  perco 
lated  through  the  mountains;  yet  there  is  amidst  the 
chaff  good  seed  that  time  and  events  might  winnow. 
But  time  and  events  are  destined  here  to  be  employed 
for  higher  purpose,  in  the  fashioning  of  nobler  metal. 

Of  the  condition  of  the  aborigines  I  have  spoken 
elsewhere,  and  shall  presently  speak  again.  So  far 
the  withering  influence  of  a  strange  civilization  upon 
the  true  proprietors  of  the  soil  had  emanated  from 
Mexican  incomers.  Now  a  stronger  phase  of  it  is 
appearing  in  another  influx,  which  is  to  overwhelm 
both  of  the  existing  races,  and  which,  like  the  original 
invasion  of  Mexico,  of  America,  is  to  consist  of  a  fair- 
hued  people  from  toward  the  rising  sun.  They  come 
not  as  their  predecessors  came,  slowly,  in  the  shadow 
of  the  cross,  or  aggressively,  with  sword  and  firelock. 
Quietly,  with  deferential  air,  they  drop  in  asking 
hospitality;  first  as  way-worn  stragglers  from  trap 
ping  expeditions,  or  as  deserting  sailors  from  vessels 
prowling  along  the  coast  in  quest  of  trade  and  secrets. 
Then  compact  bands  of  restless  frontier  settlers 
slip  over  the  border,  followed  by  the  firmer  tread  of 
determined  pioneers,  who  wait  /or  strength  and 
opportunity.  Not  being  as  yet  formally  ceded,  the 
land  remains  under  a  mingled  military-civil  govern 
ment,  wherein  Hispano-Californians  still  control  local 


MATERIALS  FOR  SOCIETY.  3 

management  in  the  south,  while   in  the  north  men 
from  the  United  States  predominate* 

These  later  arrivals  are  already  nearly  equal  numeri 
cally  to  the  former,  numbering  somewhat  over  6,000, 
while  the  Hispano-Californians  may  be  placed  at 
1,000  more.  The  ex-neophyte  natives  in  and  about 
the  ranches  and  towns  are  estimated  at  from  3,000 
to  4,000,  with  twice  as  many  among  the  gentile  tribes. 
The  new  element,  classed  as  foreign  before  the  con 
quest  of  1846,  had  from  150  in  1830  grown  slowly  till 
1845,  after  which  it  took  a  bound,  assisted  by  over 
2,000  who  came  as  soldiers  in  the  regular  and  volunteer 
corps,  not  including  the  naval  muster-rolls.  These 
troops  served  to  check  another  sudden  influx  contem 
plated  by  the  migrating  Mormons,  whose  economic 
value  as  colonists  cannot  be  questioned,  in  view  of 
their  honesty  and  thrift.  An  advance  column  of  about 
200  had  come  in  1846,  followed  by  the  Mormon  battal 
ion  in  the  United  States  service,  350  strong,  of  which 
a  portion  remained.  The  first  steady  stream  of  immi 
grants  is  composed  of  stalwart,  restless  backwoods 
men  from  the  western  frontier  of  the  United  States; 
self-reliant,  and  of  ready  resource  in  building  homes, 
even  if  less  enterprising  and  broadly  utilitarian  than 
those  who  followed  them  from  the  eastern  states; 
the  latter  full  of  latent  vivacity;  of  strong  intellect, 
here  quickening  under  electric  air  and  new  environ 
ment;  high-strung,  attenuated,  grave,  shrewd,  and 
practical,  and  with  impressive  positiveness. 

By  the  side  of  the  Americanized  Anglo-Saxon, 
elevated  by  vitalizing  freedom  of  thought  and  inter 
course  with  nature,  we  find  the  English  representa 
tive,  burly  of  mind  and  body,  full  of  animal  energy, 
marked  by  aggressive  stubbornness,  tinctured  with 
brusqueness  and  conceit.  More  sympathetic  and  self- 
adaptive  than  the  arrogant  and  prejudiced  English 
man,  or  the  coldly  calculating  Scot,  is  the  omnipresent, 
quick-witted  Celt,  and  the  easy-going,  plodding  Ger 
man,  with  his  love  of  knowledge  and  deep  solidity  of 


4        CALIFORNIA  JUST  PRIOR  TO  THE  GOLD  DISCOVERY. 

mind.  Intermediate  between  these  races  and  the 
native  Californian  stands  the  pure-blooded  Spaniard, 
wrapped  in  the  reflection  of  ancestral  preeminence, 
and  using  his  superior  excellence  as  a  means  to  affirm 
his  foothold  among  humbler  race  connections.  An 
approximate  affinity  of  blood  and  language  here  paves 
the  way  for  the  imaginative  though  superficial  French 
man  and  Italian,  no  less  polite  than  insincere,  yet 
cheerful  and  aBsthetic.  A  few  Hawaiian  Islanders 
have  been  brought  over,  and  are  tolerated  until 
prouder  people  press  them  back  and  under. 

Even  now  events  are  giving  a  decisive  predomi 
nance  to  the  lately  inflowing  migration,  by  reason  of 
the  energy  displayed  in  the  rapid  extension  of  indus 
trial  arts,  notably  agriculture,  with  improved  methods 
and  machinery,  and  growing  traffic  with  such  standard- 
bearers  of  civilization  as  the  public  press  and  a  steam 
boat.  So  far  this  influx  has  confined  itself  to  the 
central  part  of  the  state,  round  San  Francisco  Bay  and 
northward,  because  the  gateway  for  the  immigration 
across  the  plains  opens  into  this  section,  which  more 
over  presents  equal  if  not  superior  agricultural  features, 
and  greater  commercial  prospects.  The  occupation  of 
the  south  by  a  different  race  serves  naturally  to  point 
out  and  affirm  the  limits. 

San  Jose,  founded  as  a  pueblo  within  the  first  dec 
ade  of  Spanish  occupation,  and  now  grown  into  a 
respectable  town  of  about  700  inhabitants,  is  the 
most  prominent  of  the  northern  settlements  wherein 
the  Hispano-Californian  element  still  predominates. 
Notwithstanding  the  incipient  greatness  of  the  city  at 
the  Gate,  San  Jose  holds  high  pretensions  as  a  central 
inland  town,  on  the  border  line  between  the  settled 
south  and  the  growing  north,  with  aspirations  to  sup 
plant  Monterey  as  the  capital.  This  accounts  in  a 
measure  for  the  large  inflowing  of  foreigners,  who  have 
lately  acquired  sufficient  influence  to  elect  the  alcalde 
from  among  themselves,  the  present  incumbent  being 
James  W.  Weeks.  The  fertile  valley  around  counts 


CENTRAL  CALIFORNIA  IN  1848. 


(5) 


6         CALIFORNIA  JUST  PRIOR  TO  THE  GOLD  DISCOVERY. 

among  its  numerous  farmers  several  of  them,  notably 
the  Scotch  sailor,  John  Gilroy,1  who  in  1814  became 
the  first  foreigner  permanently  to  settle  in  California, 
and  Thomas  W.  Doak,  who  arrived  two  years  later, 
the  first  American  settler.  North  of  San  Jose  and 
the  adjoining  Santa  Clara  mission,2  where  Padre  Real 
holds  out  manfully  against  claimants,  are  several  set 
tlers  clustering  round  the  present  Alviscx3  Westward 
Rafael  Soto  has  established  a  landing  at  San  Fran- 
cisquito  Creek,  and  Whisman  has  located  himself  a 
dozen  miles  below.4 

Along  the  eastern  slope  of  the  peninsula  leads  a 
well-worn  road  past  scattered  ranchos,  among  which 
are  those  of  John  Cooper  on  San  Mateo  Creek,  and 
John  Coppinger  on  Canada  de  Raimundo;  and  near 
by  are  Dennis  Martin  and  Charles  Brown,  the  latter 
having  just  erected  a  saw-mill.5 

San  Francisco,  at  the  end  of  the  peninsula,  however 
ill-favored  the  site  in  some  respects,  seems  topographi 
cally  marked  for  greatness,  rising  on  a  series  of  hills, 
with  a  great  harbor  on  one  side,  a  great  ocean  on  the 
other,  and  mighty  waters  ever  passing  by  to  the  outlet 
of  the  wide-spread  river  system  of  the  country.  It  is 
already  in  many  respects  the  most  thriving  town  in 
California,  the  prospective  metropolis  of  the  coast,  with 
200  buildings  and  800  inhabitants,  governed  by  Alcalde 

1  The  town  bearing  his  name,  in  the  southern  part  of  the  valley,  is  situated 
on  his  former  rancho.     Other  early  settlers  were  Mat.  Fellora,  Harry  Bee, 
John  Burton,  J.  A,  Forbes,  J.  W.  Weeks,  and  Wm  Gulnac,  who  in  1842 
joined  Weber  in  erecting  a  flour-mill. 

2  Brannan  &  Co.  had  a  tannery  at  this  place. 

5  Including  the  families  of  Alviso,  Berreyesa,  Valencia,  John  Martin,  and 
Leo  Norris,  the  latter  an  American,  on  Cherro  rancho. 

*Near  the  present  Mountain  View.  J.  W.  Whisman  was  in  1848  joined 
by  I.  Whisman.  J.  Coppinger  lived  for  a  time  on  Soto's  rancho,  married  to 
his  daughter.  S.  Robles  had  bought  Santa  Rita  rancho  from  J.  Pena. 

5  Called  Mountain  Home.  The  last  two  had  settled  near  the  present 
Woods!  de.  G.  F.  Wyman  and  James  Peace  were  also  in  the  same  vicinity , 
the  latter  as  lumberer.  The  leading  grants  were  Las  Pulgas  of  Luis  Argiiello, 
35, 000 acres;  San  Gregorio  of  A.  Buelna,  18,000 acres;  BuriBuriof  I.  Sanchez, 
14,600  acres;  Canada  de  Raimundo  of  J.  Coppinger,  12,500  acres;  Canada  del 
Corte  de  Madera  of  M.  Martinez,  13,000  acres.  Other  grants,  ranging  from 
9,000  to  4,000  acres,  were  San  Pedro,  Corral  de  Tierra,  Felix,  Miramontes, 
Canada  Verde,  San  Antonio,  Butano,  and  Punta  del  Afio  Nuevo,  following 
southward. 


THE  PENINSULA.  7 

George  Hyde  and  a  sapient  council.  The  population 
is  chiefly  composed  of  enterprising  Americans,  sturdy 
pioneers,  with  a  due  admixture  of  backwoodsmen 
and  seafarers,  numerous  artisans,  and  a  sprinkling  of 
traders  and  professional  men — all  stanch  townsmen, 
figuring  for  beach  lots  at  prices  ranging  as  high  as 
$600,  and  for  local  offices.  There  are  rival  districts 
struggling  for  supremacy,  and  two  zealous  weekly 
newspapers. 

Less  imposing  are  the  immediate  surroundings; 
for  the  town  spreads  out  in  a  straggling  crescent 
along  the  slope  of  the  Clay-street  hill,  bordered  by 
the  converging  inclines  of  Broadway  and  California 
streets  on  the  north  and  south  respectively.  A  thin 
coating  of  grass  and  melancholy  shrubs  covers  the 
sandy  surface  between  and  around,  with  here  and 
there  patches  of  dwarfed  oaks,  old  and  decrepit,  bend 
ing  before  the  sweeping  west  wind.  The  monotony 
incident  to  Spanish  and  Mexican  towns,  however, 
with  their  low  and  bare  adobe  houses  and  sluggish 
population,  is  here  relieved  by  the  large  proportion  of 
compact  wooden  buildings  in  northern  European  style,6 
and  the  greater  activity  of  the  dwellers.  The  beach, 
hollowed  by  the  shallow  Yerba  Buena  Cove,  on  which 
fronts  the  present  Montgomery  street,  presents  quite 
an  animated  scene  for  these  sleepy  shores,  with  its 
bales  of  merchandise  strewn  about,  and  piled-up  boxes 
and  barrels,  its  bustling  or  lounging  frequenters,  and 
its  three  projecting  wharves;7  while  a  short  distance 
off  lie  scattered  a  few  craft,  including  one  or  two 
ocean-going  vessels.  Farther  away,  fringed  by  the 
fading  hills  of  Contra  Costa,  rises  the  isle  of  Yerba 
Buena,  for  which  some  wild  goats  shortly  provide 
the  new  name  of  Goat  Island-  On  its  eastern  side  is  a 
half-ruined  rancheria,  still  braving  the  encroachments 
of  time  and  culture. 

"There  were  160  frame  buildings  and  only  35  adobe  houses,  although  the 
latter  were  more  conspicuous  by  their  length  and  brightness. 
7At  California,  Clay,  and  'Broadway  streets. 


8         CALIFORNIA  JUST  PRIOR  TO  THE  GOLD  DISCOVERY. 


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SAN  FBANCISCO  IN  1848. 


ABOUT  THE  BAY.  9 

In  the  rear  of  the  town,  which  extends  only  be 
tween  California  and  Vallejo  streets  to  Powell  on  the 
west,  from  the  direction  of  the  Lone  Mountain  and 
beyond,  comes  a  spur  of  the  Coast  Range,  tipped  by 
the  Papas  Peaks.  To  either  side  diverges  a  trail,  one 
toward  the  inlet  of  the  bay,  where  is  the  presidio 
enclosure,  with  its  low  adobe  buildings,  and  to  which 
the  new  American  occupants  have  added  frame  houses, 
and  earthworks  with  ordnance  superior  to  the  blatant 
muzzles  of  yore.  Two  miles  to  the  south,  beyond  the 
sand  hills,  lies  Mission  Dolores,  its  dilapidated  walls 
marked  by  darkened  tile  roofs,  scantily  relieved  by 
clumps  of  trees  and  shrubs.  The  cheerless  stone 
fences  now  enclose  winter's  verdure,  and  beyond  the 
eddying  creek,  which  flows  through  the  adjoining 
fields,  the  sandy  waste  expands  into  inviting  pasture, 
partly  covered  by  the  Rincon  farm  and  government 
reserve.8 

The  opposite  shores  of  the  bay  present  a  most  beau 
tiful  park-like  expanse,  the  native  lawn,  brilliant  with 
flowers,  and  dotted  by  eastward-bending  oaks,  watered 
by  the  creeks  of  Alameda,  San  Lorenzo,  San  Leandro, 
and  their  tributaries,  and  enclosed  by  the  spurs  of  the 
Diablo  mountains.  It  had  early  attracted  settlers, 
whose  grants  now  cover  the  entire  ground.  The  first 
to  occupy  there  was  the  Mission  San  Jose,  famed  for 
its  orchards  and  vineyards,9  and  now  counting  among 
its  tenants  and  settlers  James  F.  Reed,  Perry  Mor 
rison,  Earl  Marshall,  and  John  M.  Horner;10  Below 
are  the  ranches  of  Agua  Caliente  and  Los  Tularcitos ; 
and  above,  Potrero  de  los  Cerritos;11  while  behind, 
among  encircling  hills,  is  the  valley  of  San  Jose,  the 
pathway  to  the  Sacramento,  and  through  which  runs 

8  Padre  P.  Santillan,  who  afterward  became  conspicuous  as  a  claimant  to 
the  mission  ground,  was  in  charge  at  Dolores.     The  Raucho  Puuta  de  Lobos 
of  B.  Diaz  extended  to  the  north-west. 

9  In  charge  of  Padre  Real.     The  claim  of  Alvarado  and  Pico  to  the  soil  was 
later  rejected. 

10  The  latter  a  Mormon,  living  with  his  wife  at  the  present  Washington 
Corners,  and  subsequently  prominent. 

11  The  former  two  square  leagues  in  extent,  and  transferred  by  A.  Sufiol  to 
F.  Higueraj  the  latter  three  leagues,  and  held  by  A.  Alviso  and  T.  Pacheco. 


10       CALIFORNIA  JUST  PRIOR  TO  THE  GOLD  DISCOVERY. 

the  upper  Alameda.  Here  lives  the  venturesome 
English  sailor,  Robert  Livermore,  by  whose  name  the 
nook  is  becoming  known,  and  whose  rapidly  increasing 
possessions  embrace  stock-ranges,  wheat-fields,  vine 
yards,  and  orchards,  with  even  a  rude  grist-mill.12  Ad 
joining  him  are  the  ranchos  Valle  de  San  Jose  of 
J.  and  A.  Bernal,  and  Sunol  and  San  Ramon  of  J.  M. 
Amador,  also  known  by  his  name.  Northward,  along 
the  bay,  lies  the  Rancho  Arroyo  de  la  Alameda  of 
Jose  Jesus  Vallejo;  the  San  Lorenzo  of  G.  Castro 
and  F.  Soto;  the  San  Leandro  of  J.  J.  Estudillo;  the 
Sobrante  of  J.  I.  Castro;  and  in  the  hills  and  along 
the  shore,  covering  the  present  Oakland  and  Alameda, 
the  San  Antonio  of  Luis  M.  Peralta  and  his  sons.13 

Similar  to  the  Alameda  Valley,  and  formed  by  the 
rear  of  the  same  range,  enclosing  the  towering  Monte 
del  Diablo,  lies  the  vale  of  Contra  Costa,  watered  by 
several  creeks,  among  them  the  San  Pablo  and  San 
Ramon,  or  Walnut,  and  extending  into  the  marshes 
of  the  San  Joaquin.  Here  also  the  most  desirable 
tracts  are  covered  by  grants,  notably  the  San  Pablo 
tract  of  F.  Castro;  El  Pinole  of  Ignacio  Martinez, 
with  vineyards  and  orchards;  the  Acalanes  of  C. 
Valencia,  on  which  are  now  settled  Elam  Brown, 
justice  of  the  peace,  and  Nat.  Jones;14  the  Palos 
Colorados  of  J.  Moraga;  the  Monte  del  Diablo  of  S. 
Pacheco;  the  Medanos  belonging  to  the  Mesa  fam 
ily;  and  the  Meganos  of  Dr  John  Marsh,  the  said 
doctor  being  a  kind  of  crank  from  Harvard  college, 

12  His  neighbor  on  Rancho  Los  Pozitos,  of  two  square  leagues,  was  Jose" 
Noriega;  and  west  and  south  in  the  valley  extended  Rancho  Valle  de  San 
Jose,  48,000  acres,  Santa  Rita,  9,000  acres,  belonging  to  J.  D.  Pacheco,  the 
San  Ramon  rancho  of  Amador,  four  square  leagues,  and  Canada  de  los  Va- 
queros  of  Livermore.     Both  Colton,  Three  Years,  266,  and  Taylor,  El  Dorado, 
i.  73,  refer  to  the  spot  as  Livermore  Pass,  leading  from  San  Jos6  town  to  the 
valley  of  the  Sacramento. 

13  D.  Peralta  received  the  Berkeley  part,  V.  the  Oakland,  M.  the  East  Oak 
land  and  Alameda,  and  I.  the  south-east.     The  grant  covered  five  leagues. 
The  extent  of  the  Alameda,  San  Lorenzo,  and  San  Leandro  grants  was  in 
square  leagues  respectively  about  four,  seven,  and  one;  Sobrante  was  eleven 
leagues. 

uBy  purchase  in  1847,  the  latter  owning  one  tenth  of  the  three-quarter 
league. 


SAN  JOAQUIN  VALLEY.  11 

who  settled  here  in  1837,15  in  an  adobe  hut,  and 
achieved  distinction  as  a  misanthrope  and  miser, 
sympathetic  with  the  spirit  at  whose  mountain's  feet 
he  crouched. 

The  upper  part  of  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  had  so 
far  been  shunned  by  fixed  settlers,  owing  to  Indian 
hostility  toward  the  Spanish  race.  With  others  the 
aborigines  agreed  better;  and  gaining  their  favor 
through  the  mediation  of  the  influential  Sutter,  the 
German  Charles  M.  Weber  had  located  himself  on 
French  Camp  rancho,  which  he  sought  to  develop  by 
introducing  colonists.  In  this  he  had  so  far  met  with 
little  success;  but  his  farm  prospering,  arid  his  em 
ployes  increasing,  he  laid  out  the  town  of  Tuleburg, 
soon  to  rise  into  prominence  under  the  new  name  of 
Stockton.16  He  foresaw  the  importance  of  the  place 
as  a  station  on  the  road  to  the  Sacramento,  and  as  the 
gateway  to  the  San  Joaquin,  on  which  a  settlement 
had  been  formed  in  1846,  as  far  up  as  the  Stanislaus, 
by  a  party  of  Mormons.  On  the  north  bank  of  this 
tributary,  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  San  Joaquin,  the 
migratory  saints  founded  New  Hope,  or  Stanislaus, 
which  in  April  1847  boasted  ten  or  twelve  colonists 
and  several  houses.  Shortly  afterward  a  summons 

15  He  bought  it  from  J.  Noriega,  and  called  it  the  Pulpunes;  extent,  three 
leagues  by  four.     The  San  Pablo  and  Piuole  covered  four  leagues  each,  the 
Palos  Colorados  three  leagues,  the  Monte  del  Diablo,  on  which  Pacheco  had 
some  5,000  head  of  cattle,  four  leagues.     The  aggressive  Indians  had  disturbed 
several  settlers,  killing  F.  Briones,  driving  away  Wm  Welch,  who  settled  in 
1832,  and  the  Romero  brothers.     Brown  settled  in  1847,  and  began  to  ship 
lumber  to  San  Francisco.     There  were  also  the  grants  of  Las  Juntas  of  Wm 
Welch,  three  square  leagues;   Arroyo  de  las  Nueces  of  J.  S.  Pacheco  and 
Canada  del  Hambre  of  T.  Soto,  the  two  latter  two  square  leagues  each. 

16  Among  the  residents  were  B.  K.  Thompson,  Eli  Randall,  Jos.  Buzzell, 
Andrew  Baker,  James  Sirey,  H.  F.  Fanning,  George  Frazer,  W.  H.  Fairchild, 
James  McKee,  Pyle,  and  many  Mexicans  and  servants  of  Weber.     See  fur 
ther  in  Tinkham's  Hist.  Stockton;  San  Joaquin  Co.  Hist.;  Gal.  Star,  May  13, 
1848,  etc.     Taylor  reports  two  log  cabins  on  the  site  in  1847,  those  of  Buzzell 
and  Sirey.     Nic.  Gann's  wife,  while  halting  in  Oct.  1847,  gave  birth  to  a  son, 
William.     The  name  French  Camp  came  from  the  trappers  who  frequently 
camped  here.     T.  Lindsay,  while  in  charge  in  1845,  was  killed  by  Indian 
raiders.    The  war  of  1847  had  caused  an  exodus  of  proposed  settlers. 


12       CALIFORNIA  JUST  PRIOR  TO  THE  GOLD  DISCOVERY. 

from  Salt  Lake  came  to  assist  the  floods  in  breaking 
up  the  colony.17 

North  of  Stockton  Dr  J.  C.  Isbel  settled  on  the 
Calaveras,  and  Turner  Elder  on  the  Mokelumne, 
together  with  Smith  and  Edward  Robinson.18  The 
latter,  on  Dry  Creek  tributary,  has  for  a  neighbor 
Thomas  Rhoads,  three  of  whose  daughters  married  T. 
Elder,  William  Daylor  an  English  sailor,  and  Jared 
Sheldon.  The  last  two  occupy  their  grants  on  the 
north  bank  of  the  Cosumnes,  well  stocked,  and  sup 
porting  a  grist-mill.  Along  the  south  bank  extend 
the  grants  of  Hartnell  and  San  '  Jon '  de  los  Moque- 
lumnes,  occupied  by  Martin  Murphy,  Jr,  and  Anas- 
tasio  Chaboila.  South  of  them  lies  the  Rancho 
Arroyo  Seco  of  T,  Yorba,  on  Dry  Creek,  where 
William  Hicks  holds  a  stock-range.19 

The  radiating  point  for  all  these  settlements  of  the 
Great  Valley,  south  and  north,  is  Sutter's  Fort, 
founded  as  its  first  settlement,  in  1839,  by  the  enter 
prising  Swiss,  John  A.  Sutter.  It  stands  on  a  small 
hill,  skirted  by  a  creek  which  runs  into  the  American 
River  near  its  junction  with  the  Sacramento,  and 
overlooking  a  vast  extent  of  ditch-enclosed  fields  and 
park  stock-ranges,  broken  by  groves  and  belts  of  tim 
ber.  At  this  time  and  for  three  months  to  come 
there  is  no  sign  of  town  or  "habitation  around  what  is 
now  Sacramento,  except  this  fortress,  and  one  old 
adobe,  called  the  hospital,  east  of  the  fort.  A  garden 

17  Stout,  the  leader,  had  given  dissatisfaction.     Buckland,  the  last  to  leave, 
moved  to  Stockton.     The  place  is  also  called  Stanislaus  City.     Bigler,  Diary, 
MS.,  48-9,  speaks  of  a  Mormon  settlement  on  the  Merced,  meaning  the  above. 

18  The  former  on  Dry  Creek,  near  the  present  Liberty,  which  he  transferred 
to  Robinson,  married  to  his  aunt,  and  removed  to  the  Mokelumne,  where 
twins  were  born  in  November  1847;  he  then  proceeded  to  Daylor's.     Thomas 
Pyle  settled  near  Lockeford,  but  transferred  his  place  to  Smith. 

19  The  Chaboila,  Hartnell,  Sheldon-Day  lor,  and  Yorba  grants  were  8,  6, 
5,  and  11  leagues  in  extent,  respectively.     The  claims  of  E.  Rufus  and  E. 
Pratt,  north  of  the  Cosumnes,  failed  to  be  condoned.  Cat.  Star,  Oct.  23,  1847, 
alludes  to  the  flouring  mill  on  Sheldon's  rancho.  See  Suiter's  Pers.  Rem. ,  MS., 
162,  in  which  Taylor  arid  Chamberlain  are  said  to  live  on  the  Cosumnes.     In 
the  San  Joaquin  district  were  three  eleven-league  and  one  eight-league  grants 
claimed  by  Jos6  Castro,  John  Rowland,  B.  S.  Lippincott,  and  A.  B.  Thompson, 
all  rejected  except  the  last. 


SACRAMENTO  VALLEY.  13 

of  eight  or  ten  acres  was  attached  to  the  fort,  laid 
out  with  taste  arid  skill,  where  flourished  all  kinds  of 
vegetables,  grapes,  apples,  peaches,  pears,  olives,  figs, 
and  almonds.  Horses,  cattle,  and  sheep  cover  the 
surrounding  plains;  boats  lie  at  the  erabarcadero. 

The  fort  is  a  parallelogram  of  adobe  walls,  500  feet 
long  by  150  in  breadth,  with  loop-holes  and  bastions 
at  the  angles,  mounted  with  a  dozen  cannon  that 
sweep  the  curtains.  Within  is  a  collection  of  gran 
aries  and  warehouses,  shops  and  stores,  dwellings 
and  outhouses,  extending  near  and  along  the  walls 
round  the  central  building  occupied  by  the  Swiss 
potentate,  who  holds  sway  as  patriarch  and  priest, 
judge  and  father.  The  interior  of  the  houses  is  rough, 
with  rafters  and  unpanelled  walls,  with  benches  and 
deal  tables,  the  exception  being  the  audience-room 
and  private  apartments  of  the  owner,  who  has  ob 
tained  from  the  Russians  a  clumsy  set  of  California 
laurel  furniture.20  In  front  of  the  main  building,  on 
the  small  square,  is  a  brass  gun,  guarded  by  the 
sentinel,  whose  measured  tramp,  lost  in  the  hum  of 
day,  marks  the  stillness  of  the  night,  and  stops  alone 
beneath  the  belfry-post  to  chime  the  passing  hour. 

Throughout  the  day  the  enclosure  presents  an 
animated  scene  of  work  and  trafficking,  by  bustling 
laborers,  diligent  mechanics,  and  eager  traders,  all  to 
the  chorus  clang  of  the  smithy  and  reverberating 
strokes  of  the  carpenters.  Horsemen  dash  to  and  fro 
at  the  bidding  of  duty  and  pleasure,  and  an  occasional 
wagon  creaks  along  upon  the  gravelly  road-bed,  sure 
to  pause  for  recuperating  purposes  before  the  trad 
ing  store,21  where  confused  voices  mingle  with  laugh 
ter  and  the  sometimes  discordant  strains  of  drunken 

20  The  first  made  in  the  country,  he  says,  and  strikingly  superior  to  the 
crude  furniture  of  the  Calif  ornians,  with  rawhide  and  bullock -head  chairs  and 
bed -stretchers.  Suiter's  Pers.  JRem.,  MS.,  164,  et  seq.     Bryant  describes  the 
dining-room  as  having  merely  benches  and  deal  table,  yet  displaying  silver 
spoons  and  China  bowls,  the  latter  serving  for  dishes  as  well  as  cups.    What  I 
Saw,  269-70. 

21  One  kept  by  Smith  and  Brannan.     Prices  at  this  time  were  $1  a  foot  for 
horse-shoeing,  $1  a  bushel  for  wheat,  peas  $1.50,  unbolted  flour  $8  a  100  U>s. 


14      CALIFORNIA  JUST  PRIOR  TO  THE  GOLD  DISCOVERY. 

singers.  Such  is  the  capital  of  the  vast  interior  valley, 
pregnant  with  approaching  importance.  In  Decem 
ber  1847  Sutter  reported  a  white  population  of  289 
in  the  district,  with  16  half-breeds,  Hawaiians,  and 
negroes,  479  tame  Indians,  and  a  large  number  of 
gentiles,  estimated  with  not  very  great  precision  at 
21,873  for  the  valley,  including  the  region  above  the 
Buttes.22  There  are  60  houses  in  or  near  the  fort, 
and  six  mills  and  one  tannery  in  the  district;  14,000 
fanegas  of  wheat  were  raised  during  the  season,  and 
40,000  expected  during  the  following  year,  besides 
other  crops.  Sutter  owns  12,000  cattle,  2,000  horses 
and  mules,  from  10,000  to  15,000  sheep,  and  1,000 
hogs.23  John  Sinclair  figures  as  alcalde,  and  George 
McKinstry  as  sheriff. 

The  greater  portion  of  the  people  round  the  fort 
depend  upon  Sutter  as  permanent  or  temporary  em 
ploy  ^s,  the  latter  embracing  immigrants  preparing  to 
settle,  and  Mormons  intent  on  presently  proceeding 
to  Great  Salt  Lake.  As  a  class  they  present  a  hardy, 
backwoods  type  of  rough  exterior,  relieved  here  and 
there  by  bits  of  Hispano-Californian  attire,  in  bright 
sashes,  wide  sombreros,  and  jingling  spurs.  The  na 
tives  appear  probably  to  better  advantage  here  than 
elsewhere  in  California,  in  the  body  of  half  a  hundred 
well-clothed  soldiers  trained  by  Sutter,  and  among 
his  staff  of  steady  servants  and  helpers,  who  have  ac 
quired  both  skill  and  neatness.  A  horde  of  subdued 
savages,  engaged  as  herders,  tillers,  and  laborers,  are 
conspicuous  by  their  half-naked,  swarthy  bodies;  and 
others  may  be  seen  moving  about,  bent  on  gossip  or 
trade,  stalking  along,  shrouded  in  the  all-shielding 
blanket,  which  the  winter  chill  has  obliged  them  to 
put  on.  Head  and  neck,  however,  bear  evidence  to 
their  love  of  finery,  in  gaudy  kerchiefs,  strings  of  beads, 
and  other  ornaments. 

32  McKinstry  Pap.,  MS.,  28. 

28  There  were  30  ploughs  in  operation.  Suttees  Pers.  Bern.,  MS.,  43.  The 
version  reproduced  in  Sac.  Co.  Hist.,  31,  differs  somewhat. 


SUITER'S  FORT.  15 

The  fort  is  evidently  reserved  for  a  manor-seat,  de 
spite  its  bustle;  for  early  in  1846  Sutter  had  laid 
out  the  town  of  Sutterville,  three  miles  below  on  the 
Sacramento.  This  has  now  several  houses,24  having 
received  a  great  impulse  from  the  location  there,  in 
1847,  of  two  companies  of  troops  under  Major  Kings- 
bury.  It  shares  in  the  traffic  regularly  maintained 
with  San  Francisco  by  means  of  a  twenty-ton  sloop, 
the  Amelia,  belonging  to  Sutter  and  manned  by  half 
a  dozen  savages.  It  is  supported  during  the  busy 
season  by. two  other  vessels,  which  make  trips  far  up 
the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin.  The  ferry  at  the 
fort  landing  is  merely  a  canoe  handled  by  an  Indian, 
but  a  large  boat  is  a-building.25 

Six  miles  up  the  American  River,  so  called  by  Sut 
ter  as  the  pathway  for  American  immigration,  the 
Mormons  are  constructing  a  flour-mill  for  him,26  and 
another  party  are  in  like  manner  engaged  on  a  saw 
mill  building  and  race  at  Coloma  Valley,  forty  miles 
above,  on  the  south  fork.  Opposite  Sutter's  Fort,  on 
the  north  bank  of  the  American,  John  Sinclair,  the 
alcalde,  holds  the  large  El  Paso  rancho,27  and  above 
him  stretches  the  San  Juan  rancho  of  Joel  P.  Ded- 
mond,  facing  the  Leidesdorff  grant  on  the  southern 
bank.28  There  is  more  land  than  men;  instead  of 
100  acres,  the  neighbors  do  not  regard  100,000  acres 
as  out  of  the  way.  Sutter's  confirmed  grant  of  eleven 
leagues  in  due  time  is  scattered  in  different  direc 
tions,  owing  to  documentary  and  other  irregularities. 
A  portion  is  made  to  cover  Hock  Farm  on  Feather 

24  Sutter  built  the  first  house,  Hadel  and  Zins  followed  the  example,  Zins' 
being  the  first  real  brick  building  erected  in  the  country.     Morse,  Hist.  Sac., 
places  the  founding  in  1844. 

25  As  well  as  one  for  Montezuma.  Col.  Star,  Oct.  23,  1847;  Gregson's  Stat., 
MS.,  7.. 

26  With  four  pairs  of  stones,  which  was  fast  approaching  completion.     A 
dam  had  been  constructed,  with  a  four-mile  race.     Description  and  progress 
in  Id.;  Bights  Diary,  MS.,  56-7;  Sutter's  Pers.  Rem.,  MS.,  159.     Brighton 
has  now  risen  on  the  site. 

27  Of  some  44^000  acres,  chiefly  for  his  Hawaiian  patron,  E.  Grimes. 

28  Of  35,500  acres;  Dedmond's  was  20,000.     Leidesdorff  had  erected  a  house 
in  1846,  at  the  present  Routier's. 


16       CALIFORNIA  JUST  PRIOR  TO  THE  GOLD  DISCOVERY. 

River,29  his  chief  stock-range,  and  also  embracing  fine 
plantations.30  On  the  east  side  of  this  region  lies  the 
tract  of  Nicolaus  Altgeier,31  and  along  the  north  bank 
of  Bear  River,  Sebastian  Keyser  and  the  family  of 
William  Johnson  have  located  themselves;32  oppo 
site  are  two  Frenchmen,  Theodore  Sicard  and  Claude 
Chanon.  The  south  bank  of  the  Yuba  is  occupied 
by  Michael  C.  Nye,  John  Smith,  and  George  Pat 
terson.33  Facing  them,  along  Feather  River,  Theo 
dore  Cordua  had  settled  in  1842,  and  established  a 
trading  post,  owning  some  12,000  head  of  stock.3* 
Charles  Roether  had  in  1845  located  himself  on  Hon- 
cut  Creek,  and  near  him  are  now  Edward  A.  Farwell 
and  Thomas  Fallon.35  The  lands  of  Samuel  Neal  and 
David  Dutton  are  on  Butte  Creek;  William  North- 
grave's  place  is  on  Little  Butte;  W.  Dickey,  Sanders, 
and  Yates  had  in  1845  taken  up  the  tract  on  Chico 
Creek  which  John  Bidwell  is  at  this  time  entering 
upon.36  Peter  Lassen,  the  famous  Danish  trapper,  had 
settled  on  Deer  Creek,  and  erected  a  mill  and  smithy,37 
granting  a  league  to  Daniel  Sill,  Sen.  Moon's  ranch 
is  held  by  W.  C.  Moon  and  Merritt.  A.  G.  Toomes 
occupies  a  tract  north  of  the  creek  which  bears  his 

29  A  name  applied  by  Sutter  from  the  feather  ornaments  of  the  natives. 

30  It  was  founded  in  1841,  and  managed  successively  by  Bidwell,  Benitz, 
S.  J.  Hensley,  and  Kanaka  Jim.     It  had  5,000  head  of  cattle  and  1,200  horses. 

31  Who  settled  on  the  present  site  of  Nicolaus.     North  of  Hock  Farm,  C. 
W.  Fliigge  had  obtained  a  grant  which  was  transferred  to  Consul  Larkin. 

32  On  the  five-league  rancho  given  to  P.  Gutierrez,  deceased,  by  Sutter,  who 
made  several  grants  in  the  valley,  by  authority.     They  bought  land  and  cattle 
and  divided. 

33  Smith,  who  came  first,  in  1845,  sold  a  part  of  his  tract  to  Patterson. 
The  first  two  had  nearly  2,000  head  of  stock. 

34  This  rancho,  on  the  site  of  the  present  Marysville,  he  called  New  Meck 
lenburg,  in  honor  of  his  native  German  state.     Chas  Covillaud  was  manager; 
trade  relations  were  had  with  San  Francisco. 

35  The  former  on  a  grant  claimed  by  Huber;  the  two  latter  on  Farwell's 
rancho. 

36Northgrave  was  a  settler  on  the  tract  claimed  by  S.  J.  Hensley,  but 
disallowed  afterward.  James  W.  Marshall  had  abandoned  his  holding  on  the 
same  tract.  The  confirmed  grants  were  Fernandez,  4  leagues;  Arroyo  Chico 
of  Bidwell,  5  leagues;  Agua  Fria  of  Pratt,  6  leagues;  Llano  Seco  of  Parrott, 
4  leagues;  Bosquejo  of  Lassen,  5  leagues;  Boga  of  Larkin,  5  leagues;  Esquon 
of  Neal,  5  leagues.  The  claims  of  Cambuston,  Huber,  Hensley}  Nye,  and 
others  were  rejected. 

37  BidwdVs  Cal.  1841-8,  MS.,  231-2. 


ALONG  THE  SACRAMENTO.  17 

name,  and  above,  on  Antelope  Creek,  lives  Job  F. 
Dye,  below  P.  B.  Reading,  who  ranks  as  the  most 
northern  settler  in  the  valley,  on  Cotton  wood  Creek,38 
one  of  the  numerous  tributaries  here  fed  by  the  adja 
cent  snow-crowned  summits  dominated  by  the  majes 
tic  Shasta. 

Descending  along  the  west  bank  of  the  Sacramento, 
we  encounter  the  rancho  of  William  B.  Ide,  of  Bear-flag 
fame  ;39  below  him,  on  Elder  Creek,  is  William  C.  Chard, 
and  R.  H.  Thomes  on  the  creek  named  after  him.40 
On  Stony  Creek,  whence  Sutter  obtains  grindstones,41 
live  Granville  P.  Swift,  Franklin  Sears,  and  Bryant; 
below  them  John  S.  Williams  has  lately  settled  with 
his  wife,  the  first  white  woman  in  this  region.42  Watt 
Anderson  is  found  on  Sycamore  Slough,  and  on  the 
north  side  of  Cache  Creek  the  family  of  William  Gor 
don.43  Eastward  lies  the  rancho  of  William  Knight,44 
and  below  him,  facing  the  mouth  of  Feather  River, 
that  of  Thomas  M.  Hardy.45  In  a  hut  of  tule,  facing 
the  Sutter's-fort  grant,  lives  John  Schwartz,  a  reticent 
uilder  of  airy  castles  upon  his  broad  domain,  and  of 
whom  it  is  said  that,  having  lost  his  own  language, 
he  never  learned  another.  A  northern  slice  of  his 
land  he  sold  to  James  McDowell  and  family.46  On 
Putah  Creek,  John  R.  Wolfskill  had,  since  1842,  oc 
cupied  a  four-league  grant.  Adjoining,  on  Ulattis 

58  One  Julian  occupied  it  for  him  in  1845,  and  he  himself  settled  theie  in 
1847. 

3a  Just  below  the  present  Red  Bluff,  a  tract  bought  by  him  from  Josiah 
Belden.  These  northern  grants  averaged  five  leagues  each. 

40  He  built  the  first  dwelling  in  the  county,  on  the  site  of  Tehama 

41  Cut  by  Moon,  Merritt,  and  Lassen. 

42  Of  Colusa  county,  daughter  of  Jos.  Gordon.     He  located  himself  two 
miles  south  of  Princeton,  on  the  Larkin  children's  grant,  with  800  head  of 
cattle,  on  shares  with  Larkin.     M.  Diaz'  claim  to  11  leagues  was  rejected. 

43  Who  built  the  first  dwelling  in  Yolo  county,  in  1842,  on  Quesisosi  grant. 
His  son-in-law,  Nathan  Coombs,  was  probably  the  first  white  bridegroom  in 
the  Sacramento  Valley.     Married  by  Sutter  in  1844.     His  son  William  was 
the  first  white  child  of  Yolo  county.     Coombs  soon  moved  to  Napa  Valley. 

44  Who  settled  at  the  present  Knight's  Landing. 

45  An  Englishman,  hostile  to  Americans. 

46  McDowell  built  a  log  house  at  the  present  Washington,  and  was,  in  1847, 
presented  with  the  first  white  girl  of  Yolo  county.     He  paid  Schwartz  12£ 
cents  an  acre  for  GOO  acres. 

HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.    2 


18       CALIFORNIA  JUST  PRIOR  TO  THE  GOLD  DISCOVERY. 

Creek,  extends  the  grant  of  Vaca  and  Pena,  and  at 
its  mouth  are  Feltis  Miller  J  D.  Hoppe,  and  Daniel 
K.  Berry. 

Hence,  down  the  Sacramento  for  four  leagues 
stretches  the  Ulpinos  grant  of  John  Bidwell,  which 
he  sought  to  improve  by  sending,  in  1846,  a  party 
of  immigrants  to  transform  the  lonely  house  then 
standing  there  into  a  town.  After  a  few  months' 
suffering  from  hunger  and  hardships,  the  party  aban 
doned  a  site  for  which  the  Indian  name  of  Halo  Che- 
muck,  '  nothing  to  eat/  was  for  a  time  appropriately 
retained.  Charles  D.  Hoppe  bought  a  fourth  of  the 
tract  in  1847/7  Equally  unsuccessful  was  the  con 
temporaneous  effort  of  L.  W.  Hastings,  a  Mormon 
agent,  to  found  the  town  of  Montezuma,  fifteen  miles 
below,  at  the  junction  of  the  Sacramento  and  San 
Joaquin  in  Suisun  Bay.  His  co-religionists  objected 
to  the  site  as  devoid  of  timber;  yet  he  remained  hope 
ful,  and  ordered  a  windmill  and  ferry-boat  to  increase 
the  attractions  of  his  solitary  house.*8 

These  efforts  at  city  building  indicate  how  widely 
appreciated  was  the  importance  of  a  town  which 
should  tap,  not  merely  each  section  of  the  great  val 
ley,  as  at  Sutter's  Fort  and  Stockton,  but  the  joint 
outlet  of  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin.  It  was 
foreseen  that  hence  would  flow  the  main  wealth  of 
the  country,  although  the  metallic  nature  of  the  first 
current  was  little  anticipated.  The  idea  seems  to 
have  struck  simultaneously  Bidwell,  Hastings,  and 
Semple.  The  last  named,  with  a  judgment  worthy  of 
the  towering  editor  of  the  Ccdifornian,  selected  the  bil 
lowy  slopes  of  the  headland  guarding  the  opening  of 
this  western  Bosphorus,  the  strait  of  Carquines,  the 
inner  golden  gate  of  San  Francisco  Bay.  Indeed,  the 

47  The  present  town  of  Rio  Vista  lies  just  below  the  site.     Another  version 
has  it  that  the  three  families  settled  there  were  carried  away  by  the  gold- 
fever,  and  that  'halachummuck'  was  called  out  by  Indians  when  they  here 
killed  a  party  of  starving  hunters. 

48  Col.  Star,  Oct.  23,  1847;  Bu/um's  Four  Month*,  9°      Here  rose,   later, 
e  hamlet  of  Collinsville. 


NAPA  AND  SONOMA  VALLEYS.  19 

superiority  of  the  site  for  a  metropolis  is  unequalled  on 
the  Pacific  seaboard,  and  unsurpassed  by  any  spot  in 
the  world,  lying  as  it  does  at  the  junction  of  the  valley 
outlet  with  the  head  of  ocean  navigation,  with  fine 
anchorage  and  land-locked  harbor,  easy  ferriage 
across  the  bay,  fine  climate,  smooth  and  slightly  ris 
ing  ground,  with  a  magnificent  view  over  bays  and 
isles,  and  the  lovely  valley  of  the  contra  costa  nestling 
at  the  foot  of  Mount  Diablo.  And  Benicia,  as  it 
was  finally  called,  prospered  under  the  energetic  man 
agement.  Although  less  than  a  year  old,  it  now 
boasted  nearly  a  score  of  buildings,  with  two  hundred 
lots  sold,  a  serviceable  ferry,  and  with  prospects  that, 
utterly  eclipsing  those  of  adjoining  aspirants,  were 
creating  a  flutter  of  alarm  in  the  city  at  the  Gate.49 

Passing  on  the  extreme  right  the  Armijo  rancho,50 
and  proceeding  up  the  Napa  Valley,  now  famed  alike 
for  its  scenery  and  vineyards,  we  find  a  large  number 
of  settlers.  Foremost  among  them  is  the  veteran 
trapper,  George  Yount,  who  in  1836  built  here  the 
first  American  block-house  of  the  country,  as  well  as 
the  first  flour  and  saw  mill,  and  extended  warm  hos 
pitality  to  subsequent  comers.  North  of  him  entered 
soon  afterward  J.  B.  Chiles  and  William  Pope  into 
the  small  valleys  bearing  their  names,  and  E.  T. 
Bale  and  John  York.51  The  Berreyesa  brothers  oc 
cupy  their  large  valley  across  the  range,  on  the  head 
waters  of  Putah  Creek;  and  on  the  site  of  the  present 
Napa  City,  just  about  to  be  laid  out,  stand  the  two 
houses  of  Cayetano  Juarez  and  Nicolas  Higuera,  who 
had  settled  on  this  spot  in  1840,  followed  by  Salvador 
Vallejo,  and  later  by  Joel  P.  Walker  and  Nathan 

49  Stephen  Cooper  was  alcalde.     For  other  names,  see  preceding  volume,  v. 
672  et  seq. 

50  Properly  in  Suisun  Valley,  near  the  present  Fairfield,  where  bordered 
also  the  grants  of  Suisun  and  Suscol,  the  latter  claimed  by  Vallejo,  but  which 
claim  was  rejected.     Mare  Island  was  used  as  a  stock-range  by  V.  Castro, 
its  yrantee. 

51  At  the  present  St  Helena  and  Calistoga,  respectively.     With  Yount  was 
C.  Hopper;  with  Pope,  Barnett;  and  with  Chiles,  Baldridge.     Below  extended 
the  Chimiles  grant  of  J.  I.  Berreyesa. 


20       CALIFORNIA  JUST  PRIOR  TO  THE  GOLD  DISCOVERY. 

Coombs;  ana  by  John  Rose  and  J.  C.  Davis,  who  in 
1846  built  a  schooner  here,  and  were  now  erecting  a 
mill  for  Vallejo.52  Northward,  in  the  region  round 
Clear  Lake,  Stone  and  Kelsey  occupy  a  stock-range, 
and  George  Rock  holds  the  Guenoc  rancho.53 

The  similar  and  parallel  valley  of  Sonoma,  signifying 
'  of  the  moon,'  is  even  more  thickly  occupied  under 
the  auspices  of  M.  G.  Vallejo,  the  potentate  of  this 
region  and  ranking  foremost  among  Hispano-Cal- 
ifornians.  This  town  of  Sonoma,  founded  as  a  pre 
sidio  thirteen  years  before,  near  the  dilapidated  mis 
sion  Solano,  claims  now  a  population  of  260,  under 
Alcalde  Lilburn  W.  Boggs,  with  twoscore  houses, 
among  which  the  two-story  adobe  of  the  general  is 
regarded  as  one  of  the  most  imposing  in  the  country. 
The  barrack  is  occupied  by  a  company  of  New  York 
volunteers  under  Captain  Brackett,  which  adds  greatly 
to  the  animation  of  the  place.  Several  members  of 
Vallejo's  family  occupy  lands  above  and  below  on 
Sonoma  Creek,  as,  for  instance,  Jacob  P.  Leese;  west 
ward  on  Petaluma  Creek,  Juan  Miranda  and  family 
have  settled;  above  are  James  Hudspeth,  the  large 

frant  of  the  Carrillos,54  and  the  fertile  ranchos  of 
lark  West  and  John  B.  R.  Cooper,  the  latter  with 
mill  and  smithy.  At  Bodega,  Stephen  Smith  had 
in  1846  established  a  saw-mill,  worked  by  the  first 
steam-engine  in  California,  and  obtained  a  vast  grant,55 
which  embraced  the  former  Russian  settlement  with 
its  dismantled  stockade  fort.  Edward  M.  Mclntosh 
and  James  Dawson's  widow  hold  the  adjoining  ran 
chos  of  Jonive  and  Pogolomi,  the  latter  having  planted 
a  vineyard  on  the  Estero  Americano.  Above  on  the 

52  There  were  a  number  of  other  settlers,  nearly  four  score,  by  this  time, 
and  two  saw-mills  and  two  flour-mills.   CuL  Star,  Jan.  22,  April  1,  1848. 

53  Of  21,000  acres.     J.  P.  Leese  and  the  Vallejos  had  stock,  the  latter  claim 
ing  the  Lupyomi  tract  of  16  leagues,  which  was  rejected,  and  Rob  F   Ridley 
that  of  Collayomi  of  8,000  acres,  which  was  confirmed. 

61  Mrs  Carrillo's  covering  the  present  Santa  Rosa,  and  Joaquin  Carrillo's 
that  of  Sebastopol. 

55  Of  35,000  acres.  Both  men  had  been  sailors,  the  former  from  Scotland, 
the  other  from  Erin. 


THE  NORTHERN  SEABOARD.  21 

coast  are  the  tracts  of  William  Benhz  and  Ernest 
Rufus,  the  latter  with  a  grist-mill.58  Along  Russian 
River  stretches  the  Sotoyome  grant  of  H.  D.  Fitch, 
with  vineyards  and  mill.57  Cyrus  Alexander,  lately 
Fitch's  agent,  had  occupied  Alexander  Valley,  and 
below  him  now  live  Lindsay  Carson  and  Louis  Le 
gend  re.58 

The  hilly  peninsula  between  the  bay  and  ocean, 
named  after  the  Indian  chief  Marin,  is  indebted  for  a 
comparatively  compact  occupation  mainly  to  its  posi 
tion  relative  to  other  settlements,  and  to  the  impulse 
given  by  the  now  secularized  and  decaying  mission 
establishment  of  San  Rafael.  This  lovely  spot  was 
budding  into  a  town,  and  contained  several  settlers,59 
besides  Tiinoteo  Murphy,  in  charge  of  the  mission  es 
tate.  Above  extend  the  tracts  of  Novato60  and  Ni- 
casio,  the  latter  owned  by  James  Black,61  and  adjoin 
ing,  those  of  Ramon  Mesa  and  Bartolome  Bojorques. 
Rafael  Garcia  and  Gregorio  Briones  are  located  on 
the  ranehos  of  Tomales  and  Bolinas,  owning  many 
cattle;  and  William  A.  Richardson  holds  that  of  Sau- 
zalito,  which  is  already  an  anchorage  and  supply  sta 
tion,62  yet  with  aspirations  cramped  by  the  closely 
pressing  hills,  and  overshadowed  by  the  looming  me 
tropolis.83 

56  Erected  by  H.  Hiigler  on  Walhalla  River,  -which  is  now  usually  called 
Gualala  River. 

57  Covering  the  present  site  of  Healdsburg. 

58  Among  other  settlers  may  be  mentioned  Frank  Bedwell,  Mose  Carson, 
Fred.  Starke,  Hoeppner,  Wilson,  the  Pinas,  and  the  Gordons. 

39  Among  them  Mrs  Merriner  and  sons,  Jacob  and  J.  O.  B. ;  Short  and 
Mrs  Miller  near  by.     Ignacio  Pacheco  was  justice  of  the  peace. 

60  Obtained  by  F.  Fales  in  1839  and  transferred  to  Leese. 
1  Who  had  obtained  it  from  J.  O'Farrell,  in  exchange  for  his  grant  near 
Bodega. 

62  The  earliest  settler  here,  since  1826,  had  been  John  J.  Read,  who  subse 
quently  obtained  the  Corte  de  Madera  rancho,  where  he  planted  orchards  and 
erected  a  grist-mill,  followed  by  a  saw-mill  in  1843,  the  year  of  his  death. 
Angel  Island  was  for  a  time  occupied  by  A.  M.  Osio.     Among  other  settlers 
were  Martin  and  Tom  Wood,  the  latter  a  famous  vaquero. 

63  On  the  map  presented  I  mark  with  preference  the  names  of  settlers, 
giving  the  rancho  only  when  the  actual  holder  is  in  doubt,  as  represented  by 
proxy  or  tenant,  or  claiming  merely  by  virtue  of  grant.     The  preceding  mat 
ter  has  been  drawn  from  official  documents,  books,  and  manuscripts,  with  uo 
small  supplementing  by  the  mouths  of  living  men 


22       CALIFORNIA  JUST  PRIOR  TO  THE  GOLD  DISCOVERY. 

Such  is  the  detail  of  the  picture  which  I  wish  to 
present  of  central  and  northern  California  in  Jan 
uary  1848.  I  will  complete  it  with  some  generalities 
of  physical  features  and  population,  thus  giving  as  a 
whole  the  inhabitants  and  their  environment. 

It  is  the  dawn  of  history  in  these  parts,  presently 
to  be  followed  by  a  golden  sunlight  flooding  the 
whole  western  world.  All  along  the  centuries  Cali 
fornia  had  lain  slumbering,  wrapt  in  obscurity,  and 
lulled  by  the  monotone  of  ocean.  The  first  fitful 
dreams  of  explorers  in  search  of  an  ever-eluding 
strait,  of  cities  stored  with  treasures,  had  subsided 
into  pastoral  scenes,  with  converts  and  settlers  clus 
tering  round  white-walled  missions  in  the  shadow  of 
the  cross.  Then  came  the  awakening,  impelled  by  a 
ruder  invasion  of  soldiers  and  land-greedy  backwoods 
men,  the  premonitory  ripple  of  international  interest 
and  world-absorbing  excitement. 

Strewn  lavishly  about  is  what  men  most  covet,  those 
portions  of  nature's  handiwork  called  wealth  and 
wealth-making  material,  the  acquisition  of  which  is  the 
great  burden  progressive  men  conventionally  lay  upon 
themselves  as  the  price  of  their  civilization.  These 
resources  reveal  themselves  in  the  long  snow-clad 
uplands  of  the  Sierra,  with  their  timber  and  metals,  in 
the  northern  foothills,  revelling  in  perennial  spring, 
and  in  the  semi-tropic  vegetation  of  the  central  and 
southern  valleys.  The  extremes  of  heat  and  cold,  of 
desert  aridity  and  unhealthy  rankness,  are  rare  and 
of  small  extent,  serving  rather  to  illustrate  as  rem 
nants  the  method  and  means  of  nature  in  producing 
one  of  her  masterpieces.  Such  are  the  unsightly 
marshes  in  different  localities;  the  Colorado  desert 
bordering  the  river  of  that  name,  and  its  link  along 
the  eastern  declivity  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  with 'the 
great  basin  of  the  interior,  which  in  the  south  is 
marked  by  a  dismal  stretch  of  bare  ridges  and  inter 
vening  valleys  of  sand  and  volcanic  scoria,  with  occa 
sional  muddy  salt  pools  and  cracked  surfaces  frosted 


SOME  PHYSICAL  FEATURES.  23 

with  alkali,  and  in  the  south  by  a  rugged  lake  basin. 
Yet  even  here  the  evil  is  superficial,  for  nature  has 
left  compensation  in  many  valuable  minerals;  and 
art  promises  to  continue  her  task  of  reclamation  by 
means  of  palm-lined  canals,  health-bringing  eucalyptus 
groves,  and  rain-inviting  forests. 

It  is  a  terrane  younger  than  the  eastern  seaboard, 
wrought  not  by  the  same  slow  and  prosy  process 
of  ordinary  strata  formation,  but  in  many  a  fit  of  pas 
sion,  with  upheavals  and  burstings  asunder,  with  surg 
ing  floods  and  scorching  blasts.  The  soil  yet  quivers 
and  is  quick  with  electric  force,  and  climatic  moods 
are  fitful  as  ever;  here  a  gentle  summer's  holiday, 
there  a  winter  of  magnificent  disorder;  between,  ex 
hilarating  spring,  with  buds  and  freshness,  and  beyond, 
a  torrid  fringe,  parched  and  enervating.  Side  by 
side  in  close  proximity  are  decided  differences,  with 
a  partial  subordination  of  latitude  and  season  to 
local  causes.  Thus,  on  the  peninsula  of  San  Francisco 
winter  appears  in  vernal  warmth  and  vigor,  and  sum 
mer  as  damp  and  chilly  autumn,  while  under  the  shel 
ter  of  some  ridge,  or  farther  from  the  ocean,  summer 
is  hot  and  arid,  and  winter  cold  and  frosty. 

While  configuration  permits  surprises,  it  also  tem 
pers  them,  and  as  a  rule  the  variations  are  not  sud 
den.  The  sea  breezes  are  fairly  constant  whenever 
their  refreshing  presence  is  most  needed,  leaving 
rarely  a  night  uncooled;  and  the  seasons  are  marked 
enough  within  their  mild  extremes.  At  San  Fran 
cisco  a  snow-fall  is  almost  unknown,  and  a  thunder 
storm  or  a  hot  night  extremely  rare.  Indeed,  the 
sweltering  days  number  scarcely  half  a  dozen  during 
the  year.  The  average  temperature  is  about  56  de 
grees  Fahrenheit,  which  is  the  mean  for  spring..  In 
summer  and  autumn  this  rises  to  60  and  59,  respect 
ively,  falling  in  winter  to  51,  while  at  Sacramento  the 
average  is  58  degrees,  with  56°,  69°,  61°,  and  45°  for 
the  four  seasons  respectively.  At  Humboldt  Bay,  in 
the  north,  the  temperature  varies  from  43  degrees  in 


24       CALIFORNIA  JUST  PRIOR  TO  THE  GOLD  DISCOVERY. 

the  winter  to  57°  in  the  summer,  averaging  51 -^°;  and 
at  San  Diego,  in  the  south,  it  ranges  as  the  extremes 
from  52  to  71  degrees,6*  while  the  average  of  summer 
and  winter  and  night  and  day  does  not  vary  over  ten 
degrees. 

In  summer  an  equilibrium  is  approached;  in  winter 
the  tiresome  reserve  is  broken.  By  early  autumn  a 
wide-spread  deadness  obtains ;  the  hills  wear  a  bleached 
appearance,  the  smaller  streams  are  empty,  the  plain 
is  parched  and  dusty,  the  soil  cracked  in  fissures  from 
excessive  dryness;  green  fields  have  turned  sere  and 
yellow,  and  the  weeds  snap  like  glass  when  trodden 
on.  It  is  the  period  of  nature's  repose.  The  grass  is 
not  dead,  but  sleepeth.  When  the  winter  rains  begin, 
in  November,  after  a  respite  of  six  months,  vegetal 
life  revives;  the  softened  soil  puts  on  fresh  garments; 
the  arid  waste  blossoms  into  a  garden.  The  cooler 
air  of  winter  condenses  the  vapor-laden  winds  of  ocean, 
which,  during  the  preceding  months,  are  sapped  of 
their  moisture  by  the  hot  and  thirsty  air.  And  all 
this  is  effected  with  only  half  the  amount  of  rain  fall 
ing  in  the  Atlantic  states,  the  average  at  San  Fran 
cisco  being  little  over  twenty  inches  annually,  at 
Sacramento  one  tenth  less,  and  at  San  Diego  one 
half;  while  in  the  farther  north  the  fall  is  heavier  and 
more  evenly  distributed. 

In  this  dry,  exhilarating  atmosphere  the  effect  of 
the  sun  is  not  so  depressing  as  in  moister  regions,  and 
with  cool,  refreshing  nights,  the  hottest  days  are  bear 
able.  It  is  one  of  the  most  vitalizing  of  climates  for 
mind  and  body,  ever  stimulating  to  activity  and  en 
joyment.  Land  and  sea  vie  with  each  other  in  life- 
giving  supremacy,  while  man  steps  in  to  enjoy  the 
benefits.  When  the  one  rises  in  undue  warmth,  the 
other  frowns  it  down;  when  one  grows  cold  and  sul 
len,  the  other  beams  in  happy  sunshine.  Winds  and 

64  Severe  extremes  are  confined  to  a  few  torrid  spots  like  Fort  Yuma,  and 
to  the  summits  of  the  eastern  ranges.  Comprehensive  data  on  climate  in 
HitteWs  Comm.  and  Indust.,  62-81. 


THE  AWAKENING  AT  HAND.  25 

currents,  sun  and  configuration,  the  warm  stream 
from  ancient  Cathay,  and  the  dominating  mountains, 
all  aid  in  the  equalization  of  differences. 

Thus  lay  the  valley  of  California  a-dreaming,  with 
visions  of  empire  far  down  the  vistas  of  time,  when 
behold,  the  great  awakening  is  already  at  hand !  Even 
now  noiseless  bells  are  ringing  the  ingathering  of  the 
nations;  for  here  is  presently  to  be  found  that  cold, 
impassive  element  which  civilization  accepts  as  its 
symbol  of  the  Most  Desirable,  and  for  which  accord 
ingly  all  men  perform  pilgrimage  and  crusade,  to  toil 
and  fight  and  die. 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE  DISCOVERY  OF  GOLD. 
JANUARY,  1848. 

SITUATION  OF  SUTTER— His  NEED  OF  LUMBER — SEARCH  FOR  A  MILL  SITE  IN 
THE  MOUNTAINS— CULUMA— JAMES  W.  MARSHALL— THE  BUILDING  OF  A 
SAW-MILL  DETERMINED  UPON — A  PARTY  SETS  FORTH — ITS  PERSONNEL— 
CHARACTER  OF  MARSHALL — THE  FINDING  OF  GOLD — WHAT  MARSHALL 
AND  HIS  MEN  THOUGHT  OF  IT — MARSHALL  RIDES  TO  NEW  HELVETIA  AND 
INFORMS  S UTTER— THE  INTERVIEW — SUTTER  VISITS  THE  MILL — ATTEMPT 
TO  SECURE  THE  INDIAN  TITLE  TO  THE  LAND. 

JOHN  A.  SUTTER  was  the  potentate  of  the  Sacra 
mento,  as  we  have  seen.  He  had  houses  and  lands, 
flocks  and  herds,  mills  and  machinery;  he  counted  his 
skilled  artisans  by  the  score,  and  his  savage  retainers 
by  the  hundred.  He  was,  moreover,  a  man  of  prog 
ress.  Although  he  had  come  from  cultured  Europe, 
and  had  established  himself  in  an  American  wilderness, 
he  had  no  thought  of  drifting  into  savagism. 

Among  his  more  pressing  wants  at  this  moment 
was  a  saw-mill.  A  larger  supply  of  lumber  was  needed 
for  a  multitude  of  purposes.  Fencing  was  wanted. 
The  flour-mills,  then  in  course  of  construction  at 
Brighton,  would  take  a  large  quantity;  the  neighbors 
would  buy  some,  and  boards  might  profitably  be  sent 
to  San  Francisco,  instead  of  bringing  them  from  that 
direction.1  There  were  no  good  forest  trees,  with 

1  Since  1845  Sutter  had  obtained  lumber  from  the  mountains,  got  ont  by 
whip-saws.  BidwelVs  Gal.  1841-8,  MS.,  226.  The  author  of  this  most  valu 
able  manuscript  informs  me  further  that  Sutter  had  for  years  contemplated 
building  a  saw-mill  in  order  to  avoid  the  labor  and  cost  of  sawing  lumber  by 
hand  in  the  redwoods  on  tfie  coast,  and  bringing  it  round  by  the  bay  in  his 
vessel.  With  this  object  he  at  various  times  sent  exploring  parties  into  the 

(26) 


CULUMA,  BEAUTIFUL  VALE.  27 

the  requisite  water-power,  nearer  than  the  foothills  of 
the  mountains  to  the  east.  Just  what  point  along 
this  base  line  would  prove  most  suitable,  search  would 
determine;  and  for  some  time  past  this  search  had 
been  going  on,  until  it  was  interrupted  by  the  war  of 
conquest.  The  war  being  over,  explorations  were 
renewed. 

Twoscore  miles  above  Sutter's  Fort,  a  short  dis 
tance  up  the  south  branch  of  American  River,  the 
rocky  gateway  opens,  and  the  mountains  recede  to  the 
south,  leaving  in  their  wake  softly  rounded  hills  cov 
ered  with  pine,  balsam,  and  oak,  while  on  the  north 
are  somewhat  abrupt  and  rocky  slopes,  patched  with 
grease-wood  and  chemisal,  and  streaked  with  the 
deepening  shades  of  narrow  gulches.  Between  these 
bounds  is  a  valley  four  miles  in  circumference,  with 
red  soil  now  covered  by  a  thin  verdure,  shaded  here 
and  there  by  low  bushes  and  stately  groves.  Culuma, 
'beautiful  vale,'2  the  place  was  called.  At  times  sunk 
in  isolation,  at  times  it  was  stirred  by  the  presence 
of  a  tribe  of  savages  bearing  its  name,  whose  several 
generations  here  cradled,  after  weary  roaming,  sought 
repose  upon  the  banks  of  a  useful,  happy,  and  some 
times  frolicsome  stream.  Within  the  half-year  civil 
ization  had  penetrated  these  precincts,  to  break  the 
periodic  solitude  with  the  sound  of  axe  and  rifle; 
for  here  the  saw-mill  men  had  come,  marking  their 
course  by  a  tree-blazed  route,  presently  to  show  the 
way  to  the  place  where  was  now  to  be  played  the  first 
scene  of  a  drama  which  had  for  its  audience  the  world. 

Among  the  retainers  of  the  Swiss  hacendado  at 
this  time  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  James  Wilson 
Marshall,  a  man  of  thirty-three  years,  who  after  drift 
ing  in  the  western  states  as  carpenter  and  farmer,3 

mountains.  Bidwell  himself,  in  company  with  Semple,  was  on  one  of  these 
unsuccessful  expeditions  in  1846.  Mrs  Wimmer  states  that  in  June  1847  she 
made  ready  her  household  effects  to  go  to  Battle  Creek,  where  a  saw-mill  was 
to  be  erected,  but  the  men  changed  their  plans  and  went  to  Coloma. 

2  We  of  to-day  write  Colorna.  and  apply  the  name  to  the  town  risen  there. 

3 Born  in  1812  iu'Hope  township,  Hunterdon  county,  New  Jersey,  where 


28  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  GOLD. 

came  hither  by  way  of  Oregon  to  California.  In  July 
1845  he  entered  the  service  of  Sutter,  and  was  duly 
valued  as  a  good  mechanic.  By  and  by  he  secured  a 
grant  of  land  on  Butte  Creek,4  on  which  he  placed 
some  live-stock,  and  went  to  work.  During  his  ab 
sence  in  the  war  southward,  this  was  lost  or  stolen; 
and  somewhat  discouraged,  he  turned  again  to  Sutter, 
and  readily  entered  into  his  views  for  building  a  saw 
mill.5 

The  old  difficulty  of  finding  a  site  still  remained, 
and  several  exploring  excursions  were  now  made  by 
Marshall,  sometimes  accompanied  by  Sutter,  and  by 
others  in  Sutter's  service.6  On  the  16th  of  May,  1847, 
Marshall  set  out  on  one  of  these  journeys,  accompanied 
by  an  Indian  guide  and  two  white  men,  Treador  and 
Graves.7  On  the  20th  they  were  joined  by  one  Gin 
gery,  who  had  been  exploring  with  the  same  object 
on  the  Cosumnes.  They  travelled  up  the  stream 
now  called  Weber  Creek  to  its  head,  pushed  on  to 
the  American  River,  discovered  Culuma,  arid  settled 
upon  this  place  as  the  best  they  had  found,  uniting 
as  it  did  the  requisite  water-power  and  timber,  with  a 


his  father  had  initiated  him  into  his  trade  as  wagon-builder.  Shortly  after 
his  twenty-first  birthday  the  prevailing  west  ward  current  of  migration  carried 
him  through  Indiana  and  Illinois  to  Missouri.  Here  he  took  up  a  homestead 
land  claim,  and  bid  fair  to  prosper,  when  fever  and  ague  brought  him  low, 
whereupon,  in  1844,  he  sought  the  Pacific  Coast.  Parxonx'  Life  of  Marshall, 
6-8.  He  started  in  May  1844,  and  crossed  by  way  of  Fort  Hall  to  Ore'gon, 
where  he  wintered.  He  then  joined  the  McMahon-Clyman  party  for  Califor 
nia.  See  Hist.  Cal.,  iv.  731,  this  series. 

4  Bought,  says  Parsons,  from  S.  J.  Hensley. 

0  Marshall  claims  to  have  first  proposed  the  scheme  to  Sutter.  Hutchinys' 
Mag.,  ii.  199.  This  is  doubtful,  as  shown  elsewhere,  and  is  in  any  event 
immaterial. 

6  Marshall  says  that  while  stocking  the  ploughs,  three  men,  Gingery,  Wim- 
mer,  and  McLellan,  who  had  heard  of  his  contemplated  trip,  undertook  one 
themselves,  after  obtaining  what  information  and  directions  they  could  from 
Marshall.     Wimmer  found  timber  and  a  trail  on  what  is  now  known  as  the 
Diamond  Springs  road,  and  the  13th  of  May  he  and  Gingery  began  work  some 
thirteen  miles  west  of  the  place  where  the  Shingle  Springs  house  subsequently 
stood.     Gingery  was  afterward  with  Marshall  when  the  latter  discovered  the 
site  of  the  Coloma  mill. 

7  Marshall  implies  that  this  was  his  first  trip.     Sutter  states  definitely, 
'He  went  out  several  times  to  look  for  a  site.     I  was  with  him  twice  on  these 
occasions.     I  was  not  with*  him  when  he  determined  the  site  of  the  mill. ' 
Butter's  Pers.  Jtem.,  MS.,  160-1. 


BUILDING  THE  MILL.  29 

possible  roadway  to  the  fort.8  Sutter  resolved  to 
lose  no  time  in  erecting  the  mill,  and  invited  Marshall 

O  ' 

to  join  him  as  partner.9  The  agreement  was  signed 
in  the  latter  part  of  August,10  and  shortly  afterward 
Marshall  set  out  with  his  party,  carrying  tools  and 
supplies  on  Mexican  ox-carts,  and  driving  a  flock  of 
sheep  for  food.  A  week  was  occupied  by  the  journey.11 
Shelter  being  the  first  thing  required  on  arrival,  a 
double  log  house  was  erected,  with  a  passage-way 
between  the  two  parts,  distant  a  quarter  of  a  mile  or 
more  from  the  mill  site.12  Subsequently  two  other 
cabins  were  constructed  nearer  the  site.  By  New- 
Year's  day  the  mill  frame  had  risen,  and  a  fortnight 

8 Marshall  estimated  that  even  then  the  lumber  would  have  to  be  hauled 
18  miles,  and  could  be  rafted  the  rest  of  the  way.  A  mission  Indian,  the 
alcalde  of  the  Cosumnes,  is  said  to  have  been  sent  to  solve  some  doubts  con 
cerning  the  site.  Marshall  must  indeed  have  been  well  disciplined.  Not 
many  men  of  his  temperament  would  have  permitted  an  Indian  to  verify  his 
doubted  word. 

9A  contract  was  drawn  up  by  John  Bidwell,  clerk,  in  which  Sutter  agreed 
to  furnish  the  men  and  means,  while  Marshall  was  to  superintend  the  con 
struction,  and  conduct  work  at  the  mill  after  its  completion.  It  is  difficult 
to  determine  what  the  exact  terms  of  this  contract  were.  Sutter  merely  re 
marks  that  he  gave  Marshall  an  interest  in  the  mill.  Pers.  Item.,  MS.,  160. 
Bidwell  says  nothing  more  than  that  he  drew  up  the  agreement.  Cal.  1841-8, 
MS.,  228.  Marshall,  in  his  communication  to  llutchinys'  Mcujazi/ie,  con 
tents  himself  with  saying  that  after  returning  from  his  second  trip,  the  'co 
partnership  was  completed.'  Parsons,  in  his  Life  of  Marshall,  79-80,  is  more 
explicit.  'The  terms  of  this  agreement,'  he  writes,  'were  to  the  effect  that 
Sutter  should  furnish  the  capital  to  build  a  mill  on  a  site  selected  by  Marshall, 
who  was  to  be  the  active  partner,  and  to  run  the  mill,  receiving  certain  com 
pensation  for  so  doing.  A  verbal  agreement  was  also  entered  into  between 
the  "parties,  to  the  effect  that  if  at  the  close  of  the  Mexican  war  then  pending 
California  should  belong  to  Mexico,  Sutter  as  a  citizen  of  that  republic  should 
possess  the  mill  site,  Marshall  retaining  his  rights  to  mill  privileges,  and  to 
cut  timber,  etc.;  while  if  the  country  was  ceded  to  the  United  States,  Mar 
shall  as  an  American  citizen  should  own  the  property.'  In  the  same  work,  p. 
177,  is  an  affidavit  of  John  Winters,  which  certifies  that  he,  Winters,  and 
Alden  S.  Bagley  purchased,  in  Dec.  1848,  John  A.  Sutter's  interest  in  the 
Coloma  mill— which  interest  was  one  half — for  $6,000,  and  also  a  third  of  the 
interest  of  Marshall  for  $2,000,  which  implies  that  Marshall  then  owned  the 
other  half.  Mrs  Wimmer,  in  her  narrative,  says  that  Sutter  and  Marshall 
were  equal  partners.  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Dec.  19,  1874. 

10  Marshall  says  Aug.  27th;  Parsons,  Aug.  19th;  Bidwell,  in  a  letter  to  the 
author,  Aug.  or  Sept. 

11  Mrs  Wimmer  makes  the  time  a  fortnight. 

12  One  part  of  the  house  was  occupied  by  the  men,  and  the  other  part  by 
the  Wimmers,  Mrs  Wimmer  cooking  for  the  company.     About  the  close  of 
the  year,  however,  a  dispute  arose,  whereupon  the  men  built  for  themselves  a 
cabin  near  the  half-completed  mill,  and  conducted  their  own  culinary  depart 
ment.     Their  food  was  chiefly  salt   salmon  and'  boiled  wheat.     Wimmer's 
young  sons  assisted  with  the  teaming. 


30 


THE  DISCOVERY  OF  GOLD. 


later  the  brush  dam  was  finished,  although  not  till 
the  fortitude  of  Marshall  and  his  men  had  been  tried 
by  a  flood  which  threatened  to  sweep  away  the  whole 
structure. 

Another  trouble  arose  with  the  tail-race.  In  order 
to  economize  labor,  a  dry  channel  had  been  selected, 
forty  or  fifty  rods  long,  which  had  to  be  deepened  and 
widened.  This  involved  some  blasting  at  the  upper 
end;  but  elsewhere  it  was  found  necessary  merely  to 
loosen  the  earth  in  the  bed,  throwing  out  the  larger 


iMiiiia  NI 


SCENE  OF  DISCOVERY. 

stones,  and  let  the  water  during  the  night  pass  through 
the  sluice-gate  to  wash  away  the  debris. 

It  was  a  busy  scene  presented  at  this  advance  post 
of  civilization,  at  the  foot  of  the  towering  Sierra,  and 
it  was  fitly  participated  in  by  eight  aboriginal  lords  of 
the  soil,  partly  trained  at  New  Helvetia.  The  half- 
score  of  white  men  were  mostly  Mormons  of  the  dis 
banded  battalion,  even  now  about  to  turn  their  faces 
toward  the  new  Zion.  A  family  was  represented  in 
the  wife  and  children  of  Peter  L.  Wimmer,13  the  as- 

13  Original  form  of  name  appears  to  have  been  Weimer,  corrupted  by  Eng- 


THE  MILL  MEN.  31 

slstant  of  Marshall,  and  occupied  in  superintending  the 
Indians  digging  in  the  race.  Henry  W.  Bigler  was 
drilling  at  its  head;  Charles  Bennett  and  William 
Scott  were  working  at  the  bench ;  Alexander  Stephens 
and  James  Barger  were  hewing  timber;  Azariah 
Smith  and  William  Johnson  were  felling  trees;  and 
James  O.  Brown  was  whip-sawing  with  a  savage.1* 

They  were  a  cheerful  set,  working  with  a  will,  yet 
with  a  touch  of  insouciance,  imparted  to  some  extent 
by  the  picturesque  Mexican  sombrero  and  sashes,  and 
sustained  by  an  interchange  of  banter  at  the  sim 
plicity  or  awkwardness  of  the  savages.  In  Marshall 
they  had  a  passable  master,  though  sometimes  called 
queer.  He  was  a  man  fitted  by  physique  and  tem 
perament  for  the  backwoods  life,  which  had  lured  and 
held  him.  Of  medium  size,  strong  rather  than  well 
developed,  his  features  were  coarse,  with  a  thin  beard 
round  the  chin  and  mouth,  cut  short  like  the  brown 
hair;  broad  forehead  and  penetrating  eyes,  by  no 
means  unintelligent,  yet  lacking  intellectuality,  at 
times  gloomily  bent  on  vacancy,  at  times  flashing  with 
impatience.15  He  was  essentially  a  man  of  moods; 
his  mind  was  of  dual  complexion.  In  the  plain  and 

lish  pronunciation  to  Wimmer.  Bigler,  Diary,  MS.,  60,  has  Werner,  which 
approaches  the  Weitner  form. 

uAmong  those  who  had  set  out  with  Marshall  upon  the  first  expedition  of 
construction  were  Ira  Willis,  Sidney  Willis,  William  Kountze,  and  Ezekiel 
Persons.  The  Willis  brothers  and  Kountze  returned  to  the  fort  in  Septem 
ber  1847,  the  two  former  to  assist  Sutter  in  throwing  a  dam  across  the  Amer 
ican  River  at  the  grist-mill,  and  the  latter  on  account  of  ill  health.  Mention 
is  made  of  one  Evans,  sent  by  Sutter  with  Bigler,  Smith,  and  Johnson,  Ben 
nett  and  Scott  following  a  little  later;  but  whether  Evans  or  Persons  were  on 
the  ground  at  this  time,  or  had  left,  no  one  states.  Bigler,  Stephens,  Brown, 
Barger,  Johnson,  Smith,  the  brothers  Willis,  and  Kountze  had  formerly  be 
longed  to  the  Mormon  battalion. 

15  Broad  enough  across  the  chest,  free  and  natural  in  movement,  he  thought 
lightly  of  fatigue  and  hardships.  His  complexion  was  a  little  shaded;  the 
mouth  declined  toward  the  corners;  the  nose  and  head  were  well  shaped.  In 
this  estimate  I  am  assisted  by  an  old  daguerreotype  lying  before  me,  and 
which  reminds  me  of  Marshall  s  answer  to  the  editor  of  Hatchings'  Magazine 
in  1857,  when  asked  for  his  likeness.  'I  wish  to  say  that  I  feel  it  a  duty  I 
owe  to  myself,'  he  writes  from  Coloma  the  5th  of  Sept.,  'to  retain  my  like 
ness,  as  it  is  in  fact  all  I  have  that  I  can  call  my  own ;  and  I  feel  like  any  other 
poor  wretch,  I  want  something  for  self.  The  sale  of  it  may  yet  keep  me 
from  starving,  or  it  may  buy  me  a  dose  of  medicine  in  sickness,  or  pay  for 
the  funeral  of  a  dog,  and  such  is  all  that  I  expect,  judging  from  former  kind 
nesses.  I  owe  the  country  nothing.' 


32  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  GOLD. 

proximate,  he  was  sensible  and  skilful;  in  the  obscure 
and  remote,  he  was  utterly  lost.  In  temper  it  was 
so;  with  his  companions  and  subordinates  he  was 
free  and  friendly;  with  his  superiors  and  the  world 
at  large  he  was  morbidly  ill-tempered  and  surly.16 
He  was  taciturn,  with  visionary  ideas,  linked  to 
spiritualism,  that  repelled  confidence,  and  made  him 
appear  eccentric  and  morbid;  he  was  restless,  yet 
capable  of  self-denying  perseverance  that  was  fre 
quently  stamped  as  obstinacy.17 

Early  in  the  afternoon   of  Monday,  the  24th18  of 

16 For  example,  Bigler,  who  worked  under  him,  says  of  him,  Diary,  MS., 
57,  'An  entire  stranger  to  us,  but  proved  to  be  a  gentleman;'  and  again,  72, 
'in  a  first-rate  good  humor,  as  he  most  always  was.'  He  was  a  truthful  man, 
so  far  as  he  knew  the  truth.  '  Whatever  Mr  Marshall  tells  you,  you  may  rely 
on  as  correct,'  said  the  people  of  Coloma  to  one  writing  in  Hutchings*  Mag., 
ii.  201.  This  is  the  impression  he  made  on  his  men.  On  the  other  hand,  Sut- 
ter,  who  surely  knew  him  well  enough,  and  would  be  the  last  person  to 
malign  any  one,  says  to  the  editor  of  the  Lancaster  Examiner:  '  Marshall  was 
like  a  crazy  man.  He  -\vas  one  of  those  visionary  men  who  was  always  dream 
ing  about  something.'  And  to  me  Sutter  remarked;  'He  was  a  very  curious 
man,  quarrelled  with  nearly  everybody,  though  I  could  get  along  with  him.' 
Pers.  Hem.,  MS.,  1GO. 

17  Passionate,  he  was  seldom  violent;  strong,  he  was  capable  of  drinking 
deeply  and  coming  well  out  of  it;  but  he  did  not  care  much  for  the  pleasures  of 
intoxication,  nor  was  he  the  drunkard  and  gambler  that  some  have  called  him. 
He  was  not  always  actuated  by  natural  causes.  Once  in  a  restaurant  in  San 
Francisco,  in  company  with  Sutter,  he  broke  out:  'Are  we  alone?'  'Yes,' 
Sutter  said.  '  No,  we  are  not, '  Marshall  replied,  '  there  is  a  body  there  which 
you  cannot  see,  but  which  I  can.  I  have  been  inspired  by  heaven  to  act  as  a 
medium,  and  I  am  to  tell  Major-General  Sutter  what  to  do.'  But  though 
foolish  in  some  directions,  he  was  in  others  a  shrewd  observer.  Sutter,  Pcrs. 
Rem.,  MS.,  1GO,  and  Bid  well,  Gal.  1841-8,  MS.,  228,  both  praise  him  as  a 
mechanic;  and  though  in  some  respects  a  fool,  he  is  still  called  'an  honest 
man.'  Barstow's  Stat.,  MS.,  14;  S.  F.  Alta  Gal.,  Aug.  17,  1874.  To  dress, 
naturally,  he  paid  but  little  attention.  He  was  frequently  seen  in  white 
linen  trousers,  buckskin  leggings  and  moccasons,  and  Mexican  sombrero. 

18 The  19th  of  January  is  the  date  usually  given;  but  I  am  satisfied  it  is 
incorrect.  There  are  but  two  authorities  to  choose  between,  Marshall,  the 
discoverer,  and  one  Henry  W.  Bigler,  a  Mormon  engaged  upon  the  work  at 
the  time.  Besides  confusion  of  mind  in  other  respects,  Marshall  admits  that 
he  does  not  know  the  date.  'On  or  about  the  19th  of  January,'  he  says, 
Hutching*1  Magazine,  ii.  200;  'I  am  not  quite  certain  to  a  day,  but  it  was 
between  the  18th  or  20th. '  Whereupon  the  19th  has  been  generally  accepted. 
Bigler,  on  the  other  hand,  was  a  cool,  clear-headed,  methodical  man;  more 
over,  he  kept  a  journal,  in  which  he  entered  occurrences  on  the  spot,  and  it 
is  from  this  journal  I  get  my  date.  If  further  evidence  be  wanting,  we  have 
it.  Marshall  states  that  four  days  after  the  discovery  he  proceeded  to  New 
Helvetia  with  specimens.  Now,  by  reference  to  another  journal,  N~  Helvetia 
Diary,  we  find  that  Marshall  arrived  at  the  fort  on  the  evening  of  the  28th. 
If  we  reckon  the  day  of  discovery  as  one  of  the  four  days,  allow  Marshall  one 


IN  THE  TAIL-RACE.  33 

January,  1848,  while  sauntering  along  the  tail-race 
inspecting  the  work,  Marshall  noticed  yellow  particles 
mingled  with  the  excavated  earth  which  had  been 
washed  by  the  late  rains.  He  gave  it  little  heed  at 
first;  but  preseatly  seeing  more,  and  some  in  scales, 
the  thought  occurred  to  him  that  possibly  it  might  be 
gold.  Sending  an  Indian  to  his  cabin  for  a  tin  plate, 
he  washed  out  some  of  the  dirt,  separating  thereby  as 
much  of  the  dust  as  a  ten-cent  piece  would  hold;  then 
he  went  about  his  business,  stopping  a  while  to  ponder 
on  the  matter.  During  the  evening  he  remarked 
once  or  twice  quietly,  somewhat  doubtingly,  "Boys,  I 
believe  I  have  found  a  gold  mine."  "I  reckon  not," 
was  the  response;  "no  such  luck." 

Up  betimes  next  morning,  according  to  his  custom, 
he  walked  down  by  the  race  to  see  the  effect  of  the 
night's  sluicing,  the  head-gate  being  closed  at  day 
break  as  usual.  Other  motives  prompted  his  investi 
gation,  as  may  be  supposed,  and  led  to  a  closer  exam 
ination  of  the  debris.  On  reaching  the  end  of  the 
race  a  glitter  from  beneath  the  water  caught  his  eye, 
and  bending  down  he  picked  from  its  lodgement 
against  a  projection  of  soft  granite,  some  six  inches 
below  the  surface,  a  larger  piece  of  the  yellow  sub 
stance  than  any  he  had  seen.  If  gold,  it  was  in  value 
equal  to  about  half  a  dollar.  As  he  examined  it  his 
heart  began  to  throb.  Could  it  indeed  be  gold!  Or 
was  it  only  mica,  or  sulphuret  of  copper,  or  other 
ignis  fatuus!  Marshall  was  no  metallurgist,  yet  he 
had  practical  sense  enough  to  know  that  gold  is  heavy 
and  malleable;  so  he  turned  it  over,  and  weighed  it  in 
his  hand;  then  he  bit  it;  and  then  he  hammered  it 
between  two  stones.  It  must  be  gold!  And  the 
mighty  secret  of  the  Sierra  stood  revealed  I 

Marshall  took  the  matter  coolly;  he  was  a  cool 
enough  man  except  where  his  pet  lunacy  was  touched. 
On  further  examination  he  found  more  of  the  metal. 

night  on  the  way,  which  Parsons  gives  him,  and  count  the  28th  one  day,  we 
have  the  24th  as  the  date  of  discovery,  trebly  proved. 
HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.    3 


34  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  GOLD. 

He  went  to  his  companions  and  showed  it  to  them,  and 
they  collected  some  three  ounces  of  it,  flaky  and  in 
grains,  the  largest  piece  not  quite  so  large  as  a  pea, 
and  from  that  down  to  less  than  a  pin-head  in  size. 
Half  of  this  he  put  in  his  pouch,  and  two  days  later 
mounted  his  horse  and  rode  over  to  the  fort.19 

19  The  events  which  happened  at  Coloma  in  January  1848  are  described 
by  four  persons  who  were  actually  present.  These  are  Bigler,  Marshall,  and 
Wimmer  and  his  wife.  Of  these  Bigler  has  hitherto  given  nothing  to  the 
public  except  a  brief  letter  published  in  the  San  Francisco  Bulletin,  Dec.  31, 
1870.  To  me,  however,  he  kindly  presented  an  abstract  of  the  diary  which 
he  kept  at  the  time,  with  elaborations  and  comments,  and  which  I  esteem  as 
one  of  the  most  valuable  original  manuscripts  in  my  possession.  The  version 
given  in  this  diary  I  have  mainly  followed  in  the  text,  as  the  most  complete 
and  accurate  account.  The  others  wrote  from  memory,  long  after  the  event; 
and  it  is  to  be  feared  too  often  from  a  memory  distorted  by  a  desire  to  exalt 
their  respective  claims  to  an  important  share  in  the  discovery.  But  Bigler 
has  no  claims  of  this  kind  to  support.  He  was  not  present  when  the  first  parti 
cles  were  discovered,  nor  when  the  first  piece  was  picked  up  in  the  race; 
hence  of  these  incidents  he  says  little,  confining  himself  mostly  to  what  he  saw 
with  his  own  eyes.  Marshall  claims  to  have  been  alone  when  he  made  the 
discovery.  It  is  on  this  point  that  the  original  authorities  disagree.  Bigler 
says  Marshall  went  down  the  race  alone.  Mrs  Wimmer  and  her  husband  de 
clare  that  the  latter  was  with  Marshall,  and  saw  the  gold  at  the  same  moment, 
though  both  allow  that  Marshall  was  the  first  to  stoop  and  pick  it  up.  Later 
Mrs  Wimmer  is  allowed  to  claim  the  first  discovery  for  her  children,  who  show 
their  findings  to  their  father,  he  informing  Marshall,  or  at  least  enlightening 
him  as  to  the  nature  of  the  metal.  Marshall  tells  his  own  story  in  a  com 
munication  signed  by  him  and  published  in  Hutching  S*  May.,  ii.  199-201,  and 
less  fully  in  a  letter  to  C.  E.  Pickett,  dated  Jan.  28,  1856,  in  HitteWs  Hand- 
Book  of  Mining,  12;  Wiggins'  Rem.,  MS.,  17-18;  and  in  various  brief  accounts 
given  to  newspapers  and  interviewers.  Parsons'  Life  of  Marshall  is  based  on 
information  obtained  directly  from  the  discoverer,  and  must  ever  constitute  a 
leading  authority  on  the  subject.  P.  L.  Wimmer  furnished  a  brief  account  of 
the  discovery  to  the  Coloma  Argus  in  1855,  which  is  reprinted  in  HitteU's 
Mining,  13.  Mrs  Wimmer's  version,  the  result  of  an  interview  with  Mary  P. 
Winslow,  was  first  printed  in  the  8.  F.  Bulletin,  Dec.  19,  1874,  though  the 
substance  of  a  previous  interview  with  another  person  in  1852  is  given  in  the 
Gilroy  Advocate,  April  24,  1875.  Another  class  of  authorities,  as  important 
as  the  foregoing,  is  composed  of  those  who  were  the  first  to  hear  of  the  dis 
covery,  and  appeared  on  the  ground  immediately  afterward.  Foremost  among 
these  is  Sutter.  This  veteran  has  at  various  times  given  accounts  of  the  event 
to  a  number  of  persons,  the  best  perhaps  being  those  printed  by  J.  Tyrwhitt 
Brooks  in  his  Four  Months  among  the  Gold-finders,  40--71,  in  the  Gilroy  Advo 
cate  ot  Apr.  24,  1875,  and  in  the  Santa  Cruz  Sentinel,  July  17,  1875,  the  latter 
taken  from  the  Lancaster  Examiner.  Sutter's  most  complete  printed  narra 
tive  appears,  however,  in  Hutch-ings'  Mag. ,  ii.  194-8.  But  more  important 
than  any  of  these,  because  more  detailed  and  prepared  with  greater  care,  is 
the  version  contained  in  the  manuscript  entitled  Sutter's  Personal  Reminis 
cences,  which  I  personally  obtained  from  his  lips.  The  same  may  be  said  of 
those  given  in  the  manuscripts  of  John  Bidwell,  California  1841-8,  and  of 
Gregson,  Historical  Statement,  both  of  whom  were  at  New  Helvetia  when  the 
news  first  reached  there,  and  at  once  visited  Coloma.  Provoked  by  an  article 
in  the  Oregon  Bulletin,  with  not  very  flattering  reflections,  Samuel  Brannan 
made  a  statement  in  the  Calistoga  Tribune,  which  changed  matters  in  no  im 
portant  particular.  To  attempt  to  give  a  list  of  all  who  have  touched  upon 


ANCIENT  GOLD-FIELDS.  35 

Great  discoveries  stand  more  or  less  connected  with 
accident;  that  is  to  say,  accidents  which  are  sure  to 
happen.  Newton  was  not  seeking  the  law  of  gravi 
tation,  nor  Columbus  a  new  continent,  nor  Marshall 
gold,  when  these  things  were  thrust  upon  them.  And 
had  it  not  been  one  of  these,  it  would  have  been 
some  one  else  to  make  the  discovery.  Gold  fevers 
have  had  their  periodic  run  since  time  immemorial, 
when  Scythians  mined  the  Ural,  and  the  desert  of 
Gobi  lured  the  dwellers  on  the  Indus;  or  when  Ophir, 
the  goal  of  Phoenician  traders,  paled  before  the  splen 
dor  of  Apulia.  The  opening  of  America  caused  a  re 
vival  which  the  disclosures  by  Cortes  and  Pizarro 
turned  into  a  virulent  epidemic,  raging  for  centuries, 

the  discovery  of  gold  in  California  would  be  of  no  practical  benefit  to  any  one. 
Next  in  importance,  but  throwing  no  additional  light  upon  the  subject,  are 
those  in  Alta  CaL,  June  26,  1853,  May  5,  1872,  June  26,  1873,  and  Aug.  18 
and  19,  1874;  Hays'  Col.  Mining  Cal.,\.  1;  8.  F.  Bulletin,  Feb.  4,  1871,  Jan. 
12,  1872,  Oct.  21,  1879,  May  12,  1880;  Scientific  Press,  May  11, 1872;  Browned 
Resources,  14-15;  Batch's  Mines  and  Miners,  78;  Farnham's  Cat.,  354-6; 
London  Quarterly  Review,  xci.  507-8;  California  Past  and  Present,  73-105; 
Weik,  Cat.  wie  as  ist,  29-51;  Brooks'  Hist.,  534;  Mason's  Official  Rept;  Lar- 
kiit's  Letters,  to  Secy  State;  Robinson's  Gold  Region,  33-46;  Foster's  Gold 
Regions,  17-22;  Shinn's  Mining  Camps,  105-22;  Wiggins'  Rem.,  MS.,  17-18; 
Frost's  Hist.  CaL,  39-55;  Jenkins'  U.  S.  Expl.  Ex.',  43 1-2;  Oakland  Times, 
Mar.  6,  1880;  Revere's  Tour  of  Duty,  228-52;  Schlagintweit,  CaL,  216;  Wf*t 
Shore  Gaz.,  15;  SanJos6Pion.eer,Jan.  19,  1878;  Pfeiffer,  Second  Journey,  290, 
who  is  as  accurate  as  excursionists  generally  are;  Frignet,  Hist.  CaL,  79-80; 
Merced  People,  June  18,  1872;  Mining  Rev.  and  Slock  Ledger,  1878,  126; 
Barxtow's  Stat.,  MS.,  3;  Buffam's  Six  Months,  67-8;  Treasury  of  Travel,  92-4; 
Leivitt's  Scrap-Book;  Nevada  Gazette,  Jan.  22,  1868;  Holinski,  La  CaL,  144; 
Grass  Valley  Union,  April  19,  1870;  Sacramento  Illust.,  7;  Saxon's  Five  Years 
within  the  Golden  Gate;  Auger,  Voyage  en  Calif ornie,  149-56;  Annals  of  S.  F., 
130-2;  CaL  Assoc.  Pioneer,  First  Annual,  42;  Capron's  California,  184-5; 
Bennett's  Rec.,  MS.,  ii.  10-13.  I  have  hardly  thought  it  worth  while  to 
notice  the  stories  circulated  at  various  times  questioning  Marshall's  claim 
as  discoverer;  as,  for  example,  that  Wimmer,  or  his  boy,  as  before  mentioned, 
was  the  first  to  pick  up  gold;  or  that  a  native,  called  Indian  Jim,  observed 
the  shining  metal,  a  piece  as  large  as  a  brass  button,  which  he  gave  to  one  of 
the  workmen,  Sailor  Ike,  who  showed  it  to  Marshall.  Even  men  away  from 
the  spot  at  the  time  do  not  decline  the  honor.  Gregson  writes  in  his  State 
ment,  MS.,  9,  'we,  the  discoverers  of  gold,'  and  in  his  History  of  Stockton, 
73,  Tinkham  says:  'To  those  two  pioneers  of  1839  and  1841,  Captain  John 
A.  Sutter  and  Captain  Charles  M.  Weber,  belong  the  honor  of  discovering 
the  first  gold-fields  of  California,  and  to  them  the  state  owes  its  wonderful 
growth  and  prosperity.'  These  men  were  neither  of  them  the  discoverers  of 
gold  in  any  sense,  nor  were  they  the  builders  of  this  commonwealth.  Some 
have  claimed  that  the  Mormons  discovered  the  gold  at  Mormon  Island, 
before  Marshall  found  it  at  Coloma.  Bidwell  says  that  Brigham  Young  in 
1864  assured  him  that  this  was  the  case.  CaL  1841-8,  MS.,  214.  Such  man 
ifest  errors  and  misstatements  are  unworthy  of  serious  consideration.  There 
is  jiot  the  slightest  doubt  that  Marshall  was  the  discoverer. 


36  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  GOLD. 

ever  stimulated  by  advancing  exploration  and  piratical 
adventure.  Every  step  northward  in  Mexico  con 
firmed  the  belief  in  still  richer  lands  beyond,  and  gave 
food  for  flaming  tales  like  those  told  by  Friar  Marcos 
de  Niza. 

Opinions  were  freely  expressed  upon  the  subject, 
some  of  them  taking  the  form  of  direct  assertions. 
These  merit  no  attention.  Had  ever  gold  been  found 
in  Marin  county,  we  might  accredit  the  statement  of 
Francis  Drake,  or  his  chaplain,  Fletcher,  that  they 
saw  it  there  in  1579.  As  it  is,  we  know  they  did  not 
see  it.  Many  early  writers  mention  gold  in  California, 
referring  to  Lower  California,  yet  leading  some  to 
confound  the  two  Californias,  and  to  suppose  that  the 
existence  of  the  rnetal  in  the  Sierra  foothills  was 
then  known.  Instance  Miguel  Venegas,  Shelvocke, 
and  others  of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centu 
ries,  and  early  encyclopaedia  makers.  It  has  always 
been  a  favorite  trick  of  navigators  to  speak  of  things 
they  either  greatly  feared  or  greatly  desired  as  exist 
ing.  Vizcaino,  Knight,  and  fifty  others  were  certain 
that  the  mountains  of  California  contained  gold.  The 
developments  along  the  Colorado  River  led  to  the 
same  conviction;  indeed,  it  was  widely  assumed  that 
the  Jesuits  knew  of  rich  mines  within  and  beyond 
their  precincts.  Count  Scala  claims  for  the  Russians 
of  Bodega  knowledge  of  gold  on  Yuba  River  as  early 
as  1815,  but  he  fails  to  support  the  assertion.  Dana 
and  other  professional  men  of  his  class  are  to  be  cen 
sured  for  what  they  did  not  see,  rather  than  praised 
for  the  wonderful  significance  of  certain  remarks. 
The  mine  at  San  Fernando,  near  Los  Angeles,  where 
wrorkwas  begun  in  1842,  is  about  the  only  satisfactory 
instance  on  record  of  a  knowledge  of  the  existence  of 
gold  in  Alta  California  prior  to  the  discovery  of  Mar 
shall.  And  this  was  indeed  a  clew  which  could  not 
have  failed  to  be  taken  up  in  due  time  by  some  one 
among  the  host  of  observant  fortune-hunters  now 
pouring  in,  and  forced  by  circumstances  into  the  for- 


UNSUPPORTED  PRETENSIONS.  37 

ests  and  foothills  in  quest  of  slumbering  resources. 
The  Sierra  could  not  have  long  retained  her  secret.20 
The  discovery  by  Marshall  was  the  first  that  can 
be  called  a  California  gold  discovery,  aside  from  the 
petty  placers  found  in  the  southern  part  of  the  state. 
It  is  not  impossible  that  white  men  may  have  seen 
gold  in  the  Sierra  foothills  before  him.  This  region 
had  been  traversed  by  trappers,  by  emigrants,  and 
even  by  men  of  science;  but  if  they  saw  gold,  either 
they  did  not  know  it  or  they  did  not  reveal  it.  No 
sooner  was  the  discovery  announced  than  others 
claimed  to  have  been  previously  cognizant  of  the  fact; 
but  such  statements  are  not  admissible.  Most  of 
them  are  evident  fabrications;  as  for  the  rest,  not  one 
has  been  proved.  They  were  made  in  the  first  in 
stance,  as  a  rule,  to  deprive  Marshall  of  the  fame  of 
his  discovery,  and  they  failed 

20  Conspicuous  among  those  not  before  mentioned  are  the  opinions  general 
of  Arthur  Dobbs,  Samuel  Hearne,  Jonathan  Carver,  Duflot  de  Mofras,  Catala, 
Pickett,  Bid  well,  Larkin,  Bandini,  Osio;  the  statements  of  Antonio  de  Alcedo, 
Alvarado,  Vallejo,  Jedediah  Smith,  Blake,  Hastings,  and  others.  Herewith 
I  give  a  list  of  authorities  on  the  subject.  0*io,  Historia  de  California,  MS., 
506;  CaL  Dept.  St  Pap.,  viii.  6,  16,  etc.;  Larkin's  Of.  Cor.,  MS.,  i.  96;  Ban- 
dint,  Hist.  CaL,  MS.,  17-18;  Bidwell's  CaL  1841-8,  MS.,  214;  Vallejo,  Doc., 
MS.,  i.  140-1;  Dep.  Rec.,  MS.,  ix.  136;  Vallejo,  Notas  Hi*t6ricas,  MS.,  35; 
Cly man's  Diary,  MS.;  Davis''  Glimpses,  MS.,  149-50;  San  Diego,  Arch.  Index, 
MS.,  92;  Castanares,  Col.  Doc.  CaL,  MS.,  23;  Alvarado,  Hist.  CaL,  MS., 
i.  77,  and  iv.  161;  Galindo,  Apuntes,  MS.,  68-9;  Suiter's  Pers.  Obs.,  MS.,  171; 
Hall's  Sonora,  MS.,  252;  Castroville  Argus,  Sept.  7,  1872;  Robinson's  Life  in 
Cat.,  190;  Browne's  Min.  Res.,  13-16;  Monterey  Herald,  Oct.  15,  1875;  Bry 
ant's  CaL,  451;  Mex.,  Mem.  ReL,  1835,  no.  6;  Mofras,  Or.  et  CaL,  i.  137;  S. 
F.  Alta  CaL,  Mar.  28,  1857,  and  Jan.  28  and  May  18,  1878;  S.  F.  Herald, 
June  1,  1855;  Hesperian  Mag.,  vii.  560;  Drake's  Voy.;  Shelvocke's  Voy.; 
Dobls'  Hudson's  Bay;  Hardy's  Travels  in  Mex.,  331-2;  Dunbar's  Romance  of 
the  Age,  93-4;  Hughes'  CaL,  119;  Mendocino  Democrat,  Feb.  1,  1872;  Lake 
County  Bee,  Mar.  18,  1873;  Venegas,  Hist.  CaL,  i.  177-8;  Antioch  Ledger,  Feb. 
3,  1872;  Hittell's  Mining,  10-11;  Buf urn's  Six  Months,  45-6;  Walker's  Nar., 
11;  Merced  Argus,  Sept.  2,  1874;  Cronise's  Nat.  Wealth,  109;  Hayes'  Col. 
Mining  CaL,  i.  1;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  July  12  and  Oct.  1,  1860,  Aug.  14,  1865; 
Tuthill's  Hist.  CaJ.,231;  Gray's  Hist.  Or.,  364;  Dana's  Two  Years,  324;  Red 
Bluff  Ind.,  Jan.  17,  1866;  Hutchings'  Mag.,  v.  352;  Hunt's  Mer.  Mag.,  xxiv. 
768,  xxxi.  385-6,  xxxiv.  631-2;  CaL  Chronicle,  Jan.  28,  1856;  Dwindle,  Ad., 
1866,  28;  Reese  Riv.  Reveille,  Aug.  10,  1865,  and  Jan.  29,  1872;  Carson's  State. 
Reg.,  Jan.  27,  1862;  Elho Independent,  Jan.  15,  1870;  Sac  Union,  June  7, 
1861;  Scala,  Nouv.  An.  de*  Voy.,  clxiv.  388-90;  Quarterly  Rev.,  no.  87,  1850, 
416;  Gomez,  Lo  queSabe,  MS.,  228-9;  Hughs' California,  119;  Carson's  Rec., 
58-9;  Roberts'  Rec.,  MS.,  10;  Voile,  Doc.,  MS.,  57;  Dept.  St  Pap.,  MS.,  xii. 
63-5;  Requeiia,  Doc.t  MS.,  4-5;  Los  Angdes,  Arch.,  MS.,  v.  331. 


38  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  GOLD. 

It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  28th  of  January 
when  Marshall  dismounted  at  New  Helvetia,21  entered 
the  office  where  Sutter  was  busy  writing,  and  abruptly 
requested  a  private  interview.  The  horseman  was 
dripping  wet,  for  it  was  raining.  Wondering  what 
could  have  happened,*  as  but  the  day  before  he  had 
sent  to  the  mill  all  that  was  required,  Sutter  led  the 
way  into  a  private  room.  "Are  you  alone?"  demanded 
the  visitor.  u  Yes,"  was  the  reply.  "  Did  you  lock 
the  door?"  "No,  but  I  will  if  you  wish  it."  "I 
want  two  bowls  of  water,"  said  Marshall.  Sutter 
rang  the  bell  and  the  bowls  were  brought.  "  Now  I 
want  a  stick  of  redwood,  and  some  twine,  and  some 
sheet  copper."  "  What  do  you  want  of  all  these 
things,  Marshall  ? "  "  To  make  scales."  "  But  I  have 
scales  enough  in  the  apothecary's  shop,"  said  Sutter; 
and  he  brought  a  pair.  Drawing  forth  his  pouch, 
Marshall  emptied  the  contents  into  his  hand,  and  held 
it  before  Sutter's  eyes,  remarking,  "  I  believe  this  is 
gold;  but  the  people  at  the  mill  laughed  at  me  and 
called  me  crazy."  Sutter  examined  the  stuff  atten 
tively,  and  finally  said:  "  It  certainly  looks  like  it;  we 
will  try  it."  First  aquafortis  was  applied;  and  the 
substance  stood  the  test.  Next  three  dollars  in  silver 
coin  were  put  into  one  of  the  scales,  and  balanced  by 
gold-dust  in  the  other.  Both  were  then  immersed  in 
water,  when  down  went  the  dust  and  up  the  silver  coin. 
Finally  a  volume  of  the  American  Encyclopaedia,  of 
which  the  fort  contained  a  copy,  was  brought  ont,  and 
the  article  on  gold  carefully  studied,  whereupon  all 
doubts  vanished.22 

2lDunbar,  Romance  of  the  Age,  48,  dates  the  arrival  at  the  fort  Feb.  2d, 
and  intimates  that  the  discovery  was  made  the  same  morning.  According  to 
Parsons,  Marshall  reached  the  fort  about  9  o'clock  in  the  morning,  having  left 
Coloma  the  day  before,  and  passed  the  preceding  night  under  a  tree.  On  the 
journey  he  discovered  gold  in  a  ravine  in  the  foothills,  and  also  at  the  place 
afterward  called  Mormon  Island,  while  examining  the  river  for  a  lumber-yard 
site.  Life  of  Marshall,  84.  Sutter,  however,  both  in  his  Diary  and  in  his  Rem 
iniscences,  says  that  Marshall  arrived  at  the  fort  in  the  afternoon.  Marshall 
himself  makes  no  mention  of  discovering  gold  on  the  journey. 

22  Sutter's  Pers.  Rem. ,  MS. ,  163-7.  In  my  conferences  with  Sutter,  at  Litiz, 
I  endeavored  to  draw  from  him  every  detail  respecting  the  interview  here 


MARSHALL  AND  SUTTER.  39 

Marshall  proposed  that  S utter  should  return  with 
him  to  the  mill  that  night,  but  the  latter  declined, 
saying  that  he  would  be  over  the  next  day.  It  was 
now  supper-time,  and  still  drizzling;  would  not  the  vis 
itor  rest  himself  till  morning  ?  No,  he  must  be  off 
immediately;  and  without  even  waiting  to  eat,  he 
wrapped  his  sarape  about  him,  mounted  his  horse,  and 
rode  off  into  the  rain  and  darkness.  Sutter  slept  little 
that  night.  Though  he  knew  nothing  of  the  magni 
tude  of  the  affair,  and  did  not  fully  realize  the  evils  he 
had  presently  to  face,  yet  he  felt  there  would  soon  be 
enough  of  the  fascination  abroad  to  turn  the  heads  of 
his  men,  and  to  disarrange  his  plans.  In  a  word,  with 
prophetic  eye,  as  he  expressed  himself  to  me,  he  saw 
that  night  the  curse  of  the  thing  upon  him. 

On  the  morning  of  the  29th  of  January23  Sutter 

presented  in  a  condensed  form.  Some  accounts  assert  that  when  Marshall 
desired  the  door  to  be  locked  Sutter  was  frightened,  and  looked  about  for  his 
gun.  The  general  assured  me  this  was  riot  the  case.  Neither  was  the  mind 
of  Marshall  wrought  into  such  a  fever  as  many  represent.  His  manner  was 
hurried  and  excited,  but  he  was  sane  enough.  He  was  peculiar,  and  he  wished 
to  despatch  this  business  and  be  back  at  the  mill.  Barstow,  in  his  Statement, 
MS.,  3,  asserts  that  lie  did  not  rush  down  to  the  fort,  but  waited  until  he  had 
business  there.  All  the  evidence  indicates  that  neither  Marshall  nor  Sutter 
had  any  idea,  as  yet,  of  the  importance  of  the  discovery.  How  could  they 
have  ?  There  might  not  be  more  than  a  handful  of  gold-dust  in  the  whole 
Sierra,  from  any  fact  thus  far  appearing.  See  BidwelCs  California  1841-8, 
MS.,  230;  Bi'jler's  Diary,  MS.,  64;  Brooks' Four  Months,  40-3;  Par  tons'  Life 
of  Marshall,  84-5;  Hatchings'  Mag.,  ii.  194.  Gregson,  Statement,  MS.,  8, 
blacksmithing  for  Sutter  when  Marshall  arrived,  saw  the  gold  in  a  greenish 
ounce  vial,  about  half  rilled.  Bigler  gives  Marshall's  own  words,  as  repeated 
on  his  return  to  the  mill.  In  every  essential  particular  his  account  corresponds 
with  that  given  to  me  by  Sutter. 

23  The  day  on  which  Sutter  followed  Marshall  to  Coloma  is  questioned.  In 
his  Reminiscences,  and  his  statement  in  Hutching*'  Magazine,  Sutter  distinctly 
says  that  he  left  for  the  saw-mill  at  seven  o'clock  on  the  morning  after  Mar 
shall's  visit  to  the  fort;  but  in  his  Diary  is  written  Feb.  1st,  which  would  be 
the  fourth  day  after  the  visit.  Bigler,  in  his  Diary,  says  that  Sutter  reached 
the  mill  on  the  third  or  fourth  day  after  Marshall's  return.  Marshall 
shows  his  usual  carelessness,  or  lack  of  memory,  by  stating  that  Sutter 
reached  Coloma  'about  the  20th  of  February.'  Discovery  of  Gold,  in  Hutching*' 
M«g.,  ii.  201.  Parsons  is  nearly  as  far  wrong  in  saying  that  Sutter  'returned 
with  Marshall  to  Coloma.'  Life  of  Marshall,  86.  Mrs  Wimmer  also  says  that 
*  Sutter  came  right  up  with  Marshall. '  This  is  indeed  partly  true,  as  Marshall 
in  his  restlessness  went  back  to  meet  Sutter,  and  of  course  came  into  camp 
with  him.  On  the  whole,  I  have  determined  to  follow  Sutter's  words  to  me, 
as  I  know  them  to  be  as  he  gave  them.  If  Sutter  did  not  set  out  until  Feb. 
1st,  then  Marshall  did  not  reach  the  mill  until  the  31st  of  January,  else  Sut 
ter's  whole  statement  is  erroneous. 


40  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  GOLD. 

started  for  the  saw-mill.  When  half-way  there, 
or  more,  he  saw  an  object  moving  in  the  bushes 
at  one  side.  "  What  is  that  ?  "  demanded  Sutter  of 
his  attendant.  "  The  man  who  was  with  you  yester 
day,"  was  the  reply.  It  was  still  raining.  "  Have 
you  been  here  all  night?"  asked  Sutter  of  Marshall ;  for 
it  wras  indeed  he.  "  No,"  Marshall  said,  "  I  slept  at 
the  mill,  and  came  back  to  meet  you."  As  they  rode 
along  Marshall  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  whole 
country  was  rich  in  gold.  Arrived  at  the  mill,  Sutter 
took  up  his  quarters  at  a  house  Marshall  had  lately 
built  for  himself,  a  little  way  up  the  mountain,  and 
yet  not  far  from  the  mill.  During  the  night  the  water 
ran  in  the  race,  and  in  the  morning  it  was  shut  off. 
All  present  then  proceeded  down  the  channel,  and 
jumping  into  it  at  various  points  began  to  gather 
gold.24  With  some  contributions  by  the  men,  added 
to  what  he  himself  picked  up,  Sutter  secured  enough 
for  a  ring  weighing  an  ounce  and  a  half,  which  he  soon 
after  exhibited  with  great  pride  as  a  specimen  of  the 
first  gold.  A  private  examination  by  the  partners  up 
the  river  disclosed  gold  all  along  its  course,  and  in  the 
tributary  ravines  and  creeks.25 

Sutter  regarded  the  discovery  as  a  misfortune. 
Without  laborers  his  extensive  works  must  come  to 
a  stop,  presaging  ruin.  Gladly  would  he  have  shut 
the  knowledge  from  the  world,  for  a  time,  at  least. 
With  the  men  at  the  mill  the  best  he  could  do  was  to 
make  them  promise  to  continue  their  work,  and  say 
nothing  of  the  gold  discovery  for  six  weeks,  by  which 
time  he  hoped  to  have  his  flour-mill  completed,  and 

2*Bigler,  Diary,  MS.,  65-6,  gives  a  joke  which  they  undertook  to.  play  on 
the  Old  Cap,  as  Marshall  called  Sutter.  This  was  nothing  less  than  to  salt 
the  mine  in  order  that  Sutter  in  his  excitement  might  pass  the  bottle.  Wim- 
mer's  boy,  running  on  before,  picked  up  the  gold  scattered  in  the  race  for  the 
harmless  surprising  of  Sutter,  and  thus  spoiled  their  sport. 

25  Indeed,  Sutter  claims  that  he  picked  with  a  small  knife  from  a  dry  gorge 
a  solid  lump  weighing  nearly  an  ounce  and  a  half,  and  regarded  the  tributaries 
as  the  richer  sources.  The  work-people  obtained  an  inkling  of  their  discovery, 
although  they  sought  henceforth  to  dampen  the  interest.  One  of  the  Indiana 
who  seems  to  have  worked  in  a  southern  mine  published  his  knowledge.  Pers. 
Hem.,  MS. 


TREATY  WITH  THE  CULUMAS.  41 

his  other  affairs  so  arranged  as  to  enable  him  to  with 
stand  the  result.  The  men,  indeed,  were  not  yet 
prepared  to  relinquish  good  wages  for  the  uncertain 
ties  of  gold-gathering. 

If  only  the  land  could  be  secured  on  which  this 
gold  was  scattered — for  probably  it  did  not  extend  far 
in  any  direction — then  interloping  might  be  prevented, 
mining  controlled,  and  the  discovery  made  profitable. 
It  was  worth  trying,  at  all  events.  Mexican  grants 
being  no  longer  possible,  Sutter  began  by  opening 
negotiations  with  the  natives,  after  the  mariner  of  the 
English  colonists  on  the  other  side  of  the  continent. 
Calling  a  council  of  the  Culumas  and  some  of  their 
neighbors,  the  lords  aboriginal  of  those  lands,  Sutter 
and  Marshall  obtained  from  them  a  three  years'  lease 
of  a  tract  some  ten  or  twelve  miles  square,  on  payment 
of  some  shirts,  hats,  handkerchiefs,  flour,  and  other 
articles  of  no  great  value,  the  natives  meanwhile  to 
be  left  unmolested  in  their  homes.26  Sutter  then  re 
turned  to  New  Helvetia,  and  the  great  discovery  was 
consummated. 

26  BiylerJ  Diary,  MS.,  66.  Marshall  speaks  of  this  as  the  consummation 
of  '  an  agreement  we  had  made  with  this  tribe  of  Indians  in  the  month  of 
September  previous,  to  wit,  that  we  should  live  with  them  in  peace  on  the 
same  laud. '  Discovery  of  Gold,  in  Hatchings'  Mag. ,  ii.  200. 


CHAPTEE  III. 

THE   SECRET  ESCAPES. 
FEBRUARY,  1848. 

BENNETT  GOES  TO  MONTEREY — SEES  PFISTER  AT  BENICIA — 'THERE  is  WHAT 
WILL  BEAT  COAL!'— BENNETT  MEETS  ISAAC  HUMPHREY  AT  SAN  FRANCISCO 
— UNSUCCESSFUL  AT  MONTEREY — SUTTER'S  Swiss  TEAMSTER — THE  BOY 
WIMMER  TELLS  HIM  OF  THE  GOLD — THE  MOTHER  WIMMER,  TO  PROVE 

HER  BOY  NOT  A  LlAR,  SHOWS  IT— AND  THE  TEAMSTER,  WHO  IS  THIRSTY, 

SHOWS  IT  AT  THE  FORT — AFFAIRS  AT  THE  MILL  PROCEED  AS  USUAL — 
BIGLER'S  SUNDAY  MEDITATIONS— GOLD  FOUND  AT  LIVE  OAK  BAR — 
BIGLER  WRITES  HIS  THREE  FRIENDS  THE  SECRET — WHO  UNITE  WITH 
THEM  OTHER  THREE  TO  HELP  THEM  KEEP  IT — THREE  COME  TO  COLOMA 
— DISCOVERY  AT  MORMON  ISLAND — THE  MORMON  EXIT. 

OCCASIONALLY  instances  occur  where  one's  destiny, 
hitherto  seemingly  confined  in  the  clouds,  is  let  out 
in  a  flood,  and  if  weak,  the  recipient  is  overwhelmed 
and  carried  down  the  stream  by  it;  if  he  be  strong, 
and  makes  avail  of  it,  his  fortune  is  secured;  in  any 
event,  it  is  his  opportunity. 

Opportunity  here  presented  itself  in  the  first  in 
stance  to  a  chosen  dozen,  none  of  whom  appear  to 
have  taken  due  advantage  of  it.  Having  no  realiza 
tion  of  their  situation,  they  left  the  field  to  after- 
comers,  who  by  direct  or  indirect  means  drew  fortune 
from  it.  The  chief  actors,  Marshall  and  Sutter,  with 
proportionately  greater  interests  at  stake,  primarily 
displayed  no  more  skill  than  the  others  in  making  avail 
of  opportunity,  the  former  drifting  away  without  one 
successful  grasp,  the  latter  making  a  brief  stand 
against  the  torrent,  only  in  the  end  to  sink  amidst  the 
ruins  of  his  projects  and  belongings. 


BENNETT'S  MISSION. 


Sutter  disclosed  his  weakness  in  several  ways.  Al 
though  enjoining  secrecy  upon  all  concerned,  and  show 
ing  extreme  fear  lest  the  discovery  should  be  known  by 
those  about  him,  the  inconstant  Swiss  could  not  him 
self  resist  the  temptation  of  telling  it  to  his  friends  at 
a  distance.  Writing  Vallejo  the  10th  of  February, 
he  says:  "I  have  made  a  discovery  of  a  gold  mine, 
which,  according  to  experiments  we  have  made,  is  ex 
traordinarily  rich."1  Moreover,  not  wholly  satisfied 
with  his  Indian  title,  Sutter  determined  to  despatch  a 
messenger  to  Monterey,  for  the  purpose  of  further 
securing  the  land  to  himself  and  Marshall  through 
Colonel  R.  B.  Mason,  chief  representative  of  the 
United  States  government  in  California.  For  this 
mission  was  chosen  Charles  Bennett,  one  of  Marshall's 
associates,  and  standing  next  to  him  in  intelligence 
and  ability  at  the  saw-mill.  The  messenger  was  in 
structed  to  say  nothing  about  the  discovery  of  gold, 
but  to  secure  the  land  with  mill,  pasture,  and  mineral 
privileges,  giving  as  a  reason  for  including  the  last 
the  appearance  of  lead  and  silver  in  the  soil.2  The 
man,  however,  was  too  weak  for  the  purpose.  With 
him  in  a  buckskin  bag  he  carried  some  six  ounces  of 
the  secret,  which,  by  the  time  he  reached  Benicia, 
became  too  heavy  for  him.  There,  in  Pfister's  store, 
hearing  it  said  that  coal  had  been  found  near  Monte 
del  Diablo,  and  that  in  consequence  California  would 
assume  no  small  importance  in  the  eyes  of  her  new 
owners,  Bennett  could  contain  himself  no  longer. 
"Coal!"  he  exclaimed;  "I  have  something  here  which 
will  beat  coal,  and  make  this  the  greatest  country  in 
the  world."  Whereupon  he  produced  his  bag,  and 
passed  it  around  among  his  listeners.3 

1  The  accomplished  potentate  writes  every  man  in  his  own  language,  though 
his  Spanish  is  not  much  better  than  his  English.  "  Y  he  hecho  un  descubri- 
miento  de  mina  de  oro,  qe  sigun  hemos  esperimentado  es  extraordinarimente 
rica.'  Vallejo,  Docs,  MS.,  xii.  332. 

2 This  on  the  authority  of  Bigler.  Diary  of  a  Mormon,  MS.,  66.  Some 
say  that  Bennett  held  contracts  with  Marshall  under  Sutter.  HunCs  Mer.  Mag., 
xx.  59;  but  for  this  there  is  no  good  authority.  He  set  out  for  Monterey 
toward  the  middle  of  February. 

3  Several  claim  the  honor  of  carrying  the  first  gold  beyond  the  precincts  of 


44  THE  SECRET  ESCAPES. 

On  reaching  San  Francisco  Bennett  heard  of  one 
Isaac  Humphrey,  who, among  other  things,  knew  some 
thing  of  gold-mining.  He  had  followed  that  occupa 
tion  in  Georgia,  but  hardly  expected  his  talents  in 
that  direction  to  be  called  in  requisition  in  California. 
Bennett  sought  an  introduction,  and  again  brought 
forth  his  purse.  Thus  Sutter's  secret  was  in  a  tine 
way  of  being  kept  I  Humphrey  at  once  pronounced 
the  contents  of  the  purse  to  be  gold.  At  Monterey 
Mason  declined  to  make  any  promise  respecting  title  to 
lands,4  and  Bennett  consoled  himself  for  the  failure  of 
his  mission  by  offering  further  glimpses  of  his  treasure. 

In  order  to  prevent  a  spreading  infection  among 
his  dependents,  Sutter  determined  that  so  far  as  pos 
sible  all  communication  with  the  saw-mill  should  for 
the  present  be  stopped.  Toward  the  latter  end  of 
February,  however,  he  found  it  necessary  to  send 
thither  provisions.5  To  a  Swiss  teamster,  as.  a  per- 

the  California  Valley.  Bidwell,  California  1841-8,  MS.,  231,  says  he  was 
the  first  to  proclaim  the  news  in  Sonoma  and  S.  F.  '  I  well  remember  Vallejo's 
words,'  he  writes,  'when  I  told  him  of  the  discovery  and  where  it  had  taken 

§lace.  He  said,  "As  the  water  flows  through  Sutter's  mill-race,  may  the  gold 
ow  into  Sutter's  purse. " '  This  must  have  been  after  or  at  the  time  of  Ben 
nett's  journey;  I  do  not  think  it  preceded  it.  Bidwell  calls  the  chief  ruler  at 
Monterey  Gov.  Riley,  instead  of  Col  Mason;  and  if  his  memory  is  at  fault 
upon  so  conspicuous  a  point,  he  might  easily  overlook  the  fact  that  Bennett 
preceded  him.  Furthermore,  we  have  many  who  speak  of  meeting  Bennett  at 
S.  F.,  and  of  examining  his  gold,  but  not  one  who  mentions  Bid  well's  name 
in  that  connection.  Sutter  was  adopting  a  singular  course,  certainly,  to  have 
his  secret  kept.  Gregson,  Stat.,  MS.,  8,  thinks  that  the  first  gold  was  taken  by 
McKinstry  in  Sutter's  launch  to  S.  F.,  and  there  delivered  to  Folsom.  Such 
statements  as  the  following,  though  made  in  good  faith,  amount  to  little  in 
determining  as  to  the  first.  That  first  seen  or  known  by  a  person  to  him  is  first, 
notwithstanding  another's  first  may  have  been  prior  to  his.  '  1  saw  the  first 
gold  that  was  brought  down  to  S.  F.  It  was  in  Howard  &  Mellus'  store, 
and  in  their  charge.  It  was  in  four-ounce  vial,  or  near  that  size.'  Ayer's  Per 
sonal  Adv.,  MS.,  2. 

*  Sherman,  Memoirs,  i.  40,  states  that  this  application  was  made  by  two 
persons,  from  which  one  might  infer  that  Humphrey  accompanied  Bennett 
to  Monterey.  They  there  displayed  'about  half  an  ounce  of  placer  gold.' 
They  presented  a  letter  from  Sutter,  to  which  Mason  replied  '  that  Califor 
nia  was  yet  a  Mexican  province,  simply  held  by  us  as  a  conquest;  that  no  laws 
of  the  U.  S.  yet  applied  to  it,  much  less  the  land  laws  or  preemption  laws, 
which  could  only  apply  after  a  public  survey.'  See,  further,  Buff  am' 8  Six 
Months  in  Gold  Mines,  68;  Bigler' s  Diary  of  a  Mormon,  MS.,  66;  BidwelVs  Cal 
ifornia  1841-8,  MS.,  231;  Browne's  Min.  Res.,  14;  HitteLVs  JJist.  S.  F.,  125. 
Gregson,  Stat.,  MS.,  says  that  Bennett  died  in  Oregon. 

6  '  We  had  salt  salmon  and  boiled  wheat,  and  we,  the  discoverers  of  gold, 


THE  DRUNKEN  TEAMSTER.  45 

son  specially  reliable,  this  mission  was  intrusted. 
The  man  would  indeed  die  rather  than  betray  any 
secret  of  his  kind  countryman  and  master;  but  alas  I 
he  loved  intoxication,  that  too  treacherous  felicity. 
Arrived  at  Coloma,  the  teamster  encountered  one  of 
the  Wimmer boys,  who  exclaimed  triumphantly,  "We 
have  found  gold  up  here."  The  teamster  so  ridiculed 
the  idea  that  the  mother  at  length  became  some 
what  nettled,  and  to  prove  her  son  truthful,  she  not 
only  produced  the  stuff,  but  gave  some  to  the  teamster. 
Returned  to  the  fort,  his  arduous  duty  done,  the  man 
must  have  a  drink.  Often  he  had  tried  at  Smith  and 
Brannan's  store  to  quench  his  thirst  from  the  whis- 
kay  barrel,  and  pay  for  the  same  in  promises.  On 
this  occasion  he  presented  at  the  counter  a  bold  front 
and  demanded  a  bottle  of  the  delectable,  at  the  same 
time  laying  down  the  dust.  "  What  is  that?  "  asked 
Smith.  "  Gold,"  was  the  reply.  Smith  thought  the 
fellow  was  quizzing  him;  nevertheless  he  spoke  of  it 
to  Sutter,  who  finally  acknowledged  the  fact.8 

About  the  time  of  Bennett's  departure  Sutter's 
schooner  went  down  the  river,  carrying  specimens  of 
the  new  discovery,  and  Folsom,  the  quartermaster  in 
San  Francisco,  learned  of  the  fact,  informed,  it  is  said, 
by  McKinstry.  Then  John  Bidwell  went  to  the  Bay 
and  spread  the  news  broadcast.  Smith,  store-keeper 
at  the  fort,  sent  word  of  it  to  his  partner,  Brannan; 
and  thus  by  various  ways  the  knowledge  became  gen 
eral. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  saw-mill  society,  which 
numbered  among  its  members  one  woman  and  two 

were  living  on  that  when  gold  was  found,  and  we  were  suffering  from  scurvy 
afterward.'  Gregson's  Statement,  MS.,  9.  An  infliction  this  man  might  un 
dergo  almost  anywhere,  being,  if  like  his  manuscript,  something  of  a  scurvy 
fellow.  Mark  the  'we,  the  discoverers  of  gold,'  before  noticed.  Gregson 
•was  not  at  the  mill  when  gold  was  found. 

6  '  I  should  have  sent  my  Indians,'  groaned  Sutter  28  years  afterward.  It 
soems  that  the  gentle  Swiss  always  found  his  beloved  aboriginals  far  less 
treacherous  than  the  white-skinned  parasites.  See  Suiter's  Rem. ,  MS. ,  171-3; 
Inter  Pocula,  this  series;  Hutchings*  Mag. ,  ii.  196;  Dunbar^s  Romance  of  the 
Age, 


46  THE  SECRET  ESCAPES. 

boys,  found  the  matter,  in  common  with  the  others, 
too  weighty  for  them.  For  a  time  affairs  here  pro 
ceeded  much  as  usual.  The  men,  who  for  the  most 
part  were  honest  and  conscientious,  had  pledged  their 
word  to  six  weeks'  work,  and  they  meant  to  keep  it. 
The  idea  of  self-sacrifice,  if  any  such  arose,  was  tem 
pered  by  the  thought  that  perhaps  after  all  there  was 
but  little  gold,  and  that  little  confined  within  narrow 
limits;  hence  if  they  abandoned  profitable  service  for 
an  uncertainty,  they  might  find  themselves  losers  in 
the  end.  As  a  matter  of  course,  they  could  have  no 
conception  of  the  extent  and  power  of  the  spirit  they 
had  awakened.  It  was  not  necessary,  however,  that 
on  Sundays  they  should  resist  the  worship  of  Mam 
mon,  who  was  indeed  now  fast  becoming  the  chief  god 
hereabout. 

The  historic  tail-race,  where  first  in  these  parts  be 
came  incarnate  this  deity,  more  potent  presently  than 
either  Christ  or  Krishna,  commanded  first  attention; 
indeed,  for  some  time  after  gold  had  been  found  in 
other  places,  it  remained  the  favorite  picking-ground 
of  the  mill-men.  Their  only  tools  as  yet  were  their 
knives,  and  with  these  from  the  seams  and  crevices 
each  person  managed  to  extract  metal  at  the  rate  of 
from  three  to  eight  dollars  a  day.  For  the  purpose 
of  calculating  their  gains,  they  constructed  a  light 
pair  of  wooden  scales,  in  which  was  weighed  silver 
coin  against  their  gold.  Thus,  a  Mexican  real  de 
plata  was  balanced  by  two  dollars'  worth  of  gold, 
which  they  valued  at  sixteen  dollars  the  ounce,  less 
than  it  was  really  worth,  but  more  than  could  be  ob 
tained  for  it  in  the  mines  a  few  months  later.  Gold- 
dust  which  balanced  a  silver  quarter  of  a  dollar  was 
deemed  worth  four  dollars,  and  so  on. 

On  the  6th  of  February,  the  second  Sunday  after 
Marshall's  discovery,  while  the  others  were  as  us.ua! 
busied  in  the  tail-race,  Henry  Bigler  and  James  Bar- 
ger  crossed  the  river,  and  from  a  bare  rock  opposite 
the  mill,  with  nothing  but  their  pocket-knives,  ob- 


THE  GOLD-FIELDS.  47 

tained  together  gold  to  the  value  of  ten  dollars.  The 
Saturday  following,  Bigler  descended  the  river  half  a 
mile,  when,  seeing  on  the  other  side  some  rocks  left 
bare  by  a  land-slide,  he  stripped  and  crossed.  There, 
in  the  seams  of  the  rocks,  were  particles  of  the  pre 
cious  stuff  exposed  to  view,  of  which  the  next  day  he 
gathered  half  an  ounce,  and  the  Sunday  following  an 
ounce.  Snow  preventing  work  at  the  mill,  on  Tues 
day,  the  22d,  he  set  out  for  the  same  place,  and  ob 
tained  an  ounce  and  a  half.  Up  to  this  time  he  had 
kept  the  matter  to  himself,  carrying  with  him  a  gun 
on  pretext  of  shooting  ducks,  in  order  to  divert  suspi 
cion.  Questioned  closely  on  this  occasion,  he  told  his 
comrades  what  he  had  been  doing,  and  the  following 
Sunday  five  of  them  accompanied  him  to  the  same 
spot,  and  spent  the  day  hunting  in  the  sand.  All 
were  well  rewarded.  In  the  opposite  direction  suc 
cess  proved  no  less  satisfactory.  Accompanied  by 
James  Gregson,  Marshall  ascended  the  river  three 
miles;  and  at  a  place  which  he  named  Live  Oak  Bar, 
if  we  may  believe  Gregson,  they  picked  up  with  their 
fingers  without  digging  a  pint  of  gold,  in  pieces  up  to 
the  size  of  a  bean.7  Thus  was  gradually  enlarged  the 
area  of  the  gold-field 

About  the  21st  of  February,  Bigler  wrote  to  certain 
of  his  comrades  of  the  Mormon  battalion — Jesse  Mar 
tin,  Israel  Evans,  and  Ephraim  Green,  who  were  at 
work  on  Sutter's  flour-mill — informing  them  of  the 
discovery  of  gold,  and  charging  them  to  keep  it  secret, 
or  to  tell  it  to  those  only  who  could  be  trusted.  The 
result  was  the  arrival,  on  the  evening  of  the  27th,  of 
three  men,  Sidney  Willis,  Fiefield,  and  Wilford  Hud- 

1  Statement  of  James  Gregson,  MS.,  passim.  The  author  was  an  English 
man,  who  came  to  California  in  1845  and  engaged  with  Sutter  as  a  whip- 
sawyer.  Lumber  then  cost  $30  a  thousand  at  Sutter's  Fort.  He  served  in 
the  war,  and  after  the  discovery  of  gold  went  to  Coloma,  accompanied  by  his 
wife.  Throwing  up  his  engagement  with  Marshall,  he  secured  that  year 
$3,000  in  gold-dust.  Sutter  appears  to  have,  in  February,  already  set  some 
Indians  to  pick  gold  round  the  mill.  His  claim  to  this  ground  was  long 
respected. 


43 


THE  SECRET  ESCAPES. 


son,  who  said  they  had  come  to  search  for  gold. 
Marshall  received  them  graciously  enough,  and  gave 
them  permission  to  mine  in  the  tail-race.  Accord 
ingly,  next  morning  they  all  went  there,  and  soon 
Hudson  picked  up  a  piece  weighing  six  dollars.  Thus 
encouraged  they  continued  their  labors  with  fair 
success  till  the  2d  of  March,  when  they  felt  obliged 
to  return  to  the  flour-mill;  for  to  all  except  Martin, 
their  informant,  they  had  intimated  that  their  trip  to 


,JLV     i&dMmk 

X  '  ^NVA.V'^  '.}',':,, .'     .\n''t:t, ,'/-/'/, 


MORMON  ISLAND. 

the  saw-mill  was  merely  to  pay  a  visit,  and  to  shoot 
deer.  Willis  and  Hudson  followed  the  stream  to  con 
tinue  the  search  for  gold,  and  Fiefield,  accompanied 
by  Bigler,  pursued  the  easier  route  by  the  road.  On 
meeting  at  the  flour-mill,  Hudson  expressed  disgust 
at  being  able  to  show  only  a  few  fine  particles,  not 
more  than  half  a  dollar  in  value,  which  he  and  his 
companion  had  found  at  a  bar  opposite  a  little  island, 
about  half-way  down  the  river.  Nevertheless  the 
disease  worked  its  way  into  the  blood  of  other  Mor- 


THE  MORMONS.  49 

mon  boys,  and  Ephraim  Green  and  Ira  Willis,  brother 
of  Sidney  Willis,  urged  the  prospectors  to  return, 
that  together  they  might  examine  the  place  which 
had  shown  indications  of  gold.  It  was  with  difficulty 
that  they  prevailed  upon  them  to  do  so.  Willis  and 
Hudson,  however,  finally  consented;  and  the  so  lately 
slighted  spot  presently  became  famous  as  the  rich 
Mormon  Diggings,  the  island,  Mormon  Island,  taking 
its  name  from  these  battalion  boys  who  had  first 
found  gold  there. 

It  is  told  elsewhere  how  the  Mormons  came  to 
California,  some  in  the  ship  Brooklyn,  and  some  as  a 
battalion  by  way  of  Santa  Fe,  and  how  they  went 
hence  to  the  Great  Salt  Lake,  part  of  them,  however, 
remaining  permanently  or  for  a  time  nearer  the  sea 
board.  I  will  only  notice  here,  amidst  the  scenes 
now  every  day  becoming  more  and  more  absorbing, 
bringing  to  the  front  the  strongest  passions  in  man's 
nature,  how  at  the  call  of  what  they  deemed  duty 
these  devotees  of  their  religion  unhesitatingly  laid 
down  their  wealth-winning  implements,  turned  their 
back  on  what  all  the  world  was  just  then  making 
ready  with  hot  haste  and  mustered  strength  to  grasp 
at  and  struggle  for,  and  marched  through  new  toils  and 
dangers  to  meet  their  exiled  brethren  in  the  desert. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  some  of  the  emigrants 

O 

by  the  Brooklyn  had  remained  at  San  Francisco,  some 
at  New  Helvetia,  while  others  had  settled  on  the 
Stanislaus  River  and  elsewhere.  A  large  detachment 
of  the  late  Mormon  battalion,  disbanded  at  Los  An 
geles,  was  on  its  way  to  Great  Salt  Lake,  when,  arriv 
ing  at  Sutter's  Fort,  the  men  stopped  to  work  a  while, 
no  less  to  add  a  little  to  their  slender  store  of  clothing 
and  provisions  than  to  await  a  better  season  for  the 
perilous  journey  across  the  mountains.  It  was  while 
thus  employed  that  gold  had  been  discovered.  And 
now,  refreshed  and  better  fitted,  as  spring  approached 
their  minds  once  more  turned  toward  the  original  pur- 

HIST.  CAL..  VOL.  VI.    4 


50  THE  SECRET  ESCAPES. 

pose.  They  had  promised  Suiter  to  stand  by  him  and 
finish  the  saw-mill;  this  they  did,  starting  it  running" 
on  the  llth  of  March.  Henry  Bigler  was  still  there. 

On  the  7th  of  April  Bigler,  Stephens,  and  Brown 
presented  themselves  at  the  fort  to  settle  accounts 
with  Sutter,  and  discuss  preliminaries  for  their  jour 
ney  with  their  comrades.  The  1st  of  June  was  fixed 
upon  for  the  start.  Sutter  was  to  be  informed  of 
their  intention,  that  he  might  provide  other  workmen. 
Horses,  cattle,  and  seeds  were  to  be  bought  from  him ; 
also  two  brass  cannon.  Three  of  their  number  had 
to  precede  to  pioneer  a  route ;  eight  men  were  ready 
to  start  as  an  overland  express  to  the  States,  as  the 
loved  land  east  of  the  Mississippi  was  then  called.  It 
was  not,  however,  until  about  a  month  later  that  the 
Mormons  could  move,  for  the  constantly  increasing 
gold  excitement  disarranged  their  plans  and  drew 
from  their  numbers. 

In  the  mean  time  the  thrifty  saints  determined  to 
improve  the  opportunity,  that  they  might  carry  to 
their  desert  rest  as  much  of  the  world's  currency  as 
possible.  On  the  llth  of  April,  Bigler,  Brown,  and 
Stephens  set  out  on  their  return  to  Coloma,  camping 
fifteen  miles  above  the  flouring  mill,  on  a  creek.  In 
the  morning  they  began  to  search  for  gold  and  found 
ten  dollars'  worth.  Knowing  that  others  of  their 
fraternity  were  at  work  in  that  vicinity,  they  followed 
the  stream  upward  and  came  upon  them  at  Mormon 
Island,  where  seven  had  taken  out  that  day  $250.8 
No  little  encouragement  was  added  by  this  hitherto 
unparalleled  yield,  due  greatly  to  an  improvement  in 
method  by  washing  the  dust-speckled  earth  in  Indian 
baskets  and  bowls,  and  thus  sifting  out  also  finer  parti 
cles.  Under  an  agreement  to  divide  the  product  of 

8  The  seven  men  were  Sidney  Willis  and  Wilford  Hudson,  who  had  first 
found  gold  there,  Ira  Willis,  Jesse  B.  Martin,  Ephraim  Green,  Israel  Evans, 
and  James  Sly.  In  regard  to  the  names  of  the  last  two  Bigler  is  not  positive. 
Diary  of  a  Mormon,  MS.,  76.  See  also  Mendocino  Democrat,  Feb.  1,  1872; 
HitteWs  Mining,  14;  Sherman's  Mem.,  i.  51;  Gold  Dis.,  Account  by  a  Mormon, 
in  Hayes'  CaL  Mining,  iii.  8;  Oregon  Bulletin,  Jan.  12,  1872;  Antioch  Ledger, 
Feb.  3,  1872;  ftndla's  Stat.,  MS.,  6;  7?oss'  StcU.,  MS.,  14. 


EXODUS  OF  THE  SAINTS.  51 

their  labor  with  Sutter  and  Marshall,  who  furnished 
tools  and  provisions,  Bigler  and  his  associates  mined 
for  two  months,  one  mile  below  the  saw-mill.9  They 
stopped  in  the  midst  of  their  success,  however,  arid 
tearing  themselves  away  from  the  fascination,  they 
started  on  June  17th  in  search  of  a  suitable  rendez 
vous,  where  all  the  saints  might  congregate  prior  to 
beginning  their  last  pilgrimage  across  the  mountains. 
They  found  such  a  spot  the  next  day,  near  where 
Placerville  now  stands,  calling  it  Pleasant  Valley. 
Parties  arrived  one  after  another,  some  driving  loose 
horses  into  a  prepared  timber  corral,  others  swelling 
the  camp  with  wagons,  cattle,  and  effects;  and  so  the 
gathering  continued  till  the  3d  of  July,  when  a  gen 
eral  move  was  made.  As  the  wagons  rolled  up  along 
the  divide  between  the  American  River  and  the 
Cosunines  on  the  national  4th,  their  cannon  thundered 
independence  before  the  high  Sierra.  It  was  a  strange 
sight,  exiles  for  their  faith  thus  delighting  to  honor 
the  power  that  had  driven  them  as  outcasts  into  the 
wilderness. 

The  party  consisted  of  forty-five  men  and  one 
woman,  the  wife  of  William  Coory.  It  was  by  almost 
incredible  toil  that  these  brave  men  cut  the  way  for 
their  wagons,  lifted  them  up  the  stony  ascents,  and 
let  them  down  the  steep  declivities.  Every  step 
added  to  the  danger,  as  heralded  by  the  death  of 

O  t/ 

the  three  pioneers,  Daniel  Browett,  Ezra  H.  Allen, 
and  Henderson  Cox,  who  were  found  killed  by  the 
Indians  of  the  Sierra.  And  undaunted,  though  sor 
rowful,  and  filled  with  many  a  foreboding,  the  survi 
vors  descended  the  eastern  slope  and  wended  their 
way  through  the  thirsty  desert;  and  there  we  must 
leave  them  and  return  to  our  gold-diggers. 


9  '  Having  an  understanding  with  Mr  Marshall  to  dig  on  shares. .  .so  long 
as  we  worked  on  his  claims  or  land.'  Bigler,  Diary  of  a  Mormon,  MS.,  75. 
A  Mormon  writing  in  the  Times  and  Transcript  says:  'They  undertook  to' 
make  us  give  them  half  the  gold  we  got  for  the  privilege  of  digging  on  their 
land.  This  was  afterward  reduced  to  one  third,  and  in  a  few  weeks  was 
given  up  altogether.'  Mrs  Wimtner  states  that  Sutter  and  Marshall  claimed 
thirty  per  cent  of  the  gold  found  on  their  grant;  Brannan  for  a  time  secured 
ten  per  cent  on  the  pretext  of  tithes. 


CHAPTER  IY. 

PROXIMATE  EFFECT  OF  THE  GOLD  DISCOVERY. 
MARCH- AUGUST,  1848. 

THE  PEOPLE  SCEPTICAL  AT  FIRST — ATTITUDE  OF  THE  PRESS — THE  COUNTRY 
CONVERTED  BY  A  SIGHT  OF  THE  METAL— THE  EPIDEMIC  AT  SAN  FRAN 
CISCO — AT  SAN  JOSE,  MONTEREY,  AND  DOWN  THE  COAST — THE  EXODUS 
— DESERTION  OF  SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS — ABANDONMENT  OF  BUSINESS, 
OF  FARMS,  AND  OF  ALL  KINDS  OF  POSITIONS  AND  PROPERTY. 

As  when  some  carcass,  hidden  in  sequestered  nook, 
draws  from  every  near  and  distant  point  myriads  of 
discordant  vultures,  so  drew  these  little  flakes  of  gold 
the  voracious  sons  of  men.  The  strongest  human 
appetite  was  aroused — the  sum  of  appetites — this 
yellow  dirt  embodying  the  means  for  gratifying  love, 
hate,  lust,  and  domination.  This  little  scratch  upon 
the  earth  to  make  a  backwoods  mill-race  touched  the 
cerebral  nerve  that  quickened  humanity,  and  sent  a 
thrill  throughout  the  system.  It  tingled  in  the  ear 
and  at  the  finger-ends ;  it  buzzed  about  the  brain  and 
tickled  in  the  stomach;  it  warmed  the  blood  and 
swelled  the  heart;  new  fires  were  kindled  on  the 
hearth-stones,  new  castles  builded  in  the  air.  If 
Satan  from  Diablo's  peak  had  sounded  the  knell  of 
time;  if  a  heavenly  angel  from  the  Sierra's  height 
had  heralded  the  millennial  day;  if  the  blessed  Christ 
himself  had  risen  from  that  ditch  and  proclaimed  to 
all  mankind  amnesty — their  greedy  hearts  had  never 
half  so  thrilled. 

The  effect  of  the  gold  discovery  could  not  be  long 
confined  to  the  narrow  limits  of  Sutter's  domain.  The 

(52) 


LITTLE  THOUGHT  OF  IT  AT  FIRST.  63 

information  scattered  by  the  Swiss  and  his  dependents 
had  been  further  disseminated  in  different  directions 
by  others.  Nevertheless,  while  a  few  like  Hum 
phrey,  the  Georgia  miner,  responded  at  once  to  the 
influence,  as  a  rule  little  was  thought  of  it  at  first, 
particularly  by  those  at  a  distance.  The  nature  and 
extent  of  the  deposits  being  unknown,  the  significance 
or  importance  of  the  discovery  could  not  be  appre 
ciated.  It  was  not  uncommon  at  any  time  to  hear  of 
gold  or  other  metals  being  found  here,  there,  or  any 
where,  in  America,  Europe,  or  Asia,  and  nothing 
come  of  it.  To  emigrants,  among  other  attractions, 
gold  had  been  mentioned  as  one  of  the  possible  or  prob 
able  resources  of  California;  but  to  plodding  agricul 
turists  or  mechanics  the  idea  of  searching  the  wilder 
ness  for  gold  would  have  been  deemed  visionary,  or 
the  fact  of  little  moment  that  some  one  somewhere 
had  found  gold.1  When  so  intelligent  a  man  as  Sern- 
ple  at  Benicia  was  told  of  it  he  said,  "I  would  give 
more  for  a  good  coal  mine  than  for  all  the  gold  mines 
in  the  universe."  At  Sonoma,  Vallejo  passed  the 
matter  by  with  a  piece  of  pleasantry. 

The  first  small  flakes  of  gold  that  Captain  Folsom 
examined  at  San  Francisco  he  pronounced  mica;  he 
did  not  believe  a  man  who  came  down  some  time  after 
with  twenty  ounces  when  he  claimed  to  have  gathered 
it  in  eight  days.  Some  time  in  April  Folsom  wrote 
to  Mason  at  Monterey,  making  casual  mention  of  the 
existing  rumor  of  gold  on  the  Sacramento.  In  May 
Bradley,  a  friend  of  Folsom 's,  went  to  Monterey,  and 
was  asked  by  Mason  if  he  knew  anything  of  this  gold 
discovery  on  the  American  River.  "I  have  heard  of 

1  'The  people  here  did  not  believe  it,'  says  Findla,  '  they  thought  it  was  a 
hoax.  They  had  found  in  various  places  about  S.  F.,  notably  on  Pacific  Street, 
specimens  of  different  minerals,  gold  and  silver  among  them,  but  in  very  small 
quantities;  and  so  they  were  not  inclined  to  believe  in  the  discovery  at  Sut- 
ter's  mill. '  Gillespie  testifies  to  the  same.  He  did  not  at  all  credit  the  story. 
Three  samples  in  quills  and  vials  were  displayed  before  the  infection  took  in  the 
town.  Gillexpie's  Vig.  Com.,  MS.,  4;  Findla' s  Stat.,  MS.,  4-6;  Willetfs  Thirty 
Years,  19-20. 


54  PROXIMATE  EFFECT  OF  THE  GOLD  DISCOVERY. 

it,"  replied  Bradley.  "A  few  fools  have  hurried  to 
the  place,  but  you  may  be  sure  there  is  nothing  in  it." 

On  Wednesday,  the  15th  of  March,  the  Califomian, 
one  of  the  two  weekly  newspapers  then  published  at 
San  Francisco,  contained  a  brief  paragraph  to  the 
effect  that  gold  had  been  discovered  in  considerable 
quantities  at  Sutter's  saw-mill.2  The  editor  hazarded 
the  remark  that  California  was  probably  rich  in  min 
erals.  On  the  following  Saturday  the  other  weekly 
paper,  the  California  Star,  mentioned,  without  edito 
rial  comment,  that  gold  had  been  found  forty  miles 
above  Sutter's  Fort. 

The  items,  if  noticed  at  all,  certainly  created  no 
excitement.  Little  if  any  more  was  thought  of  gold 
probabilities  than  those  of  silvery  or  quicksilver,  or 
coal,  and  not  half  as  much  as  of  agriculture  and  fruit 
growing.3  This  was  in  March. 

In  April  a  somewhat  altered  tone  is  noticed  in  ac 
cording  greater  consideration  to  the  gold  discoveries.4 

2  This,  the  first  printed  notice  of  the  discovery,  ran  as  follows:  '  Gold  mine 
found.     In  the  newly  made  raceway  of  the  saw-mill  recently  erected  by  Cap 
tain  Sutler  on  the  American  fork,  gold  has  been  found  in  considerable  quan  - 
tities.     One  person  brought  thirty  dollars'  worth  to  New  Helvetia,  gathered 
there  in  a  short  time.     California  no  doubt  is  rich  in  mineral  wealth;  great 
chances  here  for  scientific  capitalists.     Gold  has  been  found  in  every  part  of 
the  country.' 

3  The  editor  of  the  Star,  writing  the  25th  of  March,  says:  'A  good  move 
it  would  be  for  all  property  holders  in  the  place,  who  have  no  very  settled 
purpose  of  improving  the  town,  and  distant  ideas  of  rare  chances  at  specula 
tion,  to  employ  upon  their  unoccupied  lands  some  few  of  our  liquor-house 
idlers,  and  in  the  process  of  ploughing,  harrowing,  hoeing,  and  planting  it  is 
not  idle  to  believe  some  hidden  treasure  would  be  brought  out.     Some  silver 
mines  are  wanted  in  this  vicinity,  could  they  be  had  without  experiencing 
the  ill  effects  following  in  the  train  of  their  discovery.     Monterey,  our  cap 
ital,  rests  on  a  bed  of  quicksilver,  so  say  the  cute  and  knowing.      We  say  if 
we  can  discover  ourselves  upon  a  bed  of  silver  we,  for  our  single  self,  shall 
straightway  throw  up  the  pen  and  cry  aloud  with  Hood:  'A  pickaxe  or  a 
spade.'     On  the  same  date  he  says:   '  So  great  is  the  quantity  of  gold  taken 
from  the  mine  recently  found  at  New  Helvetia  that  it  has  become  an  article 
of  traffic  in  that  vicinity.' 

4Fourgeaud,  in  a  serial  article  on  '  The  Prospects  of  California,'  writes  in 
the  Star  the  1st  of  April:  '  We  saw,  a  few  days  ago,  a  beautiful  specimen  of 
gold  from  the  mine  newly  discovered  on  the  American  fork.  From  all  ac 
counts  the  mine  is  immensely  rich,  and  already  we  learn  that  gold  from  it, 
collected  at  random  and  without  any  trouble,  has  become  an  article  of  trade 
at  the  upper  settlements.  This  precious  metal  abounds  in  this  country.  We 
h;ive  heard  of  several  other  newly  discovered  mines  of  gold,  but  as  these  re 
ports  are  not  yet  authenticated,  \ve  shall  pass  over  them.  However,  it  is  well 
known  that  there  is  a  pJacero  of  gold  a  few  miles  from  the  Ciudad  de  los  An- 


THE  MIGRATION  QUIETLY  SETS  IN.  55 

Yet  the  knowing  ones  are  backward  about  committing 
themselves;  and  when  overcome  by  curiosity  to  see 
the  mines,  they  pretend  business  elsewhere  rather 
than  admit  their  destination.  Thus  E.  C.  Kemble, 
editor  of  the  Star,  announces  on  the  15th  his  inten 
tion  to  " ruralize  among  the  rustics  of  the  country  for 
a  few  weeks."  Hastening  to  the  mines  he  makes  his 
observations,  returns,  and  in  jerky  diction  flippantly 
remarks :  "  Great  country,  fine  climate ;  visit  this  great 
valley,  we  would  advise  all  who  have  not  yet  done  so. 
See  it  now.  Full-flowing  streams,  mighty  timber, 
large  crops,  luxuriant  clover,  fragrant  flowers,  gold 
and  silver."  This  is  all  Mr  Kemble  says  of  his  journey 
in  his  issue  of  the  6th  of  May,  the  first  number  after 
his  return.  Whether  he  walked  as  one  blind  and  void 
of  intelligence,  or  saw  more  than  his  interests  seem- 

O  ' 

ingly  permitted  him  to  tell,  does  not  appear. 

There  were  men,  however,  more  observant  and  out 
spoken  than  the  astute  editor,  some  of  whom  left  town 
singly,  or  in  small  parties  of  seldom  more  than  two 
or  three.  They  said  little,  as  if  fearing  ridicule,  but 
crossed  quietly  to  Sauzalito,  and  thence  took  the  di 
rection  of  Sonoma  and  Sutter's  Fort.  The  mystery 
of  the  movement  in  itself  proved  an  incentive,  to  which 
accumulating  reports  and  specimens  gave  intensity,  till 
it  reached  a  climax  with  the  arrival  of  several  well- 
laden  diggers,  bringing  bottles,  tin  cans,  and  buckskin 
bags  filled  with  the  precious  metal,  which  their  owners 

geles,  and  another  on  the  San  Joaquin. '  In  another  column  of  the  same  issue 
we  read  that  at  the  American  River  diggings  the  gold  '  is  found  at  a  depth 
of  three  feet  below  the  surface,  and  in  a  strata  of  soft  sand-rock.  Explorations 
made  southward  to  the  distance  of  twelve  miles,  and  to  the  north  five  miles, 
report  the  continuance  of  this  strata  and  the  mineral  equally  abundant.  The 
vein  is  from  twelve  to  eighteen  feet  in  thickness.  Most  advantageously  to 
this  new  mine,  a  stream  of  water  flows  in  its  immediate  neighborhood,  and 
the  washing  will  be  attended  with  comparative  ease.'  These,  and  the  two 
items  already  alluded  to  in  the  Star  of  the  18th  and  25th  of  March,  are  the 
only  notices  in  this  paper  of  the  diggings  prior  to  the  22d  of  April,  when  it 
states:  'We  have  been  informed,  from  unquestionable  authority,  that  another 
still  more  extensive  and  valuable  gold  mine  lias  been  discovered  towards  the 
head  of  the  American  fork,  in  the  Sacramento  Valley.  We  have  seen  several 
specimens  taken  from  it,  to  the  amount  of  eight  or  ten  ounces  of  pure  virgin 
gold.'  The  Calif  or  nian  said  even  less  on  the  subject  during  the  same  period. 


56  PROXIMATE  EFFECT  OF  THE  GOLD  DISCOVERY. 

treated  with  a  familiarity  hitherto  unknown  in  these 
parts  to  such  worshipful  wealth.  Among  the  comers 
was  Samuel  Brannan,  the  Mormon  leader,  who,  hold 
ing  up  a  bottle  of  dust  in  one  hand,  and  swinging  his 
hat  with  the  other,  passed  along  the  street  shouting, 
"  Gold !  Gold !  Gold  from  the  American  River  I"5 

This  took  place  in  the  early  part  of  May.  The 
conversion  of  San  Francisco  was  complete.  Those 
who  had  hitherto  denied  a  lurking  faith  now  unblush- 
ingly  proclaimed  it;  and  others,  who  had  refused  to 
believe  even  in  specimens  exhibited  before  their  eyes, 
hesitated  no  longer  in  accepting  any  reports,  however 
exaggerated,  and  in  speeding  them  onward  duly  mag 
nified.6  Many  were  thrown  into  a  fever  of  excitement,7 
and  all  yielded  more  or  less  to  the  subtle  influence  of 

5  'He  took  his  hat  off  and  swung  it,  shouting  aloud  in  the  streets.'  Bigler's 
Diary,  MS. ,  79.     Evans  in  the  Oregon  Bulletin  makes  the  date  'about  the  12th 
of  May.'     See  also  Findla's  Stab.,  MS.,  4-6;  Ross' Stat.t  MS.,  12;  Jf.  Helv. 
Diary,  passim.     Gillespie,  Vig.  Com.,  MS.,  4,  refers  to  three  samples  seen  by 
him,  the  third  'was  a  whole  quinine-bottle  full,  which  set  all  the  people  wild.' 

6  By  the  10th  of  June  the  sapient  sceptic,  Kemble,  turned   completely 
around  in  expressing  his  opinion,  denying  that  he  had  ever  discouraged,  not 
to  say  denounced,  'the  employment  in  which  over  two  thirds  of  the  white 
population  of  this  country  are  engaged.'     But  it  was  too  late  to  save  either 
his  reputation  or  his  journal.    There  were  not  wanting  others  still  to  denounce 
in  vain  and  loudly  all  mines  and  miners.      'I  doubt,  sir,'  one  exclaims,  in  the 
Californian,  'if  ever  the  sun  shone  upon  such  a  farce  as  is  now  being  enacted 
in  California,  though  I  fear  it  may  prove  a  tragedy  before  the  curtain  drops. 
I  consider  it  your  duty,  Mr  Editor,  as  a  conservator  of  the  public  morals 
and  welfare,  to  raise  your  voice  against  the  thing.     It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
General  Mason  will  despatch  the  volunteers  to  the  scene  of  action,  and  send 
these   unfortunate   people   to  their  homes,  and   prevent  others  from   going 
thither.'     This  man  quickly  enough  belied  a  wisdom  which  led  him  unwit 
tingly  to  perform  the  part  of  heavy  simpleton  in  the  drama.    Dunbar,  Romance 
of  the  Age,  102,  with  his  usual  accuracy,  places  this  communication  in  the 
Alta  California,  May  24,  1848 — impossible,  from  the  fact  that  on  that  day  no 
paper  was  issued  in  California,  and  iheAlta  never  saw  the  light  until  the  fol 
lowing  January. 

7  Carson,  Rec.,  4,  who  for  a  long  time  had  rejected  all  reports,  was  finally 
convinced  by  a  returning  digger,  who  opened  his  well-tilled  bag  before  him. 
'I  looked  on  for  a  moment;'  he  writes,  'a  frenzy  seized  my  soul;  unbidden 
my  legs  performed  some  entirely  new  movements  of  polka  steps — I   took 
several — houses  were  too  small  for  me  to  stay  in;  I  was  soon  in  the  street  in 
search  of  necessary  outfits;  piles  of  gold  rose  up  before  me  at  every  step; 
castles  of  marble,  dazzling  the  eye  with  their  i*ich  appliances;  thousands  of 
slaves  bowing  to  my  beck  and  call;  myriads  of  fair  virgins  contending  with 
each  other  for  my  love — were  among  the  fancies  .of  my  fevered  imagination. 
The  Rothschilds,  Girards,  and  Astors  appeared  to  me  but  poor  people;  in 
short,  I  had  a  very  violent  attack  of  the  gold  fever.'     For  further  particulars, 
see  Larkirfs  Doc,,  MS.,  iv.  passim. 


ROUTES  TO  THE  MINES.  57 

the  malady.8  Men  hastened  to  arrange  their  affairs, 
dissolving  partnerships,  disposing  of  real  estate,  and 
converting  other  effects  into  ready  means  for  depart 
ure.  Within  a  few  days  an  exodus  set  in  that  startled 
those  who  had  placed  their  hopes  upon  the  peninsular 
metropolis.9  "Fleets  of  launches  left  this  place  on 
Sunday  and  Monday,"  exclaims  Editor  Kemble, 
"closely  stowed  with  human  beings.  .  .Was  there 
ever  anything  so  superlatively  silly?"10  But  sneers, 
expostulations,  and  warnings  availed  not  with  a  multi 
tude  so  possessed. 

The  nearest  route  was  naturally  sought — by  water 
up  the  Bay  into  the  Sacramento,  and  thence  where 
fortune  beckoned.  The  few  available  sloops,  lighters, 
arid  nondescript  craft  were  quickly  engaged  arid  filled 
for  the  mines.  Many  who  could  not  obtain  passage 
in  the  larger  vessels  sold  all  their  possessions,  when 
necessary,  and  bought  a  small  boat;11  every  little 
rickety  cockleshell  was  made  to  serve  the  purpose; 
and  into  these  they  bundled  their  effects,  set  up  a  sail, 
and  steered  for  Carquines  Strait.  Then  there  were 
two  routes  by  land :  one  across  to  Sauzalito  by  launch, 
and  thence  by  mule,  mustang,  or  on  foot,  by  way  of 
San  Rafael  and  Sonoma,  into  the  California  Valley; 
and  the  other  round  the  southern  end  of  the  Bay  and 
through  Livermore  Pass. 

o 

8 Brooks  writes  in  his  diary,  under  date  of  May  10th:  'Nothing  has  been 
talked  of  but  the  new  gold  placer,  as  people  call  it.'  'Several  parties,  we 
hear,  are  already  made  up  to  visit  the  diggings.'  May  13th:  'The  gold  excite 
ment  increases  daily,  as  several  fresh  arrivals  from  the  mines  have  been  re 
ported  at  San  Francisco.'  Four  Months  among  the  Gold-finders,  14-15. 

9  'Several  hundred  people  must  have  left  here  during  the  last  few  days,' 
writes  Brooks  in  his  diary,  under  date  of  May  20th.     '  In  the  month  of  May 
it  was  computed  that  at  least  150  people  had  left  S.  F.,  and  every  day  since 
was   adding   to   their  number.'  Annals  S.  F.,  203.     The  census  taken  the 
March  previous  showed  810,  of  whom  177  were  women  and  60  children;  so 
that  150  would  be  over  one  fourth  of  the  male  population.    See  also  letter  of 
Bassham  to  Cooper,  May  15th,  in  Vallejo,  Doc.,  MS.,  xxxv.  47.     Those  with 
out  means  have  only  to  go  to  a  merchant  and  borrow  from  §1,000  to  $2,000, 
and  give  him  an  order  on  the  gold  mines,  is  the  way  Coutts,  Diary,  MS.,  1 13, 
puts  it. 

10  Cat.  Star,  May  20,  1848.     Kemble,  who  is  fast  coming  to  grief,  curses 
the  whole  business,  and  pronounces  the  mines  'all  sham,  a  supurb  (sic)  take- 
in  as  was  ever  got  up  to  guzzle  the  gullible.' 

11  'Little  row-boats,  that  before  were  probably  sold  for  $50,  were  sold  for 
$400  or  $500.'  Gillexpie,  Vig.  Com.,  MS.,  3. 


58  PROXIMATE  EFFECT  OF  THE  GOLD  DISCOVERY. 

Roads  there  were  none  save  the  trails  between  larger 
settlements.  With  the  sun  for  compass,  and  moun 
tain  peaks  for  finger-posts,  new  paths  were  marked 
across  the  trackless  plains  and  through  the  untrodden 
woods.  Most  of  the  gold-seekers  could  afford  a  horse, 
and  even  a  pack-animal,  which  was  still  to  be  had  for 
fifteen  dollars,12  and  thus  proceed  with  greater  speed 
to  the  goal,  to  the  envy  of  the  number  that  had  to 
content  themselves  with  wagons,  which,  though  white- 
covered  and  snug,  with  perhaps  a  family  inside,  were 
cumbersome  and  slow,  especially  when  drawn  by  oxen. 
Often  a  pedestrian  was  passed  trudging  along  under 
his  load,  glad  to  get  his  effects  carried  across  the  stream 
by  some  team,  although  he  himself  might  have  to 
breast  the  current  swimming,  perchance  holding  to 
the  tail  of  some  horse.  There  were  ferries  only  at 
rare  points.  Charles  L.  Ross13  had  left  for  the  mines 
the  last  of  April,  by  way  of  Alviso,  and  crossed  the 
strait  of  Carquines  by  Semple's  ferry  at  Martinez. 
At  this  time  he  was  the  only  person  on  the  boat. 
When  he  returned,  less  than  a  fortnight  after,  there 
were  200  wagons  on  their  way  to  the  foothills,  wait 
ing  their  turn  to  cross  at  the  ferry.14 

In  the  general  eagerness  personal  comfort  became 

12  One  rider  rented  his  animals  at  the  mines  for  f  100  per  week.  Brooks 
crossed  to  Sauzalito  with  four  companions  who  were  attended  by  an  Indian 
servant  to  drive  their  six  horses  laden  with  baggage  and  camp  equipments. 
Vallejo,  Hist.  CaL,  MS.,  iv.,  points  out  that  Sonoma  reaped  benefit  as  a  way- 
station. 

13 Experiences  of  a  Pioneer  of  1847  in  California,  by  Charles  L.  Ross,  is  the 
title  of  a  manuscript  written  at  the  dictation  of  Mr  Ross  by  my  stenographer, 
Mr  Leighton,  in  1878.  Mr  Ross  left  New  Jersey  in  Nov.  1846,  passed  round 
Cape  Horn  in  the  bark  Whiton,  arriving  in  Cal.  in  April  1847.  The  very  in 
teresting  information  contained  in  this  manuscript  is  all  embodied  in  the 
pages  of  this  history. 

14  'They  having  collected  there  in  that  short  time — men,  women,  and  chil 
dren,  families  who  had  left  their  homes,  and  gathered  in  there  from  down  the 
coast.  They  had  organized  a  committee,  and  each  man  was  registered  on  his 
arrival,  and  each  took  his  turn  in  crossing.  The  boat  ran  night  and  day, 
carrying  each  time  two  wagons  and  horses  and  the  people  connected  with 
the.  i.  Some  of  them  had  to  camp  there  quite  a  while.  After  a  time  somebody 
else  got  a  scow  and  started  another  ferry,  and  they  got  across  faster. '  Ross* 
Experiences,  MS. ,  1 1-12.  '  Semple  obtains  from  passengers  some  $20  per  day, 
and  hass  not  a  single  boatman  to  help  him.  Only  one  man  has  offered  to  re 
main,  and  he  only  for  two  weeks  at  $25  a  week.'  Letter  of  Larkin  to  Mason 
from  San  Jos6,  May  26,  1848,  iu  Doc.  Hist.  CaL,  MS. 


EXCITEMENT.  59 

of  secondary  consideration.  Some  started  without  a 
dollar,  or  with  insufficient  supplies  and  covering,  often 
to  suffer  severely  in  reaching  the  ground;  but  once 
there  they  expected  quickly  to  fill  their  pockets  with 
what  would  buy  the  services  of  their  masters,  and  ob 
tain  for  them  abundance  to  eat.  Many  were  fed  while 
on  the  way  as  by  the  ravens  of  Midas;  for  there  were 
few  in  California  then  or  since  who  would  see  a  fellow- 
being  starve.  But  if  blankets  and  provisions  were 
neglected,  none  overlooked  the  all-important  shovel, 
the  price  for  which  jumped  from  one  dollar  to  six,  ten, 
or  even  more,16  and  stores  were  rummaged  for  pick 
axes,  hoes,  bottles,  vials,  snuff-boxes,  and  brass  tubes, 
the  latter  for  holding  the  prospective  treasure.16 

Through  June  the  excitement  continued,  after 
which  there  were  few  left  to  be  excited.  Indeed,  by 
the  middle  of  this  month  the  abandonment  of  San 
Francisco  was  complete;  that  is  to  say,  three  fourths 
of  the  male  population  had  gone  to  the  mines.  It  was 
as  if  an  epidemic  had  swept  the  little  town  so  lately 
bustling  with  business,  or  as  if  it  was  always  early 
morning  there.  Since  the  presence  of  United  States 
forces  San  Francisco  had  put  on  pretensions,  and 
scores  of  buildings  had  been  started.  "  But  now," 
complains  the  Star,  the  27th  of  May,  "stores  are 
closed  and  places  of  business  vacated,  a  large  number 
of  houses  tenantless,  various  kinds  of  mechanical  labor 
suspended  or  given  up  entirely,  and  nowhere  the 
pleasant  hum  of  industry  salutes  the  ear  as  of  late; 
but  as  if  a  curse  had  arrested  our  onward  course  of 
enterprise,  everything  wears  a  desolate  and  sombre 
look,  everywhere  all  is  dull,  monotonous,  dead."17 

15  'I  am  informed  $50  has  been  offered  for  one,'  writes  Larkin  on  June  1st. 

16  'Earthen  jars  and  even  barrels  have  been  put  in  requisition,'  observes 
the  Calif  or  nian  of  Aug.  5th. 

17  The  following  advertisement  appears  in  this  issue:   '  The  highest  mar 
ket  price  will  be  paid  for  gold,  either  cash  or  merchandise,  by  Mellus  &  How 
ard,  Montgomery  street.'     Again,  by  the  same  firm  goods  were  offered  for 
sale  'for  cash,  hides  and  tallow,  or  placera  gold.'  C<d.  Star,  May  27,  1848. 


Of  quite  a  different  character  was  another  notice  in  the  same  issue.  '  Pay  up 
before  you  go  —  everybody  knows  where,'  the  editor  cries.  'Papers  can  be 
forwarded  to  Sutter's  Fort  with  all  regularity.  But  pay  the  printer,  if  you 


60  PROXIMATE  EFFECT  OF  THE  GOLD  DISCOVERY. 

Real  estate  had  dropped  one  half  or  more,  and  all 
merchandise  not  used  in  the  mines  declined,  while 
labor  rose  tenfold  in  price.18 

Spreading  their  valedictions  on  fly-sheets,  the  only 
two  journals  now  faint  dead  away,  the  Californian  on 
the  29th  of  May,  and  the  Star  on  the  14th  of  June. 
"  The  whole  country  from  San  Francisco  to  Los  An 
geles,"  exclaimed  the  former,  "and  from  the  seashore 
to  the  base  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  resounds  to  the  sor 
did  cry  of  gold!  GOLD!  !  GOLD  I ! !  while  the  field  is 
left  half  planted,  the  house  half  built,  and  everything 
neglected  but  the  manufacture  of  shovels  and  pick 
axes,  and  the  means  of  transportation  to  the  spot 
where  one  man  obtained  $128  worth  of  the  real  stuff  in 
one  day's  washing,  and  the  average  for  all  concerned 
is  $20  per  diem."  Sadly  spoke  Kemble,  he  who  vis 
ited  the  gold  mines  and  saw  nothing,  he  to  whom 
within  four  weeks  the  whole  thing  was  a  sham,  a 
superlatively  silly  sham,  groaning  within  and  without, 
but  always  in  very  bad  English,  informing  the  world 
that  his  paper  "  could  not  be  made  by  magic,  and  the 
labor  of  mechanism  was  as  essential  to  its  existence 
as  to  all  other  arts;"  and  as  neither  men  nor  devils 

please,  all  you  in  arrears.'  See  also  Findla's  Stat.,  MS.,  4-6.  After  quite  a 
busy  life,  during  which  he  gained  some  pi'ominence  as  editor  of  the  Star  and 
Californian  and  the  Alia  California,  and  later  as  government  official  and 
newspaper  correspondent,  Kemble  died  at  the  east  the  10th  of  Feb.  188ii. 
He  was  a  man  highly  esteemed  in  certain  circles. 

18  Pay  the  cost  of  the  house,  and  the  lot  would  be  thrown  in.  On  the 
fifty- vara  corner  Pine  and  Kearny  streets  was  a  house  which  had  cost  $400  to 
build;  both  house  and  lot  were  offered  for  $350.  Ross*  Ex.,  MS.,  12;  Lar kin's 
Doc.,  MS.,  vi.,  144.  On  the  door  of  a  score  of  houses  was  posted  the  notice, 
'Gone  to  the  Diggings!'  From  San  Jos6  Larkin  writes  to  the  governor, 
'  The  improvement  of  Yerba  Buenafor  the  present  is  done.'  Letter,  May  26th, 
in  Larkin's  Doc.  Hi$t.  Gal.,  MS.,  vi.  74.  Even  yet  the  name  San  Francisco 
has  not  become  familiar  to  those  accustomed  to  that  of  Yerba  Buena.  See  also 
Brooks'  Four  Months,  in  which  is  written,  under  date  of  May  17th:  '  Work 
people  have  struck.  Walking  through  the  town  to-day  I  observed  that 
laborers  were  employed  only  upon  half  a  dozen  of  the  fifty  new  buildings 
which  were  in  the  course  of  being  run  up.'  May  20th:  'Sweating  tells  me 
that  his  negro  waiter  has  demanded  and  receives  ten  dollars  a  day.'  Larkin, 
writing  from  S.  F.  to  Secretary  Buchanan,  June  1st,  remarks  that  'some  par 
ties  of  from  five  to  fifteen  men  have  sent  to  this  town  and  offered  cooks  $10 
to  $15  a  day  for  a  few  weeks.  Mechanics  and  teamsters,  earning  the  year 
past  $5  to  $8  per  day,  have  struck  and  gone.  .  .A  merchant  lately  from  China 
has  even  lost  his  Chinese  servant. ' 


DESERTING  SAILORS.  61 

could  be  kept  to  service,  the  wheels  of  progress  here 
must  rest  a  while. 

So  also  came  to  an  end  for  a  time  the  sittings  of 
the  town  council,  and  the  services  of  the  sanctuary, 
all  having  gone  after  other  gods.  All  through  the 
Sundays  the  little  church  on  the  plaza  was  silent,  and 
all  through  the  week  days  the  door  of  Alcalde  Towns- 
end's  office  remained  locked.  As  for  the  shipping,  it 
was  left  to  the  anchor,  even  this  dull  metal  some 
times  being  inconstant.  The  sailors  departing,  cap 
tain  and  officers  could  only  follow  their  example.  One 
commander,  on  observing  the  drift  of  affairs,  gave 
promptly  the  order  to  put  to  sea.  The  crew  refused 
to  work,  and  that  night  gagged  the  watch,  lowered 
the  boat,  and  rowed  away.  In  another  instance  the 
watch  joined  in  absconding.  Not  long  afterward  a 
Peruvian  brig  entered  the  bay,  the  first  within  three 
weeks.  The  houses  were  there,  but  no  one  came  out 
to  welcome  it.  At  length,  hailing  a  Mexican  who 
was  passing,  the  captain  learned  that  everybody  had 
gone  northward,  where  the  valleys  and  mountains 
were  of  gold.  On  the  instant  the  crew  were  off.19 

19  So  run  these  stories.  Ferry,  CaL,  306-13.  The  captain  who  sought  to 
put  to  sea  commanded  the  Flora,  according  to  a  letter  in  June  of  a  merchant. 
Robinson's  Gold  Regions,  29-30;  Revere's  Tour  of  Duty,  254.  One  of  the  first 
vessels  to  be  deserted  was  a  ship  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  lying  at 
anchor  in  the  bay;  the  sailors  departing,  the  captain  followed  them,  leaving 
the  vessel  in  charge  of  his  wife  and  daughter.  McKinstry,  in  the  Lancaster 
Examiner.  Loud  complaints  appear  in  the  Calif ornian,  Sept.  5,  1848;  every 
ship  loses  most  of  her  crew  within  forty-eight  hours  after  arrival.  See  Brackett, 
U.  8.  Cavalry,  125-7.  The  first  steamship,  the  California,  arriving  Feb.  28, 
1849,  was  immediately  deserted  by  her  crew;  Forbes  asked  Jones  of  the  U.  S. 
squadron  for  men  to  take  charge  of  the  ship,  but  the  poor  commodore  had 
none.  Crosby's  Stat.,  MS.,  12;  Annals  S.  F.,  220;  First  Steamship  Pioneers, 
124.  To  prevent  desertion,  the  plan  was  tried  of  giving  sailors  two  months' 
furlough;  whereby  some  few  returned,  but  most  of  them  preferred  liberty, 
wealth,  and  dissipation  to  the  tyranny  of  service.  Swarfs  Trip  to  the  Gold 
Mines,  in  CaL  Pioneers,  MS.,  no.  49.  Some  Mexicans  arriving,  and  finding 
the  town  depopulated  of  its  natural  defenders,  broke  into  vacant  houses  and 
took  what  they  would.  The  Dinner's  Hand-Book,  53.  See  also  the  Calif or- 
nian,  Aug.  4,  1848;  George  McKinstry,  in  Lancaster  Examiner;  Stockton  I nd., 
Oct.  19,  1875;  Saratov's  Stat.,  MS.,  3-4;  Sac.  111.,  7;  Forbes*  Gold  Region, 
17-18;  TuthilVsCaL,  235-44;  Three  Weeks  in  Gold  Mine*,  4;  Canon's  Early 
Rec.,  3-4;  Lants,  KaL,  24-31;  Hayes'  Col.  Cal.  Fotes,  v.  85;  Revue  des  Deux 
Mondes,  Feb.  1,  1849,  4G9;  Quarterly  Review,  no.  91,  1852,508;  HitteWs  Min 
ing,  17;  Brooks'  Four  Months,  18;  Overland  Monthly,  xi.  12-13;  Ryan's  Judges 
and  Crim.,  72-7;  Am.  Quat.  Reg.,  ii.  288-95,  giving  the  report's  of  Larkin, 


62  PROXIMATE  EFFECT  OF  THE  GOLD  DISCOVERY. 

Other  towns  and  settlements  in  California  were  no 
less  slow  than  San  Francisco  to  move  under  the  new 
fermentation.  Indeed,  they  were  more  apathetic,  and 
were  finally  stirred  into  excitement  less  by  the  facts 
than  by  the  example  of  the  little  metropolis.  Yet  the 
Mexicans  were  in  madness  no  whit  behind  the  Amer 
icans,  nor  the  farmers  less  impetuous  than  townsmen 
when  once  the  fury  seized  them.  May  had  not  wholly 
passed  when  at  San  Jose  the  merchant  closed  his 
store,  or  if  the  stock  was  perishable  left  open  the  doors 
that  people  might  help  themselves,  and  incontinently 
set  out  upon  the  pilgrimage.  So  the  judge  abandoned 
his  bench  and  the  doctor  his  patients;  even  the  alcalde 
dropped  the  reins  of  government  and  went  away  with 
his  subjects.20  Criminals  slipped  their  fetters  and 

Mason,  Jones,  and  Paymaster  Rich  on  gold  excitement;  Wille.y's  Decade  Ser 
mons,  12-17;  Glcason's  Cath.  Church,  ii.  175-93;  Sherman's  Memoirs,  i.  46-9; 
S.  F.  Directory,  1852-3,  8-9;  8.  I.  News,  ii.  142-8,  giving  the  extract  of  a 
letter  from  S.  F.,  May  27th;  Vallejo  Recorder,  March  14,  1848;  Cal.  Past 
and  Present,  77;  G'dlc*pie\s  Vig.  Com.,  MS.,  3-4;  Findla's  Stat.,  MS.,  4-6. 
The  Calif ornian  newspaper  revived  shortly  after  its  suspension  in  May. 

20  The  alguacil,  Henry  Bee,  had  ten  Indian  prisoners  under  his  charge  in 
the  lock-up,  two  of  them  charged  with  murder.  These  he  would  have  turned 
over  to  the  alcalde,  but  that  functionary  had  already  taken  his  departure. 
Bee  was  puzzled  how  to  dispose  of  his  wards,  for  though  he  was  determined 
to  go  to  the  mines,  it  would  never  do  to  let  them  loose  upon  a  community  of 
women  and  children.  Finally  he  took  all  the  prisoners  with  him  to  the 
diggings,  where  they  worked  contentedly  for  him  until  other  miners,  jealous 
of  Bee's  success,  incited  them  to  revolt.  By  that  time,  however,  the  alguacil 
had  made  his  fortune.  So  goes  the  story.  San  JO*Q  Pioneer,  Jan.  27,  1877. 
Writing  Mason  the  26th  of  May  from  San  Jose",  Larkin  says:  '  Last  night  sev 
eral  of  the  most  respectable  American  residents  of  this  town  arrived  home 
from  a  visit  to  the  gold  regions;  next  week  they  with  their  families,  and  I 
think  nine  tenths  of  the  foreign  store-keepers,  mechanics,  and  day-laborers  of 
this  place,  and  perhaps  of  San  Francisco,  leave  for  the  Sacramento.'  West,  a 
stable-keeper,  had  two  brothers  in  the  mines,  who  urged  him  at  once  to  hasten 
thither  and  bring  his  family.  '  Burn  the  barn  if  you  cannot  dispose  of  it 
otherwise, '  they  said.  C.  L.  Ross  writes  from  the  mines  in  April,  Experience* 
from  1847,  MS.:  'I  found  John  M.  Horner,  of  the  mission  of  San  Jose",  who 
told  me  he  had  left  about  500  acres  of  splendid  wheat  for  the  cattle 
to  roam  over  at  will,  he  and  his  family  having  deserted  their  place  en 
tirely,  and  started  off  for  the  mines.'  J.  Belden,  Nov.  6th,  writes  Lar 
kin  from  San  Jose":  'The  town  is  full  of  people  coming  from  and  going  to 
the  gold  mines.  A  man  just  from  there  told  me  he  saw  the  governor  and 
Squire  Colton  there,  in  rusty  rig,  scratching  gravel  for  gold,  but  with 
little  success.'  Larkirfs  Doc.,  MS.,  vi.  219.  And  so  in  the  north.  Semple, 
writing  Larkin  May  19th,  says  that  in  three  days  there  would  not  be  two 
men  left  in  Benicia;  and  Cooper,  two  days  later,  declared  that  everybody  was 
leaving  except  Brant  and  Semple.  Larkin's  Doc.,  MS.,  \i.  111,116;  Valhjo, 
Doc.,  MS.,  xii.  344.  From  Sonoma  some  one  wrote  in  the  California^,  Aug. 
5th,  that  the  town  was  wellnigh  depopulated.  'Not  a  laboring  man  or 


IN  THE  SOUTH.  63 

hastened  northward;  their  keepers  followed  in  pur 
suit,  if  indeed  they  had  not  preceded,  but  they  took 
care  not  to  find  them.  Soldiers  fled  from  their  posts; 
others  were  sent  for  them,  and  none  returned.  Val 
uable  land  grants  were  surrendered,  and  farms  left 
tenantless;  waving  fields  of  grain  stood  abandoned, 
perchance  opened  to  the  roaming  cattle,  and  gardens 
were  left  to  run  to  waste.  The  country  seemed  as  if 
smitten  by  a  plague.21 

All  along  down  the  coast  from  Monterey  to  Santa 
Barbara,  Los  Angeles,  and  San  Diego,  it  was  the 
same.  Towns  and  country  were  wellnigh  depopu 
lated.  There  the  fever  raged  fiercest  during  the  three 

O  O 

summer  months.  At  the  capital  a  letter  from  Larkin 
gave  the  impulse,  and  about  the  same  time,  upon  the 
statement  of  Swan,  four  Mormons  called  at  Monterey 
en  route  for  Los  Angeles,  who  were  reported  to  carry 
100  pounds  avoirdupois  of  gold  gathered  in  less  than 
a  month  at  Mormon  Island.  This  was  in  June.  A 
fortnight  after  the  town  was  depopulated,  1,000  start 
ing  from  that  vicinity  within  a  week.22  At  San  Fran- 
mechanic  can  be  obtained  in  town.'  Vallejo  says  that  the  first  notice  of  gold 
having  been  discovered  was  conveyed  to  Sonoma  through  a  flask  of  gold-dust 
sent  by  Sutter  to  clear  a  boat-load  of  wheat  which  had  been  forwarded  in  part 
payment  for  the  Ross  property,  but  lay  seized  for  debt  at  Sonoma.  'Gov. 
Boggs,  then  alcalde  of  Sonoma,  and  I,'  says  Vallejo,  'started  at  once  for  Sac 
ramento  to  test  the  truth  of  the  report,  and  found  that  Sutter,  Marshall,  and 
others  had  been  taking  out  gold  for  some  time  at  Coloma.  .  .  \Ve  came  back  to 
Sonoma,  and  such  was  the  enthusiasm  of  the  people  that  the  town  and  entire 
country  was  soon  deserted.'  Vallejo's  Oration  at  Sonoma,  July  4,  1876,  in 
Sonoma  Democrat,  July  8,  1876.  The  general  evidently  forgets,  or  at  all 
events  ignores,  the  many  rumors  current  prior  to  the  reception  of  the  flask, 
as  well  as  the  positive  statement  with  proofs  of  friends  and  passers-by. 

21  Such  is  Mason's  report.  Maria  Aiitonia  Pico  de  Castro,  announcing 
from  Monterey  to  her  son  Manuel  in  Mexico  the  grand  discovery,  says  that 
everybody  is  crazy  for  the  gold;  meanwhile  stock  is  comparatively  safe  from 
thieves,  but  on  the  other  hand  hides  and  tallow  are  worth  nothing.  Doc. 
Hist.  CaL,  MS.,  i.  505.  At  Santa  Cruz  A.  A.  Hecox  and  eleven  others  peti 
tioned  the  alcalde  the  30th  of  Dec.  for  a  year's  extension  of  time  in  comply 
ing  with  the  conditions  of  the  grants  of  land  obtained  by  them  according 
to  the  usual  form.  Under  the  pressure  of  the  gold  excitement  labor  had 
become  so  scarce  and  high  that  they  found  it  impossible  to  have  lumber  drawn 
for  houses  and  fences.  The  petition  was  granted. 

22 Swan's  Trip,  1-3;  Buffuiris  Six  Months,  68;  Carson's  Rec.,  4.  'One 
day,'  says  Carson,  who  was  then  at  Monterey,  'I  saw  a  form,  bent  and  filthy, 
approaching  me,  and  soon  a  cry  of  recognition  was  given  between  us.  He  was 
an  old  acquaintance,  and  had  been  one  of  the  first  to  visit  the  mines.  Now 
be  stood  before  me.  His  hair  hung  out  of  his  hat;  his  chin  with  beard  was 


64  PROXIMATE  EFFECT  OF  THE  GOLD  DISCOVERY. 

cisco  commerce  had  been  chiefly  affected;  here  it  was 
government  that  was  stricken.  Mason's  small  force 
was  quickly  thinned;  and  by  the  middle  of  July,  if  we 
may  believe  the  Reverend  Colton,  who  never  was 
guilty  of  spoiling  a  story  by  too  strict  adherence  to 
truth,  the  governor  and  general-in-chief  of  California 
was  cooking  his  own  dinner.23 

In  a  proclamation  of  July  25th,  Colonel  Mason 
called  on  the  people  to  assist  in  apprehending  desert 
ers.  He  threatened  the  foothills  with  a  dragoon 
force;  but  whence  were  to  come  the  dragoons?  The 
officers  were  as  eager  to  be  off  as  the  men ;  many  of 
them  obtained  leave  to  go,  and  liberal  furloughs  were 

O       *  O 

granted  to  the  soldiers,  for  those  who  could  not  obtain 
leave  went  without  leave.  As  the  officers  who  re 
mained  could  no  longer  afford  to  live  in  their  accus 
tomed  way,  a  cook's  wages  being  $300  a  month,  they 
were  allowed  to  draw  rations  in  kind,  which  they  ex 
changed  for  board  in  private  families.24  But  even 

black,  and  his  buckskins  reached  to  his  knees.'  The  man  had  a  bag  of  gold 
on  his  back.  The  sight  of  its  contents  started  Carson  on  his  way  at  once.  In 
May  Larkin  had  prophesied  that  by  June  the  town  would  be  without  inhabi 
tants.  June  1st  Mason  at  Monterey  wrote  Larkin  at  S.  F. :  'The  golden-yel 
low  fever  has  not  yet,  I  believe,  assumed  here  its  worst  type,  though  the 
premonitory  symptoms  are  beginning  to  exhibit  themselves,  and  doubtless 
the  epidemic  will  pass  over  Monterey,  leaving  the  marks  of  its  ravages,  as  it 
has  done  at  S.  F.  and  elsewhere.  Take  care  you  don't  become  so  charged 
with  its  malaria  as  to  inoculate  and  infect  us  all  when  you  return.'  Jackson 
McDuffee,  addressing  Larkin  on  the  same  date,  says:  '  Monterey  is  very  dull, 
nothing  doing,  the  gold  fever  is  beginning  to  take  a  decided  effect  here,  and  a 
large  party  will  leave  for  the  Sacramento  the  last  of  the  week.  Shovels, 
spades,  picks,  and  other  articles  wanted  by  these  wild  adventurers  are  in 
great  demand.'  Schallenberger  on  the  8th  of  June  tells  Larkin  that  'a  great 
many  are  leaving  Monterey.  Times  duller  than  when  you  left.'  In  Sept. 
there  was  not  a  doctor  in  the  town,  and  Mrs  Larkin  who  was  lying  ill  with 
fever  had  to  do  without  medical  attendance. 

23 'Gen.  Mason,  Lieut  Lanman,  and  myself  forma  mess... This  morning 
for  the  fortieth  time  we  had  to  take  to  the  kitchen  and  cook  our  own  break 
fast.  A  general  of  the  U.  S.  army,  the  commander  of  a  man-of-war,  and  the 
alcalde  of  Monterey  in  a  smoking  kitchen  grinding  coffee,  toasting  a  herring, 
and  peeling  onions!'  Three  Years  in  Cal.,  247-8.  '  Reduit  a  faire  lui-meme 
sa  cuisine, '  as  one  says  of  this  incident  in  the  Revue  des  Deux  Mondes,  Feb. 
1849. 

24 'I  of  course  could  not  escape  the  infection,'  says  Sherman,  Mem.,  i.  46, 
'and  at  last  convinced  Colonel  Mason  that  it  was  our  duty  to  go  up  and  see 
with  our  own  eyes,  that  we  might  report  the  truth  to  our  government. '  Swan 
relates  an  anecdote  of  a  party  of  sailors,  including  the  master-at-urms,  belong 
ing  to  the  Warren,  who  deserted  in  a  boat.  They  hid  themselves  in  the  pine 


PHILOSOPHY  AND  DESTINY.  65 

then  they  grew  restless,  and  soon  disappeared,  as  Com 
modore  Jones  asserts  in  his  report  to  the  secretary  of 
the  navy  the  2 5th  of  October.25  Threats  and  entreat 
ies  were  alike  of  little  avail.  Jones  claims  to  have 
checked  desertion  in  his  ranks  by  offering  large  re 
wards;  but  if  the  publication  of  such  notices  produced 
any  marked  effect,  it  was  not  until  after  there  were 
few  left  to  desert.26 

In  the  midst  of  the  excitement,  however,  there  were 
men  who  remained  cairn,  and  here  and  there  were 
those  who  regarded  not  the  product  of  the  Sierra 
foothills  as  the  greatest  good.  Luis  Peralta,  who 
had  lived  near  upon  a  century,  called  to  him  his  sons, 
themselves  approaching  threescore  years,  and  said: 
"My  sons,  God  has  given  this  gold  to  the  Americans. 
Had  he  desired  us  to  have  it,  he  would  have  given  it 
to  us  ere  now.  Therefore  go  not  after  it,  but  let 
others  go.  Plant  your  lands,  and  reap;  these  be  your 

woods  till  dark,  and  then  came  into  town  for  provisions,  but  got  so  drunk 
that  on  starting  they  lost  the  road,  and  went  to  sleep  on  the  beach  opposite 
their  own  ship.  Just  before  daylight  one  of  them  awoke,  and  hearing  the 
ship's  bell  strike,  roused  the  others  barely  in  time  to  make  good  their  escape. 
Swan  afterward  met  them  in  the  mines.  Trip  to  the  Gold  Mines,  MS.,  3. 
Certain  volunteers  from  Lower  California  arriving  in  Monterey  formed  into 
companies,  helped  themselves  to  stores,  and  then  started  for  the  mines.  Green's 
Life  and  Adventures,  MS.,  11;  Californian,  Aug.  14,  1848.  The  offer  of  $100 
per  month  for  sailors,  made  by  Capt.  Allyn  of  the  Isaac  Walton,  brought 
forward  no  accepters.  Frisbie's  Remin.,  MS.,  30-2;  Ferry,  Col.,  325-6;  Sher- 
man's  Mem.,  i.  57;  Bigler's  Diary,  MS.,  78.. 

25  Xov.  2d  he  again  writes:  '  For  the  present,  and  I  fear  for  years  to  come,  it 
will  be  impossible  for  the  United  States  to  maintain  any  naval  or  military  es 
tablishment  in  California;  as  at  the  present  no  hope  of  reward  nor  fear  of 
punishment  is  sufficient  to  make  binding  any  contract  between  man  and  man 
upon  the  suil  of  California.     To  send  troops  out  here  would  be  needless,  for 
they  would  immediately  desert. .  .Among  the  deserters  from  the  squadron  are 
some  of  the  best  petty  officers  and  seamen,  having  but  few  months  to  serve, 
and  large  balances  due  them,  amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  over  $10,000.' 
William  Rich,  Oct.  23d,  writes  the  paymaster-general  that  nearly  all  of  Com 
pany  F,  3d  artillery,  had  deserted.     The  five  men-of-war  in  port  dared  not 
land  a  man  through  fear  of  desertion.     Two  companies  alone  remained  in  Cal., 
one  of  the  first  dragoons  arid  the  other  of  the  3d  artillery,  *the  latter  reduced 
to  a  mere  skeleton  by  desertion,  and  the  former  in  a  fair  way  to  share  the 
same  fate.'  Hevere's  Tour  of  Duty,  252-6;  Sherman's  Mem.,  i.  56-7;  Lants, 
KaL,  24-31. 

26  In   Nov.   the   commander  gave  notice   through   the    Californian  that 
$40,000  would  be  given  for  the  capture  of  deserters  from  his  squadron,  in  the  fol 
lowing  sums:  for  the  first  four  deserting  since  July,  $500  each,  and  for  any 
others,  $200  each,  the  reward  to  be  paid  in  silver  dollars  immediately  on  the 
delivery  of  any  culprit. 

HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.    5 


66  PROXIMATE  EFFECT  OF  THE  GOLD  DISCOVERY. 

best  gold-fields,  for  all  must  eat  while  they  live."27 
Others  looked  around  and  saw  with  prophetic  eye  the 
turn  in  the  tide  when  different  resources  must  spring 
into  prominence;  not  only  land  grants  with  farms  and 
orchards,  and  forests  with  their  varied  products,  but 
metals  and  minerals  of  a  baser  kind,  as  quicksilver, 
copper,  coal.28  They  foresaw  the  rush  from  abroad  of 
gold-seekers,  the  gathering  of  vast  fleets,  the  influx 
of  merchandise,  with  their  consequent  flow  of  traffic 
and  trade,  the  rise  of  cities  and  the  growth  of  settle 
ments.  Those  were  the  days  of  great  opportunities, 
when  a  hundred  properly  invested  would  soon  have 
yielded  millions.  We  might  have  improved  an  oppor 
tunity  like  Sutter's  better  than  he  did.  So  we  think; 
yet  opportunities  just  as  great  perhaps  present  them 
selves  to  us  every  day,  and  will  present  themselves, 
but  we  do  not  see  them. 

27  Archives  Santa   Cruz,  MS.,  107;   HalVs  Hist.,  190-1;   Larkin's  Doc., 
MS.,  vi. 

28  Men  began  to  quarrel  afresh  over  the  New  Almaden  claim,  now  aban 
doned  by  its  workmen  for  more  fascinating  fields;  in  the  spring  of  this  year 
the  country  round  Clear  Lake  had  been  searched  for  copper. 


CHAPTER  V. 

FURTHER    DISCOVERIES. 

MARCH-DECEMBER,  1848. 

ISAAC  HUMPHREY  AGAIN — BIDWELL  AND  HIS  BAR— READING  AND  HIS  IN 
DIANS  ON  CLEAR  CREEK— POPULATION  IN  THE  MINES— ON  FEATHER 
RIVER  AND  THE  YUBA— JOHN  SINCLAIR  ON  THE  AMERICAN  RIVER — 
THE  IRISHMAN  YANKEE  JIM— DR  TODD  IN  TODD  VALLEY — KELSEY — 
WEBER  ON  WEBER  CREEK— THE  STOCKTON  MINING  COMPANY — MURPHY 
— HANGTOWN  —  ON  THE  STANISLAUS — KNIGHT,  WOOD,  SAVAGE,  AND 
HEFFERNAN — PARTY  FROM  OREGON — ON  THE  MOKELUMNE  AND  COSUM- 
NES— THE  SONORANS  ON  THE  TUOLUMNE — CORONEL  AND  PARTY. 

ONE  of  the  first  to  realize  the  importance  of  Mar 
shall's  discovery  was  Isaac  Humphrey,  the  Georgia 
miner  before  mentioned,  who  accompanied  Bennett 
on  his  return  to  Suiter's  Fort,  after  the  failure  to 
obtain  a  grant  of  the  gold  region.  Humphrey  advised 
^ome  of  his  friends  to  go  with  him  to  seek  gold,  but 
they  only  laughed  at  him.  He  reached  Coloma  on 
the  7th  of  March;  the  8th  saw  him  out  prospecting 
with  a  pan;  the  9th  found  him  at  work  with  a  rocker. 
The  application  of  machinery  to  mining  in  California 
was  begun.  A  day  or  two  later  came  to  the  mill  a 
French  Canadian,  Jean  Baptiste  Ruelle  by  name,  com 
monly  called  Baptiste,  who  had  been  a  miner  in  Mex 
ico,  a  trapper,  and  general  backwoodsman.  Impressed 
by  the  geologic  features  of  that  region,  and  yet  more 
perhaps  by  an  ardent  fancy,  he  had  five  years  before 
applied  to  Sutter  for  an  outfit  to  go  and  search  for 
gold  in  the  mountains.  Sutter  declined,  deeming  him 
unreliable,  but  gave  him  occupation  at  the  whip-saw 
on  Weber  Creek,  ten  miles  east  of  Coloma.  After 

(67) 


FURTHER  DISCOVERIES. 


THE  GOLD  REGION  IN  1848,  FROM  TUOLUMNE  TO  TRINITY. 


EXTENSION  OF  THE  MINING  DISTRICT.  69 

examining  the  diggings  at  Coloma,  he  declared  there 
must  be  gold  also  on  the  creek,  wondered  he  had  never 
found  it  there;  indeed,  the  failure  to  do  so  seems 
stupidity  in  a  person  so  lately  talking  about  gold-find 
ing.  Nevertheless,  he  with  Humphrey  was  of  great 
service  to  the  inexperienced  gold-diggers,  initiating 
them  as  well  in  the  mysteries  of  prospecting,  or  seek 
ing  for  gold,  as  in  washing  it  out,  or  separating  it 
from  the  earth.1 

So  it  was  with  John  Bid  well,  who  came  to  Coloma 
toward  the  latter  part  of  March.2  Seeing  the  gold 
and  the  soil,  he  said  there  were  similar  indications  in 
the  vicinity  of  his  rancho,  at  Chico.  Returning  home 
he  searched  the  streams  thereabout,  and  was  soon  at 
work  with  his  native  retainers  on  Feather  River,  at 
the  rich  placer  which  took  the  name  of  Bidwell  Bar.3 
Not  long  after  Bidwell's  visit  to  Coloma,4  P.  B. 
Reading  arrived  there.  He  also  was  satisfied  that 
there  was  gold  near  his  rancho  at  the  northern  end 
of  the  great  valley,  and  finding  it,  he  worked  the 

1  Humphrey  died  at  Victoria,  B.  C.,  Dec.  1,  1867.  Alta  CaL,  Dec.  4,  1867. 
Hittell,  Mining,  15,  ascribes  to  the  Frenchman  the  first  use  of  pan  and  rocker 
on  the  coast. 

2 He  says  that  Humphrey,  Ruelle,  and  others  were  at  work  'with  pans  in 
some  ravines  on  the  north  side  of  the  river.'  BklweWs  Col.  1841-8,  MS.,  232. 
He  makes  no  mention  of  any  rocker,  although  the  machine  must  have  been 
new  to  him.  It  may  have  been  there  for  all  that. 

3  'On  my  return  to  Chico  I  stopped  over  night  at  Hamilton  on  the  west 
bank  of  Feather  River.  On  trying  some  of  the  sand  in  the  river  here  I  found 
light  particles  of  gold,  and  reckoned  that  if  light  gold  could  be  found  that  far 
down  the  river,  the  heavier  particles  would  certainly  remain  near  the  hills. 
On  reaching  Chico  an  expedition  was  organized,  but  it  took  some  time  to  get 
everything  ready.  We  had  to  send  twice  up  to  Peter  Lassen's  mill  to  obtain 
flour;  meat  had  to  be  dried,  and  wre  had  to  send  to  Sacramento  for  tools. 
Our  party  were  Mr  Dicky,  Potter,  John  Williams,  William  Northgraves, 
and  myself.  We  passed  near  Cherokee  and  up  on  the  north  fork.  In  nearly 
all  the  places  we  prospected  we  found  the  color.  One  evening,  while  camped 
at  White  Rocks,  Dicky  and  I  in  a  short  time  panned  out  about  an  ounce  of 
fine  gold.  The  others  refused  to  prospect  any,  and  said  the  gold  we  had 
obtained  was  so  light  that  it  would  not  weigh  anything.  At  this  time  we 
were  all  unfamiliar  with  the  weight  of  gold-dust,  but  I  am  satisfied  that 
what  we  had  would  have  weighed  an  ounce.  At  length  we  came  home  and 
some  of  the  men  went  to  the  American  River  to  mine.  Dicky,  Northgraves, 
and  I  went  to  what  is  now  Bidwell's  Bar,  and  there  found  gold  and  went  to 
mining.'  BidweWs  CaL  1841-8,  MS.,  232-3;  Sac.  Union,  Oct.  24,  1864. 

*  Sutter,  in  N.  Helv.  Diary,  says  he  left  the  fort  April  18th  with  Reading 
and  Edwin  Kemble,  was  absent  four  days,  and  beside  gold  saw  silver  and  iron 
in  abundance. 


70  FURTHER  DISCOVERIES. 

deposits  near  Clear  Creek  with  his  Indians.  Mean 
while  the  metal  was  discovered  at  several  inter 
mediate  points,5  especially  along  the  tributaries  and 
ravines  of  the  south  fork,  which  first  disclosed  it. 
Thus  at  one  leap  the  gold-fields  extended  their  line 
northward  two  hundred  miles.  It  will  also  be  noticed 
that  after  the  Mormons  the  foremost  to  make  avail 
of  Marshall's  discovery  wrere  the  settlers  in  the  great 
valley,  who,  gathering  round  them  the  Indians  of 
their  vicinity,  with  such  allurements  as  food,  finery, 
alcohol,  went  their  several  ways  hunting  the  yellow 
stuff  up  and  down  the  creeks  and  gulches  in  every 
direction.  Sutter  and  Marshall  had  been  working 
their  tamed  Indians  at  Coloma  in  February.6 

As  the  field  enlarged,  so  did  the  visions  of  its  occu 
pants.  Reports  of  vast  yields  and  richer  and  richer 
diggings  began  to  fly  in  all  directions,  swelling  under 
distorted  fancy  and  lending  wings  to  flocking  crowds. 
In  May  the  influx  assumed  considerable  proportions, 
and  the  streams  and  ravines  for  thirty  miles  on  either 
side  of  Coloma  were  occupied  one  after  another.  The 
estimate  is,  that  there  were  then  already  800  miners 
at  work,  and  the  number  was  rapidly  increasing. 
Early  in  June  Consul  Larkin  estimated  them  at  2,000, 
mostly  foreigners,  half  of  whom  were  on  the  branches 
of  the  American.  There  might  have  been  100  fami 
lies,  with  teams  and  tents.  He  saw  none  who  had 
worked  steadily  a  month.  Few  had  come  prepared 
to  stay  over  a  week  or  a  fortnight,  and  no  matter  how 
rich  the  prospects,  they  were  obliged  to  return  home 
and  arrange  their  business.  Those  who  had  no  home 
or  business  must  go  somewhere  for  food. 

When  Mason  visited  the  mines  early  in  July,  he 
understood  that  4,000  men  were  then  at  work,  which 
certainly  cannot  be  called  exaggerated  if  Indians  are 

5  As  on  the  land  of  Leidesdorff,  on  the  American  River  just  above  Sutter's 
flour-mill,  about  the  middle  of  April.  S.  F.  Californian,  April  19,  1848;  Cal* 
ifornia  Star,  April  22,  1848. 

6  In  his  Diary,  under  date  of  April,  Sutter  says  that  some  of  his  neighbors 
had  been  very  successful. 


MINES  AND  MINING  CAMPS.  71 

included.  By  the  turn  of  the  season,  in  October,  the 
number  had  certainly  doubled,  although  the  white 
mining  population  for  the  year  could  not  have  exceeded 
10,000  men.  Arrivals  in  1848  have  as  a  rule  been 
overestimated.  News  did  not  reach  the  outside  world 
in  time  for  people  to  come  from  a  distance  during 
that  year.7  It  is  impossible  to  trace  the  drift  of  the 
miners,  but  I  will  give  the  movements  of  the  leading 
men,  and,  so  far  as  they  have  come  under  my  observa 
tion,  the  founders  of  mining  camps  and  towns. 

The  success  of  Bidwell  in  the  north  was  quickly  re 
peated  by  others.  Two  miles  from  his  camp  on  the 
north  fork  of  Feather  River,  one  Potter  from  the 
Far  well  grant  opened  another  bar,  known  by  his  name. 
Below  Bidwell  Bar  lay  Long  Bar;  opposite,  Adams- 
town,  first  worked  by  Neal.  From  Lassen's  rancho 
went  one  Davis  and  camped  below  Morris  Ravine, 
near  Thompson  Flat.  Subsequently  Dye  and  com 
pany  of  Monterey  with  50  Indians  took  out  273  pounds 
in  seven  weeks,  from  mines  on  this  river.  The  abo 
rigines  began  to  work  largely  on  their  own  account, 

'Simpson  should  not  say  there  were  3,000  or  4,000  miners  at  work  three 
months  after  the  discovery  of  gold,  because  there  were  less  than  500;  four 
months  after  the  discovery  there  were  less  than  1,000;  nor  should  the  Reverend 
Colton  speak  of  50,000  in  Nov.,  when  less  than  10,000  white  men  were  at  work 
in  the  mines.  My  researches  indicate  a  population  in  California  in  the  middle 
of  1848  of  7,500  Hispano-Californians,  excluding  Indians,  and  6,500  Ameri 
cans,  with  a  sprinkling  of  foreigners.  Of  the  Californians,  probably  1,300 
went  to  the  mines,  out  of  a  possible  maximum  of  2,000  able  to  go,  allowing 
for  their  larger  families.  Of  the  Americans,  with  smaller  families  and  of 
more  roving  disposition,  soldiers,  etc.,  4,000  joined  the  rush.  Add  1,500 
Oregonians  and  northerners,  arriving  in  1848,  and  2,500  Mexicans,  Hawai- 
ians,  etc.,  and  we  have  a  total  mining  population  of  somewhat  over  9,000. 
Cal.  Star,  Sept.  2,  1848,  Dec.  9,  1848,  allows  2,000  Oregonians  to  arrive  in 
1848,  and  100  wagons  with  U.  S.  emigrants.  The  gov.  agent,  T.  B.  King, 
indicates  his  belief  in  a  population  at  the  end  of  1848  of  15,000,  or  a  little 
more.  Report,  15;  U.  S.  Gov.  Docs.,  31st  cong.  1st  sess.,  H.  Ex.  Doc.  59,  7. 
The  committee  of  the  Cal.  const,  convention,  in  statement  of  March  1850, 
assumad  a  population  of  26,000,  whereof  8,000  Americans,  5,000  foreigners, 
and  13,000  Californians,  but  the  last  two  estimates  are  excessive.  See  also 
Stillman's  Golden  Fleece,  32;  Mayer's  Mex.  Aztec,  ii.  393;  Grimshaw,  Narr., 
MS.,  enumerates  only  five  sea-going  vessels  at  San  Francisco  early  in  Nov. 
1848,  and  these  evidently  all  on  trading  trips,  and  as  late  as  Feb.  1849,  the 
First  Steamship  Pioneers,  found  only  a  few  ships  here.  It  is  difficult,  there 
fore,  to  make  up  5,000  foreign  arrivals  before  1849,  for  the  influx  from  Sonora 
is  shown  elsewhere  to  have  been  moderate  so  far. 


72  FURTHER  DISCOVERIES. 

and  Bid  well  found  more  advantage  in  attending  to  a 
trading  post  opened  by  him.8 

The  success  on  Feather  River  led  to  the  explora 
tion  of  its  main  tributary,  the  Yuba,  by  Patrick  Mc- 
Christian,  J.  P.  Leese,  Jasper  O'Farrell,  William 
Leery,  and  Samuel  Norris,  who  left  Sonoma  in  July, 
and  were  the  first  to  dig  there  for  gold,  making  in 
three  months  $75,000  9  The  diggings  on  the  Yuba 
were  subsequently  among  the  most  famous  in  Califor 
nia,  and  form  the  scene  perhaps  of  more  of  the  incidents 
and  reminiscences  characteristic  of  the  mining  days 
than  any  other  locality.  The  leading  bars  or  camps 
were  those  of  Parks,  Long,  and  Foster,  where  miners, 
although  poorly  supplied  with  implements,  made  from 
$60  to  $100  a  day;  and  it  is  supposed  that  they 
lost  more  gold  than  they  saved,  on  account  of  the 
clumsiness  of  their  implements.10  Below,  on  Bear 
River,  J.  Tyrwhitt  Brooks  camped  with  a  party.11 
Reading  extended  his  field  to  Trinity  River,  the  most 
northerly  point  reached  in  1848;  but  he  had  the  mis 
fortune  to  encounter  a  company  of  Oregon ians  on 
their  way  south,  and  these,  imbittered  against  all 

*BidwelVsCal.  1841-8,  MS.,  231-3;  Seeton,  in  Oroville  Mer.,  Dec.  31, 1875. 

9  McChristian,  in  Pioneer  Sketches,  MS. ,  9.    Jonas  Speot  states  in  his  Diary, 
MS.,  that  he  found  gold  on  the  Yuba,  near  Long  Bar,  June  1st.     See  also 
Yolo  Co.  Hist.,  33;   Yuba  Co.  Hist.,  36. 

10  Parks  Bar  on  the  Yuba  was  discovered  in  August  by  Stephen  Cooper, 
John  Marsh,  John  P.  Long  and  two  brothers,  Clay,  Willis,  and  Nicholas 
Hunsaker,  who  afterward  held  important  positions  in  Contra  Costa  county. 
Charles  Covillaud  opened  a  store  there  later,  and  employed  a  number  of  In 
dians  to  dig  gold  for  him.     He  married,  on  Christmas,  1848,  Mary  Murphy, 
one  of  the  survivors  of  the  Donner  party.     He  purchased  the  rancho  where 
Marysville  now  stands,  laid  out  the  town,  and  named  it  for  his  wife.     Parks, 
from  whom  the  bar  was  named,  came  across  the  plains  in  1848.     Although 
fifty  miners  were  at  work  when  he  arrived,  and  had  been  for  some  time,  the 
bar  was  christened  after  him,  because  he  was  a  man  with  a  family,  and  more 
persons  answered  to  the  name  of  Parks  than  to  any  other.     See  account  by 
Juanita,  in  Sacramento  Rescue,  Jan.  26,  1871.     Juanita  was  a  young  Scotch 
man,  John  C.  McPherson  by  name,  with  considerable  literary  ability.     While 
mining  at  Long  Bar  he  composed  a  song  in  praise  of  the  Yuba,  which  became 
a  favorite  among  the  miners,  and  has  been  frequently  printed.     Long  tar 
was  named  after  Dr  Long.     Burnett  and  a  number  of  his  companions  from 
Oregon  began  their  gold-seeking  at  this  point.     The  population  was  then  80 
men,  3  women,  and  5  children.     Foster  Bar  was  one  of  the  last  opened  in  1848. 
The  gravelly  clay  dirt,  often  twelve  feet  from  the  surface,  was  hard  to  work. 

11  Brooks'  Four  Month*,  119-28.     His  party  obtained  115  Ibs  of  gold  by 
Sept     Later,  Buffum  tried  and  failed. 


TOWN-BUILDING.  73 

Indians  by  the  recent  bloody  wars  in  which  they  had 
been  engaged  with  their  own  aborigines,  drove  him 
and  his  party  of  natives  away  from  what  afterward 
proved  to  be  an  exceedingly  rich  locality.12 

Early  in  June  John  Sinclair  went  from  his  rancho, 
near  New  Helvetia,  to  the  junction  of  the  north  and 
south  branches  of  the  American  River,  twelve  miles 
above  his  house,  and  there  worked  fifty  natives  with 
good  success.  During  the  same  month  a  party  of 
Mormons  abandoned  their  claim  on  the  south  branch 
of  the  American  River,  and  crossing  to  the  middle 
tributary,  discovered  the  deposits  on  what  was  later 
known  as  Spanish  Bar,  twelve  miles  north-east  from 
Coloma.  This  stream  was  the  richest  of  any  in  all 
that  rich  region,  this  one  spot  alone  yielding  more 
than  a  million  of  dollars. 

Into  a  ravine  between  the  north  and  middle  branches 
of  the  American  River,  fifteen  miles  north-east  of 
Coloma,  stumbled  one  day  an  Irishman,  to  whom  in 
raillery  had  been  given  the  nickname  Yankee  Jim, 
which  name,  applied  to  the  rich  deposit  he  there  found, 
soon  became  famous.  A  few  miles  to  the  north-east 
of  Yankee  Jim  were  Illinoistown  and  Iowa  Hill, 
found  and  named  by  persons  from  the  states  indicated. 
W.  R.  Longley,  once  alcalde  at  Monterey,  was 
followed  by  Dr  Todd  into  the  place  named  Todd 
Valley.  Hereabout  remained  many  Mormons,  who 
forgot  their  desert  destination,  turned  publicans,  and 
waxed  fat.  There  were  Hannon,  one  wife  and  two 
daughters,  who  kept  the  Mormon  House;  Wickson 
and  wife,  the  house  to  which  under  their  successor 
was  given  the  name  Franklin;  while  Blackmail  kept 
an  inn  at  one  of  the  fifty  Dry  Diggings,  which,  at 
the  great  renaming,  became  known  as  Auburn.13 

12  Weaverville  Trinity  Journal,  June  20,  1874;  Pacific  Rural  Press,  quoted 
in  M freed  People,  June  8,  1872. 

13 Ferry,  Col.,  105-6;  Oakland  Transcript,  April  13,  1873;  Alamrda 
Co.  Gazette,  April  19,  1873;  Hutchings'  May.,  vol.  ii.  197.  On  these  streams 
some  deserters  realized  within  a  few  days  from  $5,000  to  §20,000  each,  and 
then  left  California  by  the  first  conveyance.  Carson's  Early  Recollections,  6; 


74  FURTHER  DISCOVERIES. 

North  of  Coloma  Kelsey  and  party  opened  the 
diggings  which  took  his  name.  South  of  it  Weber 
Creek  rose  into  fame  under  the  discoveries  of  a  com 
pany  from  Weber's  grant,  now  Stockton,  including 
some  Hispano-Californians.  After  a  trip  to  the  Stan 
islaus,  and  a  more  favorable  trial  on  the  Mokelumne, 
with  deep  diggings,  they  proceeded  on  their  route, 
finding  gold  everywhere,  and  paused  on  the  creek, 
at  a  point  about  twelve  miles  from  the  saw-mill. 
There  they  made  their  camp,  which  later  took  the 
name  of  Weberville;  and  while  some  remained  to 
mine,  the  rest  returned  to  Weber's  rancho  for  supplies. 
Trade  no  less  than  gold-digging  being  the  object,  a 
joint-stock  association,  called  the  Stockton  Mining 
Company,  was  organized,  with  Charles  M.  Weber  as 
the  leading  member.14  The  company,  although  very 
successful  with  its  large  native  corps,  was  dissolved 
in  September  of  the  same  year  by  Weber,  who  wished 
to  turn  his  attention  exclusively  to  building  a  town 
upon  his  grant.15  On  the  creek  were  also  Sunol  and 
company,  who  employed  thirty  Indians,  and  Neligh. 

The  Stockton  company  had  scarcely  been  established 
at  Weber  Creek  when  a  man  belonging  to  the  party  of 
William  Daylor,  a  ranchero  from  the  vicinity  of  New 
Helvetia,  struck  into  the  hills  one  morning,  and  found 
the  mine  first  called,  in  common  with  many  other 

Buffum's  Six  Months,  77.     Sinclair  was  one  of  the  first  to  find  gold  on  the 
north  branch.  McChristian,  in  Pioneer  Sketches,  9. 

14  The  other  members  were  John  M.  Murphy,  Joseph  Bussel,  Andy  Baker, 
Pyle,  I.  S.  Isbel,  and  George  Frazer.     Not  having  at  hand  all  the  requisites 
for  the  outfit,  while  the  company  proceeded  to  \V  eber  Creek,  Weber  went  to 
San  Francisco  and  San  Jos6,  and  there  bought  beads,  calico,  clothing,  gro 
ceries,  and  tools,  which  were  sent  by  boat  to  Sutter's  embarcadero,  and  thence 
transported  by  wagons  to  Weber  Creek,  where  a  store  was  opened.     Among3t 
the  other  articles  purchased  was  a  quantity  of  silver  coin,  attractive  to  the 
natives  as  ornaments.     From  the  rancho  were  sent  beef,  cattle,  and  whatever 
else  was  available  for  use  or  sale.  Weber,  in  Tinkharrfs  Hist.  Stockton,  72. 
According  to  San  Joaquin  Co.  Hist.,  21,  there  were  other  prominent  members, 
but  they  were  more  likely  to  have  been  only  of  the  party,  and  may  have 
joined  at  another  time  and  place. 

15  Buffum,  Six  Months  in  the  Gold  Mines,  92,  says  that  William  Daylor,  a 
ranchero  near  Sutter's  Fort,  was  with  Weber  at  Weber  Creek,  and  that  the 
two  employed  1 ,000  Indians  and  took  out  $50,000.  See,  further,  Carson's  Early 
Rec,,  5;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Aug.  13,  1859;  Alta  CaL,  July  31,  1856;  Brooks'  Four 
Months,  93. 


INDIAN  MINERS.  75 

spots,  Dry  Diggings,  afterward  Hangtown,  and  later 
Placerville.16  It  proved  exceedingly  rich,  yielding 
from  three  ounces  to  five  pounds  of  gold  daily  to  the 
man;  and  from  the  middle  of  June,  through  July  and 
August,  the  300  Hangtown  men  were  the  happiest 
in  the  universe. 

Thus  far  extended  the  northern  district,  which  em 
braced  the  tributaries  of  the  Sacramento  and  the  north 
side  of  the  Bay,17  and  centred  in  Colorna  as  the  point 
of  primary  attraction,  and  whence  fresh  discoveries 
radiated.  The  region  below,  tributary  to  the  San 
Joaquin,  was  largely  opened  by  Indians.18 

On  the  Stanislaus,  where  afterward  was  Knight's 
Ferry,  lived  an  Indian  known  to  white  men  as  Jose 
Jesus.  He  had  been  instructed  in  the  mysteries  of 
religion  and  civilization  by  the  missionaries,  and  was 
once  alcalde  at  San  Jose.  Through  some  real  or 
fancied  wrong  he  became  offended,  left  San  Jose,  and 
was  ever  after  hostile  to  the  Mexicans,  though  friendly 
to  others.  Tall,  well-proportioned,  and  possessed  of 
remarkable  ability,  with  the  dress  and  dignified  mari 
ner  of  a  Mexican  of  the  better  class,  he  commanded 

*Buffum's  Six  Months,  92-3;  Ferry,  CaL,  105-6.  'The  gulches  and  ra 
vines  were  opened  about  two  feet  wide  and  one  foot  in  depth  along  their  cen 
tres,  and  the  gold  picked  out  from  amongst  the  dirt  with  a  knife.'  Carson's 
Early  Rec.,  5. 

17  The  Calif  or  nian  states  that  about  this  time  there  were  many  gold-seekers 
digging  in  the  vicinity  of  Sonoma  and  Santa  Rosa. 

18  A  map,  entitled  Positions  of  the   Upper  and  Lower  Gold  Mines  on  the 
South  Fork  of  the  American  River,  California,  July  20,  1848,  is  probably  the 
earliest  map  made  expressly  to  show  any  part  of  the  gold  region,  unless  it  was 
preceded  by  another  on  a  larger  scale  of  the  same  diggings,  which  bears  no 
date.     There  is,  however,  another  map,  which  is  dated  only  five  days  later 
than  the  first  mentioned,  and  is  entitled,  Topographical  Sketch  of  the  Gold 
and  Quicksilver  District  of  California,  July  25,  1848,  E.  0.  C.  D.,  Lt  U.  S.  A. 
This  is  not  confined  to  one  locality,  but  embraces  the  country  west  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada  from  lat.  37°  to  40°,  and  has  marked  on  it  all  the  places  where 
gold  had  been  found  at  that  date.     A  Map  of  the  Southern  Mines,  by  C.  D. 
Gibbes,  1852,  accompanies  Carson's  Early  Recollections.     The  many  books  and 
pamphlets  published  about  California  in  Europe  and  the  eastern  states  in  1 848-9 
generally  contained  inferior  maps,  and  in  some  cases  an  attempt  was  made  to 
show  the  gold  regions.     Such  may  be  found,  for  instance,  in  Foster's  Gold 
Regions;   Wilkes'    Western  America;   Brooks'  Four  Months  among  the  Gold- 

Jinders;  Hartmami's  Geog.  Stat.;  Beschreibung  von  CaL;  Hoppers  Cal.  Geaen* 
wart;  Oswald,  Californien;  Cohorts  Three  Years;  and  many  other  similar 
works.  The  earliest  purely  geological  map  appears  in  Tyson's  Report,  pub 
lished  by  the  war  department  in  1849. 


76  FURTHER  DISCOVERIES. 

universal  respect,  and  on  the  death  of  Estanislao,  that 
is  to  say,  Stanislaus,  chief  of  the  Wallas,  Jose  Jesus 
was  chosen  his  successor.  Courting  the  friendship  of 
this  savage,  Weber  had  through  the  intervention  of 
Sutter  made  him  his  firm  ally.  On  organizing  the 
Stockton  company,  W^eber  requested  of  Jose  Jesus 
some  able-bodied  members  of  his  tribe,  such  as  would 
make  good  gold-diggers.  The  chief  sent  him  twenty- 
five,  who  were  despatched  to  Weber  Creek  and  given 
lessons  in  mining;  after  which  they  were  directed  to 
return  to  the  Stanislaus,  there  to  dig  for  gold,  and  to 
carry  the  proceeds  of  their  labor  to  French  Camp, 
where  the  mayordomo  would  pay  them  in  such  articles 
as  they  best  loved.19 

This  shrewd  plan  worked  well.  The  gold  brought 
in  by  the  natives  proved  coarser  than  any  yet  found. 
Weber  and  the  rest  were  delighted,  and  the  Stockton 
company  determined  at  once  to  abandon  Weber  Creek 
and  remove  to  the  Stanislaus,  which  was  done  in  Au 
gust.  The  news  spreading,  others  went  with  them; 
a  large  emigration  set  in,  including  some  subsequently 
notable  persons  who  gave  their  names  to  different 

5 laces,  as  Wood  Creek,  Angel  Camp,  Sullivan  Bar, 
amestown,  Don  Pedro  (Sansevain)  Bar.     Murphy 
Camp  was  named  from  John  M.  Murphy,  one  of  the 
partners.20     William  Knight  established  the  trading 
post  at   the  point    now  known   as   Knight's   Ferry. 

19 They  met  with  rare  success,  if  the  writer  in  San  Joaquin  Co.  Hist.,  21, 
is  to  be  believed.  They  found,  he  says,  in  July  a  lump  of  pure  gold,  weigh 
ing  80£  ounces  avoirdupois,  the  general  form  of  the  nugget  being  that  of 
a  kidney.  Its  rare  beauty,  purity,  and  size  prompted  the  firm  of  Cross  & 
Hobson  of  San  Francisco  to  paj'  for  it  $3, 000... to  send  to  the  Bank  of 
England,  as  a  specimen  from  the  newly  discovered  gold-fields  of  California. 
Gold-dust-was  selling  at  that  time  for  $12  per  ounce,  and  the  specimen,  had  it 
sold  only  for  its  value  as  metal,  would  have  yielded  the  Stockton  Mining 
Company  only  $966. 

*"San  Joaquin  Co.  Hist.,  21.  Carson  says,  Early  Rec.,  6:  '  In  August  the 
old  diggings  were  pronounced  as  being  dug  out,  and  many  prospecting  parties 
had  gone  out.  Part  of  Weber's  trading  establishments  had  secretly  disap 
peared,  and  rumors  were  afloat  that  the  place  where  all  the  gold  came  from 
had  been  discovered  south,  and  a  general  rush  of  the  miners  commenced  that 
day. '  Tinkham  asserts  that  Weber  proclaimed  the  discovery  on  the  Stanis 
laus,  and  was  willing  every  one  should  go  there  who  wished.  The  greater 
the  number  of  people  the  more  goods  would  be  required. 


TOWARD  THE  SOUTH.  77 

Such  was  the  richness  of  the  field  that,  at  Wood 
Creek,  Wood,  Savage,  and  Heffernan  were  said  to 
have  taken  out  for  some  time,  with  pick  and  knife 
alone,  $200  or  $300  a  day  each. 

The  intermediate  region,  along  the  Mokelumne  and 
Cosumnes,  had  already  become  known  through  parties 
en  route  from  the  south,  such  as  Weber's  partners. 
J.  H.  Carson  was  directed  by,  an  Indian  to  Carson 
Creek,  where  he  and  his  companions  in  ten  days 
gathered  180  ounces  each.  Angel  camped  at  An 
gel  Creek.  Sutter,  who  had  for  a  time  been  mining 
ten  miles  above  Mormon  Island  with  100  Indians  and 
50  kanakas,  came  in  July  to  Sutter  Creek.  Two 
months  later,  when  further  gold  placers  on  the  Co 
sumnes  were  discovered,  Jose  de  Jesus  Pico  with  ten 
men  left  San  Luis  Obispo  and  proceeded  through 
Livermore  pass  to  the  Arroyo  Seco  of  that  locality 
and  began  to  mine.  In  four  months  he  obtained  suf 
ficient  to  pay  his  men  and  have  a  surplus  of  $14,000.21 

Mokelumne  or  Big  Bar  was  now  fast  rising  in 
importance.  A  party  from  Oregon  discovered  it  early 
in  October  and  were  highly  successful.  Their  num 
ber  induced  one  Syrec  to  drive  in  a  wagon  laden  with 
provisions,  a  venture  which  proved  so  fortunate  that 
he  opened  a  store  in  the  beginning  of  November,  on 
a  hill  one  mile  from  where  the  first  mine  was  discov 
ered.  This  became  a  trade  centre  under  the  name  of 
Mokelumne  Hill. 

The  richest  district  in  this  region,  however,  was 
beginning  to  appear  on  the  head  waters  of  the  Tuol- 
umne,  round  the  later  town  of  Sonora,  which  took  its 
name  from  the  party  of  Mexicans  from  Sonora  who 
discovered  it.22  The  Tuolumne  may  be  regarded  as 
the  limit  of  exploration  southward  in  1848.  It  was 

21  Pico,  Acontecimientox,  MS.,  77. 

22  Amongst  the  first  who  helped  to  settle  Sonora  in  1848-9  were  Joshua 
Holden,  Emanuel   Lindberg,  Casimir   Labetour,  Alonzo   Green,  Hiram  W. 
Theall,  R.  S.   Ham,  Charles  F.  Dodge,  Theophilus   Dodge,  Terence  Clark, 
James  Lane,  William   Shepperd,  Alfred  W.  Luckett,  Benjamin    F.  Moore, 
William  Norlinn,  Francisco  Pavia,  Jos<§  M.  Bosa,  Elordi,  Remigio  Riveras, 
and  James  Frasier.  Hayes1  CaL  Mining,  i.  33. 


78  FURTHER  DISCOVERIES. 

reached  in  August,  so  that  before  the  summer  months 
closed  all  the  long  Sierra  base-line,  as  I  have  described, 
had  been  overrun  by  the  gold-seekers,  the  subsequent 
months  of  the  year  being  devoted  to  closer  develop 
ments.23  One  reason  for  the  limitation  was  the  hos 
tility  of  the  natives,  who  had  in  particular  taken  an 
aversion  to  the  Mexican  people,  or  Hispano-Califor- 
nians,  their  old  taskmasters,  and  till  lately  prominent 
in  pursuing  them  for  enslavement. 

These  Californians  very  naturally  halted  along  the 
San  Joaquin  tributaries,  which  lay  on  the  route  taken 
from  the  southern  settlements,  and  were  reported  even 
richer  than  the  northern  mines.  Among  them  was 
Antonio  Franco  Coronel,  with  a  party  of  thirty,  who 
had  left  Los  Angeles  in  August  by  way  of  San  Jose 
and  Livermore  pass.24  Priests  as  well  as  publicans, 
it  appears,  were  possessed  by  the  demon  in  those  days; 
for  at  the  Sari  Joaquin  Coronel  met  Padre  Jose 
Maria  Suarez  del  Real  who  showed  him  a  bag  of  gold 
which  he  claimed  to  have  brought  from  the  Stanislaus 
camp,  that  is  to  say,  Sonora,  recently  discovered. 
This  decided  Coronel  and  party'  to  go  to  the  Stanis 
laus,  where  they  found  a  company  of  New  Mexicans, 
lately  arrived,  a  few  Americans,  as  well  as  native 
Californians  from  San  Jose  and  proximate  places.  To 
the  camp  where  Coronel  halted  came  seven  savages, 

25  Carson's  Early  Recollections,  6-7;  Stockton  Independent,  Sept.  14,  1872; 
Fiitdla's  Statement,  MS.,  7;  San  Andreas  Independent,  Jan.  1861;  Jansen, 
Vida  y  Aventuras,  198-200;  Pico,  Acontecimientos,  77.  According  to  a  state 
ment  published  in  the  Altaol  Oct.  15,  1851,  in  the  summer  of  1848  one  Bomon, 
a  Spanish  doctor,  while  travelling  with  a  large  party  of  Spaniards,  Italians,  and 
Frenchmen  in  the  southern  part  of  the  state,  came  upon  a  river  so  rich  in  gold 
that  with  their  knives  they  took  out  five  or  six  ounces  a  day  to  the  man. 
They  got  into  trouble  with  the  natives,  however,  who  killed  48  of  the  party, 
and  forced  the  rest  to  flee  for  their  lives.  Bomon  set  out  from  Mariposa  dig 
gings  with  some  companions  in  1851  in  search  of  this  placer,  and  at  the  same 
time  a  French  company  left  the  same  place  with  a  similar  object;  but  both 
expeditions  failed.  The  narrator  thinks  that  this  might  have  been  Kern 
River,  but  the  whole  story  is  probably  fiction. 

24  The  account  I  take  from  the  valuable  manuscript,  written  at  the  dicta 
tion  of  Coronel  by  Mr  Savage  in  1877,  Cosas  de  California,  For  ft  Senor  Don 
Antonio  Franco  Coronel,  vecino  de  la  Ciudad  de  Los  Anyeles.  Obra  en  que  el 
antor  trata  particnlarmtnte  de  lo  que  acontecio  en  la  parte  del  sur  durante  los 
anosde  1846  y  1847. 


CORONEL  AND  PARTY.  79 

wishing  to  buy  from  him  and  his  party,  and  offering 
large  quantities  of  gold  for  such  articles  as  took  their 
fancy.  One  of  Coronel's  servants,  Benito  Perez,  was 
an  expert  in  placer-mining.  Struck  with  the  display 
made  by  the  natives,  he  proposed  to  his  master  to  let 
him  have  one  of  his  dumb  Indians  as  a  companion,  so 
that  he  might  follow,  and  see  whenc'e  the  savages  ob 
tained  their  gold.  It  was  dark  before  the  Indians 
had  finished  their  purchases  and  set  out  for  home,  but 
Benito  Perez,  with  Indian  Agustin,  kept  stealthily 
upon  their  tracks,  to  the  rancheria  where  Captain 
Estanislao  had  formerly  lived. 

Perez  passed  the  night  upon  a  hill  opposite  the  ran 
cheria  hidden  among  the  trees,  and  waiting  for  the 
Indians.  Early  the  following  morning  the  same  seven 
started  for  the  gold-fields,  taking  their  way  toward  the 
east,  followed  by  the  Mexican  and  his  companion. 
At  a  place  afterward  called  Canada  del  Barro  the 
seven  began  to  dig  with  sharp-pointed  stakes,  where 
upon  Perez  presented  himself.  The  Indians  were  evi 
dently  annoyed;  but  Perez  set  to  work  with  his  knife, 
and  in  a  short  time  obtained  three  ounces  in  chispas, 
or  nuggets.  Satisfied  with  his  discovery,  he  went 
back  to  Coronel.  The  two  determined  to  take  secret 
possession;  but  eventually  Coronel  thought  it  would 
be  but  right  to  inform  his  companions,  especially  as 
Perez'  report  indicated  the  mine  to  be  rich.  Secrecy 
was  moreover  of  little  use;  their  movements  were 
watched.  In  order  not  to  delay  matters,  Perez  was 
despatched  with  two  dumb  Indians  to  secure  the 
richest  plats.  This  done,  Coronel  and  the  rest  of  his 
friends  started,  though  late  in  the  night.  Such  was 
their  eagerness,  that  on  reaching  the  ground  they  spent 
the  night  in  alloting  claims  in  order  to  begin  work  at 
daybreak. 

Everybody  was  well  satisfied  with  the  first  day's 
working.  Coronel,  with  his  two  dumb  Indians,  ob 
tained  forty-five  ounces  of  coarse  gold.  Dolores  Se- 
pulveda,  who  was  busy  a  few  yards  away,  picked  up  a 


80  FURTHER  DISCOVERIES. 

nugget  fully  twelve  ounces  in  weight;  and  though 
there  were  more  than  a  hundred  persons  round  about, 
all  had  great  success.  On  the  same  bar  where  Sepul- 
veda  found  the  nugget  worked  Valdes,  alias  Cha- 
pamango,  a  Californian  of  Santa  Barbara,  who,  by 
digging  to  the  depth  of  three  feet,  discovered  a 
pocket  which  had  been  formed  by  a  large  rock  break 
ing  the  force  of  the  current  and  detaining  quantities 
of  gold.  He  picked  up  enough  to  fill  a  large  towel, 
and  then  passed  round  to  make  known  his  good  for 
tune.  Thinking  that  he  had  money  enough,  he  sold 
his  claim  to  Lorenzo  Soto,  who  took  out  in  eight  days 
52  pounds  of  gold.  Water  was  then  struck,  when  the 
claim  was  sold  to  Machado  of  San  Diego,  who  also, 
in  a  short  time,  secured  a  large  quantity  of  gold. 

Coronel,  leaving  his  servants  at  his  claim,  started 
to  inspect  the  third  bar  of  the  Barro  Canada,  with  an 
experienced  gambusino  of  the  Sonorans  known  as 
Chino  Tirador.  Choosing  a  favorable  spot,  the  gam 
busino  marked  out  his  claim,  and  Coronel  took  up  his 
a  little  lower.  The  Chino  set  to  work,  and  at  the 
depth  of  four  feet  found  a  pocket  of  gold  near  an  un 
derground  rock  which  divided  the  two  claims.  From 
nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  till  four  in  the  afternoon 
he  lay  gathering  the  gold  with  a  horn  spoon,  throw 
ing  it  into  a  wooden  tray  for  the  purpose  of  dry-wash 
ing.  By  this  time  the  tray  had  become  so  filled  with 
cleaned  gold  that  the  man  could  hardly  carry  it. 
Tired  with  his  work  he  returned  to  camp,  giving  Co 
ronel  permission  to  work  his  claim.  The  latter  was 
only  too  glad  to  do  so,  for  with  a  great  deal  more  labor, 
and  with  the  assistance  of  his  servant,  he  had  not 
succeeded  in  obtaining  six  ounces.  During  the  brief 
daylight  remaining  Coronel  made  ample  amends  for 
previous  shortcomings.  The  Chino's  luck  caused 
great  excitement  in  the  camp,  where  he  offered  to 
sell  clean  gold  for  silver;  and  had  disposed  of  a  con 
siderable  quantity  when  Coronel  arrived  and  bought 
seventy-six  ounces  at  the  rate  of  two  dollars  and  a 


MINING  LIFE.  81 

half  the  ounce.  The  next  day  the  Chino  returned  to 
his  claim;  but  as  large  numbers  had  been  working  it 
by  night,  with  the  aid  of  candles,  he  decided  on  aban 
doning  the  mine  and  starting  upon  a  new  venture. 
Purchasing  a  bottle  of  whiskey  for  a  double-handful 
of  gold,  and  spreading  a  blanket  on  the  ground,  he 
opened  a  monte  bank.  By  ten  o'clock  that  night  he 
was  both  penniless  and  drunk.25  Such  is  one  of  the 
many  phases  of  mining  as  told  by  the  men  of  1848. 

25  Coronet,  Cosas  de  CaL,  MS.,  146-51. 
HIST.  CAL,.,  VOL.  VI.    6 


CHAPTER  VI. 

AT  THE  MINES. 

1848. 

VAKIETT  OF  SOCIAL  PHASES— INDI\  IDUALITY  OF  THE  YEAR  1848—  NOTICEABLE 
ABSENCE  OF  BAD  CHARACTERS  DURING  THIS  YEAR — MINING  OPERATIONS 
—IGNORANCE  OF  THE  MINERS  OF  MINING— IMPLEMENTS  AND  PROCESSES 
— YIELD  IN  THE  DIFFERENT  DISTRICTS— PRICE  OF  GOLD-DUST—PRICES 
OF  MERCHANDISE— A  NEW  ORDER  OF  THINGS — EXTENSION  OF  DEVELOP 
MENT—AFFAIRS  AT  SUTTER'S  FORT— BIBLIOGRAPHY— EFFECT  ON  SUTTER 
AND  MARSHALL — CHARACTER  AND  CAREER  OF  THESE  Two  MEN. 

SOCIETY  in  California  from  the  beginning  presents 
itself  in  a  multitude  of  phases.  First  there  is  the 
aboriginal,  wild  and  tame,  half  naked,  eating  his  grass 
hopper  cake,  and  sleeping  in  his  hut  of  bushes,  or 
piously  sunning  himself  into  civilization  upon  an  adobe 
mission  fence,  between  the  brief  hours  of  work  and 
prayer;  next  the  Mexicanized  European,  priest  and 
publican,  missionary  and  military  man,  bland  yet  co 
ercive,  with  the  work-hating  ranch ero  and  settler; 
and  then  the  restless  rovers  of  all  nations,  particularly 
the  enterprising  and  impudent  Yankee.  With  the 
introduction  of  every  new  element,  and  under  the  de 
velopments  of  every  new  condition,  the  face  of  society 
changes,  and  the  heart  of  humanity  pulsates  with 
fresh  purposes  and  aspirations. 

The  year  of  1848  has  its  individuality.  It  is  dif 
ferent  from  every  other  California  year  before  or 
since.  The  men  of  '48  were  of  another  class  from 
the  men  of  '49.  We  have  examined  the  ingredients 
composing  the  community  of  1848 ;  the  people  of  1849 
will  in  due  time  pass  under  analysis.  Suffice  it  to  say 

(82) 


THE  INFLOWING  CURRENT.  83 

here,  that  the  vile  and  criminal  element  from  the  con 
tinental  cities  of  civilization  and  the  isles  of  ocean, 
which  later  cursed  the  country,  had  not  yet  arrived. 
Those  first  at  the  mines  were  the  settlers  of  the  Cali 
fornia  Valley,  just  and  ingenuous,  many  of  them  with 
their  families  and  Indian  retainers;  they  were  neigh 
bors  and  friends,  who  would  not  wrong  each  other  in 
the  mountains  more  than  in  the  valley.  The  immi 
grants  from  the  Mississippi  border  were  accustomed 
to  honest  toil;  and  the  men  from  San  Francisco  Bay 
and  the  southern  seaboard  were  generally  acquainted, 
and  had  no  thought  of  robbing  or  killing  each  other. 

After  the  quiet  inflowing  from  the  valley  adjacent 
to  the  gold-fields  came  the  exodus  from  San  Francisco, 
which  began  in  May;  in  June  San  Jose,  Monterey, 
and  the  middle  region  contributed  their  quota,  followed 
in  July  and  August  by  the  southern  settlements. 
The  predominance  thus  obtained  from  the  start  by 
the  Anglo-American  element  was  well  sustained, 
partly  from  the  fact  that  it  was  more  attracted  by 
the  glitter  of  gold  than  the  lavish  and  indolent  ran- 
chero  of  Latin  extraction,  and  less  restrained  from 
yielding  to  it  by  ties  of  family  and  possessions.  The 
subsequent  influx  during  the  season  from  abroad  pre 
ponderated  in  the  same  direction.  It  began  in  Sep 
tember,  although  assuming  no  large  proportions  until 
two  months  later.  The  first  flow  came  from  the 
Hawaiian  Islands,  followed  by  a  larger  stream  from 
Oregon,  and  a  broad  current  from  Mexico  and  beyond, 
notably  of  Sonorans.  who  counted  many  experienced 
miners  in  their  ranks.  Early  in  the  season  came  also 
an  accidental  representation  from  the  Flowery  king 
dom.1 

It  is  not  to  be  denied  that  this  mixture  of  national 
ities,  with  a  tinge  of  inherited  antipathy,  and  variety 

1  Charles  V.  Gillespie,  who  reached  S.  F.  from  Hong-Kong  in  the  brig  Eagle, 
Feb.  2,  1848,  brought  three  Chinese,  two  men  and  a  woman.  The  men  sub 
sequently  went  to  the  mines.  These,  he  says,  were  the  first  Chinamen  in  Cal., 
with  the  exception  of  a  very  few  who  had  come  over  as  cooks  or  stewards  of 
vessels.  Gille^p^s  Viy.  Com.,  MS.,  1. 


84  AT  THE  MINES. 

of  character,  embracing  some  few  aimless  adventurers 
and  deserters  as  well  as  respectable  settlers,  could  not 
fail  to  bring  to  the  surface  some  undesirable  features. 
Yet  the  crimes  that  mar  this  period  are  strikingly  few 
in  comparison  with  the  record  of  the  following  years, 
when  California  was  overrun  by  the  dregs  of  the 
world's  society.  Indeed,  during  this  first  year  theft 
was  extremely  rare,  although  temptations  abounded, 
and  property  lay  almost  unguarded.2  Murder  and 
violence  were  almost  unknown,  and  even  disputes 
seldom  arose.  Circumstances  naturally  required  the 
miners  to  take  justice  into  their  own  hands;  }^et  with 
all  the  severity  and  haste  characterizing  such  admin 
istration,  I  find  only  two  instances  of  action  by  a 
popular  tribunal  in  the  mining  region.  In  one  case  a 
Frenchman,  a  notorious  horse-thief,  was  caught  in  the 
act  of  practising  his  profession  at  the  Dry  Diggings; 
in  the  other,  a  Spaniard  was  found  with  a  stolen  bag 
of  gold-dust  in  his  possession,  on  the  middle  branch 
of  the  American  River.3  Both  of  these  men  were 
tried,  convicted,  and  promptly  hanged  by  the  miners. 
It  has  been  the  fashion  to  ascribe  most  infringe 
ments  of  order  to  the  Latin  race,  mainly  because  the 
recorders  nearly  all  belonged  to  the  other  side,  and 
because  Anglo-Saxon  culprits  met  with  greater  leni 
ency,  while  the  least  infraction  by  the  obnoxious 
Spanish-speaking  southerner  was  met  by  exemplary 

2Degroot,  Six  Months  in  '49,  in  Overland  Monthly,  xiv.  321.  'Honest 
miners  left  their  sacks  of  gold-dust  exposed  in  their  tents,  without  fear  of  loss. 
Towards  the  close  of  the  year  a  few  robberies  and  murders  were  committed.' 
Burnett's  Recollections,  MS.,  ii.  142-3.  Gov.  Mason  writing  to  L.  W.  Has 
tings  from  New  Helvetia  Oct.  24,  1848,  says:  'Although  some  murders  have 
been  committed  and  horses  stolen  in  the  placer,  I  do  riot  lind  that  things  are 
worse  here,  if  indeed  they  are  so  bad,  as  they  were  in  our  own  mineral  re 
gions  some  years  ago,  when  I  was  stationed  near  them.'  U,  8.  Gov.  Docs, 
31st  cong.  1st  sess.,  H.  Ex.  Doc.  17.  On  the  other  hand,  I  find  complaints  of 
outrages  committed  by  disbanded  volunteers  at  Monterey.  Cat.  Star  and 
Calif ornian,  Dec.  9,  1848;  of  robbery  and  horse-thieving  around  the  bay 
missions,  by  a  gang  from  the  Tulare  Valley,  said  to  be  composed  chiefly  of 
deserters.  Dr  Marsh's  residence  on  the  Pulpunes  rancho  being  plundered. 
Cnl.  Star,  Feb.  26,  June  3,  1848. 

3  Hancock's  Thirteen  Years'  Residence  on  the  Northwest  Coast,  MS..  1 19-20; 
Carson's  Early  Recoil.,  26.  Early  instances  of  popular  punishment  of  crime 
at  San  Jos6  and  elsewhere  are  mentioned  in  Popular  Tribunals,  i.  67-9,  etc., 
tiiis  series. 


QUALITY  OF  DIGGINGS.  85 

punishment  at  the  hands  of  the  overbearing  and  domi 
nant  northerner.  Even  during  these  early  days,  some 
of  the  latter  rendered  themselves  conspicuous  by 
encroachments  on  the  rights  of  the  former,  such  as 
unwarrantable  seizure  of  desirable  claims.*  While  the 
strict  and  prompt  treatment  of  crime  tended  to  main 
tain  order  in  the  mining  regions,  the  outskirts,  or 
rather  the  southern  routes  to  the  placers,  became  to 
ward  the  end  of  the  season  haunted  by  a  few  robbers.5 
Another  source  of  danger  remained  in  the  hostil 
ity  of  the  savages,  who,  already  imbittered  by  the 
encroachments  and  spoliation  suffered  in  the  coast 
valleys,  and  from  serf-hunting  expeditions,  naturally 
objected  to  an  influx  that  threatened  to  drive  them 
out  of  this  their  last  retreat  in  the  country.  This 
attitude,  indeed,  served  to  check  the  expansion  of  the 
mining  field  for  a  time.  In  the  south  it  was  mainly 
due  to  Mexican  aggression,  and  in  the  north  to  incon 
siderate  action  on  the  part  of  immigrants  and  Orego- 
nian  parties,  whose  prejudices  had  been  roused  by 
conflicts  on  the  plains  and  in  the  Columbia  region.6 

Mining  operations  so  far  embraced  surface  picking, 
shallow  digging  along  the  rivers  and  the  tributary 
ravines,  attended  by  washing  of  metal-bearing  soil, 
and  dry  diggings,  involving  either  laborious  convey 
ance,  or  'packing,'  of  'pay-dirt'  to  the  distant  water,  or 
the  bringing  of  water,  or  the  use  of  a  special  cleaning 
process.  This  feature  rendered  the  dry  diggings  more 
precarious  than  river  claims,  with  their  extensive  veins 

*  A.  Janssens  declares,  in  Viday  Avent.,  MS.,  that  he  and  several  friends 
were  threatened  in  life  and  property;  yet  in  their  case  all  was  amicably 
arranged,  after  many  contests. 

5  Men  whose  lack  of  success  in  the  gold-fields  prompted  to  an  indulgence 
of  hitherto  restrained  propensities.    There  are  always  travellers,  however,  who 
love  to  tell  thrilling  tales.     Janssens  relates  that,  on  turning  homeward  in 
Dec.,  his  small  party  was  recommended  to  avoid  the  main  road  to  and  from 
Stockton,  ami  speaks  of  the  two  headless  bodies  they  found  in  a  hut  of 
branches. 

6  As  related  in  the  Merced  People,  June  8,  1872,  on  the  authority  of  Read 
ing.     Brooks,  Four  Months,  states  that  his  party  was  attacked  on  Bear  River, 
had  one  killed  and  two  wounded,  and  was  subsequently  robbed  of  70  pounds 
of  gold  by  bandits. 


86  AT  THE  MINES. 

of  fine  and  coarse  gold,  yielding  a  comparatively  steady 
return,  with  hopes  centred  rather  in  rich  finds  and 
'pockets.' 

The  principal  dry  diggings  were  situated  in  the 
country  since  comprised  in  Placer  and  El  Dorado 
counties,  particularly  about  the  spots  where  Auburn 
and  Placerville,  their  respective  capitals,  subsequently 
rose.  Smaller  camps,  generally  named  after  their 
discoverers,  were  thickly  scattered  throughout  the 
gold  region.  They  were  among  the  first  discovered 
after  the  rush  set  in  from  the  towns,  and  were  worked 
by  a  great  number  of  miners  during  June,  July,  and 
part  of  August.  After  this  they  were  deserted, 
partly  because  the  small  streams  resorted  to  for  wash 
ing  dried  up,  but  more  because  a  stampede  for  the 
southern  mines  began  at  that  time.7  A  few  prudent 
and  patient  diggers  remained,  to  collect  pay-dirt  in 
readiness  for  the  next  season;  and  according  to  all 
accounts  they  did  wisely. 

It  was  a  wide-spread  belief  among  the  miners,  few 
of  whom  had  any  knowledge  of  geology  or  mineral 
ogy,  that  the  gold  in  the  streams  and  gulches  had 
been  washed  down  from  some  place  where  it  lay  in 
solid  beds,  perhaps  in  mountains.  Upon  this  source 
their  dreams  and  hopes  centred,  regardless  of  the 
prospect  that  such  a  discovery  might  cause  the 
mineral  to  lose  its  value.  They  were  sure  that  the 
wonderful  region  would  be  found  some  day,  and 
the  only  fear  of  each  was  that  another  might  be 
the  lucky  discoverer.  Many  a  prospecting  party  set 
out  to  search  for  this  El  Dorado  of  El  Dorados;  and 
to  their  restless  wanderings  may  be  greatly  attributed 
the  extraordinarily  rapid  extension  of  the  gold-fields. 
No  matter  how  rich  a  new  placer,  these  henceforth 

1  Kelsey  and  party  discovered  the  first  dry  diggings,  which  were  named 
Kelsey's  diggings.  Next  were  the  old  dry  diggings,  out  of  which  so  many 
thousands  were  taken.  Among  the  discoverers  were  Isbel,  and  Daniel  and 
J-no.  Murphy,  who  were  connected  with  Capt.  Weber's  trading  establish 
ments,  Murray  and  Failon  of  San  Jose,  and  McKensey  and  Aram  of  Monterey. 
Carson's  Early  Recollections,  5.  See  also,  concerning  the  dry  diggings,  Oakland 
Transcript,  Apr.  13,  1873,  and  Oakland  Alameda  Co.  Gazette,  Apr.  19,  1873. 


MINING  METHODS.  87 

fated  rovers  remained  there  not  a  moment  after  the 
news  came  of  richer  diggings  elsewhere.  In  their 
wake  rushed  others;  and  thus  it  often  happened  that 
men  abandoned  claims  yielding  from  $50  to  $200  a 
day,  and  hurried  off  to  fresh  fields  which  proved  far 
less  valuable  or  utterly  worthless.  Then  they  would 
return  to  their  old  claims,  but  only  to  find  them  fallen 
into  other  hands,  thus  being  compelled  by  inexorable 
necessity  to  continue  the  chase.  They  had  come  to 
gather  gold  now,  and  bushels  of  it,  not  next  year  or 
by  the  thimbleful.  At  $200  a  day  it  would  take 
ten  days  to  secure  $2,000,  a  hundred  days  to  get 
$20,000,  a  thousand  days  to  make  $200,000,  when  a 
million  was  wanted  within  a  month.  And  so  in  the 
midst  of  this  wild  pursuit  of  their  ignis  fatuus,  multi 
tudes  of  brave  and  foolish  men  fell  .by  the  way,  some 
dropping  into  imbecility  or  the  grave,  while  others, 
less  fortunate,  were  not  permitted  to  rest  till  old  age 
and  decrepitude  came  upon  them. 

Although  in  1848  the  average  yield  of  gold  for 
each  man  engaged  was  far  greater  than  in  any  sub 
sequent  year,  yet  the  implements  and  methods  of 
mining  then  in  use  were  primitive,  slow  of  operation, 
and  wasteful.  The  tools  were  the  knife,  the  pan, 
and  the  rocker,  or  cradle.  The  knife  was  only  used 
in  *  crevicing/  that  is,  in  picking  the  gold  out  of  cracks 
in  the  rocks,  or  occasionally  in  dry  diggings  rich  in 
coarse  gold.8  Yet  the  returns  were  large  because 

8  The  pan  was  made  of  stiff  tin  or  sheet-iron,  with  a  flat  bottom  from  10 
to  14  inches  across,  and  sides  from  4  to  6  inches  high,  rising  outward  at  a 
varying  angle.  It  was  used  mainly  for  prospecting,  and  as  an  adjunct  to  the 
rocker,  but  in  the  absence  of  the  latter,  claims  were  sometimes  systematically 
worked  with  it.  In  'panning,'  as  in  all  methods  of  placer-mining,  the  gold 
was  separated  from  earth  and  stones  chiefly  by  relying  on  the  superior  spe 
cific  gravity  of  the  metal.  The  pan  was  partly  filled  with  dirt,  lowered  into 
the  water,  and  there  shaken  with  a  sideway  and  rotary  motion,  which  caused 
the  dissolving  soil  and  clay,  and  the  light  sand,  to  float  away  until  nothing  was 
left  but  the  gold  which  had  settled  at  the  bottom.  Gravel  and  stones  were 
raked  out  with  the  hand.  Except  in  extremely  rich  ground,  such  a  process 
was  slow,  and  it  was  therefore  seldom  resorted  to,  save  for  *he  purpose  of  as 
certaining  whether  it  would  pay  to  bring  the  rocker  t^  ..a  spot.  The  cradle 
resembled  in  size  and  shape  a  child's  cradle,  with  similar  rockers,  and  was 
rocked  by  means  of  a  perpendicular  handle.  The  cradle- box  consisted  of  a 
wooden  trough,  about  20  in.  wide  and  40  long,  with  sides  4  in.  high.  The 


88  AT  THE  MINES, 

there  were  fewer  to  share  the  spoils,  and  because  they 
had  the  choice  of  the  most  easily  worked  placers;  and 
although  they  did  not  materially  diminish  the  quantity 
of  gold,  they  picked  up  much  of  what  was  in  sight. 

lower  end  was  left  open.     On  the  upper  end  sat  the  hopper,  or  riddle,  a  box  20 
in.  square,  with  wooden  sides  4  in.  high,  and  a  bottom  of  sheet  iron  or  zinc 
pierced  with  holes  £  in.  in  diameter.     Under  the  hopper  was  an  apron  of 
wood  or  canvas  which  sloped  down  from  the  lower  end  of  the  hopper  to  the 
upper  end  of  the  cradle-box.     Later  an  additional  apron  was  added  by  many, 
above  the  original  one,  sloping  from  the  upper  to  the  lower  end.     A  strip  of 
wood  an  inch  square,  called  a  riffle-bar,  was  nailed  across  the  bottom  of  the 
cradle-box,  about  its  middle,  and  another  at  its  lower  end.     Under  the  whole 
were  nailed  the  rockers,  and  near  the  middle  of   the  side  rose  an  upright 
handle  for  imparting  motion.     The  rocker  was  placed  in  the  spot  to  which 
the  pay-dirt,  and  especially  a  constant  supply  of  water,  could  most  conven 
iently  be  brought.     The  hopper  being  nearly  tilled  with  auriferous  earth,  the 
operator,  seated  by  its  side,  rocked  the  cradle  with  one  hand,  and  with  the 
other  poured  water  on  the  dirt,  using  a  half-gallon  dipper,  until  nothing  was 
left  in  the  hopper   but   clean  stones  too   large   to  pass   through    the  sieve. 
These  being  thrown  out,  the  operation  was  repeated.     The  dissolved  dirt  fell 
through  the  holes  upon  the  apron,  and  was  carried  to  the  upper  end  of  the 
cradle-box,  whence  it  ran  down  toward  the  open  end.     Much  of  the  finer 
gold  remained  upon  the  canvas-covered  apron;  the  rest,  with   the   heavier 
particles  of  gravel,  was  caught  behind  the  riffle-bars,  while  the  water,  thin 
mud,  and  lighter  substances  were  carried  out  of  the  machine.     This  descrip 
tion  of  the  rocker  I  have  taken  from  HittelVs  Mining  in  the  Pacific  States  of 
North  America,  S.  F.,  1861,  and  from  the  Miners'  Own  Book,  S.  F.,  1858. 
The  former  is  a  well  arranged  hand-book  of  mining,  and  exhausts  the  subject. 
The  latter  work   treats  only  of  the  various  methods  of  mining,  which  are 
lucidly'  described,  and  illustrated  by  many  excellent  cuts,  including  one  of 
the  rocker.     Earlier  miners  and  Indians  used  sieves  of  intertwisted  willows 
for  washing  dirt.     Sonorans  occasionally  availed  themselves  of  cloth   for  a 
sieve,  the  water  dissolving  the  dirt  and  leaving  the  gold  sticking  to  it.     Sev 
eral  times  during  the  day  the  miner  'cleaned  up'  by  taking  the  retained  dirt 
into  his  pan  and  panning  it  out.     The  quantity  of  dirt  that  could  be  washed 
with  a  rocker  depended  upon  the  nature  of  the  diggings  and  the  number  of 
men  employed.     If  the  diggings  were  shallow,  that  is  to  say,  if  the  gold  lay 
near  the  surface,  two  men — one  to  rock  and  one  to  fill  the  hopper — could 
wash  out  from  250  to  300  pans  in  a  day,  the  pan  representing  about  half 
a  cubic  foot  of  dirt.     But  if  several  feet  of  barren  dirt  had  to  be  stripped  off 
before  the  pay-dirt  was  reached,  more  time  and  men  were  required.     Again, 
if  tough  clay  was  encountered  in  the  pay-dirt,  it  took  an  hour  or  more  to 
dissolve  a  hopperful  of  it.     Dry-washing  consisted  in  tossing  the  dirt  into 
the  air  while  the  wind  was  blowing,  and  thus  gradually  winnowing  out  the 
gold.     This  method  was  mostly  confined  to  the  Mexicans,  and  could  be  used 
to  advantage  only  in  rich  diggings  devoid  of   water,  where   the  gold   was 
coarse.     The  Mexican  generally  obtained  his  pay-dirt  by  'coyoting;'   that 
is,  by  sinking  a  square  hole  to  the  bed-rock,  and  then  burrowing  from  the 
bottom  along  the  ledge.     For  burrowing  he  used  a  small  crowbar,  pointed  at 
both  ends,  and  with  a  big  horn  spoon  he  scraped  up  the  loosened  pay-dirt. 
This,    pounded  into  dust,  he  shook  with  great  dexterity  from  a  baiea,  or 
wooden  bowl,  upon  an  extended  hide,  repeating  the  process  until  the  wind 
had  left  little  of  the   original  mass  except  the  gold.     In  this  manner  the 
otherwise   indolent   Mexicans  often   made   small   fortunes   during   the   dry 
summer  months,  when  the  rest  of  the  miners  were  squandering  their  gains  iu 
the  towns. 


ABSENCE  OF  MINING  REGULATIONS.  89 

Moreover,  they  were  fettered  by  no  local  regulations, 
or  delays  in  obtaining  possession  of  claims,  but  could 
•hasten  from  placer  to  placer,  skimming  the  cream  from 
each.  In  February  Governor  Mason  had  abolished 
the  old  Mexican  system  of  'denouncing'  mines,9  with 
out  establishing  any  other  mining  regulations.10  In 
this  way  some  ten  millions  n  were  gathered  by  a  pop 
ulation  of  8,000  or  10,000,  averaging  an  ounce  a  day, 
or  $1,000  and  more  to  the  man  for  the  season,  and 
this  notwithstanding  the  miners  were  not  fairly  at 
work  until  July,  and  most  of  them  went  down  to  the 
coast  in  October.  Some,  however,  made  $100  a  day 
for  weeks  at  a  time,  while  $500  or  $700*  a  day  was  not 
unusual.12 

•Mason's  order  to  this  effect  is  dated  at  Monterey,  Feb.  12,  1848.  'From 
and  after  this  date  the  Mexican  laws  and  customs  now  prevailing  in  Califor 
nia  relative  to  the  denouncement  of  mines  are  hereby  abolished.  The  legality 
of  the  denouncements  which  have  taken  place,  and  the  possession  obtained 
under  them  since  the  occupation  of  the  country  by  the  United  States  forces, 
are  questions  which  will  be  disposed  of  by  the  American  government  after  a 
definitive  treaty  of  peace  shall  have  been  established  between  the  two  repub 
lics.'  U.  S.  Oov.  Docs,  31st  cong.  1st  sess.,  H.  Ex.  Doc.  17,  477;  San  Diego 
Arch.,  MS.,  325;  San  Jost  Arch,,  MS.,  ii.  69;  Arch.  CaL,  Unbound  Docs,  MS., 
318;  8.  F.  Californian,  Feb.  23,  1848.  This  order  caused  dissatisfaction  in 
several  quarters,  chiefly  because  many,  after  expense  and  trouble  in  looking 
for  veins,  had  denounced  them  after  Feb.  12th,  but  before  the  decree  was 
known  to  them.  Mason  to  J.  S.  Moerenhout,  consul  of  France  at  Monterey, 
June  5,  1848,  in  U.  S.  Gov.  Docs,  as  above,  56;  Mason  to  alcalde  of  San  Jose", 
March  9,  1848,  in  S.  Jose  Arch.,  MS.,  42;  People  of  Monterey  to  Mason,  March 
9,  1848,  in  Arch.  CaL,  Unbound  Docs,  MS.,  408-11. 

10 The  desirability  of  regulations  is  spoken  of  by  Mason  in  a  letter  to  J.  R. 
Snyder  as  early  as  May  23,  1848,  as  the  latter  is  about  to  visit  the  gold  region; 
and  he  is  requested  to  obtain  information  and  submit  a  plan.  U.  S.  Oov.  Docs, 
ubi  sup.  554-6.  In  his  letter  to  the  U.  S.  adjt-gen.  of  Aug.  17,  1848,  Mason 
writes:  '  It  was  a  matter  of  serious  reflection  to  me  how  I  could  secure  to  the 
government  certain  rents  or  fees  for  the  privilege  of  obtaining  this  gold;  but 
upon  considering  the  large  extent  of  country,  the  character  of  the  people  en 
gaged,  and  the  small  scattered  force  at  my  command,  I  resolved  not  to  inter 
fere,  but  to  permit  all  to  work  freely,  unless  broils  and  crimes  should  call  for 
interference. ' 

11  This  is  the  figure  accepted  in  HittelVs  Mining,  39,  although  the  same 
author,  in  Hist.  S.  F.,  155,  writes:   'The  monthly  gold  yield  of  1848  averaged 
perhaps  $300,000.'     The  officially   recorded  export   for    1848   was   $2,000,- 
000,  but  this  forms  only  a  proportion  of  the  real  export.     Velasco,  Son.,  289- 
90,  for  instance,  gives  the  official  import  into  Sonora  alone  at  over  half  a 
million,  and  assumes  much  more  unrecorded.     See  also  Annals  S.  F.,  208. 
Quart.  Review,  Ixxxvii.  422,  wildly  calculates  the  yield  for  1848  at  $45,000,000. 

12  John  Sullivan,  an  Irish  teamster,  took  out  $26,000  from  the  diggings 
named  after  him  on  the  Stanislaus.     One  Hudson  obtained  some  $20,000  in 
six  weeks  from  a  canon  between  Colomaand  the  American  middle  fork;  while 
n  boy  named  Davenport  found  in  the  same  place  77  ounces  of  pure  gol  1  one 
day,  and  CO  ounces  the  next.     At  the  Dry  Diggings  one  Wilson  took  $2, COO 


90  AT  THE  MINES. 

In  a  country  where  trade  had  been  chiefly  conducted 
by  barter  with  hides  and  other  produce,  coin  was  nat- 

from  under  his  own  door-step.  Three  Frenchmen  discovered  gold  in  remov 
ing  a  stump  which  obstructed  the  road  from  Dry  Diggings  to  Coloma,  and 
within  a  week  secured  $5,000.  On  the  Yuba  middle  fork  one  man  picked  up 
in  20  days  nearly  30  pounds,  from  a  piece  of  ground  less  than  four  feet  square. 
Amador  relates  that  he  saw  diggings  which  yielded  $8  to  every  spadeful  of 
earth;  and  he  himself,  with  a  companion  and  20  native  laborers,  took  out 
from  7  to  9  pounds  of  gold  a  day.  Robert  Birnie,  an  employe  of  Consul 
Forbes,  saw  miners  at  Dry  Diggings  making  from  50  to  100  ounces  daily. 
Bu/um's  Six  Months,  126-9;  Cal.  Star,  Nov.  18,  Dec.  2,  1848;  Amador,  Me- 
morias,  MS.,  177-80;  Birnie's  Biog.,  in  Pioneer  Soc.  Arch.,  MS.,  93-4.  A 
correspondent  of  the  Californian  writes  from  the  Dry  Diggings  in  the  middle 
of  August  that  'at  the  lower  mines  the  success  of  the  day  is  counted  in  dollars, 
at  the  upper  mines,  near  the  mill,  in  ounces,  and  here  in  pounds! '  'The  earth,' 
he  continues,  'is  taken  out  of  the  ravines  which  make  out  of  the  mountain, 
and  is  carried  in  wagons  and  packed  on  horses  from  one  to  three  miles  to  the 
water,  where  it  is  washed;  $400  has  been  an  average  for  a  cart-load.  In  one 
instance  five  loads  of  earth  which  had  been  dug  out  sold  for  47  oz.  ($752),  and 
yielded  after  washing  $16,000.  Instances  have  occurred  here  where  men 
have  carried  the  earth  on  their  backs,  and  collected  from  $800  to  $1,500  in  a 
day.'  'The  fountain-head  yet  remains  undiscovered,'  continues  the  writer, 
who  is  of  opinion  that  when  proper  machinery  is  introduced  and  the  hills  are 
cut  down,  'huge  pieces  must  be  found.'  At  this  time  tidings  had  just  arrived 
of  new  placers  on  the  Stanislaus,  and  200  miners  were  accordingly  preparing 
to  leave  ground  worth  $400  a  load,  in  the  hope  of  finding  something  better  in 
the  south.  This  letter  is  dated  from  the  Dry  Diggings,  Aug.  15,  1848,  and 
is  signed  J.  B.  Similar  stories  are  told  by  other  correspondents;  for  instance, 
'Cosmopolite,'  in  the  Californian  of  July  15th,  and  'Sonoma,'  in  that  of  Aug. 
14th.  Coronel  states  that  on  the  Stanislaus  in  three  days  he  took  out  45,  38, 
and  59  ounces.  At  the  same  placer  Valde's  of  Santa  Barbara  found  under  a 
rock  more  gold-dust  than  he  could  carry  in  a  towel,  and  the  man  to  whom 
he  sold  this  claim  took  out  within  8  days  52  pounds  of  gold.  Close  by  a  So- 
noran  filled  a  large  batea  with  dust  from  the  hollow  of  a  rock,  and  went  about 
offering  it  for  silver  coin.  Cosas  de  Cal.,  MS.,  146-51. 

And  yet  the  middle  fork  of  the  American  surpassed  the  other  streams  in 
richness,  the  yield  of  Spanish  Bar  alone  being  placed  at  over  a  million  dollars. 
These  tributaries  also  boasted  of  nuggets  as  big  as  any  so  far  discovered. 
Larkin  writes:  'I  have  had  in  my  hands  several  pieces  of  gold  about  23  carats 
fine,  weighing  from  one  to  two  pounds,  and  have  it  from  good  authority  that 
pieces  have  been  found  weighing  16  pounds.  Indeed,  I  have  heard  of  one 
specimen  that  weighed  25  pounds.'  Colton  heard  of  a  twenty-pound  piece, 
and  a  writer  in  San  Joaquin  Co.  Hist.,  21,  relates  that  the  Stockton  company 
obtained  from  the  Stanislaus  a  lump  'of  pure  gold  weighing  80£  ounces  avoir 
dupois,'  of  kidney  shape,  which  was  brought  as  a  specimen.  Mason  reports 
that  'a  party  of  four  men  employed  at  the  lower  mines  averaged  $100  a  day.' 
On  Weber  Creek  he  found  two  ounces  to  be  a  fair  day's  yield.  'A  small  gut 
ter,  not  more  than  100  yards  long  by  four  feet  wide  and  two  or  three  feet 
deep,  was  pointed  out  to  me  as  the  one  where  two  men,  William  Daly  and 
Perry  McCoou,  had  a  short  time  before  obtained  $17,000  worth  of  gold.  Cap 
tain  Weber  informed  me  that  he  knew  that  these  two  men  had  employed  four 
white  men  and  about  100  Indian,?,  and  that  at  the  end  of  one* week's  work 
they  paid  off  their  party  and  had  $10,000  worth  of  this  gold.  Another  small 
ravine  was  shown  me,  from  which  had  been  taken  upwards  of  $12,000  worth 
of  gold.  Hundreds  of  similar  ravines,  to  all  appearances,  are  as  yet  un 
touched.  I  could  not  have  credited  these  reports  had  I  not  seen  in  the  abun 
dance  of  the  precious  metal  evidence  of  their  truth.  Mr  Neligh,  an  agent  of 
Com.  Stockton,  had  been  at  work  about  three  weeks  in  the  neighborhood,  and 


PLETHORA  OF  GOLD.  91 

urally  scarce.  This  no  less  than  the  sudden  abundance 
of  gold  tended  to  depress  the  value  of  the  metal,  so  much 
so  that  the  miners  often  sold  their  dust  for  four  dol 
lars  an  ounce,  and  seldom  obtained  at  first  more  than 
eight  or  ten  dollars.13  The  Indians  were  foremost  in 

showed  me  in  bags  and  bottles  over  $2,000  worth  of  gold;  and  Mr  Lyman,  a 
gentleman  of  education  and  worthy  of  every  credit,  said  he  had  been  engaged 
with  four  others,  with  a  machine  on  the  American  fork,  just  below  Butter's 
mill;  that  they  worked  eight  days,  and  that  his  share  was  at  the  rate  of  $50 
a  day;  but  hearing  that  others  were  doing  better  at  Weber's  place,  they  had 
removed  there,  and  were  then  on  the  point  of  resuming  operations.  I  might 
tell  of  hundreds  of  similar  instances,'  he  concludes.  John  Sinclair,  at  the 
junction  of  the  north  and  middle  branches  of  the  American  River,  displayed 
14  pounds  of  gold  as  the  result  of  one  week's  work,  with  fifty  Indians  using 
closely  woven  willow  baskets.  He  had  secured  $16,000  in  five  weeks.  Lar- 
kin  writes  in  a  similar  strain  from  the  American  forks.  Referring  to  a  party 
of  eight  miners,  he  says:  'I  suppose  they  made  each  $50  per  day;  their  own 
calculation  was  two  pounds  of  gold  a  day,  four  ounces  to  a  man,  $64.  I  saw 
two  brothers  that  worked  together,  and  only  worked  by  washing  the  dirt  in 
a  tin  pan,  weigh  the  gold  they  obtained  in  one  day.  The  result  was  $7  to 
one  and  $82  to  the  other. '  Buffum  relates  his  own  experiences  on  the  middle 
branch  of  the  American.  Scratching  round  the  base  of  a  great  bowlder,  and 
removing  the  gravel  and  clay,  he  and  his  companions  came  to  black  sand, 
mingled  with  which  was  gold  strewn  all  over  the  surface  of  the  rock,  and  of 
which  four  of  them  gathered  that  day  26  ounces.  '  The  next  day,  our  machine 
being  ready,'  he  continues,  'we  looked  for  a  place  to  work  it,  and  soon  found 
a  little  beach  which  extended  back  some  five  or  six  yards  before  it  reached 
the  rocks.  The  upper  soil  was  a  light  black  sand,  on  the  surface  of  which  we 
could  see  the  particles  of  gold  shining,  and  could  in  fact  gather  them  up  with 
our  fingers.  In  digging  below  this  we  struck  a  red  stony  gravel  that  ap 
peared  perfectly  alive  with  gold,  shining  and  pure.  We  threw  off  the  top 
earth  and  commenced  our  washings  with  the  gravel,  which  proved  so  rich 
that,  excited  by.  curiosity,  we  weighed  the  gold  extracted  from  the  first  wash 
ing  of  50  panfuls  of  earth,  and  found  $75,  or  nearly  five  ounces  of  gold  to  be 
the  result.'  The  whole  day's  work  amounted  to  25  ounces.  A  little  lower  on 
the  river  he  struck  the  stony  bottom  of  'pocket,  which  appeared  to  be  of 
pure  gold,  but  upon  probing  it,  I  found  it  to  be  only  a  thin  covering  which 
by  its  own  weight  and  the  pressure  above  it  had  spread  and  attached  itself  to 
the  rock.  Crossing  the  river  I  continued  my  search,  and  after  digging  some 
time  struck  upon  a  hard,  reddish  clay  a  few  feet  from  the  surface.  After  two 
hours'  work  I  succeeded  in  finding  a  pocket  out  of  which  I  extracted  three 
lumps  of  pure  gold,  and  one  small  piece  mixed  with  oxydized  quartz' — 2D£ 
ounces  for  the  day;  not  much  short  of  $500.  There  are  a  class  of  stories,  sucu 
as  those  related  by  H.  L.  Simpson  and  the  Rev.  Colton,  of  a  wilder  and  more 
romantic  nature,  apparently  as  easy  to  tell  as  those  by  writers  of  proved 
veracity,  and  which,  whether  true  or  false,  I  will  not  trouble  my  readers  with. 
For  additional  information  on  yield,  see  more  particularly  Larkin's  letters  to 
the  U  S.  secty  of  state,  dated  S.  F.,  June  1,  Monterey,  June  28,  July  1,  July 
20,  and  Nov.  16,  1848,  in  Larkin's  Official  Corresp.,  MS.,  131-41;  Mason  to 
to  the  adjt-gen.,  Aug.  17,  1848:  U.  S.  Oov.  Docs,  31st  cong.  1st  sess.,  H.  Ex. 
Doc.  17,  528-36;  Sherman's  Memoirs,  i.  46-54;  Soulfs  Annals  of  S.  F.,  210; 
Carson's  Early  Recollections,  passim;  Hittell's  Mining,  21;  McChristian,  in 
Pioneer  Sketches,  9;  Burnett's  Recollections,  i.  374-5;  and  a  number  of  miscel 
laneous  documents  in  Footer's  Gold  Regions.  Also  Simpson's  Three  Weeks  in  the 
Gol  I  Mint's;  Cotton's  Three  Years  in  Cal. 

13  Jones  writes  in  Nov.  1848  that  miners  often  sold  an  ounce  of  gold  for  a  sil 
ver  dollar.     It  had   been  bought  of   Indians  for  50  cents.   Revert  8  Tour  of 


92  AT  THE  MINES. 

lowering  the  price,  at  least  in  the  early  part  of  the 
season.  They  had  no  idea  of  the  value  of  gold,  and 
would  freely  exchange  it  for  almost  anything  that 
caught  their  fancy.  Although  honest  enough  in 
dealings  among  themselves,  the  miners  did  not  scruple 
to  cheat  the  natives,1*  the  latter  meanwhile  thinking 
they  had  outwitted  the  white  man.  Presently,  how 
ever,  with  growing  experience,  they  began  to  insist 
upon  a  scale  of  fixed  prices,  whereupon  the  trader 
quoted  prices  of  cotton  cloth  or  calico  at  twenty 
dollars  a  yard,  plain  white  blankets  at  six  ounces, 
sarapes  from  twenty  to  thirty  ounces  each,  beads 
equal  weight  in  gold,  handkerchiefs  and  sashes  two 
ounces  each.  Care  was  moreover  taken  to  arrange 
scales  and  weights  especially  for  trade  with  the  sav 
ages.  To  balance  with  gold  the  great  slugs  of  lead, 
which  represented  a  'digger  ounce,'  the  savages  re 
garded  as  fair  dealing,  and  would  pile  on  the  precious 
dust  until  the  scales  exactly  balanced,  using  every 
precaution  to  give  no  more  than  the  precise  weight. 
The  scales  usually  employed,  often  improvised,  were 
far  from  reliable;  but  a  handful  of  gold-dust  more  or 
less  in  those  days  was  a  matter  of  no  great  moment.15 
The  inflowing  miners  arrived  as  a  rule  well  sup 
plied  with  provisions  and  other  requirements,  but  they 
had  not  counted  fully  on  wear  and  tear,  length  of  stay, 
and  accidents.  As  a  consequence,  they  nearly  all  came 
to  want  at  the  same  time  toward  the  close  of  the  sea- 


Duty,  254.  Carson  says  that  gold  was  worth  but  $6  per  ounce  in  the  mines. 
Early  Recollections,  14.  Buffum  says  from  $6  to  $8.  Six  Month*,  96;  Dally 
that  it  could  not  be  sold  for  more  than  $8  or  $9.  Narrative,  MS.,  53;  Swan 
says  $4  to  $8.  Trip  to  the  Gold  Mines  Birnie  bought  a  quantity  of  dust  at 
$4  per  oz.  in  Mexican  coin.  Biog.  in  Pioneer  Soc.  Arch.,  MS.,  93-4. 

14  We  hear  of  ragged  blankets  and  the  like  selling  for  their  weight,  2  Ibs, 
3  oz.  of  dust  being  given  for  one.  Buffuni's  Six  Month*.  93-4,  126-9;  Coronel, 
Cosasde  Cal.,  MS.,  142-3;  Fernandez,  Cosas  de  Cat.,  MS.,  175,  178;  Tulare 
Times,  Sept.  19,  1874. 

u  Carson's  Early  Recollections,  35-6.  Green  relates  that  on  the  Tulare 
plains  he  sold  his  cart  and  pair  of  oxen  to  a  Frenchman  for  $600.  The  gold  was 
weighed  by  the  Frenchman  with  improvised  scales.  Green  fancied  the  French-" 
man  was  getting  the  better  of  him,  but  said  nothing.  On  reaching  Slitter's 
Fort  he  weighed  the  gold  again  and  found  it  worth  $2,000.  Life  and  Adven 
tures,  MS.,  17.  A  somewhat  fanciful  story. 


ALONG  THE  ROAD  AGAIN.  93 

son,  and  the  supply  and  means  of  transportation  being 
unequal  to  the  demand,  prices  rose  accordingly.16  It 
did  not  take  men  long  to  adapt  themselves  to  the  new 
measurements  of  money ;  nor  could  it  be  called  extra  v- 
agance  when  a  man  would  pay  $300  for  a  horse  worth 
$6  a  month  before,  ride  it  to  the  next  camp,  turn  it 
loose  and  buy  another  when  he  wanted  one,  provided 
he  could  scrape  from  the  ground  the  cost  of  an  animal 
more  easily  than  he  could  take  care  of  one  for  a 
week  or  two.  Extravagance  is  spending  much  when 
one  has  little.  Gold  was  too  plentiful,  too  easily 
obtained,  to  allow  a  little  of  it  to  stand  in  the  way  of 
what  one  wanted.  It  was  cheap.  Perhaps  there 
were  mounains  of  it  near  by,  in  which  case  six  barrels 
of  it  might  be  easily  given  for  one  barrel  of  meal. 

And  thus  it  was  that  all  along  this  five  hundred  miles 
of  foothills,  daily  and  hourly  through  this  and  the 
following  years,  went  up  the  wild  cry  of  exultation 
mingled  with  groans  of  despair.  For  even  now  the 
unfortunate  largely  outnumbered  the  successful.  It 
may  seem  strange  that  so  many  at  such  a  time,  and 
at  this  occupation  above  all  others,  should  consent  to 
work  for  wages;  but  though  little  capital  save  a  stock 
of  bread  was  required  to  work  in  the  mines,  some  had 
lost  all,  and  had  not  even  that.  Then  the  excitement 
and  pressure  of  eager  hope  and  restless  labor  told  upon 
the  constitution  no  less  than  the  hard  and  unaccus 
tomed  task  under  a  broiling  sun  in  moist  ground,  per 
haps  knee-deep  in  water,  and  with  poor  shelter  during 
the  night,  sleeping  often  on  the  bare  ground.  The 
result  was  wide-spread  sickness,  notably  fevers  and 

16  Sales  are  reported,  for  example,  flour  $800  a  bbl;  sugar,  coffee,  and 
pork,  $400;  a  pick,  shovel,  tin  pan,  pair  of  boots,  blanket,  a  gallon  of  whis 
key,  and  500  other  things,  $100  each.  Eggs  were  $3  each;  drugs  were  $1  a 
drop;  pills,  $1  each;  doctor's  visit,  $100,  or  $50,  or  nothing;  cook's  wages, 
$25  a  day;  hire  of  wagon  and  team,  $50  a  day;  hire  of  rocker,  $150  a  day.  If 
there  happened  to  be  an  overstock  in  one  place,  which  was  not  often  the  case 
during  this  year,  prices  were  low  accordingly.  Any  price,  almost,  would  be 
paid  for  an  article  that  was  wanted,  and  nothing  for  what  was  not  wanted. 
A  Coloma  store-keeper's  bill  in  Dec.  1848  runs  thus:  1  box  sardines,  $16;  1  Ib. 
hard  bread,  $2;  1  Ib.  butter,  $6;  £  Ib.  cheese,  $3;  2  bottles  ale,  $16;  total,  $43; 
and  this  for  not  a  very  elaborate  luncheon  for  two  persons. 


94  AT  THE  MINES. 

dysentery,  and  also  scurvy,  owing  to  the  lack  of 
vegetables.17 

The  different  exploitations  resulted  in  the  establish 
ment  of  several  permanent  camps,  marked  during 
this  year  by  rude  shanties,  or  at  best  by  Jog  huts, 
for  stores,  hotels,  and  drinking-saloons.  Some  of  them 
surpassed  in  size  and  population  Sutter's  hitherto  sol 
itary  fortress,  yet  this  post  maintained  its  preemi 
nence  as  an  entrep6t  for  trade  and  point  of  distribution, 
at  least  for  the  northern  and  central  mining*  fields, 

*  O 

and  a  number  of  houses  were  rising  to  increase  its  im 
portance.  On  the  river  were  several  craft  beating 
up  with  passengers  and  goods,  or  unlading  at  the 
landing.  The  ferry,  now  sporting  a  respectable 
barge,  was  in  constant  operation,  arid  along  the  roads 
were  rolling  freight  trains  under  the  lash  and  oaths  of 
frantic  teamsters,  stirring  thick  clouds  of  incandescent 
dust  into  the  hot  air.  Parties  of  horsemen,  with 
heavy  packs  on  their  saddles,  moved  along  slowly 
enough,  yet  faster  than  the  tented  ox-carts  or  mule- 
wagons  with  their  similar  burdens.  A  still  larger 
proportion  was  foot-sore  wanderers  trudging  along 
under  their  roll  of  blankets,  which  enclosed  a  few 
supplies  of  flour,  bacon,  and  coffee,  a  little  tobacco 
and  whiskey,  perhaps  some  ammunition,  and,  sus 
pended  to  the  straps,  a  frying-pan  of  manifold  utility, 
the  indispensable  pick  and  shovel,  tin  pan  and  cup, 
occasionally  a  gun,  and  at  the  belt  a  pair  of  pistols 
and  a  dirk.  Up  the  steep  hills  and  over  the  parched 
plains,  toiling  on  beneath  a  broiling  sun,  such  a  load 
became  a  heavy  burden  ere  nightfall. 

Within  the  fort  all  was  bustle  with  the  throno*  of 

O 

coming  and  going  traffickers  and  miners,  mostly  rough, 
stalwart,  bronze-faced  men  in  red  and  blue  woollen 
shirts,  some  in  deerskin  suits,  or  in  oiled-skin  and 
fishermen's  boots,  some  in  sombrero,  Mexican  sash,  and 
spurs,  loaded  with  purchases  or  bearing  enticingly 

17  Buffum  was  attacked,  but  found  a  remedy  in  some  bean-sprouts  which 
had  sprung  up  from  an  accidental  spill. 


THE  COMING  WINTER.  95 

plethoric  pouches  in  striking  contrast  to  their  fre 
quently  ragged,  unkempt,  and  woe-begone  appear 
ance.  Hardly  less  numerous,  though  less  conspicuous, 
were  the  happy  aboriginals,  arrayed  in  civilization's 
cotton  shirts,  some  with  duck  trousers,  squatting 
in  groups  and  eagerly  discussing  the  yellow  hand 
kerchiefs,  red  blankets,  and  bad  muskets  just  secured 
by  a  little  of  this  so  lately  worthless  stuff  which  had 
been  lying  in  their  streams  with  the  other  dirt  these 
past  thousand  years. 

Every  storehouse  and  shed  was  crammed  with  mer 
chandise;  provisions,  hardware  and  dry  goods,  whis 
key  and  tobacco,  and  a  hundred  other  things  heaped 
in  indiscriminate  confusion.  The  dwelling  of  the 
hospitable  proprietor,  who  had  a  word  for  everybody, 
and  was  held  in  the  highest  respect,  was  crowded 
with  visitors,  and  presented  the  appearance  of  a  hotel 
rather  than  private  quarters.  The  guard-house,  now 
deserted  by  its  Indian  soldiers,  and  most  of  the  build 
ings  had  been  rented  to  traders  and  hotel-keepers,18 
who  drove  a  rushing  business,  the  sales  of  one  store 
from  May  1st  to  July  10th  reaching  more  than  $30,- 
000. 19  The  workshops  were  busy  as  ever,  for  the 
places  of  deserting  artisans  could  be  instantly  filled 
from  passers-by  in  temporary  need. 

In  October  the  heavy  rains  and  growing  cold  ren 
dered  mining  difficult,  and  in  many  directions  impos 
sible.  The  steady  tide  of  migration  now  turned 
toward  the  coast.  Yet  a  large  number  remained, 
800  wintering  at  the  Dry  Diggings  alone,  and  a  large 
number  on  the  Yuba,  working  most  of  the  time,  for 
the  mines  were  yielding  five  ounces  a  day.  Efforts 
proved  remunerative  also  in  many  other  places.20 

18 A  two-story  house  at  $500  a  month;  rooms  for  $100. 

19 Sterling's  company  wrote  Larkin  not  to  delay  in  forwarding  stock,  for 
from  50  to  500  per  cent  could  be  made  on  everything.  There  were  no  fixed 
rates. 

20 Hayes'  Cat.  Mininrj,  i.  50;  Burne.tC*  Rec.,  MS.,  369-70;  Bujf urn's  Six 
Month*,  52;  Cal.  Star,  bee.  12,  1848;  Yuba  Co.  Hist.,  37;  HaWs  Hist.  S. 
Jose,  172-3. 


96  AT  THE  MINES. 

The  more  prudent  devoted  a  little  time  to  erecting  log 
cabins,  and  otherwise  making  themselves  comfortable ; 
but  many  who  could  not  resist  the  fascinations  of 
gold-hunting,  and  attempted,  in  ill-provided  and  cloth 
and  brushwood  shanties,  to  brave  the  inclemency  of 
winter,  suffered  severely.  From  the  beginning  of 
October  till  the  end  of  the  rainy  season  men,  disap 
pointed  and  sick,  kept  coining  down  to  San  Francisco, 
cursing  the  country  and  their  hard  fate.21  Indeed, 
there  were  not  many  among  the  returning  crowd,  rich 
or  poor,  who  could  present  a  respectable  appearance. 
They  were  a  ragged,  sun-burned  lot,  grimy  and  be- 
spotted,  with  unshorn  beards  and  long,  tangled  hair; 
some  shoeless,  with  their  feet  blistered  and  bandaged. 
Many  were  now  content  to  return  home  and  enjoy 
their  good  fortune,  but  many  more  remained  to  squan 
der  their  earnings  during  the  winter,  to  begin  the 
spring  where  they  began  the  last  one;  yet  as  a  body, 
the  men  of  1848  profited  more  by  their  gains  than 
the  men  who  came  after  them.22 

21  There  was  greater  mortality  at  the  end  of  1848  than  ever  before,  says 
Grims/iaw,  Narr.,  MS.,  15. 

a2  Among  the  noted  visitors  at  the  mines,  upon  whose  testimony  the  last 
chapters  are  to  a  great  extent  based,  I  would  first  mention  J.  H.  Carson,  the 
discoverer  of  Carson  Creek,  as  he  subscribed  himself  in  the  title-page  of  his 
book,  Early  Recollections  of  the  Minr*,  and  a  Description  of  the  Great  Tulare 
Vidley,  a  small  octavo  of  64  pp.,  printed  at  Stockton  in  1852,  to  accompany 
the  steamer  edition  of  the  San  Joaquin  Republican.  It  is  significant,  cer 
tainly,  of  newspaper  enterprise,  when  a  country  journal  could  print  so  im 
portant  and  expensive  an  accompaniment  to  its  regular  issue.  It  ranks  also 
as  the  first  book  issued  at  Stockton.  Note  also  the  dedication:  'To  the 
Hon.  A.  Randall,  of  Monterey,  Cal.,  Professor  of  Geology  and  Botany,  who 
has  spared  neither  energy  nor  expense  in  the  Historical  Researches  of  Cal 
ifornia,  this  humble  work  is  most  respectfully  dedicated  by  his  obliged  and 
obedient  servant,  The  Author. '  Let  not  his  name  perish.  Mr  Carson  has  made 
a  very  good  book,  an  exceedingly  valuable  book.  He  sees  well,  thinks  well, 
and  writes  well,  though  with  some  coloring.  Already  in  1852  he  begins  to  talk 
with  affection  'of  the  good  old  times,  now  past,  when  each  day  was  big  with 
the  wonders  and  discoveries  of  rich  diggings.'  The  first  16  pages  are  devoted 
to  a  description  of  the  mines;  then  follow  some  very  good  anecdotes  and 
sketches;  the  whole  concluding  with  a  description  of  the  Tulare  Valley. 
Carson,  a  sergeant  in  the  N.  Y.  reg.,  was  residing  at  Monterey  in  the  spring 
of  1848,  when  he  was  seized  with  this  new  western  dance  of  St  Vitus,  and  was 
carried  on  an  old  mule  to  the  gold-diggings.  He  began  work  at  Mormon 
Island  by  annihilating  earth  in  his  wash-basin,  standing  up  to  his  knees  in 
water,  slashing  and  splashing  as  if  resolving  the  universe  to  its  original 
elements.  Fifty  pans  of  dirt  thus  pulverized  gave  the  fevered  pilgrim  but 
fifty  cents;  whereupon  a  deep  disgust  filled  his  soul,  and  immediately  with 


HOW  SOME  WERE  AFFECTED.  97 

Obviously  the  effect  for  good  and  evil  of  finding 
gold  was  first  felt  by  those  nearest  the  point  of  dis- 

the  departure  of  his  malady  the  man  departed.  On  passing  through  Weber's 
Indian  trading  camp,  however,  he  saw  such  heaps  of  glittering  gold  as  brought 
the  ague  on  again  more  violent  than  ever,  resulting  in  a  prolonged  stay  at 
Kelsey's  and  Hangtown.  Instead  of  fortune,  however,  came  sickness,  which 
drove  him  away  to  other  pursuits,  and  brought  him  to  the  grave  at  Stockton 
in  April  1853,  shortly  after  his  election  to  the  legislature.  His  widow  and 
daughter  arrived  from  the  east  a  month  later,  and  being  destitute,  were 
assisted  to  return  by  a  generous  subscription. 

Another  member  of  the  same  regiment,  Henry  I.  Simpson,  who  started 
the  18th  of  Aug.,  1848,  from  Monterey  to  the  mines,  wrote  a  book  chiefly 
remarkable  from  its  publication  in  New  York,  in  1848,  describing  a  trip  to  the 
mines  which  could  not  have  been  concluded  much  more  than  three  months 
before  that  time.  It  was  not  impossible,  though  it  was  quick  work,  if  true, 
and  we  will  not  place  Mr  Simpson,  or  his  publishers,  Joyce  &  Company, 
under  suspicion  unless  we  find  them  clearly  guilty.  The  title  is  a  long  one 
for  so  thin  a  book,  a  pamphlet  of  thirty  octavo  pages,  and  somewhat  preten 
tious,  as  the  result  of  only  three  weeks'  observation;  but  Mr  Simpson  is  not 
the  only  one  who  has  attempted  to  enlighten  the  world  respecting  this  region 
after  a  ten  or  twenty  days'  ride  through  it.  and  to  tell  more  of  the  country 
than  the  inhabitants  had  ever  known,  thinking  that  because  things  were  new 
to  themselves  they  were  new  to  everybody.  Such  personages  are  your  Todds 
and  Riehardsons,  your  Grace  Greenwoods,  Pfeifers,  Mary  Cones,  and  fifty 
others  who  cover  their  ignorance  by  brilliant  flashes  that  gleam  before  the 
simple  as  superior  knowledge.  Nevertheless,  I  will  be  charitable,  and  print 
this  title,  which,  indeed,  gives  more  information  than  any  other  part  of  the 
book.  It  reads:  The  Emigrant's  Guide  to  the  Gold  Mines.  Three  Weeks  in 
the  Gold  Mines,  or  Adventures  with  the  Gold-Diggers  of  California,  in  August, 
1848,  together  with  Advice  to  Emigrants,  with  full  Instructions  upon  the  bext 
Methods  of  Getting  There,  Living,  Expenses,  etc.,  etc.,  and  a  Complete 
Description  of  the  Country.  With  a  Map  and  Illustrations.  And  such  a 
map,  and  such  illustrations!  I  should  say  that  the  draughtsman  had  taken 
the  chart  of  Cortes,  or  Vizcaino,  thrown  in  some  modern  names,  and  daubed 
yellow  a  strip  north  of  San  Francisco  Bay  to  represent  the  gold-fields.  In 
deed,  there  is  very  little  of  California  about  this  map.  The  price  of  the 
book  with  the  map  was  25  cents;  without  the  map,  12£  cents.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  purchasers  took  it  in  the  latter  form,  for  the  less  they  had  of  it 
the  wiser  they  would  be.  As  for  illustrations,  there  are  just  four,  whose  only 
merit  is  their  badness.  Fourteen  pages  of  the  work  are  devoted  to  the  nar 
rative  of  a  trip  to  the  mines;  nine  pages  to  a  description  of  the  country  and 
its  inhabitants;  the  remainder  being  occupied  by  advice  to  emigrants  con 
cerning  outfit  and  ways  to  reach  the  country.  Mr  Simpson's  ideas  are 
rambling  and  inflated,  and  his  pictures  of  the  country  more  gaudy  than 
gorgeous.  He  certainly  tells  large  stories — Bigler  says  wrong  stories — of 
river-beds  paved  with  gold  to  the  thickness  of  a  hand,  of  $20,000  or  $50,000 
worth  picked  out  almost  in  a  moment,  and  so  forth ;  but  he  printed  a  book  on 
California  gold  in  the  year  of  its  discovery,  and  this  atones  for  many  defects. 
Had  all  done  as  well  as  this  soldier-adventurer,  we  should  not  lack  material 
for  the  history  of  California. 

J.  Tyrwhitt  Brooks,  an  Englisn  physician  lately  from  Oregon,  started  in 
May  1848  from  S.  F.  for  the  gold-field,  with  a  well-equipped  party  of  five. 
After  a  fairly  successful  digging  at  Mormon  Island  they  moved  to  Weber 
Creek,  and  thence  to  Bear  River,  where,  despite  Indian  hostility,  115  pounds 
of  gold  were  obtained,  the  greater  part  of  which,  however,  was  destined  to  fall 
into  the  hands  of  highwaymen.  The  scenes  and  experiences  of  the  trip  Brooks 
recorded  in  a  diary,  which,  forwarded  to  his  brother  in  London,  was  there  pub 
lished  under  title  of  Four  Months  among  the  Gold-Finders  in  Alto,  California. 
HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.  7 


98  AT  THE  MINES. 

covery.  Upon  the  discoverer  himself,  in  whose  mind 
so  suddenly  arose  visions  of  wealth  and  influence,  it 

two  editions  appearing  in  London  in  1849,  and  one  in  America,  followed  by  a 
translation  at  Paris.  A  map  accompanies  the  English  edition,  with  a  yellow 
and  dotted  line  round  the  gold  district  then  extending  from  'R.  d  L.  Muke- 
lemnes'  to  Bear  River.  The  book  is  well  written,  and  the  author's  observa 
tions  are  such  as  command  respect. 

After  many  sermons  preached  against  money  as  the  root  of  all  evil,  and 
after  lamenting  fervently  the  present  dispensation  for  depriving  him  of  his 
servant,  temptation  also  seized  upon  the  Rev.  Walter  Colton,  at  the  time 
acting  alcalde  at  Monterey,  and  formerly  chaplain  on  board  the  U.  S.  ship 
Congress.  With  ive  companions,  including  Lt  Simmons,  Wilkinson,  son  of  a 
former  U.  S.  minister  to  Russia,  and  Marcy,  son  of  him  who  was  once  sec.  of 
war,  he  started  for  the  diggings  in  Sept.  1848,  freighting  a  wagon  with  cooking 
utensils,  mining  tools,  and  articles  for  Indian  traffic.  He  passed  through 
the  Livermore  gap  to  the  Stanislaus,  meeting  on  the  way  a  ragged  but  richly 
laden  party,  whose  display  of  wealth  gave  activity  to  his  movements.  Two 
months  saw  him  back  again,  rich  in  experience  if  not  in  gold,  and  primed  with 
additional  material  for  his  Three  Yearn  in  California,  a  book  published  in 
New  York  in  1850,  and  covering  the  prominent  incidents  coming  under  his 
observation  during  the  important  days  between  the  summer  of  1846  and  the 
Slimmer  of  1849.  Cal.  life  in  mines  and  settlements,  and  among  the  Spanish 
race,  receives  special  attention,  in  a  manner  well  calculated  to  bring  out  quaint 
and  characteristic  features.  Appearing  as  it  did  while  the  gold  fever  was  still 
raging,  the  work  received  much  attention,  and  passed  quickly  through  several 
editions,  later  under  the  changed  title,  Land  of  Gold.  It  also  assisted  into 
notice  his  Deck  and  Fort,  a  diary  like  the  preceding,  issued  the  same  year,  and 
reaching  the  third  edition,  which  treats  of  scenes  and  incidents  during  the 
voyage  to  Cal.  in  1845,  and  constitutes  a  prelude  to  the  other  book.  While 
the  popularity  of  both  rests  mainly  upon  the  time  and  topic,  yet  it  owes  much 
to  the  style,  for  Colton  is  a  genial  writer,  jocose,  with  an  easy,  careless  flow 
of  language,  but  inclines  to  the  exuberant,  and  is  less  exact  in  the  use  of 
words  than  we  should  expect  from  a  professed  dealer  in  unadulterated  truth, 
natural  and  supernatural. 

Six  Months  in  the  Gold  Mines;  being  a  Journal  of  Three  Years'  Residence 
in  Upper  and  Lower  California,  1847-9,  is  a  small  octavo  of  172  pages  by  E. 
Gould  Buffum,  sometime  lieut  in  the  first  reg.,  N.  Y.  Volunteers,  and  before 
that  connected  with  the  N.  Y.  press.  It  was  published  while  the  author  re 
mained  in  Cal.,  and  constitutes  one  of  the  most  important  printed  contribu 
tions  to  the  history  of  Cal.,  no  less  by  reason  of  the  scarcity  of  material 
concerning  the  period  it  covers,  1848-9,  than  on  account  of  the  ability  of  the 
author.  For  he  was  an  educated  man,  remarkably  free  from  prejudice,  a  close 
observer,  and  possessing  sound  judgment.  He  is  careful  in  his  statements, 
conscientious,  not  given  to  exaggeration,  and  his  words  and  ways  are  such  as 
inspire  confidence.  The  publishers'  notice  is  dated  May  1850.  The  author's 
introduction  is  dated  at  S.  F.  Jan.  I,  1850.  Hence  his  book  cannot  treat  of 
events  happening  later  than  1849.  First  is  given  his  visit  to  the  mines,  nota 
bly  on  the  Bear,  Yuba,  and  American  rivers,  with  the  attendant  experiences 
and  observations.  Then  follow  a  description  of  the  gold  region,  the  possibil 
ities  of  the  country  in  his  opinion,  movements  toward  government,  descrip 
tions  of  old  and  new  towns,  and  a  dissertation  on  Lower  Cal.  The  style  is 
pleasant — simple,  terse,  strong,  yet  graceful,  and  with  no  egoism  or  affecta 
tions. 

.No  less  valuable  than  the  preceding  for  the  present  subject  are  a  number 
of  manuscript  journals  and  memoirs  by  pioneers,  recording  their  personal  ex 
periences  of  matters  connected  with  the  mines,  trade,  and  other  features  of 
early  Cal.  periods.  Most  of  them  are  referred  t)  elsewhere,  and  I  need  here 
ouly  instance  two  or  three.  A.  F.  Coronel,  subsequently  mayor  of  Los  An- 


SUTTER  AND  MARSHALL.  99 

fell  like  the  gold  of  Nibelungen,  in  the  Edda,  which 
brought  nothing  but  ill  luck  to  the  possessor.  And 
to  Sutter,  his  partner,  being  a  greater  man,  it  proved 
a  greater  curse.  Yet  this  result  was  almost  wholly 
the  fault  of  the  man,  not  of  the  event.  What  might 
have  been  is  not  my  province  to  discuss;  what  was 
and  is  alone  remain  for  me  to  relate.  We  all  think 
that  of  the  opportunity  given  these  men  we  should 
have  made  better  use;  doubtless  it  is  true.  They 
were  simple  backwoods  people;  we  have  knocked  our 
heads  against  each  other  until  they  have  become  hard; 
our  tongues  are  sharpened  by  lying,  and  our  brains 
made  subtle  by  much  cheating.  Sutter  and  Marshall, 
though  naturally  no  more  honest  than  other  men, 
were  less  astute  and  calculating ;  and  while  the  former 

O  * 

had  often  met  trick  with  trick,  it  was  against  less 
skilled  players  than  those  now  entering  the  game.  In 
their  intercourse  with  the  outside  world,  although 

geles,  and  a  prominent  Califorman,  made  a  trip  to  the  Stanislaus  and  found 
rich  deposits,  as  related  in  his  Corns  de  Cat.,  a  volume  of  265  pp. ,  which  forms 
one  of  the  best  narratives,  especially  of  happenings  before  the  conquest.  One 
of  his  fellow-miners  in  1848  was  Agustin  Janssens,  a  Frenchman,  who  came 
to  Cal.  in  1834  as  one  of  the  colonists  of  that  year.  He  left  his  rancho  at 
Santa  Inds  in  Sept.  1848,  with  several  Indian  servants,  and  remained  at  the 
Stanislaus  till  late  in  Dec.  In  his  Vida  y  Aventuras  en  California  de  Don 
Ayitxtin  Janssens  vecino  de  Santa  Barbara,  Dictadas  por  el  mismo  d  Thomas 
fiuvatje,  MS.,  1878,  he  shows  the  beginning  of  the  race  aggressions  from  which 
the  Latins  were  subsequently  to  suffer  severely.  Besides  several  hundred  of 
such  dictations  in  separate  and  voluminous  form,  I  have  minor  accounts  in 
letter  and  reports,  bound  with  historic  collections,  such  as  Larkin,  Docs,  MS., 
i.-ix. ;  Doc.  Hist.  Cal.,  MS.,  i.-iv. ;  Vallejo,  Docs,  MS.,  i.-xxxvi.  passim. 
Instance  the  observations  of  Charles  B.  Sterling  and  James  Williams,  both  in 
the  service  of  Larkin,  and  who  mined  and  traded  on  the  south  and  north 
branches  of  the  American,  with  some  success.  The  official  report  of  Thomas 
O.  Larkin  to  the  sec.  of  state  of  June  28,  1848,  was  based  on  a  personal  visit 
to  the  central  mining  region  early  in  that  month.  So  was  that  of  Col  R.  B. 
Mason,  who  left  Monterey  June  17th,  attended  by  W.  T,  Sherman  and  Quar 
termaster  Folsom,  escorted  by  four  soldiers.  By  way  of  Sonoma  they  reached 
Slitter's  Fort,  where  the  4th  of  July  was  duly  celebrated,  and  thence  moved 
up  the  south  branch  of  the  American  River  to  Weber  Creek.  Mason  was 
summoned  back  to  Monterey  from  this  point,  but  had  seen  enough  to  enable 
him  to  write  the  famous  report  of  Aug.  17th  to  the  adj. -gen.  at  Washington, 
which  started  the  gold  fever  ubroad.  A  later  visit  during  the  autumn  ex 
tended  to  the  Stanislaus  and  Sonora  diggings.  Folsorn  also  made  a  report, 
but  gave  little  new  information.  He  attempted  to  furnish  the  world,  through 
Gen.  Jesup,  with  a  history  and  description  of  the  country,  in  which  effort  he 
attained  no  signal  success.  He  did  not  like  the  climate;  he  did  not  like  the 
mines.  Yet  he  was  gracious  enough  to  say,  '  I  went  to  them  in  the  most 
sceptical  frame  of  mind,  and  came  away  a  believer.' 


100  AT  THE  MINES. 

they  were  adventurers,  they  proved  themselves  little 
better  than  children,  and  as  such  they  were  grossly 
misused  by  the  gold-thirsting  rabble  brought  down 
upon  them  by  their  discovery. 

Marshall  and  Sutter  kept  the  Mormons  at  work  on 
the  saw-mill  as  best  they  were  able,  until  it  was  com 
pleted  and  in  operation,  which  was  on  the  llth  of 
March.  The  Mormons  merited  and  received  the  ac 
knowledgments  of  their  employers  for  faithfulness  in 
holding  to  their  agreements  midst  constantly  increas 
ing  temptations.  Both  employers  engaged  also  in 
mining,  especially  near  the  mill,  claiming  a  right,  to 
the  ground  about  it,  which  claim  at  first  was  gener 
ally  respected.  With  the  aid  of  their  Indians  they 
took  out  a  quantity  of  gold;  but  this  was  quickly  lost; 
and  more  was  found  and  lost.  Sutter  mined  else 
where  with  Indians  arid  Kanakas,  and  claims  never  to 
have  derived  any  profit  from  these  efforts.  The  mill 
could  not  be  made  to  pay.  Several  issues  before  long 
arose  between  Marshall  and  the  miners  regarding 
their  respective  rights  and  the  treatment  of  the 
natives. 

Marshall  was  less  fortunate  than  almost  any  of  the 
miners.  This  ill  success,  combined  with  an  exagger 
ated  estimate  of  his  merits  as  discoverer,  left  its 
impress  on  his  mind,  subjecting  it  more  and  more  to 
his  spiritualistic  doctrines.  In  obedience  to  phantom 
beckonings,  he  flitted  hither  and  thither  about  the 
foothills,  but  his  supernatural  friends  failed  him  in 
every  instance.23  He  became  petulant  and  querulous. 
Dfscouraged  and  soured,  he  grows  restive  under  en 
croachments  on  his  scanty  property,24  and  the  abuse 

23  'Should  I  go  to  new  localities '  says  Marshall,  'and  commence  to  open  a 
new  mine,  before  I  could  prospect  the  ground,  numbers  flocked  in  and  com 
menced  seeking  all  around  me,  and,  as  numbers  tell,  some  one  would  find  the 
lead  before  me  and  inform  their  party,  and  the  ground  was  claimed.     Then 
I  would  travel  again. '    Twice  Sutter  gave  him  a  prospector's  outfit  and  started 
him.     He  was  no  longer  content  with  his  former  plodding  industry.     '  He 
was  always  after  big  things,'  Sutter  said.     I  have  wondered  that  he  did  not 
in  the  first  instance  attribute  his  discovery  to  the  direction  of  the  spirits. 

24  Early  in  1849,  after  Winters  and  Bayley  had  purchased  the  half-interest 
of  Sutter  in  the  saw-mill,  and  one  third  of  the  half-interest  of  Marshall, 


THE  LUCKLESS  DISCOVERER.  101 

and  butchery  of  his  aboriginal  proteges.  Forced  by 
the  now  enraged  miners  to  flee  from  his  home  and 
property,  he  shoulders  his  pack  of  forty  pounds  and 
tramps  the  mountains  and  ravines,  living  on  rice.  He 
seeks  employment  and  is  refused.  "  We  employ  you  1" 
they  cry  ironically.  "You  must  find  gold  for  us. 
You  found  it  once,  and  you  can  again."  And  it  is 
told  for  a  fact,  and  sworn  to  by  his  former  partner, 
that  they  "  threatened  to  hang  him  to  a  tree,  mob 
him,  etc.,  unless  he  would  go  with  them  and  point 
out  the  rich  diggings."25 

There  is  something  unaccountable  in  all  this.  Mar 
shall  must  have  rendered  himself  exceedingly  obnox 
ious  to  the  miners,  who,  though  capable  of  fiendish  acts, 
were  not  fiends.  While  badly  treated  in  some  respects, 
he  was  undoubtedly  to  blame  in  others.  Impelled  by 
the  restlessness  which  had  driven  him  west,  and  over 
come  by  morbid  reflections,  he  allowed  many  of  his  good 
qualities  to  drift.  In  his  dull,  unimaginative  way  he 
out-Timoned  Timon  in  misanthropy.  He  fancied  him 
self  followed  by  a  merciless  fate,  and  this  was  equiva 
lent  to  courting  such  a  destiny.26  It  is  to  be  regretted 

miners  and  others  came  in  and  squatted  on  the  ground  claimed  by  Marshall, 
regardless  of  the  posted  notices  warning  them  off.  'Thirteen  of  Sutter  & 
Marshall's  oxen  soon  went  down  into  the  canon,'  says  Marshall,  'and  thence 
down  hungry  men's  throats.  These  cost  $400  per  yoke  to  replace.  Seven  of 
my  horses  went  to  carry  weary  men's  packs.'  The  mill  hands  deserted,  and 
before  the  mill  could  be  started  again  certain  white  men  at  Murderer's  Bar 
butchered  some  Indians  and  ravished  their  women.  The  Indians  retaliated 
and  killed  four  or  five  white  men.  So  far  it  was  an  even  thing;  the  white 
men  had  met  only  their  just  deserts.  But  the  excuse  to  shoot  natives  was  too 
good  to  be  lost.  A  mob  gathered,  and  failing  to  find  the  hostile  tribe,  attacked 
the  Culumas,  who  were  wholly  innocent  and  friendly,  and  many  of  them  at 
work  about  the  mill.  Of  these  they  shot  down  seveh;  and  when  Marshall  in 
terfered  to  defend  his  people,  the  mob  threatened  him,  so  that  he  was  obliged 
to  fly  for  his  life.  After  a  time  he  returned  to  Coloma  only  to  find  the  place 
claimed  by  others,  who  had  laid  out  a  town  there.  Completely  bankrupt, 
Marshall  was  obliged  to  leave  the  place  in  search  of  food,  and  soon  he  was  in 
formed  that  the  miners  had  destroyed  the  dam,  and  stolen  the  mill  timbers, 
and  that  was  the  end  of  the  saw  mill.  'Neither  Marshall,  Winters,  nor 
Bayley  ever  received  a  dollar  for  their  property. '  Parsons'  Life  of  Marshall, 
188. 

25  'To  save  him,  I  procured  and  secreted  a  horse,  and  with  this  he  escaped.' 
Affidavit  of  John  Winters,  in  Parsons'  Life  of  Marshall,  178.    See  also  Mar 
shall's  statement,  in  Dunbar's  Romance  of  the  A</e,  117-23. 

26  'I  wandered  for  more  than  four  years,   he  continues, . . . '  feeling  myself 
under  some  fatal  influence,  a  curse,  or  at   least  some  bad  circumstances.' 


102  AT  THE  MINES. 

that  he  sank  also  into  poverty,  passing  the  last  twenty- 
eight  years  of  his  life  near  Coloma,  the  centre  of  his 
dreams,  sustained  by  scanty  fare  and  shadowy  hopes 
of  recognition.27 

o 

Finally  he  breaks  forth:  'I  see  no  reason  why  the  government  should  give  to 
others  and  not  to  me.  In  God's  name,  can  the  circumstance  of  my  being  the 
first  to  find  the  gold  regions  of  California  be  a  cause  to  deprive  me  of  every 
right  pertaining  to  a  citizen  from  under  the  flag?'  These,  I  say,  are  not  the 
sentiments  of  a  healthy  mind.  The  government  was  not  giving  more  to  others 
than  to  him.  One  great  trouble  was,  that  he  early  conceived  the  idea,  wholly 
erroneous,  that  the  government  and  the  world  owed  him  a  great  debt;  that 
but  for  him  gold  in  California  never  would  have  been  found.  In  some  way 
Marshall  became  mixed  up  with  that  delectable  association,  the  Hounds.  Of 
course  he  denies  having  been  one  of  them,  but  his  knowledge  of  their  watch 
word  and  other  secrets  looks  suspicious.  .Judging  entirely  by  his  own  state-- 
ments,  particularly  by  his  denials,  I  deem  it  more  than  probable  that  he  was 
a  member  of  the  band. 

27  Returning  to  Coloma  in  the  spring  of  1857,  he  obtained  some  odd  jobs  of 
work  sawing  wood,  making  gardens,  and  cleaning  wells.     Then  for  $15  he 
purchased  some  land  of  little  value  on  the  hill-side  adjacent  and  planted  a 
vineyard.     He  obtained  for  some  years  a  small  pension  from  the  state.     'An 
object  of  charity  on  the  part  of  the  state,'  says  Barstow,  Rtat.,  MS.,  14.    Sut- 
ter,  Pers.  Rem.,  MS.,  205,  says  the  same.     The  Elko  Independent,  Jan.   15, 
1870,  states  that  he  was  then  living  at  Kelsey's  Diggings.      'He  is  upward  of 
fifty  years  of  age,  and  though  feeble,  is  obliged  to  work  for  his  board  and 
clothes,  not  being  able  to  earn  more.'     Mr  E.  Weller  writes  me  in  Aug.  188 L 
from  Coloma:  '  Mr  Marshall  is  living  at  Kelsey,  about  three  miles  from  this 
place.     He  has  a  small  orchard  in  this  place  which  he  rents  out  for  $25  per 
year.     He  was  never  married.     He  is  trying  a  little  at  mining,  but  it  is  rather 
up-hill  work,  for  he  is  now  a  feeble  old  man. '    He  died  in  August  1885,  aged 
73.    Among  authorities  referring  to  him  are  Barstow's  Stat.,  MS.,  14;  Burnett's 
Rec.,  MS.,  ii.  10;  Crosby's  Events  in  CaL,  MS.,  17;  Annals  of  S.  F.,  767,  where 
may  be  found  a  poor  portrait;  Sutler's  Pers.  Rec.,  MS.,  160 and  205-6;  Powers' 
Afoot,  292-3;  Schlagintweit,  CaL,  216.    The  Sac.  ^cord-Union,  Jan.  20,  1872, 
states  that  he  was  '  forced  in  his  old  age  to  eke  out  a  scanty  subsistence  by 
delivering  rough  lectures  based  upon  his  wretched  career.'  Further  references, 
Grass  Valley  Union,  April  19,  1870;  Santa  Cruz  Sentinel,  July  17,  1875;  Fol- 
som   Telegraph,  Sept.   17,    1871;  Solano  Republican,   Sept.  29,    1870;  Nupa 
Register,  'Aug.    1,   1874;    Vallejo   Chron.,    Oct.   10,    1874;    Truckee    Tribune, 
Jan.  8,  1870;  S.  F.  Alta  CaL,  May  5,  1872,  and  Aug.   17,  1874;  8.  F.  News 
Letter,  July   19,   1879;  History  of  Nevada,  78;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Dec.   6,  1855; 
Aug.  10-14,  1885;   Yolo  Co.  Hist.,  86;  Tinkham's  Hixt.  Stockton,  108;  Lancey's 
Cruise  of  the  Dale,  MS.,  66;  SanJoaquin  County  Hist.,  20;  SutterCo.  Hist.,  21. 
The  Romance  of  the  Age,  or  the  Discovery  of  Gold  in  California,  by  Edward  E. 
Dunbar,  New  York,  1867,  was  written  with  the  view  of  securing  government 
relief  for  Sutter.     Dunbar  writes  graphically,  and  begins  his  book  with  these 
words:  '  Somebody  has  said  that  history  is  an  incorrigible  liar. '    If  all  history 
were  written  as  Mr  Dunbar  writes,  I  should  fully  agree  with  him.     Little 
that  is  reliable  has  been  printed  on  Marshall  and  the  gold  discovery,  eye 
witnesses,  even,  seemingly  forgetting  more  than  they  remember.     The  most 
important  work  upon  the  subject  IB  the  Life  and  Adventures  of  James   W, 
Marshall,  by  George  Frederic  Parsons,  published  in  Sacramento  by  James  W. 
Marshall  and  W.  Burke,  in  1870.     The  facts  here  brought  out  with  the  utmost 
clearness  and   discrimination  were   taken  from   those  best   knowing  them. 
George  Frederic  Parsons  was  born  at  Brighton,  England,  June  15,  1840.     He 
was  educated  at   private  schools.     Having  spent  five  years  at   sea,  during 
which  he  several  times  visite^  the  East  Indies,  he  was  attracted  by  tli« 


THE  UNHAPPY  SWISS.  103 

With  regard  to  Sutter,  his  position  and  possibilities, 
there  was  within  reach  boundless  wealth  for  him,  could 
he  have  seized  it;  his  fall  was  as  great  though  not  so 
rapid  as  Marshall's.  Out  of  the  saw-mill  scheme  he 
came  well  enough,  gathering  gold  below  Coloma,  and 
selling  his  half-interest  in  the  mill  for  $6,000.  His 
troubles  began  at  the  flour-mill.  After  he  had  ex 
pended  not  less  than  $30,000  in  a  vain  attempt  to 
complete  it,  it  went  to  decay.28  The  men  in  tlie 

reports  of  the  gold-fields  of  Cariboo  in  1862,  and  made  an  expedition  thither. 
Keturning  from  the  mines  unsuccessful,  he  entered  journalism  in  Victoria, 
V.  I.  In  1803  he  started  a  paper  called  the  North  Pnific  Time*,  at  New 
Westminster,  B.  C.  The  population  was  too  small  to  support  it,  and  it  was 
abandoned  in  a  few  months.  He  then  went  t,o  San  Francisco,  and  joined  the 
staff  of  the  Examiner.  In  1867  he  left  that  paper  to  take  a  position  on  the 
/SF.  F.  Times.  Entering  the  local  staff,  he  finally  became  the  chief  editorial 
wricer  of  the  paper,  and  occupied  that  post  when  it  was  merged  in  the  Ada,. 
This  occurred  at  the  end  of  1869,  and  the  same  winter  Mr  Parsons  assumed 
editorial  control  of  the  Sacramento  Record,  a  republican  journal.  He  con 
tinued  to  edit  the  Record  until  it  was  consoli  'ated  with  the  Sacramento 
Union  as  the  Record- Union,  and  subsequently  to  that  until  1882,  when  he  left 
California  and  accepted  a  position  on  the  editorial  staff  of  the  New  York 
Tribune.  Mr  Parsons  was  married  in  1869,  and  had  one  daughter,  Melami, 
who  died  in  1881  of  typhoid  fever.  He  was  a  contributor  to*  the  Overland 
Monthly  during  the  editorship  of  Bret  Harte,  and  has  written  several  short 
items  besides  magazine  articles,  ordinary  press  work,  reviews,  and  his  life  of 
Marshall.  Mr  Parsons'  life  has  been  notable  for  its  quietness  and  evenness. 
I  have  not  known  a  journalist  in  the  field  of  my  history  superior,  if  equal, 
to  him  in  philosophic  insight,  knowledge  of  men  and  things,  critical  famil 
iarity  \vith  literature,  or  power  and  charm  of  style.  He  is  not  a  man,  how 
ever,  who  would  ever  parade  his  name  before  the  public.  Personal  notoriety 
is  repellant  to  him.  Considering  his  capacity  and  character,  the  people  of 
the  whole  country  are  to  be  congratulated  that  he  has  taken  an  editorial  place 
on  the  Tribune,  a  journal  of  splendid  talent  and  national  influence,  as  the 
sphere  of  his  influence  is  thus  greatly  enlarged.  Mr  Parsons  is  a  man  of  solid 
accomplishments  and  sterling  integrity.  He  is  preeminently  a  hater  of  shams 
in  politics  or  society.  It  would  be  to  the  advantage  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States  if  editors  like  him  were  more  numerous. 

36 '  My  grist-mill  never  was  finished.  Everything  was  stolen,  even  the 
stones.  There  is  a  saying  that  men  will  steal  everything  but  a  mile-stone  and 
a  mill-stone.  They  stole  my  mill-stones.  They  stole  the  bells  from  the  fort, 
and  gate-weights;  the  hides  they  stole,  and  salmon -barrels.  I  had  200  bar 
rels  which  I  had  made  for  salmon.  I  was  just  beginning  to  cure  salmon  then. 
I  had  put  up  some  before,  enough  to  try  it,  and  to  ascertain  that  it  would  be 
a  good  business.  Some  of  the  cannon  at  the  fort  were  stolen,  and  some  I  gave 
to  neighbors  that  they  might  fire  them  on  the  4th  of  July.  My  property  was 
all  left  exposed,  and  at  the  mercy  of  the  rabble,  when  gold  was  discovered. 
My  men  all  deserted  me.  I  could  not  shut  the  gates  of  my  fort  and  keep  out 
the  rabble.  They  would  have  broken  them  down.  The  country  swarmed  with 
lawless  men.  Emigrants  drove  their  stock  into  my  yard,  and  used  my  grain 
with  impunity.  Expostulation  did  no  good.  I  was  alone.  There  was  no 
law.  If  one  felt  one's  self  insulted,  one  might  shoot  the  offender.  One  man 
shot  another  for  a  slight  provocation  in  the  fort  under  my  very  nose.  Phil 
osopher  Pickett  shot  a  very  good  man  who  differed  with  him  on  some  ques- 


104  AT  THE  MINES. 

fields  asked  for  more  and  more  pay,  until  a  demand 
for  ten  dollars  a  day  compelled  Sutter  to  let  them  go. 
These  were  the  first  to  leave  him ;  then  his  clerk  went, 
then  his  cook,  and  finally  his  mechanics.29  At  the 
tannery,  which  was  now  for  the  first  time  becoming 
profitable,  leather  was  left  to  rot  in  the  vats,  and  a  large 
quantity  of  collected  hides  were  rendered  valueless. 
So  in  all  the  manufactories,  shoe-shop,  saddle-shop, 
hat  and  blacksmith  shops,  the  men  deserted,  leaving 
their  work  in  a  half-finished  state.  Where  others  suc 
ceeded  he  failed;  he  tried  merchandising  at  Coloma, 
but  in  vain,  and  retired  in  January  1849.  The  noise  of 
interlopers  and  the  bustle  of  business  about  the  fort 
discomfited  the  owner,  and  with  his  Indians  he  moved 
to  Hock  Farm,  then  in  charge  of  a  majordomo.  Sut 
ter  evidently  could  not  cope  with  the  world,  partic 
ularly  with  the  sharp  and  noisy  Yankee  world.30 

Tenfold  greater  were  Sutter's  advantages  to  profit 
by  this  discovery  than  were  those  of  his  neighbors, 
who  secured  rich  results.  With  a  well-provisioned 
fortress  adjacent  to  the  mines,  a  large  grant  of  land 

tion.'  Sutter's  Pers.  Rem.,  MS.,  195-6.  All  Sutter's  pains  in  establishing  indus 
tries  went  for  nothing.  Burnett's  liec.,  MS.,  ii.  13;  Thornton's  Or.  and  Cal., 
ii.  270;  Sac.  III.,  7;  Browne's  Res.,  15;  Gold  Hill  News,  April  16,  1872;  Lar- 
k'm's  Docs,  MS.,  vi.  63. 

29  '  The  Mormons  did  not  like  to  leave  my  mill  unfinished,'  Sutter  remarks, 
*  but  they  got  the  gold  fever  like  everybody  else.'  Hutchings*  Mag.,  ii.   197. 
See  also  Santa  Cruz  Sentinel,  July  17,  1875. 

30  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Swiss  had  nothing  whatever  to  complain  of.    He 
was  his  own  greatest  enemy.     His  representations  of  the  disastrous  effect 
upon  him  of  the  gold  discovery  were  greatly  exaggerated.     They  were  by 
no  means  so  bad  as  he  wished  them  to  appear.     During  harvest-time  in  the 
year  of   discovery  he  was  much  better  off  than  his  neighbors,  who   never 
asked  indemnification  from  the  government.    Says  Col  Mason,  who  was  there  ia 
July:  '  I  before  mentioned  that  the  greater  part  of  the  farmers  and  rancheros 
had  abandoned  their  fields  to  go  to  the  mines;  this  is  not  the  case  with  Capt. 
Sutter,  who  was  carefully  gathering  his  wheat,  estimated  at  40,000  bushels. 
Flour  is  already  worth  at  Sutter's  $36  a  barrel,  and  soon  will  be  $-30.     It  was 
reported  that  Capt.  Sutter's  crop  of  wheat  for  1846  would  be  75,000  bushels.' 
Sherwood's  Pocket  Guide  to  Cal.,  18.     He  had  received  liberally  from  the 
Mexican  government  what  was  liberally  ratified  by  the  American  govern 
ment.     Far  more  manly,  not  to  say  respectable,  would  it  have  been  had  he 
lived  modestly  on  some  small  portion  of  the  fruit  of  his  labors,  or  of  good 
fortune,  instead  of  spending  his  old  age  complaining,  and  importuning  the 
government  for  alms.     Everything  had  been  given  him,  fertile  lands,  and 
golden  opportunity.     With  these  he  should  have  been  content.     In  return — I 
gladly  record  it — he  gave  aid  to  suffering  emigrants,  and  nobly  exercised  a 

-bounteous  hospitality,  and  that  to  many  who  afterward  treated  him  vilely. 


CLAIMS  FOR  RECOMPENSE  105 

stocked  with  cattle  and  horses — land  on  which  shortly 
after  began  to  be  built  the  second  city  in  the  state — • 
and  with  broad  fields  under  cultivation ;  with  a  market, 
at  fabulous  prices,  for  everything  he  could  supply — 
he  should  have  barrelled  a  schooner-load  of  gold-dust, 
even  though  the  emigrants  did  encroach  on  his  claims, 
settle  on  his  land,  steal  his  horses  and  other  effects, 
and  butcher  some  of  his  cattle  and  hogs.  Further 
than  this,  it  was  not  until  more  than  a  year  after  the 
discovery,  during  which  time  the  owner  of  New  Hel 
vetia  abandoned  his  duties  and  let  things  drift,  that 
any  serious  inroads  were  made  on  his  droves  of  wild 
and  uncared-for  cattle.  The  truth  is,  had  the  grand 
discovery  been  less,  Sutter's  loss  would  have  been  less; 
had  the  discovery  been  quite  small,  Sutter's  profit  from 
it  would  have  been  great.  In  other  words,  Sutter 
was  not  man  enough  to  grasp  and  master  his  good 
fortune. 

There  are  those  who  have  deemed  it  their  duty  to 
censure  California  for  not  doing  more  for  Sutter  and 
Marshall.  Such  censure  is  not  only  unjust,  but  silly 
and  absurd.  There  was  no  particular  harm  in  flinging 
to  these  men  a  gratuity  out  of  the  public  purse,  and 
something  of  the  kind  was  done.  It  was  wholly 
proper  to  hang  a  portrait  of  Sutter  in  the  hall  of  the 
state  capitol  beside  that  of  Yallejo  and  others. 

If  there  are  any  who  wish  to  worship  the  memory 
of  Marshall,  let  his  likeness  be  also  placed  in  the  pan 
theon.  It  is  all  a  matter  of  taste.  But  when  outside 
critics  begin  to  talk  of  duty  and  decency  on  the  part 
of  the  state,  it  is  well  enough  to  inquire  more  closely 
into  the  matter,  and  determine  just  what,  if  anything, 
is  due  to  these  men. 

When  a  member  of  the  commonwealth  by  his  genius 
or  efforts  renders  the  state  a  great  service,  it  is  proper 
that  such  service  should  be  publicly  acknowledged, 
and  if  the  person  or  his  family  become  poor  and  need 


106  AT  THE  MINES. 

pecuniary  aid,  the  state  should  give  it  liberally  and 
ungrudgingly.  The  people  of  California  are  among 
the  most  free-hearted  and  free-handed  of  any  in  the 
world;  there  never  has  been  any  popular  feeling 
against  Marshall  and  Sutter;  that  more  was  not  given 
them  was  neither  a  matter  of  money  nor  a  matter  of 
ill-will  or  prejudice.  The  question  was  simply  asked, 
What  had  these  men  done  to  entitle  them  to  lavish 
reward  on  the  part  of  the  people?  To  one  of  them, 
and  him  a  foreigner,  was  secured  by  the  general  gov 
ernment  a  title  to  princely  possessions  in  the  midst  of 
princely  opportunities.  That  he  failed  to  secure  to 
himself  the  best  and  most  lasting  advantages  of  his 
position,  and  like  a  child  let  go  his  hold  on  all  his  vast 
possessions,  was  no  fault  of  the  people,  and  entitles 
him  to  no  special  sympathy.  Marshall,  made  of  quite 
common  clay,  but  still  a  free-born  American  citizen, 
with  rights  equal  to  the  best,  happened  to  stumble  on 
gold  a  week,  or  a  month,  or  six  months  before  some 
one  else  would  certainly  have  done  so.  The  fame  of 
it  was  his,  and  as  much  of  the  gold  as  he  chose  to 
shovel  up  and  carry  away.  There  was  not  the  least 
merit  on  his  part  connected  with  the  event.  That  he 
failed  to  profit  by  his  opportunity,  assuming  that  the 
world,  by  reason  of  the  immortal  accident,  owed  him  a 
great  debt  which  it  would  not  pay;  that  he  became 
petulant,  half-crazed,  and  finally  died  in  obscurity — 
was  no  fault  of  the  people.  Any  free-born  American 
citizen  has  the  right  to  do  the  same  if  he  chooses.  I 
grant  that  he  as  well  as  Sutter  could  justly  claim 
recompense  for  spoliation  by  mobs — though  there  is 
no  evidence  that  they  ever  suffered  greatly  at  the 
hands  of  mobs — and  the  continuance  of  the  temporary 
pension  granted  them  would  not  have  been  particu 
larly  objectionable,  on  grounds  similar  to  those  applied 
to  Hargrave,  the  Australian  gold-finder.  The  services 
of  the  latter,  however,  had  the  consecration  of  a  self- 
imposed  task — exploration  with  an  aim.  As  a  blind 


GIVE  EVERY  MAN  HIS  DUE.  107 

instrument  in  the  hands  of  inevitable  development, 
as  a  momentary  favorite  of  fortune,  I  concede  Mar 
shall  every  credit.  I  also  admit  that  Sutter,  as  the 
builder  of  a  great  establishment  in  the  wilderness, 
with  industries  supporting  numerous  dependents,  thus 
bringing  the  truest  method  of  culture  to  savages,  and 
as  the  promoter  of  the  undertaking  at  Coloma,  is 
entitled  to  a  share  in  the  recognition  which  must 
connect  him  with  the  accidental  founders  of  the  golden 
era  of  California.  But  to  talk  of  injustice  or  niggard 
liness  on  the  part  of  the  state  of  California;  to  imply 
that  there  was  any  necessity  for  either  of  these  men 
to  throw  themselves  away,  or  that  the  people  of  Cal 
ifornia  did  not  feel  or  do  rightly  by  them — is,  as  I 
said  before,  silly  and  absurd.31 

31  Fuller  references  for  the  preceding  six  chapters  are:  Bidwell's  Cal.  in 
1841-8,  MS.,  passim;  Galindo,  Apuntes,  MS.,  68-9;  Buff  urn1 8  Six  Months, 
45-6,  50,  53-5,  67-9,  104-5,  126-38;  Dunbar's  Romance  of  the  Age,  92-100, 
103,  107-16;  Kip,  in  Overland  Monthly,  ii.  410;  Zamacois,  Hist.  Mej.,  x.  1141; 
Ferry,  CaL,  103-4,  315-20;  Illust.  Napa  Co.,  and  Hist.  Napa  and  Lake, 
passim;  Annals  of  S.  F.,  130-2,  174,  210,  311,  407,  486;  Arch.  Cal.,  Un 
bound  Docs,  MS.,  141,  318,  408-11;  Clyman's  Diary,  MS.;  Coltoris  Three. 
Years,  266,  451;  Revere's  Tour  of  Duty,  228-52;  Castanares,  Col.  Doc.,  MS., 
23;  Vallcjo  (S.),  Notas  H  istdricas,  MS.,  35;  Hall's  Hist.,  192-3;  Find  la's  State 
ment,  MS.,  5-7;  Tinkham's  Hist.  Stockton,  1-50,  71^,  108-15,  303;  U.  S. 
Gov.  Docs,  H.  Ex.  17,  528-36,  561;  Farnham's  Cal.,  354-6;  Dwinelle's  Add. 
lef ore  Pioneers,  1866,  28;  Hancock's  Thirteen  Years,  MS.,  121-2;  Yolo  Co. 
Hist.,  passim;  Dana's  Two  Years,  324;  Coast  Review,  iv.  73-5,  217,  265-8; 
v.  25-8,  65-8,  107-8;  Treasury  of  Travel,  99-101;  Napa  Register,  Aug.  1, 
1874;  First  Steamship  Pioneers,  368;  Janssens,  Vida  y  A  vent. ,  MS.,  198-200; 
Johnson's  Cal.  and  Or.;  Coutt's  Diary,  MS.,  passim;  Slocum  and  Co.'s  Contra 
Costa  Co.  Hist.,  passim;  Foster's  Gold  Regions,  17-22;  Yuba  Co.  Hist.,  33-7, 
107,  129-30;  Coronel,  Cosas  de  CaL,  MS.;  Hist.  Atlas  Alameda  Co.,  17-20; 
Revue,  des  Deux  Mondes,  Feb.  1,  1849;  Tyler's  Mormon  Battalion,  333;  Tut- 
hiWs  CaL,  226-34;  Wood's  Hist.  Alam.  Co.,  passim;  Bandini,  Apuntes  Hist. 
Alta  CaL,  MS.,  7,  17-19,  48-9;  Schuck's  Scrap-Book,  76-83;  Tullidge's  Life 
of  Young,  203-4,  207-8;  Hist.  Marin  Co.,  passim;  Sac.  Direct.,  1871,  17; 
Frignet,  Hist.  CaL,  79-80;  Palmer's  Wagon  Trains,  MS.,  43;  Truckee  Trib 
une,  Jan.  8,  1870;  Browne's  Mining  Res.,  13-16;  CaL  Pioneers,  Celebration 
Scraps;  Herbert  Ainslie's  Journal,  Panama,  Feb.  1849;  Bryant's  What  I  Saw 
in  CaL,  451,  etc.;  Gold  Hill  News,  Apr.  16,  1872;  Capron's  CaL,  184-8; 
Auger,  Fo.y.  en  CaL,  149-56;  Baxter's  IV.  Coast  A mer. ,  408;  Oroville  Mercury, 
Dec.  31,  1875;  Birnie's  Biog.,  in  Pion.  Arch.,  93-4;  Monterey  Herald,  Oct.  15, 
1875;  Cal.  Past  and  Pres.,  72-105;  J.  Ross  Browne,  in  Overland  Monthly,  xv. 
345;  Wells'  Hist.  Butte  Co.,  129;  Calistoya  Tribune,  Apr.  4,  11,  12,  1872; 
Coloma  Argus,  in  Hittell's  Handbook,  14;  Thompson  and  West's  Hist.  Sac. 
Co.,  passim;  Utah,  Hdbk  of  Ref.,  65;  Frost's  Hist.  Cal.,  39-55;  Dept  Rec., 
MS.,  ix.  136;  Elliott  &  Co.'s  Hist.  Ariz.,  190;  Centenn.  Book  Alam.  Co., 
37-56;  Colusa  Co.  Hist.,  25-36;  Placer  Times,  vol.  i.  no.  48,  p.  2;  Velasco, 
Sonora,  288-97;  Bol.  Soc.  Mex.  Geog.,  xi.  108-9;  Alam.  Encinal,  March  2, 
1878;  Butte  Co.  Illust..  127-9;  Carver's  Travel*,  122;  Willey's  Pers.  Mem., 


108  AT  THE  MINES. 

MS.,  19-26;  Id.,  Thirty  Years,  26;  Salt  Lake  City  Trib.,  June  11,  1879; 
Bancroft's  Pert.  Obs.,  MS.,  171;  Illust.  of  Contra  Costa,  Co.,  4-33;  Whitney's 
Metallic  Wealth,  pp.  xxi.-xxxii.;  J.  J.  Warner,  in  Alta  Cal.,  May  18,  1868; 
Austin  Reese  Riv.  Rereule,  July  17,  1864,  Aug.  10,  1865,  Jan.  29,  1872;  Cal. 
Chronicle,  Jan.  28,  1856;  Prescott Miner,  Nov.  22,  1878;  Niles'  Reg.,  Ixiii.  96; 
Ixxv.,  index  "gold  mines;"  Cronies  Nat.  Wealth,  109;  Culver's  Sac.  City 
Direct.,  71;  Barnes*  Or.  and  Cal.,  MS.,  11;  George  M.  Evans,  in  the  Oregon 
Bulletin,  Jan.  12,  1872,  from  Antioch  Ledger,  Feb.  3,  1872,  and  Mendocino 
Dem.,  Feb.  1,  1872;  Hunt's  Merch.  Mag.,  xxxi.  385-6;  Barlow's  Stat.,  MS., 
14;  Carson  State  Reg.,  Jan.  27,  1872;  Castroville  Argus,  Sept.  7,  1872;  Wort- 
ley's  Travels  in  U.  S.,  223;  Sac.  Illust.,  7;  Lo  Que  Sabe,  MS.;  Green's  Life 
and  Advent.,  17;  Trinity  Journal,  Weaverville,  Feb.  1,  1868;  June  20,  1874; 
Gilroy  Advocate,  Apr.  24,  1875;  Lake  Co.  Bee,  March  8,  1873;  Monitor 
Gazette,  Aug.  19,  1865;  Los  Angeles  W.  News,  Oct.  26,  1872;  Marshall's  Dis- 
cov.  ofG.tld,  in  Hutchings'  Mag.,  ii.  200;  U.  8.  Gov.  Docs,  30th  cong.  2d  sess., 
H.  Ex.  Doc.  1,  pt  i.  9-10,  51-69,  in  Mex.  Treaties,  vii.  no.  9;  Hist.  Napa  and 
Lake  Counties,  passim;  R\iss'  Biog.,  MS.,  5;  Oakland  Times,  March  6,  1880; 
J ' lardy' 's  Trav.  in  Mex.,  331-2;  8.  I.  News,  ii.  134,  142,  146-7,  151,  158-66, 
193-4;  Oroville  W.  Mercury,  Dec.  31,  1875;  New  Tacoma  W.  Ledger,  Oct.  8, 
1880;  Harle's  Skaggs'  Husbands,  299-309;  Cal.  Star,  passim;  Calif  or  jiian, 
passim;  Cal.  Star  and  Californian,  1848,  passim;  S.  F.  Direct.,  1852-3,  8-9; 
Ross'  Stat.,  MS.,  14;  Rul  (Miguel),  Consult.  Diputado,  60;  Red  Bluff  Indep., 
Jan.  17,  1866;  Henshaw's  Hist.  Events,  4-6;  Herald,  Nov.  24,  1848;  Jan.  20, 
1849;  Marin  Co.  Hist.,  52-3;  Sac.  Rec.-Union,  Jan.  20,  1872,  Aug.  28,  1880; 
8.  Diego  Arch.,  Index,  92;  S.  Diego  Union,  June  2,  1875;  Nevada  Gaz.t  Jan. 
22,  1868;  -S.  F.  Call,  Sept.  16,  1870;  Sept.  23,  1871;  S.  Joaquin  Co.  Hist., 
passim;  8.  F.  News  Letter,  Sept.  11,  1875;  8.  F.  Post,  Apr.  10,  1875;  Roswag, 
Metaux,  209-406;  Sac.  Daily  Union,  Apr.  27,  1855;  June  5,  1858;  Oct.  24, 
1864;  June  7,  1867,  etc.;  8.  F.  Pac.  News,  Oct.  28,  1850;  8.  F.  Stock  Rept, 
March  19,  1880;  Pfeifer's  Sec.  Journey,  290;  Illust.  Hist.  San  Mateo  Co.,  4-16; 
San  Joaquin  Valley  Argus,  Sept.  12,  1874;  C.  E.  Pickett,  in  Cal.  Chron., 
Jan.  28,  1856;  Powers'  Afoot,  290-2;  8.  F.  Jour,  of  Comm.,  Aug.  30,  1876; 
Hist.  Atlas  Santa  Clara  Co.,  9-10,  32-34,  77-81,  96-98,  116-26,  174-218, 
244-77,  328-35,  4S4-8,  543-4;  Hist.  Santa  Cruz  Co.,  7^9;  S.  Jose-  Pioneer, 
Jan.  27,  1877;  Jan.  19,  1878;  S.  F.  Picayune,  Oct.  12,  1850;  S.  F.  Herald, 
Dec.  31,  1855;  8.  F.  New  Age,  June  22,  1867;  Quigley's  Irish  Race,  146; 
Sherman's  Mem.,  i.  40-58;  Scala,  Nouv.  Ann.  Voy.,  cxx.  3(32-5;  cxliii. 
245;  cxliv.  382-90;  cxlvi.  118-21;  Saxon's  Five  Years,  passim;  Sherwood's 
Cal;  Grass  Valley  Union,  Apr.  19,  1870;  Simpson's  Gold  Mines,  4-5,  17; 
Holinski,  La  Cal.,  142-4;  Friend  (Honolulu),  July  1,  1848,  Nov.  1,  1848,  May 
1, 1849,  etc.;  Scientific  Press,  May  11,  1872;  Hist.  Sonoma  Co.,  passim;  Hist. 
Atlas  Sonoma  Co.,  passim;  Stillman's  Golden  Fleece,  19-27;  Stockton  Indep., 
Oct.  9,  1869;  Sept.  14,  1872;  Oct.  19,  23,  1875;  Dec.  6,  1879;  Smith's  Address 
to  Calveston,  14;  El  Sonorense,  May  16,  1849;  Clark's  Statement,  MS.;  Hughe*' 
Cal.,  119;  Sutter,  in  Hutchings'  Mag.,  ii.  194-7;  Taylor's  Eldorado,  i.  73; 
Thomas  Sprague,  in  Hutchings'  Mag.,  v.  352;  Quart.  Review,  xci.  507-8; 
1350,  no.  87,  p.  416;  Santa  Cruz  Sentinel,  July  17,  1875,  May  29,  1880;  Hist. 
Tehama  Co.,  11-15,  53,  109-12;  Mex.  Mem.  Sec.  Est.  y  Rel,  1835,  no.  6; 
Mendocino  Co.  Hist.,  52-3;  Monterey  Herald,  Oct.  15,  1875;  8.  F.  Chron. , 
Jan.  8,  Sept.  19,  1880;  Simonin,  Grand  Quest,  286-9;  Id.,  La  Vie  Souterraine, 
3D9;  Merced  People,  June  8,  1872;  McKune,  in  Cal.  Assoc.  Pioneer,  1st 
Annual,  42;  South.  Quart.  Rev.,  viii.  199;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Dec.  6,  1855;  Oct. 

2,  Dec.  7,  31,  1858;  Aug.  13,  1859,  etc.;  8.  F.  Alta  Cal.,  Oct.  15,  1851;  May 

3,  Nov.  21,  1852;  June  29,  1854;  Dec.  22,  1855;  July  31,  1856;  March  28, 
Nov.  11,  1857,  etc.;  Hist.  Atl.  Sol.  Co.,  passim;  Hist.  Solano  Co.,  passim; 
Seattle  Intelligencer,  June  6,  1874;  Hunt's  Mer.  Mag.,  xx.  91,  111,  209;  xxi. 
567-8;  xxii.  226-7,  321;  xxiv.  768;  xxxiv.  631-2;  J.  W.  Marshall,  in  Hutch- 
ings'  Mag.,  ii.  199-201;  Mining  Rev.,  5;  Mining  Rev.  and  Stock  Ledger,  1878, 
126;  H'txt.  Sutter  Co.,  21-2;  Hutchings'  Mag.,  ii.  196-201;  iv.  340;   U.  8.  Gov. 
Docs,  H.  Ex.  Doc.  no.  5,  p.  158;  no.  17,  passim;  Mason's  Repts,  July  19,  Aug. 


AUTHORITIES.  109 

17,  1848;  Uny^  Coll.  Mining  Cat.,  i.  1,  50;  Id.,  Coll.  Mining  Srraps,  v.  2, 
3,  17,  175;  LI.,  Colt.  Cat.  Notes,  iii.  7-8;  v.  17;  Harry's  Up  arid  Down,  92  3; 
Robinson's  Ccd.  and  its  Gold  Rpyion*t  17-27,  47-8;  .Id.,  Life  in  Cal.t  190; 
Duflot  de  Mofras,  Expl.  Or.  et  Cal.,  i.  137;  WUkes'  Narr.  U.  8.  Ex.  Exped., 
v.  181,  190,  195;  Daily's  Narr.,  MS.,  63;  Oslo,  Hist.  CaL,  MS.,  506;  Biyler'a 
Diary  of  a  Mormon,  MS.,  passim;  Ifallejo,  Docs,  MS.,  i.  140-1,  369-70;  xii. 
332;  QillfSpie'a  Vig.  Com.,  MS.,  passim;  Alvarado,  Hist.  Cal.,  MS.,  i.  77;  iv. 
161;  Slitter's  Pers.  Hem.,  MS.,  passim;  Id.,  Diary,  MS.,  passim;  Burnett's 
Recoil.  Past,  MS.  i.-ii.  passim;  Amador,  Memorias,  MS.,  177-80;  Larkin's 
Docs,  MS.,  i.  116;  iii.  98;  iv.  318;  v.  25;  vi.  passim;  vii.  28,  80;  Id.,  Off. 
Corresp.t  MS.,  i.  96;  ii.  1^1-41;  Carson's  Earbj  Recoil.,  passim;  Polynesian, 
iv.  114,  137;  vt  passim;  Crosby's  Events  in  CaL,  MS.,  2,  3,  17-19;  Hittell'a 
Handbook  Mining t  passim;  Frisbie's  Reminiscences,  MS.,  30-32,  34-36. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

BROADER  EFFECTS  OF  THE  GOLD  DISCOVERY. 

1848-1849. 

THE  REAL  EFFECTS  ETERNAL— How  THE  INTELLIGENCE  WAS  CARRIED  OVER 
THE  SIERRA — To  THE  HAWAIIAN  ISLANDS — BRITISH  COLUMBIA — OREGON 
AND  WASHINGTON — THE  TIDINGS  IN  MEXICO — MASON'S  MESSENGER  IN 
WASHINGTON — CALIFORNIA  GOLD  AT  THE  WAR  OFFICE — AT  THE  PHIL 
ADELPHIA  MINT— THE  NEWSPAPER  PRESS  UPON  THE  SUBJECT— BIBLIOG 
RAPHY — GREELEY'S  PROPHECIES — INDUSTRIAL  STIMULATION — OVERLAND 
AND  OCEANIC  ROUTES — GENERAL  EFFECT  IN  THE  EASTERN  STATES  AND 
EUROPE — INTEREST  IN  ASIA,  SOUTH  AMERICA,  AND  AUSTRALIA. 

THE  full  and  permanent  effects  of  the  California 
gold  discovery  cannot  be  estimated.  All  over  the 
world  impulse  was  given  to  industry,  values  changed, 
and  commerce,  social  economy,  and  finance  were  rev 
olutionized.  New  enlightenment  and  new  activities 
succeeded  these  changes,  and  yet  again  followed 
higher  and  broader  developments.  It  was  the  fore 
runner  of  like  great  discoveries  of  the  precious  metals 
elsewhere,  in  Australia,  in  Nevada  and  Idaho  and 
Montana,  in  British  Columbia  and  Alaska.  There  had 
been  nothing  like  it  since  the  inpouring  of  gold 
and  silver  to  Europe,  following  the  discovery  of  the 
New  World  by  Columbus.  It  is  not  in  its  fullest, 
broadest  sense,  however,  that  the  subject  is  to  be 
treated  in  this  chapter.  The  grand  results  can  only 
be  appreciated  as  we  proceed  in  our  history.  It  is 
rather  the  reception  of  the  news  in  the  different  parts 
of  the  world,  and  the  immediate  action  taken  upon  it, 
that  I  will  now  refer  to. 

By  various  ways  intelligence  of  the  gold  discovery 

110 


DISPERSION  OF  THE  NEWS.  Ill 

travelled  abroad.  The  Mormons  carried  it  over  the 
Sierra,  scattered  it  among  the  westward-bound  emi 
grants,  and  laid  it  before  the  people  of  Salt  Lake, 
whence  it  passed  on  to  the  east.  Definite  notice  was 
conveyed  overland  by  the  courier  despatched  specially 
by  the  people  of  San  Francisco,  on  the  1st  of  April, 
1848,  to  carry  letters,  and  to  circulate  in  the  states 
east  of  the  Mississippi  the  article  prepared  by  Four- 
geaud  on  the  Prospects  of  California,  and  printed  in 
the  California  Star  of  several  issues,  in  order  to  stim 
ulate  emigration.1 

The  first  foreign  excitement  was  produced  in  the 
Hawaiian  Islands.  With  this  western  ocean  rendez 
vous  San  Francisco  merchants  had  long  maintained 
commercial  relations,  and  they  now  turned  thither  for 
supplies  incident  to  the  increased  demand  growing  out 
of  the  new  development.  By  the  intelligence  thus 
conveyed,  the  hearts  and  minds  of  men  were  kindled 
into  a  glow  such  as  Kilauea  or  Manua  Haleakala 
never  had  produced.2 

1  The  recent  discovery  of  Marshall  played  no  part  whatever  in  originating 
the  article  and  the  enterprise.     A  mere  allusion  was  made  to  the  finding  of 
gold;  and  nothing  more  was  thought  of  it  than  the  known  presence  of  a  dozen 
other  minerals,  nor  half  so  much  as  of  the  agricultural  and  manufacturing 
possibilities. 

2  As  a  forerunner  announcing  the  new  Inferno,  with  two  pounds  of  the 
jnetal  as  tangible  proof,  sailed  from  S.  F.  May  31st  the  Hawaiian  schooner 
Louise,  Menzies  master,  arriving  at  Honolulu  the  17th  of  June.     In  a  half- 
column  article  the  editor  of  the  Polynesian,  of  June  24th,  makes  known  the 
facts  as  gathered  from  the  California  papers,  and  congratulates  Honolulu 
merchants  on  the  prospect  of  the  speedy  payment  of  debts  due  them  by  Cal- 
ifornians,  'probably  not  less  than  $150,000.'     By  the  store-ship  Matilda  from 
New  York  to  Honolulu,  touching  at  Valparaiso,  Callao,  and  Monterey,  Mr 
Colton  writes  to  Mr  Damon,  who  publishes  the  letter  in  the  Friend  of  July, 
with  a  few  editorial  comments.     Afterward  arrived  the  Spanish  brig  Flecha, 
Vasquez  master,  from  Santa  Barbara,  the  Hawaiian  brig  Euphemia,  Vioget 
master,  from  S.  F.,  and  others.     The   Hawaiian  schooner  Mary,  Belcham 
master,  though  sailing  from  S.  F.  before  the  Louise,  did  not  arrive  at  Hono 
lulu  until  the  19th.   Ib.,  The  Friend,  July  1848.     In  its  issue  of  July  8th,  the 
Polynesian  speaks  of  the  rising  excitement  and  the  issuing  of  passports, 
except  to  absconding  debtors,  by  the  minister  of  foreign  relations  to  those 
wishing  to  depart.     'The  fever  rages  high  here,'  writes  Samuel  Varney,  the 
15th  of  -July,  to  Larkin,  'and  there  is  much  preparation  made  for  emigration.' 
L( ckin's  Doc*,   MS.,  vi.  145.     The  file  of  the  Polynesian  runs  on  as  fol 
lows:  July  15th,  one  crowded  vessel  departed  the  llth,  and  half  a  dozen 
others  are  making  ready;  24  persons  give  notice  of  their  intention  to  depart 
thiy  kingdom;   2JO  will  probably  leave  within  two  months  if  passage  can 
be  procured.     Aug.    5th,    69  passports  have   been  granted,  and  as  many 


112  BROADER  EFFECTS  OF  THE  GOLD  DISCOVERY. 

Before  it  could  scale  the  northern  mountains  the 
news  swept  round  to  Oregon  by  way  of  Honolulu, 
and  was  thence  conveyed  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  people 
to  Victoria  and  other  posts  in  British  Columbia,  to 
forts  Nisqually  and  Vancouver,  reaching  Oregon  City 
early  in  August.3  The  first  doubts  were  dissipated  by 
increased  light  upon  the  subject,  and  streams  of  popu 
lation  set  southward,  both  by  land  -and  water,  until 
more  than  half  of  Oregon's  strength  and  sinew  was 
emptied  into  California.4 

more  have  left  without  passports.  Aug.  26th,  three  vessels  sailed  within  a 
week;  one  man  set  out  in  a  whale-boat.  Sept.  23d,  excitement  increases.  A 
vessel  advertises  to  sail,  and  immediately  every  berth  is  secured.  Sept  30th, 
real  estate  a  drug  in  the  market.  Business  low;  whole  country  changed. 
Books  at  an  auction  will  not  sell;  shovels  fetch  high  prices.  Common  saluta 
tion,  When  are  you  off?  Oct.  7th,  the  Lahaimci  sails  with  40  passengers. 
Honolulu  to  sail  the  9th,  and  every  berth  engaged.  Heavy  freight  $40  per 
ton;  cabin  passage  $100,  steerage  $80,  deck  $40.  Oct.  21st,  27  vessels,  ag 
gregating  a  tonnage  of  3,128,  have  left  Honolulu  since  the  gold  discovery, 
carrying  300  Europeans,  besides  many  natives.  The  Islands  suffer  in  conse 
quence.  Oct.  28th,  natives  returning,  some  with  $500.  Five  vessels  to  sail 
with  15  to  40  passengers  each.  The  Sandwich  Island  News  of  Aug.  17th 
states  that  upward  of  1,000  pickaxes  had  been  exported  from  Honolulu.  The 
excitement  continued  in  1849,  when,  according  to  Placer  Times,  June  2,  1849, 
nine  schooners  and  brigs,  and  a  score  of  smaller  craft,  were  fitting  out  for 
Cal.  The  Friend,  vii.  21,  viii.  23,  speaks  of  more  than  one  party  of  sailors 
absconding  in  small  craft. 

3  In  the  Willamette  about  that  time,  loading  with  flour,  was  a  S.  F.  vessel, 
the  Honolulu,  whose  master  knew  of  it,  but  kept  it  to  himself  until  his  cargo 
was  secured.  In  searching  the  files  current  of  the  Hawaiian  journals,  I  find 
among  the  departures  for  the  north  the  following:  June  8th,  the  American  brig 
Eveline,  Goodwin  master,  for  Oregon,  too  early  for  definite  information;  June 
20th,  Russian  bark  Prince  Menshikoff,  Lindenberg,  for  Sitka;  July  5th,  Ameri 
can  bark  Mary,  Knox  master,  for  Kamchatka;  and  July  15th,  H.  B.  M.  brig 
Pandora,  destination  unknown,  and  English  brig  Mary  Dare,  Scarborough 
master,  for  the  Columbia  River.  It  was  undoubtedly  by  this  ship  that  the 
news  was  brought,  and  the  fact  of  her  clearance  for  the  Columbia  River  did 
not  prevent  her  first  visiting  Kisqually.  Mr  Burnett  is  probably  mistaken 
in  saying  that  he  heard  of  it  in  July;  as  that,  according  to  his  own  statement, 
would  allow  but  a  fortnight  for  the  transmission  of  the  news  from  the  Islands 
to  the  Willamette  River — not  impossible,  but  highly  improbable.  See  Hist. 
Oregon,  vol.  i.  chap,  xxxiv.,  this  series;  Crawford's  Nar.,  MS.,  166;  Victor's 
River  of  the  West,  483-5;  Californian,  Sept.  2,  1848. 

4 Estimated  white  population  of  Oregon,  midsummer,  1848,  10,000.  'I 
think  that  at  least  two  thirds  of  the  population  of  Oregon  capable  of  bearing 
arms  left  for  Cal.  in  the  summer  and  fall  of  1848.'  Burnett's  Rec.,  MS.,  i.  325. 
A  letter  from  L.  W.  Boggs  to  his  brother-in-law,  Boon,  in  Oregon,  carried 
weight  and  determined  many.  By  the  end  of  the  year,  says  the  Oregon  Spec 
tator,  'almost  the  entire  male  and  a  part  of  the  female  population  of  Oregon 
has  gone  gold-digging  in  California. '  Gov.  Abernethy,  writing  to  Col.  Ma 
son  Sept.  18th,  said  that  not  less  than  3,000  men  had  left  the  Willamette 
Valley  for  Cal.  Arch.  Cal.,  Unbound  Docs,  MS.,  141.  Star  and  CaL,  Dec.  9, 
1848,  assumes  that  about  2,000  arrived  in  1848.  One  of  the  first  parties  to 
set  out— the  first,  indeed  with  vehicles,  and  preceded  only  by  smaller  com- 


THE  NEWS  IN  MEXICO.  113 

Mexico,  particularly  in  her  northern  part,  though 
crushed  by  the  late  war,  still  shared  the  distemper. 
"The  mania  that  pervades  the  whole  country,  our 
camp  included/'  writes  an  army  officer,  "is  beyond 
all  description  or  credulity.  The  whole  state  of  So- 
nora  is  on  the  move,  large  parties  are  passing  us  in 
gangs  daily,  and  say  they  have  not  yet  started." 
Indeed,  but  for  national  indolence  and  intervening 
deserts,  the  movement  might  have  far  surpassed  the 
4,000  which  left  before  the  spring  of  1849.6 

panics  with  pack-animals — consisted  of  150  men,  with  50  wagons  and  ox-teams, 
a  supply  of  provisions  for  six  months,  and  a  full  assortment  of  tools  and  im 
plements.  This  expedition  was  organized  at  Oregon  City,  early  in  Sept.,  by 
Peter  H.  Burnett,  afterward  gov.  of  Cal.  It  followed  the  Applegate  route 
eastward  toward  Klamath  Lake,  thence  along  Lassen's  trail  from  Pit  River, 
entering  the  Sac.  Valley  near  the  mouth  of  Feather  River,  and  reaching  the 
mines  in  Nov.  This  was  the  general  direction;  though  as  usual  on  such  occa 
sions,  the  party  differed  in  opinion  as  to  the  route  to  be  followed,  and  divided 
before  the  end  of  their  journey.  Burnett,  Recollections,  MS.,  i.  323-70,  gives 
a  detailed  account  of  the  trip.  Gen.  Palmer,  Wagon  Trains,  MS.,  43,  and 
A.  L.  Lovejoy,  Portland,  MS.,  27-8,  who  were  also  prominent  members  of 
the  expedition,  give  briefer  narratives.  The  points  of  difference  are,  that 
according  to  Burnett  the  expedition  was  organized  in  the  beginning  of  Sept. 
and  struck  south  at  Klamath  Lake,  while  Palmer  says  that,  starting  in  July, 
the  party  reached  Goose  Lake  before  a  southern  course  was  taken.  One 
family  accompanied  the  train.  Tom.  McKay  acted  as  guide.  Barnes*  Or. 
and  Cal.,  MS.,  11.  Another  large  party  left  Oregon  City  in  Sept.  on  board 
the  brig  Henry,  and  reached  S.  F.  the  same  month,  consequently  in  advance 
of  the  land  expedition.  Taylors  Oregonians,  MS.,  1-2.  Both  of  these  early 
companies  were  soon  followed  by  others.  'In  1848  [the  month  is  not  given], 
the  mining  engineer  in  the  Russian  Colony,  Doroshin,  was  sent  to  Cal.  with 
a  number  of  men  to  open  a  gold  mine,  if  possible,  in  the  placer  regions.  In 
three  months  he  obtained  12  Ibs,  but  did  not  continue  the  work,  as  he  feared 
that  his  men  would  run  away.'  Oolovnin,  Voyage,  in  Materialln,  pt  ii.  Doug 
las  was  on  board  the  Mary  Dare,  the  vessel  which  brought  the  information 
from  the  Island,  but  gave  it  little  attention  until  he  saw  the  people  of  the 
north  rapidly  sinking  southward,  when  he  began  to  fear  for  his  men.  Some 
of  them  did  leave,  but  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  a  difficult  association 
to  get  away  from.  Finlayson,  Hist.  V.  I.,  MS.,  30,  44,  tells  the  oft-repeated 
story  of  deserted  vessels^  and  other  abandonment  of  duty,  which  forced  him 
to  draw  for  seamen  and  laborers  more  largely  on  the  natives.  Anderson, 
Northwest  Coast,  MS.,  27,  37,  first  saw  an  account  of  the  discovery  '  in  a  pri 
vate  letter  to  Mr  Douglas,  who  had  just  returned  from  a  trip  to  the  Sandwich 
Islands.' 

bCoutts*  Diary,  MS.,  113.  And  the  captain  goes  on  to  say,  in  a  strain  ob 
viously  exaggerated:  'Naked  and  shirt-tailed  Indians  and  Mexicans,  or  Cal 
if  ornians,  go  and  return  in  15  or  20  days  with  over  a  pound  of  pure  gold  each 
per  day,  and  say  they  had  bad  luck  and  left.'  Velasco,  Son.,  289-91,  writes, 
'Sin  temor  de  equivocacion,'  5,000  or  6,000  persons  left  Sonora  between  Oct. 
1848  and  March  1849.  Yet  he  reduces  this  to  4,000,  whereof  one  third  re 
mained  in  Cal.  In  Sonorense,  Mar.  2,  23,  28,  30,  Apr.  18,  May  11,  the  exodus 
for  Jan.  to  Feb.  1849  is  placed  at  1,000,  and  700  were  expected  to  pass 
through  from  other  states.  During  the  spring  of  1850,  5,893  left,  taking 
14,000  animals.  Id.,  Apr.  26,  1850.  Up  to  Nov.  1849  over 4,000  left.  Pinart^ 
HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.  8 


114  BROADER  EFFECTS  OF  THE  GOLD  DISCOVERY. 

The  news  wafted  across  the  continent  upon  the 
tongues  of  devout  Mormons,  and  by  the  Fourgeaud 
messenger,  was  quickly  followed  by  confirmatory  ver 
sions  in  letters,  and  by  travellers  and  government 
couriers.6  The  first  official  notice  of  the  discovery 
was  sent  by  Larkin  on  June  1st,  and  received  at 
Washington  in  the  middle  of  September.7  At  the 
same  time  further  despatches,  dated  a  month  later, 
were  brought  in  by  Lieutenant  Beale  via  Mexico.8 

Some  of  these  appeared  in  the  New  York  Herald 
and  other  journals,  together  with  other  less  author 
itative  statements;  but  the  first  to  create  general 
attention  was  an  article  in  the  Baltimore  Sun  of  Sep 
tember  20th;  after  which  all  the  editors  vied  with 
each  other  in  distributing  the  news,  exaggerated  and 
garnished  according  to  their  respective  fancies  and 
love  of  the  marvellous.9  Such  cumulative  accounts, 

Coll.,  MS.,  iv.  174,  no.  1035;  U.  S.  Oov.  Docs,  31st  cong.  2d  sess.,  H.  Ex. 
Doc.  i.,  pt  ii.  77.  Diary  of  two  parties,  in  Soc.  Mex.  Geog.,  BoL,  xi.  126-34; 
Hayes'  Diary,  MS.,  1-7,  82-100.  Gov.  Gandara  sought  in  vain  to  check  the 
exodus  by  warning  the  people  that  Mexicans  were  maletreated  in  Cal. ,  etc. 
SonoreTfl.se,  Feb.  2,  21,  Oct.  26,  1849.  A  letter  from  San  Jose",  Lower  Cal., 
tells  of  closed  houses  and  families  consisting  only  of  women  and  children. 
The  first  caravan  left  in  Oct.  Many  went  by  sea. 

6  There  was  a  Mr  Gray  from  Virginia  at  Sutter's  Fort,  the  16th  of  April, 
1848,  who  had  purchased  for  himself  and  associates  a  silver  mine  in  the  San 
Jose  Valley.     Sutter  presented  to  him  specimens  of  the  gold,  with  which  he 
started  eastward   across   the   mountains.      So   Sntter   enters   in   his  diary. 
Rogers  begins  a  letter  to  Larkin  Sept.  14th,  'Since  I  wrote  you  by  the  gov 
ernment   messenger,  and  in  duplicate  by  the  Isthmus' — which  shows  how 
letters  were  then  sent.  Larkin's  Docs,  MS.,  vi.  177.     No  mention  is  herein 
made  of  the  receipt  of  the  intelligence  of  the  gold  discovery.     Sherman, 
Mem.,  i.  47,  gives  no  date  when  he  says  of  Kit  Carson,  who  had  carried 
occasional  mails,  '  He  remained  at  Los  Angeles  some  months,  and  was  then 
sent  back  to  the  U.  S.  with  despatches. ' 

7  Larkin's  Docs,  MS.,  vi.  185.     This  letter  of  Larkin,  Childs,  through 
whom  his  correspondence  passed,  answered  the  27th  of  Sept.,  sending  his 
reply  by  Mr  Parrott,  by  way  of  Vera  Cruz  and  Mazatlan. 

8  He  had  left  Monterey  about  July  1st  for  La  Paz  in  the  flag-ship  Ohio, 
carrying  letters  from  Larkin  of  June  28th  and  July  1st  to  Buchanan  and 
Com.  Jones,  the  latter  sending  his  on  to  the  sec.  of  the  navy  with  a  note  of 
July  28th.     All  these  letters  were  printed  by  government,  and  accompanied 
the  president's  message  of  Dec.  5th.     I  have  referred  elsewhere  to  the  over 
land  express  which  was  despatched  by  way  of  Salt  Lake  in  April  1848,  chiefly 
for  carrying  a  newspaper  edition  on  the  resources  of  California.     G.  M. 
Evans'  erroneous  account  of  this  mail  in  the  Oregon  Bulletin  has  been  widely 
copied.     Instance   the   Mendocino  Democrat,   Feb.   1,   1872,  and  the   Lake 
County  Bee,  March  8,  1873.  Crosby's  Events  in  Cal,  MS.,  2-3. 

'The  N.  Y.  Journal  of  Commerce  some  time  after  published  a  communi 
cation  dated  Monterey  29th  of  August,  characteristic  of  the  reports  which 


AT  WASHINGTON  CITY.  115 

reechoed  throughout  the  country,  could  not  fail  in 
their  effect;  and  when  in  the  midst  of  the  growing 
excitement,  in  November  or  December,  one  more 
special  messenger  arrived,  in  the  person  of  Lieuten 
ant  Loeser,  with  official  confirmation  from  Governor 
Mason,  embodied  in  the  president's  message  of  De 
cember  5th  to  congress,  and  with  tangible  evidence  in 
the  shape  of  a  box  filled  with  gold-dust,  placed  on 
exhibition  at  the  war  office,  delirium  seized  upon  the 
community.10 

now  began  to  circulate.  'At  present, '  the  writer  remarks,  speaking  of  gold- 
finding  in  California,  'the  people  are  running  over  the  country  and  picking  it 
out  of  the  earth  here  and  there,  just  as  1,000  hogs,  let  loose  in  a  forest,  would 
root  up  ground-nuts.  Some  get  eight  or  ten  ounces  a  day,  and  the  least  active 
one  or  two.  They  make  the  most  who  employ  the  wild  Indians  to  hunt  it  for 
them.  There  is  one  man  who  has  sixty  Indians  in  his  employ;  his  profits  are 
a  dollar  a  minute.  The  wild  Indians  know  nothing  of  its  value,  and  wonder 
what  the  pale-faces  want  to  do  with  it;  they  will  give  an  ounce  of  it  for  the 
same  weight  of  coined  silver,  or  a  thimbleful  of  glass  beads,  or  a  glass  of 
grog.  And  white  men  themselves  often  give  an  ounce  of  it,  which  is  worth 
at  our  mint  $18  or  more,  for  a  bottle  of  brandy,  a  bottle  of  soda  powders,  or 
a  plug  of  tobacco.  As  to  the  quantity  which  the  diggers  get,  take  a  few 
facts  as  evidence.  I  know  seven  men  who  worked  seven  weeks  and  two  days, 
Sundays  excepted,  on  Feather  River;  they  employed  on  an  average  fifty 
Indians,  and  got  out  in  these  seven  weeks  and  two  days  275  pounds  of  pure 

C1 1.  I  know  the  men,  and  have  seen  the  gold;  so  stick  a  pin  there.  I 
w  ten  other  men  who  worked  ten  days  in  company,  employed  no  Indians, 
and  averaged  in  these  ten  days  $1,500  each;  so  stick  another  pin  there.  I 
know  another  man  who  got  out  of  a  basin  in  a  rock,  not  larger  than  a  wash 
bowl,  2£  pounds  of  gold  in  fifteen  minutes;  so  stick  another  pin  there!  No 
one  of  these  statements  would  I  believe,  did  I  not  know  the  men  personally, 
and  know  them  to  be  plain,  matter-of-fact  men — men  who  open  a  vein  of  gold 
just  as  coolly  as  you  would  a  potato-hill.'  'Your  letter  and  those  of  others,' 
writes  Childs  from  Washington,  Sept.  27th,  to  Larkin,  'have  been  running 
through  the  papers  all  over  the  country,  creating  wonder  and  amazement  in 
every  mind.'  Larkin's  Docs,  MS.,  vi.  185. 

™L.  Loeser,  lieutenant  third  artillery,  was  chosen  to  carry  the  report  of 
Mason's  own  observations,  conveyed  in  a  letter  dated  Aug.  17th,  together 
with  specimens  of  gold-dust  purchased  at  $10  an  ounce  by  the  quartermaster 
under  sanction  of  the  acting  governor,  with  money  from  the  civil  fund. 
Sherman,  Mem.,  i.  58,  says  'an  oyster-can  full;'  Mason,  Reveres  Tour,  242, 
'a  tea-caddy  containing  230  oz.,  15  dwts,  9  gr.  of  gold.'  'Small  chest  called 
a  caddy,  containing  about  $3,000  worth  of  gold  in  lumps  and  scales,'  says  the 
Washington  Union,  after  inspection.  Niks'  Reg.,  Ixxiv.  336.  To  Payta,  Peru, 
the  messenger  proceeded  in  the  ship  Lambayecana,  chartered  for  the  purpose 
from  its  master  and  owner,  Henry  D.  Cooke,  since  governor  of  the  district  of 
Columbia  and  sailing  from  Monterey  the  30th  of  Aug.  At  Payta,  Loeser  took 
the  English  steamer  to  Panama,  crossed  the  Isthmus  in  Oct.,  proceeded  to 
Kingston,  Jamaica,  and  thence  by  sailing  vessel  to  New  Orleans,  where  he  tele 
graphed  his  arrival  to  the  war  department.  On  the  24th  of  November,  about 
which  time  he  reached  N.  0.,  the  Commercial  Times  of  that  city  semi-offi- 
cially  confirmed  the  rumors,  claiming  to  have  done  so  on  the  authority  of 
Loeser.  S.  H.  Willey,  Personal  Memoranda,  MS.,  20-1,  a  passenger  by  the 
falcon,  thinks  it  was  on  Friday,  Dec.  14th,  that  he  first  heard  the  news,  and 


116  BROADER  EFFECTS  OF  THE  GOLD  DISCOVERY. 

The  report  of  Colonel  Mason,  as  indorsed  by  the 
president,  was  published,  either  at  length  or  in  sub 
stance,  in  the  principal  newspapers  throughout  the 
world.11  From  this  time  the  interest  in  California 
and  her  gold  became  all-absorbing,  creating  a  rest 
lessness  which  finally  poured  a  human  tide  into  San 
Francisco  Bay,  and  sent  hundreds  of  caravans  over 
the  plains  and  mountains. 

The  political  condition  gave  impulse  to  the  move 
ment,  for  men's  minds  were  unsettled  everywhere:  in 

that  Loeser  was  there  at  the  time.  'I  saw  Lieut  Loeser,'  he  says,  'and  the 
gold  nuggets  in  his  hand.'  This  is  the  time  the  Falcon  was  at  N.  0.  And 
yet  the  president's  message  accompanied  by  Mason's  report  is  dated  Dec.  5th. 
Obviously  Willey  is  mistaken  in  supposing  Loeser  to  have  arrived  at  N.  O. 
after  the  Falcon's  arrival;  and  to  reconcile  his  statement  at  all,  we  must  hold 
the  messenger  at  N.  0.  exhibiting  his  gold  nuggets  on  the  streets  for  three 
weeks  after  his  arrival,  and  for  ten  days  after  the  information  brought  by  him 
is  sent  by  the  president  to  congress.  The  report  of  Mason  accompanying  the 
president's  message  is  given  in  U.  S.  Gov.  Docs,  30th  cong.  2d  sess.,  H.  Ex. 
Doc.  1,  no.  37,  56-64.  The  president  says:  'It  was  known  that  mines  of  the 
precious  metals  existed  to  a  considerable  extent  in  Cal.  at  the  time  of  its 
acquisition.  Recent  discoveries  render  it  probable  that  these  mines  are  more 
extensive  and  valuable  than  was  anticipated.  The  accounts  of  the  abundance 
of  gold  in  that  territory  are  of  such  an  extraordinary  character  as  would 
scarcely  command  belief  were  they  not  corroborated  by  the  authentic  reports 
of  officers  in  the  public  service,  who  have  visited  the  mineral  district,  and 
derived  the  facts  which  they  detail  from  personal  observation.'  Sherman, 
Mr m. ,  i.  58,  consequently  errs  in  assuming  that  the  report  did  not  arrive  in 
time  for  the  message. 

11  '  We  readily  admit,'  says  the  Washington  Union  the  day  after  Loeser's 
arrival,  '  that  the  account  so  nearly  approached  the  miraculous  that  we  were 
relieved  by  the  evidence  of  our  own  senses  on  the  subject.  The  specimens 
have  all  the  appearance  of  the  native  gold  we  had  seen  from  the  mines  of 
North  Carolina  and  Virginia;  and  we  are  informed  that  the  secretary  will 
send  the  small  chest  of  gold  to  the  mint,  to  be  melted  into  coin  and  bars,  and 
most  of  it  to  be  subsequently  fashioned  into  medals  commemorative  of  the 
heroism  and  valor  of  our  officers.  Several  of  the  other  specimens  he  will  re 
tain  for  the  present  in  the  war  office  as  found  in  Cal. ,  in  the  form  of  lumps, 
scales,  and  sand;  the  last  named  being  of  different  hues,  from  bright  yellow 
to  black,  without  much  appearance  of  gold.  However  sceptical  any  man  may 
have  been,  we  defy  him  to  doubt  that  if  the  quantity  of  such  specimens  as 
these  be  as  great  as  has  been  represented,  the  value  of  the  gold  in  Cal.  must 
be  greater  than  has  been  hitherto  discovered  in  the  old  or  new  continent; 
and  great  as  may  be  the  emigration  to  this  new  El  Dorado,  the  frugal  and 
industrious  will  be  amply  repaid  for  their  enterprise  and  toil. '  On  the  8th 
of  Dec.,  David  Garter,  from  8.  F.,  took  to  the  Phil,  mint  the  first  deposit  of 
gold,  on  which  Director  Patterson  reported  that  it  was  worth  some  cents 
over  $18  an  ounce.  Assays  of  specimens  sent  to  private  persons  gave  similar 
results.  Sherwood's  Cal.;  Pioneer  Arch.,  161-7;  Brooks'  His.  Mcx.  War,  535. 
Garter's  deposit  in  the  Phil,  mint  was  made  the  8th  of  Dec.,  and  that  of  the 
sec.  of  war  on  the  9th.  The  former  consisted  of  1,804.59  ounces,  and  the  latter 
of  228  ounces.  It  averaged  .894  fine.  Letter  of  Patterson  to  Walker,  Dec. 
11,  1848. 


INFORMATION  WANTED.  117 

Europe  by  wars  and  revolutions,  which  disturbed  all  the 
regions  from  the  Sicilies  in  the  south  to  Ireland  and 
Denmark  in  the  north ;  in  the  United  States,  by  the  late 
war  with  Mexico,  and  the  consequent  acquisition  of  im 
mense  vacant  and  inviting  territories.  This  especially 
had  given  zest  to  the  spirit  of  adventure  so  long  fos 
tered  in  the  States  by  the  constant  westward  advance 
of  settlements;  and  the  news  from  the  Pacific  served 
really  to  intensify  the  feeling  and  give  it  a  definite  and 
common  direction.  The  country  was  moreover  in  a 
highly  prosperous  condition,  with  an  abundance  of 
money,  which  had  attracted  a  large  immigration,  and 
disbanded  armies  from  Mexico  had  cast  adrift  a  host 
of  men  without  fixed  aim,  to  whom  a  far  less  potent 
incentive  than  the  present  would  have  been  all-suffi 
cient.  And  so  from  Maine  to  Texas  the  noise  of 
preparation  for  travel  was  heard  in  every  town.  The 
name  of  California  was  in  every  mouth;  it  was  the 
current  theme  for  conversation  and  song,  for  plays 
and  sermons.  Every  scrap  of  information  concerning 
the  country  was  eagerly  devoured.  Old  works  that 
touched  upon  it,  or  even  upon  the  regions  adjoining, 
were  dragged  from  dusty  hiding-places,  and  eager 
purchase  made  of  guide-books  from  the  busy  pen  of 
cabinet  travellers.12  Old,  staid,  conservative  men  and 

12  Among  the  publications  of  the  hour  were:  California,  and  the,  Way  to 
Get  there;  with  the  Official  Documents  Relating  to  the  Gold  Region.  By  J. 
Ely  Sherwood,  New  York,  1848.  This  for  the  outside  title.  The  second  title 
says  California,  her  Wealth  and  Resources;  with  Many  Interesting  Facts 
respecting  the  Climate  and  People.  Following  a  letter  dated  Sutter's  Fort, 
Aug.  11,  1848,  giving  the  expei'iences  of  a  digger,  are  a  few  pages  smattering 
of  Mexican  life.  Then  come  Larkin's  letters  to  Buchanan,  and  Mason's 
report,  everywhere  printed.  'All  that  portion  of  the  president's  message 
iext  given;  after  which  we  have  a  'Description 


which  relates  to  California'  is  next  given; 

of  the  Gold  Region,'  in  which  there  is  no  description  whatever,  a  letter  of 
Walter  Colton,  extracts  from  the  N.  Y.  Journal  of  Commerce  and  Sun,  fur 
ther  correspondence  and  description,  and  the  memorial  of  Aspinwall,  Stephens, 
and  Chauncey  to  congress  on  a  proposed  Pacific  railway.  On  the  last  page  of 
the  cover  are  printed  from  the  N.  Y.  Herald  '  Practical  Suggestions  to  Persons 
about  to  Cross  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.'  The  whole  comprises  an  8vo  pam 


phlet  of  40  pages,  exclusive  of  the  cover.  The  following  year  the  work  assumes 
a  12mo  form  of  98  pages  in  a  paper  cover,  and  is  called  The  Pock't-Gidde  to 
California;  A  Sea  and  Land  Route- Book,  Containing  a  Futi  Description  of  the 
EL  Dorado,  its  Agricultural  Resources,  Commercial  Advantages,  and  Mineral 
Wealth;  including  a  Chapter  on  Gold  Formations;  with  the  Congr?x*ional  Map, 
and  the  Various  Routes  and  Distances  to  the  Gold  Regions.  To  Which  is  Added 


113  BROADER  EFFECTS  OF  THE  GOLD  DISCOVERY. 

women  caught  the  infection,  despite  press  and  pulpit 
warnings.  After  a  parting  knell  of  exhortation  for 
calm  and  contentment,  even  ministers  and  editors 
shelved  their  books  and  papers  to  join  foremost  in 
the  throng.  Hitherto  small  though  sure  profits 
dwindled  into  insignificance  under  the  new  aspect,  and 
the  trader  closed  his  ledger  to  depart ;  and  so  the  toil 
ing  farmer,  whose  mortgage  loomed  above  the  grow 
ing  family,  the  briefless  lawyer,  the  starving  student, 
the  quack,  the  idler,  the  harlot,  the  gambler,  the  hen 
pecked  husband,  the  disgraced;  with  many  earnest, 
enterprising,  honest  men  and  devoted  women.  These 
and  others  turned  their  faces  westward,  resolved  to 
stake  their  all  upon  a  cast;  their  swift  thoughts,  like 
the  arrow  of  Acestes,  taking  fire  as  they  flew.  Stories 
exaggerated  by  inflamed  imaginations  broke  the  calm 
of  a  million  hearts,  and  tore  families  asunder,  leaving 

Practical  Advice  to  Voyagers.     New  York,  J.  E.  Sherwood,  publisher  and 
proprietor;  California,  Berford  &  Co.,  and  C.  W.  Holden,  San  Francisco,  1849. 
This  is  a  work  of  more  pretensions  than  the  first  edition.     The  first  19  pages 
are  geographical,  in  the  compilation  of  which  Bryant  and  others  are  freely 
drawn  from.     Letters  from  Folsom  to  Quartermaster  Jesup,  printed  originally 
in  the  Washington  Globe,  are  added.     Thirty-one  pages  of  advertisements  were 
secured,  which  are  at  once  characteristic  and  interesting,     The  Union  India 
Rubber  Company,  beside  portable  boats  and  wagou-floats,  offers  tents,  blank 
ets,  and  all  kinds  of  clothing.     Californians  are  urged  to  insure  their  lives  and 
have  their  daguerreotypes  taken  before  starting.    Then  there  are  Californian 
houses,  sheet-iron  cottages  of  the  most  substantial  character,  at  three  days' 
notice,  built  in  sections;    'oil-cloth  roofs  at  thirty  cents  per  square  yard;' 
bags,  matches,  boots,  drugs,  guns,  beside  outfits  comprising  every  conceiv 
able  thing   to  wear,  iness   hampers,  and   provisions.     Haven  &  Livingston 
advertise  their  express,  Thomas  Kensett  &  Co.,  and  Wells,  Miller,  &  Provost, 
their  preserved   fresh  provisions;  E.  N.  Kent,  tests  for  gold;  half  a  dozen 
their  gold  washers,  and  fifty  others  fifty  other  things.     By  advertising  U.  S. 
passports,  Alfred   "Wheeler  intimates   that  they  are   necessary.     A.    Zuru- 
atuza,  through  his  agents,  John  Bell  at  Vera  Cruz  and  A.  Patrullo,  New  York, 
gives  notice  of  'the  pleasan test  and  shortest  route  to  California  through  Mex 
ico.'     With  neither  author's  name  nor  date,  but  probably  in  Dec.  1848,  was 
issued  at  Boston,  California  Gold  Regions,  With  a  Fidl  Account  of  its  Mineral 
Resources;  How  to  Get  there  and  What  to  Take;  the  Expense,  the  Time,  and  the 
Various  Routes,  etc.     Anything  at  hand,  printed  letters,  newspaper  articles, 
and  compilations  from  old  books,  were  thrown  in  to  make  up  the  48  pages  of 
this  publication.     Yet  another  book  appeared  in  Dec.  1848,  The  Gold  Regions 
of  California,  etc.,  edited  by  G.  G.  Foster,  80  pages,  8vo,  with  a  map;  the 
fullest  and  most  valuable  eastern  publication  on  Cal.  of  that  year.     Beside 
the  official  reports  so  often  referred  to,  there  is  a  letter  from  A.  Ten  Eyck, 
dated  S.  F.,  Sept.  1st,  and  one  from  C.  Allyn  dated  Monterey,  Sept.   loth. 
Thereare  also  extracts  from  Cal.  and  eastern  newspapers,  and  from  Greenhow, 
Darby,  Wilkes,  Cutts,  Mofras,  Emory,  and  Farnham. 


STIMULATION  OF  INDUSTRIES.  119 

sorrowing  mothers,  pining  wives,  neglected  children, 
with  poverty  and  sorrow  to  swell  their  anguish;  the 
departed  meanwhile  bent  on  the  struggle  with  fortune, 
faithful  or  faithless;  a  few  to  be  successful,  but  a  far 
greater  number  to  sink  disappointed  into  nameless 
graves. 

And  still  the  gossips  and  the  prophets  raved,  and 
newspapers  talked  loudly  and  learnedly  of  California 
and  her  gold-fields,  assisting  to  sustain  the  excite 
ment.13  It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that,  in  the 
great  seaport  towns  at  least,  the  course  of  ordinary 
business  was  almost  thrown  out  of  its  channels. 
"Bakers  keep  their  ovens  hot,"  breaks  forth  Greeley, 
"night  and  day,  turning  out  immense  quantities  of 
ship-bread  without  supplying  the  demand;  the  pro 
vision  stores  of  all  kinds  are  besieged  by  orders. 
Manufacturers  of  rubber  goods,  rifles,  pistols,  bowie- 
knives,  etc.,  can  scarcely  supply  the  demand."  All 
sorts  of  labor-saving  machines  were  invented  to  facil 
itate  the  separation  of  the  gold  from  gravel  and  soil. 
Patented  machines,  cranks,  pumps,  overshot  wheel 
attachments,  engines,  dredges  for  river-beds,  supposed 
to  be  full  of  gold,  and  even  diving-bells,  were  made 
and  sold.  Everything  needful  in  the  land  of  gold,  or 

«/  O  O  * 

what  sellers  could  make  the  buyers  believe  would  be 
needed,  sold  freely  at  high  prices.  Everything  in  the 
shape  of  hull  and  masts  was  overhauled  and  made 
ready  for  sea.  Steamships,  clippers,  schooners,  and 
brigs  sprang  from  the  stocks  as  if  by  the  magician's 
wand,  and  the  wharves  were  alive  with  busy  workers. 
The  streets  were  thronged  with  hurrying,  bustling  pur 
chasers,  most  of  them  conspicuous  in  travelling  attire 
of  significant  aspect,  rough  loose  coats  and  blanket 
robes  meeting  high  hunting-boots,  and  shaded  by 
huge  felt  hats  of  sombre  color.  A  large  proportion 

13  'It  is  coming — nay,  at  hand,'  cried  Horace  Greeley,  in  the  N.  Y.  Tribune; 
'there  is  no  doubt  of  it.  We  are  on  the  brink  of  the  Age  of  Gold!  We  look 
for  an  addition,  within  the  next  four  years,  equal  to  at  least  one  thousand 
millions  of  dollars  to  the  general  aggregate  of  gold  iu  circulation  and  use 
throughout  the  world.  This  is  almost  inevitable. 


120  BROADER  EFFECTS  OF  THE  GOLD  DISCOVER 

bore  the  stamp  of  countrymen  or  villagers,  who  had 
formed  parties  of  from  ten  to  over  a  hundred  members, 
the  better  to  face  the  perils  magnified  by  distance,  arid 
to  assist  one  another  in  the  common  object.  The  im 
mediate  purpose,  however,  was  to  combine  for  the 
purchase  of  machinery  and  outfit,  and  for  reduced 
passage  rates.  Indeed,  the  greater  part  of  the  emi 
grants  were  in  associations,  limited  in  number  by 
district  clanship,  or  by  shares  ranging  as  high  as 
$1,000  each,  which  in  such  a  case  implied  the  purchase 
of  the  vessel,  laden  with  wooden  houses  in  sections, 
with  mills  and  other  machinery,  and  with  goods  for 
trade.1*  In  some  instances  the  outfit  was  provided  by 
a  few  men;  perhaps  a  family  stinted  itself  to  send  one 
of  its  members,  often  a  scapegrace  resolved  upon  a 
new  life;  or  money  was  contributed  by  more  cautious 
stayers-at-home  for  proxies,  on  condition  of  heavy  re 
payment,  or  labor,  or  shares  in  profits;15  but  as  a  rule, 
obligations  broke  under  the  strain  of  varied  attractions 
on  the  scene,  and  debtors  were  lost  in  the  throng  of 
the  mines.16  The  associations  were  too  unwieldy  and 

14  Among  the  many  instances  of  such  associations  is  the  one  entitled  Ken- 
nebec  Trading  and  Mining  Co.,  which  sailed  in  the  Obed  Mitchel  from  N. 
Bedford  on  March  31,  1849,  arrived  at  S.  F.  on  Sept.  17th,  laid  out  the  town 
of  New  York,  placed  the  steamer  Gov.  Dana  for  river  traffic,  opened  a  saw 
mill,  etc.  Boynton's  MS.,  1  et  seq.  The  Mattapan  and  Cal.  Trading  and 
Mining  Co.,  of  42  members,  left  Boston  in  the  Ann.  Strout's  recollections,  in 
S.  F.  Post,  July  14,  1877;  the  Linda  Mining  and  Dredging  Assoc.  started  in 
the  bark  Linda,  with  a  steamboat  and  a  dredger,  the  latter  for  scooping  up 
the  metal.  Other  notable  companies  were  those  by  the  Edward  Everett,  of 
152  members,  which  left  Boston  in  Dec.  1848;  Robert  Browne,  which  left  New- 
York  in  Feb.  '49,  with  200  passengers;  the  Matthewson  party,  from  New 
York,  in  March;  the  Warren  party  of  30  members,  from  New  York,  in  Feb.; 
the  Mary  Jane  party.  One  party  of  seven  left  Nantucket  in  Dec.  1 849,  in 
the  Mary  and  Emma,  of  only  44  tons,  and  arrived  safely  after  149  days. 
Others  were  known  by  the  names  of  the  town  or  county  in  which  they  organ 
ized,  as  Utica,  Albany,  Buffalo.  See  details  of  outfit,  passage,  etc.,  in  War 
ren's  Dust  and  Foam,  12  et  seq.;  Matthewsorfs  Statement,  MS.,  1-3;  Cerruti's 
Ramblings,  MS.,  94,  and  later  MS.  references;  also  recollections  printed  in 
different  journals,  as  San  Jos6  Pioneer,  Dec.  8,  1877,  etc.;  Sac.  Record- Union, 
July  7,  1875,  Nov.  26,  1878,  etc.;  Shasta  Courier,  March  25,  1865,  March  16, 
1867;  Stockton  Indep.,  Nov.  1,  1873;  Alta  Cal.,  passim;  Placer  Times,  Apr. 
28,  1849;  Brown's  Statement,  MS.,  1;  Hunt's  Merch.  Mag.,  xxx.  55-64,  xxxii. 
354-5;  Larkirfs  Doc.,  vi.  185,  198,  etc. 

15 Crosby,  Events  Cal.,  MS.,  26,  was  deputed  by  others  to  report  on  the 
field. 

16  Large  sums  were  recklessly  advanced  to  individuals  as  well  as  societies 
by  rich  men,  stricken  by  the  fever,  but  declining  to  go  in  person.  Probably 


OVERLAND  TRAVEL.  121 

too  hastily  organized,  with  little  knowledge  of  mem 
bers  and  requirements,  the  best  men  being  most  eager 
to  escape  the  yoke. 

The  overland  route  was  the  first  to  suggest  itself, 
in  accordance  with  American  pioneer  usage,  but  this 
could  not  be  attempted  during  winter.  The  sea  was 
always  open,  and  presented,  moreover,  a  presumably 
swifter  course,  with  less  preparations  for  outfit.  The 
way  round  Cape  Horn  was  well  understood  by  the 
coast-dwellers,  who  formed  the  pioneers  in  this  move- 
merit,  familiar  as  they  were  with  the  trading  vessels 
and  whalers  following  that  circuit,  along  the  path 
opened  by  Magellan,  and  linked  to  the  explorations  of 
Cortes  and  Cabrillo.  There  were  also  the  short-cuts 
across  Panamd,  Nicaragua,  and  Mexico,  now  becoming 
familiar  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  through 
the  agitation  for  easy  access  to  the  newly  acquired 
possessions  on  the  Pacific.  For  all  these  vessels 
offered  themselves;  and  in  November  1848  the  move 
ment  began  with  the  departure  of  several  vessels.  In 
December  it  had  attained  tho  dimensions  of  a  rush. 
From  New  York,  Boston,  Salem,  Norfolk,  Philadel 
phia,  and  Baltimore,  between  the  14th  of  December, 
1848,  and  the  18th  of  January,  1849,  departed  61 
sailing  vessels,  averaging  50  passengers  each,  to  say 
nothing  of  those  sent  from  Charleston,  New  Orleans, 
and  other  ports.  Sixty  ships  were  announced  to  sail 
from  New  York  in  the  month  of  February  1849,  70 
from  Philadelphia  and  Boston,  and  11  from  New  Bed 
ford.  The  hegira  continued  throughout  the  }rear,  and 
during  the  winter  of  1849  and  the  spring  of  1850 

nine  out  of  ten  of  such  loans  were  lost,  less  through  actual  dishonesty  than 
through  the  extravagant  habits  among  miners,  who  improvidently  reckoned 
on  a  future  rich  find  for  such  demands.  Few  of  the  companies  held  together, 
even  till  Cal.  was  reached;  none  that  I  have  ever  heard  of  accomplished  any 
thing,  as  an  original  body,  in  the  mines  or  towns.  If  they  did  not  quarrel  on 
the  way  and  separate  at  any  cost,  as  was  generally  the  case,  they  found  on 
reaching  Cal.  that  a  company  had  no  place  there.  Every  miner  was  for  him 
self,  and  so  it  was  with  mechanics  and  laborers,  who,  if  willing  to  work  for 
wages,  received  such  dazzling  offers  as  to  upset  all  previous  calculations  and 
indents.  See  Ashley's  Journey,  MS.,  223,  etc. 


122  BROADER  EFFECTS  OF  THE  GOLD  DISCOVERY. 

250  vessels  sailed  for  California  from  the  eastern  ports 
of  the  United  States  alone,  45  of  which  arrived  at  San 
Francisco  in  one  day.17 

In  order  to  supply  this  demand,  shipping  was  di 
verted  from  every  other  branch  of  service,  greatly  to 
the  disarrangement  of  trade,  the  whaling  business 
especially  being  neglected  for  the  new  catch.18  Old 
condemned  hulks  were  once  more  drawn  from  their  re 
tirement,  anything,  in  fact,  that  could  float,19  and  fitted 
with  temporary  decks  to  contain  tiers  of  open  berths, 
with  tables  and  luggage-stands  in  the  centre.20  The 
provisions  were  equally  bad,  leading  in  many  cases  to 
intense  suffering  and  loss  by  scurvy,21  thirst,  and 
starvation;  but  unscrupulous  speculators  cared  for 
nothing  save  to  reap  the  ready  harvest;  and  to  secure 
passengers  they  hesitated  at  no  falsehood.  Although 
aware  that  the  prospect  of  obtaining  transportation 
from  Panamd  and  other  Pacific  ports  was  very  doubt 
ful,  they  gave  freely  the  assurance  of  ample  connec 
tions,  and  induced  thousands  to  proceed  to  these  half- 

17  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voyages,  cxx.  362-5;  Larkin's  Docs,  MS.,  vi.  195; 
Polynesian,  Apr.  14,  1849;  Sttilman'a  Golden  Fleece,  19-27.  Two  of  the  Nov. 
departures  arrived  at  S.  F.  in  April  1849;  in  June  came  11,  in  July  40,  in 
August  43,  in  Sept.  66,  after  which  the  number  fell  off,  giving  a  total  of  233 
from  American  ports  for  nine  months;  316  arrived  from  other  ports,  or  549  in 
all.  Placer  Times,  ii.  no.  62;  N.  Y.  Herald,  Apr.  13,  1850;  Barstow's  Stat., 
MS.,  1;  Barnes*  Or.  and  CaL,  MS.,  20;  Dean's  Stat.,  MS.,  1;  Moore's  Pio. 
Exp.,  MS.,  1;  Winans'  Stat.,  MS.,  1-3;  Neall's  Stat.,  MS.;  Wheatoris  Stat., 
MS.,  2-3;  Doolittle's  Stat.,  MS.,  21;  Boltonvs  U.  S.,  88;  Fay's  Stat.,  MS.,  1; 
Picture  Pion.  Times,  MS.,  145-7.  The  journals  above  quoted,  notably  Alto, 
Gal.  and  Record-Union;  also  West  Coast  Signal,  Apr.  15,  1874;  Santa  Cruz 
Times,  Feb.  19,  1870;  Humboldt  Times,  Mar.  7,  1874;  Antioch  Ledger,  Dec. 
24,  1870,  together  with  allusions  to  voyage.  The  length  of  passage  averaged 
about  four  months.  Later  it  was  made  more  than  once  by  the  Flying  Cloud 
from  New  York  in  89£  days.  See  Alta  Col.,  July  12,  1865;  S.  F.  Directory, 
1852,  10,  etc. 

18 By  the  withdrawal  of  71  ships.  Alta  CaL,  June  6,  1850. 

19 Barnes,  in  his  Or.  and  CaL,  MS.,  mentions  an  old  Mexican  war  trans 
port  steamer,  which  in  the  winter  of  1849-50  used  to  ply  between  New  Orleans 
and  Chagres,  and  which  was  so  rotten  and  leaky  that  she  wriggled  and  twisted 
like  a  willow  basket. 

™Borthwick's  MS.,  3-5.  One  vessel  of  only  44  tons  left  Nantucket; 
another  passed  through  the  lakes,  Hunt's  Mag.,  xxi.  585;  a  third  was  an  ex- 
slaver.,  Bluxomz's  MS.,  1. 

21  Ryan,  Pers.  Adven.,  ii.  273-5,  relates  that  the  Brooklyn  set  out  with  an 
insufficient  supply,  and  although  offered  $500,  the  captain  refused  to  touch  at 
any  of  the  South  American  ports  for  additions.  At  Rio  de  Janeiro  several 
received  welcome  from  Dom  Pedro.  Alta  CaL,  Mar.  29,  1876. 


THE  PASSAGE  BY  WATER.  123 

way  stations,  only  to  leave  them  there  stranded.  A 
brief  period  of  futile  waiting  sufficed  to  exhaust  the 
slender  means  of  many,  cutting  off  even  retreat,  and 
hundreds  were  swept  away  by  the  deadly  climate.22 
Expostulations  met  with  sneers  or  maltreatment,  for 
redress  was  hopeless.  The  victims  were  ready  enough 
to  enter  the  trap,  and  hastened  away  by  the  cheapest 
route,  regardless  of  money  or  other  means  to  proceed 
farther,  trusting  blindly,  wildly,  to  chance. 

The  cost  of  passage  served  to  restrict  the  propor 
tion  of  the  vagabond  element;  so  that  the  majority  of 
the  emigrants  belonged  to  the  respectable  class,  with 
a  sprinkle  of  educated  and  professional  men,  and  mem 
bers  of  influential  families,  although  embracing  many 
characterless  persons  who  fell  before  temptation,  or 
entered  the  pool  of  schemers  and  political  vultures.23 
The  distance  and  the  prospective  toil  and  danger 
again  held  back  the  older  and  less  robust,  singling 
out  the  young  and  hardy,  so  that  in  many  respects  the 
flower  of  the  population  departed.  The  intention  of 
most  being  to  return,  few  women  were  exposed  to  the 
hardships  of  these  early  voyages.  The  coast-dwellers 
predominated,  influenced,  as  may  be  supposed,  by  the 
water  voyage,  for  the  interior  and  western  people 
preferred  to  await  the  opening  of  the  overland  route, 
for  which  they  could  so  much  better  provide  them 
selves.24 

Although  the  Americans  maintained  the  ascend 
ancy  in  numbers,  owing  to  readier  access  to  the  field 

22  See  protest  in  Panamd  Star,  Feb.  24,  1849. 

23  White,  Pion.  Times,  MS.,  190-5,  estimates  the  idle  loungers  at  less  than 
ten  per  cent,  and  'gentlemen'  and  politicians  at  the  same  proportion.     The 
N.  Y.  Tribune,  Jan.  26,  1849,  assumes  that  the  cost  of  outfit  kept  back  the 
rowdies.     The  Annals  of  S.  F.,  665,  etc.,  is  undoubtedly  wrong  in  ascribing 
low  character,  morals,  and  standing  to  a  large"  proportion,  although  it  is  natural 
that  men  left  without  the  elevating  influence  of  a  sufficiently  large  number  of 
women  should  have  yielded  at  times  to  a  somewhat  reckless  life.     Willey,  in 
his  Per.  Mem.,  MS.,  25,  thus  speaks  of  the  New  Orleans  emigration  of  1848: 
'It  was  only  the  class  most  loose  of  foot  who  could  leave  on  so  short  a  notice. 
It  was  largely  such  as  frequented  the  gambling-saloons  under  the  St  Charles, 
and  could  leave  one  day  as  well  as  another.'  See  also  Crosby'*  Event*,  MS., 
2-3;  Van  Allen,  Stat.,  MS.,  31;  Larking  Doc.,  MS.,  vi.  185,  198,  251. 

24 New  Yorkers  predominated  'twice  told  probably.'  Ryckman's  MS'.,  20; 
Nantucket  alone  lost  about  400  men.  Placer  Times,  Dec.  1,  1849. 


124  BROADER  EFFECTS  OF  THE  GOLD  DISCOVERY. 

by  different  routes,  and  to  which  they  were  entitled 
by  right  of  possession,  the  stream  of  migration  from 
foreign  countries  was  great,  a  current  coming  to 
New  York  and  adjoining  ports  to  join  the  flow  from 
there.  The  governments  of  Europe  became  alarmed, 
actuated  as  they  were  by  jealousy  of  the  growing 
republic,  with  its  prospective  increase  of  wealth,  to  the 
confounding  of  finance,  perhaps  to  culminate  in  a 
world's  crisis.25  Before  the  middle  of  January  1849  no 
less  than  five  different  Californian  trading  and  mining 
companies  were  registered  at  London,  with  an  aggre 
gate  capital  of  £1,275,000;  and  scarcely  was  there 
a  European  port  which  had  not  at  this  time  some 
vessel  fitting  out  for  California.26 

Among  Asiatic  nations,  the  most  severely  affected 
by  this  western  malady  were  the  Chinese.  With  so 
much  of  the  gambling  element  in  their  disposition,  so 
much  of  ambition,  they  turned  over  the  tidings  in 
their  minds  with  feverish  impatience,  whilst  their 
neighbors,  the  Japanese,  heard  of  the  gold  discovery 
with  stolid  indifference.27  Yet  farther  east  by  way 
of  west,  to  that  paradise  of  gamblers,  Manila,  went 

25  Russia,  France,  and  Holland  seriously  considered  the  monetary  question, 
and  the  latter  went  so  far  as  to  bring  in  force  an  obsolete  law,  which  enabled 
her  to  sell,  at  the  highest  price,  all  the  gold  in  the  bank  of  Amsterdam,  so 
that  she  might  lay  in  a  stock  of  silver. 

26 'Du  Havre  et  de  Bordeaux,  de  plusieurs  ports  espagnols,  hollandais, 
allemands,  et  de  presque  tous  les  principaux  ports  de  la  Grande-Bretagne,  on 
announce  des  departs  pour  San  Francisco.  Un  batiment  a  vapeur  doit  meme 
partir  de  Londres  et  doubler  le  cap  Horn.  Revue  des  Deux  Monde*,  Feb.  1, 
1849;  Polynesian,  May  12,  1849.  Says  the  London  Times:  ''Thereare  at  this 
moment  two  great  waves  of  population  following  toward  the  setting  sun  over 
this  globe.  The  one  is  that  mighty  tide  of  human  beings  which,  this  year,  be 
yond  all  former  parallel,  is  flowing  from  Ireland,  Great  Britain,  Germany,  and 
some  other  parts  of  Europe,  in  one  compact  and  unbroken  stream,  to  the  United 
States.  The  other,  which  may  almost  be  described  as  urged  on  by  the  former,  is 
that  which  that  furious  impulse  aurl  sacra  f amen  is  attracting  from  comfortable 
homes  to  an  almost  desert  shore.'  Several  hundred  Mormons  left  Swansea 
in  Feb.  1849  for  Cal.  Placer  Times,  Oct.  13,  1849.  Concerning  the  French 
migration,  see  8.  F.  Picayune,  Nov.  27,  1850;  Cal.  Courier,  Nov.  28,  Dec.  3, 
1850.  Many  banished  army  officers  came.  Hungarian  exiles  in  Iowa  pro 
posed  to  come  in  1850.  8.  D.  Arch.,  367;  Polynesian,  vii.  131. 

27 An  English  steamer  arrived  from  Canton  direct  as  early  as  Oct.  1849. 
On  Feb.  1,  1849,  there  were  54  Chinamen  in  Cal.,  and  by  Jan.  1,  1850,  the 
number  had  swollen  to  791,  and  was  rapidly  rising,  till  it  passed  4,000  by  the 
end  of  1850.  Alia  Cal.,  May  10,  1852;  William*'  Stat.,  12.  In  BrookJ  App. 
.y  115,  the  number  for  1849-50  is  reduced  to  770  by  their  consul. 


FROM  FAR  AWAY.  125 

the  news,  and  for  a  time  even  the  government  lotter 
ies  were  forgotten.28  And  the  gold  offered  by  ship 
masters  to  the  merchants  of  the  Asiatic  coast  raised 
still  higher  the  fever  in  the  veins  of  both  natives  and 
English.29 

Not  less  affected  were  the  inhabitants  of  the  Mar 
quesas  Islands.  Those  of  the  French  colony  who 
were  free  made  immediate  departure,  and  were  quickly 
followed  by  the  military,  leaving  the  governor  alone 
to  represent  the  government.  On  reaching  Australia 
the  news  was  eagerly  circulated  and  embellished  by 
ship-masters.  The  streets  of  the  chief  cities  were 
placarded,  "Gold!  Gold!  in  California!"  and  soon  it 
became  difficult  to  secure  berths  on  departing  vessels.33 
And  so  in  Peru  and  Chile,  where  the  California  reve 
lation  was  unfolded  as  earty  as  September  1848  by 
Colonel  Mason's  messenger,  on  his  way  to  Washing 
ton,  bringing  a  large  influx  in  advance  of  the  dominant 
United  States  emigration.31  Such  were  the  world 
currents  evoked  by  the  ripple  at  Coloma. 

™Zamacois,  Hist.  Mex.,  x.  1141.  Says  Coleman,  The  Round  Trip,  28, 
who  happened  to  be  at  Manila  in  the  spring  of  1848  when  the  Rhone  arrived 
from  S.  F.,  'She  brought  the  news  of  the  gold  discoveries,  and  fired  the  colony 
with  the  same  intense  desire  that  inflamed  the  Spaniards  of  the  16th  century.' 

29  Leese  was  about  to  sail  for  Manila  in  March,  and  from  there  take  in  a 
cargo  of  rice  for  Canton.  Sherman's  Mem.,  i.  65. 

30  Barry's  Ups  and  Downs,  92-3,  and  Larkin's  Docs,  MS.,  vii.  80.     'Eight 
vessels  have  left  that  hot-bed  of  roguery— Sidney, '  Placer   Times,  June  2, 
1849,  and  with  them  came  a  mass  of  delectable  'Sidney  coves.'     The  press 
sought  naturally  to  counteract  the  excitement  and  make  the  most  of  some 
local  gold  finds.   See  Melbourne  Herald,  Feb.  6,  7,  10,  1849. 

31  Vessels  sent  to  Valparaiso  for  flour  brought  back  large  numbers  to  Cal. 
Findla'sStat.,  MS.,  7;  King's  Kept,  in  U.  S.  Gov.  Docs,  31st cong.  1st  sess.,  H. 
Ex.  Doc.  59,  26.     The  arrival  of  the  Lambayecana  of  Colombia  with  gold-dust 
caused  no  small  excitement  in  Payta,  and  the  news  of  the  discovery  soon 
spread;  on  the  15th  of  January,  1849,  when  the  California  arrived  at  Panama, 
she  had  some  75  Peruvians  on  board.    W'illey's  Per.  Mem.,  MS.,  60.      'It  is 
reported  here  that  California  is  all  gold,'  writes  Atherton  from  Valparaiso, 
Sept.  10th,  to  Larkin.     'Probably  a  little  glitter  has  blinded  them.     The 
gold-dust  received  per  brig  J.  R.  S.  sold  for  22  reales  per  castellano  of  21  qui- 
lates  fine,  this  having  exceeded  the  standard  about  1  £  quilates,  netted  23  reales 

?er  castellano,  being  nearly  $17.50  per  ounce.'  Larkin'x  Docs,  MS.,  vi.  173. 
n  Aug.  Larkin  entered  into  partnership  with  Job  F.  Dye,  who  about  the 
middle  of  Sept.  sailed  M  ith  the  schooner  Mary  down  the  Mexican  coast,  tak 
ing  with  him  placer  gold. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   VOYAGE   BY   OCEAN 
1848-1849. 

MODERN  ARGONAUTS — PACIFIC  MAIL  STEAMSHIP  COMPANY — ESTABLISHMENT 
OF  THE  MAIL  LINE  FROM  NEW  YORK  VIA  PANAMA  TO  OREGON — SAIL 
ING  OF  THE  FIRST  STEAMERS — SAN  FRANCISCO  MADE  THE  TERMINUS — 
THE  PANAMA  TRANSIT — THE  FIRST  RUSH  OF  GOLD-SEEKERS—DISAP 
POINTMENTS  AT  PANAMA — SUFFERINGS  ON  THE  VOYAGE — ARRIVALS  OF 
NOTABLE  MEN  BY  THE  FIRST  STEAMSHIP. 

SINCE  the  voyage  of  the  Argonauts  there  had  been 
no  such  search  for  a  golden  fleece  as  this  which  now 
commanded  the  attention  of  the  world.  And  as  the 
adventures  of  Jason's  crew  were  the  first  of  the  kind 
of  which  we  have  any  record,  so  the  present  impetuous 
move  was  destined  to  be  the  last.  Our  planet  has 
become  reduced  to  a  oneness,  every  part  being  daily 
known  to  the  inhabitants  of  every  other  part.  There 
is  no  longer  a  far-away  earth's  end  where  lies  Colchis 
close-girded  by  the  all-infolding  ocean.  The  course  of 
our  latter-day  gold-fleece  seekers  was  much  longer 
than  Jason's  antipodal  voyage;  indeed,  it  was  the 
longest  possible  to  be  performed  on  this  planet, 
leading  as  it  did  through  a  wide  range  of  lands 
and  climes,  from  snow-clad  shores  into  tropic  lati 
tudes,  and  onward  through  antarctic  dreariness  into 
spring  and  summer  lands.  In  the  adventures  of 
the  new  Argonauts  the  Symplegades  reappeared  in 
the  gloomy  clefts  of  Magellan  Strait;  many  a  Tiphys 
relaxes  the  helm,  and  many  dragons'  teeth  are  sown. 
Even  the  ills  and  dangers  that  beset  Ulysses'  travels, 
in  sensual  circean  appetites,  lotus-eating  indulgence, 

(126J 


THE  ARGONAUTS.  127 

Calypso  grottos  and  sirens,  may  be  added  to  the  list 
without  tilling  it. 

"The  wise  man  knows  nothing  worth  worshipping 
except  wealth/'  said  the  Cyclops  to  Ulysses,  while 
preparing  to  eat  him,  and  it  appears  that  as  many 
hold  the  same  faith  now  as  in  Homeric  times.  At 
night  our  Argonauts  dream  of  gold;  the  morning  sun 
rises  golden-hued  to  saffron  all  nature.  Gold  floats  in 
their  bacon  breakfast  and  bean  dinner. — which  is  the 
kind  of  fare  their  gods  generally  provide  for  them; 
and  throughout  the  bedraggled  remnant  of  their  years 
they  go  about  like  men  demented,  walking  the  earth 
as  if  bitten  by  gold-bugs  and  their  blood  thereby  in 
fected  by  the  poison;  fingering,  kicking,  and  biting 
everything  that  by  any  possibility  may  prove  to  be 
gold.  They  are  no  less  victims  of  their  infatuation 
than  was  Hylas,  or  Ethan  Brand,  who  sacrificed  his 
humanity  to  seek  the  unpardonable  sin.  Each  has 
his  castle  in  Spain,  and  the  way  to  it  lies  through  the 
Golden  Gate,  into  the  Valley  of  California. 

The  migration  was  greatly  facilitated  by  the  estab 
lishment  of  the  Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Company 
just  before  the  gold  discovery,  encouraged  by  the 
anticipation  of  new  interests  on  the  Pacific  coast  ter 
ritory.1  Congress  fully  appreciated  the  importance 

*One  J.  M.  Shively,  postmaster  at  Astoria,  Oregon,  while  on  a  visit  to 
Washington  in  1845,  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  to  call  the  attention  of  the 
U.  S.  govt  to  the  advisability  of  establishing  a  line  of  mail-steamers  between 
Panamd  and  Astoria.  His  suggestion  does  not  seem  to  have  had  much 
weight,  however.  Later  in  the  same  year  the  threatening  attitude  of  Great 
Britain  in  the  north-west  caused  President  Polk  to  lay  before  congress  a  plan 
for  rapidly  increasing  the  population  of  Oregon  by  emigration  via  the  Isthmus, 
using  sailing  vessels.  J.  M.  "Woodward,  a  shipping  merchant  of  New  York, 
assisted  in  preparing  details  for  the  plan.  His  investigations  led  him  to 
believe  that  a  line  of  mail-steamers  might  profitably  be  established  between 
Panamfi  and  Oregon,  and  a  number  of  merchants  and  capitalists  were  readily 
induced  to  join  in  forming  a  private  company.  The  most  complete  history  of 
the  Pac.  Mail  S.  S.  Co.  during  the  first  five  years  of  its  existence  is  contained 
in  the  following  government  document:  Mails,  Reports  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  and  the  Postma*ter-<jene ral,  Communicating,  in  Compliance  with  a  Ref 
lation  of  the  Senate,  Information  in  Relation  to  the  Contract*  for  the  Trans 
portation  of  the  Mull*  by  Steamships  between  New  York  and  California,  March 
23,  1852,  32d  cong.  1st  sess.,  Sen.  Ex.  Doc.  50.  An  excellent  chapter  on 
the  formation  of  the  company  is  also  to  be  found  in  First  Steamship  Pioneers, 
17-33;  see  also  Larkin's  Doc.,  MS.,  vi.  173. 


128  THE  VOYAGE  BY  OCEAN. 

of  rapid  communication  with  that  section,  and  by 
virtue  of  an  act  passed  on  the  3d  of  March,  1847,  the 
secretary  of  the  navy  advertised  for  bids  to  carry  the 
United  States  mails  by  one  line  of  steamers  between 
New  York  and  Chagres,  and  by  another  line  between 
Panama  and  Astoria*  The  contract  for  the  Atlantic 
side  called  for  five  steamships  of  1,500  tons  burden 
each,  all  strongly  constructed  and  easily  convertible 
into  war  steamers,  for  which  purpose  the  government 
might  at  any  time  purchase  them  by  appraisement. 
Their  route  was  to  be  "from  New  York  to  New  Or 
leans  twice  a  month  and  back,  touching  at  Charles 
ton,  if  practicable,  Savannah,  and  Habana;  and  from 
Habana  to  Chagres  arid  back  twice  a  month."  For 
the  Pacific  line  only  three  vessels  were  required,  on 
similar  terms,  and  these  of  a  smaller  size,  two  of  not 
less  than  1,000,  and  the  other  of  600,  tons  burden. 
These  were  to  carry  the  mail  "  from  Panamd  to  As 
toria,  or  to  such  other  port  as  the  secretary  of  the 
navy  may  select,  in  the  territory  of  Oregon,  once  a 
month  each  way,  so  as  to  connect  with  the  mail  from 
Habana  to  Chagres  across  the  Isthmus." 

The  contract  for  the  Atlantic  side  was  awarded  on 
the  20th  of  April,  1847,  to  Albert  G.  Sloo,  who  on  the 
17th  of  August  transferred  it  to  George  Law,  M.  O. 
Roberts,  and  B.  R  Mcllvaine  of  New  York.  The 
annual  compensation  allowed  by  the  government  was 
$290,000;  the  first  two  ships  were  to  be  completed 
by  the  first  of  October,  1848.  The  contract  for  the 
Pacific  side  was  given  to  a  speculator  named  Arnold 
Harris,  and  by  him  assigned  to  William  H.  Aspin- 
wall,  the  annual  subsidy  for  ten  years  being  $199, 000. 2 

2  Woodward  bid  $300,000,  with  side-wheel  steamers,  and  one  of  his  asso 
ciates  proposed  to  do  the  work  for  half  that  sum  with  propellers.  The  last 
offer  was  accepted,  but  the  bidder  withdrew,  and  Harris  received  the  award, 
after  arranging  to  assign  it  to  Woodward,  it  is  claimed.  He  looked  round 
for  a  better  bargain,  however,  and  on  Nov.  19,  1847,  the  contract  was  trans 
ferred  to  Aspinwall,  despite  the  protests  of  Woodward,  who  'was  beaten 
in  a  long  and  expensive  series  of  litigations.'  First  Steamship  Pioneers,  26. 
The  same  authority  states  that  Aspinwall  was  induced  to  take  the  contract 
by  Armstrong,  a  relative  of  Harris,  and  U.  S.  consul  at  Liverpool, 


PACIFIC  MAIL  STEAMSHIP  COMPANY.  129 

Owing  to  the  greater  prominence  meanwhile  acquired 
by  California,  the  terminus  for  this  line  was  placed  at 
San  Francisco,  whence  Oregon  mails  were  to  be  trans 
mitted  by  sailing  vessels.3 

Through  Aspiri wall's  exertions,  the  Pacific  Mail 
Steamship  Company  was  incorporated  on  the  12th  of 
April,  1848,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $500,000.4  The 
three  side-wheel  steamers  called  for  by  the  contract 
were  built  with  despatch,  but  at  the  same  time  with 
care  and  of  the  best  materials,  as  was  shown  by  their 
long  service. 

On  October  6,  1848,  the  first  of  these  vessels,  the 
California,  sailed  from  New  York,  and  was  followed 
in  the  two  succeeding  months  by  the  Oregon  and  the 
Panama?  When  the  California  left  New  York  the 
discovery  of  gold  was  known  in  the  States  only  by  un 
confirmed  rumors,  which  had  attracted  little  attention, 
so  that  she  carried  no  passengers  for  California.6  On 

3  '  To  the  mouth  of  the  Kalumet  river,  in  lieu  of  Astoria,  with  the  reserved 
right  of  the  navy  department  to  require  the  steamers  to  go  to  Astoria,  the 
straits  of  Fuca,  or  any  other  point  to  be  selected  on  the  coast  of  Oregon.  In 
consideration  of  which  the  steamers  are  to  touch,  free  of  charge,  at  the  three 
points  occupied  by  the  U.  S.  squadron,  or  at  such  ports  on  the  west  coast, 
south  of  Oregon,  as  may  be  required  by  the  navy  dept.'  Modification  of 
June  10,  1848.  In  1850  steam  connection  was  required  with  Oregon.  U.  »S\ 
Gov.  Doc.y  ubi  sup.,  p.  5-6,  36;  see  also  Hist.  Oregon,  i.,  this  series. 

*  Gardiner  Howland,  Heni-y  Chauncey,  and  William  H.  Aspinwall  were 
the  incorporators,  and  the  last  mentioned  was  elected  the  first  president.  In 
1850  the  capital  stock  was  raised  to  |2, 000,000,  in  1853  to  $4,000,000,  in  1865 
to  $10,000,000,  in  1866  to  $20,000,000,  and  in  1872  it  was  reduced  to  $10,- 
000,000. 

5Their  measurements  were  1,050,  i,099,  and  1,087  tons  respectively.  The 
Panama  should  have  been  second,  but  was  delayed.  The  Atlantic  company 
proved  less  prompt.  For  several  years  they  provided  only  three  accepted 
steamers,  Georgia,  Ohio,  and  Illinois,  and  the  inferior  and  temporary  Falcon, 
besides  other  aid;  yet  full  subsidy  was  allowed.  The  captains  were  to  be 
U.  S.  naval  officers,  not  below  the  grade  of  lieut,  each  assisted  by  four  passed 
midshipmen.  U.  S.  Gov.  Doc.,  ubi  sup. 

6  And  only  four  or  five  for  way-ports.  Rio  de  Janeiro  was  reached  Nov. 
2d,  and  the  straits  of  Magellan  were  safely  threaded  between  Dec.  7th  and 
12th.  The  California  was  the  third  steamship  to  pass  through  them,  the  pre 
vious  ones  being,  in  1840,  the  Peru  and  the  Chili,  each  of  700  tons,  built 
by  an  English  company  for  trade  between  the  west  coast  of  South  America 
and  England.  Under  the  command  of  William  Wheelwright  they  made  the 
passage  of  the  straits  in  thirty  hours  sailing  time.  According  to  the  journal 
kept  by  A.  B.  Stout,  the  California'*  sailing  time  in  the  straits  was  41^  hours, 
and  the  time  lost  in  anchoring  during  fogs  and  high  winds  108  hours.  First 
Steamship  Pioneers,  111-12.  This  journal  is,  I  believe,  the  only  account  ex 
tant  of  the  California's  voyage  as  far  as  Panama.  A  stoppage  of  50  hours 
HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.  9 


130  THE  VOYAGE  BY  OCEAN. 

reaching  Callao,  December  29th,  the  gold  fever  was 
encountered,  and  great  was  the  rush  for  berths,  al 
though  but  fifty  could  be  provided  with  state-rooms, 
owing  to  the  understanding  at  New  York  that  the 
steamer  should  take  no  passengers  before  reaching 
Panama".7  It  was  well  for  the  Isthmus  of  Panama, 
which  fairly  swarmed  with  gold-seekers,  some  1,500 
in  number,  all  clamorous  for,  and  many  of  them  en 
titled  to,  a  passage  on  the  California? 

This  mass  of  humanity  had  been  emptied  from  the 
fleet  of  sailing  and  steam  vessels  despatched  during  the 
nine  preceding  weeks  for  the  mouth  of  the  Chagres 
River,  which  was  then  the  north-side  harbor  for  the 
Isthmus.  Hence  the  people  proceeded  up  the  river 
to  Cruces  in  bongos,  or  dug-outs,  poled  by  naked  ne 
groes,  as  lazy  and  vicious  as  they  were  stalwart.9 
Owing  to  the  heavy  rains  which  added  to  the  discom 
fort  and  danger,  the  eagerness  to  proceed  was  great, 
and  the  means  of  conveyance  proved  wholly  inadequate 
to  the  sudden  and  enormous  influx,  the  natives  being, 
moreover,  alarmed  at  first  by  the  invasion.  The  in- 

was  made  at  Valparaiso,  and  on  the  illness  of  the  commander,  Cleaveland 
Forbes,  John  Marshall,  then  commanding  a  ship  en  route  for  China,  was  in 
duced  to  act  as  first  officer  in  lieu  of  Duryee,  who  was  appointed  to  the  com 
mand  of  Marshall's  ship.  Id.,  29-30,  118.  A  few  days  later  Forbes  resigned. 
First  Steamship  Pioneers,  Edited  by  a  Committee  of  the  Association,  is  the 
title  of  a  quarto  of  393  pages,  printed  in  San  Francisco  for  the  25th  anni 
versary  of  the  association  in  1874.  From  the  profuse  puffery  with  which  the 
volume  opens,  the  reader  is  led  to  suspect  that  the  printing,  picture,  and  wine 
bills  of  the  society  were  not  large  that  year.  Following  this  is  a  chapter 
entitled  'Steam  Navigation  in  the  Pacific,'  conspicuous  only  for  the  absence 
of  information  or  ideas.  Chapter  II.  on  the  P.  M.  S.  S.  Co.  is  better,  and  the 
occurrences  of  the  voyage  by  the  passengers  on  the  first  steamship  to  Cal.,  of 
which  the  main  part  of  the  book  is  composed,  no  less  than  the  biographical 
notices  toward  the  end,  are  interesting  and  valuable. 

7  At  Payta,  accordingly,  where  equal  excitement  prevailed,  no  more  pas 
sengers  appear  to  have  been  taken. 

8  Six  sailing  vessels  and  two  steamers  are  mentioned  among  recent  arrivals 
with  passengers  from  the  U.   S.  See  Panama  Star,  Feb.   24,  1849;  Pioneer 
Arch.,  5,  21-4;  Robinson's  Stat.,  MS.,  23-4. 

9The  boats  were  usually  from  15  to  25  feet  long,  dug  from  a  single  mahog 
any  log,  provided  with  palm-leaf  awning,  and  poled  by  4  or  6  men  at  the 
average  rate  of  a  mile  an  hour.  Often  the  only  shred  of  clothing  worn  by  the 
captain  was  a  straw  hat.  Warren's  Dust  and  Foam,  153-6;  Henxhaw1*  Events, 
MS.,  1;  Gregory's  Guide,  1-9.  A  small  steamer,  Orns,  had  been  placed  on 
the  river,  but  could  proceed  only  a  short  distance,  and  the  expense  of  transit, 
estimated  at  $10  or  $15,  rose  to  $50  and  more.  Protests  in  Panama  Star, 
Feb.  24,  1849;  Dunbar's  Romance,  55-89. 


THE  ISTHMUS  TRANSIT. 


131 


experience  and  imprudent  indulgences  of  the  new 
comers  gave  full  scope  to  the  malarial  germs  in  the 
swamps  around.  Cholera  broke  out  in  a  malignant 
form,  following  the  hurrying  crowds  up  the  river,  and 
striking  down  victims  by  the  score.  Such  was  the 
death-rate  at  Cruces,  the  head  of  navigation,  that  the 
second  current  of  emigrants  stopped  at  Gorgona  in 


ISTHMUS  ROUTE. 

affright,  thence  to  hasten  away  from  the  smitten  river 
course.10  Again  they  were  checked  by  the  scarcity 
of  pack-animals,  by  which  the  overland  transit  was 

"References  to  the  suffering  victims,  and  causes,  in  Roach's  Stat.,  MS., 
1;  First  Steamship  Pioneers,  84-5;  Fremont's  Amer.  Travel,  66-8;  Sutton's 
Early  Exper.,  MS.,  1;  Hawley's  Stat.,  MS.,  2-3;  NealVs  Stat.,  MS.,  22-4; 
Advent.  Captain's  Wife,  18. 


132  THE  VOYAGE  BY  OCEAN 

accomplished.  Numbers  abandoned  their  luggage  and 
merchandise,  or  left  them  to  the  care  of  agents  to 
be  irretrievably  lost  in  the  confusion,  and  hurried  to 
Panama^  on  foot.  From  Cruces  led  an  ancient  paved 
trail,  now  dilapidated  and  rendered  dangerous  along 
many  of  the  step-cut  descents  and  hill-side  shelves. 
From  Gorgona  the  passenger  had  to  make  his  way  as 
best  he  could.11 

Panamd  was  a  place  of  special  attraction  to  these 
wayfarers,  as  the  oldest  European  city  on  the  Ameri 
can  continent,12  and  for  centuries  the  great  entrepot 
for  Spanish  trade  with  Pacific  South  America  and  the 
Orient,  a  position  which  also  drew  upon  it  much  misery 
in  the  form  of  piratic  onslaughts  with  sword  and  torch. 
With  the  decline  of  Iberian  supremacy  it  fell  into 
lethargy,  to  be  roused  to  fresh  activity  by  the  new 
current  of  transit.  It  lies  conspicuous,  before  sea  or 
mountain  approach,  upon  its  tiny  peninsula  which  juts 
into  the  calm  bay  dotted  with  leafy  isles.  The  houses 
rise  as  a  rule  to  the  dignity  of  two  stories  of  stone  or 
adobe,  with  long  lines  of  balconies  and  sheltering  ve 
randas,  dingy  and  sleepy  of  aspect,  and  topped  here 
and  there  by  tile-roofed  towers,  guarding  within  spas 
modic  bells,  marked  without  by  time-encroaching 
mosses  and  creepers.  Along  the  shady  streets  lounge 
a  bizarre  mixture  of  every  conceivable  race:  Africans 
shining  in  unconstrained  simplicity  of  nature;  bronzed 
aborigines  in  tangled  hair  and  gaudy  shreds;  women 
of  the  people  in  red  and  yellow;  women  of  the  upper 
class  in  dazzling  white  or  sombre  black;  caballeros  in 
broad-rimmed  Panarnd  hats  and  white  pantaloons,  and 
now  and  then  the  broad  Spanish  cloak  beside  the  veil 
ing  mantilla;  while  foreigners  of  the  blond  type  in 
slouched  hats  and  rough  garb  stalk  every  where,  ogling 
and  peering. 

11  Later  rose  frequent  bamboo  stations  and  villages,  with  I  unks  and  ham 
mocks,  and  vile  liquors.     An  earlier  account  of  the  route  is  given  in  MoUien'it 
Travel*,  409-13.     Little,  Stat.,  MS.,  1-4  had  brought  supplies  for  two  years. 

12  The  oldest  standing  city,  if  we  count  from  the  time  of  its  foundation  on 
an  adjoining  site. 


AT  PANAMA.  133 

The  number  and  strength  of  the  emigrants,  armed 
and  resolute,  placed  the  town  practically  in  their  hands; 
but  good  order  prevailed,  the  few  unruly  spirits  roused 
by  the  cup  being  generally  controlled  by  their  com 
rades.13  Compelled  by  lack  of  vessels  to  wait,  they 
settled  down  into  communities,  which  quickly  imparted 
a  bustling  air  to  the  place,  as  gay  as  deferred  hope, 
dawning  misery,  and  lurking  epidemics  permitted; 
with  American  hotels,  flaring  business  signs,  drinking- 
saloons  alive  with  discordant  song  and  revelling,14  and 
with  the  characteristic  newspaper,  the  Panama  Star, 
then  founded  and  still  surviving  as  the  most  impor 
tant  journal  of  Central  America.15 

The  suspense  of  the  Argonauts  was  relieved  on  the 
30th  of  January,  1849,  by  the  arrival  of  the  Califor 
nia,16  to  be  as  quickly  renewed,  since  with  accommo 
dation  for  little  over  100  persons,  the  steamer  could 
not  properly  provide  even  for  those  to  whom  through- 
tickets  had  been  sold,  much  less  for  the  crowd  strug 
gling  to  embark.  After  much  trouble  with  the  exas 
perated  and  now  frantic  men,  over  400  were  received 

73 The  attempt  of  local  authorities  at  arrest  was  generally  frustrated  by 
armed  though  harmless  bluster,  as  Hawley,  Obscrv.,  MS.,  2-3,  relates. 
Nearly  half  the  population  was  foreign  by  February  1849,  two  thirds  of  this 
being  American.  The  number  rose  as  high  as  3,000  during  the  year. 

14 As  described  in  the  Eldorado,  i.  20-7,  of  Taylor,  who  was  himself  an 
Argonaut;  in  Maxsett's  humorous  Experiences,  MS.,  1-10;  Ryan's  Judges  and 
Crim.,  78-9;  Little's  Stat.,  MS..  1-3;  Roach's  Facts,  MS.,  1.  Washington's 
birthday  was  celebrated  with  procession,  volleys,  and  concert.  Panama  Star, 
Feb.  24',  1849. 

15  It  was  started  by  J.  B.  Bidleman  &  Co.  on  Feb.  24,  1849,  as  a  weekly,  at 
one  real  per  copy;  advertisements  $2  per  square,  and  contained  notices  of 
arrivals,  protest,  local  incidents,  etc.;  printers,  Henarie  &  Bochman.     The 
later  Herald  was  incorporated  and  added  to  the  title.     Additional  details  on 
Panama  occurrences  in  Revere1  s  Keel  and  Saddle,  151-4;    Willey's  Peru.  Mem., 
MS.,  58-62;  Sherwood's  Ccd.,  MS.,  27;  Connor's  Early  Col.,  MS.,  1-2;  Loic's 
Observ.,  MS.,  1.     See  also  Jiist.  Cent.  Am.,  iii.,  this  series. 

16  She  had  been  three  weeks  longer  on  the  trip  than  was  expected,  owing 
to  fogs,  etc.     The  first  steamer  of  the  Atlantic  line,  the  provisional  Falcon, 
had  left  New  York  on  Dec.  1st,  before  the  real  excitement  began,  with  the 
president's  message  of  Dec.  5th,  so  that  she  carried  comparatively  few  passen 
gers  from  there,  among  them  four  clergymen  and  some  army  men.     An  account 
of  the  voyage  is  given  in  First  Steamer  Pioneers,  43  et  seq.  See  also  Willey'a 
Pers.  Mem.,  MS.,  1-36;    Williams'  Early  Days,  MS.,  2-3,  both  written  by  pas 
sengers.     At  New  Orleans,  however,  Dec.  12th-18th,  she  encountered  the  gold 
fever  and  was  quickly  crowded  with  over  200  persons,  Gen.  Persifer  F.  Smith, 
the  successor  of  Gov.  Mason,  embarking  with  his  staff.     Chagres  was  reached 
on  Dec.  26th.   U.  S.  Gov.  Doc.,  32d  cong.  1st  sess.,  Sen.  Doc.  50. 


134  THE  VOYAGE  BY  OCEAN. 

on  board  to  find  room  as  best  they  could.  Many  a  one, 
glad  to  make  his  bed  in  a  coil  of  rope,  paid  a  higher  fare 
than  the  state-room  holder;  for  steerage  tickets  rose  to 
very  high  prices,  even,  it  is  said,  to  $1,000  or  more.17 
Even  worse  was  the  scene  greeting  the  second 
steamer,  the  Oregon,  which  arrived  toward  the  middle 
of  March,18  for  by  that  time  the  crowd  had  doubled. 
Again  a  struggle  for  tickets  at  any  price  and  under 
any  condition.  About  500  were  received,  all  chafing 
with  anxiety  lest  they  should  arrive  too  late  for  the 
gold  scramble,  and  prepared  to  sleep  in  the  rigging 
rather  than  miss  the  passage.19  And  so  with  the 
Panama,  which  followed.20 

^Little's  Slat.,  MS.,  1-4;  Henshaw,  Stat.,  MS.,  1,  says  the  agents  fixed 
steerage  tickets  at  $1,000.  A  certain  number  were  sold  by  lot,  with  much 
trickery.  They  also  attempted  to  exclude  tickets  sold  at  New  York  after  a 
certain  date,  but  were  awed  into  compliance.  Loiu's  Stat.,  MS. ;  Deane's  MS., 
1;  Roach's  Stat.,  MS.,  2.  Holders  of  tickets  were  offered  heavy  sums  for 
them.  Moore's  RecoL,  MS.,  2.  For  arrangements  on  board,  see  Vanderbilt, 
Miscel.  Stat.,  MS.,  32-3.  Authorities  differ  somewhat  as  to  the  number  of 
passengers.  About  400,  say  the  Panama  Star,  Feb.  24,  1849;  Alta  CaL,  Feb. 
29,  1872;  Bulletin,  Feb.  28,  1865;  Oakland  Transcript,  March  1,  1873;  the 
Oakland  Alameda  County  Gazette,  March  8,  1873,  says  440;  Crosby,  Stat., 
MS.,  10-14,  has  about  450:  while  Stout,  in  his  journal,  says  nearly  500.  In 
First  Steamship  Pioneers,  201-360,  a  brief  biographical  sketch  is  given  to  each 
of  the  following  passengers  of  the  California  on  her  first  trip,  many  of  whom 
have  subsequently  been  more  or  less  identified  with  the  interests  of  the  state: 
H.  Whittell,  born  in  Ireland  in  1812;  L.  Brooke,  Maryland,  1819;  A.  M.  Van 
Nostrand,  N.  Y.,  1816;  De  WittC.  Thompson,  Mass.,  1826;  S.  Haley,  N.  Y., 
1816;  John  Kelley,  Scotland,  1818;  S.  Woodbridge,  Conn.,  1813;  P.  Ord, 
Maryland,  1816;  J.  McDorgall;  A.  A.  Porter,  N.  Y.,  1824;  B.  F.  Butterfield, 
N.  H.,  1817;  P.  Carter,  Scotland,  1808;  M.  Fallon,  Ireland,  1815;  W.  G. 
Davis,  Va,  1804;  C.  M.  Radcliff,  Scotland,  1818;  R,  W.  Heath,  Md,  1823; 
Wm  Van  Vorhees,  Tenn.,  1820;  W.  P.  Waters,  Wash.,  D.  C.,  1826;  R.  B.  Ord, 
Wash.,  1827;  S.  H.  Willey,  N.  H.,  1821;  S.  F.  Blasdell,  N.  Y.,  1824;  H.  F. 
Williams,  Va,  1828;  0.  C.  Wheeler,  N.  Y.,  1816;  E.  L.  Morgan,  Pa,  1824; 
R.  M.  Price,  N.  Y.,  1818. 

18A  delay  caused  by  the  temporary  disabling  of  the  Panama,  which  should 
have  been  the  second  steamer.  The  Oregon  had  left  New  York  in  the  latter 
part  of  Dec.  and  made  a  quick  trip  without  halting  in  Magellan  Straits,  though 
touching  at  Valparaiso,  Callao,  and  Payta.  R.  H.  Pearson  commanded. 
Sutton,  Exper.,  MS.,  1,  criticises  his  ability;  he  nearly  wrecked  the  vessel. 
Little's  Stat.,  MS.,  3,  agrees. 

19 She  stayed  at  Panama  March  13th-17th.  Among  the  passengers  sur 
viving  in  California  in  1863  were  John  H.  Redington,  Dr  McMillan,  A.  J. 
McCabe,  Mrs  Petit  and  daughter,  Thomas  E.  Lindenberger,  John  McComb,  Ed 
ward  Connor,  8.  H.  Brodie,  William  Carey  Jones,  Smyth  Clark,  M.  S.  Martin, 
John  M.  Birdsall,  Stephen  Franklin,  Major  Daniels,  F.  Vassault,  G.  K.  Fitch, 
William  Cummings,  Mme.  Swift,  Mr  Tuttle,  Judge  Aldrich,  James  Tobin, 
Fielding  Brown,  James  Johnson,  Dr  Martin.  Some  of  these  had  come  by  the 
second  steamer  of  the  Atlantic  mail  line,  the  Isthmus,  which  arrived  at 
Chagres  Jan.  16th. 

20  Which  arrived  at  PanamA  in  the  early  part  of  May,  leaving  on  the  18th. 


VESSELS  IN  DEMAND.  135 

As  one  chance  after  another  slipped  away,  there 
were  for  those  remaining  an  abundance  of  time  and 
food  for  reflection  over  the  frauds  perpetrated  upon 
them  by  villanous  ship-owners  and  agents,  to  say 
nothing  of  their  own  folly.  The  long  delay  sufficed 
to  melt  the  scanty  means  of  a  large  number,  prevent 
ing  thern  from  taking  advantages  of  subsequent  op 
portunities;  and  so  to  many  this  isthmian  bar  to  the 
Indies  proved  a  barrier  as  insurmountable  as  to  the 
early  searchers  for  the  strait.  Fortunately  for  the  mass 
a  few  sailing  vessels  had  casually  arrived  at  Panamd, 
and  a  few  more  were  called  from  adjoining  points; 
but  these  were  quickly  bought  by  parties  or  filled 
with  miscellaneous  passengers,21  and  still  there  was  no 
lessening  of  the  crowd.  In  their  hunger  for  gold,  and 

There  had  been  a  reprehensible  sale  of  tickets  in  excess  of  what  these  steamers 
could  carry;  700  according  to  Connor,  Stat.,  MS.,  1.  Lots  were  drawn  for  steer 
age  places  by  the  holders  of  tickets  on  paying  §100  extra.  D.  D.  Porter,  sub 
sequently  rear  admiral,  commanded,  succeeded  by  Bailey.  Low's  Stat.,  MS.,  2; 
S.  F.  Bulletin,  June  4,  1869;  Altn  Col.,  June  4,  1867;  Burnett's  Hecol.,  MS.,  iL 
40-2;  Deane's  Stat.,  MS.,  1-2;  Barnes'  Or,  and  Col.,  MS.,  26;  Merrill's Stat. , 
MS.,  1.  Among  the  passengers  of  the  Panama  who  subsequently  attained 
distinction  in  California  and  elsewhere,  I  find  mention  of  Gwin  and  Weller, 
both  subsequently  U.  S.  senators  from  Cal.,  and  the  latter  also  gov.  of  the 
state;  D.  D.  Porter,  afterward  admiral;  generals  Emory,  Hooker,  and  Mc- 
Kinstry — to  use  their  later  titles;  T.  Butler  King,  Walter  Colton,  Jewett, 
subsequently  mayor  of  Marysville,  and  Roland,  postmaster  of  Sacramento; 
Hall  McAllister,  Lieut  Derby,  humorist  under  the  nom  de  plume  of  'Phosnix;' 
Treanor,  Brinsmade,  Kerr,  Frey,  John  V.  Plume,  Harris,  P.  A.  Morse,  John 
Brinsley,  Lafayette  Maynard,  H.  B.  Livingstone,  Alfred  De  Witt,  S.  C.  Gray, 
A.  Collins,  and  H.  Beach.  There  were  five  or  six  women,  among  them  Mrs 
Robert  Allen,  wife  quart. -gen.,  Mrs  Alfred  De  Witt,  Mrs  S.  C.  Gray  of 
Benicia,  and  Mrs  Hobson  from  Valparaiso. 

21  One  small  schooner  of  70  tons  was  offered  for  sale  in  28  shares  at  $300 
a  share;  another  worthless  old  hulk  of  50  tons  was  offered  for  $6,000.  False 
representations  had  been  made  by  agents  and  captains  that  there  was  a  Brit 
ish  steam  line  from  Panamd,  and  equally  false  assurances  of  numerous  sailing 
vessels;  but  the  passengers  by  the  Crescent  City  found  only  one  brig  at  Panama, 
and  she  was  filled.  Hawley,  Stat.,  MS.,  2-3.  charges  the  captain  of  this 
steamer  with  drunkenness  and  abuse;  he  had  brought  a  stock  of  fancy  goods, 
which  he  managed  to  get  forwarded  by  dividing  among  passengers  who  had 
less  luggage  than  the  steamer  rules  allowed.  Among  vessels  leaving  after 
the  California,  the  brig  Belfast  of  190  tons  took  76  passengers  at  $100  each 
in  the  middle  of  Feb.  Panamd  Star,  Feb.  24,  1849.  The  Niantic,  of  subse 
quent  lodging-house  fame,  came  soon  after  from  Payta,  spent  three  weeks  in 
fitting  out,  and  took  about  250  persons  at  $150.  McCcllnm'a  Cal.  1 7,  25-6.  The 
Alex,  von  Humboldt  took  more  than  300  in  May.  Sac.  Bee,  Aug.  27,  1874. 
The  Phoenix  carried  60,  and  took  115  days  to  reach  S.  F.;  the  Two  Friend*, 
with  164  persons,  occupied  over  five  months.  Sac.  Rec.,  Sept.  10,  1874.  A  pro 
portion  of  gold-hunters  had  taken  the  route  by  Nicaragua;  see  record  of 
voyage  in  Hitchcock's  Stat.,  MS.,  1-7;  Doolittle's  Stat.,  MS.,  1-21. 


136  THE  VOYAGE  BY  OCEAN. 

anxiety  to  escape  fevers  and  expenses  on  the  Isth 
mus,  several  parties  thrust  themselves  with  foolhardy 
thoughtlessness  into  log  canoes,  to  follow  the  coast  to 
the  promised  land,  only  to  perish  or  be  driven  back 
after  a  futile  struggle  with  winds  and  currents.22  Yet 
they  were  not  more  unfortunate  than  several  who  had 
trusted  themselves  to  the  rotten  hulks  that  presented 
themselves.23 

After  a  prosperous  voyage  of  four  weeks,  prolonged 
by  calls  at  Acapulco  and  San  Bias,  San  Diego  and 
Monterey,24  the  steamer  California  entered  the  bay  of 
San  Francisco  on  February  28,  1849,  a  day  forever 
memorable  in  the  annals  of  the  state.  It  was  a  gala- 
day  at  San  Francisco.  The  town  was  alive  with  winter 
ing  miners.  In  the  bay  were  ships  at  anchor,  gay  with 
bunting,  and  on  shore  nature  was  radiant  in  sunshine 
and  bloom.  The  guns  of  the  Pacific  squadron  opened 
the  welcome  with  a  boom,  which  rolled  over  the 
waters,  breaking  in  successive  verberations  between 
the  circling  hills.  The  blue  line  of  jolly  tars  manning 
the  yards  followed  with  cheers  that  found  their  echo 
in  the  throng  of  spectators  fringing  the  hills.  From 
the  crowded  deck  of  the  steamer  came  loud  response, 
midst  the  flutter  of  handkerchiefs  and  bands  of  music. 
Boats  came  out,  their  occupants  boarding,  and  pouring 
into  strained  ears  the  most  glowing  replies  to  the 
all-absorbing  questions  of  the  new-comers  concerning 
the  mines — assurances  which  put  to  flight  many  of  the 
misgivings  conjured  up  by  leisure  and  reflection;  yet 

225  One  party  of  23  was  passed  far  up  the  coast  by  a  steamer,  a  month  out, 
and  obtained  supplies,  but  they  soon  abandoned  the  trip.  Santa  Cruz  Times, 
Feb.  26,  1870;  Taylor's  Eldorado,  i.  29-30. 

23  It  is  only  necessary  to  instance  the  voyages  of  the  San  Blasena  and  the 
Dolphin,  the  latter  related  in  Still-man's  Golden  Fleece,  327-52,  from  the  MS. 
of  J.  W.  Griffith  and  I.  P.  Crane;  also  in  Quigley'*  Irish  Race,  465-8;  San 
Jo«e  Pioneer,  Dec.  29,  1879,  etc.     Tired  of  the  slow  progress  and  the  prospect 
of  starvation,  a  portion  of  the  passengers  landed  on  the  barren  coast  of  Lower 
California,  and  made  their  way,  under  intense  suffering,  to  their  destination. 
Gordon's  party  sailed  from  Nicaragua  in  a  seven-ton  sloop.   Sufferings  related 
in  Hitchcock's  St«L,  MS.,  1-7. 

24  When  near  here  the  coal  supply  of  the  California  was  reported  exhausted, 
and  spare  spars  had  to  be  used;  the  proposed  landing  to  cut  logs  was  fortu 
nately  obviated  by  the  discovery  of  a  lot  of  coal  under  the  forward  deck. 


THE  'CALIFORNIA'  AND  'OREGON.'  137 

better  far  for  thousands  had  they  been  able  to  trans 
late  the  invisible,  arched  in  flaming  letters  across  the 
Golden  Gate,  as  at  the  portal  of  hell,  LASCIATE  OGNI 
SPERANZA,  voi  CH'ENTRATE — all  hope  abandon,  ye  who 
enter  here.  Well  had  it  been  were  Minos  there  telling 
them  to  look  well  how  they  entered  and  in  whom  they 
trusted,25  if,  indeed,  they  did  not  immediately  flee  the 
country  for  their  lives. 

Before  the  passengers  had  fairly  left  the  steamer 
she  was  deserted  by  all  belonging  to  her,  save  an  en 
gineer,26  and  was  consequently  unable  to  start  on  the 
return  trip.  Captain  Pearson  of  the  Oregon,  which 
arrived  on  April  1st,27  observed  a  collusion  between 
the  crew  and  passengers,  and  took  precautions,28  an 
chored  his  vessel  under  the  guns  of  a  man-of-war,  and 
placed  the  most  rebellious  men  under  arrest.  Never 
theless  some  few  slipped  off  in  disguise,  and  others 
by  capturing  the  boat.  He  thereupon  hastened  away, 
April  12th,  with  the  scanty  supply  of  coal  left,  barely 
enough  to  carry  him  to  San  Bias,  where  there  was  a 
deposit.29  The  Oregon  accordingly  carried  back  the 
first  mail,  treasure,  and  passengers.  When  the  Pan 
ama  entered  San  Francisco  Bay  on  June  4th,30  the 

25  The  anniversary  of  the  arrival  has  been  frequently  commemorated  with 
mementos,  as  in  the  volume  First  Steamship  Pioneers.     Sherman  tells  of  ex 
citement  created  at  Monterey,  and  how  he  there  boarded  the  steamer  for  S.  F. 
Mem.,  i.  32,  61-5;  AltaCaL,  Feb.  29,  1872,  June  2,  1874;  Crosby,  Stat.,  MS., 
10-11,  places  the  ships  then  in  the  bay  at  Sauzalito;  not  so  the  S.  F.  Bulletin, 
Feb.  28,  1865;  Alamcda  Co.  Gaz.,  Mar.  8,  1873;  Oakland  Transcript,  Mar.  1, 
1873:  G  win's  Mem.,  MS.,  6-7;  S.  F.  Directory,  1852-3,  10. 

26  The  third  assistant,  F.  Foggin,  who  was  subsequently  rewarded  with  the 
post  of  chief  engineer.     Capt.  Forbes  accordingly  resumed  charge,  and  asked 
Com.  Jones  for  men  to  protect  the  steamer.   Crosby'*  Stat.,  MS.,  12.      Vallejo 
Recorder,  Mar.  14,  1868,  has  it  that  Capt.  Marshall  remained  true. 

27  U.  S.  Gov.  Doc.,  32d  cong.  1st  sess.,  Sen.  Doc.  50;  Manrow's  Vig.  Com., 
MS.,  67;    Willey's  Pers.   Mem.,  MS.,  3;    William*'  Stat,.,  MS.,  7;  Mary*vd(e 
Appeal,  April  3,   1864;  Petaluma  Aryus,  April  4,  1873.     All  agree  on  April 
1,   1849,  but  Hittell,  Hist.  S.  F.,  139,  who  says  March  31.     Concerning  her 
trip,  see  Capt.  Pearson's  speech  at  the  anniversary,  1868,  in  Vallejo  Recorder, 
Mar.  14,  1868. 

28  Especially  after  the  desertion  of  the  carpenter  at  Monterey,  who  swam 
ashore  at  night  at  great  risk. 

29  He  had  70  tons.     The  refractory  sailors  were  kept  in  irons  till  they  sub 
mitted  to  accept  an  increase  of  pay  from  $12  to  §112  a  month.     The  coal-ship 
Superior  arrived  at  S.  F.  some  weeks  later. 

'A(iAlta  Cal,  June  4,  1862,  and  June  4,  1867;  Alameda  Co.  Gazette,  May 
29,  1875;  s.  F.  Bulletin,  June  4,  1869;  Low's  Statement,  MS.,  2.  The  official 


138 


THE  VOYAGE  BY  OCEAN. 


California  had  obtained  coal  and  a  crew,  and  had 
departed  for  Panama".  From  this  time  she  and  the 
other  steamers,  with  occasionally  an  extra  vessel,  made 
their  trips  with  tolerable  regularity.31  Three  regular 
steamers  were  added  to  the  line  by  1851;  and  on 
March  3d  of  this  year  the  postmaster-general  author 
ized  a  semi-monthly  service. 

statement  of  June  8th  appears,  therefore,  wrong  in  this  case.  She  was  short 
of  coal,  like  the  California,  and  had  to  burn  some  of  her  woodwork. 

31  The  following  statement  of  mail  service  will  show  the  order  and  dates  of 
the  trips  of  the  Panamd  steamers  during  1849  and  part  of  1850: 


Vessel. 

Left 
Panama. 

Reached 
San  Fran. 

Vessel. 

Left 
San  Fran. 

Reached 
Panama. 

California  .    . 
Oregon  
Panama  . 
Oregon  
California  .    . 
Panama  
Oregon  .... 

Jan.   31,  '19 
Mar.  13,  '49 
May   18,  '49 
May  23,  '49 
June  25,  '49 
July  29,  '49 
Aug.  28,  '49 

Feb.    28,  '49 
Apr.     1,  '49 
JuneS  (4?)  ,'49 
June    17,  49 
July  16,  '49 
Aug.  19,  '49 
Sept.  18,  '49 

Oregon  
California  .     . 
Panama,  
Oregon  
California  .     . 
Panama  
Oregon  

Apr.  12,  '49 
May     1,  '49 
June  19,  '49 
•July    2,  '49 
Aug.    2,  '49 
Sept.   1,  '4.9 
Oct.     1,  '49 

May     4,  '49 
May    23,  '49 
July  12,  '49 
July  21,  '49 
Aug.  24,  '49 
Sept.  22,  '49 
Oct.    24,  '49 

California  .     . 
Unicorn  (a)     . 
Panama  
Oregon  
California  .    . 
Panama  
Unicorn  (a) 
Oregon  
California  .    . 
Tennessee  (a) 
Panama  

Sept.  17,  '49 
Oct.     1,  '49 
Oct.  10,  '49 
Nov.  10,  '49 
Dec.     6,  '49 
Jan.     1,  '50 
Jan.   1'2,  T>0 
Feb.    5,  '50 
Mar.    2,  '50 
Mar.  24    50 
Apr.     1,   50 

Oct.      9,  '49 
Oct.    31,  '49 
Oct.    31,  '49 
Dec.     2,  '49 
Dec.   28,  '49 
Jan.    18,  '50(6) 
Feb.     8,  '50(6) 
Feb.  22,  '50 
Mar.  26,  '50 
Apr.   13,  '60(6) 
Apr.   22,  '50 

California  .    . 
Panama  
Unicorn  ...   . 
Oregon  
California  .    . 
Panama,  
Oregon  
California  .    . 
Tennessee  .  .. 
Panama  
Oregon  

Nov.    2,  '49 
Nov.  15,  '49 
Dec.     1,  '49 
Jan.     1,  '50 
Jan.  15,  '50 
Feb.     1,  '50 
Mar.    1,  '50 
Apr.     1,  '50 
Apr.  21,  '50 
May     1,  '50 
June    1,  '50 

Nov.  22.  '49 
Dec.     4,  '49 
Dec.   28,  '49 
Jan.   23,  '50 
Feb.     4,  '50 
Feb.   23,  '50 
Mar.  20,  '50 
Apr.    23,  '50 
May    11,  '50 
May    21,  '50 
June  22,  '50 

Caroline  (a)     . 
Oregon  
Tennessee  (    ) 
California  .    . 
Panama  (a).    . 

Apr.  16,  '50 
May     1,  '50 
May  30,  '50 
June    1,  '50 
June  15,  '50 

May     7,  '50 

(a)  Extra  trips.     (6)  Understood  to  be. 

U.  S.  Gov.  Doc.,  32d  cong.  1st  sess.,  Sen.  Ex.  Doc.  50,  p.  42-44.  The  three 
original  steamers  plied  here  for  a  number  of  years,  but  were  in  time  replaced 
on  that  route  by  newer  vessels.  In  the  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Feb.  28,  1865,  we  read: 
'The  California  is  now  lying  at  Acapulco,  whither  she  was  taken  to  run  be 
tween  the  Mexican  ports.  The  Panama  and  Oreyon  are  plying  between  this 
city  and  ports  on  the  northern  coast.'  Again,  the  Olympia  Transcript,  June 
17,  1876,  states  that  all  three  'have  disappeared  from  the  passenger  trade, 
but  are  still  in  service.  The  Oregon  is  a  barkentine  engaged  in  the  Puget 
Sound  lumber  trade.  The  Panama  is  a  storeship  at  Acapulco;  and  the  Cali 
fornia  is  a  barkentine  in  the  Australian  trade.'  The  three  steamers  added 
were  the  Columbia  and  Tennessee  in  1850,  and  the  Golden  Gate  in  1851.  Be 
tween  Mar.-Oct.  1850,  50  per  cent  was  added  to  the  mail  compensation,  and 
75  per  cent  after  this,  or  $348,250  per  annum  in  all.  U.  S.  Gov.  Doc. ,  as  above, 
7  et  seq. ;  Pioneer  Arch.,  157-60;  Alta  Gal.,  June  7,  1876.  The  accommoda 
tion  of  the  Pacific  line  has  ever  been  superior  to  that  of  the  Atlantic.  A 
depot  for  repairs  was  early  established  at  Benicia.  Land  was  bought  at  that 
place  and  at  San  Diego.  The  Northerner  arrived  Aug.  1850.  In  March  1851 
a  rival  line  had  four  steamers,  which,  with  odd  vessels,  made  fifteen  steamers 
on  the  route. 


BY  CAPE  HORN. 


139 


The  transit  of  the  Isthmus  was  facilitated  by  the 
opening  in  January  1855  of  the  Panarnd  Railway,32 
which  gave  the  route  a  decided  advantage  over  others. 
Continental  crossings  drew  much  of  the  traffic  from 
the  voyage  by  way  of  Cape  Horn,  Tour  or  five  months 
in  duration,  and  involving  a  quadruple  transmigration 
of  terrestrial  zones,  capped  by  the  dangerous  rounding 
of  the  storm-beaten  cliffs  of  Tierra  del  Fuego,  often 
in  half-rotten  and  badly  fitted  hulks.  Indeed,  the 


NICARAGUA  TRANSIT  ROUTE. 

circumnavigation  of  the  southern  mainland  by  Amer 
ican  gold-seekers  was  not  undertaken  to  any  extent 
after  the  first  years.  As  the  resources  of  California 
developed,  sea  travel  below  Panama  began  to  stop, 

32  Which  reduced  the  expense  and  hardships  of  the  long  mule-and-boat 
journey,  while  lessening  the  exposure  to  fevers.  Concerning  the  contracts 
and  mistakes  of  the  projectors,  the  five  years  of  struggle  with  the  under 
taking,  and  its  immense  cost  in  life  and  money,  I  refer  to  the  interoceauic 
question  in  Hist.  Cent.  Am.,  iii.,  this  series. 


140  THE  VOYAGE  BY  OCEAN. 

and  distribute  itself  over  the  different  crossing-places 
opened  by  explorers  for  interoceanic  communication: 
across  Mexico  by  way  of  Tampico,  Vera  Cruz,  and 
Tehuantepec;  across  Central  America  via  Honduras, 
Nicaragua,  Costa  Rica,33  and  Panama.  The  last 
named  maintained  the  lead  only  for  a  brief  period, 
and  Nicaragua,  the  chief  rival  of  the  Panamd  route, 
distanced  all  the  rest.  Many  had  taken  this  route  in 
1849  on  the  bare  chance  of  finding  a  vessel  on  the 
Pacific  side.34  They  usually  met  with  disappointment, 
but  they  paved  the  way  for  later  comers,  and  encour 
aged  American  capitalists,  headed  by  Cornelius  Van- 
derbilt,  to  form  a  transit  company,  with  bimonthly 
steamers  between  New  York  and  California,  for  which 
concessions  were  obtained  from  Nicaragua  in  1849—51, 
under  guise  of  a  canal  contract.  With  cheaper  fares 
and  the  prospective  gain  of  two  days  over  the  Panama 
route,  together  with  finer  scenery  and  climate,  the 
line  quickly  became  a  favorite;  but  it  was  hampered 
by  inferior  accommodation  and  less  reliable  manage 
ment,  and  the  disturbed  condition  of  Nicaragua  began 
to  injure  it,  especially  in  1856,  after  which  business 
dissensions  tended  to  undermine  the  company.35 

33  In  1854  Costa  Rica  granted  a  charter  to  a  N.  Y.  co.  for  a  transit  route, 
which  gave  the  privilege  of  navigating  the  San  Juan  river.    Weils'  Walker's 
Exped.,  238-9.     It  proved  abortive. 

34  Instance   the   severe   experiences  of   Hitchcock.    Stat.,  MS.,   1-7;   and 
Doolittle.  Stat.,  MS.,  1-21.     See  also  Belly,  Nic.,  ii.  91. 

85  The  gold  rush  brightened  the  prospects  of  the  American  Atlantic  and 
Pacific  Ship  Canal  Co. ,  which  held  a  concession  for  a  canal  through  Nicaragua. 
A  new  body  headed  by  Jos.  L.  White  and  C.  Vanderbilt  undertook  to  revive 
it,  and  obtained  from  the  state  a  renewal  of  tKe  contract  dated  Sept.  22,  1849, 
amended  April  11,  1850,  against  a  yearly  payment  of  $10,000  till  the  canal 
should  be  completed,  when  twenty  per  cent  of  the  net  profit,  besides  stock 
shares,  should  follow;  meanwhile  paying  ten  per  cent  of  the  net  profit  on  any 
transit  route.  Several  articles  provided  for  protection,  exemptions,  etc.  See 
U.  S.  Gov.  Doc.,  31st  cong.  1st  sess.,  H.  Ex.  Doc.  75,  x.  141-5;  Id.,  34th 
cong.  1st  sess.,  Sen.  Doc.  68,  xiii.  84-103;  Nic.,  Contrato  de  Canal,  1849, 
1-16;  Id.,  Contratos  Comp.  Vapor.,  1-2;  Cent.  Am.  Pap.,  v.  53-5.  Other 
details  in  Hist.  Cent.  Am.,  iii.,  this  series.  The  incorporation  act  at  Leon  is 
dated  March  9,  1850.  Cent.  Am.  Misc.  Docs,  45;  Belly,  Nic.,  ii.  70-3.  The 
Clayton-Bulwer  treaty  of  April  19,  1850,  between  the  U.  S.  and  Eng.,  gave 
additional  guarantees  to  this  company;  but  U.  S.  Minister  Squier's  guarantee 
of  the  contract  was  not  ratified  by  his  government.  Squier'n  Cent.  Am.,  ii. 
262  et  seq.  The  aim  of  the  projectors  being  really  to  secure  the  right  of 
transit,  an  Accessory  Transit  Company  was  formed,  for  which,  on  Aug.  14, 
1851,  a  charter  was  obtained  from  the  Granada  faction,  then  iu  power,  which 


NICARAGUA  ROUTE.  141 

The  voyages  of  the  first  steamers  have  naturally 
retained  a  great  interest,  as  initiating  steam  commu- 

confirmed  the  privileges  of  the  canal  concession,  while  lessening  its  obligations. 
Nic.  Convenio,  1-2;  ticherfjer'a  Cent.  Am.,  245-6.  Meanwhile  a  hasty  sur 
vey  had  been  made  by  Col  Childs.  Squier's  Nic.,  657-60;  (Jisborne,  8;  followed 
by  an  inflation  of  the  stock  of  the  company  and  the  purchase  of  steamers  for 
bimonthly  trips.  Among  these  figured,  on  the  Pacific  side,  the  brother  Jon 
athan,  Uncle  tiam,  Pacific,  S.  S.  Lewis,  Independence,  and  Cortes.  S.  F. 
Directora,  1852,  24;  Alia,  CaL,  June  9,  1859,  etc.  Grey  Town  on  the  east, 
and  S.  Juan  del  Sur  on  the  Pacific,  became  the  terminal  ports,  the  latter 
replacing  Realejo.  On  Jan.  1,  1851,  the  first  connecting  lake  steamer, 
Director,  reached  La  Virgen.  Squier,  ii.  278;  Reichardt,  Nic.,  165;  Cent.  Am. 
Pap.,  iii.  206;  and  not  long  after  the  line  opened.  Reichardt,  Nic.,  173, 
181,  estimates  the  traffic  to  and  fro  two  years  later  at  3,000  per  month, 
fare  $250  and  $180.  From  Grey  Town  a  river  steamer  carried  passengers 
to  Castillo  Viejo  rapids;  here  a  half-mile  portage  to  the  lake  steamer, 
which  landed  them  at  La  Virgen,  whence  a  mule  train  crossed  the  13  miles 
to  San  Juan  del  Sur.  Scenery  and  climate  surpassed  those  of  Panama.  See 
detailed  account  in  my  Inter  Pocula.  But  the  management  was  inferior,  the 
intermediate  transportation  insufficient  and  less  reliable,  owing  to  low  water, 
etc.,  and  little  attention  was  paid  to  the  health  or  comfort  of  the  passengers. 
JJolinski,  CaL,  246-79;  Cent.  Am.  Pap.,  i.  3,  iv.  2,  v.  100,  etc.  Disasters 
came,  in  the  loss  of  two  Pacific  steamers,  the  bombardment  of  Grey  Town, 
etc.  Id.;  Perez,  Mem.  Nic.,  55-6;  Pan.  Herald,  April  1,  1854;  Alta  CaL, 
March  27,  1854.  With  the  advent  of  Garrison  as  manager  business  improved; 
but  Nicaragua  became  dissatisfied  under  the  failure  of  the  company  to  pay 
the  stipulated  share  of  profit.  The  unprincipled  steamship  men  complicated 
their  accounts  only  to  cheat  Nicaragua,  relying  on  Yankee  bluster  and  the 
weakness  of  the  Nicaraguan  government  to  see  them  out  in  their  rascality. 
Then  came  Walker  the  filibuster.  He  was  at  first  favored  by  the  company, 
but  subsequently  thought  it  necessary  to  press  the  government  claim  for 
nearly  half  a  million  dollars.  This  being  disputed,  a  decree  of  Feb.  18,  1856, 
revoked  the  charter  and  ordered  the  seizure  of  all  steamers  and  effects,  partly 
on  the  ground  that  the  company  favored  the  opposition  party.  Vanderbilt 
came  forth  in  protest  and  denial,  claiming  that  the  contract  so  far  had  been 
carried  out,  and  demanded  protection  from  U.  S.  The  property  seized  was 
valued  at  nearly  $1,000,000.  Inventory  and  correspondence  in  U.  S.  Gov. 
Doc.,  34th  cong.  1st  sess.,  Sen.  Doc.  68,  xiii.  113  et  seq.;  Id.,  35th  cong.  2d 
sess.,  H.  Ex.  Doc.  100,  ix.  doc.  ii.  Walker  transferred  the  charter  to  another 
company.  Vanderbilt  enlisted  Costa  Rican  aid  and  recaptured  his  steamers. 
Concerning  attendant  killing  of  Americans,  etc.,  see  Wells'  Walker's  Exped., 
170-5;  Nicarayuense,  Feb.  23,  July  26,  1856,  etc.;  Perez,  Mem.,  27-30;  Nouv. 
Annales  Voy.,  cxlvii.  136-41;  Sac.  Union,  Dec.  20,  1855,  April  17,  June  4, 
JO,  1856;  Alta  CaL,  March  22,  Aug.  13,  1856,  etc.  Vanderbilt  resumed  busi 
ness  under  the  succeeding  governments,  but  with  frequent  interruptions, 
partly  by  political  factions,  with  annulments  of  contracts,  changes  in  man 
agement,  and  even  of  companies.  Vanderbilt  was  at  one  time  charged  with 
allowing  himself  to  be  bought  off  by  the  Panama  line  for  $40,000  per  month 
and  pocketing  the  money.  Id.,  Jan.  9,  1859.  In  1860  an  English  company 
obtained  a  concession,  but  the  American  company  resumed  its  trips,  and  in 
1865  its  steerage  rates  were  $50.  In  1868  the  Central  American  Transit  Co., 
then  operating,  was  reported  to  be  bankrupt.  The  opening  soon  after  of  the 
overland  railroad  to  California  rendered  a  transit  line  across  Nicaragua  use 
less,  since  it  depended  solely  on  passengers.  In  1870  contracts  were  made 
with  the  Panamd  and  other  lines  to  merely  touch  at  Nicaraguan  ports.  Nic. 
Informe  Fomento,  iii.  2-3,  iv,  4;  Gac.  Nic.,  Jan.  11,  Feb.  22,  1868;  March  12, 
1870;  Kirchhof,  Rei*e.,  i.  313-59;  Rocha,  Codi<jo  Nic.,  ii.  133,  141-2,  with 
contract  annulments  in  1858-63;  JVic.  Decritos,  1859,  ii.  78-9;  Alta  Col.,  Sept. 


142  THE  VOYAGE  BY  OCEAN. 

nication,  and  as  bringing  some  of  tne  most  prominent 
pioneers,  for  such  is  the  title  accorded  to  all  arrivals 
during  1849  as  well  as  previous  years.  They  also  ran 
the  gauntlet  of  much  danger,  and  no  one  of  the  Argo's 
heroes  was  more  proud  of  his  perilous  exploit  than  is 
the  modern  Argonaut  who  reached  the  western  Colchis 
with  the  initial  trip  of  the  Panama,  the  Oregon,  or, 
better  than  all,  the  California.  Annual  celebrations, 
wide-spread  throughout  the  world,  abundantly  testify 
to  the  truth  of  this  statement.  And  it  is  right  and 
proper  that  it  should  be  so.  The  only  regret  is,  that 
so  few  of  the  passengers  by  early  sailing  vessels  should 
have  left  similar  records,  and  that  as  year  after  year 
goes  by  the  number  of  our  Argonauts  is  thinned;  soon 
all  will  be  with  their  pelagian  prototypes. 

16,  1857;  Jan.  21,  May  30,  July  30,  Aug.  16,  Oct.  26,  Nov.  8,  1858;  May  26, 
June  9,  10,  1859;  8.  F.  Bulletin,  Feb.  12,  May  25,  June  2,  1859;  March  29, 
1860;  Aug.  21,  1862;  March  23,  1865;  S.  F.  Gail,  July  19,  1865;  Pirn's  Gate 
Pac.,  221-43;  Boyle's  Ride,  33-8. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  JOURNEY  OVERLAND. 
1849. 

ORGANIZATION  or  PARTIES — BRITTLE  CONTRACTS  or  THESE  ASSOCIATIONS — 
MISSISSIPPI  RIVKR  RENDEZVOUS — ON  THE  TRAIL — OVERLAND  ROUTINE — 
ALONG  THE  PLATTE— THROUGH  THE  SOUTH  PASS — CHOLERA — THE  DIF 
FERENT  ROUTES — ACROSS  THE  DESERT — TRIALS  OF  THE  PILGRIMS — STAR 
VATION,  DISEASE,  AND  DEATH —PASSAGE  OF  THE  SIERRA  NEVADA —RELIEF 
PARTIES  FROM  CALIFORNIA— -ROUTE  THROUGH  MEXICO— ESTIMATES  OF 
THE  NUMBERS  OF  ARRIVALS— BEWILDERMENT  OF  THE  INCOMERS— REGEN 
ERATION  AND  A  NEW  LIFE. 

A  CURRENT  equal  in  magnitude  to  the  one  by  sea 
poured  with  the  opening  spring  overland,  chiefly  frora 
the  western  United  States.  It  followed  the  routes 
traversed  by  trappers  and  explorers  since  the  dawn  of 
the  century,  and  lately  made  familiar  by  the  reports 
of  Fremont,  by  the  works  of  travellers  like  Bidwell, 
Hastings,  Bryant,  Thornton,  and  by  the  records  of 
two  great  migrations,  one  in  1843  to  Oregon,  and  the 
other  in  1846  to  California,  the  latter  followed  by  the 
Mormon  exodus  to  Utah.  Organization  into  parties 
became  here  more  necessary  than  by  sea,  for  moving 
and  guarding  camps,  and  especially  for  defence  against 
Indians. 

Contributions  were  consequently  levied  for  the 
purchase  of  wagons,  animals,  provisions,  and  even 
trading  goods,  unless  the  member  was  a  farmer  in 
possession  of  these  things.  The  latter  advantage 
made  this  journey  preferable  to  a  large  number,  and 
even  the  poor  man  could  readily  secure  room  in  a 

(H3) 


144  THE  JOURNEY  OVERLAND 

wagon  for  the  small  supplies  alone  indispensable,  or 
obtain  free  passage  as  driver  and  assistant.1 

The  rendezvous  at  starting  was  on  the  Missouri 
River,  at  St  Joseph  or  Independence,  long  points  of 
departure  for  overland  travel,  either  via  the  west 
ern  main  route,  which  is  now  marked  by  the  Union 
and  Central  Pacific  railroad  line,  or  by  the  Santa  Fe 
trail.  Here  they  gathered  from  all  quarters  eastward, 
on  foot  and  horseback,  some  with  pack-animals  or 
mule-teams,  but  most  of  them  in  vehicles.  These 
were  as  various  in  their  equipment,  quality,  and  ap 
pearance  as  were  the  vessels  for  the  ocean  trip,  from 
the  ponderous  '  prairie  schooner'  of  the  Santa  Fe 
trader,  to  the  common  cart  or  the  light  painted  wagon 
of  the  down-east  Yankee.2  Many  were  bright  with 
streamers  and  flaring  inscriptions,  such  as  "Ho,  for  the 


of  the  associations  were  bound  by  formal  contracts,  often  by  an 
agreement  to  sustain  the  partnership  in  Cal.  Instance  Journey  of  the  Cali 
fornia  Association,  in  Ashley's  Doc.  Hist.  CaL,  M.S.,  271-377.  The  associa 
tion  was  formed  at  Munroe,  Mich.,  in  Feb.  1849,  and  consisted  of  ten 
members,  intent  on  mining  and  trading.  Two  persons  who  remained  at  home 
defrayed  the  expenses  with  an  advance  of  $5,000  in  return  for  half  the  pros 
pective  gains.  The  company  failed  in  its  plans  and  separated.  Ashley  settled 
at  Monterey  as  a  lawyer,  and  represented  the  county  in  the  state  assembly  in 
1856-7.  In  1859  lie  was  state  treasurer,  and  subsequently  moving  to  Nevada, 
he  twice  represented  that  state  in  congress;  he  died  at  S.  F.  in  1873.  Salinas 
City  Inde.i;  July  24,  1873.  Another  association  is  recorded  by  Cassin,  Stat., 
MS.,  1,  who  left  Cincinnati  with  40  others;  'we  each  paid  in  $200  to  the 
company's  fund.'  Further:  Pittsburgh  and  Cal.  Enterprise  Co.  of  some  250 
members,  in  Hayes1  Scraps,  Ariz.,  v.  29;  MisceL  Stat.,  MS.,  17-8;  Seneca  Co. 
of  Cleveland.  Van  Dyke's  Stat.,  MS.,  1-2.  Ithaca  Co.,  in  Cal.  Pioneers,  pt  30, 
2-3.  The  overland  express  train  of  230  men  under  Capt.  French,  of  1850, 
suffered  many  mishaps  and  horrors.  Alta  CaL,  Dec.  17,  1850,  Mar.  5,  1872; 
Pac.  New*,  Dec.  26,  1850;  S.  F.  Picayune,  Dec.  18,  1850.  The  Cumberland 
Co.  was  a  trading  association  of  50  men,  subscribing  $500  each.  Most  of  the 
emigrants,  however,  combined  merely  for  defence  and  aid  during  the  journey 
in  a  train  known  by  the  name  of  the  captain  elected  to  direct  it.  Instance 
the  parties  under  Egans,  Owens,  Aired,  Gully,  Knapp,  H.  S.  Brown,  Latham, 
Parson,  Townsend  or  Rough  and  Ready,  Lee,  Sullenger,  Taylor,  Staples, 
Word,  Cooper,  Barrow,  Thorne-Beckwith,  Stuart,  etc.  References  in  Ash 
ley's  Doc.  J/ist.  Cal.,  MS.,  271-377,  395-6;  Miscel.  Stat.,  MS.,  1  et  seq.; 
Morgan's  Trip,  MS.,  3-14;  Kirkpatrick's  Journal,  MS.,  3  et  seq.;  Brown's 
Stat'.,  MS  ,  1-11;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Sept.  18,  1860;  Pearson's  RecoL,  MS.,  1-2; 
Nevada  and  Gra*s  Valley  Directory,  1856,  43;  Dameron's  Antobioy.,  MS.,  19; 
Placer  Times,  Aug.  11,  1849,  etc.;  Grass  Valley  Rep.,  Mar.  8,  1872;  Staples' 
Stat.,  MS.,  1-7;  Vallejo  Indep.,  June  1-8,  1872;  Hayes'  Diary,  MS.,  8-110; 
Harrow's  Twelve  Nights,  165-268;  U.  S.  Gov.  £>oc./31st  cong.  2d  sess.>,  Sen. 
Doc.  19,  p.  15. 

^The  long  geared  prairie  schooner  differed  from  the  square-bodied  wagons 
of  the  north-west,  in  its  peculiar  widening  from  the  bottom  upward.  See 
description  in  Hutchinys  May.,  iv.  351. 


THE  PRAIRIE  SCHOONER.  145 

diggings!"  and  presented  within,  beneath  the  yet  clean 
white  canvass  cover,  a  cosey  retreat  for  the  family. 
Heavy  conveyances  were  provided  with  three  yoke 
of  oxen,  besides  relays  of  animals  for  difficult  passages; 
a  needful  precaution;  for  California  as  well  as  the  in 
termediate  country  being  regarded  as  a  wilderness, 
the  prudent  ones  had  brought  ample  supplies,  some 
indeed,  in  excess,  to  last  for  two  years.  Others  car 
ried  all  sorts  of  merchandise,  in  the  illusive  hope  of 
sales  at  large  profits.  Consequently  such  of  the  men 
as  had  not  riding  animals  were  compelled  to  walk, 
and  during  the  first  part  of  the  journey  even  the  women 
and  children  could  not  always  find  room  in  the  wagons.3 
Later,  as  one  article  after  another  was  thrown  away 
to  lighten  the  load,  regard  for  the  jaded  beasts  made 
walking  more  complusory  than  ever. 

It  seemed  a  pity  to  drag  so  many  women  and  their 
charges  from  comfortable  homes  to  face  the  dangers 
and  hardships  of  such  a  journey.  As  for  the  men, 
they  were  as  a  rule  hardy  farmers  or  sturdy  young 
villagers,  better  fitted  as  a  class  for  pioneers  than  the 
crowd  departing  by  sea;  and  appearances  confirmed 
the  impression  in  the  predominance  of  hunting  and 
rough  backwoods  garbs,  of  canvas  jackets  or  colored 
woollen  shirts,  with  a  large  knife  and  pistols  at  the  belt, 
a  rifle  slung  to  the  back,  and  a  lasso  at  the  saddle- 
horn,  the  most  bristling  arsenal  being  displayed  by 
the  mild-mannered  and  timid.*  There  was  ample  op 
portunity  to  test  their  quality,  even  at  the  rendezvous, 
for  animals  were  to  be  broken,  wagons  repaired  and 
loaded,  and  drill  acquired  for  the  possible  savage  war 
fare. 

3 '  Men,  women,  and  children,  even  women  with  infants  at  their  breasts, 
trudging  along  on  foot.'  St  Louis  Union,  May  25,  1849.  'We  were  nearly 
all  afoot,  and  there  were  no  seats  in  the  wagons.'  Hittell's  speech  before 
the  pioneers.  Many  preferred  walking  to  jolting  over  the  prairie. 

*  Indignant  at  the  frequent  allusions  to  Spanish-Californians  as  half -civil 
ized  Indians,  Vallejo  points  to  some  of  the  Missourian  backwoodsmen  as  more 
resembling  Indians  in  habits  as  well  as  uncouth  appearance.  Vallejo,  Docs, 
MS.,  xxx vi.  287.  The  western  states  were  almost  depopulated  by  the  exodus, 
says  Borthwick;  Three  Years  in  Gal.,  2-3. 
HIST.  CAL.,  VOL  VI.  10 


146  THE  JOURNEY  OVERLAND 

The  gathering  began  early  in  April,  and  by  the  end 
of  the  month  some  20,000,  representing  every  town 
and  village  in  the  States,  were  encamped  on  the  fron 
tier,  making  their  final  preparations,  and  waiting  until 
the  grass  on  the  plains  should  be  high  enough  to  feed 
the  animals.  At  the  opening  of  May  the  grand  pro 
cession  started,  and  from  then  till  the  beginning  of 
June  company  after  company  left  the  frontier,  till  the 
trail  from  the  starting-point  to  Fort  Laramie  pre 
sented  one  long  line  of  pack-trains  and  wagons.  Along 
some  sections  of  the  road  the  stream  was  unbroken 
for  miles,5  and  at  night,  far  as  the  eye  could  reach, 
camp-fires  gleamed  like  the  lights  of  a  distant  city. 
"The  rich  meadows  of  the  Nebraska  or  Platte,"  writes 
Bayard  Taylor,  "were  settled  for  the  time,  and  a  single 
traveller  could  have  journeyed  for  1,000  miles,  as  cer 
tain  of  his  lodging  and  regular  meals  as  if  he  were 
riding  through  the  old  agricultural  districts  of  the 
middle  states." 

For  a  while  there  is  little  to  check  the  happy  antici 
pations  formed  during  the  excitement,  and  sustained  by 
the  well-filled  larders  and  a  new  country;  and  so,  with 
many  an  interchange  of  chat  and  repartee,  between 
the  bellowing  and  shouting  of  animals  and  men,  and 
the  snapping  of  whips,  the  motley  string  of  pedestrians 
and  horsemen  advances  by  the  side  of  the  creaking 
wagons.  Occasionally  a  wayside  spring  or  brook  pro 
longs  the  midday  halt  of  the  more  sober-minded, 
while  others  hasten  on  to  fill  the  gap.  Admonished 
by  declining  day,  the  long  line  breaks  into  groups, 
which  gather  about  five  o'clock  at  the  spots  selected 
to  camp  for  the  night.  The  wagons  roll  into  a  circle, 
or  on  a  river  bank  in  semicircle,  to  form  a  bulwark 
against  a  possible  foe,  and  a  corral  for  the  animals 

5  'Thursday,  June  8th.  Met  a  man  whose  train  was  on  ahead,  who  told 
us  that  he  had  counted  459  teams  within  nine  miles.  When  we  started  after 
dinner  there  were  150  that  appeared  to  be  in  one  train.  .  .Friday,  June  23d. 
Passed  the  upper  Platte  ferry.  The  ferryman  told  me  he  had  crossed  900 
teams,  and  judged  that  there  were  about  1,500  on  the  road  ahead  of  us.  Yet 
siill  they  come.'  KirkpatricVs  Journal,  MS.,  14,  16. 


A  CAMP  ON  THE  WAY. 


147 


now  turned  loose  to  graze  and  rest.  Tents  unfold, 
fires  blaze,  and  all  is  bustle;  women  cooking,  and  men 
tending  and  tinkering.  Then  conies  a  lull;  the  meal 
over,  the  untrammelled  flames  shoot  aloft,  pressing 
farther  back  the  flitting  shadows,  and  finding  reflec 
tion  in  groups  of  contented  faces,  moving  in  sympathy 
to  the  changing  phases  of  some  story,  or  to  the  strains 
of  song  and  music.6  The  flames  subside;  a  hush  falls 
on  the  scene;  the  last  figures  steal  away  under  tent 
and  cover,  save  two,  the  sentinels,  who  stalk  around 
to  guard  against  surprise,  and  to  watch  the  now  pick 
eted  animals,  till  relieved  at  midnight.  With  the 
first  streaks  of  dawn  a  man  is  called  from  each  wagon 


FROM  THE  MISSOURI  TO  GREAT  SALT  LAKE. 

to  move  the  beasts  to  better  feed.  Not  long  after 
four  o'clock  all  are  astir,  and  busy  breakfasting  and 
preparing  to  start.  Tents  are  struck,  and  horses  har 
nessed,  and  at  six  the  march  is  taken  up  again. 

Not  until  the  River  Platte  is  reached,  some  ten  or 
fifteen  days  out,  does  perfect  order  and  routine  reign. 
The  monotonous  following  of  this  stream  wears  away 
that  novelty  which  to  the  uninitiated  seems  to  demand 
a  change  of  programme  for  every  day's  proceedings, 
and  about  this  point  each  caravan  falls  into  ways  of 
its  own,  and  usually  so  continues  to  the  end  of  the 
journey,  under  the  supervision  of  an  elected  captain 

6  Specimen  of  emigrant  song  in  Walton's  Gold  Regions,  28-32;  Stillmaiis 
Golden  Fleece,  23-4. 


148  THE  JOURNEY  OVERLAND. 

and  his  staff.  Harmony  is  often  broken,  however,  at 
one  time  on  the  score  of  route  and  routine,  at  another 
in  the  enforcement  of  regulations;  and  even  if  the 
latter  be  overcome  by  amendments  and  change  of 
officers,  enough  objections  may  remain  to  cause  the 
split  of  a  party.  Associates  quarrel  and  separate ;  the 
hired  man,  finding  himself  master  of  the  situation, 
grows  insolent  and  rides  on,  leaving  his  employer  be 
hind.  The  sameness  of  things  often  palls  as  days  and 
months  pass  away  and  no  sign  of  human  habitation 
appears;  then,  again,  the  changes  from  prairies  where 
the  high  grass  half  covers  the  caravan  to  sterile  plain, 
from  warm  pleasant  valleys  to  bleak  and  almost  im 
passable  mountains,  and  thence  down  into  miasmatic 
swamps  with  miry  stretches,  and  afterward  sandy 
sinks  and  forbidding  alkali  wastes  and  salt  flats  baked 
and  cracked  by  sun,  and  stifling  with  heat  and  dust; 
through  drenching  rains  and  flooded  lowlands,  and 
across  the  sweeping  river  currents — and  all  with  occa 
sional  chilling  blasts,  suffocating  simoons,  and  constant 
fear  of  savages. 

This  and  more  had  the  overland  travellers  to  en 
counter  in  greater  or  less  degree  during  their  jaunt 
of  2,000  miles  and  more.  Yet,  after  all,  it  was  not 
always  hard  and  horrible.  There  was  much  that  was 
enjoyable,  particularly  to  persons  in  health — bright 
skies,  exhilarating  air,  and  high  anticipations.  For 
romance  as  well  as  danger  the  overland  journey  was 
not  behind  the  voyage  by  sea,  notwithstanding  the 
several  changes  in  the  latter  of  climate,  lands,  and 
peoples.  Glimpses  of  landscapes  and  society  were  rare 
from  shipboard,  and  the  unvarying  limitless  water 
became  dreary  with  monotony.  Storms  and  other 
dangers  brought  little  inspiration  or  reliance  to  coun 
teract  oppressive  fear.  Man  lay  here  a  passive  toy 
for  the  elements.  But  each  route  had  its  attractions 
and  discomforts,  particularly  the  latter. 

The  Indians  in  1849  were  not  very  troublesome. 
The  numbers  of  the  pale-faces  were  so  large  that  they 


THE  INDIANS  AND  CHOLERA.  149 

did  not  know  what  to  make  of  it.  So  they  kept  pru 
dently  in  the  background,  rarely  venturing  an  attack, 
save  upon  some  solitary  hunter  or  isolated  band,  with 
an  occasional  effort  at  stampeding  stock.  Some  sought 
intercourse  with  the  white  rnen,  hoping  by  begging, 
stealing,  and  offer  of  services  to  gain  some  advantage 
from  the  transit,  nevertheless  keeping  the  suspicious 
emigrants  constantly  on  the  alert. 

The  Indians'  opportunity  was  to  come  in  due  time, 
however,  after  other  troubles  had  run  their  course. 
The  first  assumed  the  terrible  form  of  cholera,  which, 
raging  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  ascended  the  Missis 
sippi,  and  overtook  the  emigrants  about  the  time  of 
their  departure,  following  them  as  far  as  the  elevated 
mountain  region  beyond  Fort  Laramie.  At  St  Joseph 
and  Independence  it  caused  great  mortality  among 
those  who  were  late  in  setting  out;  and  for  hundreds 
of  miles  along  the  road  its  ravages  were  recorded  by 
newly  made  graves,  sometimes  marked  by  a  rough 
head-board,  but  more  often  designated  only  by  the 
desecration  of  wolves  and  coyotes.  The  emigrants 
were  not  prepared  to  battle  with  this  dreadful  foe. 
It  is  estimated  that  5, 000  thus  perished;  and  as  many 
of  these  were  the  heads  of  families  on  the  march,  the 
affliction  was  severe.  So  great  was  the  terror  inspired 
that  the  victims  were  often  left  to  perish  on  the  road 
side  by  their  panic-stricken  companions.  On  the  other 
hand,  there  were  many  instances  of  heroic  devotion,  of 
men  remaining  alone  with  a  comrade  while  the  rest  of 
the  company  rushed  on  to  escape  contagion,  and  nurs 
ing  him  to  his  recovery,  to  be  in  turn  stricken  down 
and  nursed  by  him  whose  life  had  been  saved.  It 
seemed  as  if  the  scourge  had  been  sent  upon  them  by 
a  divinity  incensed  at  their  thirst  for  gold,  and  some 
of  the  more  superstitious  of  the  emigrants  saw  therein 
the  hand  of  Providence,  and  returned.  To  persons 
thus  disposed,  that  must  have  been  a  spectacle  of 
dreadful  import  witnessed  by  Cassin  and  his  party. 
They  were  a  few  days  out  from  Independence;  the 


150  THE  JOURNEY  OVERLAND. 

cholera  was  at  its  height,  when  one  day  they  saw  afar 
off,  and  apparently  walking  in  the  clouds,  a  procession 
of  men  bearing  aloft  a  coffin.  It  was  only  a  mirage, 
the  reflection  of  a  funeral  taking  place  a  day's  journey 
distant,  but  to  the  beholders  it  was  an  omen  of  their 
fate  set  up  in  the  heavens  as  a  warning. 

Thus  it  was  even  in  the  route  along  the  banks  of 
the  Platte,  where  meadows  and  springs  had  tempted 
the  cattle,  and  antelopes  and  wild  turkeys  led  on  the 
yet  spirited  hunter  to  herds  of  buffalo  and  stately 
elk;  for  here  was  the  game  region.  This  river  was 
usually  struck  at  Grand  Island,  and  followed  with 
many  a  struggle  through  the  marshy  ground  to  the 
south  branch,  fordable  at  certain  points  and  seasons,  at 
others  crossed  by  ferriage,  on  rafts  or  canoes  lashed 
together,7  with  frequent  accidents.  Hence  the  route 
led  along  the  north  branch  from  Ash  Hollow  to  Fort 
Laramie,  the  western  outpost  of  the  United  States,8 
and  across  the  barren  Black  Hill  country,  or  by  the 
river  bend,  up  the  Sweetwater  tributary  into  the 
south  pass  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  ascent  is 
almost  imperceptible,  and  ere  the  emigrant  is  aware 
of  having  crossed  the  central  ridge  of  tho  continent, 
he  finds  himself  at  the  head  of  the  Pacific  water  sys 
tem,  at  Green  River,  marked  by  a  butte  of  singular 
formation,  like  a  ruined  edifice  with  majestic  dome  and 
pillars. 

The  next  point  was  Fort  Hall,9  at  the  junction  of 

7  Calked  wagon-beds  and  sheet-iron  boats  were  brought  into  service. 
'  Within  our  hearing  to-day  twelve  men  have  found  a  watery  grave, '  writes 
Kirkpatrick,  Journal,  MS.,  16,  at  Platte  ferry,  June  21,  1849;  see  also  Cas- 
sin's  A  Few  Facts  on  Cat.,  MS.,  2;  Brown's  Early  Days  in  Cat.,  MS.,  3-4. 

8 For  forts  on  this  route,  see  Hist.  B.  C.,  this  series;  U.  S.  Gov.  Doc., 
31st  cong.  1st  sess.,  H.  Ex.  Doc.,  v.  pt  i.  224.  Many  desertions  took  place 
from  the  garrison.  Coke's  Ride,  156.  The  first  company  arrived  here  May 
22d;  cholera  was  disappearing,  the  Crows  were  watching  to  carry  off  cattle. 
Placer  Times,  Oct.  13,  1849.  One  emigrant  journal  shows  that  it  took  fully 
six  weeks  to  traverse  the  670  miles  between  Independence  and  this  fort. 

9  The  fort  was  reached  by  two  routes  from  the  south  pass,  the  more  direct, 
Subletted  cut-off,  crossed  the  head  waters  of  the  Sandy  and  down  Bear  River 
to  its  junction  with  the  Thomas  branch.  The  other  followed  the  Sandy  to 
Green  River;  crossed  this  and  the  ridge  to  Fort  Bridger;  thence  across  the 
Muddy  Fork  and  other  Green  River  tributaries  into  Bear  River  Valley,  and 


DOWN  THE  HUMBOLDT.  151 

the  Oregon  trail,  whence  the  route  led  along  Snake 
River  Valley  to  the  north  of  Goose  Creek  Mountains, 
and  up  this  stream10  to  the  head  waters  of  the  Hum- 
boldt,  also  called  Mary  and  Ogden  River.  This  was 
followed  along  its  entire  length  to  the  lake  or  sink 
into  which  it  disappears.  It  was  hereabout  that  the 
emigrants  were  the  most  frequently  driven  to  extrem 
ity.  Long  since  the  strain  and  hardships  of  the 
journey  had  claimed  their  victims.  Many  a  man, 
undaunted  by  the  cholera  and  the  heavy  march 
through  the  Platte  country,  abandoning  one  portion 
after  another  of  his  effects,  after  a  dozen  unloadings 
and  reloadings  and  toilsome  extrications  and  mount 
ings  within  as  many  hours;  undaunted,  even,  on 
approaching  the  summit  of  the  continent,  lost  his  zeal 
and  courage  on  nearing  the  Sierra  Nevada,  and  with 
his  gold  fever  abated,  he  turned  back  to  nurse  con 
tentment  in  his  lately  abandoned  home.11  Many, 
indeed,  tired  and  discouraged,  with  animals  thinned  in 
number  and  exhausted,  halted  at  Great  Salt  Lake,  ac 
cepting  the  invitation  of  the  Mormons  to  stay  through 
the  winter  and  recuperate.12  The  saints  undoubtedly 

north  to  the  Thomas  branch.  Hence  the  reunited  trails  reached  Fort  Hall 
by  way  of  Portneuf  River. 

10  Toward  the  end  of  1849  or  beginning  of  1850  a  trail  was  opened  from  Bear 
River  across  the  head  waters  of  the  Bannock,  Fall,  and  Raft  tributaries  of  Snake 
River,  meeting  the  other  trail  at  the  head  of  Goose  Creek.  Delano's  Life  on 
Plains,  138.  Another  important  branch  of  the  route,  so  sadly  recorded  by  the 
Donuer  company  of  1846,  and  tit  rather  for  lightly  equipped  parties  with  pack- 
animals  than  for  wagons,  was  the  Hastings  road.  It  started  from  Fort  Bridger, 
passed  round  the  southern  end  of  Great  Salt  Lake,  crossed  the  desert,  and 
proceeded  in  a  westerly  direction  till  the  east  Humboldt  Mountains  were 
struck  at  Franklin  River;  there  it  turned  abruptly,  passing  round  the 
southern  end  of  the  range,  and  followed  the  south  branch  of  the  Humboldt 
down  to  the  main  river.  Bryant,  What  I  Saw  in  Cat.,  i.  142-3,  passed  over  it 
successfully  in  1846.  The  Mormons  established  ferries  at  Weber  and  Bear 
rivers,  charging  $5  or  $8  for  each  team.  Slater's  Mormonism,  6. 

n  Placer  Times,  Oct.  13,  1849,  alludes  to  many  returns,  even  from  Lar- 
amie.  B.  F.  Dowell,  Letters,  MS.,  3,  bought  a  horse  from  one  who  turned 
back  after  having  travelled  700  miles;  '  he  had  seen  the  elephant,  and  eaten 
its  ears.' 

12  Instance  Morgan,  Trip  1840,  14-17.  The  number  wintering  in  1850-1 
was  large,  from  800  to  1,000,  says  Slater.  Mormonixm,  5-12,  37;  who  adds 
that  the  Mormons  withheld  or  reduced  wages  and  supplies,  so  that  many  suf 
fered  and  were  even  unable  to  proceed  on  their  journey.  Charges  to  this 
effect  were  published  in  Sac.  Union,  June  28,  1851;  but  they  should  be  taken 
with  due  allowance.  Staples,  lucid.,  MS.,  2-3,  accuses  the  Mormons  of  mani 
festing  their  hatred  for  Missourians. 


152  THE  JOURNEY  OVERLAND. 

reaped  a  harvest  in  cheap  labor,  and  by  the  ready 
exchange  of  provisions  to  starving  emigrants  for 
wagons,  tools,  clothing,  arid  other  effects,  greatly  to 
the  delight  of  the  leaders,  who,  at  the  first  sight  of 
gold  from  California,  had  prophesied  plenty,  and  the 
sale  of  States  goods  at  prices  as  low  as  in  the  east.13 
Others,  eager  as  ever,  and  restive  under  the  frequent 
delays  and  slow  progress  of  the  ox  trains,  would  hasten 
onward  in  small  parties,  perhaps  alone,  perchance 
tempted  into  the  numerous  pitfalls  known  as  cut 
offs,  to  be  lost  in  the  desert,  overcome  by  heat  and 
thirst,  or  stricken  down  by  furtively  pursuing  savages, 
whose  boldness  increased  as  the  emigrant  force  became 
weak.14 

But  how  insignificant  appear  the  sufferings  of  the 
men  in  comparison  with  those  of  the  women  and  chil 
dren,  driven  after  a  long  and  toilsome  journey  into  a 
desert  of  alkali.  And  here  the  dumb  brutes  suffer  as 
never  before.  There  are  drifts  of  ashy  earth  in  these 
flats  in  which  the  cattle  sink  to  their  bellies,  and  go 
moaning  along  their  way  midst  a  cloud  of  dust  and 
beneath  a  broiling  sun,  while  just  beyond  are  fantas 
tic  visions  of  shady  groves  and  bubbling  springs;  for 
this  is  the  region  of  mirage,  and  not  far  off  the  desert 
extends  into  the  terrible  Valley  of  Death,  accursed 
to  all  living  things,  its  atmosphere  destructive  even 
to  the  passing  bird.  Many  are  now  weakened  by 
scurvy,  fever,  and  exhaustion.  There  are  no  longer 
surplus  relays.  The  remnant  of  animals  is  all  pressed 
into  service,  horse  and  cow  being  sometimes  yoked 
together.  The  load  is  still  further  lightened  to  re- 

13  Thus  had   spoken    Heber  C.  Kimball,  when  the  Mormon  gold-finders 
arrived    from   California,    although    he   doubted    his   own   words    the   next 
moment.     'Yet  it  was  the  best  prophetic  hit  of  his  life.'  Tullidye's  Life  of 
Younfj,  203-8. 

14  Seven  emigrants  were  surprised  in  the  Klamath  region  by  200  Indians, 
and  six  cut  down.     Lord,  Naturalist,  271,  found  bones  and  half-burned  wagons 
near  Yreka  ten  years  later.     Instance  also  in  U.  8.  Gov.  Doc.,  31st  cong.  2d 
sess. ,  Sen.   Doc.  19,  iii.   12.     More  than  one  solitary  traveller  is  spoken  of. 
See  QuvjW*  Ir^h  Rac^  2165  Sac-  Bee>  Oct-  3»  18"0-     One  wheeled  his  bag 
gage  in  a  barrow  at  the  pace  of  25  miles  a  day,  passing  many  who  travelled 
with  animals.   Coke1*  Ride,  166;  Solano  Co.  Hist.,  368-9. 


OVER  THE  DESERT. 


153 


lieve  the  jaded  teams.  Even  feeble  women  must 
walk.  The  entire  line  is  strewn  with  dead  animals 
arid  abandoned  effects.  Vultures  and  coyotes  hover 
ominously  along  the  trail.  Gloomy  nights  are  followed 
by  a  dawn  of  fresh  suffering.  Now  and  then  some 
one  succumbs,  and  in  despair  bids  the  rest  fly  and 


:*$»  I     \ 

?  e^  \   \    o 

!"Jf.  *«mm«r   ia*«      Vl^eur 

f  M'/rfc;^"*---  ^  -t»«-«  ^.  (v 


ACROSS  THE  DESERT. 


leave  him  to  his  fate.  Some  of  the  trains  come  to  a 
stop,  and  the  wagons  are  abandoned,  while  the  ani 
mals  are  ridden  or  driven  forward.15 


15  The  passage  of  this,  desert  was  but  a  narrow  stretch,  from  two  to  four 
score  miles,  according  to  the  direction  taken,  but  was  very  severe,  especially 
to  wanderers  worn  out  and  stricken  with  disease.  Instances  of  suffering 


154  THE  JOURNEY  OVERLAND. 

The  suffering  in  1849  fell  chiefly  upon  the  later  ar 
rivals,  when  water  was  scarce  and  the  little  grass  left 
by  the  earlier  caravans  had  dried  up.  The  savages, 
too,  became  troublesome.  Several  relief  parties  went 
out  from  the  mines.  In  1850  the  suffering  was  more 
severe  throughout,  partly  from  the  over-confidence 
created  by  the  news  of  well-stocked  markets  in  Cali 
fornia,  which  led  to  the  wasteful  sacrifice  of  stores  on 
the  way  by  the  overloaded  caravans  of  1849,  and  of 
the  scarcity  of  supplies  at  the  Mormon  way-station. 
Hence  many  started  with  scanty  supplies  and  poorer 
animals.  The  overflow  of  the  Humboldt  drove  the 
trains  to  the  barren  uplands,  lengthening  the  jour 
ney  and  starving  the  beasts.  So  many  oxen  and 
horses  perished  in  the  fatal  sink  that  the  effluvia 
revived  the  cholera,  arid  sent  it  to  ravage  the  enfeebled 
crowds  which  escaped  into  Sacramento  Valley.  Be 
hind  them  on  the  plains  were  still  thousands,  battling 
not  alone  with  this  and  other  scourges,  but  with  fam 
ine  and  cold,  for  snow  fell  early  and  massed  in  heavy 
drifts.  Tales  of  distress  were  brought  by  each  arrival, 
told  not  in  words  only,  but  by  the  blanched  and  hag 
gard  features,  until  California  was  filled  with  pity, 
and  the  government  combined  with  the  miners  and 
other  self-sacrificing  men  in  efforts  for  the  relief  of  the 
sufferers.  Carried  by  parties  in  all  directions  across 
the  mountains  and  through  the  snow,16  train  after 
train  was  saved;  yet  so  many  were  the  sufferers  that 
only  a  comparatively  small  number  could  be  much 
relieved.  Emaciated  men,  carrying  infants  crying  for 

abound  in  the  journals  of  the  time.  Alta  CaL,  Dec.  15,  1849,  et  seq.;  Placer 
Times  of  1849;  S.  F.  Herald,  Pac.  News,  Sac.  Union,  etc.,  of  following  years. 
Duncan's  Southern  Region,  MS.,  1-2.  See  following  note. 

16  During  this  year,  1849,  the  authorities  appropriated  $100,000  for  relief, 
and  troops  passed  eastward  with  supplies,  partly  under  Maj.  Rucker.  See 
reports  in  U.  S.  Oov.  Doc.,  31st  cong.  1st  sess.,  Sen.  Doc.  52,  xiii.  94-154;  Id., 
30th  cong.  2d  sess.,  Acts  and  Resol.,  155;  Smith's  Kept,  in  Tyson's  Geol.,  84. 
The  public  also  subscribed  liberally.  Pl«cer  Times,  Sept.  15,  1849;  Sherman's 
Mem.,  i.  80.  In  1850  the  public  made  even  greater  efforts  in  all  directions, 
and  Capt.  Waldo  headed  one  relief  train.  Upkam's  Note*,  351-2;  Gal.  Jour. 
Srn.,  1851,  607-10;  Sac.  Transcript,  Sept.  23, 1850,  etc.  Appeals  for  subscrip 
tions  and  responses  are  given  in  all  the  journals  of  the  time.  See  next  note. 


SUFFERING  AND  DEATH.  155 

food,  stopped  to  feed  on  the  putrefying  carcasses  lining 
the  road,  or  to  drink  from  alkaline  pools,  only  to  in 
crease  their  misery,  and  finally  end  in  suicide.17  "The 
suffering  is  unparalleled,"  cry  several  journals  in  Sep 
tember  1850,  in  their  appeal  for  relief ;  nine  tenths  of 
the  emigrants  were  on  foot,  without  food  or  money; 
not  half  of  their  oxen,  not  one  fourth  of  their  horses, 
survived  to  cross  the  mountains,  and  beyond  the  desert 
were  still  20,000  souls,  the  greater  part  of  whom  were 
destitute.18 

After  escaping  from  the  desert,  the  emigrant  had 
still  to  encounter  the  difficult  passage  of  the  Sierra 
Nevada,  so  dangerous  after  snow  began  to  fall,  as 
instanced  by  the  terrible  fate  of  the  Donner  party  in 
1846.  Of  the  several  roads,  the  most  direct  was  along 
Truckee  River  to  its  source  in  the  lake  of  that  name, 

1T  On  the  Humboldt,  says  Delano,  Life,  238-9,  three  men  and  two  women 
drowned  themselves  in  one  day. 

18  The  report  of  the  Waldo  relief  party,  in  Sac.  Transcript,  Sept.  23,  1850, 
stated  that  large  supplies  from  Marysville  had  failed  to  pass  beyond  Bear 
Valley,  west  of  the  Sierra,  owing  to  the  animals  failing.  At  the  lower 
Truckee  crossing  beef  had  been  deposited,  and  a  number  of  stout  animals 
sent  to  carry  sick  emigrants  across  the  desert.  Several  starving  men  were 
encountered,  and  the  dead  bodies  of  others  who  had  succumbed.  Few  were 
found  with  provisions,  save  their  exhausted  teams;  one  fourth,  having  no 
animals,  lived  on  the  putrefying  carcasses,  thus  absorbing  disease.  Cholera 
broke  out  Sept.  8th,  in  one  small  train,  carrying  off  eight  persons  in  three 
hours,  several  more  being  expected  to  die.  From  the  sink  westward  the 
havoc  was  fearful.  Indians  added  to  the  misery  by  stealing  animals.  Of 
20,000  emigrants  still  back  of  the  desert,  fully  15,000  were  destitute,  and  their 
greatest  suffering  was  to  come;  half  of  them  could  not  reach  the  mountains 
before  winter;  from  5,000  to  8,000  Ibs  of  beef  were  issued  daily;  flour  was 
furnished  only  to  the  sick.  Those  yet  at  the  head  of  the  Humboldt  were  to 
be  warned  to  turn  back  to  Great  Salt  Lake.  Similar  accounts  in  earlier  and 
later  numbers.  Id.,  July  26,  Aug.  16,  Sept.  30,  1850,  Feb.  1,  14,  1851,  etc. 
Owing  to  the  number  of  applicants,  relief  rations  had  to  be  reduced.  Id., 
Steamer  eds.  of  Aug.  30th,  Oct.  14th.  Barstow,  Stat.,  MS.,  12-13,  who  went 
out  with  provisions,  declares  that  he  could  almost  step  from  one  abandoned 
wagon  and  carcass  to  another.  See  further  accounts  in  Mixed.  Stat. ;  Shearer's 
Jourii'd,  MS.,  1-3;  Connor's  Stat.,  MS.,  4-5;  DoweWs  Letters,  MS.,  1-34; 
Sherwood's  Pocket  Guide,  47-64;  Picayune,  Aug.  21,  Sept.  3-4,  12,  1850;  .V. 
F.  four.,  July  13,  24,  Aug.  9,  17,  20,  26,  1850;  S.  F.  Herald,  July  13,  27-9, 
Aug.  21-2,  1850;  Deseret  News,  Oct.  5,  1850;  Alta  Cal,  Dec.  17,  1850;  Del 
ano's  Life  on  Plains,  234-42;  Pac.  News,  Aug.  21-2,  24,  1850;  Sac.  Bee,  Dec. 
7,  1867;  Beadle's  Western  Wilds,  38-40;  Aljers  Youug  Adven.,  185,  etc.;  Los 
Angeles  Rep.,  Feb.  28,  Mar.  14,  1878;  Brown'*  Early  Day*,  MS.,  2-4,  7« 
Devoted  men  like  Waldo,  who  so  freely  offered  themselves  and  their  means 
for  the  relief  of  the  sufferers,  cannot  be  too  highly  praised  and  remembered 
by  Californians. 


156  THE  JOURNEf  OVERLAND. 

and  thence  down  the  Yuba  to  Feather  and  Sacramento 
rivers.19     The  route  so  far  described,  by  way  of  the 

19 Through  Henness  pass.  A  trail  branched  by  Dormer  Lake  along  the 
north  branch  of  the  American.  The  most  northern  route,  Lassen's,  turned 
from  the  great  bend  of  the  Humboldt  north-west  to  Goose  Lake,  there  to  swing 
southward  by  the  Oregon  trail  along  Pit  River  and  Honey  Lake  into  the  Sac 
ramento  Valley.  Hostile  Indians,  and  snow,  and  greater  extent  of  desert 
combined  to  give  this  the  name  of  the  Death  Route,  so  that  few  followed  it 
after  the  early  part  of  1849.  YrekaJour.,  Feb.  18,  1871.  A  branch  from  ib 
struck  across  Upper  Mud  Lake  toward  Honey  Lake.  Below  Truckee  ran  the 
Carson  River  route,  turning  south  of  Lake  Tahoe  through  Johnson  Pass  and 
down  the  south  fork  of  American  River.  A  branch  turned  to  the  west  fork 
of  Walker  River  through  Sonora  pass  and  Sonora  to  Stockton.  The  main 
route  from  the  east  is  well  described  in  a  little  emigrant's  guide-book  pub 
lished  by  J.  E.  Ware.  After  giving  the  intending  emigrant  instructions  as 
to  his  outfit,  estimates  of  expense,  directions  for  forming  camp,  etc.,  the 
author  follows  the  entire  route  from  one  camping-place  or  prominent  point  to 
the  next,  describes  the  intervening  road  and  river  crossings,  points  out  where 
fuel  and  water  can  be  obtained,  and  gives  distances  as  well  as  he  can.  I:i 
1849  Ware  set  out  for  Cal.,  was  taken  ill  east  of  Laramie,  and  heartlessly 
abandoned  by  his  companions,  and  thus  perished  miserably.  Delano  says  he 
was  'formerly  from  Galena,  but  known  in  St  Louis  as  a  writer.'  Life  on  the 
Plains,  163.  Alonzo  Delano  was  born  at  Aurora,  N.  Y. ,  July  2,  1806,  and  came 
to  Cal.  by  the  Lassen  route  in  1849,  and  of  his  journey  published  a  minute 
account.  After  working  in  the  placers  for  some  time  he  went  to  S.  F.  and 
opened  a  produce  store.  In  the  autumn  of  1851  he  engaged  in  quartz-mining 
at  Grass  Valley,  which  was  thenceforward  his  home.  A  year  or  two  later  he 
became  superintendent  of  the  Nevada  Company's  mill  and  mine,  and  then 
agent  of  Adams  &  Co.'s  express  and  banking  office.  In  Feb.  1855  he  opened 
a  banking-house  of  his  own.  In  his  position  of  agent  for  Adams  &  Co.  at 
Grass  Valley,  he  received  orders  to  pay  out  no  money  either  on  public  or  pri 
vate  deposits,  which  orders  he  did  not  obey;  but  calling  the  depositors  to 
gether,  he  read  his  instructions  and  said:  'Come,  men,  and  get  your  deposits; 
you  shall  have  what  is  yours  so  long  as  there  is  a  dollar  in  the  safe. '  Five 
days  later,  on  Feb.  20th,  Delano  opened  a  banking-house  of  his  own;  and  so 
great  was  the  confidence  placed  in  his  integrity  that  within  24  hours  he  re 
ceived  more  money  on  deposit  than  he  had  ever  held  as  agent  for  Adams  & 
Co.  From  that  time  on  he  led  a  successful  and  honored  career  as  a  banker 
until  the  day  of  his  death,  which  occurred  at  Grass  Valley  Sept.  8,  1874. 
For  further  particulars,  see  Grass  Valley  Foothill  Tidings,  Nov.  21,  1874; 
Grass  Valley  Union,  Sept.  10,  1874;  Truckee  Republican,  Sept.  10,  1874;  Sta 
Barbara  Index,  Sept.  24,  1874;  Portland  Bulletin,  Oct.  7,  1874;  S.  F.  Alt-i, 
Sept.  11,  1874.  But  it  was  as  an  author,  not  as  a  banker,  that  Delano  was 
best  known  to  the  early  Californians,  and,  by  one  of  his  books  at  least,  to  the 
wider  world.  This  work,  a  vol.  of  some  400  pages,  is  an  account  of  his  jour 
ney  overland  to  Cal.,  and  embodies  much  information  about  early  times  in 
Cal.,  especially  in  the  mining  regions  and  small  towns.  Its  title  is:  Life  on 
the  Plains  and  among  the  Diggings;  being  Scenes  and  Adventures  of  an  Over 
land  Journey  to  California:  with  Particular  Incidents  of  the  Route,  Mistakes 
and  Sufferings  of  the  Emigrants,  the  Indian  Tribes,  the  Present  and  the  Future 
of  the  Great  Wext.  Aulmrn,  1^4,  and  N.  Y.,  1861.  The  portion  relatingto  the 
journey  was  written  as  a  journal,  in  which  the  incidents  of  each  day,  the  kind 
of  country  passed  through,  and  the  probable  distance  accomplished  were 
noted.  What  does  not  relate  to  the  immigration  is  more  sketchy,  but  stiil 
valuable  and  accurate.  Although  Delano's  most  ambitious  book,  it  was  not 
his  first.  During  the  earlier  years  of  residence  in  his  adopted  country  he 
contributed  a  number  of  short  humorous  sketches  illustrative  of  Cal.  life 
to  the  various  periodicals.  These  fugitive  pieces  were  collected  and  pub- 


SOUTHERN  ROUTES.  157 

Rocky  Mountain  South  Pass  and  Humboldt  River, 
known  as  the  northern,  received  by  far  the  largest 
proportion  of  travel;  the  next  in  importance,  the 
southern,  led  from  Independence  by  the  caravan  trail 

_  _  *•  ** 

to  Santa  Fe,  thence  to  deviate  in  different  directions: 
by  the  old  Spanish  trail  round  the  north  banks  of  the 
Colorado,  crossing  Rio  Virgenes  to  Mojave  River  and 
desert,  and  through  Cajon  Pass  to  Los  Angeles;  by 
General  Kearny's  line  of  march  through  Arizona, 
along  the  Gila;  by  that  of  Colonel  Cooke  down  the  Rio 
Grande  and  westward  across  the  Sonora  table-land  to 
Yuma.  Others  passed  through  Texas,  Coahuila,  and 
Chihuahua  into  Arizona,  while  riot  a  few  went  by  sea 
to  Tampico  and  Vera  Cruz,  and  thence  across  the  con 
tinent  to  Mazatlan  or  other  Mexican  seaport  to  seek  a 
steamer  or  sailing  vessel,  or  even  through  Nicaragua, 
which  soon  sprang  into  prominence  as  a  rival  point  of 
transit  to  the  Isthmus.20  Snow  at  least  proving  no 

lished  at  Sacramento,  in  a  volume  of  112  pp.,  under  the  title  of  Penknife 
Sketches;  or  Chips  of  the.  Old  Block;  a  series  of  original  illustrated  letters,  writ 
ten  by  one  of  California's  pioneer  miners,  and  dedicated  to  that  class  of  her  cit 
izens  by  the  author.  Sac.,  1853.  A  second  edition,  sixteenth  thousand,  was 
published  in  1854,  price  one  dollar.  Like  the  cuts  designed  by  Charles  Nahl, 
which  ornament  this  book,  the  humor  of  the  author  is  of  a  rough  and  ready 
nature,  but  it  is  genial  and  withal  graphic.  The  Sketches  are  the  overflowing 
of  a  merry  heart,  which  no  hard  times  could  depress,  and  through  all  their 
burlesque  it  is  evident  that  the  writer  had  a  discerning  and  appreciative  eye 
for  the  many  strange  phases  which  his  new  life  presented.  More  famous 
humorists  have  arisen  in  California  since  the  time  of  Old  Block,  his  chosen 
nom  de  plume;  but  as  the  first  of  the  tribe,  so  he  was  the  most  faithful  in 
depicting  life  in  the  flush  times.  His  California  Sketch- Book  is  similar  in  na 
ture  to  the  Penknife  Sketches.  Besides  his  purely  humorous  pieces,  Delano 
wrote  a  number  of  tales  which  appeared  in  the  Hesperian  and  Ilutchinrjs1 
magazines,  as  well  as  some  plays,  which  it  is  said  were  put  upon  the  stage. 
See  the  Grass  Valley  Foothill  Tidings,  Nov.  21,  1874.  In  1868  he  published 
at  S.  F.  The  Central  Pacific,  or  '49  and  '69,  by  Old  Block,  a  pamphlet  of  24 
pp.,  comparing  the  modes  of  traversing  the  continent  at  the  two  dates  men 
tioned. 

20  The  new  Mexican  routes  have  received  full  attention  in  the  preceding 
volumes  of  this  series,  Hist.  CaL,  in  connection  with  Hispano-Mexican  inter 
course  between  New  Mexico  and  CaL,  with  trapper  roamings  and  the  march 
overland  of  U.  S.  troops  in  1846-7.  Taylor,  Eldorado,  131,  speaks  of  Yuma 
attacks  on  Arizona  passengers.  See  also  records  and  references  in  the  Alto, 
CaL,  June  25,  1850,  and  other  journals  and  dates,  as  in  a  preceding  note;  also 
Hayes1  Life,  MS.,  69  et  seq. ;  Id.,  in  Misc.  Hist.  Pup.,  doc.  27,  p.  35-6,  45, 
et  seq. ;  Hayes'  Emig.  Notes,  MS.,  415,  with  list  of  his  party;  Id.,  Diary,  MS., 
56;  Soule's'Stat.,  MS.,  1  etseq.;  Say  ward's  Slat.,  MS.,  2-5;  Perry's  Travels, 
14-69,  and  Woods'  Sixteen  Months,  3  et  seq.,  recording  troubles  and  exactions 
of  Mexican  trips  via  Mazatlan  and  San  Bias.  So  in  Overland,  xv.  241-8,  on 


158  THE  JOURNEY  OVERLAND 

material  obstruction  along  the  more  southerly  routes, 
a  fair  proportion  of  emigrants  from  the  United  States 
had  availed  themselves  of  the  outlet  for  an  earlier 
start,21  and  some  8, 000, entered  California  from  this 
quarter,  including  many  Hispano- Americans,  the  lat 
ter  pouring  in,  moreover,  throughout  the  winter 
months  by  way  of  Sonora  and  Chihuahua. 

The  number  of  gold-seekers  who  reached  California 
from  all  sources  during  the  year  1849  can  be  esti 
mated  only  approximately.  The  most  generally  ac 
cepted  statement,  by  a  committee  of  the  California 
constitutional  convention,  places  the  population  at 
the  close  of  1849  at  106,000,  which,  as  compared  with 
the  census  figure,  six  months  later,  of  about  112,000, 
exclusive  of  Indians,22  appears  excessive.  But  the 
census  was  taken  under  circumstances  not  favorable 
to  accuracy,  and  the  preceding  estimate  may  be  re 
garded  as  equally  near  the  truth,  although  some  of 
the  details  are  questionable.23 

the  San  Bias  route.  The  steamer  California  took  on  board  at  Acapulco,  in 
July  1849,  a  party  of  destitute  Americans,  assisted  by  the  passengers.  Santa 
Cruz  Times,  Feb.  26,  1870.  Rond6  met  five  unarmed  Frenchmen  hauling  a 
hand  wagon  through  Chihuahua.  Charton,  Tour  du  Hfonde,  iv.  160;  Southern 
Quart.  Rev. ,  x v.  224  et  seq.  In  Sherwood's  Guide,  57-8,  is  mentioned  a  fantastic 
balloon  route  by  the  'patent  aerial  steam  float'  of  R.  Porter,  to  carry  passen 
gers  at  $100,  including  board  and  a  precautionary  return  ticket;  the  trip  to 
be  made  in  four  or  five  days! 

21  The  fear  of  Mexican  hostility,  the  comparatively  inferior  knowledge  of 
this  route,  and  its  apparent  roundabout  turn  made  it  less  popular,  at  least 
north  of  the  southern  states. 

22  The  total  is  92,597  for  all  except  three  counties— Santa  Clara,  S.  F.,  and 
Contra  Costa,  the  returns  for  which  were  lost.    U.  S.  Seventh  Census,  966  et 
seq.     Comparison  with  the  state  census  of  1852  permits  an  estimate  for  these 
three  of  not  over  19,500,  whereof  16,500  were  for  S.  F.  town  and  county.    The 
Annals  of  S.  F.,  244,  assumes  20,000  or  even  25,000;  others  vary  between 
7,000  and  20,000  for  S.  F.  city  at  the  close  of  1849,  and  as  a  large  number  of 
miners  and  others  were   then  wintering  there,   the   population   must  have 
fallen  greatly  by  the  time  of  taking  the  census.     In  July  and  Aug.   1849 
the  city  had  only  5,000  or  6,000.     The  influx  by  sea  during  the  first  six 
months  of  1850  is  reported  by  the  S.   F.  custom-house  at  24,288,   whereof 
16,472  were  Americans.    U.  S.   Gov.  Doc.,  31st  cong.  1st  sess.,  H.  Ex.  Doc. 
16,  iv.  44-5.     By  deducting  this  figure  and  balancing  departures  with  the 
influx  from  Mexico  the  total  at  the  end  of  1849  would  be  nearly  90,000. 

23  For  instance,  the  population  at  the  end  of  1848  is  placed  by  the  com 
mittee  at  215,000,   of  whom   13,000  were  Californians,  8,000  Americans,  and 
5,000  foreigners.     I  estimate  from  the  archives  the  native  California!)  ele 
ment  at  little  over  7,500  at  the  same  period;  8,000  Americans  is  an  admis- 


POPULATION.  159 

I  prefer,  therefore,  to  place  the  number  of  white  in 
habitants  at  the  close  of  1849  at  riot  over  100,000, 
accepting  the  estimated  influx  by  sea  of  39,000,  of 
which  about  23,000  were  Americans,  and  42,000  over 
land,  of  which  9,000  were  from  Mexico,  8,000  coming 
through  New  Mexico,  and  25,000  by  way  of  the  South 
Pass  and  Humboldt  River.  Of  this  number  a  few 
thousand,  especially  Mexicans,  returned  the  same  year, 
leaving  a  population  that  approached  95, 000. r 


24 


sible  figure,  including  the  Oregon  influx,  but  5,000  foreigners  is  somewhat 
excessive,  as  may  be  judged  from  my  notes  in  preceding  chapters  on  Mexican 
and  other  immigration.  Indians  are  evidently  excluded  in  all  estimates. 
The  other  figures  for  the  influx  during  1849  appear  near  enough.  They  may 
be  consulted  as  original  or  quoted  estimates,  among  other  works,  in  Mayer's 
Mex.  Aztec,  ii.  393;  Siillman's  Golden  Fleece,  32;  hitteWs  Hist.  S.  F.,  139-40. 
'•"About  half-way  between  the  federal  estimates  and  those  of  the  convention. 
The  tendency  of  the  latter  was  naturally  to  give  the  highest  reasonable  figures, 
and  the  wonder  is  that  it  did  not  swell  them  with  Indian  totals.  Such  ex 
citing  episodes  as  the  gold  rush  are  moreover  apt  to  produce  exaggeration 
everywhere.  Thus  a  widely  accepted  calculation,  as  reproduced  in  Cal.  Past 
and  Present,  146-7,  roaches  200,000,  based  on  Larkin's  report  of  46,000  ar 
rived  by  July  1849,  and  on  calculations  from  Laramie  of  56,000  passing  there. 
'A  still  larger  number'  came  by  sea,  say  100,000,  'all  Americans,'  so  that 
nearly  200,000  arrived,  and  in  1850  there  would  be  more  than  500,000  new 
arrivals  from  tho  U.  S. !  'Even  the  Report,  15,  of  the  govt  agent,  T.  B.  King, 
assumes  loosely  the  arrival  in  1849  of  80,000  Americans  and  20,000  foreigners. 
U.  S.  Gov.  Doc.,  31st  cong.  1st  sess.,  H.  Ex.  Doc.  59,  7.  And  Hittell,  Hint. 
S.  F.,  139—40,  155-6,  so  excessively  cautious  in  some  respects,  not  allowing 
over  8,000  inhabitants  to  S.  F.  in  Nov.  1849,  assigns  30,000  in  June  1850  to 
three  counties  lacking  in  the  census,  of  which  about  25,000  must  be  meant  for 
S.  F.,  and  so  reaches  a  total  of  122,000,  while  accepting  the  100,000  estimate 
for  1849.  Tho  investigations  of  J.  Coolidge  of  the  Merchants'  Exchange  in 
dicated  arrivals  at  S.  F.  from  March  31  to  Dec.  31,  1849,  of  30,675,  excluding 
deserters;  12,237  coming  from  U.  S.  ports  via  Cape  Horn,  6,000  via  Panama, 
2,600  via  San  Bias  and  Mazatlan,  the  rest  from  other  quarters.  Figures  in 
Niles*  Reg.,  Ixxxv.  113,  127,  288,  give  3,547  passengers  for  Chagres  by  April 
1849;  overland  influx,  adds  Sac.  Record,  Mar.  28,  1874,  'probably  exceeded 
that  by  sea  twofold.'  In  a  letter  to  the  St  Louis  Rep.  of  June  10,  1849,  from 
Fort  Kearny,  it  was  said  that  5,095  wagons  had  passed;  about  1,000  more 
left  behind,  and  many  turning  back  daily.  There  are  5,000  or  6,OuO  wagons 
on  the  way.  Alta  CaL,  Aug.  2,  1849.  See  also  Placer  Timi's,  May  26,  Oct.  13, 
1849,  etc.  Kirkpatrick,  Journal,  MS.,  14-16,  states,  on  the  other  hand,  that 
only  1,500  teams  were  supposed  to  be  on  the  road  between  Platte  ferry  and 
Cal.  during  the  latter  half  of  June.  The  Santa  Fe  and  South  Pass  arrivals 
embrace  some  Hispano- Americans  and  Oregonians.  For  further  speculations 
on  numbers  I  refer  to  Williams'  Rec.  Early  Days,  MS.,  10;  Barstow's  Stat., 
MS.,  13;  Abbey's  Trip,  5,  26,  56;  S.  F.  Directory,  1852-3,  10-11,  15;  Pioneer 
Arch.,  182-3;  Larkin's  Doc.,  MS.,  vi.  203;  Taylor**  Eldorado,  ii.  cap.  iv.; 
8imonin,  Grand  Quest,  290;  Janxsens,  Vida  y  Av.,  MS.,  209-10;  Annals  S.  F. 
133,  244,  356,  484;  Polynesian,  vi.  74,  86-7;  Sac.  Directory,  1871,  36;  Niks' 
Reg.,  Ixxv.  113,  127,  288,  320,  348,  383;  Home  Miss.,  xxii.  44;  S.  F.  Pac. 
News,  Dec.  22,  27,  1849;  Apr.  30;  May  2,  8,  21,  24,  1850;  Alta  CaL,  July  2, 
Dec.  15,  1849;  May  24,  1850;  S.  F.  Hernld,  Nov.  15,  1850;  Jan.  21,  1854; 
Boston  Traveler,  March  18,30;  St  Louis  Anzeiger,  Apr.  1850;  S.  F.  Bulletin, 


160  THE  JOURNEY  OVERLAND. 

The  advance  parties  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  migra 
tion  began  to  arrive  in  the  Sacramento  Valley  toward 
the  end  of  July,  after  which  a  steady  stream  came 
pouring  in.  They  were  bewildered  and  unsettled  for 
a  while  under  the  novelty  of  their  surroundings,  for 
the  rough  flimsy  camps  and  upturned,  debris-strewn 
river  banks,  as  if  convulsed  by  nature,  accorded  little 
with  the  pictured  paradise;  but  kind  greeting  and  aid 
came  from  all  sides  to  light  up  their  haggard  faces, 
and  before  the  prospect  of  unfolding  riches  all  past 
toil  and  danger  faded  like  a  gloomy  dream.  Even 
the  cattle,  broken  in  spirit,  felt  the  reviving  influence 
of  the  goal  attained.25  To  many  the  visions  of  wealth 
which  began  anew  to  haunt  their  fancy  proved  only  a 
reflection  of  the  lately  mocking  mirages  of  the  desert, 
till  sober  thought  and  strength  came  to  reveal  other 
fields  of  labor,  whence  they  might  wrest  more  surely 
though  slowly  the  fortune  withheld  by  fickle  chance. 
And  here  the  overland  immigrants  as  a  mass  had  the 
advantage,  coming  as  they  did  from  the  small  towns, 
the  villages,  and  the  farms  of  the  interior,  or  from  the 
young  settlements  on  the  western  frontier.  Accus 
tomed  to  a  rugged  and  simple  life,  they  craved  less  for 
excitement;  arid  honest,  industrious,  thrifty,  and  self- 
reliant,  they  could  readily  fall  back  upon  familiar  toil 
and  find  a  potent  ally  in  the  soil.  A  large  propor 
tion,  indeed,  had  come  to  cast  their  lot  in  a  western 
home.  The  emigrants  by  sea,  on  the  other  hand, 
speaking  broadly  and  with  all  due  regard  to  exceptions, 
were  pioneers  not  so  natural  and  befitting  to  an  en- 
Apr.  6,  1868.  Arrivals  in  1850  will  be  considered  later  in  connection  with 
population. 

"Among  the  first  comers  was  '  Jas  S.  Thomas  from  Platte  City.'  Burnett's 
Rec.,  MS.,  ii.  127.  'The  first  party  of  packers  reached  Sac.  about  July  18th; 
four  wagons  were  there  in  Pleasant  Valley,  100  miles  above.'  Alta  Cat.,  Ang. 
2,  1849.  The  hungry  and  sick  received  every  care,  despite  the  absorbing 
occupation  of  all  and  the  high  cost  of  food.  Sutter  aided  hundreds.  Used 
to  open-air  camping,  many  could  not  endure  sleeping  in  a  house  for'a  long 
time.  McCall,  Great  Ccd.  Trail,  1-85,  left  St  Joseph  May  5th;  reached  Ft 
Kearny  May  29th;  Ft  Laramie  June  18th;  Green  River  July  10th;  Hum- 
boldt  River  Aug.  10th;  Truckee  River  Aug.  29th;  and  coming  down  by 
Johnson's  Ranch,  arrived  at  Sutter's  Sept.  7th. 


AUTHORITIES.  161 

tirely  new  country.  They  embraced  more  of  the 
abnormal  and  ephemeral,  and  a  great  deal  of  the 
criminal  and  vicious,  in  early  California  life.  They 
might  build  cities  and  organize  society,  but  there 
were  those  among  them  who  made  the  cities  hot 
beds  of  vice  and  corruption,  and  converted  the 
social  fabric  into  a  body  nondescript,  at  the  sight 
of  which  the  rest  of  the  world  stood  wrapped  in 
apprehension.26 

26  Additional  authorities:  U.  S.  Govt  Docs,  30  Cong.  1  Sess.,  H.  Ex.  Doc. 
1,  p.  32;  Id.,  30  Cong.  2  Sess.,  U.  S.  Acts  and  Resol.  1-155;  Id.,  31  Cong. 
1  Sess.,  H.  Ex.  Doc.  5,  pt.  i.,  224,  429-33;  H.  Ex.  Doc.  17,  passim;  H.  Ex. 
Doc.  52,  xiii.  94-154;  H.  Ex.  Doc.  59,  7,  26;  Id.,  31  Cong.  2  Sess.,  H.  Ex. 
Doc.  1,  p.  77,  208;  Sen.  Doc.  19,  iii.  12-15;  Id.,  32  Cong.  1  Sess.,  Sen.  Doc. 
50,  passim;  Sen.  Doc.  124,  pp.  1-222;  Mess,  and  Docs,  1847-8,  ii.  955-G; 
WiUces  Exp.,  v.  181;  Velasco,  Notic.  Son.,  289,  320-33;  Simonin,  Grand 
Ouest,  290  et  seq.;  Shermans  Mem.,  i.  passim;  Larkin's  Docs,  iii.  215;  vi.  74, 
111,  116,  128,  130,  132,  144,  173,  178,  180,  185,  198,  203,  219;  vii.  24,  94; 
Manrows  Vig.  Committee,  MS.,  1-67;  Hayes1  Life,  MS.,  69-70;  Id.,  Diary, 
passim;  Id.,  Scraps  Ariz.,  v.  29;  Id.,  Scraps  L.  Aug.,  i.  205;  Id.,  Miscel.  Hist. 
Papers,  doc.  27;  Id.,  Coll.  Mining  Cat,  i.  1;  Id.,  Coll.  Mining,  v.  3-12.  85; 
Id.,  Gal.  Notes,  i.  101;  iii.  153;  v.  16,  20,  85;  Williams'  Stit.,  MS.,  1-3,  6-12; 
Yreka  Journal,  Feb.  18,  1874;  Janssens  Vida  y  Avent.,  209-10;  Kunzel,  O',er- 
califonden;  Bigler's  Diary  of  a  Mormon,  56-79,  91;  Bu/um's  Six  Montlis,  68-9, 
111-22,  156;  Burnett's  Recoil.,  MS.,  passim;  Carson's  Early  Recoil.;  Gillespie's 
Vig.  Com.,  MS.,  3-4;  Hitchcock's  Stat.,  MS.,  1-7;  Annals  S.  F.,  passim; 
Beadle's  West.  WMs,  38^0;  Blu.come's  Vig.  Com.,  MS.,  1-2;  Connors  Early 
CaL,  MS.,  1-5;  Cerruti's  Ramblings,  66-7,  94  et  seq.;  Mollien's  Travels  Col., 
409-13;  Robinson's  CaL  Gold  Region,  passim;  Stillman's  Golden  Fleece,  19-32, 
327-52;  Stuart's  Trip  to  CaL,  2-3;  Tyson's  Geol.  of  CaL,  84;  Bolton  vs  U.  S., 
app  88-95;  Kirkpatrick's  Journal,  MS.,  3-16;  Jenkins'  U.  S.  Ex.  Exped., 
431-2;  The  Friend,  Honolulu,  vii.  21;  viii.  28;  Kanesville,  la,  Front  Guard, 
July  25,  1849;  Petaluma  Argus,  Apr.  4,  1873;  Pan.  Star,  Feb.  24,  1849; 
Ryckman's  St.it.,  MS.,  11,  20;  Estrella  de  Ocad.,  Nov.  16,  1860;  Retes,  Por- 
tentosas  Riq.  Min.;  Sac.  Direct.,  1871,  36;  Abbey's  Trip  across  Plains,  5,  26, 
5o;  Alger's  Young  Advent.,  185-293;  Brooks"  Four  Months,  passim;  Bracket's 
U.  S.  Cdv.,  125-7;  S.  F.  Argonaut,  passim;  Revere's  Tour  of  Duty,  254-6; 
A/.,  Keel  ami  Saddle,  151-4;  S.  F.  Whig  and  Advert.,  June  11,  1853;  Treasury 
ofTrav.,  92^;  Truckee  Tribune,  Jan.  8,  1870;  Revue  des  deux  Mondes,  Feb.  1, 
1849;  Broivne's  Min.  Res.,  14-15;  Arch.  Mont.  Co.,  xiv.  18;  Arch.  Sta  Cruz 
Co.,  107;  Fay's  Hist.  Facts,  MS.;  Dwinelle's  Add.,  104-12;  Doc.  Hist.  CaL,  i. 
505;  Diggers  Hand  Book,  45-53;  Henshaw's  Stat.,  MS.;  Helper's  Land  of  Gold, 
101;  Bortku'ick'sStat.,MS.,2-5',  Browns  Early  DaijsofCaL,  MS.,  1-7;  Boyn- 
ton's  Stat.,  MS.,  1;  Cod  mans  The  Round  Trip,  28;  Tiffany's  Pocket  Exch.  Guide, 
16;  Gilroy  Advocate,  Apr.  24,  1875;  Folsom  Telegraph,  Sept.  17,  1871;  Ferry, 
CaL,  105-6,  306-28;  Colusa  Sun,  March  8,  1873;  Bryant's  What  I  Saw  in  CaL, 
i.  142-3;  Ashley's  Docs  Hist.  CaL,  223,  271-396;  Antiock  Ledger,  Dec.  24, 
1870;  July  1,  1876;  Tuthill's  CaL,  234;  Thornton's  Oregon  and  CaL,  270;  Gold 
Hill  Daily  News,  Apr.  16,  1872;  Coke's  Ride,  156,  166;  FindkCs  Stat.,  MS., 
passim;  Dowell's  Letters,  MS.,  1-34;  Duncan's  Soutfiern  Oregon,  MS.,  1-2; 
l^uigley's  Irish  Race;  Grass  Valley  Repub.,  March  8,  1872;  Cronise's  Nat. 
Wealth,  56-7;  Roach's  Stat.,  MS.,  1-2;  Del  Mar's  Hist.  Precious  Met.,  258  et 
seq.;  Dameron's  Autobiog.,  MS.,  19;  Taylor's  Betw.  Gates,  25-30,  61-7,  131; 
Id.,  El  Dorado,  i.  26-9,  48;  ii.  36,  222-3;  Van  Allen,  in  Mixel.  Stat.,  31;  Van- 
HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.  11 


162  THE  JOURNEY  OVERLAND. 

derbilt,  in  Miscel  Stat.,  1,  32-3;  Wheaton's  Stat.,  MS.,  2-3;  Charton,  Tour  du 
Monde,  iv.  1(50;  Barnes'  Or.  and  Cal,  MS.,  19,  26;  Weik,  Cal  ^v^e  es  ist,  29- 
51;  Du  Hailly,  in  Rev.  des  deux  Mondes,  Feb.  15,  1849;  Barrow's  Twelve 
Nights,  165-268;  Vallejo  Recorder,  March  14,  1868;  Oct.  12,  1869;  Woods' 
Sixteen  Mont/is,  passim;  Dunbar's  Romance,  48,  55-89,  102-6;  Ware's  Emig. 
Guide,  1-55;  Alameda  Co.  Hist.  Atlas,  14;  Valle,  Doc.,  58;  Cal.  Past  and 
Present,  77,  146-7;  Castroville  Argus,  June  12,  19,  1875;  Robinson's  Stat.,  MS., 
23-4;  Willey's  Pers.  Mem.,  MS.,  25,  58-75,  111-18;  Rons'  Stat.,  MS.,  1-12; 
Ryan's  Pers.  Adv.,  ii.  273-5;  /(/.,  Judges  and  Grim.,  72-9;  Pion.  Mag.,  iv. 
380;  Oli/mpia  Transcript,  June  17,  1876;  Dept.  St.  P.  (Ang.),  viii.  6,  16; 
Dean's  Stat.,  MS.,  1-2;  Kane,  in  Miscel.  Stat.,  7-11;  Humboldt  Times,  March 

7,  1874;  Schlagentiveit,   Cal.,   216;    Winans'  Stat.,  MS.,  1-5,   23-4;   Lake  Co. 
Bee,  March  8,  18/3;  Napa  Reg.,  Aug.  1,  1874;  McClellan's  Golden  State,  119- 
46;  Barry's   Up  and  Down,  93-7;  Schmiedell's  Stat.,  MS.,  6;    Walton's  Facts 
from  Gold  Regions,  8,  19-32;  Crosby's  Events  in  Cal.,  MS.,  13-26;  Santa  Cruz 
Times,  Feb.  19,  26,  1870;  8.  F.  Times,  July  20,  1867;  Shearer's  Journal,  MS., 
1-3,  11;    Warren's  Dust  and  Foam,  12-14,  133,  153-6;    West  Coast  Signal,  Apr. 
15,  1874;  Nev.  Co.  Hist.,  41,  45;  Merrill's  Stat.,  MS.,  1-3;  Alameda  Co.  Gaz., 
March  8,  1873;  March  14,  1874;  Jan.  9,  May  29,  1875;  Barstow's  Stat.,  MS., 
1-4,   14;  St  Louis  Union,  May  25,   1849;  Cassin's  A   Few  Facts,   1-5,   17-18; 
Dool'Mle's  Stat.,  1-22;  Morgan's  Trip  across  the  Plains,  1-21;  Carver's  Travel*, 
122;  Cal.  Pioneers,  Docs,  passim;    Wilmington  Enterprise,  Jan.  21,  1875;  Say- 
board's  Pers.  Rem.,  MS.,  2;  San  Jose  Argus,  Oct.  16,   1875;  Stockton  Indep., 
Nov.    1,  1873;  Apr.  4,  1874;  Jan.   30,  Oct.  19,   1875;  Low's  Stat.,   MS.,  1-5; 
MassetCs  Exper.  of  a  '49er,  1-10;  Sand.  Islands  News,  ii.  134,  147,  158.  186; 
Hawleti's  Observ.,  MS.,  1-3;  Sta  Cruz  Sentinel,  July,  15,  1875;    Vandykes' Stat., 
MS.,    1-2,   etc.;  Soule's  Stat.,  MS.,  1-2;    Vallejo  D.  Indep.,  June  1-8,   1872; 
Staples'  Stat.,  MS.;  Neall's   Vig.   Com.,  MS.,  3,   22-4;  Coleman's  Vig.  Com., 
MS.,   175-83;  Matthewson's  Stat.,  MS.,   1;  Swan's   Trip,    1-3,  13;  Lord's  B. 
Col.  Naturalist,  271;  Cent.  Amer.  Miscel.  Docs,  44;  Delano's  Life  on  the  Plains, 
passim;  Home  Miss.,  xxii.  44,   185-6;  So»ora  Book,  iv.   174,  in  Pinart,  Coll.; 
Sherwood's  Pocket  Guide  to  Gal,  27,  47-64;  Sac.  Union,  Jan.  23,  26,  Feb.  13, 
Dec.  30,  1856,  etc.;  Solano  Repub.,  Sept.  29,  1870;  8.  F.  Evg  Post,  July  14, 
1877;  Nev.  D.  Gaz.,  June  9,   1866;  Jan.  20,  22,   1868;  Leavitfs  Scrap  Book; 
Little's  Stat.,  MS.,  l^t;  Cerruti's  Rambl'mgs,  46;  Holinski,  La  Cal,  144;    Vallejo 
Chron.,  July  25,  Oct.   10,   1874;  San  Jose  Mercury,  Apr.  28,   1876;  Cronine's 
Nat.    Wealth,  57;   Id.,  Stat.,  MS.,   1;  S niton's  Early  Exper.,  MS.,   1;  South. 
Quart.  Rev.,  xv.  224;  Melbourne  Mg  Herald,  Feb.  6,  7,  10,  1849;  Stockton  D. 
Herald,  May  18,  1871;  Nevada  City  and  Grass  Valley  D'tr.,  1856,  43;  L.  Ang. 
Repub.,  Feb.  28,  March    14,   May  18,   1878;  Cal,  Adv.   Capt.   Wife,   18,  20, 
41-2;   Sac.   Transcript,  Oct.   15,   1850;    Feb.   1,   1851;   Overland  Monthly,  ix. 
12-13;  xii.  343;  xv.  241-8;  8.  F.  Cal.  Star,  Oct.  1847  to  June  1848,  passim; 

8.  F.  Evg  Post,  Aug.  8,  1883;  Mayer's  Mex.  Azt.,  ii.  393;  Slater's  Mormon- 
ism,  5-12,  87;  Pfei/ers  Sec.  Journ.,  290;  Soc.  Mex.  Geog.,  xi.    127-34;  San 
Diego  Union,  July  22,   1874;  S.  F.  Evening  Picayune,  Aug.   30,   Sept.  4,    12, 
Oct.  5,  Nov.  27,  Dec.   18,  1850;  Scherzer's  Narr.,  iii.  425-30;  Oakland  A  lam. 
Co.  Gaz.,  May  29,  1875;  Oakland  Transcript,  Aug.   7,   1872;  March  1,  1873; 
June  16,  1876;  8.  F.  Pat.  News,  Nov.  1849  to  Dec.  1850,  passim;  S.  F.  Bulle 
tin,  Apr.  9,  May  12,  31,  July  29,  Dec.  2,  1858;  Jan.  31,  Feb.  12,  Apr.  29,  30, 
May  25,  June  2,  3,  Aug.  15,  Sept.  18,  30,  Oct.  29,  1859;  March  1,  29,  1860; 
Aug.  21,  1862,  etc.;  Pion.  Arch.,  passim;  Pearsons  Recoil.,  MS.,  1-2;  Preble's 
Hist.  Steam  Navig.,  321-4;  S.  F.  Daily  Herald,  June  1850  to  Feb.  1851,  pas 
sim;  Solano  Co.  Hist.,  65-6,  154,  3(38-9,  451;  San  Jose  Pioneer,  Jan.  27,  Feb. 
24,  Aug.  4,  Dec.  8,  29,   1877;  Oct.  9,  1880;   Pio  Pico,   Ti^es,  MS.,  141-6; 
Hunt's  Merch.  Mag.,  xviii.  467-76;  xx.  55-64;  xxi.  585-6;  xxxii.  354-5;  Par 
son's  Life  of  Marshall,  passim;  Californian,  1847-8,  passim;  McCollum's  Cal. 
as  I  Saw  It,  17,  25-6;  Perry's  Travels,  14-69;  First  Steamship  Pioneers,  pas 
sim;  Polynesian,  v.  and  vi.,  passim;  vii.  18,  62,  131;  Shuck's  Scrap  Book,  83-4; 
Moore's  Pion.  Exper.,   MS.,    1;   Id.,   Recoil,   of  Early  Dans,    MS.,  2;  Shasta 
Courier,  Nov.  18,  1865;  March  16,  1867;  Placer  Times,  Apr.  28,  May  19,  26, 


AUTHORITIES.  163 

June  2,  Aug.  11,  Sept.  15,  Oct.  13,  Dec.  1,  1849;  May  22,  1850;  S.  F.  Direc 
tory,  1852  (Parker),  10;  Id.,  1852-3,  10-14;  Sac.  Hee,  Dec.  7,  1869;  Nov.  21, 
1871;  March  28,  Aug.  27,  1874;  July  7,  1875;  Nov.  26,  1878;  S.  F.  Cal. 
Courier,  1850-1,  passim;  S.  F.  Alta  Cal.,  1849-75,  passim;  hUtelftt  Cal., 
124-5;  Id.,  Mining,  17;  Id.,  S.  F.,  125-56,  etc.;  Id.,  Hand  Book,  12-18;  El 
Sonoreme,  Feb.  21,  March  21,  30,  Apr.  18,  26,  May  11,  1849;  Vallcjo,  Col 
Doc.  Hint.  Cal,  xii.  344;  xxxv.  47,  148,  192;  xxxvi.  287;  Nile*  Reg.,  Ixxiv. 
257,  336-7;  Ixxv.  69-70,  113,  127,  288,  320,  348,  383. 


CHAPTER  X. 

SAN  FRANCISCO. 
1848-1850. 

SITE  AND  SURROUNDINGS — RIVALS — EFFECT  OF  THE  MINES — SHIPPING — IN 
FLUX  OF  POPULATION — PHYSICAL  AND  COMMERCIAL  ASPECTS — BUSINESS 
FIRMS  —  PUBLIC  AND  PRIVATE  BUILDINGS — NATIONAL  LOCALITIES — 
HOTELS  AND  RESTAURANTS— PRICES  CURRENT — PROPERTY  VALUES — 
AUCTION  SALES — WHARVES  AND  STREETS — EARLY  ERRORS — HISTORIC 
FIRES — ENGINES  AND  COMPANIES — IMMIGRATION  AND  SPECULATION — 
POLITICS — THE  HOUNDS — CITY  GOVERNMENT. 

MANY  cities  owe  their  origin  to  accident;  some  to 
design.  In  the  latter  category  may  be  placed  most  of 
those  that  sprang  up  upon  this  western  earth's  end, 
and  notably  San  Francisco.  When  the  Englishman 
Richardson  moved  over  from  Sauzalito  to  Yerba 
Buena  Cove  in  the  summer  of  1835,  and  cleared  a 
place  in  the  chaparral  for  his  trading-tent;  when  the 
American  Jacob  P.  Leese  came  up  from  Los  An 
geles,  and  in  connection  with  his  friends  of  Monterey, 
William  Hinckley  and  Nathan  Spear,  erected  a  sub 
stantial  frame  building  and  established  a  commercial 
house  there  in  the  summer  of  1836 — it  would  appear 
that  these  representatives  of  the  two  foremost  nations 
of  the  world,  after  mature  deliberation,  had  set  out  to 
lay  the  foundation  of  a  west-coast  metropolis.  The 
opening  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  branch  estab 
lishment  in  1841  added  importance  to  the  hamlet. 
Although  founded  on  the  soil  and  under  the  colors  of 
Andhuac,  it  never  was  a  Mexican  settlement,  for  the 
United  States  element  ever  predominated,  until  the 

( 164  ) 


SITE  SELECTED.  1C5 

spirit  of  '7G  took  formal  possession  under  symbol  of  the 
American  flag,  wafted  hither  over  subdued  domains. 
The  inducements  for  selecting  the  site  lay  in  its 
proximity  to  the  outlet  of  the  leading  harbor1  upon 
the  coast,  a  harbor  to  which  so  many  huge  rivers  and 
rich  valleys  were  tributary,  and  to  which  so  many 
land  routes  must  necessarily  converge.  A  position  so 
commanding  led  to  the  establishment  here  of  a  pre 
sidio  immediately  after  the  occupation  of  the  country, 
under  whose  wings  sprang  up  a  flourishing  mission 
establishment.  The  harbor  commended  itself  early  to 
passing  vessels,  and  although  finding  Sauzalito  on  the 
northern  shore  the  best  station  for  water  and  wood, 
they  were  obliged  to  come  under  cognizance  of  the 
military  authorities  at  the  fort,  and  to  seek  the  more 
substantial  supplies  at  the  mission,  both  establish 
ments  presenting,  moreover,  to  trading  vessels,  in 
their  not  inconsiderable  population,  and  as  the  abutting 
points  for  the  settlements  southward,  an  all-important 
attraction.  These  primary  advantages  outweighed 
greatly  such  drawbacks  as  poor  landing-places,  lack 
of  water  sources  and  farming  land  in  the  vicinity,  and 
the  growing  inconvenience  of  communication  with  the 
main  settlements  now  rising  in  the  interior.  The  op 
portune  strategy  of  Alcalde  Bartlett  in  setting  aside 
the  name  of  Yerba  Buena,  which  threatened  to  over 
shadow  its  prospects,  and  restoring  that  of  Saint  Fran 
cis,  proved  of  value  in  checking  the  aspirations  of 
Erancisca,  later  called  Benicia.  And  our  seraphic 
father  of  Assisi  remembered  the  honor,  by  directing  to 
its  shore  the  vast  fleet  of  vessels  which  in  1849  began 
to  empty  here  their  myriads  of  passengers  and  cargoes 
of  merchandise.  This  turned  the  scale,  and  with  such 
start,  and  the  possession  of  capital  and  fame,  the  town 
distanced  every  rival,  Benicia  with  all  her  superior 
natural  advantages  falling  far  behind. 

1  Opinions  upon  its  merits  have  been  expressed  by  many  prominent  ex 
plorers.  Gen.  Smith  strongly  disparaged  the  site  from  a  military  and  com 
mercial  point  of  view,  while  becoming  enthusiastic  over  the  advantages  of 
Benicia. 


156  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

Nevertheless,  doubters  became  numerous  with  every 
periodic  depression  in  business;2  and  when  the  gold 
excitement  carried  off  most  of  the  population,3  the 
stanchest  quailed,  and  the  rival  city  at  the  straits,  so 
much  nearer  to  the  mines,  seemed  to  exult  in  pro 
spective  triumph.  But  the  golden  storm  proved 
menacing  only  in  aspect.  During  the  autumn  the 
inhabitants  came  flocking  back  again,  in  numbers 
daily  increased  by  new  arrivals,  and  rich  in  funds 
wherewith  to  give  vitality  to  the  town.  Building 
operations  were  actively  resumed,  notwithstanding 
the  cost  of  labor,4  and  real  estate,  which  lately  could 
not  have  found  buyers  at  any  price,  now  rose  with  a 
bound  to  many  times  its  former  value.5  The  opening 
of  the  first  wharf  for  sea-going  vessels,  the  Broadway,6 
may  be  regarded  as  the  beginning  of  a  revival,  marked 
also  by  the  resurrection  of  the  defunct  press,7  and  the 
establishment  of  a  school,  and  of  regular  protestant 
worship,8  propitiatory  measures  well  needed  in  face  of 

2  As  early  in  1848,  when  several  firms  discontinued  their  advertisements 
in  the  Californian.     Others  thought  it  expedient,  as  we  have  seen,  to  seek  a 
prop  for  the  prevailing  land  and  other  speculations,  by  bringing  the  resources 
of  the  country  and  the  importance  of  the  town  before  the  people  of  the  east 
ern  states.     This  was  done  by  the  pen  of  Fourgeaud  in  the  Cal.  Star,  Mar. 
18,  1848,  and  following  numbers. 

3  The  absorbing  municipal  election  of  Oct.   3d  showed  only   158  votes. 
Annals  S.  F.,  206.     See  chapter  i.  in  this  vol.  on  condition  in  Jan.,  and  chap 
ter  iv.  on  exodus. 

4  Tenfold  higher  than  in  the  spring.     Effects  stood  in  proportion.     Eggs 
$12  a  dozen;  Hawaiian  onions  and  potatoes  $1.50  a  Ib.j  shovels  $10  each,  etc. 
The  arrival  of  supplies  lowered  prices  till  flour  sold  at  from  $12  to  $15  a  bar 
rel  in  Dec.  Star  and  Cat.,  Dec.  1848;  Bu/ums  Six  Montlis,  23. 

5  For  spring  prices,  see  preceding  volume,  v.  652-4.     A  strong  influence 
was  felt  by  the  arrival  in  Sept.  of  the  brig  Belfast  from  New  York,  whose 
cargo  served  to  lower  the  price  of  merchandise,  but  whose  inauguration  of 
the  Broadway  wharf  as  a  direct  discharging  point  inspired  hope  among  the 
townsfolk.     Real  estate  rose  50  per  cent  near  the  harbor;  a  lot  vainly  offered 
for  $5,000  one  day,  'sold  readily  the  next  for  $10,000.'  S.  F.  Directory,  1852, 
9.     By  Nov.  the  prices  had  advanced  tenfold  upon  those  ruling  in  the  spring, 
and  rents  rose  from  $10  and  $20  to  $20  and  $100  per  month.     To  returning 
lot-holders  this  proved  another  mine,  but  others  complained  of  the  rise  as  a 
drawback  to  settlement.   Gillespie,  in  Larkins  Doc.,  MS.,  vi.  52,  66;  EarlCs 
Stat.,  MS.,  10. 

6  For  earlier  progress  of  wharves,  see  preceding  vol.,  v.  655,  679> 

7  The  Californian  had  maintained  a  spasmodic  existence  for  a  time  till 
bought  by  the  Cal.  Star,  which  on  Nov.  18th  reappeared  under  the  combined 
title,  Star  and  Californian,  after  five  months'  suspension.     In  Jan.  1849  it  ap 
pears  as  the  A  Ua  California^  weekly. 

8  Rev.  T.  D.  Hunt,  invited  from  Honolulu,   was  chosen  chaplain  to  the 


INFLUX  OF  VESSELS.  167 

the  increased  relapse  into  political  obliquity  and  dis 
sipation,  to  be  expected  from  a  population  exuberant 
with  sudden  affluence  after  long  privation.9 

Yet  this  period  was  but  a  dull  hibernation  of  expect 
ant  recuperation  for  renewed  toil,10  as  compared  with 
the  following  seasons.  The  awakening  came  at  the 
close  of  February  with  the  arrival  of  the  first  steam 
ship,  the  California,  bearing  the  new  military  chief, 
General  Persifer  F.  Smith,  and  the  first  instalment  of 
gold-seekers  from  the  United  States.  Then  vessel 
followed  vessel,  at  first  singly,  but  erelong  the  hori 
zon  beyond  the  Golden  Gate  was  white  with  approach 
ing  sails ;  and  soon  the  anchorage  before  Yerba  Buena 
Cove,  hitherto  a  glassy  expanse  ruffled  only  by  the 
tide  and  breeze,  and  by  some  rare  visitor,  was  thickly 
studded  with  dark  hulks,  presenting  a  forest  of  masts, 
and  bearing  the  symbol  and  stamp  of  different  countries, 
the  American  predominating.  By  the  middle  of  No 
vember  upward  of  six  hundred  vessels  had  entered 
the  harbor,  and  in  the  following  year  came  still  more.11 
The  larger  proportion  were  left  to  swing  at  anchor  in 
the  bay,  almost  without  guard — at  one  time  more 
than  500  could  be  counted — for  the  crews,  possessed 
no  less  than  the  passengers  by  the  gold  fever,  rushed 
away  at  once,  carrying  off  the  ship  boats,  and  caring 
little  for  the  pay  due  them,  and  still  less  for  the  dilemma 
of  the  consignees  or  captain.  The  helpless  commander 
frequently  joined  in  the  flight.12  So  high  was  the  cost 
of  labor,  and  so  glutted  the  market  at  times  with  cer 
tain  goods,  that  in  some  instances  it  did  not  pay  to 

citizens,  with  $2,500  a  year.  Services  at  schpol-house  on  Portsmouth  square. 
Annals  8.  F.,  207. 

9  There  were  now  general  as  well  as  local  elections,  particulars  of  which 
are  given  elsewhere. 

ltf  As  spring  approached,  attention  centred  on  preparations,  with  impatient 
waiting  for  opportunities  to  start  for  the  mines.  Hence  the  statement  may 
not  be  wrong  that  'most  of  the  people  of  the  city  at  that  time  had  a  cadav 
erous  appearance, ....  a  drowsy  listlessness  seemed  to  characterize  the  masses 
of  the  community. '  First  Steamship  Pioneers,  366. 

11  As  will  be  shown  in  the  chapter  on  commerce. 

12  Taylor  instances  a  case  where  the  sailors  coolly  rowed  off  under  the  fire 
of  the  government  vessels.  El  Dorado,  i.  54.     Merchants,  had. to  .take  care.of 
many  abandoned  vessels.  Fay's  Facta,  MS.,  1-2. 


168  SAN  TRANCISCO. 

unload  the  cargo.  Many  vessels  were  left  to  rot,  or 
to  be  beached  for  conversion  into  stores  and  lodging- 
houses.13  The  disappointments  and  hardships  of  the 
mines  brought  many  penitents  back  in  the  autumn,  so 
as  to  permit  the  engagement  of  crews. 

Of  40,000  and  more  persons  arriving  in  the  bay, 
the  greater  proportion  had  to  stop  at  San  Francisco  to 
arrange  for  proceeding  inland,  while  a  certain  number 
of  traders,  artisans,  and  others  concluded  to  remain  in 
the  city,  whose  population  thus  rose  from  2,000  in  Feb 
ruary  to  6,000  in  August,  after  which  the  figure  began 
to  swell  under  the  return  current  of  wintering  or  sati 
ated  miners,  until  it  reached  about  20,000.14 

To  the  inflowing  gold-seekers  the  aspect  of  the 
famed  El  Dorado  city  could  not  have  been  very  in 
spiring,  with  its  straggling  medley  of  low  dingy  adobes 
of  a  by-gone  day,  and  frail  wooden  shanties  born  in  an 

13  By  cutting  holes  for  doors  and  windows  and  adding  a  roof.     Merrill, 
Stat.,  MS.,  2-4,  instances  the  well-known  Niantlc  and  Gen.  Harrison.     Lar- 
kin,  in  Doc.  Hist.  CaL,  vii.  288,  locates  the  former  at  N.  w.  corner  Sansome 
and  Clay,  and  the  latter  (owned  by  E.  Mickle  &  Co.)  at  N.  w.  corner  Bat 
tery  and  Clay.     He  further  places  the  Apollo  storeship,  at  N.  w.  corner  Sacra 
mento  and  Battery,  and  the  Georgean  between  Jackson  and  Washington,  west 
of  Battery  st.     Many  sunk  at  their  moorings.     As   late  as  Jan.   1857  old 
hulks  still  obstructed  the  harbor,  while  still  others  had  been  overtaken  by  the 
bayward  march  of  the  city  front,  and  formed  basements  or  cellars  to  tene 
ments  built  on  their  decks.     Even  now,  remains  of  vessels  are  found  under 
the  filled  foundations  of  houses.     Energetic  proceedings  of  the  harbor-master 
finally  cleared  the  channel.     This  work  began  already  in  1850.     Chas  Hare 
made  a  regular  business  of  taking  the  vessels  to  pieces;  and  soon  the  observ 
ant  Chinese  saw  the  profits  to  be  made,  and  applied  their  patient  energy 
to  the  work.     Among  the  sepulchred  vessels  I  may  mention  the  Cadmus, 
which  carried  Lafayette  to  America  in  1824;  the  Plover,  which  sailed  the  Arctic 
in  search  of  Franklin;  the  Regulus,  Alceste,  Thames,  Neptune,  Golconda,  Mersey, 
Caroline  Augusta,  Dianthe,  Genetta  deGoito,  Candace,  Copiapo,  Talca,  Bay  State, 
and  others. 

14  It  is  placed  at  3,000  in  March,  5,000  in  July,  and  from  12,000  to  15,000  in 
Oct.,  the  latter  by  Taylor,  Eldorado,  205,  and  a  writer  in  Home  Miss.,  xxiii. 
208.     Some  even  assume  30,000  at  the  end  of  1849.     In  the  spring  the  cur 
rent  set  in  for  the  mines,  leaving  a  small  population  for  the  summer.     The 
first  directory,  of  Sept.  1850,  contained  2,500  names,  and  the  votes  cast  in 
Oct.  reached  3,440.  Sac.  Transcript,  Oct.  14,  1850.     Hittell,  S.  F.,  147-8,  as 
sumes  not  over  8,000  in  Nov.  1849,  on  the  strength  of  the  vote  then  cast  of 
2,056,  while  allowing  about  25,000  in  another  place  for  Dec.  The  Annals  S.  F.y 

.219,  .226,  244,  insists  upon  at  least  20,000,  probably  nearer  25,000.  There  are 
other  estimates  in  Mayne's  B.  Col.  157.  The  figures  differ  in  Crosby's  Events, 
MS.,  12;  Williams  Stat.,  MS.,  3;  Greens  Life,  MS.,  19;  Burnett's  Recol .  MS., 
ii.  36;  Bartktt's  Stat.,  MS.,  3. 


THE  EMBRYO  METROPOLIS. 


169 


The  (-raded  sha^mg  indicates  the  rel- 
A.  ative  density  of  occupation  in   the  b<uines« 

«na  leading  re«idence  «^ctlon» 


SAN  FRANCISCO  IN  1849. 


170  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

afternoon,  with  a  sprinkling  of  more  respectable  frame 
houses,  and  a  mass  of  canvas  and  rubber  habitations. 
The  latter  crept  outward  from  the  centre  to  form  a 
flapping  camp-like  suburb  around  the  myriad  of  sand 
hills  withered  by  rainless  summer,  their  dreariness 
scantily  relieved  by  patches  of  chaparral  and  sage 
brush,  diminutive  oak  and  stunted  laurel,  upon  which 
the  hovering  mist-banks  cast  their  shadow.15 

It  was  mainly  a  city  of  tents,  rising  in  crescent  in 
cline  upon  the  shores  of  the  cove.  Stretching  from 
Clark  Point  on  the  north-east,  it  skirted  in  a  narrow 
band  the  dominant  Telegraph  hill,  and  expanded  along 
the  Clay-street  slopes  into  a  more  compact  settlement 
of  about  a  third  of  a  mile,  wrhich  tapered  away  along 
the  California-street  ridge.  Topographic  peculiarities 
compelled  the  daily  increasing  canvas  structures  to 
spread  laterally,  and  a  streak  extended  northward 
along  Stockton  street;  but  the  larger  number  passed 
to  the  south-west  shores  of  the  cove,  beyond  the  Mar 
ket-street  ridge,  a  region  which,  sheltered  from  the 
blustering  west  winds  and  provided  with  good  spring 
water,  was  named  Happy  Valley.16  Beyond  an  at- 

15  Hardly  any  visitor  fails  to  dilate  upon  the  dreary  bareness  of  the  hills, 
a  'corpse-like  waste,'  as  Pfeiffer,  Lady's  Second  Jour.,  288,  has  it.   Helper's 
Land  of  Gold,  83. 

16  All  this  shore  beyond  California  street,  for  several  blocks  inland,  was 
called  Happy  Valley;  yet  the  term  applied  properly  to  the  valley  about  First, 
Second,  Mission,  and  Natoma  sts.     The  section  along  Howard  st  was  known 
as  Pleasant  Valley.  Deans  Stat.,  MS.,  1;  Currey's  Incidents,  MS.,  4;    Wilicy, 
and  pioneer  letters  in  S.  F.  Bulletin,  May  17,  1859;  Jan.  23,  Sept.  10,  18G7. 
The  unclaimed  soil  was  also  an  attraction.     The  hill  which  at  the  present 
Palace  Hotel  rose  nearly  threescore  feet  in  height  in  a  measure  turned  the 
wind.     Yet  proportionately  more  people  died  in  this  valley,  says  Garniss, 
Early  Days,  MS.,   10,  than  in  the  higher  parts  of  S.  F.     Currey  estimates 
the  number  of  tents  here  during  the  winter  1849-50  at  1,000,  and  adds  that 
the  dwellings  along  Stockton  st,  north  from  Clay,  were  of  a  superior  order. 
Ulri,  sup. ,  8.     Details  on  the  extent  of  the  city  are  given  also  in  Williams' 
Recol,  MS.,  6;  Merrill,  Stat.,  MS.,  2,  wherein  is  observed  that  it  took  half  an 
hour  to  reach  Fourth  st  from  the  plaza,  owing  to  the  trail  winding  round 
sand  hills.    Button's  Early  Exper.,  MS.,  1;  Barstow's  Stat.,  MS.,  2;  Roach's 
Stat.,   MS,,  2;   Doolittle's  Stat.,  MS.,  2;    Upham's  Notes,  221;    Tun-ill's  Cal. 
Notes,  22-7;  Winans'  Stat.,  MS.,  514;  Fay's  Facts,  MS.,  3;  Findlas  Stat.,  MS.,  3, 
9;  Robinson's  Cal.  and  Its  Gold  Reg.,  10;  Walton's  Facts,  8;  Richardson's  Missis., 
448,  with  view  of  S.  F.  in  1847;  Lloyd's  Lights  and  Shades,  18-20;  Saxons 
Five.  Years,  309-12;  Hemhaw's  Events,  MS.,  2;  Ricliardson's  Mining,  MS.,  10-11; 
Frisbie's  Remin.,  MS.,  36-7;  Sixteen  Months,  46,  167;  Cal.  Gold  Regions,  1C5, 
214;   Hutcfungs'  Mag.,  i.  83;  Dilke's  Greater  Britain,  209,  228-32;   Clemens' 


TELEGRAPH  HILL.  171 

tenuatecl  string  continued  toward  the  government 
reservation  at  Rincon  Point,  the  south-east  limit  of 
the  cove.17 

Thus  the  city  was  truly  a  fit  entrepot  for  the  gold 
region.  Yet,  with  the  distinctive  features  of  different 
nationalities,  it  had  in  the  aggregate  a  stamp  of  its 
own,  and  this  California  type  is  still  recognizable 
despite  the  equalizing  effect  of  intercourse,  especially 
with  the  eastern  states. 

The  first  striking  landmark  to  the  immigrant  was 
Telegraph  hill,  with  its  windmill-like  signal  house  and 
pole,  whose  arms,  by  their  varying  position,  indicated 
the  class  of  vessel  approaching  the  Golden  Gate.18 
And  many  a  flutter  of  hope  and  expectation  did  they 
evoke  when  announcing  the  mail  steamer,  laden  with 
letters  and  messengers,  or  some  long-expected  clipper- 
ship  with  merchandise,  or  perchance  bringing  a  near 
and  dear  relative  1  Along  its  southern  slopes  dwell 
ings  began  rapidly  to  climb,  with  squatters'  eyries 
perched  upon  the  rugged  spurs,  and  tents  nestling  in 
the  ravines.  Clark  Point,  at  its  foot,  was  for  a  time 
a  promising  spot,  favored  by  the  natural  landing  ad 
vantages,  and  the  Broadway  pier,  the  first  ship  wharf; 
and  its  section  of  Sansorne  street  was  marked  by  a 
number  of  corrugated  iron  stores;  but  with  the  rapid 
extension  of  the  wharf  system,  Montgomery  street 
reaffirmed  its  position  as  the  base  line  for  business. 
Most  of  the  heavy  import  firms  were  situated  along 
its  eastern  side,  including  a  number  of  auction-houses, 
conspicuous  for  their  open  and  thronged  doors,  and  the 

Roughing  It,  410,  417,  444;  tfouv.  Annaks  Voy>,  1849,  224;  Voorhies'  Oration, 
4-5;  Pac.  Neto*,  Nov.  27,  1849;  Dec.  27,  1850;  New  and  Old,  69  et  seq.;  Mc- 
•Collums  Call  33-6.  Earlier  details  at  the  close  of  preceding  volume. 

17  A  mile  across  from  Clark  Point.     These  two  points  presented  the  only 
boat  approach  at  low  water.     A  private  claim  to  Rincon  Point  reservation 
was  subsequently  raised  ou  the  ground  that  the  spot  had  been  preempted  by 
one  White;  but  government  rights  were  primary  in  cases  involving  military 
defences.  8.  F.  Times,  Apr.  7th. 

18  This   improved   signal-station,  in  a  two-atory  house   25  ft  by  18,  was 
erected  in  Sept.  1849.  Reminiscences  in  S.  F.  Call,  Dec.  8,  1870;  Taylor 's  El 
dorado,  i.  117.     After  the  telegraph  connected  the  outer  ocean  station  with 
the  city,  tlie  hill  became  mainly  a  resort  for  Visitors.     The  signal-house  was 
blown  down  in  Dec.  1870. 


172  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

hum  of  sellers  and  bidders.  On  the  mud-flats  Ji  their 
rear,  exposed  by  the  receding  tide,  lay  barges  unload 
ing  merchandise.  Toward  the  end  of  1849,  piling  and 
filling  pushed  warehouses  ever  farther  out  into  the 
cove,  but  Montgomery  street  retained  most  of  the 
business  offices,  some  occupying  the  crossing  thor 
oughfares.  Clay  street  above  Montgomery  became 
a  dry-goods  centre.  Commercial  street  was  opened, 
and  its  water  extension,  Long  Wharf,  unfolded  into  a 
pedler's  avenue  and  Jews'  quarter,  where  Cheap  Johns 
with  sonorous  voices  and  broad  wit  attracted  crowds 
of  idlers.  The  levee  eastward  was  transformed  into 
Leidesdorff  street,  and  contained  the  Pacific  Mail 
Steamship  office.  California  street,  which  marked 
the  practical  limit  of  settlement  *in  1848,  began  to 
attract  some  large  importing  firms;  and  thither  was 
transferred  in  the  middle  of  1850  the  custom-house, 
round  which  clustered  the  express  offices  and  two 
places  of  amusement.  Nevertheless,  the  city  by  that 
time  did  not  extend  beyond  Bush  street,  save  in  the 
line  along  the  shore  to  Happy  Valley,  where  manu 
facturing  enterprises  found  a  congenial  soil,  fringed 
on  the  west  by  family  residences. 

Kearny  street  was  from  the  first  assigned  to  retail 
shops,  extending  from  Pine  to  Broadway  streets,  and 
centring  round  Portsmouth  square,  a  bare  spot,  relieved 
alone  by  the  solitary  liberty-pole,  and  the  animals  in 
and  around  it.19  The  bordering  sides  of  the  plaza 
were,  however,  mainly  occupied  by  gambling-houses, 
flooded  with  brilliant  light  and  music,  and  with  flaring 
streamers  which  attracted  idlers  and  men  seeking  re 
laxation.  Additional  details,  with  a  list  of  business 
firms  and  notable  houses  and  features,  I  append  in  a 
note.20  At  the  corner  of  Pacific  street  stood  a  four- 

19  It  long  remained  a  cow-pen,  enclosed  by  rough  boards.  Helper's  Land 
Of  Gold,  74. 

29  A  record  of  the  business  and  professional  community  of  S.  F.  in  1849- 
50  cannot  be  made  exhaustive  or  rigidly  accurate  for  several  obvious  reasons. 
There  was  a  constant  influx  and  reflux  of  people  from  and  to  the  interior, 
especially  in  the  spring  and  autumn.  The  irregularity  in  building  and 
numbering  left  much  confusion;  and  the  several  sweeping  conflagrations 


AROUND  CLARK  POINT.  173 

story  building  adorned  with   balconies,  wherein  the 
City  Hall  had  found  a  halting-place  after  much  mi- 

which  caused  the  ruin,  disappearance,  and  removal  of  many  firms  and  stores, 
added  to  the  confusion.  Instability  characterized  this  early  period  here  as 
well  as  in  the  ever-shifting  mining  camps.  I  would  have  preferred  to  limit 
the  present  record  of  the  city  to  1849  as  the  all-important  period,  but  the 
autumn  and  spring  movements  force  me  over  into  the  middle  of  1850.  The 
vagueness  of  some  of  my  authorities  leads  me  occasionally  to  overstep  even 
this  line.  These  authorities  are,  foremost,  the  numerous  manuscript  dicta 
tions  and  documents  obtained  from  pioneers,  so  frequently  quoted  in  this  and 
other  chapters;  the  ayuntamiento  minutes;  advertisements  and  notices  in  the 
AUa  California,  Pacific  News,  Journal  of  Commerce,  California  Courier,  S.  F. 
Herald,  Evening  Picayune,  and  later  newspapers;  and  Kimbairs  Directory 
ofS.  F.  for  1850,  the  first  work  of  the  kind  here  issued.  It  is  a  16mo  of  1C9 
pages,  with  some  2,500  names,  remarkable  for  its  omissions,  errors,  and  lack 
of  even  alphabetical  order,  yet  of  great  value.  The  Men  and  Memories  cf 
San  Francisco  in  the  Spring  of  1850,  by  T.  A.  Barry  and  B.  A.  Patten,  S.  F., 
1873,  12mo,  296  pp.,  which  has  taken  its  chief  cue  from  the  above  directory, 
wanders  often  widely  from  the  period  indicated  on  the  title-page,  yet  offers 
many  interesting  data.  I  also  refer  to  my  record  for  the  city  in  1848,  in  the 
preceding  vol.,  v.  67G  etseq.  The  favorite  landing-place  for  passengers  of 
1849  was  the  rocks  at  Clark  Point,  so  called  after  Wm  S.  Clark,  who  still 
owns  the  warehouse  here  erected  by  him  in  1847-8,  at  the  N.E.  corner  of 
Battery  and  Broadway.  At  the  foot  of  Broadway  extended  also  the  first 
wharf  for  vessels,  a  short  structure,  which  by  Oct.  1850  had  been  stretched 
a  distance  of  250  feet,  by  40  in  width.  The  name  Commercial  applied  to  it 
for  a  while  soon  yielded  to  Broadway.  Here  were  the  offices  of  the  harbor 
master,  river  and  bar  pilots,  and  Sacramento  steamer,  and  for  a  time  the 
brig  Treaty  lay  at  the  pier  as  a  storage  ship,  controlled  by  Whitman  &  Sal 
mon,  merchants.  On  the  same  wharf  were  the  offices  of  Flint  (Jas  P.  and 
Ed.),  Peabody,  &  Co.,  Osgood  &  Eagleston,  commission  merchants;  Geo.  H. 
Peck,  produce  merchant;  F.  Vassault  &  Co.  (W.  F.  Roelofson),  Col  March, 
Col  Ben.  Poor,  Jos.  P.  Blair,  agent  of  the  Aspinwall '  steamship  line,  J. 
Badkins,  grocer,  and  the  noted  Steinberger's  butcher-shop. 

Near  by,  to  the  north,  were  three  pile  projections.  First,  Cunningham 
wharf,  between  Vallejo  and  Green  sts,  in  Oct.  1850,  375  ft  long,  33  ft  wide,  wich 
a  right-angle  extension  of  3CO  ft  by  30,  at  a  depth  of  25  ft  cost  $75,000.  Here 
lay  for  a  time  the  storage  ship  Resdutci,  in  care  of  the  pilot  agent  Ncbon.  For 
building  grant  of  wharf  to  Jos.  Cunningham,  see  S.  F.  Minutes,  1849,  197-8. 
At  the  foot  of  Green  st  and  toward  Union  st  were  the  extensions  of  B.  R. 
Buckelew  &  Co.,  general  merchants,  and  the  Law  or  Green-st-wharf  build 
ing  in  the  autumn  of  1850.  Southward  stretched  the  wharf  extension  of 
Pacific  st,  a  solid  structure  60  ft  wide,  of  which  in  Oct.  1850  525  ft  were 
completed,  out  of  the  proposed  800  ft,  to  cost  $60,  COO.  On  its  north  side, 
beyond  Battery  st,  lay  the  storage  ship  Arkansas.  Near  it  was  the  butcher- 
shop  of  Tim  Burnham,  and  the  office  of  Hy.  Wetherbee,  merchant.  Near 
the  foot  of  Broadway  st,  appropriately  so  named  from  its  extra  width,  were 
the  offices  of  Wm  E.  S  tough  tenburgh,  auctioneer  and  com.  mer. ;  Hutton  & 
Miller  (M.  E.);  Ellis  (J.  S.,  later  sheriff  S.  F.)  &  Goin  (T.);  and  L.  T.  Wil 
son,  shipping;  Hutton  (J.  F.)  &  Timmerman,  com.  mer.;  D.  Babcock,  drug 
gist;  D.  Chandler,  market.  On  Battery  st,  named  after  the  Fort  Montgom 
ery  battery  of  1846  which  stood  at  the  water  edge  north  of  Vallejo  st,  rose 
the  Fremont  hotel  of  John  Sutch,  near  Vallejo,  and  the  Bay  hotel  of  Pet. 
Guevil.  On  either  side  of  the  street,  between  Vallejo  and  Broadway,  were 
the  offices  of  Ed.  H.  Castle,  mer.;  Gardiner,  Howard,  &  Co.,  Hazen  &  Co., 
Jos.  L.  Howell,  J.  H.  Morgan  &  Co.  (A.  E.  Kitfield,  John  Lentell),  L.  R. 
Mills,  J.  H.  Morton  &  Co.,  corner  of  Vallejo,  the  last  three  grocers;  Nat.  Mil 
ler  is  marked  both  as  grocer  and  lumber  dealer;  Wm  Suffern,  saddler;  south 
of  Broadway  were  Brooks  &  Friel,  tin-plate  workers. 

On  Broadway,  between  Battery  and  Sansome  sts,  were  the  offices  of  C.  A. 


174  SAN   FRANCISCO. 

grating,  in  conjunction  with  the  jail  ana  court-rooms. 
The  opposite  block,  stretching  toward  Montgomery 

Bertram!,  shipping;  at  the  Battery  corner,  Wm  Clark,  mer.;  John  Elliott, 
com.  mer.;  Geo.  F arris  &  Co.  (S,  C.  Northrop  and  Edwin  Thompson),  gen. 
store.  Half  a  dozen  additional  Point  hostelries  were  here  represented  by  the 
Illinois  house  of  S.  Anderson,  at  the  Battery  corner,  Broadway  house  of  Wm 
M.  Bruner,  the  rival  Broadway  hotel  of  L.  Dederer,  Lovejoy's  hotel  of  J.  H. 
Brown,  Lafayette  hotel  of  L.  Guiraud,  and  Albion  house  of  Croxton  &  Ward, 
the  latter  four  between  Sansome  and  Montgomery  sts,  in  which  section  were 
abo  the  offices  of  White,  Graves,  &  Buckley,  and  Aug.  A.  Watson  &  Co  ;  II. 
Marks  &  Bro.,  gen.  store;  Wm  H.  Towne,  and  Dederer  &  Valentine,  gro 
cers.  West  of  Battery  ran  Sansome  st,  from  Telegraph  hill  cliffs  at  Broadway 
to  the  cove  at  Jackson  st,  well  lined  with  business  places,  and  conspicuous 
for  the  number  of  corrugated  iron  buildings.  At  the  west  corner  of  Broad 
way  rose  the  3} -story  wooden  edifice  of  J.  W.  Bingham,  0.  Reynolds,  and  F.  A. 
&  W.  A.  Bartlott,  com.  mer.  In  the  same  block  was  the  office  of  De  Witt  (Alf. 
&  Harrison,  (H.  A.),  one  of  the  oldest  firms,  later  Kittle  &  Co.;  abo  Case, 
Heiser,  &  Co.,  and  Mahoney,  Ripley,  &  McCullough,  on  the  N.  w.  Pacific-st 
corner,  who  dealt  partly  in  ammunition.  At  the  Paciiic-st  corner  were  abo 
Wm  H.  Mosher  &  Co.  (W.  A.  Bryant,  W.  F.  Story,  W.  Adain),  and  E.  S. 
Stone  &  Co.,  com.  mers,  and  Hawley's  store.  In  the  same  section  were  the 
offices  of  Muir  (A.)  &  Greene  (E.),  brokers;  Jos.  W.  Hartman  and  Jas  Hogan, 
mers,  are  assigned  to  Telegraph  hill.  The  well-known  C.  J.  Collins  had  a 
hat-shop  on  this  street,  and  Jose  Suffren  kept  a  grocery  at  the  Broadway 
corner. 

The  section  of  Sansome  st,  between  Pacific  and  Jackson  sts,  was  even  more 
closely  occupied.  At  Gold  st,  a  lane  running  westward  along  the  cove,  L.  B. 
Hanks  had  established  himself  as  a  lumber  dealer.  Buildings  had  risen  on 
piles  beyond  the  lane,  however,  on  the  corners  of  Jackson  st,  occupied  by 
Corjhill  (H.  J.)  &  Arrington  (W.),  com.  mer. ;  Bullet  &  Patrick  (on  the  opposit*e 
side),  Buzby  &  Bros,  F.  M.  Warren  &  Co.  (C.  E.  Chapin,  S.  W.  Shelter),  ship 
and  com.  mer. ;  Hotalling  &  Barnstead,  Huerlin  &  Belcher,  gen.  dealers,  and 
Ed.  H.  Parker.  Northward  in  the  section  were  Ellis  (M.),  Crosby  (C.  W.),  & 
Co.  (W.  A.  Beecher),  Cross  (Al.),  Hobson  (Jos.),  &  Co.  (W.  Hooper),  Under 
wood  (Thos),  McKnight  (W.  S.),  &  Co.  (C.  W.  Creely),  Dana  Bros  (W.  A.  & 
H.  T.),  W.  H.  Davenport,  Grayson  &  Guild,  and  J.  B.  Lippincott  &  Co.,  all 
com.  mers;  E.  S.  Lovel,  mer.;  Chard,  Johnson  (D.  M.),  &Co.,  gen.  importers, 
at  Gold  st;  Simmons,  Lilly,  &  Co.,  clothing.  J.  W.  &  S.  H.  Dwinelle,  coun 
sellors,  were  in  Cross  &  Hobson's  building.  On  Pacific  st,  adjoining,  was  the 
office  of  Wm  Burlin,  mer.,  the  grocery  stores  of  T.  W.  Legget  and  Man. 
SufHoni,  the  confectionery  store  of  J.  H.  &  T.  M.  Gale,  and  three  hotels, 
Union,  Marine,  and  du  Commerce,  kept  by  Geo.  Brown,  C.  C.  Stiles,  and  C. 
Renault,  the  last  two  between  Sansome  st  and  Ohio  st,  the  latter  a  lane  run 
ning  parallel  to  the  former,  from  Pacific  to  Broadway. 

The  business  part  of  Montgomery  st,  named  after  the  U.  S.  naval  officer 
commanding  at  S.  F.  in  1846,  extended  southward  from  the  cliffs  at  Broad 
way,  and  beyond  it,  on  the  slopes  of  Telegraph  hill.  There  were  several 
dwelling-houses,  among  them  Capt.  P.  B.  Hewlitt's,  who  received  boarders; 
yet  the  hill  was  mostly  abandoned  to  disreputable  Sydney  men,  and  westward 
to  the  now  assimilating  Spanish  Americans.  In  the  section  between  Broad 
way  and  Pacific  sts,  I  find  only  the  merchant  F.  Berton;  Chipman,  Brown,  & 
Co.  were  grocers;  Jas  Harrison  kept  a  gen.  store  at  the  corner,  and  Dr  S.  R. 
Gerry,  the  health  officer  of  Dec.  1849,  had  an  office  here.  In  the  next  sec 
tion,  between  Pacific  and  Jackson,  Montgomery  st  assumed  the  general  busi 
ness  stamp  for  which  it  was  preeminent.  Merchants,  commission  houses,  and 
auctioneers  were  the  chief  occupants,  the  last  being  most  conspicuous.  At 
the  Pacific  corner  were  the  merchants  Harrison  (Capt.  C.  H.),  Bailey,  & 
Hooper,  and  A.  Olphan;  and  at  the  Jackson  end,  J.  C.  &  W.  H.  V.  Cronise, 


JACKSON-STREET  LAGOON.  175 

street  and  at  the  foot  of  Telegraph  hill,  was  filled  with 
shabby  dens  and  public  houses  of  the  lowest  order, 

mers  and  aucs  (with  them  as  clerk,  Titus  Cronise,  the  later  author),  Hervey 
Sparks,  banker  and  real  estate  dealer,  and  Dewey  (Squire  P. )  &  Smith  (F. 
M.),  re:il  estate.  Intermediate  were  J  Behrens,  Geo.  Brown,  Davis  &  Co.  (J. 
W.  &  N.  R.  Davis),  J  H  Levein,  McKenzie,  Thompson,  &  Co.,  H.  H.  Nel 
son,  Thos  Whaley,  G.  S.  Wardle  &  Co.,  all  com.  mers;  Simon  Raphael,  mer.; 
J.  A.  Norton,  ship  and  com,  mer.,  an  English  Jew  whose  subsequent  business 
reverses  affected  his  mind  and  converted  him  into  one  of  the  most  noted  char 
acters  of  S.  F,  under  the  title  of  Emperor  Norton  of  Mexico.  Until  his 
death,  in  1880,  he  could  be  seen  daily  in  the  business  centres,  dressed  in  a 
shabby  military  uniform,  and  attending  to  financial  and  political  measures  for 
his  empire.  Here  were  also  the  clothing  stores  of  Raphael  (J.  G.),  Falk,  & 
Co.,  J.  Simons,  Louis  Simons,  and  Dan.  Toy. 

The  Jackson-st  corner  bordered  on  the  neck  of  the  lagoon,  which  pene 
trated  in  a  pear  form  on  either  side  of  this  street  more  than  half-way  up  to 
Kearny  st.  It  was  one  of  the  first  spots  to  Which  the  fillage  system  was 
applied,  and  the  bridge  by  which  Montgomery  st  crossed  its  neck  since  1844 
had  by  1849  been  displaced  by  a  solid  levee.  Jackson  st  began  its  march  into 
the  cove,  and  in  Oct.  2,  1850,  the  private  company  controlling  the  work  were 
fast  advancing  the  piling  beyond  Battery  to  Front  st,  being  552  feet  out, 
where  the  depth  was  13  ft.  The  estimated  cost  was  $40,000.  Its  section 
between  Montgomery  and  Sansome  was  heavily  occupied  by  firms:  N.  Larco 
&  Co.  (Labrosa,  Roding,  Bendixson),  Louis  Cohen,  Quevedo,  Lafour,  &  Co., 
Reihlincr,  Etlleysen,  &  Co.,  O.  P.  Sutton,  mers;  Bech,  Elam,  &  Co.  (W.  G. 
Eason,  J.  Galloway),  J.  C.  Catton,  Huttmann  (F.),  Eiller,  &  Co.,  Wm  Ladd, 
J.  F.  Stuart  &  Co.  (J.  Raynes),  com.  mers;  Christal,  Corman,  &  Co.,  Lord  & 
Washburn,  wholesale  and  gen.  mers;  Beideman(J.  C.)&  Co.  (S.  Fleischhaker), 
Ollendorff,  Wolf,  &  Co.  (C.  Friedenberg),  B.  Pinner  &  Bro.,  Potsdamer  & 
Rosenbaum  (J.  &  A.),  Sam.  Thompson,  R.  Wyman  &  Co.  (T.  S.  Wyman), 
clothing;  Adam  Grant,  S.  L.  Jacobs,  Titman  Bros,  C.  Jansen  &  Co.,  dry 
goods — the  last  named  victims  of  the  outrage  which  led  to  the  vigilance  up- 
r::ing  of  1851 — Hall  &  Martin,  aucs;  Roth  &  Potter,  stoves  and  tinwork; 
"White  &  McNulty,  grocers;  Paul  Adams,  fruit;  Dickson  &  Hay,  land-office; 
C.  C.  Richmond  &  Co.,  druggists,  in  a  store  brought  out  by  the  Eudorus,  Sept. 
1049.  Here  were  also  two  hotels,  the  Commercial  and  the  Dalton  house, 
kept  by  J.  Ford  &  Co.  and  Smith  &  Hasty,  and  the  fonda  Mejicana  of  E. 
Pascual  dispensed  the  fiery  dishes  dear  to  Mexican  palates.  Sansome  st  ex 
tended  from  here  on  piles  southward,  and  in  the  section  between  Jackson  and 
Washington  sts,  on  the  east  side,  was  the  office  of  W.  T.  Coleinan  &  Co.,  com. 
mers,  whose  chief  was  prominently  connected  with  the  vigilance  committee 
of  1851,  and  the  famed  president  of  the  1856  body.  Near  by  were  Jas  H. 
Ray,  Turner,  Fish,  &  Co.,  Goodall  (T.  H.),  Muzzy,  &  Co.,  Paul  White  &  Co. 
(J.  Watson),  also  com.  mers;  John  Cowell,  mer.  at  the  Jackson  corner;  Bel- 
knap,  White,  &  Co.,  provisions.  Rogers,  Richeson,  £  Co.  (M.  Jordan)  had  a 
coal-yard,  and  at  Jones'  alley  lay  a  lumber-yard  belonging  to  Palmer,  Cook, 
&Co. 

Continuing  along  Jackson  st,  from  Sansome  to  Battery  st,  we  find  the 
offices  of  Myrick,  Crosett,  &  Co.,  gen.  jobbers;  Howe  &  Hunter,  Jacoby, 
Herman,  &  Co.,  Savoni,  Archer,  &  Co.,  N.  H.  Sanborn,  Murry  &  Sanger,  Vose, 
Wood,  &  Co.,  com.  mers.  Wm  Crosett,  com.  mer.;  C.  E.  Hunter  &  Co.,  F. 
Coleman  Sanford,  gen.  mers;  F.  M.  Warren  &  Co.,  White  (W.  H.)  &  Williams 
(J.  T.),  ship,  and  com.  mers;  the  latter  nearer  Sansome  st.  Along  the 
water-front  W.  Meyer  kept  a  coffee-house.  The  latter  part  of  this  section 
was  a  wharf,  and  the  narrow  approach  to  the  office  of  Dupuy,  Foulkes,  &  Co., 
coin,  mer.,  at  the  Battery  corner,  revealed  the  splashing  water  on  either 
si-le.  Beyond  them  were  the  offices  of  E.  L.  Plumb,  mer. ;  Gassett  &  Sanborn 
(T.  S.),  E.  S.  Woodford  &  Co.  (J.  B.  Bridgeman),  ship,  and  com.  mersj  O. 


176  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

frequented  by  sinister-looking  men  and  brazen-faced 
females,  who  day  or  night  were  always  ready  either 

Charlick,  agent  for  Law's  line  of  steamers;  Gregory's  (J.  W.)  express; 
Schultz  &  Palmer,  grocers.  South  of  Jackson  and  west  of  Battery  st  lay 
the  storage  vessel  Georgean,  though  some  identify  her  with  the  prison  brig 
Euphemia.  On  Montgomery  st,  between  Jackson  and  Washington  sts,  were 
at  least  four  of  the  characteristic  auction -houses,  Moore  (G.  H.),  Folger  (F.  B.), 
&  Hill  (H.),  Jas  B.  Huie,  Scooffy  &  Kelsey,  and  W.  H.  Jones.  At  the 
Jackson-st  corner  were  Haight  (E.)  &  Ames  (0.  T. ),  com.  mers,  and  Pratt 
(J.)  &  Cole  (Cornel)  (later  U.  S.  senator),  attorneys;  while  at  the  Washing- 
ton-st  end  rose  the  Merchants'  Exchange  Reading  Room  of  L.  W.  Sloat — 
son  of  the  commodore — S.  Gower  is  also  named  as  proprietor — and  at  the  N. 
w.  corner  the  offices  of  C.  L.  Ross.  com.  mer.,  who  during  the  early  part  of 
1849  acted  as  postmaster  (in  1848  he  had  a  lumber-yard).  H.  B.  Sherman,  and 
P.  A.  Morse,  counsellor.  Among  the  occupants  of  the  Exchange  building 
were  Dickson  (IX),  De  Wolf  &  Co.,  and  J.  S.  Hager,  counsellor,  later  U.  S. 
senator;  and  in  the  Exchange  court  were  E.  D.  Heatley  &  Co.,  com.  mers; 
with  S.  Price,  consul  for  Chile,  as  partner.  In  this  section  are  mentioned 
among  the  merchants,  Rob.  Hamilton,  Worster  &  Gushing  (G.  A.),  W.  Hart, 
Stowell,  Williams  (H.),  &  Co.,  H.  Schroeder,  Van  der  Meden,  &  Co.,  Bennett 
&  Hallock  (J.  Y.),  L.  L.  Blood  &  Co.  (J.  H.  Adams,  G.  B.  Hunt),  Worthing- 
ton,  Beale,  &  Bunting,  Jos.  Bidleman,  Ed.  Gilson,  Guyol,  Galbraith,  &  Co., 
Mazera  N.  Medina,  com.  mers.  WykofF  &  Co.  (G.),  were  wholesale  dealers; 
Jas  Dows  &  Co.,  wholesale  liquor  men  (T.  G.  Phelps,  their  clerk,  was  later 
congressman  and  collector  of  S.  F. ) ;  S.  &  B.  Harries,  S.  Fleischhacker,  Pugh, 
Jacob,  &  Co.,  clothing;  Mclntosh  (R.)  &  Co.,  provisions;  John  Rainey,  gen. 
dealer;  Sabatie  (A.)  &  Roussel,  grocers;  Conroy  &  O'Conner,  hardware;  Brad 
ley,  photographer;  H.  F.  Williams,  carpenter  and  builder,  on  E.  side.  C.  Web 
ster  kept  the  Star  house.  At  the  foot  of  Washington  st,  which  touched  the 
cove  a  few  feet  below  Montgomery  st,  were  Franklin,  Selim,  &  Co.,  gen.  mers; 
Hosmer  &  Bros,  A.  P.  Kinnan,  and  Maynard  &  Co.,  grocers;  Leonard  &  Tay, 
produce  mers,  Chapin  &  Sawyer,  com.  mers,  Camilo  Martin,  and  J.  F.  Lohse, 
mers.  The  private  wharf  prolongation  of  this  street  extended  275  feet  by 
Oct.  1850. 

Between  Washington  and  Clay,  Montgomery  st  was  marked  by  additions 
in  the  banking  line,  notably  Burgoyne  &  Co.  (J.  V.  Plume),  at  the  s.w.  cor 
ner  of  Washington  st,  Ludlow  (S.),  Beebe,  &  Co.,  and  H.  M.  Naglee  &  Co., 
corner  of  Merchant  st,  and  by  a  literary  atmosphere  imparted  by  the  San 
Francisco  Herald,  of  Nugent  &  Co.,  the  Journal  of  Commerce,  of  W.  Bartlett 
(mayor  S.  F.  and  gov.  Cal.),  associated  with  Robb,  and  The  Watchman,  a  re 
ligious  monthly  by  A.  Williams,  at  the  same  office.  Marvin  &  Hitchcock's 
book-store  was  in  the  Herald  building,  the  Delmonico's  hotel,  by  Delmonico 
&  Treadwell,  at  the  Irving  house,  on  the  E.  side,  while  the  drug-store  of 
Harris  &  Parton  was  at  the  Wash.-st  corner.  At  these  corners  were  the 
offices  of  Finley,  Johnson  (C.  H.),  &  Co.,  (J.  W.  Austin),  Grogan  &  Lent 
(W.  M. ),  both  com.  mers,  and  Horace  Hawes,  counsellor  (and  first  sheriff  of 
the  county);  at  the  corner  of  Merchant  st,  Barron  &  Co.,  com.  mer.,  held  out, 
and  on  its  s.w.  corner  a  three-story  brick  building  was  begun  in  Oct.  1849, 
on  the  site  of  Capt.  Hinckley's  adobe  house.  The  Clay-st  corners  were  occu 
pied  by  Cordes,  Steffens,  &  Co.,  Josiah  Belden,  com.  mers;  Bacon  &  Mahony, 
and  R.  J.  Stevens  &  Co.  (G.  T.  H.  Cole),  both  ship  and  com.  mers.  In  the 
same  section  were  Earl,  Mackintosh,  &  Co.,  Hayden  &  Mudge,  Cost  &  Ver- 
planck,  the  latter  two  in  the  Herald  building,  Vogan,  Lyon,  &  Co.,  Manrow  & 
Co.  (W.  N.  Meeks),  all  com.  mers;  Oct.  Hoogs,  J.  C.  Treadwell,  mers;  Ken- 
dig,  Wainright,  &  Co.,  auc.  and  com.  mer.  in  a  long  one-story  wooden  house; 
J.  A.  Kyte,  ship  and  com.  mer.;  Corvin  &  Markley,  clothing  and  shoes; 
Marriott,  real  estate;  F.  G.  &  J.  C.  Ward,  gen.  dealers.  In  the  same  or  ad 
joining  section,  if  we  may  trust  the  confused  numbering  of  those  days,  may 


THE  HEART  OF  THE  CITY.  177 

for  low  revelry  or  black  crime.  The  signs  above  the 
drinking-houses  bore  names  which,  like  Tarn  O'Shan- 

be  placed  Beech  &  Forrey,  Vandervoort  &  Co.,  Rob.  Fash,  L.  Haskell,  H. 
Hughes,  jr,  E.  T.  Martin,  Porter  &  Co.,  Sage  &  Smith  (Stewart),  all  com. 
mers;  Annan,  Lord,  &  Co.,  gen.  jobbing;  Reed  &  Carter,  ship  mers;  Jos. 
Chapman  and  Joel  Holkins  &  Co.,  mers;  Fitch  (H.  S.)  &  Co.  (I.  McK. 
Lemon),  auc.  and  com.  mers;  Frisbie  &  Co.,  mer.  broker;  A.  B.  Southworth, 
metal  dealer;  Ed.  S.  Spear,  broker;  D.  S.  Morrill,  Boston  notions;  Johnson 
&  McCarty,  provisions;  Crittenden  (A.  P.)  &  Randolph,  and  S.  Heydenfelt, 
attorneys;  and  the  Pacific  bath-house. 

Turning  down  Clay  st  toward  the  water,  we  find  in  1849  the  beginning  of 
a  wharf,  just  below  Montgomery  st,  which  by  Oct.  1850  extended  900  ft  by 
4'J  ft  in  width,  and  would  before  the  end  of  that  year  be  carried  900  ft  farther, 
at  a  total  cost  of  $39,000.  In  its  rear,  at  the  N.  w.  Sansome-st  corner  had 
been  left  stranded  the  old  whaler  Niantic,  converted  into  a  warehouse  with 
offices,  by  Godeffroy,  Sillem,  &  Co.  At  the  corresponding  Battery  corner  lay 
the  storage  ship  Gen.  Harrison.  Along  this  wharf  street  were  established  Ira 
A.  Eaton,  B.  H.  Randolph,  Hochkofler  &  Tenequel,  J.  G.  Pierce,  F.  Vassault, 
mers;  J.  J.  Chauviteau  &  Co.,  gen.  bankers  and  com.  mers;  J.  B.  Corrigan, 
Green  (H.)  &  Morgan  (N.  D.),  Ogden  &  Haynes,  Z.  Holt,  E.  Mickle  &  Co.  (W. 
H.  Tillinghast,  later  banker),  H.  C.  Beals,  J.  H.  Chichester,  Win  H.  Coit,  Geo. 
Sexsmith,  Simmons,  Hutchinson,  &  Co.  (Simmons  died  Sept.  1850,  see  biog. 
preceding  vol.  v.),  com.  mers;  Woodworth  (S.  &  F.)  &  Morris,  ship  and  com. 
mers  (Selim  E.  Woodworth,  the  second  vigilance  president  of  1851,  leader  of 
the  immigrant  relief  party  of  1848,  and  later  U.  S.  commodore);  Moorehead, 
Whitehead,  &  Waddington,  Valparaiso  flour  mers;  here  was  also  the  office 
of  the  Sacramento  steamers;  T.  Breeze  (later  Breeze  &  Loughran).  Many  of 
the  stores  were  of  zinc.  Buckley  &  Morse,  shipsmiths,  Schloss  Bros,  wholesale 
dealers;  Jas  Patrick,  Jas  B.  Weir,  provisions;  Dunbar  (F.)  &  Gibbs,  grocers, 
on  Sansome  st.  The  southern  half  of  the  Wash. -Clay  block  on  the  corner 
was  owned  by  R.  M.  Sherman,  for  a  time,  in  1848-9,  of  the  firm  Sherman  & 
Ruckle,  and  he  still  owns  the  property. 

Returning  to  Montgomery  st  toward  Sacramento  st,  we  find  at  the 
S.  w.  Clay-st  corner  the  first  brick  house  of  the  city,  erected  by  Mellus  & 
Howard  in  1848.  This  appears  to  be  the  so-called  fire-proof  Wells  building, 
occupied  partly  by  Wells  (T.  G.)  &  Co.,  bankers.  At  the  Clay-st  corners 
were  also  Fay,  Pierce,  &  Willis,  O.  C.  Osborne,  sr  and  jr,  com.  mers;  M.  F. 
Klaucke,  gen.  mer. ;  Delos  Lake,  counsellor,  and  Cooke  &  Lecount,  stationers. 
At  the  corner  of  Commercial  st,  James  King  of  William,  the  assassinated 
editor  of  1856,  had  a  banking-house;  here  were  also  N.  Bargber  &  Co.,  mers; 
Jas  Murry,  ship  mer.;  and  on  the  S.  E.  corner  stood  the  noted  Tontine  gam 
bling-house,  managed  by  W.  Shear,  and  also  by  Austin  &  Button  (Austin  was 
later  tax  collector  of  the  city).  A  two-story -and-a-half  house  on  the  opposite 
corner,  with  projecting  eaves,  once  belonging  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Co.,  had 
also  a  gambling-saloon  much  frequented  by  Mexicans.  In  this  circle  figured 
the  Eureka  hotel  of  J.  H.  Davis  &  Co.  At  the  Sacramento  st  end  were  J. 
R.  Rollinson,  ship  &  com.  mer.;  H.  E.  Davison,  gen.  merchandise,  and 
Taaffe  (W.),  Murphy  (D.),  &  McCahill  (G.),  dry  goods,  etc.  Intermediate 
were  the  offices  of  Moore  (R.)  &  Andrews  (Steb.),  the  long-established 
Howard  &  Green  (T.  H.,  the  former  being  before  of  the  firm  Mellus  &  How 
ard),  Capt.  Aaron  Sargent,  Gildemeister  &  De  Fremery  (J.),  all  corn,  mers; 
Grayson  &  Guild  also  had  their  office  here;  A  Hausman,  Goldstein,  &  Co.  cloth 
ing;  J.  W.  Osborn,  chinaware;  Rob.  Sherwood,  watchmaker,  la.ter  capitalist. 
Crane  &  Rice,  proprietors  Cal.  Courier. 

Commercial  street  received  a  great  impulse  from  the  projection  in  May  1849 
of  the  Central  or  Long  wharf,  by  a  company  which  embraced  such  prominent 
citizens  as  Howard,  W.  H.  Davis,  S.  Brannan,  Ward,  Price,  Folsom,  Shilla- 
ber,  Cross,  Hobson  &  Co.,  De  Witt  &  Harrison,  Finley,  Johnson,  &  Co.,  etc., 
.  CAL.,  Vo',.  .  12 


178  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

ter,  Magpie,  and  Boar's  Head,  smacked  of  English 
sea-port  resorts,  and  within  them  Australian  slang 

who  subscribed  $120,000  at  once.  By  Dec.,  800  ft  were  finished  at  a  cost  of 
$110,000.  In  June  1850  the  great  fire  destroyed  a  portion,  but  work  was  re 
sumed  and  by  Oct.  it  was  2,000  ft  out,  so  that  the  mail  steamers  could  ap 
proach;  repairs  and  extension  cost  $71,000.  This  drew  trade  rapidly  from 
other  quarters  and  led  to  wharf  extension  in.  different  directions.  Capt.  Gil- 
lespie  was  wharfinger.  Leidesdorff,  so  named  after  the  U.  S.  vice-consul, 
whose  warehouse  stood  at  its  junction  with  California  st,  was  originally  a 
beach  levee.  The  office  of  the  Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Co.,  at  the  s.  E.  comer 
of  Com.  and  Leidesdorff  sts,  was  at  first  a  two-story  house,  20  ft  square. 
After  the  fire  of  June  1850  it  was  moved  to  the  Sacramento  corner  of 
Leidesdorff.  Here  was  also  the  Kremlin  restaurant  and  saloon  of  Nash,  Pat 
ten,  &  Thayer,  with  lodgings  above.  On  the  N.  E.  corner  stood  Hall  &  Ryck- 
man's  (the  latter  3d  president  of  the  vigilance  committee  of  1851)  New  World 
building.  At  the  head  of  the  wharf  was  a  brick  building  bearing  the  conspic 
uous  sign  of  Dan.  Gibb,  com.  mer. ;  his  neighbors  were  R.  B.  Wilkins,  Jas  H. 
Goodman,  Theo.  Norris,  Huffman  &  Brien,  com.  mers;  Endicott,  Greene,  & 
Oakes,  mers;  Smith  &  Block,  grocers  and  com.  mers;  Wm  Thompson,  jr, 
com.  and  ship  broker,  occupied  the  Commercial  building.  Ellis  &  Goin,  of 
Clark  Point,  had  an  office  here  for  a  time.  Along  the  wharf  were  G.  B. 
Bradford,  Huffman  &  Brien,  Qttinger  &  Brown,  Gosse  &  Espie,  Hamilton  & 
Luyster,  Hewes  &  Cutter,  com.  mers;  Quimby,  Harmon,  &  Co.,  shoes;  Bonva- 
lot,  Roux,  &  Co.,  variety  store;  Ferguson,  Reynolds,  &  Co.,  Smith  &  Gavin, 
grocers;  Hoff  &  Ambrose,  at  the  Battery  corner;  the  Prices  Current  office. 

Before  the  Commercial-st  wharf  and  its  rivals  attracted  traffic,  Sacramento 
st  stood  prominent  as  a  reception  place  for  merchandise.  It  had  now  to  join 
in  the  race  toward  deep  water;  to  which  end  Henry  Howison  prolonged  the 
southern  side  of  the  street  till  it  reached,  in  Oct.  1850,  a  length  of  1,100  ft, 
with  a  width  of  40  and  a  depth  of  14  ft  at  high  water.  Stevenson  &  Parker 
extended  the  street  proper  to  Davis  st,  a  distance  of  800  feet,  by  Oct.  1 850, 
and  erected  near  the  end  a  commodious  building.  At  the  end  of  Howison 's  pier 
were  the  storage  brigs  Piedmont  and  Casilda,  belonging  to  Mohler,  Caduc,  &  Co. 
Caduc,  later  ice-dealer,  assisted  in  building  the  pier.  The  Thomas  Bennett, 
brought  out  by  a  Baltimore  firm,  and  controlled  by  Trowbridge,  Morrison,  & 
Co.,  lay  at  the  Sansome-st  corner  for  storage.  None  of  these  appear  to  have 
remained,  according  to  the  map  of  1851,  but  the  Apcllo,  at  the  N.  w.  Battery- 
st  corner,  controlled  by  Beach  &  Lockhart,  did  become  a  fixture.  On  the  s.  w. 
corner  of  Leidesdorff  st  stood  prominent  the  office  of  Dall  (Jos.  &  John) 
&  Austin,  till  the  fire  of  June  1850  drove  them  to  the  Sansome-st  corner.  On 
the  other  side,  above  Leidesdorff  st,  rose  the  three-story  wooden  building  of 
J.  L.  Riddle  &  Co.,  auctioneers,  wherein  acquaintances  could  always  receive 
shelter.  Near  them  were  Levering  &  Gay,  S.  F.  Wisner,  Boarclman,  Bacon, 
&  Co.,  Butler  &  Bartlett,  Hawley  (F.  P.  &  D.  N.),  Sterling  &  Co.  (G.  W. 
Wheeler),  com.  mers;  Totten  &  Eddy,  gen.  jobbers;  R.  F.  Perkins,  mer.; 
R.  D.  Hart  &  Co.,  dry  goods;  Tower,  Wood,  &  Co.,  gen.  store;  D.  C.  Mc- 
Glynn,  paints;  Kennebec  house,  kept  by  T.  M.  Rollins.  Along  the  wharf 
itself  were  Locke  &  Morrison,  com.  mers,  and  Beck  &  Palmer,  ship  and  com. 
mers,  at  the  head;  followed  by  Robinson,  Bissell,  &  Co.  (M.  Gilmore),  Blux- 
ome  &  Co.  (J  D.  C.,  Isaac,  jr,  and  Joseph,  Isaac  being  the  famous  vigilance 
secretary  in  1851  and  1856),  Caughey  &  Bromley,  Everett  &  Co.  (Theo.  Shil- 
laber),  Gardner  Furniss,  Jas  C.  Hasson,  Hunter  &  Bro.,  Dungan,  Moore,  & 
Prendergast,  Orrego  Bros,  Rob.  Wells  &  Co.,  Hussey,  Bond,  &  Hale,  com. 
mers;  Jos,  S.  Spinney,  shipping;  Plummer  &  Brewster,  wholesale  mers;  B. 
Triest,  store;  W.  C.  Hoff,  grocer,  at  end  of  pier.  On  Battery  st  were  Collins 
(D.),  Cushman,  &  Co.,  mers. 

The  section  of  Montgomery  st  between  Sacramento  and  California  had,  in 
1849,  been  transformed  from  an  outskirt  to  a  thickly  settled  business  quarter, 


CALIFORNIA  STREET.  179 

floated  freely  upon  the  infected  atmosphere.  It  was 
in  fact  the  headquarters  of  the  British  convict  class, 

and  its  prospects  were  significantly  foreshadowed  in  the  location  of  the  cus 
tom-house  in  the  four-story  brick  building  erected  in  1849  by  W.  H.  Davis, 
at  the  N.  w.  corner  of  California  st.  Access  was  by  outside  double  stairways, 
leading  from  balcony  to  balcony  on  the  front  side.  It  appears  to  have  been 
occupied  by  Collector  Jas  Collier  in  June  1850.  In  May  1851  it  was  burned. 
View  in  S.  F.  Annals,  282.  At  the  Calif ornia-st  corner  were  also  A.  Swain, 
com.  mer.,  and  Runkel,  Kaufman,  &  Co.,  dry  goods.  Northward  in  the  sec 
tion  were  situated  the  offices  of  J.  B.  Cannon  &  Co.  (S.  J.  Gowan),  W.  G. 
Kettelle,  aucs  and  com.  mers;  Hinrickson,  Reinecke,  &  Co.  (C.  F.  Cipnani, 
S.  V.  Meyers),  Edwin  Herrick,  S.  Moss,  jr,  Hy.  Reed  &  Co.,  Winston  &  Sim 
mons  (S.  C.),  S.  A.  &  J.  G.  Thayer,  Wm  H.  Davis,  com.  mers,  the  last  long 
established;  M.  L.  Cavert,  J.  A.  Clark,  P.  F.  Hazard,  John  H.  Titcomb,  Titts 
&  Tilden,  P.  D.  Woodruff,  mers;  S.  Brannan,  real  estate  broker;  John  S. 
Eagan,  paints,  two  doors  above  the  custom-house;  S.  Neagebauer,  stationery; 
John  Curry,  counsellor  (later  chief  justice).  A  notable  feature  of  the  section 
was  the  presence  of  several  express  agents, 'Adams  &  Co.,  soon  to  become  a 
banking-house,  Haven  (J.  P.)  &  Co.,  Hawley  &  Co.,  Todd  &  Co.  Here  was 
also  the  office  of  the  Cal.  Courier,  and  Rowe's  Olympic  Circus  formed  a  strong 
attraction  to  this  quarter.  It  had  been  opened  Oct.  29,  1849,  with  Ethiopian 
serenaders,  as  the  first  public  dramatic  spectacle  of  the  city. 

Between  California  and  Clay  sts  I  find  a  number  of  firms,  whose  offices 
are  numbered  from  243 to  2G9,  as  Aspinwall  (J.  &  Ph.)  & Bro.,  A.  B.  Cheshire, 
Jas  Clark,  Van  Drumme  &  Clement,  Mace  &  Cole,  B.  H.  Howell,  J.  S.  Mason, 
E.  R.  Myers,  Turnbull  &  Walton,  Cook,  Wilmerding,  &  Tracy,  Winter  & 
Latimer,  com.  mers;  Wm  Meyer  &  Co.  (Kunhardt,  H.  R.,),  importers,  Capt. 
Thos  Smith,  Fred.  Thibault,  F.  C.  Bennett,  Gus.  Beck,  O.  P.  Sutton,  mers; 
John  Aldersley  &  Co.,  ship  brokers;  Hedley  &  Cozzens,  wholesale  grocers; 
Middleton  (S  P.)  &  Hood  (J.  M.),  Payne  (T.)  &  Sherwood  (W.  J.),  aucs;  Hy. 
Meiggs,  of  North  Beach  and  Peruvian  fame,  lumber  dealer;  Austin  (H.)  & 
Prag,  tinware;  F  D.  Blythe,  hardware. 

California  st  was  in  1850  acquiring  recognition  as  of  business  importance, 
and  Starkey,  Janion,  &  Co.,  who  had  ^ng  been  established  near  the  s.  w. 
corner  of  Sansome,  in  an  enclosed  two-story  house,  gave  strength  to  it  by 
then  erecting  a  fine  brick  warehouse.  So  did  Cooke  (J.  J.  &  G.  L.),  Baker 
(R.  S.),  &  Co.,  and  others  speedily  followed  the  example,  assisting,  moreover, 
to  advance  the  water  frontage,  which  by  Oct.  1850  extended  400  ft  into  the 
cove,  with  a  breadth  of  32  ft.  There  was  a  small  landing-pier  at  Leidesdorff 's 
warehouse,  at  the  Leidesdorff-st  corner.  Here  was  the  store  of  S.  H.  Wil 
liams  &  Co.  (Wm  Baker,  jr,  -and  J.  B.  Post),  in  a  one-story  frame  house,  bor 
dering  on  the  later  Bank  of  California  site.  On  the  opposite  south  side,  Dr 
John  Townsend,  the  large  lot-owner  and  former  alcalde,  had  his  office  and 
residence  West  of  him  were  the  stores  of  Glen  &  Co.  (T.  Glen,  Ed.  Stetson), 
De  Boom,  Vigneaux,  &  Griser,  Backus  &  Harrison,  com.  mers,  and  farther  along 
in  the  section,  Jas  Ball,  Mack  &  Co.,  A.  McQuadale,  Probst  (F.),  Smith  (St. 
A.),  &  Co  ,  J.  B.  Wynn,  Zehricke  &  Co.,  Alsop  &  Co.,  Helmann  Bros  &  Co., 
Hastier,  Baine,  &  Co.,  also  com.  mers;  T.  W.  Dufau,  importer;  Glad  win  (W. 
H.)  &  Whitmore  (H  M.,  a  large  lot-owner  in  S.  F.),  jobbing.  At  the  corner 
of  Sansome  st  were  Ebbets  &  Co.  (D.W.  C.  Brown),  Mumford,  Mason  (B.  A.), 
&  Co  ,  Wm  J,  Whitney,  com.  mers;  and  on  the  site  of  the  present  Merchants' 
Exchange  stood  Mrs  Petit's  boarding-house  (subsequently  on  California  st, 
N  side,  below  Stockton).  An  agency  for  outer  bar  pilots  was  at  Burnside  & 
Nelson's. 

At  the  s.  w,  corner  of  California  and  Montgomery  sts  stood  Leidesdorff 's 
cottage,  occupied  by  W.  M  D.  Howard,  and  also  at  the  corner  were  the  offices 
of  Jas  Anderson  &  Co  ,  brokers,  J.  H.  Eccleston,  mer.;  V.  Simons,  clothing; 
and  T.  J.  Paulterer,  auc.  At  the  Pine-st  corner  Lazard  Freres  had  a  dry- 


180  SAN   FRANCISCO. 

whose  settlement,  known  as  Sydney  Town,  extended 
hence  north-eastward  round  the  hill.  It  \vas  the  ral- 

goods  store,  and  intermediate  on  Montgomery  st  were  Crocker,  Baker,  &  Co., 
water-works;  Fry  (C.)  &  Cessin  (F.),  Evans  &  Robinson,  Kuhtmann  &  Co., 
com.  mers.  The  first  house  on  Summer  st  was  a  1. \-story  cottage,  20  by  40 
ft,  erected  by  Williams  for  Edm.  Scott.  Near  by  were  the  coal-yard  of  A  T. 
Ladd,  and  two  hotels,  the  Montgomery  and  Cape  Cod  houses,  the  latter 
under  the  management  of  Crocker,  Evans,  &  Taylor. 

In  the  next  section  of  Montgomery  st,  between  Pine  and  Bush  sts,  stood 
Liitgen's  hotel,  facing  the  later  Russ  House.  A  strong  two-story  frame 
building  with  peaked  roof  and  projecting  second  story,  it  presented  a  quaint 
old-fashioned  landmark  for  about  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  formed  one  of 
the  best-known  German  resorts.  On  the  s.  E.  corner  of  Pine  st  figured  a 
corrugated  iron  house  imported  by  Berenhart,  Jacoby,  &  Co.,  and  on  the 
s.  w.  corner  a.  one-and-a-half -story  cottage,  occupied  by  the  German  grocery  of 
Geo.  Soho.  Adjoining  it  rose  a  three-story  pitched-roof  wooden  hotel,  the 
American,  kept  by  a  German,  and  opposite,  on  the  site  of  the  later  Platt's 
hall,  Dr  Enscoe  had  a  wooden  house.  At  the  N.  w.  corner  of  Bush  st  0. 
Kloppenburg  (later  city  treasurer),  kept  a  grocery.  This  west  side  of  the 
block  was  owned  by  J.  C.  C.  &  A.  G.  Russ,  the  jewellers,  who  had  a  house 
011  Bush  st,  and  who  later  erected  the  well-known  Russ  house.  The  cloth 
ing-store  of  Peyser  Bros  was  here,  also  the  syrup  factory  of  Beaudry  &  Co., 
and  the  confectionery  store  of  H.  W.  Lovegrove.  At  the  Bush-st  corner  was 
the  office  of  Haas  &  Struver,  com.  mers,  and  beyond,  toward  Sutter  st,  that 
of  Pierre  Felt,  wine  mer.  This  region  was  as  yet  an  outskirt;  sidewalks  ex 
tended  but  slowly  beyond  California  st  after  the  summer  of  1850,  and  the 
pedestrian  found  it  hard  work  to  go  through  the  sand  drifts  to  the  many 
tents  scattered  around. 

Sansome  st,  as  bordering  the  bay,  had  rather  the  advantage  of  Montgom 
ery  st,  for  here  business  houses  stretched  along  in  considerable  numbers  from 
California  to  Bush  st.  Neighbors  of  Starkey,  Janion,  &  Co. ,  on  the  California 
corner,  were  Wilson  (J.  D. )  &  Jarvis,  wholesale  grocers;  and  at  the  junction 
of  Pine  st  were  the  offices  of  Macondray  (F.  W.)  &  Co.  (R.  S.  Watson),  in  a 
two-story  house;  M.  Rudsdale,  E.  S.  Stone  &  Co.  (F.  T.  Durand),  com.  mers. 
One  of  the  corners  was  held  by  the  Merrimac  house  of  Williams  &  Johnson, 
northward  rose  the  New  England  house  of  W.  B.  Wilton,  and  toward  Bush  the 
New  Bedford  house  of  John  Britnell.  Near  it  was  the  office  of  Town  &  Van 
Winkle,  and  the  lemonade  factory  of  Al.  Wilkie.  On  the  east  side,  between 
California  and  Pine  sts,  the  India  stores  of  Gillespie  (C.  V.)  &  Co.  extended 
over  the  cove.  In  the  same  section,  mostly  on  the  west  side,  were  located 
Dewey  (S.  S.)  &  Heiser,  C.  M.  Seaver,  E.  Woodruff  &  Co.,  mers;  G.  W. 
Burnham,  lumber  dealer;  Davis  (W.  H.)  &  Caldwell's  (J.,  jr)  lemonade 
factory;  E.  S.  Holden  &  Co.  (J.  H.  Redington).  druggists;  S  W.  Jones  & 
Co.,  coal  and  wood  yard. 

On  Pine  st  were  several  offices,  of  T.  F.  Gould,  Chas  Warner,  mers,  above 
Sansome;  Schule,  Christiansen,  &  Hellen,  importers;  W.  H.  Culver,  ship 
mer. ;  Robinson,  Arnold,  &  Sewall,  J.  C.  W^oods  &  Co.,  com.  mers.  This  street 
adjoined  the  wharf  begun  by  the  city  corporation  at  the  end  of  Market  st,  in 
the  autumn  of  1850,  and  limited  for  the  time  to  600  ft.  This  opened  another 
prospect  for  development  in  this  quarter. 

Beyond  Pine  st  huge  sand  ridges  formed  so  far  a  barrier  to  traffic;  yet  in 
between  them,  and  upon  the  slopes,  were  sprinkled  cottages,  shanties,  and 
tents,  with  occasionally  a  deck  house  or  galley  taken  from  some  vessel,  occu 
pied  by  a  motley  class.  A  path  skirted  the  ridge  along  the  cove,  at  the 
junction  of  Bush  and  Battery  sts,  and  entered  by  First  st  into  Happy  Valley, 
which  centred  between  First  and  Second,  Mission  and  Natoma  sts,  and  into 
Pleasant  Valley,  which  occupied  the  Howard-st  end.  This  region,  sheltered 
by  the  ridges  to  the  rear,  which,  on  the  site  of  the  present  Palace  hotel,  rose 


WEST  AND  SOUTH  SIDES.  181 

lying-point  for  pillaging  raids,  and  to  it  was  lured 
many  an  unwary  stranger,  to  be  dazed  with  a  sand-bag 

nearly  three  score  feet  in  height,  had  attracted  a  large  number  of  inhabitants, 
especially  dwellers  in  frail  tents,  but  with  a  fair  proportion  of  neat  cottages, 
as  well  as  shops  and  lodging-houses,  among  these  the  Isthmus.  The  advan 
tages  of  this  quarter  for  factories  were  growing  in  appreciation,  especially 
for  enterprises  connected  with  the  repair  of  vessels,  and  soon  J.  &  P.  Dono- 
hue  were  to  found  here  their  iron-works.  On  Fremont  st,  between  Howard 
and  Folsom  sts,  was  the  office  of  H.  Taylor  &  Co.,  com.  and  storage;  and  on 
the  corner  of  Mission  and  First  sts,  that  of  Phil.  McGovern.  On  Second, 
near  Mission  st,  rose  the  Empire  brewery  of  W  Ball,  the  first  of  its  kind. 
The  richer  residents  of  this  region  had  withdrawn  just  beyond  this  line,  and 
on  Mission,  between  Second  and  Third  sts,  dwellings  had  been  erected  by 
Howard,  Mellus  (whose  name  was  first  applied  to  Natoma  st),  and  Brannan, 
whose  names  were  preserved  in  adjoining  streets.  These,  as  well  as  a  few 
more  near  by,  owned  by  Folsom,  were  cottages  imported  by  the  Onward. 
Among  the  occupants  were  the  wives  of  Van  Winkle,  Cary,  and  Wakeman, 
attached  to  the  office  of  Capt.  Folsom,  the  quartermaster.  On  Market  st 
Father  Maginnis1  church  was  soon  to  mark  an  epoch,  and  south-eastward  an 
attenuated  string  of  habitations  reached  as  far  as  Rincon  Point,  where  Dr 
J.  H.  Gihon  had,  in  Nov  1849,  erected  a  rubber  tent,  on  the  later  U.  S. 
marine  hospital  site. 

Thus  far  I  have  enumerated  the  notable  occupants  of  the  heavy  business 
section  along  Montgomery  st  and  water-front  east  of  it,  and  will  now  follow 
the  parallel  streets  running  north  to  south,  Kearny,  Dupont,  Stockton,  and 
Powell,  after  which  come  the  latitudinal  cross-streets  from  the  Presidio  and 
North  Beach  region  toward  the  Mission. 

At  the  foot  of  Telegraph  hill  on  Kearny  st,  from  Broadway  to  Jackson 
st,  began  the  west  and  northward  spreading  Mexican  quarter,  and  the  only 
building  here  of  general  interest  was  the  Adams  house,  kept  by  John  Adams. 
At  the  S.E,  Pacific-st  corner  stood  the  four-story  balcony  building  lately  pur 
chased  for  a  city  hall,  with  jail,  court-rooms,  etc.  In  one  of  the  latter  Rev. 
A.  Williams  held  services  for  the  First  Presbyterian  church.  On  the  opposite 
corner  were  the  Tattersall  livery-stable,  and  the  firms  of  Climax,  Roy,  & 
Breimen,  and  Dunne,  McDonald,  &  Co.,  com.  mers  and  real  estate.  Along 
toward  Jackson  st  were  the  offices  of  Markwald,  Caspary,  &  Co.,  mers;  of 
Dow(J.  G.)  &  Co.  (J.  O.  Eldridge),  auc.  and  com.  mers;  S  McD  Thompson, 
gen.  store;  Mebius,  Duisenberry,  &  Co.,  fancy  goods;  the  Pacific  News  daily 
was  issued  here  by  Winchester  &  Allen.  Mrs  E.  Gordon  kept  the  Mansion 
house.  In  the  section  between  Jackson  and  Washington  sts  business  ap 
proached  more  and  more  the  retail  element  for  which  Kearny  has  ever  been 
noted.  At  the  Jackson-st  corners  two  druggists  faced  each  other,  S.  Adam  * 
and  E.  P.  Sanford;  Reynolds  &  Co.  were  grocers,  and  G.  &  W.  Snook,  tin 
and  stove  dealers.  There  were,  however,  a  jobbing-house,  Cooper  &  Co  ,  and 
three  aiictioneers,  Shankland  &  Gibson,  Allen  Pearce,  and  Sampson  &  Co 
H.  H.  Haight,  counsellor  and  later  governor,  had  his  office  at  the  Jackson-st 
corner;  the  Mariposa  house  was  kept  by  B.  Vallefon;  and  the  well-known 
English  ale-house,  the  Boomerang,  by  Langley  &  Griffiths,  was  widely  pat 
ronized  by  literary  men  and  actors. 

These  last  two  features  formed  the  main  element  of  the  next  section,  the 
plaza  of  Portsmouth  square,  strongly  reenforced  by  gambling-halls.  The  most 
noted  of  these  establishments,  the  El  Dorado,  controlled  in  1850  by  Cham 
bers  &  Co.,  stood  at  the  s.  E.  corner  of  Washington  st  Successive  fires 
changed  it  from  a  canvas  structure  to  a  frame  building,  and  finally  P.  Sherre- 
beck,  who  owned  the  lot,  erected  upon  it  the  Our  House  refectory.  Adjoin 
ing  it  on  the  south  was  the  famous  Parker  house,  hostelry  and  gambling-place, 
managed  in  1850  by  Thos  Maguire  &  Co. ,  who  here  soon  promoted  the  erec 
tion  of  the  Jenny  Lind  theatre  upon  the  site,  which  again  yielded  to  the  city 


182  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

blow,  and  robbed,  perhaps  to  be  hurled  from  some 
Tarpeian  projection  into  the  bay.  West  of  this  quar- 

hall,  as  described  elsewhere.  Its  former  neighbor,  Denison's  Exchange,  for 
liquors  and  cards,  had  been  absorbed  by  other  enterprises,  and  southward 
along  the  row  in  1850  figured  the  Empire  house  of  Dodge  &  Bucklin,  and  the 
Crescent  City  house  of  Winley  &  Lear,  the  firm  of  Thurston  &  Reed,  and  the 
dry-goods  establishment  of  B.  F.  Davega  &  Co.  Opposite,  on  the  s.  w.  cor 
ner  of  Clay,  stood  that  YerbaBuena  landmark,  the  story -and-a-half  tiled  adobe 
City  hotel,  devoted,  with  out-buildings,  to  travellers,  gamblers,  and  offices,  the 
latter  including  for  a  time  those  of  the  alcaldes.  Higher  on  Clay  st  rose  the 
well-known  Ward  or  Bryant  house,  and  intermediate  the  offices  of  F.  Argenti 
&  Co.  (T.  Allen),  bankers;  Peter  Dean,  Berford  &  Co.'s  express,  and  Baldwin  & 
Co.,  jewellers.  Another  jewelry  firm,  Loring  &  Hogg,  occupied  Ward's  court. 

Along  the  west  side  of  the  plaza  stood  the  public  school-house,  which  had 
been  converted  into  concert  hall  and  police-station,  and  the  adobe  custom 
house  bordering  on  Washington  st,  which  had  been  used  for  municipal  offices 
for  a  time.  Down  along  Washington  st  the  A  Ita  California  publishing  office  of 
E.  Gilbert  &  Co.  faced  the  plaza,  and  eastward  to  the  corner  were  the  bank 
ing-house  of  Palmer,  Cook,  &  Co.  and  the  offices  of  Glaysen  £  Co.  (W.  Tinte- 
man),  and  Stevenson  (J.  D.)  &  Parker  (W.  C.),  land  agents.  Theirs  was  an 
adobe  building  in  1850,  replacing  the  Colonnade  hotel  of  1848,  and  soon  to 
yield  to  other  occupants,  notably  the  Bella  Union.  Wright  &  Co.'s  Miners' 
bank,  which  stood  at  this  corner  a  while,  may  be  said  to  have  revived  in  the 
Veranda  on  the  N.  E.  corner.  On  the  plaza  was  also  Laffan's  building,  chiefly 
with  lawyers'  offices,  as  Wilson,  Benham,  &  Rice,  Nath.  Holland,  Ogden 
Hoffman,  jr,  Norton,  Satterlee,  &  Norton.  Along  Kearny  st,  toward  Sac 
ramento  st,  were  the  offices  of  Thurston  &  Reed,  P.  D.  Van  Blarcom,  com. 
mers;  Ansalin,  Merandol,  &  Co.,  importers,  on  the  Sacramento  corner;  C. 
Lux,  stock  dealer;  Newfield,  Walter,  &  Co.,  Treadwell  &  Co.,  S.  Howard, 
clothing,  etc. ;  the  Commercial-st  corners  were  occupied  by  Van  Houten  & 
Co.'s  meat  market;  here  the  Tammany  Hall  of  the  Hounds,  and  Rowe's  cir 
cus  had  stood  a  while,  facing  the  adobe  dwelling  of  Vioget,  the  surveyor,  in 
which,  or  adjoining,  Madam  Rosalie  kept  a  restaurant.  Opposite  were  the 
noted  New  York  bakery  of  Swan  &  Thompson,  and  San  Jose  hotel  of  T.  N. 
Starr  (or  J.  G-.  Shepard  &  Co.). 

In  the  next  section  toward  California  st  were  established  Adelsdorfer  & 
Schwarz,  McDonald  (W.  F.  &  S.  G.)  &  Co.  (J.  K.  Bailey,  A.  T.  Cool,  J.  M. 
Teller),  Kroning,  Plump,  &  Runge,  com.  mers,  the  latter  at  the  California 
corner;  A.  H.  Sibley  &  Co. ;  at  the  Sacramento  corner  were  also  B.  Courtois' 
dry-goods  store;  Mrs  C.  Bouch,  crockery;  Merchants'  hotel.  Between  Cali 
fornia  and  Pine  sts  appears  to  have  been  another  New  York  bakery,  by  R. 
W.  Acker,  and  near  the  present  California  market  was  the  Kearny-st  market 
by  Blattner  &  Smith.  Here  were  also  three  groceries  of  Atter  &  Carter,  Lam- 
mer  &  Waterman,  and  Potter  and  Lawton;  Geo.  A.  Worn,  Ed.  Porter,  Eug. 
Bottcher,  and  C.  F.  Dunoker  are  marked  as  com.  mers,  the  latter  two  at 
the  California  corner,  and  Porter  south  of  Pine  st.  Beyond  Pine  were  Chip- 
man,  Brown,  &  Co. ,  grocers,  Hy.  Rapp,  storage,  Brown's  (Phil. )  hotel,  and  the 
Masonic  hall,  followed  by  scattered  dwellings  along  the  new  plank  road  to 
the  mission.  Dupont  st  partook  of  the  Kearny-st  elements  of  business, 
though  little  contaminated  by  gambling.  The  northern  part  was  assigned  to 
residences,  among  them  the  dwellings  of  W.  S.  Clark,  the  broker,  and  Rev. 
A.  Williams,  between  Vallejo  and  Pacific  sts.  At  the  latter  corner  Morgan 
&  Batters  kept  a  grocery,  and  beyond  rose  the  Globe  hotel  of  Mrs  B.  V. 
Koch,  the  dry-goods  shop  of  Cohen,  Kaufmann,  &  Co.,  and  the  office  of  C. 
Koch,  mer.  At  the  Jackson-st  corners  of  Dupont  st  stood  the  Albion  house 
of  B.  Keesing,  and  Harm's  (H.)  hotel;  and  here,  at  the  N.  E.  corner,  a  three- 
story  building  was  contracted  for  in  Sept.  1849  by  the  California  guard,  the 
first  military  company  of  the  city,  for  $21,000.  At  the  Washington-st  cor- 


TOWARD  THE  PRESIDIO.  183 

ter,  up  Yallejo  and  Broadway  streets,  with  the  Catho 
lic  church  and  bull-ring,  and  northward  along  the  hill, 

ner  was  another  hotel,  the  Excellent  house  of  Jas  Dyson,  also  the  dry-goods 
shop  of  Hess  &  Bros,  the  office  of  Maume  &  Dee,  and  the  residence  of 
G.  Beck.  Intermediate  were  Mich.  Casaforth,  mer.,  and  Johnson  &  Co., 
druggists. 

In  the  section  south  of  Washington  st  stood  on  the  east  side  the  houses  of 
Gillespie  and  Noe;  at  the  north-west  corner  of  Clay  the  casa  grande  of 
Richardson,  on  the  site  of  his  tent,  the  first  habitation  in  Yerba  Buena,  and 
which  stood  till  1852.  On  the  opposite  west  corner,  the  site  of  the  first  house 
in  Yerba  Buena,  Leese's,  rose  the  St  Francis  hotel,  a  three-story  edifice  formed 
of.  several  superimposed  imported  cottages  managed  by  W.  H.  Parker. 

On  the  opposite  corner  Moffat  &  Co.,  assayers  and  bankers,  and  Sill  & 
Conner's  stationery  and  book  shop,  the  first  regular  stationery  store  in  the 
city,  it  is  claimed.  Northward,  Mullot  &  Co.,  com.  mers.  and  Jos.  Smith's 
provision  shop. 

On  the  Sacramento-st  corner  Nath.  Gray  had  an  undertakers  shop; 
and  at  the  California  end  Jas  Dows,  of  vigilance  fame,  had  a  liquor  store. 
Beyond  him  C.  L.  Taylor  exhibited  the  sign  of  a  lumber  and  com.  mer. 
Stockton  st  was  essentially  for  residences,  with  many  neat  houses  from 
Clay  st  northward.  At  Green  st  stood  a  two-story  dwelling  from  Boston, 
occupied  by  F.  Ward,  and  removed  only  in  1865;  opposite  was  the  lumber 
yard  of  A.  W.  Renshaw,  and  a  little  northward  Hy.  Pierce's  Eagle  bakery; 
at  the  Vallejo  corner  P.  F.  Sander wasser  kept  a  grocery;  southward  rose  the 
American  hotel,  which  was  for  a  time  the  city  hall,  the  residences  of  Gilder- 
meister  and  De  Fremery,  and  south  of  Broadway,  Merrill's  house.  At  the 
N.  E.  Pacific  corner  was  the  Shades  tavern  of  1848,  and  southward  the  gro 
cery  of  Eddy  (J.  C.)  &  Co.  At  the  WTashington-st  corners  were  the  houses  of 
W.  D.  M.  Howard,  and  Palmer,  of  Beck  &  Palmer;  and  at  the  Sacramento 
end,  those  of  Jas  Bowles,  Jonat  Cade,  and  Crumme,  mers.  Powell  st,  of  the 
same  stamp  as  the  preceding,  was  graced  by  the  presence  of  three  churches: 
Trinity,  Rev.  F.  S.  Mines;  Methodist  Episcopal,  Rev.  W.  Taylor;  and  Grace 
Chapel,  Rev.  S.  L.  Ver  Mehr.  The  latter  two  resided  on  Jackson  st  near 
Powell.  Rev.  0.  C.  Wheeler  lived  at  the  corner  of  Union.  Three  other 
temples  existed  on  adjoining  cross-streets.  At  the  N.  w.  Washington  corner 
a  two-story  brick  building  was  about  to  be  erected,  which  with  subsequent 
changes  in  grades  received  two  additional  stories.  At  the  N.  E.  corner  of 
Broadway  0.  Mowry  had  an  adobe  cottage;  at  the  corners  of  Green  st  lived 
C.  Hoback  and  Chas  Joseph. 

At  the  corner  of  Filbert  st  was  the  adobe  dwelling  of  Ira  Briones,  by  which 
the  main  path  to  the  presidio  turned  westward  to  cross  the  Russian  hill, 
past  market  gardens  and  dairies,  with  scattered  cottages,  sheds,  and  butch 
ers'  shambles.  On  the  ridge  stood  the  house  of  L.  Haskell,  overlooking  the 
hollow  intervening  toward  Black  Point,  beyond  which  lay  Washerwoman's 
lagoon,  a  name  confirmed  to  it  by  the  laundry  here  established  by  A.  T. 
Easton,  patronized  by  the  Pacific  mail  line.  The  presidio  was  then  not  the 
trim  expanse  of  buildings  now  to  be  seen,  but  stood  represented  by  some 
dingy -looking  idobes,  supplemented  by  barn-like  barracks,  and  a  few  neater 
cottages  for  the  officers,  while  beyond,  at  the  present  Fort  Point,  crumbling 
walls  fronted  the  scanty  earth- works  with  their  rusty,  blustering  guns. 

North  Bench  was  becoming  known  as  a  lumber  depository.  Geo.  H. 
Ensign  figured  as  dealer  in  this  commodity,  and  near  him,  on  Mason  by 
Francisco  st,  Harry  Meiggs,  of  dawning  aldermanic  fame,  had  availed  him 
self  of  the  brook  fed  by  two  springs  to  erect  a  saw-mill.  Close  by  stood 
Capt.  Welsh's  hide-house,  by  the  road  leading  to  the  incipient  wharf  which 
foreshadowed  a  speedy  and  more  imposing  structure. 

On  Union  st,  near  Mason,  Wm  Sharron,  broker  and  commission  merchant, 
had  his  residence.  On  Green  st  the  number  of  resident  business  men  in- 


184  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

the  Hispano- Americans  were  grouping  round  what  was 
then  termed  Little  Chile;  while  less  concentrated,  the 

creased.  A.  Hugues  and  Rob.  McClenachan  lived  near  Stockton  and  Tay 
lor,  respectively,  and  Levi  Stowell,  of  Williams  &  Co.,  near  the  former. 
Between  Stockton  and  Powell  Capt.  Tibbey,  as  he  declares  in  his  Stat.,  MS., 
19,  had  erected  a  section-made  house  from  Hawaii  for  his  wife.  A  similar 
house  from  Boston,  near  Stockton  st,  was  in  1850  occupied  by  F.  Ward.  It 
stood  till  1865.  On  Vallejo  were  to  be  found  G.  Bilton,  Rob.  Graham,  Edm. 
Hodson,  and  Thos  Smith,  merchants,  between  Stockton  and  Powell.  In  the 
block  below  rose  the  Roman  Catholic  church,  and  by  its  side  extended  the 
bull-fighting  arena,  so  dear  to  the  Mexicans  as  a  compensatory  aftermath  to 
the  solemn  restraint  of  the  worship.  All  around  and  along  the  slopes  of  Tele 
graph  hill  extended  the  dwellings  of  this  nationality,  and  among  them,  on 
Broadway  between  Stockton  and  Dupont,  the  more  imposing  quarter  of  Jos. 
Sanchez,  broker.  The  block  below,  between  Dupont  and  Montgomery,  has 
been  alluded  to  as  containing  an  undesirable  collection  of  low  drinking-dens, 
fringed  by  the  abodes  of  Sydney  convicts  and  other  scum. 

On  Pacific  st  began  the  business  district  proper  once  more,  sprinkled  with 
several  inns,  such  as  Crescent  house  of  S.  Harding,  Mclntire  house,  Planter's 
hotel  of  J.  Stigall,  and  Waverly  house  of  B.  F.  Bucknell,  the  latter  a  four- 
story  frame  building,  on  the  less  reputable  north  side,  charging  $5  a  day.  In 
this  block,  between  Montgomery  and  Kearny,  were  the  offices  of  Boschultz 
&  Miller,  and  Brown  &  Phillips,  merchants;  Salmon  &  Ellis,  ship  and  com. 
mer.;  Wilson  &  Co.,  grocers,  Jackson  &  Shirley,  crockery  and  grocery. 
Above,  between  Kearny  and  Dupont,  resided  J.  B.  Weller,  subsequently  gov 
ernor,  of  the  firm  of  Weller,  Jones,  &  Kinder;  near  by  W.  H.  West  kept  a 
grocery,  and  A.  A.  Austin  a  bakery.  Higher  up  toward  Stockton  were  Fox, 
O'Connor,  and  Gumming,  and  F.  Kauffman  &  Co.,  dry-goods  dealers.  Ad 
joining  stood  a  groggery  which  had  since  1846  dispensed  refreshments  to  way 
farers  to  the  presidio.  Above,  between  Mason  and  Powell,  rose  Bunker  Hill 
house,  graced  for  a  time  by  the  later  bankers  Flood  and  O'Brien.  On  Jack 
son  st,  between  Mason  and  Powell,  were  several  prominent  residents,  includ 
ing  C.  H.  Cook,  com.  mer.,  and  at  the  Stockton  corner  lived  W.  H.  Davis. 
At  the  corner  of  Virginia  st,  a  lane  stretching  below  Powell  st,  between  Broad 
way  and  Washington,  stood  the  First  Congregational  church,  Rev.  T.  D.  Hunt. 
Here  was  also  the  office  of  Blanchard  &  Carpenter.  Below  Stockton  were  Mayer, 
Bro.,  &  Co.,  grocers;  C.  Prechet&  Co.,  druggists;  H.  M.  Snyder,  stoves.  Below 
Dupont,  Capt.  W.  Chard,  Carter,  Fuller,  &  Co.,  Hy.  Mackie,  Ben.  Reynolds, 
Jas  Stevenson,  com.  mers;  Chas  Durbee,  mer.;  Johnson  &  Caufield,  clothing; 
J.  Leclere,  gen.  store;  J.  Benelon,  French  store.  The  Ohio  house  is  placed  here, 
and  the  Philadelphia  house  where  began  the  fire  of  Sept.  1850,  and  below  Kearny 
the  California  house  of  J.  Cotter  &  Co.  Here  flourished  the  Evening  Picayune, 
Gihon  &  Co.,  and  two  French  establishments,  Dupasquier  &  Co.,  and  F.  Schultz' 
French-goods  shop;  S.  Martin,  importer;  W.  &  C.  Pickett,  Schesser  &  Vaii- 
bergen,  mers;  J.  &  M.  Phelan,  wholesale  liquor  dealers;  Joel  Noah,  clothing. 

On  Washington  st,  at  the  corner  of  Mason,  stood  H.  Husband's  bath 
house;  below  was  the  grocery  of  W.  E.  Rowland;  and  between  Stockton  and 
Dupont  sts  C.  S.  Bates  kept  a  druggist  shop.  Above  this,  the  First  Baptist 
church,  Rev.  0.  C.  Wheeler.  At  the  corner  of  Washington  lane,  which  ran 
below  Dupont  to  Jackson  st,  Bauer's  drug-store  was  first  opened.  Below 
Kearny  st  ran  another  cross-lane  to  Jackson,  Maiden  lane,  on  which  C.  Nut 
ting  had  established  a  smithy  and  iron-works,  while  adjoining  him,  on  the 
corner,  were  the  Washington  baths  of  Mygatt  &  Bryant.  Opposite  this  lane, 
to  Merchant  st,  ran  Dunbar  alley,  so  named  after  Dunbar's  California  bank, 
at  its  mouth.  At  the  parallel  passage,  De  Boom  avenue,  A.  Miiller  had 
opened  a  hotel,  and  near  by  a  brick  building  was  going  up  for  theatrical  pur 
poses.  On  the  north  side  C.  L.  Ross  had  in  1848-9  kept  his  New  York  store. 
In  the  same  section,  between  Kearny  and  Montgomery  sts,  were  the  offices 


TOWARD   THE  MISSION.  185 

cognate  French  sought  their  proximity  along  Jackson 
street,  with  two  hotels  offering  significant  welcome  at 

of  Bodenheim  &  Sharff,  Dundar  &  Gibbs,  Reynolds  &  Letter,  Marriesse  & 
Burthey,  Medina,  Hartog,  &  Co.,  J.  S.  Moore  &  Co.  (F.  Michael),  Morris,  Levi, 
&  Co.,  F.  Gibbs,  Gallarid,  Hart,  &  Co.,  Arnold  &  Winter,  coin,  mers;  P. 
Schloss  &  Co.,  mers;  L.  &  J.  Blum,  L.  A.  Hart  &  Co.,  Steinberger  &  Kauf 
man,  A.  Kiser,  Rosenzweig  &  Lask,  M.  Levi  &  Co.,  Potedamer  &  Rosenbaum, 
clothing;  W.  D.  Forman  &  Co.,  grocers;  Hastings  &  Co.  (S.  &  T.  W.),  variety 
store;  Smiley  (Jas),  Korn,  &  Co.,  hardware;  Rob.  Turnbull,  broker. 

At  the  head  of  Clay  st  stood  the  City  hospital  of  Dr  P.  Smith,  destroyed 
Oct.  31,  1850.  Near  by,  above  Stockton  st,  was  the  paper  warehouse  of  G. 
A.  Brooks  and  the  house  of  Jas  Crook,  mer.  Below  Stockton  st  ran  the 
parallel  Pike  st,  at  the  corner  of  which  stood  the  post-office,  at  a  rental  of 
$7,200  a  year.  Since  its  first  location  on  the  N.  w.  corner  of  Washington 
and  Montgomery  sts  it  had  been  moved  to  the  N.  E.  corner  of  Washington 
and  Stockton,  then  to  the  above  location,  and  in  1851  to  a  zinc-covered  build 
ing  on  the  N.  E.  corner  of  Dupont  and  Clay  sts.  So  much  for  the  instability 
which  stamped  the  city  and  county  generally  in  these  early  days.  At  the 
other  corner  rose  the  Bush  house  of  Hy.  Bush,  a  few  steps  above  the  fashion 
able  St  Francis  hotel,  and  opposite  Woodruff's  jewelry  shop.  On  Pike  st, 
tha  latter  well-known  R.  B.  Woodward  kept  a  coffee  shop.  Near  by,  on 
Clay  st,  resided  Allen  Pierce  and  A.  A.  Selover.  Between  Dupont  st  and 
the  plaza  was  the  book-store  of  Wilson  £  Spaulding,  and  the  hardware  shop 
of  Aug.  Morrison.  Clay  st  below  Kearny  was  mainly  a  dry-goods  row,  to 
judge  from  the  number  of  the  dealers,  as  Lacombe  &  Co.,  importers;  W.  E. 
Keyes,  Hy.  Kraft  &  Co.,  Moore,  Tickenor,  &  Co.,  Josiah  Morris,  on  Clay  st 
row,  J.  B.  Simpson,  Ulmer  &  Co.,  Oscar  Uny,  dealers;  besides  Geo.  Bergo, 
Lewis  Lewis,  Isaac  Myers,  who  advertised  both  dry  goods  and  clothing,  there 
were  also  the  special  clothing-stores  of  Heller,  Lehman,  &  Co.  ( W.  Cohen),  Jos. 
Goldstein,  Langfield,  &  Co.  (S.  &  J.  Haningsberger),  Kelsey,  Smith,  &  Risley. 
The  street  boasted  moreover  of  two  bankers,  Page  (F.  W.),  Bacon,  &  Co. 
(D.  Chambers,  Hy.  Haight)  and  B.  Davidson,  agent  for  Rothschild;  C.  Platt, 
mer. ;  Cohn  Kauflinan  &  Co.  (A.  Ticroff ),  W.  M.  Jacobs,  Sinton  &  Bagley, 
Hawks,  Parker,  &  Co.,  Larned  &  Sweet,  Pioche  &  Bayerque,  com.  mers,  and 
several  connected  with  dry  goods;  P.  Rutledge  &  Co.,  tinsmiths;  Bennett  & 
Kirby,  hardware;  Tillman  &  Dunn,  manuf.  jewellers;  Hayes  &  Bailey  (or 
Lyndall),  jewellers;  M.  Lewis,  importer  of  watches;  Stedman  &  White, 
watchmakers;  Sanchez  Bros  (B.  &  S.),  real  estate  brokers;  Marriott  (F.)  & 
Anderson,  monetary  agents,  in  Cross  &  Hobson's  building,  on  the  N.  side, 
half-way  to  Montgomery  st;  opposite  had  long  stood  Vioget's  or  Portsmouth 
house.  Dr  A.  J.  Bowie,  and  Dr  Wm  Rabe,  druggist;  Chipman  &  \Voodman's 
Clay-st  reading-rooms;  C.  Elleard's  oyster-rooms,  N.  side;  Adelphi  theatre,  s. 
side. 

On  the  short  parallel  Commercial  st,  not  yet  fully  opened,  figured  the 
Commercial-street  house,  P.  S.  Gordon;  the  Atheneum  Exhibition  of  Dr 
Colyer;  J.  W.  Tucker,  jeweller;  G.  W.  Dart,  drinking-saloon,  and  about  to 
open  baths  on  Montgomery  st. 

Sacramento  st  was  already  becoming  known  as  Little  China,  from  the  es 
tablishment  of  some  Mongol  merchants  upon  its  north  line,  on  either  side  of 
Dupont  st,  but  this  had  not  as  yet  involved  a  loss  of  caste,  for  several  promi 
nent  people  occupied  the  section  between  Dupont  and  Kearny  st.  Folsom 
lived  in  a  house  built  by  Leidesdorff  on  the  N.  side;  Halleck,  Peachy,  &  Bil 
lings,  counsellors,  Piingsthorn,  Hey  man,  &  Co.,  com.  mers,  Gibson  £  Tibbits, 
had  their  offices  here;  Convert  &  Digrol  kept  a  fancy-goods  shop;  Selby  (T.) 
&  Post  (Phil.),  metal  dealers.  In  the  section  below  Kearny  st:  Fitzgerald, 
Bausch,  Brewster,  &  Co.,  Simonsfield,  Bach,  £  Co.,  W.  M.  Coughlin,  Cramer, 
Raubach,  &  Co.,  gen.  importers;  Spech  £  Baugher,  G.  H.  Beach,  J.  B.  &  A. 
J.  George,  D.  S.  Hewlett  &  Co.  (B.  Richardson),  Tower,  Wood,  £  Co.,  D.  J. 


186  SAN   FRANCISCO. 

Clark  Point.  Little  China  was  already  forming  on 
Sacramento  street,  and  the  widely  scattered  Germans 
had  a  favorite  resort  at  the  end  of  Montgomery  street. 

Mavrenner  (of  Wallis  &Co.,  Stockton),  Lambert  &  Co.  (F.  F.  Low,  later  gov.), 
com.  iners;  F.  Ro^enbaum,  dry  goods  &  jobbing;  Cooper  &  Co.  (J.  &  I.), 
Simon  Heiter,  S.  Rosenthal,  H.  Unger,  Adelsdorfer  &  Neustadter,  dry  goods; 
J.  M.  Caughlin,  Simmons,  Lilly,  &  Co.,  Swift  &  Bro.  (S.  &  J.),  gen.  dealers; 
Jos.  E.  de  la  Montana,  stoves,  etc. ;  Kelly  &  Henderson,  J.  Sharp,  Tyler  & 
Story,  grocers;  D.  J.  Oliver  £  Co.,  D.  C.  McGlynn,  paints;  Geo.  Vowels, 
furniture;  Byron  house,  by  Bailey  &  Smith,  and  the  Raphael  and  Marye  res 
taurants.  The  third  wooden  house  on  the  street  was  imported  by  Bluxome, 
the  famous  vigilance  secretary,  and  in  this,  probably  a  double  cottage,  J.  R. 
Garniss  had  his  office.  On  California  st,  below  Stockton,  were  the  fashion 
able  boarding-houses  of  Mrs  Petit  and  Leland,  both  on  the  N.  side,  the  Mur 
ray  house  of  Jas  Hair,  and  among  residences,  those  of  Whitmore,  bought  of 
Rodman  Price  and  Gen.  Cazneau,  a  three-story  frame  building,  of  sections 
rescued  from  a  wreck.  It  stood  on  the  s.  w.  corner  of  Dupont  st.  On  the 
north  side,  near  Kearny  st,  in  a  two-story  house,  lived  the  rich  and  erratic 
Dr  Jones,  dressing  like  a  grandee,  and  hoarding  gold,  it  was  said.  In  the 
section  below  Kearny  st  was  the  U.  S.  quartermaster's  office,  Capt.  Folsom; 
Salas,  Bascunen,  Fehrman,  &  Co.,  Ed.  Vischer,  Hort  Bros,  White  Bros,  0.  B. 
Jennings,  mers  and  importers;  Louis  Bruch,  Esche,  Wapler,  &  Co.,  Ruth, 
Tissot  (S.  C.),  &  Co.,  com.  mers,  the  latter  two  at  the  corner  of  Spring  st;  J. 
S.  Hershaw,  gen.  grocer;  P.  Naylor,  iron,  tin,  etc.,  in  the  brick  building 
erected  on  the  later  Cal.  market  site,  for  Fitzgerald,  Bausch,  &  Brewster; 
Nelson  &  Baker,  blacksmiths,  on  Webb  st.  In  this  lane  Capt.  Hewlitt,  of 
tha  New  York  volunteers,  built  a  boarding-house,  on  the  w.  side,  and  here 
was  the  residence  of  the  Fuller  family,  which  owned  half  the  block.  Jas 
Ward  had  a  cottage  nearer  Montgomery  st,  which  became  a  boarding-house, 
perhaps  the  Duxbury  hous'e  of  Alb.  Marshall.  The  Elephant  house  of  A.  G-. 
Oakes,  and  the  Dramatic  museum  of  Robinson  &  Everard,  were  not  far  from 
the  Circus  site. 

Southward  we  come  once  more  to  the  odd  scattered  habitations,  shanties, 
and  tents,  which  intervened  between  the  bare  sand  hills  and  chaparral-fringed 
hollow.  On  Pine  st,  above  Montgomery  st,  I  find  the  office  of  E.  Brown, 
mer.,  and  Richelieu's  hotel  with  its  French  restaurant.  Along  Kearny  st 
to  Third,  and  up  Mission  st  led  the  path  to  Mission  Dolores,  much  frequented, 
especially  on  Sundays,  and  by  equestrians,  for  the  sand  made  walking  too 
tiresome.  This  route  was  now  about  to  be  improved  by  the  construction 
of  a  plank  road,  under  grant  of  Nov.  1850,  for  seven  years,  to  C.  L.  Wilson 
and  his  partners,  with  a  stock  of  $150,000.  It  was  finished  by  the  following 
spring  for  $96,000,  and  paid  eight  per  cent  monthly  interest  to  the  share 
holders.  The  toll  charged  was  25  cents  for  a  mounted  man,  75  c.  for  vehicles, 
$1  for  wagons  with  four  animals;  driven  stock,  5  or  10  cts.  The  toll-gate 
was  moved  successively  from  Post  st,  Third  st,  Mission  and  Fourth,  and  be 
yond.  In  some  places,  as  at  Seventh  st,  the  swamps  were  such  as  to  make 
piling  useless  and  require  corduroy  formation,  yet  this  settled  in  time  five 
feet.  The  city  was  too  heavily  in  debt  to  undertake  the  construction;  and 
while  the  mayor  vetoed  the  grant  to  a  private  firm,  the  legislature  confirmed 
it.  By  selling  half  the  interest  Wilson  got  funds  to  complete  the  road. 
Subsequently  the  company  opened  Folsom  st  to  ward  off  competition,  and 
still  divided  three  per  cent  a  month.  For  details  concerning  the  plank  road, 
see  Pac.  News,  Picayune,  Nov.  4,  20,  1850,  et  seq.;  Hittelts  S.  F.,  151-3; 
Annals  S.  F.,  297-8;  Bart-y  and  Pattens  Men  and  Mem.,  108-9. 

Mission  st  presented  the  best  exit  south-westward,  for  Market  st  re 
mained  obstructed  long  after  1856  by  several  ridges,  one  hill  at  the  corner  of 
Dupont  st  alone  measuring  89  ft  in  height.  The  hill  at  Second  st,  fiercely 
contested  by  squatters  in  the  early  fifties  against  Woodworth,  the  vigilance 


MARKET  STREET.  187 

Dupont  street  bore  a  more  sedate  appearance,  with 
its  mixture  of  shops  and  residences,  its  armory  at 
Jackson  street  for  the  first  city  guard,  and  its  land 
marks  in  Richardson's  casa  grande  on  the  site  of  his 
tent,  the  first  habitation  in  Yerba  Buena,  and  in 
Leese's  house,  the  first  proper  building  of  the  pueblo, 
both  at  the  Clay-street  corners  below  the  post-office. 
Stockton  street,  stretching  from  Sacramento  to  Green 
streets,  presented  the  neatest  cluster  of  dwellings, 
and  Powell  street  was  the  abode  of  churches;  for  of 
the  six  temples  in  operation  in  the  middle  of  1850, 
three  graced  its  sides,  and  two  stood  upon  cross-streets 
within  half  a  block.  Mason  street,  above  it,  was 
really  the  western  limit  of  the  city,  as  Green  street 
was  the  northern.  Beyond  Mason  street  ran  the  trail 
to  the  presidio,  past  scattered  cottages,  cabins,  and 
sheds,  midst  dairies  and  gardens,  with  a  branch  path 

president,  had  by  that  time  vanished  into  the  bay.  Nevertheless,  there  were 
a  few  early  occupants  on  the  upper  Market  st.  At  the  Stockton  and  Ellis 
junction  J.  Sullivan  had  a  cottage,  Merrill  one  on  the  later  Jesuit  college  site, 
and  011  Mason  st  near  Eddy,  Hy.  Gerke  of  viticultural  fame  rejoiced  in  an  at 
tractive  two-story  peaked-roof  residence;  near  by  lived  a  French  gardener. 
This  was  the  centre  of  Saint  Ann  Valley,  through  which  led  a  less-used  trail 
to  the  mission,  by  way  of  Bush  and  Stockton  sts,  passing  Judge  Burritt's 
house  and  Dr  Gates'  at  the  s.w.  corner  of  Geary  and  Stockton  sts,  facing  the 
high  sand  hill  which  covered  the  present  Union  square.  At  the  s.  w.  end  of 
this  square  rose  a  three-story  laundry.  The  site  of  the  present  city  hall,  at 
the  junction  of  McAllister  st,  the  authorities  in  Feb.  1850  set  aside  for  the 
Yerba  Buena  cemetery,  Ver  Mehrs  Checkered  Life,  344,  which  had  first  existed 
at  the  bay  terminus  of  Vallejo  st,  and  subsequently  for  a  brief  time  on  the 
north-west  slope  toward  North  Beach,  near  Washington  square.  Beiiton,  in 
Hayes1  Cal.  Notes,  v.  60.  The  new  site  was  the  dreariest  of  them  all,  relieved 
by  a  solitary  manzanita  with  blood-red  stalk  midst  the  stunted  shrubbery. 

From  the  cemetery  a  path  led  past  C.  V.  Gillespie's  house  to  Mission  st, 
at  Sixth  st,  where  began  a  bridge  for  crossing  the  marsh  extending  to  Eighth 
st.  To  the  left,  at  the  s.  w.  corner  of  Harrison  and  Sixth,  or  Simmons  st, 
Russ,  the  jeweller,  had  a  country  residence  which  was  soon  opened  as  a  pleas 
ure  garden,  especially  for  Germans.  John  Center,  the  later  capitalist,  was  a 
gardener  in  the  vicinity.  At  the  mouth  of  Mission  creek  lived  Rosset. 
Beyond  the  bridge  Stepnen  C.  Massett,  '  Jeemes  Pipes,' had  for  a  time  a 
cottage.  Then  came  the  Grizzly  road-side  inn,  near  Potter  st,  with  its  chained 
bear.  Further  back  stood  the  Half-way  house  of  Tom  Hayes,  with  inviting 
shrubbery.  Near  the  present  Woodward's  Gardens  a  brook  was  crossed, 
after  which  the  road  was  clear  to  the  mission,  where  a  number  of  dwellings 
clustered  round  the  low  adobe  church,  venerable  in  its  dilapidation  Valencia, 
Noe,  Guerrero,  Haro,  Bernal,  whose  names  are  preserved  in  streets  and  hills 
around,  and  C.  Brown,  Denniston,  Nuttman,  and  Jack  Powers,  were  among  the 
residents.  The  centre  of  attraction  was  the  Mansion  house  where  Bob  Rid 
ley  and  C.  V.  Stuart  dispensed  milk  punches  to  crowds  of  cavaliers,  to  whom 
the  frequent  Mexican  attire  gave  a  picturesque  coloring. 


188  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

to  the  Marine  Hospital  on  Filbert  street,  and  another 
to  the  North  Beach  anchorage,  where  speculators 
were  planning  a  wharf  for  attracting  settlement  in 
this  direction. 

The  accommodations  offered  to  arrivals  in  1849  were 
most  precarious  in  character.  Any  shed  was  con 
sidered  fit  for  a  lodging-house,  by  placing  a  line  of 
bunks  along  the  sides,  and  leaving  the  occupant  fre 
quently  to  provide  his  own  bed-clothes.21  Such  crude 
arrangements  prevailed  to  some  extent  also  at  the 
hotels,  of  which'  there  were  several.  The  first  enti 
tled  to  the  name  was  the  City  Hotel,  a  story-and-a-half 
adobe  building,  erected  in  1846  on  the  plaza,22  followed 
in  1848  by  the  noted  Parker  House,23  the  phoenix  of 
many  fires,  and  in  1849  by  a  large  number  of  others,24 

21  Such  a  shed,  with   '  crates '  along  the  walls,  adjoined  the  City  hotel. 
Crosty's  Events,   MS.,   13.     Bartlett,  Stat.,  MS.,   9,   mentions  three  tiers  of 
bunks  in  one  room.     Many  were  glad  to  remain  on  board  the  vessel  which 
brought  them. 

22  On  s.  w.  corner  of  Clay  and  Kearny  sts.     The  half-story  consisted  of 
gable  garrets  beneath  the  tile  roof.     It  had  a  railed  porch,  and  square,  deep- 
silled  windows.     Parker  had  reopened  it  in  July  1848.  Larlciris  Doc.,  vi.  144. 
Bayard   Taylor  obtained  a   garret  there  in    1849.    Eldorado,   55.     See  also 
Merrill's  Stat.,  MS.,  3.     The  lease  of  $16,000  a  year  granted  in  1848  left  a 
large  profit  by  subdivisions  and  subrenting.  A  Ua  Cal.,  Sept.  21,  1851,  and 
other  current  journals. 

23  On  the  east  side  of  the  plaza,  near  Washington  st,  where  the  old  city 
hall  now  stands.     It  was  a  two-story-and-a-half  frame  building  with  a  front 
age  of  60  feet,  begun  in  the  autumn  of  1848,  and  still  in  the  builder's  hands  in 
April  1849,  when   lumber  cost  $600  per  1,000   feet.  Little's  Stat.,   MS.,   3; 
Grimshaw's  Nar.,  MS.,  14.     It  rented  for  $9,000,  and  subsequently  for  $15,000 
per  month,  half  of  the  sum  paid  by  gamblers  who  occupied  the  second  floor. 
Subleases  brought  $50,000  profit.     Four  days  after  its  sale,  on  Dec.  20,  1849, 
it  was  burned.     By  May  4,  1850,  it  had  beeii  rebuilt  at  a  cost  of  $40,000,  only 
to*  be  destroyed  the  day  of  its  completion.     The  lower  floor  was  again  in 
operation  by  May  27th.     The  rebuilding,  including  the  Jenny  Lind  theatre, 
cost  $100,000.     It  was  once  more  reduced  to  ashes  on  the  fire  anniversary  in 
the  following  year.     Within  a  week  lumber  was  on  the  ground  for  rebuild 
ing.  Alta  Cal.,  May  13,  1851;  Henshaws  Stat.,  MS.,  1-2;  Buffums  Six  Months, 
121-2;    Woods'  Sixteen  Mo.,  46.     The  cost  of  the  first  building  was  placed  at 
$30,000.  Alta  Cal.,  May  27,  1850. 

24  Broadway  and  Fremont  hotels  near  Clark  Point  landing;  St  Francis, 
s.w.  corner  Clay   and   Dupont,  a  four-story  building  formed   from  several 
cottages;  no  gambling;  managed  in  1850  by  Parker;  ravaged  by  a  solitary 
fire  on  Oct.  22,  1850;  Ohio  house  on  Jackson  between  Kearny  and  Dupont; 
German  house  on  Dupont  near  Washington;  Muller's,  in  Townsend  avenue, 
on  Washington;  American  hotel,  with  daily  business  of  $300;  U.  S.  hotel  of 
Mrs  King,  claiming  to  accommodate  200  lodgers;  Howard  hotel;  Merchants' 
hotel   of    Dearborn   and   Sherman;    Colonnade   house   of   Win    Conway    on 
Kearny;   Ward   house   on   the   Clay-st   side   of    the   plaza;  Brown's   hotel; 
Portsmouth   house   of   E.  P.    Jones;   G.  Denecke's   house  oa   the   corner  of 


HISTORIC  HOTELS.  189 

many  of  which  were  lodging-houses,  with  restaurants 
attached.  The  latter  presented  a  variety  even  greater 
than  the  other  in  methods  and  nationalities  of  owners, 
cooks,  and  waiters,  or  rather  stewards,  for  where  the 
servant  was  as  good  as  the  master  the  former  term 
was  deemed  disrespectful.  From  the  cheap  and  neat 
Chinese  houses,  marked  by  triangular  yellow  flags, 
wherein  a  substantial  meal  could  be  had  for  a  dollar, 
the  choice  extended  to  the  epicurean  Delrnonico, 
where  five  times  the  amount  would  obtain  only  a 
meagre  dinner.  Intermediate  ranged  several  German, 
French,  and  Italian  establishments,  with  their  differ 
ent  specialties  by  the  side  of  plain  Yankee  kitchens, 
English  lunch-houses,  and  the  representative  fonda 
of  the  Hispano  element,  many  in  tents  and  some  in 
omnibuses,  which  proving  unavailable  for  traffic  were 
converted  to  other  uses.25  Little  mattered  the  na- 

Pacific  and  Sansome;  Sutter  hotel  and  restaurant  by  Ambrose  and  Ken 
dall;  Barnum  house  of  Mitchell,  Carmon,  and  Spooner,  opened  on  Sept.  15, 
1850,  on  Commercial  between  Montgomery  and  Keariiy;  Ontario  house; 
Stockton  hotel  of  Starr  and  Brown,  on  Long  Wharf;  Healey  house,  opened 
in  Dec.  1849,  claimed  to  be  then  the  most  substantial  house  in  the  city; 
Graham  house,  imported  bodily  from  Baltimore;  Congress  hall  used  for  ac 
commodation.  The  first  really  substantial  hotel  was  the  Union,  of  brick, 
four  and  a  half  stories,  opened  in  the  autumn  of  1850  by  Selover  &  Co.,  a  firm 
composed  of  Alderman  Selover,  Middleton,  and  E.  V.  Joice.  It  was  built 
by  J.  W.  Priestly,  after  the  plan  of  H.  N.  White,  the  brick-work  embracing 
500,000  bricks,  contracted  for  completion  within  26  days.  The  chandeliers, 
gilt  frames,  etc.,  fitted  by  J.  B.  M.  Crooks  and  J.  S.  Caldwell.  It  extended 
between  Clay  and  Washington  for  160  feet,  with  a  frontage  of  29  feet  on  the 
east  side  of  Kearny.  It  contained  100  rooms.  The  cost,  including  furni 
ture,  was  §250,000.  Burned  in  May  1851,  and  subsequently  it  became  a  less 
fashionable  resort.  The  construction  of  the  more  successful  Oriental  was 
begun  in  Nov.  1850,  at  the  corner  of  Bush  and  Battery.  Jones',  at  the  cor 
ner  of  Sansome  and  California,  first  opened  as  a  hotel  by  Capt.  Folsom,  but 
unsuccessfully,  was  soon  converted  into  the  Tehama  house,  much  frequented 
by  military  men.  For  these  and  other  hotels,  I  refer  to  Alta  Gal,  May  27, 
1850;  Oct.  23,  1853;  Mar.  8,  1867;  Pac.  News,  Nov.  6,  8,  Dec.  6,  22,  25,  27, 
1849;  Jan.  1,  3,  5,  Apr.  26,  27,  Oct.  22,  Nov.  9,  1850;  Cal  Courier,  Sept.  12, 
14,  1850;  8.  F.  Picayune,  Aug.  17,  30,  Sept.  12,  16,  1850;  S.  F.  Annals,  647 
et  seq.;  Bauer  s  Stat.,  MS.,  2;  Kimbatts  Dir.y  1850. 

25  The  Bay  hotel  (Pet.  Guevil)  and  the  Illinois  house  (S.  Anderson),  on 
Battery  st;  the  Bruner  house,  Lovejoy's  hotel  (J.  H.  Brown),  Lafayette  hotel 
(L.  Guiraud)  and  the  Albion  house  (Croxton  &  Ward),  on  Broadway  st;  on 
Pacific  st  were  the  Marine  hotel  (C.  C.  Stiles),  Hotel  du  Commerce  (C.  Ren 
ault),  Crescent  house  (Sam.  Harding),  Planters'  hotel  (J.  Stigall),  Mclntire 
house  and  the  Waverly  house  (B.  F.  Bucknell);  on  Jackson  st  were  the  Com 
mercial  hotel  (J.  Ford  &  Co.),  Dalton  house  (Smith  &  Hasty),  E.  Pascual's 
Fonda  Mejicana,  the  Philadelphia  house  and  J.  Cotter  &  Co.'s  California 
house.  On  Commercial  st  T.  M.  Rollins  kept  the  Keunebec  house,  and  P.  S. 


190  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

ture  of  the  accommodation  to  miners  fresh  from  rough 
camps,  or  to  immigrants  long  imprisoned  within  foul 
hulks,  most  of  them  half-starved  on  poorer  provis 
ions.  To  them  almost  any  restaurant  or  shelter 
seemed  for  a  while  at  least  a  haven  of  comfort.  Nor 
were  all  well  provided  with  funds,  and  like  the  prudent 
ones  who  had  come  with  the  determination  to  toil  and 
save,  they  preferred  to  leave  such  luxuries  as  eggs 
at  seventy-five  cents  to  a  dollar  each,  quail  and  duck 
at  from  two  to  five  dollars,  salads  one  and  a  half  to 
two  dollars,  and  be  content  with  the  small  slice  of 
plain  boiled  beef,  indifferent  bread,  and  worse  coffee 
served  at  the  dollar  places,26  and  with  one  of  the 

Gordon  the  house  bearing  the  name  of  the  street.  On  Montgomery  st  stood 
the  Star  house  (C.  Webster),  Irving  house,  Eureka  hotel  ( J.  H.  Davis  &  Co. ), 
Montgomery  house,  Cape  Cod  house  (Crocker,  Evans,  &  Taylor).  Sansome 
st  contained  the  Merrimac  house  (Williams  &  Johnson),  New  England  house 
(W.  B.  Wilton),  and  the  New  Bedford  house  (Jno.  Britnell),  three  names 
likely  to  attract  the  attention  of  newly  arrived  wanderers  from  the  far  East. 
On  Kearny  st  were  the  Adams  (Jno.  Adams),  mansion  (Mrs  E.  Gordon), 
Mariposa  (B.  Vallafon),  Crescent  City  (Winley  &  Lear),  and  San  Jose  houses, 
and  the  Graham  hotel,  which  latter  became  the  city  hall  in  1851.  On  Dupont 
st  I  find  the  Globe  hotel  (Mrs  B.  V.  Koch),  and  the  Albion  (B.  Keesing) 
Harm's  (H.)  and  Excellent  houses.  On  Clay  st  H.  Bush  kept  the  house 
which  took  his  name.  On  Sacramento  st  was  Bailey  &  Smith's  Byron  house, 
and  California  st  contained  the  Murray  ( Jas  Hair),  Duxbury  (A.  Marshall), 
and  Elephant  (A.  G.  Oakes)  houses.  Richelieu  hotel  was  on  Pine  st,  and 
over  in  the  Happy  and  Pleasant  Valley  region  the  Isthmus  hotel  proffered 
hospitality.  At  or  near  the  mission  were  wayside  resorts,  such  as  the  Grizzly, 
near  Potter  st,  and  the  Mansion  house  of  Bob.  Ridley  and  C.  V.  Stuart.  On 
Sacramento  st  were  Raphael's  restaurant  and  that  of  Marye.  On  Kearny 
st  bet.  Clay  and  Sacramento  were  Mme  Rosalie's  restaurant,  and  Swan  and 
Thompson's  New  York  bakery.  Wm  Meyer  kept  a  coffee-house  on  Jackson 
st  at  the  water-front,  and  Nash,  Patten,  and  Thayer's  Kremlin  restaurant  and 
saloon  stood  on  Commercial  st.  Besides  four  Chinese  restaurants,  on  Pacific, 
Jackson,  and  Washington  st  near  the  water-front,  charging  $1  for  a  dinner, 
Cassins  Slat.,  MS.,  14,  there  were  American  restaurants  at  the  same  price,  as 
Smyth  Clark's.  Barlett's  Stat. ,  MS.,  8.  One  on  Broadway  was  in  full  blast 
while  its  ruins  were  still  smoking  after  the  first  great  fire.  Garniss'  Early 
Days,  MS.,  19.  There  were  the  U.  S.  and  California  houses  on  the  plaza, 
besides  a  French  restaurant,  whose  counterpart  existed  also  on  Dupont  st,  not 
far  from  a  large  German  establishment  on  Pacific  st.  Then  there  were  the 
classical  Gothic  hall  and  Alhambra,  Tortini's  of  Italian  savor,  the  Empire, 
Elleard's  on  Clay  st,  by  Tom  Harper,  Clayton's  near  by,  and  a  number  of 
others,  some  advertised  in  Alia  Cal.,  May  27,  1850,  etc.,  and  Pac.  News.  Wood 
ward  of  the  later  noted  What  Cheer  house  kept  a  coffee  shop  near  the  post- 
office  on  Pike  toward  Sacramento  st.  S.  F.  Bull.,  Jan.  23,  1867.  Many  of  the 
hotels  mentioned  above  combined  restaurants  and  lunching-places  in  con 
nection  with  drinking-saloons  and  other  establishments. 

26 This  was  the  meal  at  City  hotel,  says  Crosby,  Events,  MS.,  14.  Some 
times  sea-biscuits  and  dumplings  would  be  added.  Some  of  the  boarders 
kept  a  private  bottle  of  pickles,  or  bought  a  potato  for  25  cents.  The  bill  of 
fare  at  Ward's  or  Delmonico's  read:  Oxtail  or  St  Julien  soup,  75c.  to  $1; 


WILD  SPECULATION.  191 

dozen  or  fifty  bunks  in  a  lodging-room  at  from  six  to 
twenty  dollars  a  week;  for  a  room  even  at  the  ordinary 
hotel  cost  from  $25  to  $100  a  week,  while  at  Ward's 
it  rose  to  $250.27  Offices  and  stores  were  leased  for 
sums  ranging  as  high  as  six  thousand  dollars  a  month, 
and  a  building  like  the  Parker  House,  on  the  plaza, 
brought  in  subrenting  large  profits  upon  the  $15,000 
monthly  lease. 

It  was  the  period  of  fancy  prices,  and  houses  and 
lots  shared  in  the  rule.  When  the  gold-seekers  who 
rushed  away  from  San  Francisco  in  1848  returned  in 
the  autumn  and  found  that  their  abandoned  lots  had, 
under  the  reviving  faith  in  the  city,  earned  for  many 
of  them  more  than  they  obtained  from  the  Sierra  with 
its  boasted  treasures,  'then  speculation  took  a  fresh 
start.  When,  with  the  ensuing  year,  immigrants 
poured  in;  when  ships  crowded  the  harbor;  when 
tents  and  sheds  multiplied  by  the  thousand,  and  houses 

salmon  or  fish  in  small  variety,  $1.50;  entrees,  of  stews,  sausage,  meats,  etc., 
$1  to  $1.50;  roast  meats  ranged  from  beef,  the  cheapest,  at  $1,  to  veui- 
sion  at  $1.50;  vegetables,  limited  in  range  and  supply,  were  50c. ;  pies,  pud 
dings,  and  fruit,  75c.;  omelettes,  $2.  The  wine  list  was  less  exorbitant, 
owing  to  large  importations,  for  although  ale,  porter,  and  cider  were 
quoted  at  $2,  claret,  sherry,  and  Madeira  stood  at  $2,  $3,  and  $4  respect 
ively,  while  champagne  and  old  port  could  be  had  in  pint  bottles  at  $2.50 
and  $1.75;  whiskey  and  brandy  were  very  low,  likewise  raisins,  cigars, 
etc.  For  prices,  see  Sc/tenck's  Vi</.,  MS.,  20;  Pac.  News,  Dec.  4,  1849;  Jan. 
12,  1850;  Taylor's  Eldorado,  i.  116;  S.  J.  Pioneer,  Aug.  1G,  1879;  Taylors 
Spec.  Press,  500-3.  Toward  winter  the  price  for  board  rose  from  $20  to  $35 
a  week.  A  moderate  charge  for  board  and  lodging  was  $150  a  month.  Food 
was  abundant  and  cheap  enough  at  the  sources  of  supply;  the  cost  lay  princi 
pally  in  getting  it  to  market.  The  great  ranchos  supplied  unlimited  quanti 
ties  of  good  beef;  bays,  rivers,  and  woods  were  alive  with  game;  the  finest 
of  fish,  wild  fowl,  bear-meat,  elk,  antelope,  and  venison  could  be  had  for  the 
taking;  but  vegetables,  fruit,  and  flour  were  then  not  so  plentiful,  and  had  to 
be  brought  from  a  greater  distance. 

27  Schenck,  Vig.,  MS.,  20,  paid  $21  a  week  for  a  bunk  on  the  enclosed  porch 
of  an  adobe  house  on  Dupont  st.  For  room  rents,  see  Gamins'  Slut.,  MS.,  11; 
Olney's  V'uj,,  MS.,  3;  Slier  mans  Mem.,  i.  67;  Larkins  Doc.,  vi.  41,  etc.  The 
ground-rent  for  a  house  ranged  from  $100  to  $500  a  month.  Buff  urns  Six 
Months,  121.  A  cellar  12  ft  square  could  be  had  for  a  law-office  at  $250  a 
month.  For  an  office  on  Washington  above  Montgomery  st  $1,000  was  asked. 
Browns  Slat.,  MS.,  11.  For  desk-room  of  five  feet  at  the  end  of  a  counter, 
$100  a  month.  Buttons  Stat.,  MS.,  3.  For  their  Miners'  Bank  on  the  N.  w. 
corner  Kearny  and  Washington  sts,  Wright  £  Co.  paid  $6,000  monthly.  A 
stor.  20  feet  in  front  rented  for  $3,500  a  month.  Yet  the  U.  S.  hotel  rental 
was  said  to  be  only  $3,000.  In  the  tent  structure  adjoining,  the  Eldorado,  sin 
gle  rooms  for  gambling  brought  $180  a  day;  mere  tables  in  hotels  for  gam 
bling  $30  a  day. 


192  SAN   FRANCISCO. 

shot  up  like  mushrooms — speculation  became  wild. 
Lots,  which  a  year  before  could  not  be  sold  at  any 
price,  because  the  town  had  been  left  without  either 
sellers  or  buyers,  now  found  ready  purchasers  at  from 
ten  to  a  thousand  times  their  cost.28 

More  than  one  instance  is  recorded  of  property  sell 
ing  at  $40,000  or  more,  which  two  years  before  cost 
fifteen  or  sixteen  dollars,  and  of  the  sudden  enrichment 
of  individual  owners  and  speculators.  Well  known  is 
the  story  of  Hicks,  the  old  sailor.  The  gold  excite 
ment  recalled  to  his  memory  the  unwilling  purchase  in 
Yerba  Buena  of  a  lot,  which  on  coming  back  in  1849 
he  found  worth  a  fortune.  His  son  sold  half  of  it 
some  years  later  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  million.29 
Vice-consul  Leidesdorif  died  in  1848,  leaving  property 
then  regarded  as  inadequate  to  pay  his  liabilities 
of  over  $40,000.  A  year  later  its  value  had  so  ad 
vanced  so  as  to  give  to  the  heirs  an  amount  larger 
than  the  debt,  while  agents  managed  to  make  fortunes 
by  administering  on  the  estate.30 

28  For  prices  in  1846-8,  see  my  preceding  volume,  v.,  and  note  4  of  this 
chapter.     With  preparation  for  departure  to  the  mines,  in  the  spring  of  1849, 
a  lull  set  in,  Larkins  Doc.,  vii.  92;  Hartley's  Observ.,  MS.,  5;  but  immediately 
after  Began  the  great  influx  of  ships,  and  prices  advanced  once  more,  till 
toward  the  end  of  the  year,  when  gold-laden  diggers  came  back,  they  reached 
unprecedented  figures.     A  lot  on  the  plaza,  which  in  1847  had  cost  $16.50, 
sold  in  beginning  of  1849  for  $6,000,  and  at  the  end  of  the  year  for  $45,000. 
Henskaw's  Events,  MS.,  7.     Buffum,  Six  Mo.,  121-2,  instances  this  or  a  similar 
sale  as  ranging  from  $15  to  $40,000.     Johnson,  Gal.  and  Or.,  101,  gives  the 
oft-told  story  of  a  lot  selling  for  $18,000,  which  two  years  before  was  bar 
tered  for  a  barrel  of  whiskey.     A  central  lot  which  B.  Semple  is  said  to  have 
given  away  to  show  his  confidence  in  Benicia's  prospects,  now  commanded  a 
little  fortune,     Williams,  Rec.,  MS.,  6-7,  quotes  central  lots  long  before  the 
close  of  1849  at  from  $10,000  to  $15,000,  those  on  the  plaza  at  $15,000  and 
$20,000;  yet  the  most  substantial  business  was  done  east  of  Kearny  st,  ob 
serves  Currey,  Stilt.,  MS.,  8.     A  50-vara  lot  on  the  corner  of  Montgomery 
and  Market  sts  sold  for  $500.   Findlas  Stat.,  MS.,  8.     The  government  paid 
$1,000  a  foot  for  120  feet  on  the  plaza.  8.  F.  Herald,  June  25,  1850.     At  the 
end  of  this  year  the  demand  fell  off.  Larkins  Doc.,  vii.  231,  yet  the  rise  con 
tinued  till  the  climax  for  the  time  was  reached  in  1853,  says  Williams,  the 
Ixiilder.    Ul>i  sup.     At  the  close  of  this  year  the  authorities  sold  water  lots  of 
only  25  feet  by  59,  part  under  water,  at  from  $8,000  to  $16,000,  four  small 
blocks  alone  producing  $1,200,000,  and  tending  to  restore  the  impaired  credit 
of  the  city.  Annals  S.  F.,  182.     In  Cal.  Digger's  Hand-book,   36,   are  some 
curious  figures  for  lots  from  the  presidio  to  San  Pablo.     For  reliable  points, 
see  Alta  Cal,  Dec.   15,   1849,  etc.;  and  Pac.   News;  also  Rednitz,  Reise,  106; 
Lambertie,   Voy.,  203-9. 

29  Details  in  8.  F  Real  Estate  Circular,  Sac.  Bee,  June  12,   1874;  Hayes' 
Scraps,  Cal  Notes,  v.  16,  etc. 

3s  The  state  laid  claim  to  it,  but  yielded  after  long  litigation.     Leidesdorff 


WILLIAM     A.  LEIDESDORFF.  193 

The  demand  was  confined  chiefly  to  Kearny  street 
round  the  plaza,  and  eastward  to  the  cove,  including 
water  lots.  Outside  land  shared  only  moderately  in 
the  rise,  fifty-vara  lots,  the  usual  size,  near  the  corner 
of  Montgomery  and  Market  streets,  selling  for  $500. 
Property  toward  North  Beach  was  regarded  with 
greater  favor.81  Periodic  auction  sales  gave  a  stimu 
lus  to  operations,82  and  lotteries  were  added  to  sustain 
it,  chiefly  by  men  who  had  managed  to  secure  large 
blocks  on  speculation.33  Dealings  were  not  without 
risk,  for  several  clouds  overhung  the  titles,  water  lots 
being  involved  in  the  tide-land  question,  soon  satisfac 
torily  settled  by  act  of  legislature,  and  nearly  all  the 
rest  in  the  claim  to  pueblo  lands,  which  led  to  long 
and  harassing  litigation,  with  contradictory  judg 
ments,  disputed  surveys,  and  congressional  debates; 

was  buried  at  Mission  Dolores  with  imposing  ceremonies  befitting  his  promi 
nence  and  social  virtues.  Warm  of  heart,  clear  of  head,  social,  hospitable,, 
liberal  to  a  fault,  his  hand  ever  open  to  the  poor  and  unfortunate,  active  and 
enterprising  in  business,  and  with  a  character  of  high  integrity,  his  name 
stands  as  among  the  purest  and  best  of  that  sparkling  little  community  to 
which  his  death  proved  a  serious  loss.  It  is  necessary  for  the  living  to  take 
charge  of  the  effects  of  the  dead,  but  it  smells  strongly  of  the  cormorant,  the 
avidity  with  which  men  seek  to  administer  an  estate  for  the  profit  to  be  de 
rived  from  it.  We  have  many  notable  examples  of  this  kind  in  the  history 
of  California,  in  which  men  of  prominence  have  participated,  sometimes  in  the 
name  of  friendship,  but  usually  actuated  thereto  by  avarice.  The  body  of 
William  A.  Leidesdorff  was  scarcely  cold  before  Joseph  L.  Folsom  obtained 
from  Gov.  Mason  an  order  to  take  charge  of  the  estate  in  connection  with 
Charles  Myres.  The  indecent  haste  of  Folsom  was  checked  by  the  appoint 
ment  as  administrator  of  W.  D.  M.  Howard  by  John  Townsend,  1st  alcalde 
of  San  Francisco.  And  when  Folsom  died  there  were  others  just  as  eager  as 
he  had  been  to  finger  dead  men's  wealth. 

31  Beyond  Montgomery  and  Market,  100-vara  lots  were  offered  for  $500, 
and  with  some  purchasers  the  scrub  oak  firewood  on  them  was  the  main  in 
ducement. 

32  See  advertisements  in  Alta  CaL,  Dec.  15,   1849,  and  other  dates;  and 
Pac.  News,  Jan.  5,  1850,  etc.     Large  weekly  sales  took  place.     The  last  of 
600  lots  yielded  $225,000,  says  S.  F.  Herald,  Aug.  10,  1850;  S.  F.  Picayune, 
Dec.  4,  1850;  Olney's  Viij.,  MS.,  2.     Among  the  auctioneers  whose  sale  cata 
logues  are  before  me  figure  Gr.  E.  Tyler  in  1849,  and  Cannon  &  Co.  and  Ken?- 
dig,  Wain wright,  &  Co.  in  1850.     In  the  1849  catalogues  50-vara  lots  pre 
vail  as  far  S.  w.  as  Turk  and  Taylor  sts,  and  100-vara  sizes  south  of  Market 
st,  while  in  1850  lots  of  20  feet  frontage  are  the  most  common  even  in  the 
latter  region.     For  raffling  of  lots,  see  CaL  Courier,  Oct.  5,  1850;  Pac.  News, 
Oct.  19,  1850. 

33A  large  portion  of  the  city  land  was  held  by  a  few  and  squatters  would 
scuttle  old  hulks  upon  desirable  water  lots  to  secure  possession,  as.  did  alcalde 
Leavenworth.  Merrill's  Stat.,  MS.,  2-4. 
HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.    13 


194  SAN  FRANCISCO. 


in  addition  to  which  rose  several  spectres  in  the  form 
of  private  land  grants.34 

By  the  middle  of  1849  the  greater  part  of  the  lots 
laid  out  by  O'Farrell35  had  been  disposed  of,  and  W. 
M.  Eddy  was  accordingly  instructed  to  extend  the 
survey  to  Larkin  and  Eighth  streets,30  within  which 
limits  sales  were  continued.  Encouraged  by  the  de 
mand,  John  Townsend  and  C.  de  Boom  hastened  to 
lay  out  a  suburban  town  on  the  Potrero  Nuevo  penin 
sula,  two  miles  south,  beyond  Mission  Bay,  which 
with  its  sloping  ground,  good  water,  arid  secure  anchor 
age  held  forth  many  attractions  to  purchasers;  but 
the  distance  and  difficulty  of  access  long  proved  a  bar 
to  settlement.37 

The  eagerness  to  invest  in  lots  was  for  some  time 
not  founded  on  any  wide-spread  confidence  in  the  coun 
try  and  the  future  of  the  city.  Few  then  thought  of 
making  California  their  home,  or,  indeed,  of  remaining 
longer  than  to  gather  gold  enough  for  a  stake  in 
life.  Viewed  by  the  average  eye,  the  abnormities  of 
1849  displayed  no  meaning.  Absorbed  in  the  one 
great  pursuit,  which  confined  them  to  comparatively 
arid  gold  belts  and  to  marshy  or  sand-blown  town 
sites,  they  missed  the  real  beauties  of  the  country, 
failed  to  observe  its  best  resources,  and  became  im 
pressed  rather  by  the  worst  features  connected  with 
their  roamings  and  hardships.  The  climate  was  bear 
able,  summer's  consuming  heat  being  chased  away 
by  winter's  devouring  waters.  The  soil  would  not 
furnish  food  for  the  people,  it  was  said.  The  mines 

34  By  Larkin,  Santillan,  Sherrebeck,  Limantour,  and  others,  which,  how 
ever,  did  not  appear  at  this  early  date,  when  the  tide-water  question  excited 
the  only  real  fear.  Land  titles  are  fully  considered  in  a  special  chapter.  By 
order  of  the  governor,  Feb.  19,  1850,  the  sale  of  municipal  lands  was  fordii- 
deiitill  the  legislature  should  decide.  S.  F.,  Minutes  Leyisl.  Assembly,  14,  229. 

*°  See  preceding  vol.  v. 

36 See  A.  Wheelers  Report  of  1850,  and  his  Land  Titles  in  S.  F.  of  1852, 
for  observations  on  survey  and  lists  of  sales  and  grants  made  up  to  1850;  also 
Pac.  New*,  Nov.  27,  1849;  A  Ita,  etc. 

37  It  was  surveyed  by  A.  R.  Flint.  Hunter  Bros  were  the  agents  in  S.  F. 
Or.  Sketches,  MS.,  2;  Buffums  Six  Months,  156. 


FLIMSY  CONSTRUCTION.  195 

would  not  yield  treasures  forever;  then  what  should 
pay  for  the  clothing  and  provisions  shipped  hither 
from  distant  ports,  which  had  to  furnish  almost  every 
thing  needful  for  sustaining  life,  even  bread?  Surely 
not  the  hides,  horns,  and  tallow  secured  from  the 
rapidly  disappearing  herds. 

There  was,  consequently,  little  inducement  to  pre 
pare  anything  but  the  flimsiest  accommodation  for 
the  inflowing  population  and  increasing  trade,  Then 
there  was  an  excitement  and  hurry  everywhere  preva 
lent,  and  the  cost  of  material  and  labor  was  excessive. 
Every  day  saw  a  marked  change  in  the  city's  expansion; 
and  as  winter  approached  and  rain  set  in,  the  central 
part  underwent  a  rapid  transformation,  under  the  effort 
to  replace  canvas  frames  with  somewhat  firmer  wooden 
walls.  It  is  assumed  that  at  least  a  thousand  sheds 
and  houses  were  erected  in  the  latter  half  of  1849,3* 
at  a  cost  that  would  have  provided  accommodation 
for  a  fivefold  larger  community  on  the  Atlantic  coast. 

Stretching  its  youthful  limbs  in  the  gusty  air,  San 
Francisco  grew  apace,  covering  the  drift  sand  which 
was  soon  to  be  tied  down  by  civilization,  carving  the 
slopes  into  home  sites  for  climbing  habitations  till  they 
reached  the  crests,  levelling  the  hills  by  blasting  out 
ballast  for  returning  vessels,  or  material  for  filling  in 
behind  the  rapidly  advancing  piling  in  the  cove. 

The  topography  of  the  city,  with  sharply  rising 

38  Buff urn's  Six  Months,  121.  Taylor  estimates  the  habitations  in  Aug., 
including  tents,  at  500,  with  a  population  of  6,000,  and  that  the  town  increases 
daily  by  from  fifteen  to  thirty  houses;  its  skirts  rapidly  approaching  the  sum 
mits  of  the  hills.  Eldorado,  i.  59,  203.  His  '  houses '  must  be  understood  as 
embracing  at  least  canvas  structures.  The  streets  were  encroaching  on 
Happy  Valley,  and  the  harbor  was  lined  with  boats,  tents,  and  warehouses 
to  Rincon  Point.  As  many  as  40  buildings  have  risen  within  48  hours, 
*  Framed  houses  were  often  put  up  and  enclosed  in  24  hours.'  McCotturis  Cal., 
60.  Muslin  was  used  instead  of  plaster.  Adven.  of  Capt.  Wife,  27-8.  A 
most  valuable  account  of  the  building  of  the  city  in  1849  and  subsequent 
years  is  given  in  the  Statement,  MS.,  4  et  seq.,  of  H.  F.  Williams,  who  opened 
a  carpenter-shop  in  1849  on  the  east  side  of  Montgomery  st,  between  Jackson 
and  Washington,  and  figured  long  as  builder  and  contractor.  He  paid  $12  a 
day  in  Nov.  to  any  one  who  could  handle  a  saw  and  hammer.  Buildings  now 
costing  $2,500  were  then  contracted  for  at  $21,000.  Details  are  also  given  in 
Buttons  Early  Exper.,  MS.;  Bauer's  Stat.,  MS.,  5;  Larkiris  Doc.,  vi.  51,  etc.; 
Sandoich  Is.  News,  ii.  193,  etc.;  8.  F.  Picayune,  Sept.  11,  1850;  Cal  Courier, 
5-ec  U,  1850;  S.  F.  Herald,  June  20,  1850,  etc. 


19G  SAN  FRANCISCO 

hills  so  close  upon  the  established  centre  of  popula 
tion,  interposed  a  barrier  against  business  structures, 
while  the  shallow  waters  of  the  bay  invited  to  the 
projection  of  wharves,  which  again  led  to  the  erection 
of  buildings  alongside  and  between  them.  In  levelling 
for  interior  streets  the  bay  offered  the  best  dumping- 
place,  and  the  test  once  satisfactorily  made,  sand 
ridges  scores  of  feet  in  height  came  tumbling  down 
into  the  cove  under  the  combined  onslaught  of  steam - 
excavators,  railroads,  and  pile-drivers.  In  1849  Mont 
gomery  street  skirted  the  water;  a  little  more  than  a 
year  later  it  ran  through  the  heart  of  the  town.8D 

The  only  real  encroachment  upon  the  water  domain 
in  1848  was  in  the  construction  of  two  short  wharves, 
at  Clay  and  Broadway  streets.40  In  May  1849 
Alcalde  Leavenworth  projected  Central  or  Long 
Wharf,  along  Commercial  street,  which  before  the 
end  of  the  year  extended  800  feet,  and  became  noted 
as  the  noisy  resort  of  pedlers  and  Cheap  John  shops. 
Steamers  and  sea-going  vessels  began  to  unload  at  it, 
and  buildings  sprang  up  rapidly  along  the  new  avenue. 
Its  successful  progress  started  a  number  of  rival  enter 
prises  upon  every  street  along  the  front,  from  Market 
and  California  streets  tq  Broadway  and  beyond.41 

39  'Within  another  year  one  half  of  the  city  will  stand  on  soil  wrested  from 
the  sea,'  exclaim  the  S.  F.  Courier  and  Sac.  Transcript,  Oct.  14,  1850.     Thus 
were  overcome  difficulties  not  unlike  those  encountered  in  placing  St  Peters 
burg  upon  her  delta,  Amsterdam  upon  her  marshes,  and  Venice  upon  her 
island  cluster.     During  the  winter  1850-1  over  1,000  people  dwelt  upon  the 
water  in  buildings  resting  on  piles,  and  in  hulks  of  vessels. 

40  This  wet-nursing  began  in 1847  by  city  appropriation,  assisted  by  W.  S. 
Clark.     See  my  preceding  vol.,  v.   655-6,  679.     Many  pioneers  think  that 
because  a  favorite  landing-place  was  upon  some  rocks,  at  Pacific  and  Sansoma 
sts,  there  were  no  wharves.     The  lagoon  at  Jackson  st,  which  had  been  partly 
filled,  offered  an  inlet  for  boats.     There  were  also  other  landings.  Crosby's 
Stat.,  MS.,  12;  Schenetts  Vig.,  MS.,  14;  Miscel  Stats.^lS.,  21;  and  note  5  of 
this  chapter. 

41  Central  wharf,  owned  by  a  joint-stock  company,  of  which  the  most 
prominent  members  were  Mellus  &  Howard,  Cross,   Hobson,  &  Co.,  Jas  C. 
Ward,  J.  L.  Folsom,  De  Witt&  Harrison,  SamBrannan,  Theo.  Shillaber,  etc., 
began  at  Leidesdorff  st,  and  was  originally  800  ft  long.     Being  seriously  dam 
aged  by  the  fire  of  June  1850,  it  was  repaired,  and  by  Oct.  extended  to  a 
length  of  2,000  ft,  affording  depth  of  water  sufficient  to  allow  the  Pacific  Mail 
steamers  to  lie  alongside.     The  cost  was  over  $180,000.     Details  in  Sckenck's 
Vij.,  MS.,  14;  Fays  Facts,  MS.,  2;  S.  F.  Bull.,  Jan.  23,  1867.     C.  V.  Gilles- 

?ie  wasprest.  Alta,  Dec.  12,  1849.     Before  the  beginning  of  the  winter  of 
850-1,  Market-st  wh.  corporation  property,  already  looming  as  a  wholesale 


WHARVES  AND  STREETS.  197 

They  added  nearly  two  miles  to  the  roadway  of  the 
city,  at  an  outlay  of  more  than  a  million  dollars,  which, 
however,  yielded  a  large  return  to  the  projectors, 
mostly  private  firms.  A  few  belonged  to  the  munici 
pality,  which  soon  absorbed  the  rest,,  as  the  progress 
of  filling  in  and  building  up  alongside  and  between 
converted  them  into  public  streets,  and  caused  the  for 
mation  of  a  new  network  of  wharves. 

In  the  rush  of  speculation  and  extension,  in  which 
the  energy  and  success  of  a  few  led  the  rest,  the 
several  sections  of  the  city  were  left  comparatively 
neglected,  partly  because  so  many  thought  it  useless 
to  waste  improvements  during  a  probably  brief  stay. 
Streets,  for  instance,  remained  unpaved,  without  side 
walks  and  even  ungraded.  The  pueblo  government 
had  before  the  gold  excitement  done  a  little  work 
upon  portions  of  a  few  central  thoroughfares,  yet 
Montgomery  street  was  still  in  a  crude  condition  and 
higher  on  one  side  than  on  the  other.42  During  the 
dry  summer  this  mattered  little,  for  dust  and  sand 
would  in  any  case  come  whirling  in  clouds  from  the 
surrounding  hills,  but  in  winter  the  aspect  changed. 
The  season  1849-50  proved  unusually  watery.43  Build- 
centre,  Cal.  Courier,  Aug.  7,  1850,  extended  600  ft  into  the  cove;  Calif ornia- 
st  wh.,  substantially  built,  was  400  ft  long  by  32  ft  wide;  Howison's  pier, 
connected  by  a  railway  with  Sacramento  st,  was  1,100  ft  long,  with  a  width 
of  40  ft,  and  a  depth  of  water  of  14  ft  at  high  tide.  Barry  aad  Patten,  Men 
and  Mem.,  17,  confound  this  with  Sacramento-st  wh.,  owned  by  Stevenson  & 
Parker,  800  ft  long,  extending  from  Sansome  st  to  Davis.  Clay-st  wh.  was 
being  rapidly  carried  out  over  1,000  ft,  with  a  width  of  40  ft,  and  started 
from  a  mole  or  staging  at  Sherman  &  Ruckle's  store,  says  Grimshaw,  Narr., 
MS.,  14;  Washington-st  wh.  was  275  ft  long;  Jackson-st  wh.,  552  ft,  ended 
at  Front  st  in  13  ft  of  water.  The  well-built  Pacific-st  wh.  extended  over 
500  ft  (probably  to  be  completed  to  800  ft)  by  60  ft  in  width;  Broadway  wh., 
250  ft  long  by  40  ft,  was  the  landing-place  of  the  Sacramento  steamers.  Bantes' 
Or.  and  Cal.,  MS.,  19;  Henshaw's  Stat.,  MS.,  2.  Cunningham's  wh.,  between 
Vallejo  and  Green  sts,  was  375  ft  by  33  ft,  with  a  right-angle  extension  of 
330  ft  by  30  ft,  at  a  depth  of  25  ft.  The  Green-st  or  Law's  wh.  was  under 
construction,  and  at  North  Beach  a  1,700-ft  wharf  from  foot  of  Taylor  st 
was  projected.  See,  further,  Annals  8.  F.,  291-3;  Dams'  GUmpses,  MS.,  265- 
78;  Bauer  s  Stat.,  MS.,  2;  Earl's  Stat.,  MS.,  1-10;  Lawsons  Autolnog.,  MS., 
16-17;  Bartletf*  Stat.,  MS.,  2;  Pac.  News,  May  2,  Aug.  27,  1850;  8.  F.  Pica 
yune,  Aug.  19,  Nov.  11,  1850;  S.  F.  Herald,  Oct.  22,  1850.  Howison's  wh., 
valued  at  $200,000,  was  offered  at  lottery,  tickets  $100.  Cal.  Courier,  Sept. 
26,  1850. 

4*  For  work  done  in  1847-8,  see  my  preceding  vol.,   v.  654-5. 

43  The  rains  began  on  Nov.  13th  and  terminated  in  March,  falling  during 


198  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

ings  were  flooded,  and  traffic  converted  the  streets  into 
swamps,  their  virgin  surface  trodden  into  ruts  and 
rivers  of  mud.  In  places  they  were  impassable,  and 
so  deep  that  rnan  and  beast  sank  almost  out  of  sight. 
Many  animals  were  left  to  their  fate  to  suffocate  in 
the  mire,  and  even  human  bodies  were  found  ingulfed 
in  Montgomery  street.44 

Driven  by  necessity,  owners  and  shop-keepers  sought 
to  remedy  the  evil — for  the  municipal  fund  was  scanty 
— by  forming  sidewalks  and  crossings  with  whatever 
material  that  could  be  obtained,  but  in  a  manner  which 
frequently  served  to  wall  the  liquid  rnud  into  lakes. 
The  common  brush  filling  proved  unstable  traps  in 
which  to  entangle  the  feet  of  horses.  The  cost  of  ma 
terial  and  labor  did  not  encourage  more  perfect  meas 
ures.  It  so  happened  that  with  the  inflow  of  shipments 
many  cargoes  contained  goods  in  excess  of  the  demand, 
such  as  tobacco,  iron,  sheet-lead,  cement,  beans,  salt 
beef,  and  the  cost  of  storage  being  greater  than  their 
actual  or  prospective  value,  they  could  be  turned  to 
no  better  use  than  for  fillage.  Thus  entire  lines  of 
sidewalks  were  constructed  of  expensive  merchandise 
in  bales  and  boxes,  which  frequently  decayed,  to  the 
injury  of  health.45  The  absence  of  lamps  rendered 

71  days,  or  half  the  time.  S.  F.  Direct.,  1852,  12.  Lower  lying  buildings 
were  flooded.  Suttons  Stat.,  MS.,  7. 

44  Schmiedell,  Stat.,  MS.,   5-6,  mentions  one  man  who  was  suffocated  in 
the  mud.     Another  witness  refers  to  three  such  cases,  due  probably  to  intoxi 
cation.     See  also  HittelVs  S.   F.,   154;   S.  F.  Bull,  Jan.  23,  1867.      'I  have 
seen  mules  stumble  in  the  street  and  drown  in  the  liquid  mud,'  writes  Gen. 
Sherman,  Mem.,  i.  67.     At  the  corner  of  Clay  and  Kearny  sts  stood  posted 
the  warning:    'This  street   is   impassable,  not   even  jackassable! '    Uplvams 
Notes,  268.     At  some  crossings  '  soundings '  varied  from  two  to  five  feet. 
Shaw's  Golden  Dreams,  47. 

45  A  sidewalk  was  made  from  Montgomery  st  to  the  mail  steamer  office  '  of 
boxes  of  1st  class  Virginia  tobacco,  containing  100  Ibs.  each,  that  would  be 
worth  75  cts  a  pound.'  Cole's  Vig.,  MS.,  3.     Tons  of  wire  sieves,  iron,  rolls  of 
sheet  lead,  cement,  and  barrels  of  beef  were  sunk  in  the  mud.     Tobacco  was 
found  to  be  the  cheapest  material  for  small  building  foundations.  NealVs  Vig., 
MS.,   16;  Fay's  Facts,  MS.,  3.     Foundations  subsequently  were  sometimes 
worth  more  than  the  house.    Some  Chile  beans  sunk  for  a  crossing  on  Broadway 
would  have  made  a  fortune  for  the  owner  a  few  weeks  later.   Garniss  Early 
Days,  MS.,   14;  Lambertie,  Voy.,  MS.,  202-3.     There   were  a  few  planked 
sidewalks.  Sutton's  Stat.,  MS.,  7;  Cal  Past  and  Present,  149-50;   Bartlett's 
Stat.,  MS.,  7;  Sc/tenck's  Vig.,  MS.,  16. 


GRADING  AND  SEWERS.  199 

progress  dangerous  at  night,46  and  the  narrowness  of 
the  path  led  to  many  a  precipitation  into  the  mud, 
whence  the  irate  victims  would  arise  ready  to  fight  the 
first  thing  he  met.  Long  boots  and  water-proof  suits 
were  then  common. 

The  experiences  of  the  winter  led  in  1850  to  more 
substantial  improvements.  The  municipal  government 
adopted  a  system  of  grades,  under  which  energetic 
work  was  done;  so  much  so  that  before  the  following 
winter,  which  was  excessively  dry,  the  central  parts  of 
the  town  might  be  regarded  as  practically  graded  and 
planked,  a  portion  being  provided  with  sewers.47  With 
the  rapid  construction  of  saw-mills  on  the  coast,  sup 
plemented  by  the  large  importation  of  lumber  from 
Oregon,  this  article  became  so  abundant  and  cheap  as 
to  restrict  to  small  proportions  the  use  of  stone  ma 
terial  for  streets. 

In  the  adoption  of  grades  the  local  government  had 
been  hasty ;  for  three  years  later  a  new  system  had  to 
be  adopted,  partly  to  conform  to  the  gradual  exten 
sion  of  the  city  into  the  bay.  This  involved  the 

46Pac.  News,  of  May  9,  1850,  complains  that  Kearny  st  is  left  to  darkness. 
Lights  were  not  introduced  till  the  spring  of  1851.  S.  F.  Directory,  1852,  18. 

47  Montgomery,  Kearny,  and  Dupont  sts,  from  Broadway  to  Sacramento, 
and  even  to  California  st,  were  so  far  to  receive  sewers.  The  grading  and 
planking  extended  in  1852  from  the  junction  of  Battery  and  Market  sts  diag 
onally  to  Sacramento  and  Dupont  sts,  and  from  Dupont  and  Broadway  to  the 
bay,  covering  nearly  all  the  intermediate  district,  except  the  land  portion  of 
Broadway  and  Pacific.  See  Barker's  plan  in  S.  F.  Directory  of  1852.  The 
S.  F.  Annals,  29G,  leaves  a  wrong  impression  of  progress  by  the  beginning  of 
Nov.  1850,  by  stating  that  these  improvements  were  now  being  executed 
within  the  section  embraced  between  the  diagonal  line  running  from  Market 
and  Battery  to  Stockton  and  Clay  sts  on  the  south,  and  the  line  stretching 
from  Dupont  and  Broadway  straight  to  the  bay,  besides  odd  sections  on  the 
north-west  to  Taylor  st,  and  northward  about  Ohio,  Water,  and  Francisco  sts. 
i^ee  S.  F.  Herald,  June  28,  July  31,  Oct.  29,  1S50;  A  Ita  Gal,  Dec.  21,  1850, 
and  other  numbers.  La  Motte,  Stat.,  MS.,  1-2,  did  some  grading.  Larkins 
Doc.,  vii.  219;  Cal  Courier,  Sept.  3,  14,  21,  27,  Dec.  2,  5,  1850;  /S',  F  Picayune, 
Aug.  19,  Sept.  6,  9,  Oct.  10,  23,  1850.  There  was  a  bridge  over  the  lagoon 
at  Jackson  and  Kearny  sts,  observes  Pac.  News,  Dec.  20,  1849,  June  5,  1820, 
whose  editor  boasts  that  no  city  in  the  union  '  presents  a  greater  extent  of 
planked  streets.  Over  40,000  feet,  or  above  7^  miles  of  streets  have  been 
graded;  19,800  feet  have  been  planked;'  and  more  planking  contracted  for 
The  city  paid  one  third  of  the  expense,  levying  for  the  remainder  on  the 
property  facing  the  streets  concerned.  The  4rst  sidewalk,  of  stringers  and 
barrel-staves,  was  laid  on  the  south  side  of  Clay  st  between  Montgomery  and 
Kearny,  says  Williams,  Stat.,  MS.,  4-5.  King  of  William  laid  the  first 
brick  sidewalk.  Cal  Courier,  July  23,  1850. 


200  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

lifting  of  entire  blocks  of  heavy  brick  houses  in  the 
business  centre,  and  elsewhere  to  elaborate  cutting  and 
filling  with  substructure  and  inconvenient  approaches. 
The  expense  of  the  work  was  absolutely  appalling;  the 
more  so  as  much  of  it  had  been  needless,  and  the  re 
sult  on  the  whole  miserably  inadequate  and  disfigur 
ing.48 

In  San  Francisco  was  much  bad  planning.49  Yioget's 
pencillings  were  without  much  regard  for  configura 
tion,  or  for  the  pathways  outlined  by  nature  and  early 
trafficking  toward  the  presidio  and  mission.  O'Far- 
rell's  later  extension  was  no  better.50  Both  rejected 
the  old-fashioned  adaptation  to  locality,  with  terraced 
slopes  suited  to  the  site.  Terraces  and  winding  as 
cents  would  have  rendered  available  and  fashionable 
many  of  the  slopes  which  for  lack  of  such  approaches 
were  abandoned  to  rookeries  or  left  tenantless.  More 
over,  while  selecting  and  holding  obstinately  to  the 
bare  rigidity  of  right  angles  they  distorted  the  plan 
from  the  beginning.  The  two  proposed  main  streets, 
instead  of  being  made  greater  avenues  for  traffic  and 
dominant  factors  in  the  extension  of  the  city  by  stretch 
ing  them  between  Telegraph  and  Russian  hills  to  the 

48  The  new  grade,  prepared  by  M.  Hoadley  and  W.  P.  Humphreys,  was 
adopted  on  Aug.  26,  1850,  and  although  afterward  modified,  involved  heavy 
cost  by  raising  former  levels  as  much  as  five  feet,  especially  on  business  streets 
where  brick  buildings  had  been  erected.     Here  in  lower  lying  parts  changes 
were  imperative.    Nearly  1,000  brick  buildings  have  been  raised,  some  of  large 
extent.     On  hill  sites  greater  latitude  was  allowed.     The  requirement  of  the 
plan  for  vertical  cuts  of  200  feet  into  Telegraph  hill  at  the  intersection  of 
Montgomery  and  Kearny  with  Greenwich  and  Filbert,  and  of  corresponding 
depths  elsewhere,  could  not  be  entertained,  for  the  cost  would  have  been  in 
some  cases  50  times  more  than  the  value  of  the  lots.     Elsewhere  cuttings  of 
over  50  feet  were  frequently  adopted,  although  not  always  enforced.     The 
demand  for  ballast  and  filling  material  tended  to  obviate  the  main  difficulty — 
the  expense — as  in  the  case  of  Telegraph  hill.     With  aid  of  the  steam-exca 
vator,  or  paddy,  as  this  supplanter  of  Irish  labor  has  been  dubbed,  which 
could  swing  round  with  a  hogshead  of  sand  at  every  scoop,  a  truck  car  could 
be  filled  in  a  few  minutes  from  most  of  the  hills.     It  has  been  estimated  that 
an  average  of  nine  feet  of  cutting  and  filling  has  been  done  upon  3,000  acres 
of  the  San  Francisco  site,  implying  the  transfer  of  nearly  22,000,000  cubic 
yards  of  sand. 

49  The  plea  that  a  large  city  was  not  thought  of  in  1839  is  valid  only  to  a 
certain  extent. 

50  The  conformation  to  the  change  made  was  largely  undertaken  during 
the' winter  1849-50.     Williams'  Stat.,  MS.,  3.     For  surveys  and  defects,  see  my 
preceding  vol.  v. 


STRAINED  EFFORTS.  201 

then  promising  expanse  of  North  Beach,  and  so  form 
ing  a  rectangle  to  the  southern  main,  Market  street, 
they  were  circumscribed,  and  allowed  to  terminate 
aimlessly  in  the  impassable  Telegraph  hill.  This  pri 
mary  error,  whose  remedy  was  too  late  attempted  in  the 
costly  opening  of  Montgomery  avenue,  had  a  marked 
effect  on  the  city  in  distributing  its  business  and  so 
cial  centres,  in  encroaching  upon  the  rights  and  com 
forts  of  property  owners,  and  in  the  lavish  squandering 
of  millions.  Then,  again,  the  streets  were  made  too 
narrow,  resulting  in  the  decadence  of  many  otherwise 
advantageous  quarters,  while  some  were  altered 
only  at  an  immense  outlay  for  widening.  Add  to  this 
such  abnormities  as  alternating  huge  ditches  and  em 
bankments  with  lines  of  houses  left  perched  at  vary 
ing  altitudes  upon  the  brow  of  cliffs,  sustained  by 
unsightly  props,  and  accessible  only  by  dizzy  stair 
ways.  True,  the  extension  into  the  bay  in  a  measure 
required  the  levelling  of  hills,  and  so  reduced  the  ab 
surdity;  on  the  other  hand,  this  advance  into  the 
waters  rendered  worse  a  defective  drainage  system, 
so  much  so  that,  notwithstanding  the  change  of  levels, 
the  health  and  convenience  of  the  city  would  be  seri 
ously  endangered  but  for  the  ruling  west  winds.  This 
remedy,  however,  is  nearly  as  bad  as  the  disease,  in 
the  way  of  comfort  at  least.1 


51 


The  errors  and  mishaps  connected  with  San  Fran 
cisco  are  greatly  due  to  haste  and  overdoing.  One 
half  of  the  activity  would  have  accomplished  twice  the 
result.  Fortunes  were  spent  in  building  hastily  and 
inefficiently;  seas  were  scoured  for  bargains  when 
there  were  better  ones  at  home;  the  Sierra  was 

51  Several  writers  have  commented  on  different  features  of  the  plan,  which 
Player  Frowd,  Six  Mont/is,  23,  terms  '  a  monument  of  the  folly . .  to  improve 
natural  scenery.'  Hubner,  Jtamble,  145-7,  and  Upton,  in  Overland  Mo.,  ii. 
131,  join  with  others  in  condemning  the  disregard  for  natural  features.  In 
the  Annals  S.  F.,  160-1,  was  placed  a  protest  against  the  monotony  of  the 
square,  and  the  lack  of  public  parks  and  gardens.  The  inequality  of  streets 
was  the  more  striking  when  it  is  seen  that  the  central  streets,  from  east  to  west, 
were  only  60  feet  wide,  while  those  south  of  Market,  a  comparative  suburb, 
were  over  80  feet,  with  variations  in  other  quarters. 


202  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

beaten  for  gold  which  flowed  of  its  own  accord  to  the 
door  of  the  steady  trader ;  a  pittance  set  aside  for  land 
would  have  made  rich  the  defeated  wrestler  with  for 
tune.  Anything,  however,  but  to  quietly  wait;  wealth 
must  be  obtained,  and  now,  and  that  by  rushing 
hither  and  thither  in  search  of  it,  by  scheming,  strug 
gling,  and  if  needs  be  dying  for  it. 

One  bitter  fruit  of  the  improvident  haste  of  the 
city-builders  was  early  forthcoming  in  a  series  of  dis 
astrous  conflagrations,  which  stamped  San  Francisco 
as  one  of  the  most  combustible  of  cities,  the  houses 
being  as  inflammable  as  the  temper  of  the  inhabi 
tants.52 

52  The  first  of  the  series  took  place  early  on  Christmas  eve,  1849,  after  one 
of  those  nights  of  revelry  characterizing  the  flush  days.  It  started  in  Deni- 
son's  Exchange,  in  the  midst  of  the  gambling  district,  on  the  east  side  of  the 
plaza,  next  to  the  Parker  house,  the  flames  being  observed  about  6  A.  M.,  Dec. 
24th.  Premonitory  warnings  had  been  given  in  the  burning  of  the  Shades 
hotel  in  Jan.  1849,  and  the  ship  Philadelphia  in  June,  as  she  was  about  to 
sail.  S.  F.  Directory,  1852,  10.  Although  the  weather  was  calm,  the  flames 
spread  to  the  rear  and  sides  among  the  tinder  walls  that  filled  the  block,  till 
the  greater  part  of  it  presented  a  mass  of  flame.  So  scorching  was  the  heat 
that  houses  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street,  and  even  beyond,  threatened  to 
ignite.  Fortunately  the  idea  occurred  to  cover  them  with  blankets,  which 
were  kept  freely  saturated.  One  merchant  paid  one  dollar  a  bucket  for  water 
to  this  end;  others  bespattered  their  walls  with  mud.  Conspicuous  among 
the  fire  fighters  was  David  Broderick,  a  New  York  fireman  now  rising  to 
political  prominence.  Buckets  and  blankets  might  have  availed  little,  how 
ever,  but  for  the  prompt  order  to  pull  down  and  blow  up  a  line  of  houses,  and 
so  cut  off  food  for  the  flames.  The  greater  part  of  the  block  between  Wash 
ington  and  Clay  streets  and  Kearny  and  Montgomery  streets  was  destroyed, 
involving  the  loss  of  a  million  and  a  quarter  of  dollars.  Stanley's  Speech,  1854. 
Nearly  50  houses  fell,  all  save  a  fringe  on  Clay  and  Montgomery  sts,  then 
perhaps  the  most  important  block  in  town.  Bayard  Taylor,  who  witnessed 
the  fire,  gives  a  detailed  account  in  Eldorado,  ii.  71-4.  Upham,  Notes,  26G, 
and  Neall,  Vig.,  MS.,  14-15,  add  some  incidents;  and  Pac.  News,  Dec.  25-29, 
1849,  Jan.  1,  1850,  supplies  among  the  journals  some  graphic  versions.  The 
Eldorado,  Parker  house,  Denison's  Exchange,  U.  S.  coffee  house,  were  among 
the  noted  resorts  swept  away.  Polynesian,  vi.  142;  Hunt's  Mag.,  xxxi.  114. 
While  the  fire  was  still  smouldering,  its  victims  could  be  seen  busily  planning 
for  new  buildings.  Within  a  few  days  many  of  the  destroyed  resorts  had 
been  replaced  with  structures  better  than  their  predecessors.  Toward  the 
end  of  Jan.  1850,  not  a  vestige  remained  of  the  fire.  Cornwall  contracted  to 
raise  the  Exchange  within  15  days,  or  forfeit  $500  for  every  day  in  excess  of 
the  term.  He  succeeded.  Williams"  Pec.,  MS.,  13. 

The  second  great  fire  broke  out  on  May  4,  1850,  close  to  the  former 
starting  point,  and  swept  away  within  seven  hours  the  three  blocks  between 
Montgomery  and  Dupont  sts,  bounded  by  Jackson  and  Clay  sts  and  the  north 
and  east  sides  of  Portsmouth  square,  consuming  300  houses  and  other  prop 
erty,  to  the  value  of  over  four  millions.  Stanley,  Speech,  1854,  says  $4,250,000; 
others  have  $3,000,000  to  $4,000,000;  Pac.  News,  May  4,  15,  1850,  $5,000,000. 
One  life  was  lost.  Larkins  Doc.,  vii.  208.  Dubois'  bank  and  Burgoyne  &  Co.  s 


GREAT  CONFLAGRATIONS.  203 

Such  a  succession  of  disasters  might  well  have 
crushed  any  community,  and  croakers  were  not  want- 
house  alone  escaped  in  the  Clay-st  block;  and  northward  only  a  row  fringing 
Jackson  above  Montgomery  st.  S.  F.  Directory,  1852,  15.  The  flames  were 
stayed,  especially  on  Dupont  st,  by  the  voluntary  tearing  down  of  many  build 
ings.  S.  F.  Annals,  274,  with  diagram.  Details  in  Pac.  News,  May  4-9,  1850; 
Atta  Cal,  May  27,  June  6,  1850.  The  conduct  of  certain  criminals  confirmed 
the  belief  in  incendiarism,  arid  a  reward  of  §5,000  led  to  several  arrests,  but 
nothing  could  be  proved.  The  fire  started  at  4  A.  M.,  on  May  4th,  in  the  U. 
S.  Exchange,  a  rickety  gambling-place.  In  S.  F.  Herald,  June  15,  1850,  it  is 
stated  that  200  houses  were  burned,  with  a  loss  of  three  millions.  As  on 
the  previous  occasion,  thousands  of  curious  spectators  gathered  to  the  sound 
of  the  fire  bells  to  add  their  clamor  to  the  uproar.  Appeals  to  the  crowd  for 
aid  met  with  no  hearty  response,  unless  attended  by  money,  a3  Taylor,  Eldo 
rado,  75,  observed  in  Dec.  1849.  A  number  were  engaged  at  $3  an  hour;  $60 
was  paid  for  a  cartload  of  water.  Shaw's  Golden  Dreams,  179.  A  crowd  of 
men  who  claimed  to  have  assisted  at  the  fire  raised  almost  a  riot  on  being  re 
fused  compensation  by  the  city  council.  This  august  body  was  profoundly 
moved,  and  ordinances  were  passed  obliging  all,  under  penalty,  to  render  ai.l 
on  such  occasions  when  called  upon.  Precautionary  measures  were  also 
adopted,  and  impulse  was  given  to  the  development  of  the  fire  department 
started  after  the  first  calamity — such  as  digging  wells,  forming  reservoirs, 
ordering  every  householder  to  keep  six  buckets  of  water  prepared  for  emer 
gencies,  and  the  like.  Annals  S.  F.,  276.  It  is  claimed  that  in  ten  days  more 
than  half  the  burned  district  was  rebuilt. 

While  the  rebuilding  of  the  burned  district  was  still  in  progress,  on  June 
14th,  the  alarm  sounded  once  more  near  the  old  point  of  ignition,  from  the 
Sacramento  house  on  the  east  side  of  Kearny  st,  between  Clay  and  Sacra 
mento.  Cause,  a  defective  stove-pipe,  S.  F.  Directory,  1852,  16;  in  the 
kitchen,  adds  another,  which  the  Annals  S.  F.,  277,  ascribes  to  a  baker's 
chimney  in  the  rear  of  the  Merchants'  hotel.  The  fire  started  just  before 
8  A.  M.  Within  a  few  hours  the  district  between  Clay  and  California  sts, 
from  Kearny  st  to  the  water-front,  lay  almost  entirely  in  ashes,  causing  a 
loss  of  over  three  million  dollars.  Stanley,  as  above,  has  $3,500,000;  the 
Annals  nearly  $5,000,000;  the  Directory  $3,000,000,  embracing  300  houses. 
Jas  King  of  William  s  bank  was  torn  down;  many  ships  were  in  danger.  Cal. 
Courier,  July  16,  1850,  etc.  This  fire  led  to  the  erection  of  more  substantial 
buildings  of  brick,  and  some  stone. 

The  fourth  great  conflagration,  on  September  17,  1850,  started  on  Jack 
son  street,  and  ravaged  the  greater  part  of  the  blocks  between  Dupont  and 
Montgomery  sts  embraced  by  Washington  and  Pacific  sts.  The  section  was 
about  equal  to  the  preceding,  but  covered  mostly  by  one-story  wooden 
houses,  so  that  the  loss  did  not  exceed  half  a  million  dollars — the  Annals  says 
between  one  quarter  and  one  half  million;  yet  Stanley  has  one  million;  150 
houses,  and  nearly  half  a  million,  according  to  S.  F.  Directory,  1852,  17 
Details  in  S.  F.  Picayune,  S.  F.  Herald,  and  Cal.  Courier,  of  Sept  18,  1850, 
etc.  In  estimating  values  it  must  be  considered  that  after  1849  material, 
labor,  and  method  became  cheaper  and  more  effective  year  by  year,  so  that 
the  cost  of  replacing  differed  greatly  from  the  original  outlay.  A  scanty 
water  supply  and  the  lack  of  a  directing  head  hampered  the  praiseworthy 
efforts  of  the  fire  companies.  The  fire  began  at  4  A.  M.  in  the  Philadelphia 
house,  on  the  north  side  of  Jackson  st,  between  Dupont  and  Kearny,  near 
Washington  market.  On  October  31st  a  blaze  on  Clay-st  hill  consumed  the 
City  hospital,  owned  by  Dr  Peter  Smith,  and  an  adjoining  building,  where 
the  fire  began;  loss,  a  quarter  of  a  million;  supposed  incendiarism.  It  was 
marked  by  severe  injury  to  several  of  the  hospital  inmates,  before  they  could 
be  rescued.  Cal.  Courier,  Oct.  31,  1850.  Less  extensive  but  twice  as  costly 
was  the  blaze  of  Dec.  14th,  on  Sacramento  street,  which  consumed  several 


204 


SAN  FRANCISCO. 
BURNT  DISTRICT  OF  MAY  1851. 


The  jagged  line  below  Montgomery  st  indicates  the  extent  of  filled  ground 
beyond  the  natural  shore  line.  The  larger  portions  even  of  the  central  blocks  were 
covered  by  wooden  buildings.  The  following  list,  referred  to  the  plan  by  num 
bers,  embraces  nearly  all  the  notable  exceptions,  occupied  by  a  larr^e  proportion  of 
the  leading  business  firms.  The  fire  consumed  also  most  of  the  streets  beyond  the 
water  line,  which,  being  really  wharves  on  piling,  burned  readily. 
1.  City  Hotel,  brick  building  30.  Bereuhardt,  Jacoby,  &  Co.,  Hellman 

&  Bros,  wooden  b. 

31.  Pioche  Bayerque,  brick   and    iron, 

several  iron  b.  in  rear. 

32.  Bonded  warehouse,  iron. 

33     Starkey,  Janion,  &  Co.,  b'k  and  iron. 

34.  I.  Naylor,  Cooke  Bros,  brick. 

35.  Helman  &  Bro.,  brick. 

36.  Starr  &  Minturn,  and  others,  2  iron 

and  2  brick  b. 

37     Hastier,  Baines,  &  Co.,  brick. 

iv>.     UIUUVACIIU.  wiiiv,^,  i/ii^j».  38.    Jones'  Hotel,  wooden. 

11.    Johnson  &  Calfield,  wooden  b.,  ad-    39,    P  M.  Steam  Navig.  Co.,  brick. 


4. 

5. 
6. 
7 
8. 
9. 
10. 


, 
Fitzgerald,  Bausch,  Brewster,  brick 

b. 
Capt.  Folspm,  iron  building,  adjoin 

ing  brick  b.  burned. 
Custom-house,  brick  b. 
Rising  &  Casili,  brick  and  iron. 
Cramer,  Rambach,  &  Co.,  brick, 
R.  Wells  &  Co.   banker  brick 
Treadwell  &  Co  .  brick. 
J.  Hahn  &  Co.   brick. 
Standard  office,  brick 


Co.- 


joining  brick  b  burned 

Moffatt  s  Laboratory  brick. 

Quartermaster's  office,  brick. 

Gildermeister   De  Fremery,  & 
brick 

U    S.  Assayer's  office.  Dodge's  Ex 
press,  F  Argenti  banker,  brick 

B  Davidson,  banker  brick. 

Wells  &  Co  ,  bankers,  brick. 

California  Exchange,  brick. 

Union  Hotel  brick 

El  Dorado  gambling-place,  brick. 

Tallaut  &  Wilde   bankers,  Page,  Ba 
con,  &  Co    bankers,  brick. 

Gregory's  Express,  brick. 

Delmonico's,  brick,  and  three  adjoin 
ing  brick  b  burned 

Burgoyne  &  Co.  bankers,  brick. 

The  Verandah  resort,  brick. 

Ev  Picayune,  journal,  brick. 


40.  W  Gibb  brick. 

41.  Godeffroy,  Sillem,  &  Co.,  brick. 
42  Bonded  warehouse,  iron. 

43.  Herald  office,  brick. 

44.  Courier  office,  brick. 

45  Niantic,'  store  ship. 

46  Baldwin's  Bank,  iron. 

47  J  B.  Bidleman,  brick. 
48.  Cronise  &  Bertelot,  iron. 

4J  Larco  &  Co.,  brick,  iron  adjoining. 

50  Huerlin  &  Belcher,  brick. 

51.  Balance  office,  brick. 

52.  Dewitt  &  Harrison,  brick. 

53  Macondray  &  Co.,  brick,  iron,  and 

wood. 

54.  Appraiser's  office,  iron. 

55  Dunker  and  others,  iron. 

56  'Apollo, '  store  ship. 

57  'Gen.  Harrison,   store  ship. 
58.  Georgean,' store  ship 

59  Cross  &  Co.   iron. 

60  Bonded  stores,  iron. 


Besides  the  above,  a  score  and  more  of  brick  and  iron  buildings  were  destroyed. 


ACTIVE  REBUILDING.  205 

ing  to  predict  the  doom  of  the  city.  Street  preachers 
proclaimed  the  visitation  to  be  a  divine  vengeance  upon 

iron  buildings  with  valuable  merchandise.  It  was  below  Montgomery  st; 
losa  about  one  million  This  shook  the  faith  in  corrugated  iron  walls.  De 
tails  in  Pac.  Neivs,  and  S.  F.  Picayune ,  of  Dec.  15-16,  1850 

Then  followed  an  interval  of  fortunate  exemption,  and  then  with  accumu 
lated  fury  on  the  anniversary  of  the  preceding  largest  conflagration,  the  cul 
minating  disaster  burst  upon  the  city  Started  undoubtedly  uy  incendiaries, 
the  tire  broke  out  late  on  May  3,  1851,  on  the  south  side  of  the  plaza,  in  the 
Upholstery  and  paint  establishment  of  Baker  and  Messerve,  just  above  Bry 
ant's  hotel,  at  HP  M.,  say  most  accounts;  but  Schenck,  Vij.,  MS.,  45,  has 
9:20;  yet  it  is  called  the  fire  of  May  4th,  partly  because  most  of  the  destruc 
tion  was  then  consummated.  One  of  the  gang  headed  by  Jack  Edwards, '  was 
the  cause  of  it,  says  Schenck.  Aided  by  a  strong  north-west  breeze,  it  leaped 
across  Kearny  Bt  upon  the  oft-ravaged  blocks,  the  flames  chasing  one  another, 
first  south-eastward,  then,  with  the  shifting  wind,  turning  north  and  east. 
The  spaces  under  the  planking  of  the  streets  and  sidewalks  acted  as  funnels, 
which,  sucking  in  the  flames,  carried  them  to  sections  seemingly  secure,  there 
to  startle  the  unsuspecting  occupants  with  a  sudden  outbreak  all  along  the 
surface,  Rising  aloft,  the  whirling  volumes  seized  upon  either  side,  shrivel 
ling  the  frame  houses,  and  crumbling  with  their  intense  heat  the  stout  walh 
of  supposed  fire-proof  structures,  crushing  all  within  and  without.  The  iron 
shutters,  ere  falling  to  melt  in  the  furnace,  expanded  within  the  heat,  cutting 
off  escape,  and  roasting  alive  some  of  the  inmates.  Six  men  who  had  occu 
pied  the  building  of  Taaffe  and  McCahill,  at  the  corner  of  Sacramento  and 
Montgomery,  were  lost;  12  others,  fire  fighters  in  Naglee's  building,  nar 
rowly  escaped;  3  were  crushed  by  one  falling  wall;  and  now  many  more  were 
killed  and  injured  no  one  can  say.  The  fire  companies  worked  well,  but 
their  tiny  streams  of  Water  were  transformed  into  powerless  vapor.  More 
effectual  than  water  was  the  pulling  down  and  blowing  up  of  buildings;  but 
this  proved  effectual  only  in  certain  directions.  Voluntary  destruction  went 
hand  in  hand  with  the  inner  devastation;  the  boom  of  explosion  mingling 
with  the  cracking  of  timber,  the  crash  of  tumbling  walls,  and  the  dull  de 
tonation  from  falling  roofs.  A  momentary  darkening,  then  a  gush  of  scintil 
lating  sparks,  followed  by  fiery  columns,  which  still  rose,  while  the  canopy 
of  smoke  sent  their  reflection  for  a  hundred  miles  around,  even  to  Monterey. 
It  is  related  that  the  brilliant  illumination  in  the  moonless  night  attracted 
flocks  of  brant  from  the  marshes,  which,  soaring  to  and  fro  above  the  flames, 
glistened  like  specks  of  burnished  gold.  Helpers  LandofGolcl,  144.  Finally, 
after  ten  hours  the  flames  abated,  weakened  by  lack  of  ready  materials, 
and  checked  on  one  side  by  the  waters  of  the  bay,  where  the  wharves,  broken 
into  big  gaps,  interposed  a  shielding  chasm  for  the  shipping.  Of  the  great 
city  nothing  remained  save  sparsely  settled  outskirts.  All  the  business  dis 
trict  between  Pine  and  Pacific  sts,  from  Kearny  to  Battery,  on  the  water, 
presented  a  mass  of  ruins  wherein  only  a  few  isofated  houses  still  reared  their 
blistered  walls,  besides  small  sections  at  each  of  its  four  corners.  Westward 
and  north-eastward  additional  inroads  had  been  made,  extending  the  devas 
tation  altogether  over  22  blocks,  not  counting  sections  formed  by  alleys,  and 
of  these  the  greater  number  Were  utterly  ravaged,  as  shown  in  the  annexed 
plan.  The  number  of  destroyed  houses  has  been  variously  estimated  at  from 
over  1,000  to  nearly  2,000,  involving  a  loss  of  nearly  twelve  million  dollars, 
a  sum  larger  than  that  for  all  the  preceding  great  fires  combined.  Only  17 
of  the  attacked  buildings  were  saved,  while  more  than  twice  that  number  of 
so-called  fire-proof  edifices  succumbed.  Schenck,  Vig.,  MS.,  44-8,  who  had 
some  painful  experiences  during  the  fire,  places  their  number  at  68,  including 
the  only  two  insured  buildings,  one,  No.  41  on  plan,  a  single  story,  with  22- 
inch  brick  walls,  earth -covered,  and  having  heavy  iron  shutters.  The  long 
application,  for  insurance  on  this  building  was  granted  at  Harlem,  unknown  to 


206  SAN  FRANCISCO 

the  godless  revellers  and  gamblers  of  this  second 
Sodom;  and  rival  towns  declared  a  situation  so  ex 
posed  to  constant  winds  could  never  be  secure  or 
desirable  But  it  is  not  easy  to  uproot  a  metropolis 
once  started;  and  Californians  were  not  the  men  to 
despair  Many  of  them  had  been  several  times  stricken, 
losing  their  every  dollar ;  but  each  time  they  rallied 
and  renewed  the  fight.  Reading  a  lesson  in  the 
blow,  they  resolved  to  take  greater  precautions,  and 
while  frail  shelter53  had  temporarily  to  be  erected, 
owing  to  the  pressure  of  business  and  the  demand  for 
labor  and  material,  it  was  soon  replaced  by  substantial 
walls  which  should  offer  a  check  to  future  fires.  If 
so  many  buildings  supposed  to  be  fire-proof  had  fallen, 
it  was  greatly  owing  to  their  being  surrounded  by 
combustible  houses.  This  was  remedied  by  the  grad- 

tha  owners,  about  the  time  of  its  destruction.  The  policy  for  the  other  house, 
No.  14  of  plan,  came  at  the  same  time.  Insurance  companies  had  not  yet 
opened  here.  The  Jenny  Lind  theatre  fell.  The  principal  houses  as  reported 
in  A  Ita  CnL,  the  only  unburned  newspaper,  were  J.  B.  Bidleman,  $200,000;  E. 
Mickle  &  Co.,  $200,000;  Dall,  Austin,  &  Co.,  $150,000;  Simoiisfield,  Bach,  & 
Co.,  $150,000;  Starkey  Brothers,  $150,000;  De  Boom,  Vigneaux,  &  Co.,  $147,- 
000;  Oppenheimer,  Hirsch,  &  Co.,  $130,000;  Kelsey,  Smith,  &  Risley,  $125,- 
000;  Moore,  Tichenor,  &  Co.,  $120,000;  Treadwell  &  Co.,  $85,000;  Thomas 
Maguire,  $80,000;  Adelsdorfer  &  Neustadter,  $80,000;  Fredenburg  &  Moses, 
$75,000;  John  Cowell,  $70,000;  J.  L.  Folsom,  $65,000;  W.  D.  M.  Howard, 
$30,000;  Baron  Terlow,  $60,000;  Beck  &  Palmer,  $55,000;  J.  &  C.  Grant, 
$55,000;  Cross,  Hobson,  &  Co.,  $55,000;  Haight  &  Wadsworth,  $55,000;  W. 
0.  Bokee,  $50,000;  Lazard  Freres,  $50,000;  Annan,  Lord,  &  Co.,  $50,000; 
Herzog  &  Rhine,  $50,000;  Nichols,  Pierce,  &  Co.,  $50,000;  S.  Martin  &  Co., 
$50,000.  In  Annals  S.  F.,  331,  it  is  estimated  that  from  1,500  to  2,000 
houses  were  ruined,  extending  over  18  entire  squares,  with  portions  of  five 
or  six  more,  or  three  fourths  of  a  mile  from  north  to  south,  and  one  third  of 
a  mile  east  to  west;  damage  moderately  estimated  at  $10,000,000  to  $12,000,- 
000.  S.  F.  Directory,  1852,  18-19,  assumes  the  loss  at  from  $7,000,000  to  $12,- 
000,000;  Stanley,  Speech,  1854,  gives  the  latter  figure.  Dewitt  and  Harri 
son  saved  their  building,  g  of  plan,  by  pouring  out  83,000  gallons  of  vinegar. 
Schenck's  Vig.,  MS.,  48.  Rescued  effects  were  largely  sent  on  board  ships 
for  storage; -shelter  in  the  outskirts  was  costly.  Garniss,  Early  Days,  MS., 
19,  paid  $150  for  the  use  of  a  tent  for  10  days,  and  more  was  offered.  Rob 
ber  gangs  carried  off  large  quantities  of  goods,  a  portion  to  Goat  Island, 
whence  they  were  recovered,  but  effects  to  the  value  of  $150,000  or  $200,000 
are  supposed  to  have  been  carried  away  on  a  bark  which  had  lain  off  the 
island.  A  govt  vessel  made  a  fruitless  pursuit.  In  LarTdns  Doc.,  vii.  287-8, 
are  other  details.  The  store-ships  Niantic,  Gen.  Harrison,  and  Apollo  were 
wholly  or  partly  destroyed.  The  offices  of  the  Public,  Balance,  Picayune, 
Standard,  and  Courier  were  burned. 

^Larkin,  Doc.,  vii.  287,  writes  on  May  15th  that  250  small  houses  were 
then  rising,  75  already  with  tenants.  Sansome  st  was  much  improved  by 
filling. 


FIRE  DEPARTMENT.  207 

nal  exclusion  of  unsafe  structures  from  within  desig 
nated  fire-limits,  by  the  improvement  of  the  fire 
department,  and  other  precautions,  all  of  which  com 
bined  to  preserve  the  city  from  similar  wide-spread 
disasters.  One  more  did  come,  to  form  the  sixth 
and  last  in  the  great  fire  series;  but  this  occur 
ring  in  the  following  month,  June  1851,  was  due 
partly  to  the  flimsiness  of  the  temporary  buildings, 
and  partly  to  the  lack  of  time  to  establish  preventive 
measures  and  weed  out  incendiary  hordes.  The  rav 
aged  district  extended  between  Clay  and  Broadway 
streets,  nearly  to  Sansome  and  Powell  streets,  cover 
ing  ten  entire  blocks,  and  parts  of  six  more,  with  about 
450  houses,  including  the  city  hall,  and  involving  a 
loss  of  two  and  a  half  million  dollars.54  Thus  purified 
by  misfortune,  and  by  the  weeding  out  of  rookeries 
and  much  filth,  the  city  rose  more  beautiful  than  ever 
from  its  ashes.55  Hereafter  it  was  admirably  guarded 
by  a  fire  department  which  from  a  feeble  beginning  in 
1850  became  one  of  the  most  efficient  organizations 
of  the  kind  in  the  world.56 

«* Stanley's  Speech,  1854.  Annals  S.  F.,  344,  says  $3,000,000;  S.  F.  Direc 
tory,  1852,  19,  over  $2,000,000.  The  fire  started  in  a  dwelling  on  the  north 
side  of  Pacific  street,  below  Powell,  at  about  11  A.  M.,  on  June  22d.  The 
Jenny  Lind  theatre  fell  again,  together  with  the  city  hospital,  the  old  adobe 
City  hotel,  the  Alta  office,  which  had  hitherto  escaped,  the  presbyterian 
church,  etc.  The  city  hall,  formerly  the  Graham  house,  was  a  four-story 
wooden  building,  on  the  N.  w.  corner  of  Kearny  and  Pacific  sts;  the  chief 
records  were  saved.  Dunbar's  bank  escaped  though  surrounded  by  fire. 
Say  ward's  Rem.,  MS.,  30.  Manager  T.  Maguire  was  burned  out  for  the  sixth 
time.  Sjven  lives  were  lost,  three  by  fire,  the  rest  by  the  mob  and  police, 
as  robbers  and  incendiaries,  yet  one  was  an  honest  man  assisting  his  friends 
to  save  property.  The  fire  companies  were  thwarted  by  lack  of  water,  and 
by  the  opposition  of  owners  to  the  pulling  down  of  their  buildings.  Alta  Cal., 
Sept.  21,  1851,  wails  over  the  destruction  of  old  landmarks.  The  progress 
of  fire-proof  buildings  is  shown  in  S.  F.  Directory  of  1852,  16,  which  states 
that  nearly  all  the  west  side  of  Montgomery  street,  between  Sacramento  and 
Washington,  was  lined  by  them.  Their  value  was  satisfactorily  tested  in 
Nov.  1852,  when  they  restricted  a  dangerous  fire  on  Merchant  and  Clay  streets 
to  30  wooden  buildings  worth  $100,000.  For  further  details  concerning  the 
great  fires  of  S.  F.,  I  refer  to  S.  J.  Pioneer,  Feb.  16,  1878;  FarwelVsMS.,  4;  An 
nals  S.  F.,  passim;  S.  F.  Bull.,  Nov.  27,  1856;  Cal.  Courier,  July  16,  Sept.  18, 
1850;  Williams'  Pion.  Past.,  44-8;  Tiffany  s  Pocket  Ex.  Guide,  124-6;  S.  F.  Call, 
May  14,  1871;  8.  F.  Alta,  July  1,  1850;  S.  F.  Pac.  Neivs,  May  4,  Dec.  16, 
1850;  Polynesian,  vii.  6,  30. 

5;>  As  commemorated  by  the  phoenix  on  its  seal. 

55  Before  the  fire  of  Dec.  24,  1849,  there  ha.l  been  no  serious  occasion  to 
drive  the  absorbed  money -gatherera  of  the  city  to  organized  method  for  protec- 


208  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

The  mining  excitement,  with  the  consequent  exodus 
of  people,  served  to  abate  but  partially  the  factious 

tiou  against  fire,  and  only  three  merchants  had  thought  of  introducing  fire- 
engines,  which  were,  indeed,  of  little  value  in  an  emergency.  Starkey,  Janion, 
&  Co.  owned  one  of  them,  the  Oahu,  which  had  been  nearly  worn  out  by  long 
S3rvice  in  Honolulu;  another  was  a  small  machine  belonging  to  Wm  Free, 
intended  for  a  mining  pump.  The  havoc  made  by  the  first  great  fire  roused 
the  people  to  the  necessity  for  action,  a:id  assisted  by  experienced  firemeu 
like  D.  C.  Broderick,  F.  D.  Kohler,  G.  H.  Hossefros,  G.  W.  Green,  W.  Me- 
Kibben,  Ben.  Ray,  C.  W.  Cornell,  J.  A.  McGlynn,  Col  Wason,  Douglas, 
Short,  and  others,  E,  Otis  organized  the  Independent  Axe  Company,  tl:e 
municipal  authorities  granting  &800  for  the  purchase  of  hooks,  axes,  and  other 
implements.  S.  F.  Minutes  LerjisL,  1849,  101,  106,  112,  116,  127-36;  Alta  Cat., 
and  Pac.  News,  Jan.  15,  17,  1850,  etc.  A  hook  and  ladder  company  ia  aba 
mentioned,  also  Mazeppa  Fire  Co.,  as  well  as  payments  and  other  acts  by  the 
fire  committee.  In  January  Kohler  was  appointed  chief  engineer  by  tlu 
council,  at  a  salary  of  $3,000,  with  instructions  to  form  a  fire  department,  to 
which  end  he  obtained  the  three  engines  in  the  city,  and  selected  for  each  a 
company,  Empire,  Protection,  and  Eureka.  No  fire  occurring  for  some  time, 
the  movement  declined  somewhat  under  absorbing  business  pursuits,  so  much 
so  that  the  next  disaster  found  scanty  preparations  to  meet  it.  hose  being 
especially  deficient.  After  this  the  appeal  to  the  public  received  greater  at 
tention,  and  in  June  1850  the  fire  department  was  formally  organized, 
with  the  Empire  Engine  Company  No.  1,  dating  formally  from  June  4th,  with 
D.  C.  Broderick  as  foreman,  G.  W.  Green,  assistant,  W.  McKibben,  secretary, 
and  including  F.  D.  Kohler,  C.  W.  Cornell,  J.  A.  McGlynn,  D.  Scannell,  C. 
T.  Borneo,  J.  Donohue,  C.  P.  Duane,  L.  P.  Bowman,  A.  G.  Russ.  It  selected 
'  Onward  '  for  a  motto,  and  formed  in  1857  a  target  company  of  125  muskets. 
Company  2  was  the  Protection,  succeeded  by  the  Lady  Washington,  and 
subsequently,  in  1852,  by  the  Manhattan.  According  to  the  Alta  Cal.  it  waa 
first  organized  informally  by  Ben.  Ray  in  1849.  Both  of  these  were  composed 
chiefly  of  New  York  men,  and  represented  the  New  York  element  in  politi 
cal  and  other  contests.  Company  3  was  the  Howard,  formed  June  14th  by 
Boston  men  under  guidance  of  F.  E.  R.  Whitney,  foreman,  first  chief  of  the 
later  paid  department.  It  was  named  in  honor  of  W.  H.  M.  Howard,  who 
presented  to  it  a  Hunneman  engine,  just  brought  by  his  order,  and  which  for 
a  long  time  remained  unsurpassed.  Among  the  members  were  J.  G.  Eagan, 
T.  K.  Battelle,  G.  L.  Cook.  This  was  originally  the  Eureka,  with  Frees 
toy  engine,  which  lost  the  claim  to  No.  1  by  a  few  hours  of  delay  in  organiz 
ing.  The  fire  of  June  22d  gave  fresh  impulse  to  organization,  and  on  Sept. 
7th  the  California,  company  4,  was  formed,  at  first  with  an  engine  loaned  by 
Cook  Bros  &  Co.,  soon  replaced  by  a  mate  to  the  Howard.  The  members, 
chiefly  residents  of  Happy  Valley,  embraced  M.  G.  Leonard,  G.  U.  Shaw, 
W.  N.  Thompson,  G.  T.  Oakes,  G.  Endicott,  C.  Hyatt,  R.  S.  Lamott,  and  G.  M. 
Garwood,  foreman.  Company  5  was  the  Knickerbocker,  formed  Oct.  17th, 
with  a  small  wheezy  engine  nicknamed  Two-and-a-half  and  Yankee  Doodle. 
Foreman  J.  H.  Cutter,  with  J.  Wilson,  C.  E.  Buckingham,  R.  R.  Harris. 
Earlier  than  these  two  were  the  Monumental  6,  7,  8,  which  organized  in 
June  as  independent  companies,  joining  the  department  Only  in  Sept.,  and  so 
receiving  a  later  number.  It  was  composed  of  Baltimore  men,  with  a  mix 
ture  of  Philadelphians,  who  sported  three  small  engines,  Mechanical,  Union, 
and  Franklin.  Among  the  members  were  G.  H.  Hossefros,  long  foreman  and 
subsequently  chief,  W.  Divier,  J.  S.  Weathred,  J.  Capprise,  R.  B.  Hampton, 
W.  H.  Silverthorn,  J.  H.  Ruddock,  R.  H.  Bennett,  W.  L.  Bromley,  and  W. 
Lippincott.  Soon  after  resigning  No.  8  the  companies  consolidated  into  No. 
6,  in  1854,  with  an  improved  engine,  followed  in  1861  by  the  first  steam  fire- 
engine  in  the  city.  No.  7  was  filled  by  the  Volunteer,  and  No.  8  by  the  Pa 
cific.  Earlier  than  these  two,  in  1822,  were  the  Vigilant  and  Crescent,  chiefly 


POLITICAL  DISCORD.  209 

spirit  roused  by  personal  feelings  and  business  ri 
valry,  and  strengthened  by  an  irritating  subordina 
tion  to  military  power.  But  it  fully  revived  with 
the  return  of  population  from  the  mines,  and  in 
December  1848  a  new  council  was  chosen.57  The 
result  was  far  from  pleasing  to  the  old  body,  which, 
rallying  its  partisans,  declared  the  election  nullified  by 
illegal  votes,  and  held  another  in  January.58  To  this 

of  New  Orleans  men;  Columbian  and  Pennsylvanian,  of  Philadelphians,  in 
cluding  the  later  Mayor  Alvord.  In  1854-55  followed  the  Young  American 
and  Tiger,  Nos.  13,  14,  the  former  at  the  mission,  the  latter  on  Second  st. 
In  early  days,  when  hose  and  water  were  scanty,  the  chief  work  fell  on 
the  hook  and  ladder  companies,  of  which  the  department  in  June  1850  counted 
three,  the  St  Francis,  composed  of  E.  V.  Joice,  S.  H.  Ward,  C.  P.  Duane, 
W.  A  Woodruff,  G.  B.  Gibbs,  B.  G.  Davis,  J.  C.  Palmer,  foreman,  and  others; 
the  Howard,  succeeded  by  Lafayette,  which  consisted  of  Frenchmen,  with  a 
Parisian  system  and  a  uniform  granted  by  Napoleon;  the  Sansome,  sustained 
chiefly  by  rich  business  men.  A.  De  Witt,  F.  Mahoney,  C.  L.  Case,  E.  A. 
Ebbets,  J.  L.  Van  Bokkelen,  G.  A.  Hudson,  W.  Adrain,  H.  A.  Harrison, 
W.  H.  Hoffman,  W.  Greene,  F.  A  Bartlett,  R.  L.  Van  Brunt,  were  among  the 
members.  Green,  Ebbets,  and  Van  Bokkelen  were  the  first  foremen.  Some 
years  later  hose  companies  were  added,  making  up  the  20  companies  called 
for  by  the  legislative  regulation  of  1851.  The  department  charter  is  dated 
July  1,  1850.  Kohler,  elected  chief  in  Sept.  1850,  was  succeeded  in  the  fol 
lowing  year  by  Whitney,  of  the  Baltimore  faction.  He  resigning,  Hossef ros  of 
the  Philadelphians  held  the  position  till  1853,  when  Duane  entered.  In  May 
1852  a  board  of  firewardens  was  formed.  The  records  of  the  department 
were  lost  in  the  fire  of  May  1851.  A  benevolent  fund  was  then  begun,  which 
by  1855  amounted  to  $32,000  and  grew  to  $100,000.  For  details,  see  Alia  Cal, 
June  14,  July  1,  etc.,  1850;  Nov.  16,  1866;  and  scattered  numbers  of  interme 
diate  years;  also  Pac.  Mews,  Oct.  18,  1850,  etc.;  Cal.  Courier,  Sept.  25,  1850; 
and  S,  F.  Herald,  June  17,  1850,  etc  ;  S  F.  Bulletin,  Dec.  3,  1866;  S.  F. 
Chronicle,  Nov.  11,  1877;  S  J.  Pioneer.  May  25,  1878;  S.  F.  Call,  Apr.  14, 
1878;  Annals  S.  F ,  614-25;  and  S  F  Directories,  that  of  1852,  enumerates  14 
companies,  whereof  2  are  for  hook  and  ladder;  No  4  was  situated  as  far  east 
as  Battery,  No.  9  on  Stockton,  near  Broadway,  the  rest  more  central.  The 
formation  of  companies,  each  as  much  as  possible  composed  of  men  hailing 
from  the  same  eastern  town,  led  to  clannishness  and  rivalry,  which  in  a  meas 
ure  was  stimulating  and  useful,  but  also  detrimental  in  leading  to  extrava 
gance,  political  strife,  and  even  bloody  affrays.  They  shared  in  military 
exploits,  and  in  August  1850  one  company  started  for  Sacramento  to  sup 
press  the  land  squatters.  They  vied  with  one  another  in  elaborately  fitting 
and  decorating  their  fire  stations.  The  Sansome  company's  station  furniture 
akme  cost  $5,000,  and  had  a  library.  While  they  merged  finally  at  the  close 
of  1869  into  a  paid  department,  their  noble  devotion  in  emergencies  must  ever 
be  commended,  leaving  as  they  did  business,  pleasure,  sleep,  and  comfort  to 
voluntarily  face  toil  and  danger  for  the  common  good. 

57  By  a  vote  of  347  on  Dec.  27th.     Members,  John  Townsend,  president, 
S  C.  Harris,  W.  D.  M.  Howard,  G   C.  Hubbard,  R.  A.  Parker,  T.  J  Roach, 
I.  Sirrine,  numbering  now  seven,  as  resolved.  Star  and  Cal.,  Dec.  16,  1848, 
etc.      For  earlier  members,  see  preceding  vol.  v.;  Califorman,  Oct.  7,  14,  1848, 
etc.;  Frignet,  Cal.,  122. 

58  On  the  15th.  Harris  and  Sirrine  were  reelected,  the  latter  becoming 
president.     The  other  members  were  L   Everhart,  S.  A    Wright,  D.  Starks, 
ju  Montgomery,  and  C.  E.  Wetmore.     The  election  for  delegates  during  the 

HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.    14 


210  SAN  FRANCISCO 

new  corporation  it  transferred  its  authority,  regard 
less  of  protests,  and  of  the  December  council,  which 
sought  to  assert  itself.  The  opportunity  was  eagerly 
seized  by  disappointed  aspirants  to  air  their  elo 
quence  upon  public  rights  and  the  danger  of  anarchy, 
and  to  assist  in  conjuring  up  a  more  exalted  municipal 
power  for  the  district  in  the  form  of  a  legislative  as 
sembly  of  fifteen  members,  together  with  three  jus 
tices  of  the  peace.59  Their  election,  on  February  21st, 

preceding  week  tended  to  lower  public  interest  in  the  event,  and  a  much 
smaller  vote  was  polled  than  before.  The  AUa  CaL,  Jan.  25,  1849,  accord 
ingly  considers  it  void. 

59  The  justices  were  Myron  Norton,  T.  R.  Per  Lee,  both  officers  of  Steven 
son's  regt,  and  W.  M.  Stewart;  the  members,  T.  A.  Wright,  A.  J.  Ellis,  H. 
A.  Harrison,  G.  C.  Hubbard,  G.  Hyde,  I.  Montgomery,  VV.  M.  Smith,  A.  J. 
Grayson,  J.  Creighton,  R.  A.  Parker,  T.  J.  Roach,  W.  F.  Swasey,  T.  H. 
Green,  F.  J.  Lippett,  and  G.  F.  Lemon.  U.  S.  Gov.  Doc.,  Cong.  31,  Sess.  1, 
H.  Ex.  Doc.,  17,  730,  with  text  of  resolutions  at  the  decisive  meeting  on  Feb. 
12th,  reported  also  in  AUa  CaL,  Feb.  15,  1849.  The  plan  of  the  organization 
was  presented  by  G.  Hyde,  formerly  alcalde,  who  in  his  Stat.,  MS.,  10-12, 
points  out  that  only  a  few  of  the  members  obtained  less  than  400  out  of  the 
602  votes  cast.  Placer  Times,  May  12,  1849,  etc.  According  to  McGowan,  A. 
A.  Green  of  the  Stevenson  regt  gave  a  start  to  the  meetings  which  created 
the  legislative  assembly.  S.  F.  Post,  Nov.  23,  1878.  Ryan,  Pers.  Adv.,  ii. 
250-2,  calls  this  faction  the  democratic,  Leavenworth  heading  the  aristocratic 
land-grabbers.  The  assembly  met  on  March  5th  at  the  public  institute, 
Dwnelle's  Col.  Hist.,  106,  doc.  iv.,  although  business  began  only  on  Mar. 
12th;  Lippett  was  appointed  speaker;  J.  Code,  sergeant-at-arms;  E.  Gilbert, 
printer;  F.  Ward,  treasurer,  later  J.  S.  Owens;  J.  Hyde,  district  attorney; 
I.  H.  Ackerman,  clerk,  succeeded  by  A.  A.  Green  and  A.  Roane.  For  rules, 
acts,  and  committee  appointments,  see  S.  F.  Minutes  Legist.,  5-4:6.  Owing 
to  the  frequent  absence  of  members  and  lack  of  quorum,  their  number  was 
increased  by  ten,  elected  on  May  llth,  whereof  W.  A.  and  E.  G.  Buffum, 
A.  A.  Green,  Theo.  Smith,  C.  R.  V.  Lee,  S.  McGerry,  and  J.  M.  Huxley, 
took  their  seat  on  the  14th,  Burke  and  P.  H.  Burnett  subsequently.  The 
proportion  of  Stevenson's  soldiers  in  the  body  was  large.  For  biographies, 
see  preceding  vols.  An  early  measure  was  to  forbid  the  sale  of  lots  or  other 
city  property,  which  served  to  rally  a  host  to  the  support  of  Alcalde  Leaven- 
worth,  including  the  displaced  council  members.  Loud  charges  had  been 
made  against  the  alcalde  for  lavish  grants  of  land,  and  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  permit  its  accumulation  by  monopolists  for  speculation,  also  for  maladminis 
tration.  Hyde's  Statm.,  MS.,  13;  AUa  CaL,  Mar.  29,  1849.  This  attitude 
led  the  assembly  on  March  22d  to  decree  the  abolition  of  the  alcaldeship  and 
the  offices  depending  upon  it,  Norton,  as  the  first  justice  of  the  peace,  being 
appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy  under  the  title  of  police  magistrate,  J.  C.  Pullis 
being  shortly  after  elected  sheriff  to  assist  him.  The  appeal  of  the  assembly 
to  Gen.  Smith  for  support  proved  futile.  He  sustained  the  alcalde.  Greater 
impression  was  made  upon  Gen.  Riley,  who  at  this  time  entered  as  military 
governor.  Less  prudent  and  firm,  he  lent  his  ear  first  to  one  side  and  sus 
pended  Leavenworth  on  May  6th,  then  the  old  council  of  1848  assisted  in 
obtaining  his  reinstatement  on  June  1st;  and  notwithstanding  repeated 
resignations  he  retained  the  alcaldeship.  Correspondence  in  U.  S.  Gov.  Doc., 
as  above,  733-6,  758-60,  771;  Placer  Times,  June  2,  1844.  He  was  ineffi 
cient,  says  Hawley,  Stat.,  MS.,  9.  Even  Commodore  Jones  writes,  June  29th, 
that  he  was  very  obnoxious  to  the  people.  Unbound  Doc.,  55,  66,  228,  319-20. 


TWO  GOVERNMENTS.  211 

brought  to  the  front  a  very  respectable  body  of  men, 
full  of  reform  projects,  but  regarding  the  innovation 
as  unauthorized  by  still  prevailing  laws,  the  governor 
would  not  accord  them  any  active  interference  with  the 
alcalde,  who  stood  arrayed  himself  with  their  oppo 
nents,  the  land  monopolists.  And  so  the  city  continued 
to  be  afflicted  with  practically  two  governments,  which 
maintained  a  sharp  cross-fire  of  contradictory  enact 
ments  and  charges  until  June,  when  the  governor's 
proclamation  for  a  constitutional  convention,  and  for 
the  election  of  provisional  local  officers  throughout 
the  country,  caused  the  assembly  to  abandon  the  field 
to  the  alcalde.  They  retired  with  honor;  for  viewed 
by  the  light  of  subsequent  corruption,  even  their  defi 
ciencies  are  bright  with  the  lustre  of  earnest  efforts. 

One  result  of  the  political  discord  was  to  give 
opportunity  for  lawlessness.  The  riffraff  of  the  dis 
banded  regiment  of  New  York  Volunteers  had  lately 
formed  an  association  for  cooperation  in  benevolence 
and  crime,  under  the  not  inappropriate  title  of  the 
Hounds,  with  headquarters  in  a  tent  bearing  the  no 
less  dubious  appellation  of  Tammany  Hall,  after  the 

Backed  by  Burnett  the  assembly  protested  vigorously,  and  in  a  proclamation 
to  the  city  set  forth  the  illegality  of  military  interference.  Burnett's  Recoil,, 
MS.,  ii.  61-87;  AUa  Cal.,  June  14,  1849.  Acting  accordingly,  they  sent  the 
sheriff  to  forcibly  seize  the  records  in  the  alcalde's  possession.  Ryan,  Pers. 
Adv.,  ii.  252-4,  gives  a  graphic  account  of  the  pistol  flourishing  on  the  occa 
sion.  Buffums  Six  Mont/is,  117-19.  Appalled  at  such  insolence,  Riley  de 
nounced  the  legislature  as  a  usurping  body,  and  called  wildly  upon  all  good 
citizens  to  aid  in  restoring  the  records.  U.  S.  Gov.  Doc.,  ubi  sup.,  773-4. 
Simultaneously,  June  3d,  appeared  the  proclamation  for  a  convention,  and 
for  local  elections  throughout  the  country,  an  order  so  far  delayed  in  the  vain 
hope  that  congress  would  provide  a  civil  government.  This  election  pre 
tending  the  speedy  extinction  of  the  assembly,  the  members,  with  hopes  cen 
tred  in  the  next  balloting,  resolved  to  yield;  yet  not  until  after  a  deferential 
appeal  to  the  public,  which  responded  on  July  9th  by  a  vote  of  confidence  so 
meagre  as  to  be  chilling.  The  smallness  of  the  vote,  167  for  their  continu 
ance,  7  against,  was  due  to  the  departure  of  supporters  for  the  mines,  says 
Green,  Stat.,  MS.,  24;  AUaCal,  July  12,  17,  1849.  VVilley,  Pers.  Mem.,  127- 
8,  assumes  that  Riley  terrified  them.  Their  minutes  cease  on  June  4th,  the 
date  of  Riley 's  proclamation  against  them.  Green  naturally  extols  the  honesty 
of  his  associates;  he  claims  to  have  refused  a  land  bribe  from  Leavenworth 
for  himself  and  his  monopoly  friends  on  introducing  the  bill  for  abolishing  the 
alcaldeship.  Findla,  Stat.,  MS.,  9-10,  also  speaks  of  them  as  'respectable 
men.'  Prices  Sketch,  MS.,  111. 


212  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

noted  eastern  hot-bed  of  that  name.60  It  is  but  natural 
that  this  graceless  set  of  idlers  should,  through  lack  of 
manly  incentive,  drift  into  political  agitation,  and  that 
the  original  military  aim  of  their  late  regiment  should 
degenerate  into  race  antipathy  and  rioting.  Drunk 
enness  and  brawl,  displayed  in  noisy  processions  with 
drum  and  fife  and  streaming  banners,  led  to  swagger 
ing  insolence  and  intimidation,  which  found  a  seemingly 
safe  vent  against  the  Hispano- Americans.  Once  the 
robber  instinct  was  aroused  by  the  more  disreputable, 
it  was  not  long  before  a  glittering  vista  opened  a  wider 
sphere. 

The  unsavory  name  of  Hounds  was  changed  to 
Regulators;  and  under  pretence  of  watching  over 
public  security  and  rights,  the  vagabonds  intruded 
themselves  in  every  direction,  especially  upon  the 
exposed  and  defenceless;  and  they  boldly  demanded 
contributions  of  the  merchants  in  support  of  their 
self-assumed  mission.  Strength  of  numbers  and  arms 
and  significant  threats  increased,  until  terrorism  stalked 
undisguised.  Finally,  on  July  15,  1849,  under  inspirit 
ing  stimulants,  they  ventured  to  make  an  attack  in 
force  upon  the  Chileno  quarter,  at  the  foot  of  Tele 
graph  hill,  with  the  avowed  object  of  driving  out  the 
hated  foreigners,  and  despoiling  them.  Not  knowing 
what  next  might  follow,  the  alarmed  citzens  united  for 
action.  Four  companies  formed,  with  a  huge  special 
police  detachment,  and  the  town  was  scoured  in  pur 
suit  of  the  now  scattering  band.  A  score  were  arrested, 
and  by  the  prompt  application  of  fine  and  imprisonment 
the  rest  were  awed  into  submission.61 

The  election  of  August  1,  1849,  restored  the  ayun- 
tamiento  and  prefect  system,  while  giving  the  city  the 
increased  number  of  twelve  councilmen,62  under  the 

60  Of  New  York.     The  tent  stood  on  Kearny  st,  where  Commercial  st  now 
abuts 

61  The  history  of  the  band  and  outbreak  is  fully  related  in  my  Popular 
Tribunals,  i.  76  et  seq. 

«2T.  H.  Green,  H.  A.  Harrison,  A.  J.  Ellis,  S.  C.  Harris,  T.  B.  Winston, 
J.  Townsend,  R.  M.  Price,  W.  H.  Davis,  B.  Simmons,  S.  Brannan,  W.  M. 


THE  HOUNDS.  213 

presidency  of  John  W.  Geary,  the  lately  arrived  post 
master  of  the  city,03  who  responded  to  the  unanimous 
confidence  bestowed  upon  him  by  displaying  great  zeal 
for  the  welfare  of  the  city.  Horace  Hawes,  the  pre 
fect,  was  an  able  lawyer,  but  with  a  somewhat  fiery 
temperament  that  soon  brought  about  a  conflict  with 
his  colleagues.64  Acting  upon  the  suggestions  of  their 
leader,65  the  council  issued  a  revenue  ordinance,  de- 

Stewart,  G.  B.  Post,  in  the  order  of  popularity  as  indicated  by  votes  obtained. 
Four  had  belonged  to  the  assembly,  and  two  to  the  council  which  it  super- 
ceded.  Frank  Turk,  second  alcalde,  acted  for  a  long  time  as  secretary  to  the 
new  council;  the  subprefects  for  the  districts  were  F.  Guerrerro  and  J.  R.  Cur 
tis.  Alcalde  Geary  obtained  the  entire  vote  of '1,516,  while  Prefect  Hawea 
polled  only  913.  The  three  highest  votes  for  councilmen  were  carried  by  late 
assembly  members.  There  were  nearly  a  dozen  tickets  in  the  field. 

63  Geary  was  born  in  Westmoreland  Co.,  Pa.     After  his  father's  death,  he 
taught  school,  supporting  his  mother,  and  paying  off  his  father's  indebted 
ness.     He  next  went   to  Pittsburg  and   entered   into  mercantile  pursuits, 
which  proved  uncongenial.     Meanwhile  he  studied  assiduously,  displaying  a 
marked  taste  for  mathematics,  and  became  a  civil  engineer  and  railroad  super 
intendent.    When  the  war  with  Mexico  broke  out,  he  joined  the  2d  Pa.  Vols. , 
rose  to  the  rank  of  col,  way  wounded  at  Chapultepec,  and  appointed  com 
mander  of  the  citadel  after  the  city  fell.     He  was  appointed  postmaster  of 
S.  F.  on  Jau.  22,   1849,   with  a  certain  control  over  postal  matters  on  the 
Pacific  coast.     With  his  family  he  reached  S.  F.  on  the  Oregon  on  Apr.  1st. 
His  administration  was   one  of   marked   efficiency.     Learning  that   Prest. 
Taylor  had  appointed  a  successor,  Geary  turned  the  office  over  to  Col  Bryan. 
At  this  time  he  sent  his  family  back  to  Pa. ,  and  became  a  member  of  the 
auction  and  commission  house  of  Geary,  Van  Voorhees,  and  Sutton. 

64  Biography  in  Hist.  Cal.,  iii.,  this  series. 

65  Geary  in  his  inaugural  address  pointed  out  the  lack  of  public  buildings, 
and  funds  and  measures  for  security,  and  recommended  a  tax,  not  alone  on 
real  estate  and  auction  sales,  but  on  licenses  for  traders,  in  proportion  to 
the  goods  vended,  for  conveyances  by  land  and  water,  and  for  gambling; 
the  latter  as  an  inevitable  evil  being  thus  placed  under  salutary  control.     An 
inventory  should  be  made  of  public  documents  and  mutilations  noted.    Records 
were  subsequently  sought  at  Monterey.     Hawes  dwelt  upon  the  necessity 
for  measures  conducive  to  prospective  greatness  of  the  city  without  making 
any  special  suggestions.    S.  F.  Minutes,   1849,  221-4;  Annals  S.  F.,  230-1. 
He  took  the  oath  on  Aug.  1 1th.    The  council  met,  from  Aug.  6th,  on  an  average 
twice  a  week.     Their  proceedings,  with  committee  distributions,  etc.,  are  re 
corded  in  S.  F.  Minutes,  1849,  47  et  seq.     The  attendance  fell  off  to  such  a 
degree  that  the  quorum  had  to  be  reduced  to  four  by  the  close  of  the  year. 
Rules  for  their  guidance  in  general  were  sent  in  by  the  governor.   U.  S.  Gov. 
Doc..,  Cong.  31,  Sess.  1,  H.  Ex.  Doc.,  17,  775-6.     Among  appointed  officials 
were  J.  Code,  sergeant-at-arms,  W.  M.  Eddy,  surveyor,  P.  C.  Lander,  col 
lector,  A.  C.  Peachy,  attorney,  S.  C.  Simmons,  controller,  Ben.  Burgoyne, 
treasurer,  succeeded  in  Dec.  by  G.  Meredith;  P.  C.   Lander,  tax  collector, 
J.  R.  Palmer,  physician,  subsequently  Stivers  and  Thorp,  S.  R.  Gerry  became 
health  officer  in  Dec.,  J.  E.  Townes,  sheriff,  in  Dec.  appointed  coroner.     N.  R. 
Davis,  street  commissioner,  subsequently  J.  J.  Arentrue,  in  Dec. ,  J.  Gallagher, 
inspector  of  liquors.     Turk,  second  alcalde  and  acting  secretary,  took  a  seat 
in  the  council  and  was  in  Dec.  replaced  as  secretary  by  H.  L.  Dodge.     F.  D. 
Kohler  has  been   mentioned  as  chief  fire-engineer.     Under  the  prefecture 
were  appointed  P.  A.  Brinsmade,  subprefect,  in  Dec.,  vice  Curtis,  F.  P. 


214  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

pending  chiefly  on  the  sale  of  real  estate  and  mer 
chandise,  and  on  licenses  for  trading,66  the  latter  of  a 
hasty  and  disproportionate  nature.  Not  deeming  this 
sufficient  to  cover  their  teeming  plans,  notably  for  city 
hall,  hospital,  and  public  wharves,  they  prepared  for 
a  large  sale  of  water  lots,  which  were  coming  into 
eager  demand.  The  first  available  money  was  applied 
to  the  purchase  of  a  prison  brig67  and  shackles  for 
chain-gangs;  the  police  force  was  placed  on  a  regular 
and  more  efficient  footing;68  fire-engines  were  ordered  ; 
and  strenuous  efforts  made  to  improve  the  streets,  so 
as  to  prevent  a  repetition  of  the  previous  winter's  mis 
haps,69  yet  the  following  season  proved  comparatively 

Tracy,  justice  of  the  peace  at  the  mission,  W.  B.  Almond,  judge  of  first  in 
stance  with  civil  jurisdiction  only,  Hall  McAllister,  attorney,  pay  $2,000, 
both  from  Oct.  1st,  F.  Billings,  commissioner  of  deeds,  A.  H.  Flint,  surveyor; 
also  a  host  of  notaries  public.  See  Id.,  756-840,  passim;  Unbound  Doc.,  224, 
323-9.  etc.;  Brown's  Stat.,  MS.,  16;  Merrill's  Stat.,  MS.,  5-6;  Arch.  Mont., 
xiv.  18;  Gal.  Miscel.,  ix.  pt.  i.  77;  Alta  Cal,  Pac.  News,  Dec.  13,  1849,  etc.; 
Gillette's  Vig.,  MS.,  6;  Hyde's  Stat.,  MS.,  12;  Miscel.,  MS.,  3. 

66  On  Aug.  27th.  The  prefect  presumed  to  veto  this  ordinance,  on  the  ground 
of  the  disproportionate  nature  of  the  imposts  which  pressed  excessively  upon 
labor  and  on  men  with  limited  means,  a  dealer  with  a  capital  of  $150,000, 
for  instance,  paying  $400  only,  while  a  small  trader  with  $1,000  was  required 
to  pay  $300.  He  also  considered  the  revenue  called  for  in  excess  of  require 
ment,  and  demanded  details  for  expenditure,  which  should  be  proportioned 
to  the  measures  most  needed,  especially  protection.  The  ordinance  was  also 
contrary  to  law  in  defining  new  misdemeanors  and  extending  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  alcalde.  S.  F.  Minutes,  1849,  224-7.  The  ardor  of  this  champion  of  the 
oppressed  was  somewhat  damped  by  the  reminder  that  the  veto  power  be 
longed  to  the  governor,  to  whom  he  might  report  any  objections  against  the 
council.  The  governor  offered  $10,000  toward  the  formation  of  a  jail  and 
court-house. 

G1  Euphemia,  anchored  near  the  corner  of  Jackson  and  Battery  sts.  A 
calaboose  existed,  but  so  poor  and  insufficient  as  to  induce  the  former  assem 
bly  to  rent  a  room  for  a  jail.  S.  F.  Minutes,  1849,  10,  40,  142.  The  brig  was 
soon  overcrowded.  Alta  Cal.,  Aug.  4,  1850;  Cal.  Courier,  July  16,  1850.  A 
regular  allowance  was  made  for  the  chain-gang  overseer,  whose  task  promoted 
much  public  work.  A  regular  jail  was  erected  on  Broadway  in  1851.  Id.y 
Sept.  30,  1851. 

68  Under  the  direction  of  Malachi  Fallon,  as  captain,  chosen  Aug.  13th, 
assisted  by  Major  Beck  and  by  a  force  which  from  30  men  increased  to  50  by 
Feb.  1850,  and  by  the  following  year  to  75.  The  pay  had  also  risen  from  $6 
to  $8  a  day,  with  $2  extra  for  the  5  captains.  It  was  then  proposed  to  reduce 
the  force  to  46  men  and  4  captains  at  $150  and  $200  a  month,  fb.  Gold  and 
silver  badges  were  ordered  for  the  first  chief  and  his  men;  a  station  was  as 
signed  to  each  of  the  4  wards.  See  S.  F.  Minutes,  1849,  52-3,  79,  90-1,  102, 
131,  167;  8.  F.  Herald,  July  12,  1850;  Schenck's  Vig.,  MS.,  22.  Fallon  was 
chosen  city  marshal  by  the  democrats  in  1850.  S.  F,  Times,  Jan.  12,  1867. 
Fallon  had  served  in  the  New  York  force.  Fifty-eight  names  on  his  force  in 
S.  F.  Directory,  1850,  123^. 

69A  street  commissioner  received  $500  a  month,  and  a  superintendent  of 
public  repairs  $600.  Teams  were  bought  by  the  city  for  clearing  streets. 


EARLY  ELECTIONS.  215 

dry  Several  sums  were  assigned  for  starting  wharves 
on  Market,  California,  and  Pacific  streets,  which  in 
course  of  two  years  absorbed  over  $300, OOO.70  The 
proposed  hospital  dwindled  to  a  contract  with  Peter 
Smith,  which  proved  a  costly  bargain  for  the  city,71  and 
to  allowances  to  the  state  marine  hospital  and  subse 
quently  to  a  brig  for  housing  insane  people. 

So  far  the  plans  of  the  city-builders  had  not  brought 
forth  any  public  work  of  a  striking  character,  save  in 
street  improvements;  but  this  shortcoming  redounds 
to  their  credit,  for  at  the  close  of  the  year  they  left  a 
surplus  in  the  treasury.72  Far  different  was  the  record 
of  the  following  councils.  By  the  election  of  January 
8,  1850,  Alcalde  Geary  and  half  of  his  colleagues  were 
confirmed  in  position  by  more  than  double  the  preced 
ing  vote.  The  rest  were  new  men,73  who  assisted,  not 
alone  in  laying  the  foundation  for  a  fast-growing  debt, 
but  in  reducing  the  resources  of  the  city  by  hurried 

Although  citizens  paid  two  thirds  of  the  cost  of  grading  and  planking  from 
their  own  pockets,  as  the  grand  jury  points  out,  S.  F.  Herald,  Sept.  30, 
1851,  yet  large  sums  were  continually  appropriated  by  the  authorities  to  this 
end,  $100,000,  on  Jan.  1850,  alone.  S.  F.  Minutes,  1849-50,  124;  William* 
Stat.,  MS.,  13.  The  comptroller  shows  an  expenditure  for  streets  and  land 
ings,  exclusive  of  wharves,  from  Aug.  1849  to  Feb.  1851,  of  $471,282.  Ati,i 
Cal.,  Apr.  27,  1851. 

70  Ib.    $400,000  was  appropriated  for  these  wharves,  Jan.  7,  18,  1850,  al 
though  evidently  not  all  paid  over.  Id.,  112-14,  123-4. 

7 1  The  plans  proposed  in  the  council  included  a  building  with  a  city  hall. 
The  Waverly  house  was  subsequently  bought  for  $20.000,  but  destroyed  by 
fire.     In  Jan.  1850  the  hospital  bill  amounted  to  $6,600,  in  April  Smith  de 
manded  $13,000.     This  hospital  was  burned  in  Sept.  1850.     Up  to  May  1851, 
over  $200,026  had  been  expended  for  hospital  purposes.  A  ltd  Cal.,  Apr.  27, 
1851.     To  the  state  marine  hospital,  provided  for  in  1850  and  opened  in  Dec., 
Pac.  News,  Dec.  27,  1850,  Cal  Statutes,  1850,  164,  343,  was  assigned  $30,000, 
while  its  expenses  were  $70,000,  for  97  city  and  17  state  patients.     In  1851  a 
contract  was  concluded  for  the  care  of  the  city  at  $2,500  a  month.     An  in 
sufficient  allowance  was  then  made  to  the  brig  at  North  Beach  for  the  recep 
tion  of  the  insane.     In  1850  pauper  burials  were  arranged  for  at  $35  each. 
&.  F.  Minutes,  1849-50,  68,  79-82,  98,  129-30,  138,  200;  S.  F.  Herald,  Sept. 
30,  1851.     Smith's  claims  will  be  treated  of  later. 

72  Of  $40,000,  and  110  bad  blot  upon  their  public  character. 

73  Geary  received  the  largest  vote,  being  3,425.    Turk  figures  again  as  second 
alcalde.     Green,  Brannan,  Ellis,  Stewart,  Davis,  were  the  reelected  council- 
men.     J.  S.  Graham,  F.  Tilford,  M.  Crooks,  A.   M.   Van  Nostrand,  H.  C. 
Murray,  F.  C.  Gray,  and  J.  Hagan  completed  the  number.     They  met  Jan. 
1  Ith  and  formed  into  committees.     Dodge  was  retained  as  clerk.     A.   A. 
Selover  was  chosen  city  auctioneer.  S.  F.  Minutes,    1850,   115  et  seq. ;   Pac. 
News,  Feb.  1850,  etc.     Despite  the  rain  the  election  was  exciting,  though 
orderly.   Upliams  Notes,  268-71. 


216  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

sales  of  lots,  wherein  they  were  charged  with  secret 
participation  to  their  own  advantage.74  The  tirade 
begun  against  them  by  Prefect  Hawes  was  cut  short 
by  the  election  on  May  1st  of  new  city  officials,  under 
the  charter  framed  in  February.  By  this  the  Span 
ish  form  of  government  was  replaced  by  the  Ameri 
can  one  of  a  common  council  with  two  boards  of 
aldermen,  each  of  eight  members,  under  a  mayor.75 
The  county  was  also  organized  by  an  election  on 

74After  a  sale  of  water  Iot3  in  Jan.  1850  yielding  $635,000,  another  sale 
was  announced  for  March.  Prefect  Hawes,  who  had  been  putting  some  very 
nettling  questions  to  the  ayuntamiento  concerning  disbursements  and  men 
voting  for  them,  sounded  the  alarm  and  induced  the  governor  to  issue  a  pro 
hibit.  This  the  councilmen  resolved  to  disregard,  whereupon  Hawes  charged 
them  with  intended  spoliation,  and  pointed  out  that  some  were  suspiciously 
preparing  to  leave  the  country.  The  prohibit  was  affirmed  with  the  threat  to 
file  a  bill  in  chancery  against  the  ayuntamiento,  which  now  yielded  in  so  far 
as  to  postpone  the  sale  until  April.  *The  enemy  have  fled,'  cries  Attor 
ney-general  Ke  wen;  '  they  have  exposed  the  character  of  the  beast  that  pa 
raded  so  ostentatiously  in  the  lion's  skin.'  Correspondence  in  #.  F.  Minutes, 
1850,  230-7.  But  they  were  merely  gaining  time  to  persuade  the  governor  to 
repeal  the  prohibit  by  exhibiting  their  accounts  and  estimates,  and  showing 
the  need  of  money  for  city  improvements.  This  achieved,  they  retaliated 
upon  the  obnoxious  prefect,  by  charging  him  with  appropriation  of  funds, 
notably  $2,500  for  alleged  services  rendered  against  the  Hounds,  and  with  per 
mitting  Justice  Colton  to  sell  district  and  city  lands  chiefly  for  Hawes'  own 
advantage.  The  result  was  a  boomerang  in  the  shape  of  an  order  suspending 
the  prefect.  Emphatic  denials  being  of  no  avail,  his  wrath  now  concentrated 
against  the  governor  in  a  series  of  charges  before  the  legislature,  for  violating 
the  laws  and  suspiciously  conniving  with  the  corrupt  council.  In  this  he  was 
supported  by  the  subprefect,  Brinsmade,  appointed  to  replace  him.  Pac. 
Ne^vs,  Jan.  1,  1850,  et  seq. 

75As  passed  by  the  legislature  on  Apr.  15,  1850,  the  charter  in  4  arts,  and 
45  IT,  assigns  as  boundaries  to  the  city  of  San  Francisco,  on  the  south,  a  line 
parallel  to  Clay  st  two  miles  from  Portsmouth  square;  on  the  west,  a  line  par 
allel  to  Kearny  st  one  and  a  half  miles  from  the  square;  on  the  north  and  east, 
the  county  limits.  The  government  is  vested  in  a  mayor,  recorder,  and  a  com 
mon  council  of  a  board  composed  of  aldermen  and  a  board  of  assistant  aldermen, 
each  board  to  consist  of  one  member  from  each  of  the  eight  wards,  to  be  desig 
nated  by  the  council.  There  shall  also  be  elected  a  treasurer,  comptroller,  street 
commissioner,  collector  of  taxes,  marshal,  city  attorney,  and  by  each  ward  two 
assessors.  Voters  and  candidates  must  show  a  residence  in  the  city  and  wards 
concerned  of  30  days  preceding  the  general  city  election,  which  is  to  be  held  on 
the  fourth  Monday  of  April  in  each  year.  For  duties,  bonds,  etc.,  see  Col. 
Statutes,  1850,  223-9;  and  compare  with  the  briefer  draft  by  the  framers,  in 
8.  F.  Minutes,  1850,  144-9.  In  Oct.  1848  the  city  council  had  assigned  for 
city  limits  a  line  along  Guadalupe  creek  to  the  ocean.  Califot-nian,  Oct.  14, 
1848;  and  see  my  Hist.  Cal.,  v.,  this  series.  Regulations  for  the  council  in  S. 
F.  Manual,  p.  ix.-xvi.  This  charter  did  not  last  long.  The  boundary  of  the 
county,  as  defined  in  Cal.  Laws,  1850,  829,  ran  along  San  Francisquito  creek 
westward  into  the  ocean,  three  miles  out,  and  in  the  bay  to  within  three 
miles  of  high-water  mark  in  Contra  Costa  county,  including  the  entire  penin 
sula,  and  Alcatraz  and  Yerba  Buena  or  Goat  islands,  as  well  as  the  Fara- 
llones.  See  also  Cal.  Jour.  Sen.,  1850,  1307;  Id.,  House,  1344. 


NEW  CITY  GOVERNMENT  217 

April  1st  of  sheriff,  county  clerk,  and  nine  other  offi 
cials,  at  San  Francisco,  so  that  the  city  became  the 
seat  of  two  governments.76  The  contest  for  the  shriev 
alty  was  one  of  the  most  exciting  on  record,  with 
lavish  generosity  on  one  side,  and  enthusiastic  display  of 
bands  and  banners  on  the  other;  but  the  fame  of  John 
C.  Hays  as  a  Texan  ranger,  and  his  opportune  exhibi 
tions  of  dash  and  horsemanship,  captured  the  popu 
lace.77 

The  new  city  government  headed  once  more  by 
Geary  as  mayor,78  with  almost  entirely  new  associates, 
met  on  May  9th,  inaugurating  at  the  same  time  the 
new  city  hall,  lately  the  Graham  house,  a  four-sfcory 
wooden  edifice  lined  on  two  sides  by  continuous  bal 
conies.79  The  leading  trait  of  these  men  was  quickly 

76  The  chosen  ones  were  John  C.  Hays,  sheriff,  R.  N.  Morrison,  county 
judge,  J.  A.   McGlynn,  recorder,  W.  M.   Eddy,  surveyor,  J.  \V.  Endicott, 
treas.,  D.  M.  Chauncey,  assessor,  E.  Gallagher,  coroner,  T.  J.  Smith,  co.  att'y, 
C.  Benham,  dist  att'y,  J.  E.  Addison,  co.  clerk,  E.  H.  Tharp,  clerk  of  the 
sup.  ct. 

77  He  was  selected  by  the  people  as  an  independent  candidate.     His  career 
is  given  in  Hist.  North  Mex.  Statesand  Texas,  ii.,  this  series.     His  opponents 
were  J.  Townes,  a  whig  who  was  appointed  to  the  post  in  1849,  and  J.  J. 
Bryant,  democratic  nominee,  and  a  man  of  wealth,  owner  of  Bryant's  hotel. 
The  latter  was  the  only  real  rival.  Pioneer  Arch.,  29-31. 

78  His  associates  were  F.  Tilf ord,  recorder,  T.  H.  Holt,  att'y,  C.  G.  Scott, 
treas.,  B.  L.  Berry,  comptroller,  W.  M.  Irwin,  collector,  D.  McCarthy,  street 
com.,   M.  Fallon,  marshal.     The  aldermen  were  Wm  Green,   president,  C. 
Minturn,  F.  W.  Macondray,  D.  Gillespie,  A.  A.  Selover,  W.  M.  Burgoyne, 
C.  W.  Stuart,  M.  L.   Mott;  assistant  aldermen,  A.  Bartol,  president,  C.  T. 
Botts,  W.   Sharron,  J.  Maynard,  J.  P.  Van  Ness,  L.   T.  Wilson,  A.  Morris, 
W.  Corbett.   Aldermen  Burgoyne  and  Macondray  not  taking  their  seat  were  re 
placed  by  M.  G.  Leonard  and  J.  Middleton,  and  assistant  aldermen  Botts  and 
Maynard,  by  G.  W.  Green  and  J.  Grant.     For  assessors,  clerks,  court  officials, 
police,  pilots,  men  under  J.  Hagen,  harbor-master,  etc.,  see  S.  F.  Directory, 
1850,  122-9;  S.  F.  Annah,  272-3;  Alta  Cat.  and  Pac.  News,  Apr.  26-May  21, 
1850,  with  comments.     On  ward  division,  Id.,  Dec.   14,   1850;  S.  F.  Herald, 
June  6,  1850,  etc.;  S.  F.  Municipal  Repts,  1859,   177-9;  8.  F.  Picayune,  Oct. 
5,  8,  Nov.  2,  1850;  Cal  Courier,  Aug.  12,  1850.     T.  Green  claims  to  have  ab 
stained  from  contesting  the  mayoralty  out  of  sympathy  for  Geary. 

79  It  stood  on  the  north-west  corner  of  Kearny  and  Pacific  sts,  fronting  100 
fset  on  Kearny  st,  with  a  depth  of  64  feet.     The  commodious  yard  contained 
two  wells  and  several  outhouses.     The  roof  was  metallic.     This  was  offered 
by  Graham,  member  of  the  council  in  April  1850,  to  his  associates  and  bought 
by  them  on  Apr.  1st,  for  $150,000,  less  $50,000  in  exchange  for  the  lately  pur 
chased  town  hall  on  Stockton  st.     Tired  of  drifting  between  the  narrow  con 
fines  of  the  public  institute  and  the  old  adobe  custom-house  on  the  west  side  of 
the  plaza,  the  preceding  council  had  bought  the  American  hotel  on  Stockton  st, 
near  Broadway,  evidently  to  promote  the  lot  speculations  of  certain  members. 
Thither  the  council  removed  on  the  18th  of  March,  but  the  order  for  other 
officials  to  follow  the  example  was  vigorously  objected  to,  on  the  ground  that 


218  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

manifested  in  their  greed  for  spoils,  to  which  end  a 
heavier  schedule  of  taxes  was  projected,  with  a  corre 
spondingly  increased  number  of  drainage  holes,  more 
or  less  cunningly  concealed.  Not  content  with  the 
reward  that  must  imperceptibly  flow  into  their  pockets 
from  this  effort,  they  hastened  to  anticipate  a  portion 
by  voting  a  salary  of  $6,000  to  each  alderman  of  the 
two  boards,  after  assigning  a  propitiatory  $10,000  to 
the  mayor  and  some  of  his  chief  aids.  Geary  refused 
to  participate  in  the  scheme;  and  encouraged  by  his 
attitude,  the  public  loudly  protested  against  such 
brazen  spoliation  of  an  already  burdened  city.  The 
council  thereupon  dropped  its  demands80  to  $4,000 
which  would  have  given  them,  had  not  the  measure 
been  vetoed,  about  a  hundred  dollars  for  each  of  the 
evenings  devoted  by  the  average  member  to  the  com 
mon  weal.  They  sought  solace,  however,  for  their 
lacerated  feelings,  by  voting  themselves  gold  medals 
of  sufficient  size  to  impress  an  ungrateful  public  with 
the  arduous  services  thereby  commemorated.81 

With  such  and  other  glaring  diversions  of  public 
funds  it  can  readily  be  conceived  what  the  secret  pil- 

the  hall  was  too  remote  from  business  centres.  Nor  did  the  offer  to  rent  offices 
therein  find  favor.  And  so  the  present  purchase  was  made;  a  bargain  it  was 
loudly  claimed,  for  the  two  upper  stories,  with  36  rooms,  besides  others  on  the 
second  floor,  could  be  rented  for  perhaps  $62,400,  while  the  saving  in  rents 
by  the  scattered  public  offices,  stations,  and  courts  would  amount  to  $70,000. 
To  build  a  hall  according  to  the  adopted  plan  would  cost  $300,000,  and  require 
perhaps  a  year's  delay,  neither  of  which  the  city  could  afford.  Report  in 
S.  F.  Minutes,  1850,  191^1.  Descriptions  in  8.  F.  Herald,  Feb.  19,  1851;  Pac. 
News,  May  17,  1850,  etc.  The  report  maybe  taken  with  due  allowance,  how 
ever,  for  changes  and  repairs  increased  the  cost  of  the  building.  Unlxmnd  Doc. , 
58.  On  July  4,  1850,  the  plaza  was  adorned  with  a  faultless  new  liberty  pole, 
120  feet  long,  presented  by  Portland  city.  8.  F.  Herald,  July  4,  1850.  The 
old  pole  was  burned  with  the  custom-house,  corner  of  Montgomery  and  Cali 
fornia  sts,  in  May  1851.  8.  F.  Annals,  282. 

80  Several  public  meetings  were  held,  and  a  first  committee  of  25  being 
ignored,  another  of  500  was  chosen  to  impress  the  aldermen.  S.  F.  Herald, 
June  12,  1856,  etc. ;  Pac.  News,  May  3,  1850,  etc.  Just  then  came  a  large  fire 


to  divert  attention,  and  subsequent  demonstrations  uroved  less  imposing. 
The  mayor  vetoed  the  $4,000,  on  the  ground  that  it  would  also  injure  the 
credit  of  the  city.  A  Ita  CaL,  May  27,  1850,  etc.  The  charter  of  1851  allowed 

81  Even  here  a  prying  curiosity,  coupled  with  impertinent  sarcasm,  so  far 
disturbed  the  composure  of  the  aldermen  that  they  cast  the  medals  into  the 
melting-pot,  as  the  nearest  pit  of  oblivion,  although  too  late.  The  S.  F.  An 
nals,  306,  understands  that  the  scheme  was  mainly  due  to  a  sub-committee. 
Cal  Courier,  Dec.  14,  21,  1850. 


WILD  AND  WICKED  EXPENDITURES.  219 

fering  and  rifling  must  have  been,  when  it  is  shown 
that  the  expenditure  for  the  nineteen  months  following 
August  1,  1849,  amounted  to  more  than  two  million 
dollars,  of  which  more  than  one  fourth  was  during  the 
last  three  months.82  This  absorbed  not  only  a  liberal 
tax  levy,  and  the  larger  and  choicer  proportion  of  public 
lands,83  but  compelled  the  issue  of  scrip  at  an  interest 
of  thirty-six  per  cent.84  Issued  one  after  the  other, 
without  prospect  of  speedy  payment,  this  paper  depre 
ciated  sixty  per  cent  and  more,  till  contractors  and  pur 
veyors  were  obliged  in  self-protection  to  charge  twice 
and  thrice  the  amounts  due  them.  Unscrupulous 
officials  and  speculators,  moreover,  seized  the  oppor 
tunity  to  make  fortunes  by  purchasing  the  scrip  at 
low  rates,  and  paying  it  into  the  treasury  at  par  in 
lieu  of  the  coin  obtained  for  taxes.  Thus  a  debt  of 
more  than  a  million  rolled  up  within  the  year  ending 
February  1851,  and  grew  so  rapidly,  while  city  prop 
erty  and  credit  so  declined,  that  the  legislature  had  to 
come  to  the  rescue  with  restrictive  enactments.85 

82  Among   the   items   figured   $41,905   for  printing;    surveying  absorbed 
another  big  sum;  the  city  hall  purchase,  with  repairs,  etc.,  absorbed  about 
$200,000. 

83  The  sale  of  Jan.  3,  1850,  of  water  lots  yielded  $635,130,  and  in  April 
followed  another  big  sale. 

8*  Three  per  cent  monthly,  which  was  by  no  means  exorbitant  at  the 
time. 

85  As  will  be  seen  later.  The  first  deficit  of  $24,000  appeared  in  the  Jan.- 
Feb.  1850  account.  On  Aug.  31st  the  debt  was  $282,306.  S.  F.  Picayune, 
Sept.  5,  1850;  S.  F.  Directory,  1852,  14.  On  March  1,  1851,  it  had  risen  to 
$1,099.557.56.  S.  F.  AUa  Cal,  Apr.  27,  1851.  Soon  after  the  debt  was 
funded  for  $1,300,000.  The  expenditures  from  Aug.  1,  1849,  to  Jan.  28, 
1851,  amounted  to  $2,012,740.10;  on  the  streets,  wharves,  and  landings,  there 
were  expended  $826,395.56;  on  hospitals,  cemeteries,  and  board  of  health, 
$231,358.86;  on  police  and  prisons,  $208,956.87;  on  fire  dept,  $108,337.85;  on 
courts,  $236,892.12;  and  the  balance  of  over  $400,000  on  salaries,  rents,  print 
ing,  etc.  During  the  quarter  ending  Feb.  28,  1851,  the  receipts  and  expen 
ditures  were:  Received  from  licenses,  $25,744.55;  from  hospital  fund,  $301; 
from  courts,  $2,734.50;  wharf  dues,  333.95;  sale  of  beach  and  water  lots, 
$5,230.65;  and  from  street  assessments,  $103,355.40.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  fire  and  water  department  caused  an  expenditure  of  $7,945. 10;  the  streets, 
including  surveys,  $223,482.28;  the  prison,  courts,  and  police,  $20,464.19; 
hospital,  including  cholera  expenses,  $41,036.11;  wharves,  $39,350.59;  and 
the  salaries,  legal  expenses,  printing,  and  other  contingent  items,  nearly 
$80,000.  S.  F.  AUa,  Apr.  27,  1851.  The  grand  jury  of  Sept.  1851  com 
mented  in  scathing  terms  upon  the  *  shameful  squandering '  by  parties  whom 
they  were  unable  to  designate.  By  that  time  nearly  all  the  city  property  had 
been  disposed  of,  valued  at  three  or  four  million,  yet  this,  added  to  revenue 
and  loans,  had  failed  to  leave  the  city  any  commensurate  benefit.  Sacra- 


220  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

mento,  without  landed  resources,  had  received  proportionately  larger  bene 
fits,  by  incurring  a  debt  of  less  than  half  a  million.  Benicia's  scrip  was 
nearly  at  par.  The  main  exhibit  by  S.  F.  was  in  grading  and  planking,  two 
thirds  of  which  cost  had  been  contributed  by  the  property  owners.  Similar 
was  the  showing  for  the  county,  which  had  expended  $455,807  for  the  year 
ending  June  1851,  while  the  receipts  were  only  $69,305.  Most  of  the  sums 
allowed  were  pointed  out  as  suspicious.  See  report  in  S.  F.  Herald,  Sept. 
30,  1851;  Aug.  5,  22,  30,  1850;  Aug.  29,  1851;  Cal  Courier,  Id.,  and  Oct. 
26,  Dec.  6,  1850;  Cal.  Polit.  Scraps,  123;  Richardsons  Mining  Exp.,  MS.,  30; 
A Ita  Cal.,  Apr.  27,  1851,  etc.;  S.  F.  Picayune,  Aug.  3-5,  Sept.  5,  1850.  The 
assessed  value  of  property  for  1851  was  $17,000,000,  and  the  estimated  rev 
enue  $550,000,  $400,000  being  from  licenses.  This  was  declared  amply  suffi 
cient  for  expenses,  now  reduced  by  $410,000,  of  which  $290,000  was  for  sala 
ries  of  municipal  officers  and  police.  Reprehensible  as  the  mismanagement 
was,  these  aldermen  were  not  worse  than  many  of  their  accusers,  nor  half  so 
bad  as  some  later  councilmen,  who  ranked  us  permanent  citizens  and  esteemed 
members  of  the  community;  for  the  former  were  comparative  strangers, 
afflicted  by  the  prevailing  mania  for  speedy  enrichment,  and  with  no  inten 
tion  of  remaining  in  California.  Geary's  demeanor  is  not  wholly  spotless. 
His  unassuming  manners  and  ability,  and  his  veto  on  many  obnoxious  meas 
ures,  gave  an  eclat  to  his  official  career,  which  served  greatly  to  gloss  over 
several  questionable  features,  such  as  amassing  some  $200,000  in  less  than 
three  years,  not  derived  from  trade;  illegally  buying  city  lots;  countenanc 
ing  the  purchase  of  the  useless  city  hall  on  Stockton  st;  and  other  doubtful 
transactions  connected  with  the  disposal  of  city  property  and  money.  He 
returned  to  Pa  in  Feb.  1852,  served  with  distinction  in  the  civil  war,  and 
became  gov.  of  his  native  state.  His  portrait  is  given  in  Ann.  S.  F.,  725. 


CHAPTER  XL 

SOCIETY. 
1849-1850. 

INGATHERING  OF  NATIONALITIES — PECULIARITIES  OF  DRESS  AND  MANNERS — 
PHYSICAL  AND  MORAL  FEATURES — LEVELLING  OF  RANK  AND  POSITION — 
IN  THE  MINES — CHOLERA — HARDSHIPS  AND  SELF-DENIALS — A  COMMUNITY 
OF  MEN — ADULATION  OF  WOMAN — ARRIVAL  AND  DEPARTURE  OF  STEAMERS 
— SANITARY  CONDITION  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO — RATS  AND  OTHER  VERMIN — 
THE  DRINKING  HABIT  —  AMUSEMENTS  —  GAMBLING  —  LOTTERIES  AND 
RAFFLES — BULL  AND  BEAR  FIGHTING — THE  DRAMA — SUNDAY  IN  THE 
MINES — SUMMARY. 

SOCIETY  during  the  flush  times  of  California  pre 
sents  several  remarkable  features  besides  the  Baby 
lonian  confusion  of  tongues,  and  the  medley  of  races 
and  nationalities.  It  was  a  gathering  without  parallel 
in  history,  for  modern  means  of  communication  alone 
made  it  possible.  The  inflowing  argonauts  of  1849 
found  San  Francisco  not  only  a  tented  city,  like 
the  rest  of  the  interior  towns  and  camps,  but  a  com 
munity  of  men.  The  census  of  1850  places  the  female 
population,  by  that  time  fast  increasing,  at  less  than 
eight  per  cent  of  the  total  inhabitants  of  the  country, 
while  in  mining  counties  the  proportion  fell  below  two 
per  cent.1 

1  Calaveras  shows  only  267  women  in  a  total  of  16,884;  Yuba,  221  in  a 
total  of  9,673;  Mariposa,  108  in  4,379,  yet  here  only  80  were  white  women; 
Sacramento,  615  in  9,087.  In  the  southern  counties,  chiefly  occupied  by 
Mexicans,  the  proportion  approaches  the  normal,  Los  Angeles  having  1,519 
women  in  a  total  of  3,530.  U.  S.  Census,  1850,  969  et  seq.  The  proportion  in 
1849  may  be  judged  from  the  overland  migration  figures,  which  still  in  1850 
allows  a  percentage  of  only  two  for  women,  with  a  slightly  larger  fraction  for 
children.  Sac.  Transcript,  Sept.  30,  1850;  S.  F.  Picayune,  Sept.  6,  1850. 
Many  writers  on  this  period  fall  into  the  usual  spirit  of  exaggeration  by  re 
ducing  the  females  even  more.  Burnett,  Kec.,  MS.,  ii.  35-7,  for  instance, 

(221) 


222  SOCIETY. 

It  was,  moreover,  a  community  of  young  men. 
There  was  scarcely  a  gray  head  to  be  seen.2  From 
these  conditions  of  race,  sex,  and  age,  exposed  to 
strange  environment,  result  phases  of  life  and  char 
acter  which  stamp  the  golden  era  of  California  as 
peculiar. 

Of  nationalities  the  flow  from  Europe  alone  equalled 
in  variety  that  of  the  mediaeval  crusades,  with  notable 
prominence  to  the  leading  types,  the  self-complacent 
Briton,  the  methodic  and  reflective  German,  and  the 
versatile  Gaul.  The  other  continents  contributed  to 
swell  the  list.  Africa  was  represented,  besides  the 
orthodox  negro,  by  swarthy  Moors  and  straight-fea 
tured  Abyssinians.  Asia  and  Australasia  provided 
their  quota  in  pig-tailed,  blue-garbed  Mongols,  with 
their  squat,  bow-legged  cousins  of  Nipon,  lithe  and 
diminutive  Malays,  dark-skinned  Hindoos  enwrapped 
in  oriental  dreaminess,  the  well-formed  Maoris  and 
Kanakas,  the  stately  turbaned  Ottomans,  and  the  ubi 
quitous  Hebrews,  ever  to  be  found  in  the  wake  of 
movements  offering  trade  profits.3  The  American 
element  preponderated,  however,  the  men  of  the 
United  States,  side  by  side  with  the  urbane  and  pic 
turesque  Hispano- Americans,  and  the  half-naked 
aborigines.  The  Yankee  fancied  himself  over  all, 
with  his  political  and  commercial  supremacy,  being 
full  of  great  projects  and  happy  devices  for  surmount 
ing  obstacles,  even  to  the  achieving  of  the  seemingly 
impossible;4  and  fitted  no  less  by  indomitable  energy, 

assumes  only  15  per  mille  for  San  Francisco,  which  naturally  had  a  larger 
proportion  of  women  than  the  mining  camps. 

^Calaveras  exhibits  in  its  total  of  16,884  only  69  persons  over  60  years; 
Yuba  only  21  in  its  total  of  9,673.  Ib. 

3  Helper,  Land  of  Gold,  53-4,  states  that  the  *  general  dislike  to  their  race 
induced  many  to  trade  under  assumed  names. '     See  also  McDaniels1  Early 
Days,  MS.,  4. 

4  Their  selfishness,  tempered  by  sagacious  self-control,  is  generally  of  that 
broad  class  which  best  promotes  the  general  weal.     They  readily  combine  for 
great  undertakings,  with  due  subordination,  yet  without  fettering  individual 
ity,  as  manifested  in  the  political  movements  for  which  they  have  been  fitted 
from  childhood   by  participation  in   local   and  general   affairs.     Lambertie 
extols  the  audacious  enterprise  'qui  confond  un  Francais, '  and  the  courageous 
energy  which  yields  to  no  reverses.    Voy.,  209-10.     Auger,   Voy.,  105-6,  also 
admires  the  power  to  organize.     See  Culi/oniM  Inter  Pocula,  this  series. 


NATIONAL  DIVERSITIES.  223 

shrewdness,  and  adaptability  than  by  political  and 
numerical  rights  to  assume  the  mastery,5  and  so  lift 
into  a  progressive  state  a  virgin  field  which  under 
English  domination  might  have  sunk  into  a  stagnant 
conservative  colony,  or  remained  under  Mexican  sway 
an  outpost  ever  smouldering  with  revolution. 

As  compared  with  this  foremost  of  Teutonic  peo 
ples,  the  French,  as  the  Latin  representatives,  appeared 
to  less  advantage  in  the  arts  needful  for  building  up  a 
commonwealth.  Depth  of  resource,  practical  sense, 
and  force  of  character  could  not  be  replaced  by  effer 
vescing  brilliancy  and  unsustained  dash.  They  show 
here  rather  in  subordinate  efforts  conducive  to  creature 
comforts,6  while  Spanish- Americans  were  conspicuous 
from  their  well-known  lack  of  sustained  energy.7 

The  clannish  tendencies  of  the  Latin  peoples,  due 
partly  to  the  overbearing  conduct  of  the  Anglo-Sax 
ons,  proved  not  alone  an  obstacle  to  the  adoption  of 
superior  methods  and  habits,  but  fostered  prejudices 
on  both  sides.  This  feeling  developed  into  open  hos 
tility8  on  the  part  of  a  thoughtless  and  less  respect 
able  portion  of  the  northern  element,  whose  jealousy 
was  roused  by  the  success  achieved  by  the  quicker 
eye  and  experience  of  the  Spanish-American  miners. 
The  Chinese  did  not  become  numerous  enough  until 
1851  to  awaken  the  enmity  which  in  their  case  was 
based  on  still  wider  grounds.9 

6  Among  the  less  desirable  elements  were  the  ungainly,  illiterate  crowds 
from  the  border  states,  such  as  Indiana  Hoosiers  and  Missourians,  or  '  Pike 
County  '  people,  and  the  pretentious,  fire-eating  chivalry  from  the  south. 
While  less  obnoxious  at  first,  the  last  named  proved  more  persistently  objec 
tionable,  for  the  angularities  of  the  others  soon  wore  off  in  the  contact  with 
their  varied  neighbors,  partly  with  the  educated  youths  from  New  England. 
Low's  Stat.,  MS.,  7;  FindlasStat.,  MS.,  9;  Fay's  Facts,  MS.,  19. 

6  In  catering  for  others,  or  making  the  most  of  their  own  moderate  means. 
'Les  plus  pauvres, '  exclaims  Saint  Amant,  Cal.,  487,  on  comparing  their  back 
ward  condition  with  that  of  the  adaptive  Americans. 

7  They  were  slow  to  take  lessons  from  their  inventive  neighbors.     A  warn 
ing  letter  against  the  Chilians  came  from  South  American.    Unbound  Doc., 
327-8.     Revere,  Keel  and  Saddle,  160-1,  commends  their  quickness  for  pros 
pecting,  and  their  patiencs  as  diggers.  Bosthwick's  Gal,  311;  Barry  and  Pat 
tens  Men  and  Mem.,  287  et  seq.;  Fishers  Cals.,  42-9;  AUa  Cal..  June  29,  1851. 

8  As  will  be  seen  later. 

'All  of  which  is  fully  considered  in  another  volume  of  this  work. 


224  SOCIETY. 

Certain  distinctiveness  of  dress  and  manner  assisted 
the  physical  type  in  marking  nationalties;  but  idiosyn 
crasies  were  less  conspicuous  here  than  in  conventional 
circles,  owing  to  the  prevalence  of  the  miner's  garb- 
checked  or  woollen  shirts,  with  a  predominance  of 
red  and  blue,  open  at  the  bosom,  which  could  boast  of 
shaggy  robustness,  or  loosely  secured  by  a  kerchief;  pan 
taloons  half  tucked  into  high  and  wrinkled  boots,  and 
belted  at  the  waist,  where  bristled  an  arsenal  of  knife 
and  pistols.  Beard  and  hair,  emancipated  from  thral 
dom,  revelled  in  long  and  bushy  tufts,  which  rather  har 
monized  with  the  slouched  and  dingy  hat.  Later,  a 
species  of  foppery  broke  out  in  the  flourishing  towns;  on 
Sundays  particularly  gay  colors  predominated.  The 
gamblers,  taking  the  lead,  affected  the  Mexican  style 
of  dress:  white  shirt  with  diamond  studs,  or  breast 
pin  of  native  gold,  chain  of  native  golden  speci 
mens,  broad-brimmed  hat  with  sometimes  a  feather  or 
squirrel's  tail  under  the  band,  top-boots,  and  a  rich 
scarlet  sash  or  silk  handkerchief  thrown  over  the 
shoulder  or  wound  round  the  waist.  San  Francisco 
took  early  a  step  further.  Traders  and  clerks  drew 
forth  their  creased  suits  of  civilization,  till  the  shoot 
ing-jacket  of  the  Briton,  the  universal  black  of  the 
Yankee,  the  tapering  cut  of  the  Parisian,  the  stove 
pipe  hat  and  stand-up  collar  of  the  professional,  ap 
peared  upon  the  street  to  rival  or  eclipse  the  prosti 
tute  and  cognate  fraternity  which  at  first  monopolized 
elegance  in  drapery.10 

Miners,  however,  made  a  resolute  stand  against  any 
approach  to  dandyism,  as  they  termed  the  concomi 
tants  of  shaven  face  and  white  shirt,  as  antagonistic 
to  their  own  foppery  of  rags  and  undress  which  at 
tended  deified  labor.  Clean,  white,  soft  hands  were 
an  abomination,  for  such  were  the  gambler's  and  the 
preacher's,  not  to  speak  of  worshipful  femininity.  But 
horny  were  the  honest  miner's  hands,  whose  one  only 

18 Fay's  Facts,  MS.,  10.  Placer  Times,  Oct.  27,  1849,  and  contemporaries, 
warn  their  readers  against  such  imitation  of  foppery. 


WHIRL  OF  EXCITEMENT.  225 

soft  touch  was  the  revolver's  trigger.  A  store-keeper 
in  the  mines  was  a  necessary  evil,  a  cross  between  a 
cattle-thief  and  a  constable;  if  a  fair  trader,  free  to 
give  credit,  and  popular,  he  was  quite  respectable,  more 
so  than  the  saloon-keeper  or  the  loafer,  but  let  him 
not  aspire  to  the  dignity  of  digger.11 

Nor  was  the  conceit  illusive;  for  the  finest  speci 
mens  of  manhood  unfolded  in  these  rugged  forms,  some 
stanch  and  broad-shouldered,  some  gaunt  and  wiry; 
their  bronzed,  hairy  features  weather  bleached  and 
furrowed,  their  deep  rolling  voices  laden  with  oaths, 
though  each  ejaculation  was  tempered  by  the  frankness 
and  humor  of  the  twinkling  eye.  All  this  dissolution  of 
old  conventionalities  and  adoption  of  new  forms,  which 
was  really  the  creation  of  an  original  type,  was  merely 
a  part  of  the  overflowing  sarcasm  and  fun  started  by 
the  dissolution  of  prejudice  and  the  liberation  of 
thought. 

A  marked  trait  of  the  Californians  was  exuberance 
in  work  and  play,  in  enterprise  or  pastime — an  exuber 
ance  full  of  vigor.  To  reach  this  country  was  in  itself 
a  task  which  implied  energy,  self-reliance,  self-denial, 
and  similar  qualities;  but  moderation  was  not  a  virtue 
consonant  with  the  new  environment.  The  climate 
was  stimulating.  Man  breathed  quicker  and  moved 
faster;  the  very 'windmills  whirled  here  with  a  velocity 
that  would  make  a  Hollander's  head  swim.  And  so 
like  boys  escaped  from  school,  from  supervision,  the 
adventurer  yielded  to  the  impulse,  and  allowed  the 
spirit  within  him  to  run  riot.  The  excitement,  more 
over,  brought  out  the  latent  strength  hitherto  confined 
by  lack  of  opportunity  and  conventional  rules.  Chances 
presented  themselves  in  different  directions  to  vaulting 
ambition.  Thrown  upon  his  own  resources  midst 

11  The  supposed  well-filled  pockets  of  the  miner  and  his  ever-present 
loaded  revolver  made  him  an  object  of  respect.  Their  most  allowable  ap 
proach  to  gay  display  was  in  the  Mexican  muleteer  or  caballero  attire,  not 
omitting  the  gay  sash  and  jingling  spurs.  Kips  Sketches,  18-19;  S.  F.  Dir., 
1852,  12-13;  Overland,  Sept.  1871,  221  Bosthwick's  CaL,  56. 
HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VL  15 


226  SOCIETY. 

strange  surroundings,  with  quickened  observation  and 
thought,  the  enterprising  new-comer  cast  aside  tradi 
tional  caution,  and  launched  into  the  current  of  specu 
lation;  for  everything  seemed  to  promise  success 
whatever  course  might  be  pursued,  so  abnormal  were 
the  times  and  place  which  set  at  naught  all  calcula 
tions  formulated  by  wisdom  and  precedent  Amid 
the  general  free  and  magnificent  disorder,  recklessness 
had  its  votaries,  which  led  to  a  wide-spread  emphasis 
in  language,12  and  to  a  full  indulgence  in  exciting 
pastimes.  All  this,  however,  was  but  the  bubble  and 
spray  of  the  river  hurrying  onward  to  a  grander  and 
calmer  future. 

This  frenzied  haste,  no  less  than  the  absence  of 
families,  denoted  that  the  mania  was  for  enrichment, 
with  hopes  rather  of  a  speedy  return  to  the  old  home 
than  of  building  a  new  one.  San  Francisco  and  other 
towns  remained  under  this  idea,  as  well  as  temporary 
camps  and  dep6ts  for  the  gold-fields,  whither  went  not 
only  diggers,  but  in  their  wake  a  vast  following  of 
traders,  purveyors,  gamblers,  and  other  ravenous  non- 
producers  to  absorb  substance. 

The  struggle  for  wealth,  however,  untarnished  by 
sordidness,  stood  redeemed  by  a  whole-souled  liberal 
ity,  even  though  the  origin  of  this  ideal  Californian 
trait,  like  many  another  virtue,  may  be  traced  to  less 
noble  sources;  here  partly  to  the  desire  to  cover  up 
the  main  stimulant — greed;  partly  to  the  prodigality 
bred  by  easy  acquisition;13  partly  to  the  absence  of 
restraining  family  cares.  Even  traders  scorned  to 
haggle.  A  half-dollar  was  the  smallest  coin  that 
could  be  tendered  for  any  service,  arid  many  hesitated 
to  offer  a  quarter  for  the  smallest  article.  Every 
thing  proceeded  on  a  grand  scale ;  even  boot-blacking 
assumed  big  proportions,  with  neatly  fitted  recesses, 

12  For  specimens,  I  refer  to  Cremony's  Apache,  345. 

13  It  was  manifested  in  social  intercourse,  also  in  charity,  which  in  these 
early  days  found  worthy  objects  among  the  suffering  immigrants,  as  related 
under  the  Overland  Journey.     Garniss,  Early  Days,  MS.,  19,  instances  the 
liberality  to  stricken  individuals^  for  which  the  wide-spread  opulence  gave 
less  occasion. 


A  LEVEL  SEA  OF  HUMANITY.  227 

cushioned  chairs,  and  a  supply  of  entertaining  journals. 
Wages  rose  to  a  dollar  an  hour  for  laborers,  and  to 
twelve  and  twenty  dollars  a  day  for  artisans.14  With 
them  was  raised  the  dignity  of  labor,  sanctified  by  the 
application  of  all  classes,  by  the  independence  of  min 
ing  life,  and  by  the  worshipful  results — gold. 

A  natural  consequence  was  the  levelling  of  rank,  a 
democratic  equalization  hitherto  unapproached,  and 
shattering  the  conservative  notions  more  or  less  preva 
lent.  The  primary  range  of  classes  was  not  so  varied 
as  in  the  older  countries;  for  the  rich  and  powerful 
would  not  come  to  toil,  and  the  very  poor  could  not 
well  gain  the  distant  land;  but  where  riches  lay  so 
near  the  reach  of  all,  their  accumulation  conferred  less 
advantage.  Aptitude  was  the  esteemed  and  distin 
guishing  trait.  The  aspiring  man  could  break  away 
from  drudgery  at  home,  and  here  find  many  an  open 
field  with  independence  The  laborer  might  gain  the 
footing  of  employer ;  the  clerk  the  position  of  principal ; 
while  former  doctors,  lawyers,  and  army  officers  could 
be  seen  toiling  for  wages,  even  as  waiters  and  shoe 
blacks.  Thus  were  grades  reversed,  fitness  to  grasp 
opportunity  giving  the  ascendency.15 

The  levelling  process  left  indelible  traces;  yet  from 
the  first  the  mental  reservation  and  consequent  effort 
were  made  to  rise  above  any  enforced  subjection.  The 
idea  of  abasement  was  sometimes  softened  by  the 
disguise  of  name,  which  served  also  for  fugitives  from 
misfortune  or  disgrace,  while  it  flattered  imitators  of 
humble  origin.  This  habit  received  wide  acknowl 
edgment  and  application,  especially  in  the  mines, 

14  As  "vill  be  considered  under  Industries. 

15  Even  clergymen  left  an  unappreciated  calling  to  dig  for  gold.    Wilky,  in 
Home  Missionm-y,  xxii.  92.     Little,  Stat.,  MS.,  11,  instances  in  his  service  as 
porters,  muleteers,  etc.,  two  doctors,  two  planters  claiming  to  own  estates, 
and  a  gentleman,  whatever  that  may  be.     See  also  Cassin,  Stat. ,  MS. ,  5-6, 
who  identified  in  a  bootblack  a  well-known  French  journalist  of  prominent 
family.     Count  Raousset  de  Boulbon,  of  filibuster  fame,  who  prided  himself 
on  royal  blood,  admits  working  as  a  wharf  laborer.     Master  and  slave  from 
the  southern  states  could  be  seen  working  and  living  together.     But  such 
instances  are  well  known.     No  sensible  man  objected  to  manual  labor,  al 
though  he  hesitated  at  the  menial  grades. 


228  SOCIETY 

where  nicknames  became  the  rule,  with  a  preference 
for  abbreviated  baptismal  names,  particularized  by  an 
epithet  descriptive  of  the  person,  character,  national 
ity;  as  Sandy  Pete,  Long-legged  Jack,  Dutchy.  The 
cause  here  may  be  sought  chiefly  in  the  blunt  unre 
strained  good-fellowship  of  the  camp,  which  banished 
all  formality  and  superfluous  courtesy.16 

The  requirements  of  mining  life  favored  partnership ; 
and  while  few  of  the  associations  formed  for  the  jour 
ney  oat  kept  together,  new  unions  were  made  for 
mutual  aid  in  danger,  sickness,  and  labor.  Sacred  like 
the  marriage  bonds,  as  illustrated  by  the  softening  of 
partner  into  the  familiar  'pard,'  were  the  ties  which  oft 
united  men  vastly  different  in  physique  and  tempera 
ment,  the  weak  and  strong,  the  lively  and  sedate,  thus 
yoking  themselves  together.  It  presented  the  affinity 
of  opposites,  with  the  heroic  possibilities  of  a  Damon 
or  Patroclus.17  Those  already  connected  with  benevo 
lent  societies  sought  out  one  another  to  revive  them 
for  the  practice  of  charity,  led  by  the  Odd  Fellows, 
who  united  as  early  as  1847.18 

With  manhood  thus  exalted  rose  the  sense  of  duty 
and  honor.  Where  legal  redress  was  limited,  owing 
to  the  absence  of  well-established  government,  reliance 
had  to  be  placed  mainly  on  individual  faith.  In  1848 
and  1849  locks  and  watchmen  were  little  thought  of, 
In  the  towns  valuable  goods  lay  freely  exposed,  or 
sheltered  only  by  frail  canvas  structures;  and  in  the 
camps  tents  stood  unguarded  throughout  the  day,  with 
probably  a  tin  pan  full  of  gold-dust  in  open  view  upon 
the  shelf.19  The  prevalent  security  was  due  less  to 

16  Yet  it  required  great  intimacy  to  question  even  a  comrade  concerning 
his  real  name  and  former  life. 

17  This  applies  of  course  rather  to  unions  of  two.     Rules  for  larger  asso 
ciations  are  reproduced  in  Skinns  Mining  Camps,  113;  FarweWa  Vig.,  MS.,  5. 

18  An  account  of  these  and  other  orders  will  be  given  later. 

19  The  frail  nature  of  the  early  business  houses  in  S.  F.  and  elsewhere  has 
been  described.     Wheaton  instances  a  crockery  shop  on  the  border  of  the 
Sydney  convict  settlement,  where  a  notice  invited  purchasers  to  select  their 
goods  and  leave  the  money  in  a  plate,  the  proprietor  being  engaged  elsewhere. 
Stot.,  MS.,  3-4.     Coleman  relates  that  a  gold  watch  was  picked  up  near  his 


COMING  OF  THE  CRIMINALS.  229 

the  absence  of  bad  men — for  reckless  adventurers  had 
long  been  pouring  in,  as  instanced  by  the  character 
and  conduct  of  many  of  the  disbanded  New  York 
volunteers — than  to  the  readiness  with  which  gold  and 
wages  could  be  gained,  and  to  the  armed  and  deter 
mined  attitude  of  the  people.  Soon  came  a  change, 
however,  with  the  greater  influx  of  obnoxious  ele 
ments;  and  the  leaden  reality  of  hard  work  dissipated 
the  former  visions  of  broad-cast  gold.  Fugitives  from 
trouble  and  dishonor  had  been  lured  to  California, 
graceless  scions  of  respectable  families,  and  never-do- 
wells,  men  of  wavering  virtue  and  frail  piety,  withering 
before  temptation  and  sham-haters,  turned  to  swell  the 
army  of  knaves.20  Bolder  ruffians  took  the  initiative 
and  banded  to  raid  systematically,  especially  on  con 
voys  from  the  mines.  So  depraved  became  their 
recklessness  that  sweeping  conflagrations  were  planned 
for  the  plunder  to  be  obtained,21  while  assassination 
followed  as  a  matter  of  course.  But  murder  was  lit 
tle  thought  of  as  compared  with  the  heinous  crime  of 
theft.  Disregard  for  life  was  fostered  by  an  excitable 
temperament,  the  frequency  of  drunken  brawls,  the 
universal  habit  of  carrying  weapons,  and  the  nomadic 
and  isolated  position  of  individuals,  remote  from 

camp  and  left  suspended  on  a  tree  for  a  fortnight,  undisturbed  till  the  owner 
returned  to  claim  it.  Viy.,  MS.,  2.  Most  pioneers  unite  in  extolling  the 
security  prevalent  in  those  days.  '  Property  was  safer  in  California  than  in 
the  older  states. '  Delano's  Life,  359.  Gov.  Mason  wrote  nearly  to  the  sa'me 
effect  in  Oct.  1848.  U.  S.  Gov.  Doc.,  Cong.  31,  Sess.  1,  H.  Ex.  Doc.  17,  p.  677; 
Burnett's  Rec.,  MS.,  ii.  142-3;  Brooks'  Four  Mo.,  67.  In  previous  chapters 
has  been  shown  the  extent  of  crime  in  1848,  as  instanced  in  the  Calif ornian,  Feb. 
2,  1848;  Cat.  S'ar,  Feb.  26;  Star  and  Cal.,  Dec.  9,  1848,  etc.  See  further,  for 
both  years,  Winans'  Stat.,  MS.,  14-16;  Olney's  Viy.,  MS.,  1;  Neall's  Stat., 
MS.,  3-5;  Buttons  Stat.,  MS.,  10;  Sac.  Transcript,  Apr.  26,  1850,  etc.;  Fay's 
Facts,  MS.,  2;  Gillespie's  Vig.,  MS.,  5;  Friend,  vii.  74;  Littles  Stat.,  MS.,  16; 
Findlas  Stat.,  MS.,  6;  McCollum's  Cal.,  62;  Staples'  Stat.,  MS.,  14;  Cal.  Past 
and  Pres.,  162-3. 

20  Say  ward,  Pion.  Rem.,  MS.,  32-3,  states  that  after  the  Missourians  began 
to  come,  insecurity  increased.     In  1850  things  had  reached  such  a  pass  that 
mail  agents  were  afraid  to  carry  gold,  lest  they  should  be  murdered.    Woods' 
Sixteen  Mo.,    141;    Crosbys  Stat.,   MS.,  41-2.     Helper,  Land  of  Gold,  36-8, 
paints  the  criminal  aspect  in  dark  colors;  Cox's  An.  Trinity  Co.,  62-3.     Bar- 
stow,  Stat.,  MS.,  10,  points  to  the  Irish  as  the  rowdy  element.   Chamber  Iain's 
Stat.,  MS.,  1;  Say  ward' s  Rem.,  MS.,  33. 

21  Brooks,  Four  Mo.,  142-3,  168-9,  187-8,  201,  refers  to  several  bands,  as 
do  Burnett  and  others.     For  criminal  records,  I  refer  to  my  Popular  Tribunals, 
and  for  cognate  data  to  a  later  chapter  on  the  administration  of  justice 


230  SOCIETY. 

friends  who  might  inquire  into  their  disappearance. 
An  armed  man  was  supposed  to  take  care  of  himself.22 
The  lack  of  judicial  authorities  tended  further  to  pro 
mote  the  personal  avenging  of  wrongs  by  duel,23 
which  took  place  frequently  by  public  announcement. 
In  the  northern  and  central  mining  districts  the 
preponderance  of  sedate  yet  resolute  Americans  with 
a  ready  recourse  to  lynching  inspired  a  wholesome 
awe ;  but  along  the  San  Joaquin  tributaries,  abounding 
with  less  sober-minded  Sonorans  and  Hispano- Ameri 
cans,  this  restraint  diminished,24  the  more  so  as  race 
animosity  was  becoming  rampant.  Swift  and  radical 
penalties  alone  were  necessary  in  the  interior,  on 
account  of  lack  of  prisons;  and  even  San  Francisco 
found  these  measures  indispensable  in  1851,  despite 
her  accessories  of  police  and  chain-gangs.25  The  ever- 
moving  and  fluctuating  current  of  life  proved  a  shield 
to  evil-doers,  and  fostered  the  roaming  instinct  which 
had  driven  so  many  westward,  and  was  breeding  per 
nicious  habits  of  vagrancy  and  loafing.26  Every  camp 
had  its  bully,  who  openly  boasted  of  prowess  against 
Indians,  as  well  as  of  his  white  targets,  and  flaunted 
an  intimidating  braggardism.  Likewise  every  town 
possessed  its  sharpers,  on  the  watch  for  gold-laden 
and  confiding  miners. 

22  Helper,  Land  of  Gold,  29,  158,  estimates  in  1854  that  since  the  opening 
of  the  mines  Cal.  had  '  invested  upwards  of  six  millions  of  dollars  in  bowie- 
knives  and  pistols.'     The  same  fertile  inquirer  finds  for  this  period  4,200 
murders  and  1,400  suicides,  besides  10,000  more  of  miserable  deaths.     For 
early  years  no  reliable  records  exist  in  this  direction,  but  those  for  the  more 
settled  year  of  1855  show  538  deaths  by  violence,  whereof  two  thirds  were 
white  persons,  the  rest  Indians  and  Chinese.     Further  data  in  a  later  chapter. 

23  Revolvers  were  the  most  ready  instruments.     A  common  practice  for 
principals  was  to  place  themselves  back  to  back,  march  five  paces,  turn  and 
are  till  the  pistol  chambers  were  emptied  or  the  men  disabled.     Shooting  on 
sight  was  in  vogue,  involving  no  little  danger  to  passers-by.     '  I  mistook  you 
for  another,"  was  more  than  once  the  excuse  to  some  innocent  victim.  Olney's 
Vig.,  MS..  3;  HittelVs  Res.,  377;  Atta  Cal,  July  3,  1851,  and  other  numbers. 
See  also  Du  Hailly,  in  Revue  deux  Mondes,  Feb.  1859,  612;  Truman  s  Field  oj 
Honor,  and  my  Inter  Pocula  and  Pop.  Tribunals. 

'"Placer  Times,  July  20,  1849. 

2b  Steps  were  taken  in  1850  to  prevent  the  entry  of  convicts,  Cal.  Statutes, 
1850,  202,  yet  many  succeeded  in  landing.  Alia  Gal,  May  10,  July  15-16, 
1851. 

26  As  complained  of  already  in  1850.  Pac.  News,  Jan.  5,  1850. 


DISCOMFORT  AND  DISEASE.  231 

Much  of  the  growing  crime  took  root  during  the 
•wet  winter  of  1849-50,  which  brought  starvation 
and  sickness  to  the  inaccessible  camps.  Ill  health 
was  wide-spread,  and  more  lamentable  owing  to  the 
isolation  of  sufferers,  devoid  of  friends  and  means,  and 
remote  from  doctors  and  medicine.  The  seed  of  dis 
ease  was  frequently  laid  during  the  voyage  out,  in  the 
unwholesome  food  and  atmosphere  of  crowded  vessels. 
Then  came  new  climates  and  surroundings,  unusual 
and  exhausting  labor,  standing  in  water  or  on  moist 
ground  under  a  broiling  sun,  the  insufficient  shelter  of 
tents  or  sheds,  beds  made  upon  the  damp  soil,  poor 
and  scanty  provisions,  excitement  and  dissipation. 
All  this  could  not  fail  to  affect  most  of  the  inexperi 
enced  new-comers,  especially  with  fever,  bowel  com 
plaint,  and  rheumatism;  while  scurvy,  cutaneous, 
syphilitic,  and  pulmonary  diseases,  claimed  their  vic 
tims.27  In  October  1850  came  the  cholera;  and  al 
though  disappearing  with  the  year,  it  is  supposed  to 
have  carried  off  fifteen  per  cent  of  the  population  at 
Sacramento,  and  about  half  that  proportion  westward,28 
besides  frightening  away  a  large  number.  The  strain 
of  excitement,  with  attendant  disappointments  and 
windfalls,  predisposed  to  insanity,  while  lowering  the 

27  The  report  from  the  state  marine  hospital  at  S.  F.  shows  the  proportion 
of  262  diarrhoea  cases,  204  dy sentry,  113  acute  rheumatism,  93  intermittent 
fever,  47  chronic  rheumatism,  46  scurvy,  40  gonorrhea,  37  typhus,  29  pythisis, 
28  bronchitis,  26  pneumonia,  among   1,200  patients.   Cal.  Jour.  Sen.,   1851, 
921-3.     Diarrhoea  killed  10  out  of  a  party  of  19  on  Trinity  River.  Pac.  News, 
May  9,  1 850.     Dysentery  was  equally  common,  with  ulcerated  bowels.  Daws' 
Viy.,  MS.,  2;  Unbound  Doc.,  MS.,  20;  Barstow's  Stat.,  MS.,  2-3,  12;  Larkins 
Doc.,  vi.  172,  175.     Destitution  and  death  by  starvation  is  mentioned  in  Pac. 
News,  Dec.  13,   1849;  Oarniss   Early  Days,  MS.,  11.     A  remedy  for  scurvy 
was  to  bury  the  patient  in  earth,  all  but  the  head.     '  Whole  camps  were  some 
times  buried  at  once,  except  a  few  who  remained  out  to  keep  off  the  grizzlys 
and  coyotes.'  Sawtelles  Pioneers,  MS.,  5;  Morse's  Stat.,  MS. 

28  At  San  Jose  ten  per  cent,  at  S.  F.  five.  Burnett's  Rec.t  MS.,  ii.  241.     It 
caused  a  rush  of  passengers  by  the  Panama  steamer.     Some  died  on  board, 
but  within  a  week  the  pest  disappeared.   Crary's  Vi>j.,  MS.,  1.     It  raged  in 
Ophir,  etc.  Pac.  News,  Nov.  1,   1850;  Cal.  Courier,  Oct.  24,  Dec.  21,  1850; 
S.  F.  Picayune,  Oct.  23,   25,   Nov.  4,  6,  Dec.  5,  1850.     Judge  Hoffman  suc 
cumbed.     A  cholera  hospital  was  opened  at  S.  F.,  on  Broadway.  S.  F.  Direc 
tory,  1852,  17;    Ver  Mehrs  Life,  367;  Sac.  Transcript,  Oct.   14,  1850,  says  it 
broke  out  at  S.  F.;  Polynesian,  vii.  98,  110,  114,  118,  138;  Shuck's  Revres.  Men, 
936.     It  reappeared  in  1852. 


232  SOCIETY. 


and  mental  tone.29  The  lack  of  remedial 
facilities  in  the  mining  camps  directed  a  stream  of  in 
valids  to  the  towns,  especially  to  San  Francisco,  despite 
its  unfavorable  winds  and  moisture.  There  were  also 
constantly  left  stranded  new-comers,  reduced  by  Pan 
ama  fevers  and  the  hardships  attending  badly  fitted 
vessels,  made  desperate  by  destitution  and  suffering, 
from  which  only  too  many  sought  escape  by  suicide.30 
Little  ceremony  attended  the  burial  of  these  unfortu 
nates  in  the  cities,  but  in  the  mines  a  procession  of 
miners  usually  attended  to  consign  a  comrade,  often 
shroudless  and  uncoffined,  to  a  shallow  grave.31  The 
high  cost  of  treatment  by  doctors  and  at  private  hos 
pitals,  with  over-crowding  and  neglect  in  the  public 
wards,  tended  to  keep  the  death-rate  high  during  the 
first  two  years  of  the  mining  era.32 

Obviously  in  a  community  of  men  the  few  women 
present  were  very  conspicuous.  There  were  whole 
groups  of  camps  which  could  be  searched  in  vain  for 
the  presence  of  a  single  woman,  and  where  one  was 
found  she  proved  too'  often  only  the  fallen  image,  the 
center  of  gyrating  revelry  and  discord.33  In  San 

29 In  1850  twelve  persons  were  cast  upon  the  care  of  S.  F.,  with  an  increase 
to  three  times  that  number  by  1852,  and  legislative  steps  were  taken  to  pro 
vide  for  the  afflicted,  at  first  in  a  brig  anchored  at  North  Beach.  Cal  Jour. 
Ho.,  1850,  1341;  Cal  Polit.  Code,  297-306;  Fernandez,  Cal,  189;  Mines  and 
Miners,  795-6;  S.  F.  Herald,  Sept.  30,  1851. 

3y  By  the  close  of  1854  the  suicides  were  estimated  at  1,400.  Helper's  Land 
of  Gold,  29.  Some  went  to  the  Hawaiian  Islands. 

31  At  S.  F.  pauper  burials  were  contracted  for  in  1850  at  the  reduced  rate 
of  $35,  formerly  $50  to  $100.  S.  F.  Minutes,  1849-50,  68,  79-82,  etc. ;  Garmss1 
Early  Days,  MS.,  10;    Wheatons  Stat.,  MS.,  2.     Mr  Gray  came   from  New 
York  in  1850,  as  a  professional  undertaker.  Pac.  News,  May  1,  1850;  S.  F.  A  Ita, 
June  11,  1853;  Feb.  26,   1863;  Polynesian,  vi.  110;  Hatchings'  Mag.,  iii.  133, 
252.     The  interments  at  S.  F.  prior  to  1850  are  estimated  at  970'.     For  the 
year  ending  July  1851,  when  cholera  raged,  they  rose  to  1,475,  then   fell  to 
1,005,  rising  again  to  1,575,  with  a  proportionate  decline  after  July  1853. 
Annals  S.  F.,  593-6. 

32  Hospitals  are  spoken  of  under  Sac.  and  S.  F.  annals.     A  board  of  health 
was  organized  in  1850;  also  a  medical  society,  June  22d.  Pac.  News,  May  18, 
Dec.  14,  1850;  Cal.  Courier,  Oct.  23-4,  1850.     The  fee-bill  of  the  latter  ranged 
from  'an  ounce,'  $16,  the  lowest  price,  upward;  visits  were  rated  at  $32;  ad 
vice  and  operations  were  specified  as  high  as  $1,000.  Miscel  Stat.,  MS.,  3-4; 
Armstrong  s  Exper.,  MS  ,  9. 

33  The  place  of  women  at  dances  would  be  taken  by  men.     In  1850  more 
women  began  to  come  in,  although  composed  largely  of  loose  elements.     Num- 


ABSENCE  OF  WOMEN.  233 

Francisco  and  other  large  towns,  families  began  to 
settle,  yet  for  a  long  time  the  disreputable  ele 
ment  outshone  the  virtuous  by  loudness  in  dress 
and  manner,  especially  in  public  resorts.  In  the 
scarcity  men  assumed  the  heroic,  and  women  became 
worshipful.  The  few  present  wore  an  Aphrodite 
girdle,  which  shed  a  glamour  over  imperfections,  till 
they  found  themse]ves  divinities,  centres  of  chivalric 
adorers.  In  the  mining  region  men  would  travel  from 
afar  for  a  glance  at  a  newly  arrived  female,  or  handle 
in  mock  or  real  ecstasy  some  fragment  of  female  ap 
parel.34  Even  in  the  cities  passers-by  would  turn  to 
salute  a  female  stranger,35  while  the  appearance  of  a 
little  girl  would  be  heralded  like  that  of  an  angel, 
many  a  rugged  fellow  bending  with  tears  of  recollec- 

bers  'from  the  east,'  observes  Barstow,  Stat.,  MS.,  4.  The  preponderance  in 
this  class  lay,  however,  with  Hispano- Americans,  not  excepting  Californians, 
says  Cerruti,  Ramblings,  MS.,  50.  Hundreds  were  brought  from  Mazatlan 
and  San  Bias  on  trust,  and  transferred  to  bidders  with  whom  the  girls  shared 
their  earnings.  Fernandez,  CaL,  190-1.  The  Peruvians  were  sought  for  danc 
ing-saloons.  Australia  sent  many.  Polynesian,  vii.  34.  French  women  were 
brought  out  to  preside  at  gambling-tables.  '  Nine  hundred  of  the  French  demi 
monde  are  expected,'  announces  the  Pac.  News,  Oct.  23,  1850,  to  reside  on 
Stockton  and  Filbert  sts.  The  number  dwindled  to  50.  Sac.  Transcript,  Nov. 
29,  1850.  Indian  women  were  freely  offered  at  the  camps,  and  the  number 
was  increased  by  kidnapped  females  from  the  Marquesas  Islands.  See  outcry 
on  this  point  in  Alia  CaL,  Dec.  21,  24,  1850.  One  noted  prostitute  claimed 
to  have  earned  $50,000.  Oarniss'  Early  Days,  MS.,  7.  For  first  published 
case  of  adultery  in  1849  at  S.  F.,  see  Richardsons  Exper.,  MS.,  27;  also 
Miscel.  Stat.,  MS.,  2;  Hayes1  Scraps,  CaL  Notes,  v.  60,  etc.  The  Home  Mis 
sionary,  xxii-  163-7,  xxvii.  159,  intimates  that  half  the  women  in  S.  F.  were 
of  the  loose  element.  Boltonvs.  U.  S.,  99-101;  Velasco,  Son.,  325.  The  CaL 
Courier,  Oct.  21-2,  Nov.  16,  1850,  inveighs  against  the  demi-monde,  while 
the  Alta  CaL,  Dec.  19,  1850,  commends  the  improved  morals.  So  does  S.  F. 
Picayune,  Sept.  27,  1850,  although  it  admits  that  even  the  higher  classes  were 
dissolute.  Armstrong,  Exper.,  MS.,  12,  speaks  of  the  personation  of  women 
and  the  sale  of  a  wife.  In  Oct.  1849  there  were  not  over  50  U.  S.  women  in 
S.  F.,  says  McCollum,  CaL,  61. 

34  A  story  is  told  of  the  excitement  over  the  discovery  of  a  bonnet,  attended 
by  a  dance  around  it,  hoisted  upon  a  May -pole.  Some  add  a  stuffed  figure 
to  the  bonnet,  and  put  a  cradle  by  its  side.  Winans'  Stat.,  MS.,  17;  Letts' 
CaL  lllusl.,  89-90.  An  acquaintance  of  Burnett,  Rec.,  MS.,  ii.  38-9,  related 
that  he  travelled  40  miles  to  behold  a  woman.  Steamboat  agents  would  cry 
out,  '  Ladies  on  board  ! '  to  draw  custom.  Gamblers  and  proprietors  of  public 
resorts  used  to  board  vessels  to  offer  flattering  engagements;  but  even  then 
women  were  soon  married.  Concerning  claims  to  being  female  pioneers  in 
different  counties,  see  SanJos6  Pioneer,  July  7,  1877,  etc.;  S.  F.  Bulletin, 
May  5,  Aug.  11,  1876,  etc.;  Record-Union,  May  4,  1876,  etc. 

30  The  attention  often  made  modest  women  uncomfortable,  while  others 
encouraged  it  by  extravagant  conduct.  Loose  characters  flaunted  costly  attire 
in  elegant  equipages,  or  appeared  walking  or  riding  in  male  attire.  Farn- 
hanis  CaL,  22-3;  Barry  and  Patten,  Men  and  Mem.,  138-9. 


234  SOCIETY. 

tion  to  give  her  a  kiss  and  press  a  golden  ounce  into 
her  hand.  The  effects  of  these  tender  sentiments  re 
mained  rooted  in  the  hearts  of  Californians  long  after 
the  romance  age,36  the  only  mellow  trait  with  many  a 
one,  the  only  thing  sacred  being  some  base  imitation 
of  the  divine  image. 

As  modest  virtue  regained  the  ascendency  with  the 
increase  of  families,  indecency  retreated,  to  be  sought 
in  the  shadow  by  the  men  of  all  classes  who,  during 
the  earlier  absence  of  social  restraint,  hesitated  not  to 
walk  the  street  beside  a  prostitute,  or  yield  to  the  al 
lurement  of  debased  female  company  midst  surround 
ings  far  more  comfortable  and  elegant  than  their  own 
solitary  chambers.37  With  the  subordination  to  some 
extent  of  the  grand  passion,  gambling  and  other  dissi 
pations  received  a  check,  and  higher  pastimes  and  the 
home  circle  rose  in  favor.  As  any  semblance  of  a 
woman  could  be  almost  sure  of  speedy  marriage,  in 
tending  settlers  hastened  to  bring  out  female  friends 
and  relatives;  benevolent  persons  sought  to  relieve  the 
surplus  market  at  home,38  and  successful  men  recalled 
some  acquaintance  in  their  native  village  with  whom 

36  It  was  for  a  long  time  difficult  to  find  a  jury  which  would  convict  a 
woman. 

37  Balls  were  frequently  attended  at  these  places  by  public  men  of  promi 
nence,  where  decorum  prevailed,  and  champagne  at  high  prices  was  made  to 
pay  the  cost  of  supper. 

38  Mrs  Farnham  issued  a  circular  in  N.  Y.,  Feb.  1849,  offering  to  take  out 
a  number  of  respectable  women,  not  over  25  years  of  age,  each  to  contribute 
$250  for  expenses.     Mrs  F.  fell  sick,  and  the  enterprise  was  left  in  abeyance. 
Farnham's  Col.,  25-7.     Subsequently  she  did  bring  out  a  number,  adds  Clark, 
Stat.,  MS.,  1-2;  Revue  Deux  Mondes,  Feb.  15,  1859,  948-9.     A  similar  futile 
Parisian  enterprise  had  in  view  a  share  of  the  marriage  portion.  Pac.  News, 
Nov.  11,1850.     Advertisements  for  wives  were  not  uncommon.     InSawtcllc's 
Pioneers,  MS.,  10,  is  related  the  repeated  contests  for  and  frequent  marriage 
of  a  Mexican  widow.     Placer  Times,  Dec.  15,  1849,  boasts  of  a  wedding  at 
tended  by  20  ladies,  and  the  display  of  dress-coats  and  kid  gloves.     A  mer 
cenary  fellow  of  Shasta  advertised  admission  to  his  wedding  at  $5  a  ticket, 
which  brought  a  snug  sum  with  which  to  start  the  household.  Hutchings'  Mag., 
ii.  567;  Cal.  Steamer,  25th  Anniv.,  50-1;  Pac.  News,  Nov.  4,  11,  1850.     Adver 
tisement  for  200  Chilian  brides,  in  Polynesian,  v.  202.     It  is  said  that  Burnett 
owed   his   election   for   governor  greatly  to  being  married  and  having  two 
daughters;  his  opponent  was  a  bachelor.   Hall's  Hist.,  204;  Woods'  $ixteen  Mo. , 
75;  Pioneer  Mag.,  ii.  80;  Hesperian,  ii.  10,  494;  Shinns  Mining  Camps,  137; 
Fremont's  Am-.  Travel,   100-3,   112.     A  writer  in  Overland,  xiv.  327,  denies 
the  rarity  of  and  stir  caused  by  women,  but  on  insufficient  grounds.  Merrill's 
Stat.,  MS.,  10;  Souk's  Stat.,  MS.,  4. 


THE  OLD  HOME.  235 

to  open  correspondence  with  a  view  to  matrimony. 
As  a  class,  the  women  of  this  period  were  inferior  in 
education  and  manners  to  the  men;  for  the  hardships 
of  the  voyage  and  border  life  held  back  the  more  re 
fined;  but  as  comforts  increased  the  better  class  of 
women  came  in,39  and  the  standard  of  female  respecta 
bility  was  elevated. 

Distance  did  not  seem  to  weaken  the  bond  with  the 
old  home,40  to  judge  especially  by  the  general  excite 
ment  created  by  the  arrival  of  a  mail  steamer.  What 
a  straining  of  eyes  toward  the  signal-station  on  Tele- 
hill,  as  the  time  of  her  coming  drew  nigh! 

liat  a  rush  toward  the  landing !  What  a  struggle 
to  secure  the  month-old  newspaper,  which  sold  readily 
for  a  dollar  I  For  letters  patience  had  to  be  curbed, 
owing  to  the  scanty  provisions  at  the  post-office  for 
sorting  the  bulky  mail  Such  was  the  anxiety,  how 
ever,  that  numbers  took  their  position  in  the  long  line 
before  the  delivery  window  during  the  preceding  day  or 
night,  fortified  with  stools  and  creature  comforts.  There 
were  boys  and  men  who  made  a  business  of  taking  a 
place  in  the  post-office  line  to  sell  it  to  later  comers, 
who  would  find  the  file  probably  extending  round 
more  than  one  block.  There  was  ample  time  for  re 
flection  while  thus  waiting  before  the  post-office  win 
dow,  not  to  mention  the  agony  of  suspense,  heightened 
by  the  occasional  demonstration  of  joy  or  sorrow  on 
the  part  of  others  on  reading  their  letters.41 

The  departure  of  a  steamer  presented  scenes  hardly 
less  stirring,  the  mercantile  class  being  especially 
earnest  in  efforts  to  collect  outstanding  debts  for  re 
mittance.  At  the  wharf  stood  preeminent  sturdy 

39  And  diminished  the  number  of  California  widows  left  in  almost  every 
town  of  the  eastern  states;  many  of  them  pining  and  struggling  against  pov 
erty  for  years  in  the  vain  hope  of  meeting  again  their  husbands. 

40  As  proved,  indeed,  by  later  incidents,  the  war  of  1861-5,  the  railway 
connection,  etc. 

41lhe  scene  at  the  post-office  is  a  favorite  topic  with  writers  on  this 
period.  Instance  McCoUums  Gal,  62-3;  Casern's  Stat.,  MS.,  16-17;  Kelly 's 
Excurs.,  ii.  252-5,  with  humorous  strokes;  Borthwick's  Cal.,  83-5;  Gal.  Scraps, 
126-7;  AUa  Cal,  Aug.  28,  1854,  etc. 


236  SOCIETY. 

miners  girdled  with  well-filled  belts,  their  complacent 
faces  turned  eastward.  Old  Californians  they  boasted 
themselves,  though  counting,  perhaps,  less  than  a  half- 
year  sojourn ;  many  strutting  in  their  coarse  and  soiled 
camp  attire,  glorying  in  their  rags  like  Antisthenes, 
through  the  holes  of  whose  clothes  Socrates  saw  such 
rank  pride  peering.  Conspicuous  by  contrast  were 
many  haggard  and  dejected  faces,  stamped  by  broken 
constitutions,  soured  by  disappointment.  Others  no 
less  unhappy,  without  even  the  means  to  follow  them, 
were  left  behind,  stranded;  with  hope  fled,  and  having 
relinquished  the  struggle  to  sink  perhaps  into  the  out 
cast's  grave. 

Housekeeping  in  these  days,  even  in  the  cities,  was 
attended  by  many  discomforts.  The  difficulty  of  ob 
taining  female  servants,  which  prevailed  even  in  later 
years,  gave  rise  to  the  phenomenon  of  male  house-ser 
vants,  first  in  Irish,  French,  or  Italian,  and  later  in  Chi 
nese  form.  Fleas,  rats,  and  other  vermin  abounded;42 
laundry  expenses  often  exceeded  the  price  of  new 
underwear;43  water  and  other  conveniences  were  lack 
ing,44  and  dwelling  accommodations  most  deficient,  the 
flimsy  cloth  partitions  in  hotels  forbidding  privacy.45 

For  the  unmarried  men  any  hovel  answered  the 
purpose,  fitted  as  they  were  for  privation  by  the  hard 
ships  of  a  sea  voyage  or  a  transcontinental  journey. 

42  The  city  swarmed  with   rats   of   enormous  size.     Poison  being   freely 
scattered  to  exterminate  them,  they  were  driven  by  pain  to  the  wells,  which 
thus  became  unfit  for  use.    Torres,  Perip.,  109.     Barry  and  Patten,  Men  and 
Mem.,  91-2,  allude  to  the  species  of  rats  brought  by  vessels  from  different 
countries,  notably  the  white,  pink-eyed  rice  rat  from  Batavia.    Wilmington 
Enterprise,  Jan.  21,  1875. 

43  So  that  soiled  shirts  were  frequently  thrown  away.     Mrs  Tibbey,  in 
Miscel  Stat.,  MS.,  20.     The  largest  laundry  nourished  at  Washerwoman's 
lagoon,  at  the  western  foot  of  Russian  hill.     Much  linen  was  sent  to  Canton 
and  -the  Hawaiian  Islands  to  be  washed. 

44  Ver  Mehr  credits  Gillespie  with  the  first  carriage  in  S.  F.     Mrs  Fremont 
claims  it  for  herself.  Am.  Travel,  118.     Posterity  may  let  them  both  have  it, 
and  lose  nothing.     "Water  was  at  one  time  brought  from  Sauzalito  in  boats 
and  distributed  by  carts;  some  wells  were  then  dug,  the  carts  continuing  the 
service. 

4!)  These  disturbing  causes  tended  to  the  breaking  up  of  homes,  as  instanced 
by  desertion  and  divorce  petitions  in  1849-50.  Pac.  News,  Dec.  22,  1849;  Jan. 
15,  1850;  PlacervilleDemoc.,  Apr.  24,  1875,  etc. 


DRINKING  AND  GAMBLING.  237 

The  bunk-lined  room  of  the  ordinary  lodging-house,46 
the  wooden  shed,  or  canvas  tent,  could  hardly  have 
been  more  uncomfortable  than  the  foul-smelling  and 
musty  ship  hold.  Thus  the  high  price  prevalent  for 
board  and  lodging,  as  well  as  the  discomforts  attend 
ing  housekeeping  and  home  life,  tended  to  heighten 
the  allurements  of  vice-breeding  resorts. 

Californians  have  acquired  an  unenviable  reputation 
by  reason  of  their  bar-room  drinking  propensities.  At 
first  this  was  attributed  to  the  lack  of  homes  and 
higher  recreations:  but  the  increase  of  drinking- 

O  7  O 

saloons  and  wide-spread  indulgence  point  for  explana 
tion  to  other  causes,  such  as  temperament,  excitement, 
strain,  and  some  have  said  climate.47  The  tendency 
is  cognate  with  the  exuberance  of  the  people,  with 
their  lavishness  and  characteristic  tendency  toward 
excess,  which  has  also  fostered  the  habit  of  not  drink 
ing  alone.  Solitary  tippling  is  universally  stamped 
as  mean;  and  rather  than  incur  such  a  stigma  the 
bar-keeper  must  be  invited.  Yet  the  excess  is  mani 
fested  less  in  actual  inebriety  than  in  frequent  indul 
gence  at  all  hours  of  the  day  and  night,  which  with 
the  vile  adulterations  often  used,  succeeds  effectu 
ally  in  killing,  or  undermining  the  constitution  and 
morals  of  thousands.  In  early  days  the  subtle  attrac 
tion  was  increased  by  contrast  between  a  dismal  lodg 
ing  and  the  bright  interior  of  the  saloon,  with  its 
glittering  chandeliers,  costly  mirrors  wreathed  with 
inspiring  banners,  striking  and  lascivious  paintings, 
inviting  array  of  decanters,  perhaps  music  and  sirens, 
some  luring  with  song  and  dance,  some  by  a  more 
direct  appeal.48  Until  far  into  1850,  when  San  Fran 
cisco  introduced  street  lamps,  the  reflection  from  these 
illuminated  hot-beds  of  vice  was  about  all  the  light 

46  As  described  elsewhere  in  connection  with  dwellings  and  hotels. 

47  The  climatic  excuse  was  general  as  early  as  1849.  Moore's  Pio.  Exper.t 
MS.,  7. 

48  In  Sacramento  a  number  of  saloon-keepers  combined  to  save  the  expense 
of  music,  but  failed.  Sac.  Transcript,  Oct.  14,  1850. 


238  SOCIETY 

the  city  had,  the  canvas  houses  glowing  with  special 
effect  upon  the  muddy  streets,  or  throwing  their  weird 
light  far  out  into  the  waters  of  the  bay.  In  the 
saloons  of  the  mining  towns  comfortable  chairs  and 
the  central  stove  presented  the  only  relief  to  a  dingy 
interior,  with  its  card-table,  cheap  pictures,  well- 
stocked  bar,  and  ever-thirsty  hangers-on.  The  pro 
prietor,  however,  was  often  a  host  in  himself,  as  local 
dignitary,  umpire,  and  news  repository;  the  hail  fellow 
and  confidant  of  everybody,  who  cared  for  the  wounded 
and  fallen  after  the  knife  or  pistol  skirmish ;  himself, 
perhaps,  safe  behind  his  sand-bag  fortification.  The 
casualties  were  particularly  heavy  after  an  occasional 
dearth  of  whiskey,  from  interrupted  traffic  during  the 
winter.49  Notwithstanding  the  forbidding  aspect  of 
the  field,  temperance  advocates  were  present  as  early 
as  1849,  vainly  endeavoring  to  curb  the  passion  by 
words.50 

Public  gambling  flourished  as  a  legally  authorized 
vice  at  all  saloons,  yet  its  prevalence  led  in  the  cities 
to  the  establishment  of  special  gambling-houses. 
Mining,  being  itself  a  chance  occupation,  gave  here  an 
additional  impulse  to  the  pastime,  which  some  culti 
vated  as  a  mental  stimulant,  others  as  an  anaesthetic. 
With  easy  acquisition  losses  were  less  poignant.  In 
San  Francisco  the  plaza  was  the  centre  of  these  re 
sorts,  with  the  El  Dorado  saloon  as  the  dividing  point 
between  the  low  places  to  the  north  and  the  select 
clubs  southward.51  Gay  flags  and  streamers  and  de 
coy  lamps  strike  the  eye  from  a  distance;  within  a 
blaze  of  light  reveals  a  moving  silhouette  of  figures. 

49  It  can  readily  be  understood  that  such  general  devotion  to  the  cause 
must  have  brought  forth  many  innovations  and  inventions  in  the  range  of 
drinks.  For  instances,  I  refer  to  Overland,  July  1875,  80-1;  May  1874,  477; 
Aug.  1868,  146;  Helper's  Land  of  Gold,  66.  Also,  Saxons  Five  Years,  26; 
Cat.  Pilgrim,  54,  136;  Maynes  B.  Col,  163;  Cremonys  Apache,  348. 

60  A  meeting  at  S.  F.  is  recorded  in  A Ua  Cal,  Jan.  25,  1849.  At  Sacra 
mento  a  society  was  formed  in  1850.  Sac.  Illust.,  13;  Sac.  Direct.,  1871,  76; 
Pac.  News,  May  16,  21,  Dec.  24,  1850. 

51lhe  leading  resorts  of  1849-50  embraced  the  Rendezvous,  Bella  Union, 
Verandah,  Parker  house  (one  floor  in  it),  Aguila  de  Oro,  Empire,  the  latter 
opened  in  May  1850,  being  140  feet  long,  and  finely  frescoed. 


ORTHODOX  GAMES.  239 

The  abode  of  fortune  seeks  naturally  to  eclipse  all 
other  saloons  in  splendor;  and  indeed,  the  mirrors  are 
larger,  the  paintings  more  costly,  and  the  canvased 
walls  adorned  with  brighter  figures.  At  one  end  is 
the  indispensable  drinking-bar,  at  the  other  a  gallery 
for  the  orchestra,  from  which  loud  if  not  harmonious 
music  floats  upon  the  murky  atmosphere  laden  with 
fumes  of  smoke  and  foul  breaths.52  These  and  other 
attractions  are  employed  to  excite  the  senses,  and 
break  down  all  barriers  before  the  strongest  tempta 
tion,  the  piles  of  silver  and  gold  in  coin  and  dust,  and 
glittering  lumps  which  border  the  leather-covered 
gaming-tables,  sometimes  a  dozen  in  number.  From 
different  directions  is  heard  the  cry,  "Make  your  bets, 
gentlemen!"  midst  the  hum  and  the  chink  of  coin. 
"The  game  is  made,"  and  a  hush  of  strained  expect 
ancy  attends  the  rolling  ball  or  the  turning  cards; 
then  a  resumption  of  the  murmur  and  the  jingling,  as 
the  stakes  are  counted  out  or  raked  in  by  the  croupier. 
Gamblers  and  spectators  form  several  lines  in  depth 
round  the  tables;  broadcloth,  pea-jacket,  and  woollen 
shirt  side  by  side,  merchant  and  laborer,  dandy  and 
shoeblack,  and  even  the  whilom  pastor  or  deacon  of 
the  church.  Some  moving  from  group  to  group  are 
bent  merely  on  watching  faces  and  fickle  fortune,  till, 
seized  by  desire,  they  yield  to  the  excitement  and 
join  in  the  infatuation.  Once  initiated,  the  slow  game 
of  calculation  in  money  matters  which  has  hitherto 
sufficed  for  pastime,  falls  before  the  stirring  pulsation 
imparted  by  quickly  alternating  loss  and  gain.  The 

IT  »/        A  v  O 

chief  games  were  faro,  preferred  by  Americans  and 
Britons;  monte,  beloved  of  the  Latin  race;53  roulette, 

52  At  the  Aguila  de  Oro  Ethiopian  serenaders  added  to  the  attraction.  An 
other  boasted  a  Mexican  quintette  of  guitars.  The  later  Chinese  resorts  had 
symbols,  etc.  According  to  Torres,  Penp.,  99,  a  brother  of  Gen.  Ben.  Butler 
kept  one  of  these  places;  expenses  $500  a  night,  leaving  large  profits.  The 
El  Dorado  kept  a  female  violinist.  Taylor's  El  Dorado,  i.  118. 

63  For  this  game  were  used  Spanish  cards,  48  in  a  pack,  the  ten  being  lack 
ing.  There  were  frequently  two  dealers  at  opposite  ends  of  the  table,  each 
with  a  bank  pile  of  $5,000  or  $10,000.  Ihe  mere  matching  of  two  cards, 
sometimes  four,  the  game  being  decided  by  the  first  similar  card  drawn 
from  the  pack,  would  seem  to  afford  facilities  for  trickery,  while  certain  con 
ditions  ruled  ia  favor  of  the  banker. 


240  SOCIETY 

rouge-et-noir,  rondo,  vingt-et-un,  paire-ou-non,  trente- 
et-quarante,  and  chuck-a-luck  with  dice.54  The  stakes 
ranged  usually  between  fifty  cents  and  five  dollars, 
but  rose  frequently  to  $500  and  $1,000,  while  amounts 
as  high  as  $45,000  are  spoken  of  as  being  risked  upon 
the  turn  of  a  card.55  The  most  reckless  patrons  were 
richly  laden  miners,  who  instead  of  pursuing  their 
intended  journey  homeward,  surrendered  here  their 
hard-earned  wealth,  and  returned  sadder,  if  not  wiser, 
to  fresh  toils  and  hardships.  The  most  impassive  as 
well  as  constant  gamblers  were  the  Mexicans,  who, 
otherwise  so  readily  excited,  could  lose  their  all  with 
out  betraying  an  emotion;  while  sober-faced  Ameri 
cans,  who,  though  they  might  crack  a  grim  joke  over 
their  misfortune,  ill  concealed  their  disappointment 
over  losses.  In  the  one  case  there  was  a  fatalistic 
submission  to  the  inevitable ;  in  the  other  the  player 
would  not  yield  his  entire  personality  to  the  fickle 
goddess.  Although  in  the  mining  camps  were  many 
honest  gamblers,  yet  play  there  was  oftentimes  riot 
ous  and  attended  by  swindling,  and  a  consequent 
appeal  to  weapons ;  in  the  towns  the  system  of  licens 
ing  what  was  then  deemed  an  unavoidable  evil  tended 
to  preserve  decorum.56  An  air  of  respectability  was 
further  imparted  by  the  appearance  of  the  professional 

54  At  the  street  corners  were  thimble-rig  and  other  delusive  guess  games. 
The  rent  for  a  table  was  heavy,  as  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  the 
greater  part  of  the  income  from  the  Parker  house,  at  one  time  $15,000  a 
month,  came  from  the  one  gambling  floor.     Half  of  the  gamblers  used  to  pay 
$1,000  per  month  for  a  table,  says  McCollum.  Cal.,  61. 

55  A  bag  of  dust,  $16,000  in  value,  was  one  evening  covered  by  a  faro  dealer 
without  a  murmur.  Annals  S.  F,,  249      The  editor  of  Placer  Times,  Mar.  9, 
1850,  claims  to  have  known  of  bets  of  $32,000  and  $45,000  at  monte.     On  one 
occasion  the  money  in  bank  on  monte  tables  exceeded  $200,000,  and  more 
than  that  was  at  stake  in  other  games.  Home  Missionary,  xxvii.  160.     Woods 
relates  that  a  lawyer  once  swept  three  tables  in  succession.     A  young  man 
just  arrived,  and  en  route  to  the  mines,  borrowed  $10  and  approached  a  faro- 
table.     By  the  following  morning  he  had  won  $7,000,  with  which  he  returned 
by  next  steamer,  determined  never  to  play  again.     Davidson,  the  banker, 
said  that  some  professed  gamblers  used  to  remit  home  an  average  of  $17,000 
a  month.  Sixteen  Mo.,  75.     Among  other  instances  of  gains  was  one  of  $100,- 
000  by  a  man  who  started  with  $5,000.     After  losing  half  of  his  winnings  he 
stopped,  bought  a  steamer  ticket,  and  went  home.  Placer  Times,  Mar.  9,  1850. 
The  record  of  losses,  however,  is  a  thousand  to  one  greater,  hundreds  of  cases 
being  cited  where  the  miner  en  route  for  home  staked  his  all  and  lost. 

66  At  S.  F.  the  permit  cost  $50  per  month,  with  $25  extra  for  each  Sunday. 


MERCANTILE  THIMBLE-RIG.  241 

gamblers,  who  greatly  affected  dress,  although  with  a 
predilection  for  display.  With  the  growth  of  home 
influence  the  pastime  began  to  fall  into  disrepute,  and 
in  September  1850  San  Francisco  took  the  first  step 
toward  its  suppression  by  forbidding  the  practice  on 
Sundays.57  An  insidious  and  long-countenanced  ad 
junct  to  the  vice  flourished  in  the  form  of  lotteries,  which 
were  carried  on  with  frequent  drawings,  especially  at 
holiday  seasons,  as  a  regular  business,  as  well  as  a 
casual  means  for  getting  rid  of  worthless  or  unprofit 
able  goods.  Jewelry  formed  the  main  attraction, 
but  articles  of  all  classes  were  embraced,  even  land, 
wharves,  and  pretentious  buildings.58 

67  Cat.  Courier,  Sept.  14,  1850  Some  of  the  hotels  assisted  by  excluding 
its  public  practice,  as  the  Union.  S.  F.  Picayune,  Nov.  26,  1850.  Yet  it  was 
not  till  1855  that  absolute  restrictive  measures  were  taken.  So  far  gambling 
debts  were  recoverable.  Alta  CaL,  Apr.  17,  1855;  Sac.  Transcript,  Feb.  14, 
1851.  In  Jan.  1848  an  order  to  permit  games  of  chance  was  vetoed  in  S.  F. 
Calif ornian,  Jan.  12,  1848;  penalty  $10  to  $50,  but  a  repeal  came  quickly. 
Sac.  Union,  May  21,  1856;  Pac.  News,  Feb.  14,  1851,  refers  to  the  arrest  of 
gamblers. 

58  E.  P.  Jones  held  a  real  estate  lottery  in  the  autumn  of  1850,  with  4,000 
tickets  at  $100.  The  500  lots  offered  as  prizes  embraced  valuable  central  city 
land.  In  Oct.  1850  H.  Howison  sought  to  pay  his  debts  and  avoid  a  sacrifice 
of  property  by  offering  his  wharf  with  9  stores  and  10  offices,  renting  for 
$5,000  a  month,  besides  two  water  lots  with  a  store-ship,  for  $200,000,  in 
2,000  shares  at  $100.  The  prominent  St  Francis  hotel  was  offered  the  same 
month.  Pac.  News,  Oct.  19,  Nov.  8,  13,  1850.  A  regular  lottery  firm  was 
Tucker  &  Reeves.  By  advertisement  in  Cal.  Courier,  etc.,  of  Dec.  17,  1850, 
$20,000  worth  of  jewelry  was  offered.  Their  usual  first  prize  was  a  gold  ingot 
of  from  $6,000  to  $8,000  in  value.  In  1853  Reeves  offered  stuff  valued  at 
$30,000  at  $1  tickets.  In  Sacramento  the  Pacific  theatre  and  99  other  pieces 
of  real  estate  were  offered  in  1850.  These  real  estate  and  other  raffles,  as 
they  were  sometimes  termed,  encroached  seriously  on  legitimate  business 
The  California  Lottery  and  Hayes  &  Bailey  figure  in  the  1850  list  of  lottery 
firms.  See  journals  of  Dec.,  any  early  year.  Further  references  to  gambling 
in  Carson  s  Early  Days,  29;  Kelly's  Excursion,  ii.  245-7;  Winans  Stat.,  MS., 
5-6;  Hittell's  S.  F.,  235-7;  Upham's  Notes,  235-6;  Helper's  Land  of  Gold, 
71-3;  Lambertie,  Voy.,  204-6;  Coke's  Ride,  355-7;  Frignet,  CaZ.,94,  117;  Lett's 
CaL,  48-50;  CaL  Past  and  Present,  163;  Neall's  Vig.,  MS.,  25-8;  Garniss* 
Early  Days,  MS.,  15-16;  Bartlett's  Stat.,  MS.,  3,  14;  Armstrong's  Exper., 
MS.,  8;  Delano's  Life,  289-90;  Willey's  Thirty  Years,  39;  McDaniels'  Early 
Days,  49-50;  Farnham's  CaL,  271-4;  Roach's  Stat.,  MS.,  9;  Button's  Stat.,  MS., 
10;  Cerruti's  Ramblings,  MS.,  25-7;  Hutchings'  Mag.,  i.  215;  iii.  374;  SchmiedelCs 
Stat.,  MS.,  4;  Cassins  Stat.,  MS.,  10-12;  Merrill's  Stat.,  MS.,  9-10;  Van 
Dyke's  Stat.,  MS.,  3;  Miscel.  Stat.,  MS.,  13-14;  Home  Miss.,  xxiii.  209; 
Conway's  Early  Days,  MS.,  1-2;  CaL  Ilust.,  44,  99,  130;  CaL  Pilgrim,  243; 
Overland,  Nov.  1871;  Feb.  1872;  Shaw's  Golden  Dreams,  42;  S.  F.  Herald, 
Apr.  7,  18.52;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Sept.  15,  25,  Dec.  4,  1856.  The  Mexicans  called 
gamblers  gremio  de  Virjan.  Torres,  Perip.,  100.  According  to  Sac.  Direc 
tory,  1853-4,  6-7,  two  clergymen  could  be  seen  at  the  hells,  one  as  dealer. 
HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.  16 


242  SOCIETY. 

The  taste  for  other  pastimes  rose  little  above  the 
preceding,  as  might  be  expected  from  a  community  of 
men  bent  on  adventure.  The  bull-fighting  of  pre-con- 
quest  times  found  such  favor,  that,  not  content  with  the 
two  arenas  already  existing  at  the  mission,  San  Fran 
cisco  constructed  two  more  within  her  own  limits.59 
Here  it  flourished  under  official  sanction  throughout 
the  fifties,60  but  invested  with  few  of  the  attractions 
which  have  tended  to  maintain  its  popularity  elsewhere, 
such  as  knightly  matadores,  pugnacious  bulls,  and  a 
fashionable  attendance.  American  women  never  took 
kindly  to  the  butchery,  California  excelled  in  one 
feature,  however,  the  spectacle  of  a  fight  between  bull 
and  bear,  if  the  usually  tame  contest  could  be  digni 
fied  by  that  term.61  In  cock-fighting  the  new-comers 
had  little  to  learn  from  the  Mexicans,  although  with 
these  the  diversion  stood  under  high  patronage;  but 
they  could  offer  novelties  in  the  form  of  regattas,  and 
the  less  commendable  prize-fighting,62  and  in  horse  and 
foot  racing  they  soon  carried  off  the  honors.63 

The  great  resort  on  Sundays  and  holidays  was  the 
mission,  with  its  creek,  gardens,  and  arenas,  and  its 
adjoining  hills  and  marshes  which  offered  for  hunters  an 
attractive  field.  The  ride  out  was  in  itself  an  enjoy- 

59  One  on  Vallejo  st,  at  the  western  foot  of  Telegraph  hill;  another  amphi 
theatre  was  erected  near  Washington  square.  S.  F  Herald,  Aug.   10,   1850; 
8.  F.  Directory,  1850,  126. 

60  8.  F.  Bulletin  of  Aug.  18,  1859,  describes  a  fight.     For  scenes  and  inci 
dents,  I  refer  to  my  California  Pastoral. 

61  Bruin  usually  took  a  defensive  attitude,  with  his  attention  riveted  on 
the  bull's  nose.     In  fights  between  bears  and  dogs,  the  latter  generally  fell 
back  shaken  and  squeezed.  Pac.  News,  May  17-18,   1850;  Sac.  Transcript, 
Oct.  14,  1850;  Barry  and  Patten's  Men  and  Mem.,  251.     Even  Marysville  and 
other  northern  towns  indulged  in  the  sport.  Kelly's  Excurs.,  ii.  248-9. 

62  Several  notable  encounters  took  place  before  the  great  contests  of  Mor- 
rissey  in  1852.  Pac.  News,  Oct.  17,  1850;  Gal  Courier,  Jan.  1,  4,  Oct.  18,  28, 
1850;  Dec.  13,  1849. 

63  Although  not  decisively  until  1852,  when  Australian  horses  were  intro 
duced,  as  related  by  A.  A.  Green  of  aldermanic  fame,  who  claims  the  credit 
of  constructing  in  1850  the  first  regular  track  in  S.  F.,  between  20th  and  24th 
streets,  at  the  so-called  Pavilion,  the  later  Red  house.    In  the  interior,  camps 
and  towns  pitted   horses  against  one  another.     Foot-races  by  professionals 
were  usually  against  time;  amateurs  often  ran  in  the  usual  way.   Califorman, 
Mar.  4,  15,  1848;  Alta  Cal,  Mar.  25,  Sept.   15,    1851.     In  Halts  Hist.,  232, 
is  mentioned  a  race  at  S.  Jose  for  $10,000,  a  man  running  against  a  Sonoma 
horse. 


THEATRICALS.  243 

ment,  notwithstanding  the  intervening  and  ofttimes 
wind-whipped  sand  hills,  and  on  festive  occasions  the 
place  was  crowded.  The  lack  of  ready  communication 
with  the  opposite  shores  of  the  bay  confined  the  people 
to  the  peninsula  for  a  time,  only  to  render  the  more 
demonstrative  the  revelry  called  for  by  feast  days  and 
other  joyous  occasions,  with  volleys,  crackers,  illumina 
tions,  and  fanciful  parades,  with  caricatures  and  squibs 
upon  officials,  followed  by  banquets  and  balls,  the 
latter  stimulated  by  the  chilly  evenings  and  frequent 
potations.64 

The  first  public  dramatic  performances  are  claimed 
for  the  United  States  garrison  at  Sonoma  in  September 
1 847,  and  for  an  amateur  company,  chiefly  Spanish  Cal- 
ifornians,  at  San  Francisco.65  About  the  same  time 
some  of  the  New  York  volunteers  gave  minstrel  en 
tertainments  at  Santa  Barbara  and  Monterey.66  The 
gold  excitement  diverted  attention  from  the  drama  in 
1848,67  but  by  the  following  year  professionals  from 
abroad  had  arrived  to  supply  the  reviving  demand, 
and  on  June  22,  1849,  Stephen  C.  Massett  opened  a 
series  of  entertainments  with  a  concert  at  the  plaza 
school-house,  including  songs,  recitations,  and  mimicry, 
with  piano  accompaniment.68  On  October  29th,  Howe's 

64  A  masquerade  ball  of  Feb.  22,  1845,  is  described  in  the  Catifornzan. 
Admission  to  some  of  the  balls  of  1849-50  was  $25,  and  more.  Placer  Times, 
Apr.  22,  1850.     The  pioneers  held  a  formal  new-year's  celebration  in  1851. 
July  4th  always  received  its  fiery  ovation,  partly  by  the  use  of  half -buried 
quicksilver  flasks.     St  Patrick's  day  and  May  day  were  early  introduced  by 
the  Irish  and  Germans.     The  thanksgiving  day  of  1849  was  fixed  for  Nov.  29th 
without  official  proclamation,  observes  Williams,  Stat,,   MS,,  12-13.     New 
England  dinners  found  favor,  and  pilgrims1  landing  day  touched  a  correspond 
ing  chord.     St  Andrews  and  other  societies  added  their  special  days.  Roach's 
Stat.t  MS.,  3;  Pac.  Neios,  May  3,  Nov.  6,  30,  1850;  Jan.  11,  Apr,  1,  1851;  S.  F. 
Picayune,  Oct.  30,  1850,  etc.;  Col.  Courier,  Sept.  14,  Nov.  27,  Dec,  2,  1850; 
Jan.  3,  Feb.  1,  1851;  A  Ita  Col.,  passim. 

65  Which  gave  the  Morayma,  relating  to  the  wars  of  Granada.  See  Cali- 
fornian,  Oct,  6,  1847;  May  10,  Nov.  4,   1848;  and  my  preceding  vol.,  v.  667. 
The  same  journal  alludes  to  the  Eagle  Olympic  club  association  for  plays  and 
subscriptions  for  a  theatre    Polynesian,  v.  111. 

^Details  in  S.  Jose  Pioneer,  May  4,  1878.  A  writer  in  Solano  Press,  Dec. 
11,  1867,  declares  that  they  first  performed  at  S.  F.  in  March  1847,  the  first 
night's  receipts  being  $63. 

67  The  Virginia  minstrels  played  with  success  during  the  winter,  Star  and 
•CaL,  Dec.  9,  1848,  and  other  amateur  efforts  may  be  traced 

68  Admission  $3,  which  yielded  over  $500.    The  crowded  audience  contained 


244  SOCIETY, 

Olympic  circus  appeared  at  San  Francisco,69  with 
prices  at  two  and  three  dollars. 

The  first  professional  dramatic  performance  took 
place  at  Sacramento  on  October  18,  1849,  in  the  Eagle 
theatre,70  a  frail  structure  which  was  soon  eclipsed 
by  the  Tehama.  At  San  Francisco  the  season  began 
at  Washington  hall,  early  in  185Q.71  Five  weeks 
later  the  first  theatre  building,  the  National,  was 
opened,72  followed  among  others  by  Robinson  and 
Everard's  Dramatic  Museum,73  Dr  Collyer's  Athe 
naeum,  with  prurient  model  artist  exhibitions,74  and 

only  four  women.  Programme  reproduced  in  Annals  S.  P.,  656;  Upham's 
Notes,  271-2.  The  piano  is  here  claimed  as  the  only  one  in  the  country,  but 
a  writer  in  S.  Jost  Pwn.,  Dec.  1,  1877,  shows  by  letters  that  four  pianos 
were  at  S.  F,  early  in  1847,  besides  the  common  guitars  and  harps.  Territ. 
Pioneers,  First  An.,  75. 

69  On  Kearny  st  south  of  Clay  st.  Boxes  cost  $10.  The  performances 
began  at  7  P.  M  ,  and  embraced  the  usual  circus  features,  as  given  in  Alta 
Col.  of  following  day.  This  the  first  play  bill  is  reproduced  in  Id.,  Oct.  29, 
1864.  The  circiis  closed  Jan.  17,  1850,  to  reopen  as  an  amphitheatre  on  Feb. 
4th,  with  drama,  farce,  and  ring  performance.  The  Annals  S.  F.,  236,  calls 
it  a  tent  holding  1,200  or  1,500  people,  and  places  the  prices  at  $3,  $5,  and 
$55.  Previous  to  this,  on  Oct.  22d,  says  McCabe,  in  Territ.  Pioneers,  ubisup., 
the  Philadelphia  minstrela  commenced  a  season  at  Bella  Union  hall,  tickets 
$2,  and  in  Dec.  1849  the  Pacific  minstrels  prepared  to  play  at  Washington 
hall,  but  were  prevented  by  fire. 

™  A  frame  30  feet  by  95  covered  with  canvas,  metal-roofed,  on  Front  st, 
between  I  and  J  st,  which  cost  $75,000.  Admission  $2  and  $3.  The  company 
embraced  J.  B.  Atwater,  C.  B.  Price,  H.  F.  Daley,  J.  H.  McCabe,  H.  Ray 
and  wife,  T.  Fairchild,  J.  Harris,  Lt  A.  W.  Wright,  whose  salaries  ranged 
from  $60  per  night  for  Atwater,  to  $60  per  week  for  Daley.  Mrs  Ray,  with 
husband,  commanded  $275  per  week,  including  expenses.  McCabe,  in  Ternt. 
Pioneers,  First  An.,  72-5.  The  total  nightly  expense  was  $600.  Bayard 
Taylor,  Eldorado,  ii  31-2,  is  rather  severe  on  the  performance.  The  season 
and  theatre  closed  Jan.  4,  1850.  The  Bandit  Chief  is  mentioned  as  the 
opening  piece.  The  Tehama  theatre  opened  soon  after  under  management 
of  Mrs  Kirby,  later  Mrs  Stark.  Soc.  Illust.,  12-13;  S.  Jose  Pioneer,  Dec.  13, 
1877.  The  Pacific  theatre  is  nearly  completed,  observes  Placer  Times,  Apr. 
13,  1850. 

71  Jan.  16th,  near  N.  w.  corner  of  Kearny  and  Washington,  by  the  Eagle 
theatre  company  of  Sacramento,  whence  also  this  name  for  the  hall,   later 
Foley's.  Pac.  News,  Jan.   17,   1850.     Allen  and  Boland  figure  on  the  pro 
gramme,  which  presented  The  Wife,  and  the  farce  Sentinel;  McCabe  has 
Charles  II.  as  an  after-piece.     Tickets  $3. 

72  On  the  site  of  the  latter  Maguire's,  Washington  st.     It  was  built  of 
brick;  opened  by  a  French  company,  and  burned  May  4th.     It  was  replaced 
by  the  Italian  theatre,  opened  Sept.  12,  1850,  at  the  corner  of  Jackson  and 
Kearny  sts,  by  a  similar  company.     The  short-lived  Phoenix  theatre  was  in 
augurated  March  23d.     The  following  day  the  Phoenix  exchange,  on  the 
plaza,  presented  model  artists. 

13  On  the  north  side  of  California  st,  west  of  Kearny  st,  with  partly 
amateur  talent.  Everard,  known  for  his  Yankee  r6les,  often  assumed  female 
garb.  CassinsStat.,  MS.,  16. 

7iOu  Commercial  st;  tickets  $1. 


MUSIC  AND  RECREATION.  245 

the  famed  Jenny  Lind  theatre,  opened  in  October 
1850,  on  the  plaza.75  The  resorts  which  had  so  far 
escaped  were  swept  away  by  the  conflagrations  of 
May  and  June  1851,  yet  new  edifices  rose  agrin  with 
little  delay.  The  flush  times  of  a  gold  country  brought 
many  sterling  actors,  such  as  Stark,  Atwater,  Kirby, 
Bingham,  Thorne  Sr,  who  also  made  their  bow  at 
interior  towns,76  but  inferior  talent  preponderated  in 
the  race  for  patronage,77  the  blood  and  thunder  variety 
gaining  favor,  especially  in  the  mining  region,  where 
the  mere  appearence  of  a  woman,  sufficed  in  early  days 
to  insure  success.'8  The  general  effect  of  the  drama 
was  nevertheless  good,  partly  from  the  moral  lessons 
conveyed,  but  mainly  as  a  diversion  from  gambling 
and  drinking  resorts.79  By  1851  there  was  scarcely  a 
town  of  1,OOC  inhabitants  without  its  hall  for  enter 
tainments.  Mere  instrumental  proficiency  was  not  so 
widely  appreciated,80  but  female  vocalists  with  sym 
pathetic  voices  and  stirring  home  melodies  never  failed 
to  evoke  applause  which  not  unfrequently  came  at 
tended  by  a  shower  of  oresents, 81 

t5  Which  eventually  after  many  transformations  "became  what  is  now 
known  as  the  old  city  hall,  and  which,  indeed,  is  the  third  Jenny  Lind  struc 
ture,  the  first  having  been  burned  on  May  4,  1850,  together  with  several 
«ther  resorts,  and  the  second  in  June  following.  Mde  Korsinsky  from  Na 
ples  opened,  the  first  on  Oct.  28th,  assisted  by  singers,  magicians,  etc.  Adelphi 
and  Foley's  ainpliitheatre  were  inaugurated  in  Nov.  and  Dec.,  respectively, 
t*ie  former  on  Clay  st,  the  other  on  the  plaza.  The  next  important  edifice 
•was  the  American  theatre  on  Sansome  st,  north  of  Sacramento  st,  which 
belongs  to  1851,  Vallejo  hall  was  used  for  parties. 

76  Bingham  inaugurated  a  season  at  Stockton,  in  the  Stockton  house,  as 
sisted  by  Snow  of  Mormon  fame.  ZrCloskey,  in  S.  Jose  Pioneer,  Dec.  13,  1877; 
Placer  Times,  Apr.  13, 1850.     He  abo  opened  the  regulr.r  season  at  Monterey. 
Monterey  Herald,  Feb.  13,  1875.     Robinson  did  so  at  Nevada  in  June.  Grass 

VaL  Direct.,  1856,  20-^30. 

77  In  Dec.   1850  the  museum  reduced  prices  one  half,  although  this  had 
only  a  partial  effect  elsewhere. 

18  As  Taylor,  Eldorado,  ii.  31-2,  found  even  at  Sacramento.  A  Swiss 
girl  here  collected  $4,000  within  six  months.  Organ  grinders  started  their 
nuisance  at  S.  F.  in  Apr.  1850.  Pac,  Neics,  Apr.  30,  1850.  A  pioneer  in  the 
Oakland  Transcript,  Feb.  27, 1872,  gives  some  leading  names  in  the  profession. 
Marry  and  Patten,  Men  and  Mem.,  213. 

J9By  ordinance  of  Sept  14,  1850,  the  city  authorities  sought  to  close  even 
theatres  on  Sundays,  but  the  attempt  was  not  successful.  Sherman,  Mem., 
i.  23,  refers  to  passion  plays  in  connection  wi^h  churches. 

M  To  judge  by  the  reception  in  1C~0  of  the  pianist  Herz,  though  highly 
praised  by  the  Placer  Times,  Apr.  22,  1850,  etc.  Other  concerts  took  place  in 
Jan.  and  ApriL 

£1  Gold  pieces  of  $10,  $20,  and  $50  in  value  came  raining  down,  says  Gar- 


246  SOCIETY. 

Sunday  became  identified  with  enjoyment  rather 
than  solemn  devotion.  The  voyage  out  had  sufficed 
to  break  down  puritanical  habits.  In  the  camps, 
after  a  week's  arduous  pursuit  of  gold,  the  day  was 
welcomed  for  rest,  yet  not  for  repose.  Mending 
clothes,  washing,  baking,  and  letter-writing  occupied 
one  part  of  it ;  then  came  marketing  with  attendant 
conviviality,  the  harvest  for  traders,  saloon-keepers,  and 
their  ilk.  This  routine,  more  or  less  prevalent  also  in 
the  towns,  left  little  leisure  for  the  duties  of  religion, 
which  for  that  matter  were  generally  postponed  for 
the  return  home.  In  the  interior  the  necessary  leaders 
were  lacking,  and  the  fear  of  ridicule  from  a  rollicking- 
crowd  restrained  non-professional  devotees.  Among 
the  multitudes  of  the  cities,  however,  the  clergyman 
was  present,  and  could  always  count  upon  a  number 
of  sedate  folk  who  in  church  attendance  found  refresh 
ing  comfort.  The  influence  of  this  class,  embracing  as 
it  did  employers  and  family  men,  aided  by  the  mag 
netism  of  woman,  succeeded  by  the  middle  of  1850  in 
establishing  seven  places  of  worship,  and  in  extending 
Sabbath  observance,  in  connection  with  which  educa 
tion,  literature,  and  art  received  a  beneficent  impulse.82 

The  admission  of  California  into  the  union  tended 
to  stamp  improvements  with  the  strengthening  tone  of 
permanency.  With  unfolding  resources  and  growing 

niss,  Early  Days,  MS.,  15,  81-9,  although  smaller  pieces  were  more  common. 
When  Kate  Hayes  gave  concerts  in  the  winter  of  1851,  the  first  tickets 
at  Sac.  and  S.  F.  sold  for  $1,200  and  $1,125,  respectively.  Alia  Cal.  Feb.  9, 
1853.  It  was  proposed  to  subscribe  $500,000  for  bringing  hither  Jenny 
Lind.  Pac.  News,  Jan.  23,  1851.  Lecturers  fared  well.  J.  S.  Hittell  ap 
peared  as  a  phrenologist  in  Dec.  1850.  Cat.  Courier,  Dec.  2,  1850.  Additional 
references  to  amusements  in  Id.,  March  31,  1851.  McCabe,  Territ.  Pioneers, 
First  An.,  75-8,  adds  some  valuable  details  on  early  amusements.  Pac.  News, 
Oct.  1849-50,  passim;  Cal.  Scraps,  Amuse.,  5,  253,  etc.;  Winans'  Stat.,  MS., 
13;  BorthwlcVs  Cal.,  77,  289,  334,  357;  Earll'g  Sfat.,  MS.,  6;  S.  F.  Post,  Feb. 
10,  1S76;  Sfa  Cruz  Sentinel,  Feb.  20,  1875;  Shaw's  Golden  Dreams,  203;  Lloyd's 
Lijhte  and  Shades,  146-54.  Torres,  Perip ,  145,  comments  on  the  means  to 
supply  the  scarcity  of  actresses.  Annals  S.  F.,  655,  etc.;  8.  F.  Chronicle,  Sept. 
9, 1378. 

82  All  of  which  will  be  considered  in  later  chapters.  In  Nov.  1849  dray 
men,  among  others,  resolved  to  abstain  from  Sunday  work  when  possible. 
-Pac.  News,  Nov.  10,  1849.  It  took  some  years  before  the  smaller  towns 
cov.ld  be  made  to  adopt  similar  resolutions.  See  Calavera»  Chronicle,  Feb. 
1855. 


PROGRESS  AND  IMPROVEMENT.  247 

population  came  greater  traffic,  increased  and  varied 
supplies,  *  and  new  industries,  comforts,  and  conven 
iences  of  every  grade. 

The  progression  made  by  California  during  the  first 
two  years  of  the  golden  era  is  remarkable,  not  only  for 
its  individuality,  but  for  its  rapidity,  and  as  being 
taken  by  a  community  of  energetic  and  intelligent  men, 
aided  by  the  appliances  of  their  age.  The  main  con 
siderations  for  the  present  are  the  suddenness,  magni 
tude,  and  mixed  composition  of  the  gathering,  the 
predominating  and  marked  influence  of  Americans 
from  the  first,  and  the  peculiar  features  evolved  there 
from,  and  in  connection  with  the  adventurous  trip,  the 
mania  for  enrichment,  the  general  opulence,  sex  limita 
tion,  camp  life,  and  climate.  Note  especially  the  reck 
less  self-reliance  which  braved  hardship  and  dangers  by 
sea  and  land,  in  solitude  and  amidst  the  mongrel  crowd, 
and  marked  its  advance  by  upturned  valleys  and  ra 
vines;  by  the  deviated  course  of  rivers,  the  living  evi 
dence  of  settlements  and  towns  that  sprang  up  in  a 
day,  or  the  mute  eloquence  of  their  ruins;  by  the 
transformed  wilderness  and  the  busy  avenues  of  traffic ; 
by  thronged  roads  and  steam-furrowed  rivers.  Note 
the  lusty  exuberance  which  trod  down  obstacles  and 
lightly  treated  reverses ;  lightened  work  with  the  spirit 
of  play,  and  carried  play  into  extravagance,  and  all 
the  while  tempering  avarice  with  a  whole-souled  lib 
erality  Note  the  elevation  of  labor  and  equalization 
of  ranks,  which,  rejecting  empty  pretensions  and  exalt 
ing  honor  and  other  principles,  elevated  into  promi 
nence  the  best  natural  types  of  manhood,  physical  and 
mental,  for  the  strain  of  life  in  the  mines  demanded  a 
strong  frame  and  constitution,  and  in  other  fields  the 
prizes  fell  to  the  shrewd  and  energetic  This  wild 
game  and  gambol  could  not  pass  without  deplorable 
excesses,  but  even  these  had  a  manly  stamp.  Vice 
was  more  prominent  than  general,  however.  Deceived 
by  the  all-absorbing  loudness  of  its  aspect  and  outcry, 
writers  are  led  to  exaggerate  the  extent.  On  the 


248  SOCIETY. 

other  hand,  the  sudden  abundance  of  means  exploded 
economic  habits  in  general,  and  the  prevalence  of  high 
prices  and  speculative  ideas,  together  with  the  absence 
of  restraining  family  ties,  did  not  tend  to  promote 
prudence. 

In  this  short,  spirited  race  between  representatives 
of  all  nationalities  and  classes,  save  the  very  poor  and 
the  rich,  all  started  under  certain  primitive  conditions, 
unfettered  by  traditional  and  conventional  forms,  yet 
assisted  by  the  training  and  resources  derived  from 
their  respective  cultures.  Some  aimed  short-sightedly 
only  for  the  nearest  golden  stake,  and  this  gained,  a 
few  retired  contented;  most  of  them,  however,  con 
tinued  in  pursuit  of  ever-flitting  visions.  Others,  with 
more  forethought  and  enterprise,  enlisted  wider  agen 
cies,  organization,  machinery,  and  for  a  greater  goal ; 
and  seizing  other  opportunities  by  the  way,  they  mul 
tiplied  the  chances  of  success  in  different  directions. 
While  accustomed  to  subdue  the  wilderness,  Yankee 
character  and  institutions  have  here  demonstrated 
their  versatility  and  adaptiveness  under  somewhat 
different  conditions,  and  in  close  contest  with  those 
of  other  nationalities,  by  taking  the  decisive  lead  in 
evolving  from  magnificent  disorder  the  framework  for 
a  great  commonwealth,  the  progress  of  which  structure 
is  presented  in  the  succeeding  chapters.82 

82  For  fuller  and  additional  authorities  bearing  on  early  California  society, 
I  refer  to  Burnett's  Recoil,  of  Past,  MS.,  i.-ii.,  passim;  Bartlett's  Statement, 
MS.,  2-3,  7-9;  Barry  and  Pattens  Men  and  Mem.,  46,  61-92,  144-8,  223,  251, 
351;  Carson's  Early  Recoil,  21,  25-6,  29;  Janssen's  Vida  y  Av.,  198;  Arm 
strong's  '49  Experiences,  MS.,  8,  12;  Larkin's  Doc.,  vi.  41,  43,  51-2,  66,  144, 
172,  175,  195,  198;  vii.  92,  140,  206,  219,  231,  287,  338;  Clarke's  Statement, 
MS.,  1-2;  Hyde's  Hist.  Facts  on  Cat.,  MS.,  9-13;  Dow's  Vig.  Com.,  MS.,  2,  5; 
Davis'  Glimpses,  MS.,  265-78:  Farnham's  Cal,  22-7,  271^;  Fay's  Historical 
Facts,  MS.,  1-3,  10;  Fernandez,  Cal,  184,  189-92;  Annals  of  S.  F.,  passim; 
Du  Hailly,  in  Rev.  des  deux  Mondes,  Feb.  15,  1859,  932;  Bauer's  Statement, 
MS.,  2-3,  5;  Alger's  Young  Miner,  passim;  Bouton's  Cal.  Indians,  MS.;  Arch. 
Monterey  Co.,  xiv.  18;  Beadle's  Western  Wilds,  38;  Averill's  Life  in  Cal,  pas 
sim;  Bancroft's  Hand-book;  A  View  of  Cal.,  167;  Ariz.  Arch.,  iii.  297;  Antioch 
Ledger,  July  1,  1876;  Barstow's  Statement,  MS.,  1-4,  7-12;  Cal,  The  Digger's 
Hand-book,  7,  36-41,  49-54,  65-71;  Buffum's  Six  Montlis,  83-4,  117-18,  121, 
124;  Dutch  Flat  Enquirer,  Nov.  26,  1864;  Farwell's  Vig.  Com.,  MS.,  5;  John 
son's  Cal  and  Ogn,  96-209,  236,  244;  Kelly's  Excursion,  ii.  244-9;  Schmiedell's 
Statement,  MS.,  4-6,  145-6;  Frisbie's  Reminisc.,  MS.,  36-7;  Garniss'  Early 
Days  of  S.  F.,  MS,,.,  8-23,  29-32;  Frinlc's  Vig.  Cow.,  MS.,  25;  Bluxome's  Vig. 
Com.,  MS.,  1,  5;  Gefstacker,  Kreutz  und  Quer;  Kip's  Cal  Slcetclies,  18-19; 
Lambertie,  Voy.  Pittoresque,  202-9;  Lett's  Cat.  Illust.,  48-55,  70-129;  Alameda 


AUTHORITIES.  249 

Reporter,  May  31,  1879;  Kanesv.,  Iowa,  Front  Guard,  May  16,  1849;  Feb.  -  , 
1850;  Polynesian,  iv.  102,  183,  207;  v.-vii.,  passim;  Merrills  Statement,  MS., 
2-6,  9-10;  Lavxoris  Autobiog.,  MS.,  11-17;  Currey's  Incidents,  M.S.,  4,  8;  Fre 
mont's  Year  Amer.  Travel,  66-8,  98-103,  112-13,  148;  Brook*  Four  Months, 
83,  201-2;  Doolittle's  Statement,  MS.,  21-2;  Drinkwater,  in  M iscel.  Statement*, 
1-2;  Gillespies  Vig.  Com.,  MS.,  1-6;  Carson  City  Trib.,  Sept.  23,  1879;  Chico 
Enterprise,  Aug.  8,  1879;  Bryant's  What  I  Saw  in  Col.,  427;  Schenck's  Vig. 
Com.,  MS.,  14,  16,  20,  22,  44-8;  Earll's  Statement,  MS.,  6,  8-10;  Cox's  Annals 
of  Trinity  Co.,  62-3;  Conway's  Early  Days  in  California,  MS.,  1-2;  Brewers 
jReminisc.,  MS.,  35-7;  Helpers  Land  of  Gold,  36-9,  47,  63-75,  82-4,  144,  158, 
167-9,  237-53;  Delano's  Life,  249-54,  289-90,  365;  Grimshaw's  Narrative,  MS., 
14;  Borthwick's  Three  Years  in  Cal,  46-67,  77,  83-5,  127,  151-4,  165-6,  289, 
334,  357-74;  Hancock's  Thirteen  Years,  MS.,  119-20;  Hall's  Hist.,  232;  Green's 
Life  and  Adv.,  MS.,  17,  19;  Guide  to  Cal.,  80-132,  157;  Kirkpatrick's  Journal, 
14-16;  Gold  Hill  News,  Nov.  29,  1867;  Geary,  in  Miscel.  Statements,  5;  Haw- 
leys  Observations,  MS.,  5,  9-10;  Boltvn  vs  U.  S.,  App.  to  Brief,  99-101;  Bing- 
ham,  in  Solano  Co.  Hist.,  333;  Damerons  Autobiog.,  22-3;  Hunt's  Merch.  Mag., 
xx.  458;  xxi.  136;  xxii.  696;  xxxi.  114,  386;  Los  Aug.  Star,  May  14,  1870; 
King'sReptonCal.,1,  215;  Hittell,  in  Dietz  Our  Boys,  166-8,  174-7,  179;  Brown's 
Statement,  MS.,  14;  Deans  Statement,  MS.,  1-2;  MarinCo.  Hist.,  121;  Masons 
Kept;  Masxett's  Exper.  of  a  '49er,  10;  Bennett,  in  Sawtelle's  Pioneers,  5;  Ward's 
Letter  of  Aug.  1,  1849,  in  New  York  Courier  and  Enquirer;  Nevada  Journal, 
Dec.  19,  1856;  Nevada  Gaz.,  May  2,  1864;  Sonora  Union  Dem.,  Sept.  29,  1877; 
Morse,  in  Direct.  Sac.,  1853-4,  5-10;  Berkeley  Advocate,  Dec.  25,  1879;  Cray's 
Vig.  Com.,  MS.,  1;  Costa  R.,  Ail.  and  Pac.  R.  R.,  7-16;  Hi'tbner's  Ramble 
around  the  World,  146;  New  West,  342;  Evans'  A  la  California,  226,  236,  272, 
359,  etc. ;  Dilke's  Greater  Britain,  209,  228-32;  Red  Bluff  Sentinel,  June  14, 
1873;  New  and  Old,  35,  37,  69;  McCollums  Cal  as  I  Saw  It,  33-6,  60-3;  Danas 
Two  Years,  432;  Nidever's  Life  and  Adv.,  MS.,  139;  Low's  Observations,  MS., 
4-7;  Hutchings'  Illust.  Cal.  Mag.,  i.  33,  78,  83,  215,  300,  416,  464;  ii.  401;  iii. 
60,  129,  210,  254;  v.  297,  334-7;  HoUnski,  La  Cal.,  108-10,  136;  Benton,  in 
Hayes'  Scraps,  Cal.  Notes,  v.  60;  Biglers  Diary,  MS.,  77-9;  S.  1.  Friend,  vi. 
16,  24,  32,  40,  48,  56,  64,  72,  80,  85,  88,  96;  .vii.  8,  15,  69,  74;  viii.  28,  95, 
etc.;  S.  I.  News,  ii.,  passim;  Morse's  Pion.  Exp.,  MS.,  7;  Colton's  Deck  and 
Port,  352,  386,  401;  Pioche  Journal,  June  4,  1875;  Pierce's  Rough  Sketch, 
MS.,  105-8,  111;  Coles  Vig.  Com.,  MS.,  3;  Mex.,  Revol.  Sta  Anna,  154;  Pan. 
Star,  Feb.  24,  1849;  Commerce  and  Navig.  Repts,  1850-67;  Overland  Monthly, 
xiv.  320,  327-8;  xv.  241-8,  etc.;  Nouv.  Annales,  1849,  3,  224;  Parson's  Life 
of  Marshall,  96,  99-103,  157;  Connor's  Early  Cal.,  MS.,  2;  Coast  Review,  Oct. 
1877,  377;  Oakland  Transcript,  March  1,  1873;  May  5,  1875;  March  25,  July 
14,  1877;  Monterey  Herald,  Feb.  13,  1875;  Le  National,  Oct.  4,  1869;  Russian 
River  Flag,  Jan.  9,  1873;  Morse's  Statement,  MS.;  Henshaw's  Hist.  Events,  MS., 
1-2,  7-8;  Hesperian,  ii.  10,  492,  494;  Rednitz,  Reise,  106;  Olneys  Vig.  Com., 
MS.,  1-3;  Ventura  Free  Press,  Sept.  29,  1877;  Mining  and  Scientific  Press, 
Aug.  3,  1878;  Lyon  Co.,  Nev.,  Times,  March  24,  1877;  San  Diego  Arch.,  331; 
San  Diego  Herald,  Dec.  5,  1874;  Frignet,  La  Cal.,  83,  94,  117,  121-2,  135; 
Foster's  Gold  Regions,  passim;  Cerruti's  Rambhngs,  25-7,  50,  67;  Clemens' 
Roughing  It,  410,'  417,  444;  Home  Missionary,  xxii.  92-3,  163-7,  186;  xxiii. 
208-9;  xxvii.  159-60;  London  Quart.  Rev.,  Jan.  1881,  45-6;  Pion.  Mag.,  i. 
174;  ii.  80;  iii.  80-1,  147;  iv.  314;  Player- Frowd's  Six  Months  in  Cal,  22-3; 
Placerville  Republ,  July  19,  1877;  Coke's  Rid*,  354-7;  Pion.  Arch.,  29-31;  S. 
F.  Occident,  March  5,  1874;  S.  F.  News  Letter,  Jan.  17,  1874;  S.  F.  Excltange, 
Jan.  13,  1876;  Elite  Directory,  1879,  11-19;  S.  F.  Golden  Era,  March  8,  1874; 
Jan.  26,  1878;  S.  F.  Chronicle,  July  6,  1878;  June  4,  1879;  Oct.  3,  31,  1880; 
S.  F.  Call,  Jan.  6,  28,  March  1,  Aug.  23,  1865;  Sept.  1,  1866;  Aug.  1,  1867, 
etc.;  San  Jose  Pioneer,  Aug.  4,  Dec.  1,  14,  1877;  Feb.  16,  May  4,  July  27, 
1878;  Aug.  16,  1879;  Hist.  San  Jose,  209-16;  San  Joaquin  Co.  Hist.,  21,  23, 
34-5;  S.  F.  Times,  Jan.  12,  1867;  S.  F.  Town  Talk,  Apr.  10,  1857;  S.  F.  Post, 
Apr.  3,  1875;  Feb.  10,  1876;  July  27,  Nov.  1,  23,  1878;  Chamberlain's  State 
ment,  MS.,  1;  Cousin's  Statement,  MS.,  5-7,  10-18;  Hist.  Doc.  Cal,  1-508; 
Olympia  Standard,  July  22,  1876;  Sargent,  in  Nevada  Grass  Val.  Direct., 
1856,  29-31;  Sta  Cruz  Sentinel,  Feb.  20,  1875;  Sta  Cruz  Times,  March  12, 


250  SOCIETY 

1870;  ROM'  Narrative,  MS.,  12,  15-18;  Roach's  Hist.  Facts,  MS.,  3;  Modesto 
Herald,  Feb.  14,  1878;  Ricltardson's  Mining  Exper.,  MS.,  10-11,  27-30;  Mel 
bourne  Morn.  Herald,  March  29,  1849;  Hist,  of  Los  Ang.,  73-4;  Lloyd's  Lights 
and  Shades,  18-21,  513-16;  Robinsons  Cal.  and  its  Gold  Regions,  10,  105,  214; 
Capron's  Hist.  Cal.,  125-6,  129,  146,  165,  220,  233;  Roach's  Statement,  MS., 
2-3,  9;  Campbell's  Circular  Notes,  i.  98-129;  Revue  des  Deux  Mondes,  Feb.  1, 

1849,  475;  Miscellany,  ix.,  pt.  i.  77;  McDaniels'  Early  Days,  MS.,  6,  49-50; 
Sac.  Union,  Dec.  16,  1854;  Sept.  1,  1855;  March  13-15,  Apr.  4,  May  21,  June 
26,  Sept.  16,  Dec.  25,  26,  31,  1856;  Sept.  14,  1858;  Sept.  4,  1865,  etc.;  Sac. 
Bee,  June  12,  1874;  Sac.   Wkly  Bee,  Aug.  16,  1879;  Shasta  Courier,  March  25, 
1865;  Shaw's  Golden  Dreams,  37-42,  47,   179-83;  Catholic   World,  795,  807; 
Cal,  Pop.  and  Col.  Scraps,  126-7;  Sayward's  Pioneer  Remin.,  MS.,  4,  29-33; 
Ryan's  Pers.  Adv.,  ii.   170-220,  250-7,  265-6;  Id.,  Judges  and  Grim.,  80-2; 
Cal.  Pilgrim,  54,  136;  S.   F.  Bulletin,  Jan.   2,  March  29,  Apr.  1,  July  7,  8, 
Aug.  5,  Sept.  15,  20,  25,  Nov.  27,  Dec.  4,  1856;  Sept.  27, 1862;  Feb.  28,  Oct. 
28,    1865;   Apr.    30,   1866;   Jan.  23,  25,  1867,  etc.;   Cal,  Pion.    Celebrations 
Scraps,  8-10;  Id.,  Polit.  Scraps,  123;  Cal  Archives,  Unbound  Doc.,  20,  55,  56, 
58,  59,  64-7,  224-6,  228,  319-20,  322-3,  328-9;  Cal,  Advent,  of  a  Captain's 
Wife,  18,  20,  27-8,  41-2;  Cal  Past  and  Present,  107-9,  149-50,  159-60,  163; 
Sacramento  Illust.,  8,  12-13;  The  World  Over,  92-110;  The  Mines,  Miners,  etc., 
790-1;   Thomas,  in  Sac.  Direct.,  1871,  52-3,  76,  1034;   McCabe's  Our  Coun 
try,   1054-6;   Mayne's  Br.  Columbia,   157,   163;   The   World  Here  and  There, 
14-27;  Matthewsons  Statement,  MS.,  2-3;  Sutton's  Early  Exper.,  MS.,  passim; 
Stockton  Indep.,  Aug.   31,   1878;  July  28,  1879;  Soules  Statement,  MS.,  2,  4; 
ElSonorense,  May  2,  1849,  p.  4;  La  Armonia  Social  (Guadalajara),  March  2, 
1849;  Miller's  Songs  of  the  Sierras,  69,  70,  280;  Solano  Press,  Dec.   11,  1867; 
Solano  Co.  Hist.,  164;    Wilmington  Enterprise,  Jan.  21,   1875;  Tuthill's  Hist. 
Cal,  passim;    Vanderbilt,  in  Miscel  Statements,  32,  35;  Shuck's  Repres.  Men  of 
S.  F.,  936-7;  Shinn's  Mining  Camps,  137;    Virginia,  Nev.,  Chron.,  May  21, 
1877;  Sac.  Record,   March  6,  1875;  Tinkham's  Hist.  Stockton,  166-75;  Sher 
wood's  Pocket  Guide,  64-5;  London  Times,  July  25,  1850;  Little's  Statement, 
MS.,  3,  11,  16;  Upham's  Notes,  221-2,  225-6,  265-72;  Mrs  Tibbey,  in  Miscel 
Statements,  19-20;  Tiffany's  Pocket  Exch.   Guide,  16,   124-6;  Tyler's  Mormon 
Battalion,  242-334;  Taylor's  Oregonians,  MS.,   1-2;  Id.,  Spec.  Press,  11$,  50, 
57i  500-3;  Id.,  Eldorado,  i.-ii.,  passim;  Id.,  Cal.  Life  Illust.,  164-7,  190-4; 
Crosby's  Events  in  Cal,  MS.,  10-17,  22-3,  25,  38-9,  46;  Torres,  Perip.,  62,  99- 
100,  109,  112,  145;  La  Motte's  Statement,  MS.,  1;  Ryckman's  Vig.  Com.,  MS.; 
Van  Dyke's  Statement,  MS.,  3;    Voorhies  Oration,  1853,  4-5;  Vinton's  Quarter 
master's  Rept  U.  S.  A.,  1850,  245-S;  Cal  In  and  Out,  254,  344,  360;    Ver 
Mehr's  Checkered  Life,  344,  367-8;  Todd,  in  Miscel.  Statement,  21;   Watkin's 
Vig.   Com.,  MS.,    1,  24;    Vallejo  Wkly  Chron.,  July  26,  1873;   Velasco,  Son., 
325;  Soc.  Mex.  Geog.,  Bolet.,  xi.  129;   Vallejo,  Col  Doc.,  xxxv.  47,  148,  192; 
Willey's  Thirty  Years,  MS.,  37,  39;  Id.,  Personal  Memoranda,  MS.,  127-8; 
Wheaton's  Statement,  MS.,  2-4;  U.  S.  Govt  Doc.,  31st  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  H.  Ex. 
17,  pp.  693,  845,  968-9;  Yuba  Co.  History,  147;   Wilmington  Enterprise,  Jan.  21, 
1875;   Williams'  Stateme.nt,  MS.,  3-14;  Id.,  Rec.  of  Early  Days,  MS.,  1-13;  Id., 
Pion.  Pastorate,  44-8;  Carson  State  Register,  Oct.  19,  1871;  Upton,  in  Overland 
Mthly,  ii.   135-7;   Winans'  Statement,  MS.,  3-6,  14-18;   Turrill's   Cal  Note*, 
22-7;  Shirley,  in  Miscel  Statements,  13-16;    Woods'  Pion.    Work,  17-18;  Id., 
Sixteen  Months,  46,  62,  68,  72,  74-6,  87,  148,  167;  Cal,  Statutes,  1850  et  seq.; 
Id.,  Journal  House,  1850,  p.  1344;  Id.,  Journ.  Sen.,  1850,  pp.  481,  1299,  1307, 
1340,  and  index;  1851,  pp.  921-4,  999,   1516-34,  1583,   1658-76;  S.  F.  Alta 
Cal,  Jan.  25,  June  5,  14,  Aug.  2,  Dec.   15,  1849;  Jan.  14,  16,  May  27,  June 
25,  July  1,  Dec.  19,  21,  24,  1850;  1851-2,  passim,  etc.;  S.  F.  Daily  Herald, 

1850,  passim;  Feb.  19,  Sept.  30,  1851;  Apr.  7,  1852;  Neall's  Vig.  Com.,  MS., 
3-5,  14-16,  23-8;  S.  F.  Minutes  Assembly,   1849,  passim;  Id.,  Mumcs  Rept, 
1859-60,  pp.  167-8;  1861-2,  pp.  259-60;  1866-7,  p.  520;  Id.,  Manuel,  pp.  ix.- 
xvi.;  Sac.  Transcript,  Apr.  26,  May  29,  June  29,  Sept.  18,  30,  Oct.  14,  Nov. 
14,  29,  1850;  Jan.  14,  May  15,  1851;  Hittell's  Hist.  S.  F.,  passim;  S.  F.  Paci 
fic  News,  Nov. -Dec.   1849,  passim;  1850,  passim;  Jan.  1,  10,  21,  23,  Feb.  7, 
14,  Apr.  11,  1851;  Parker's  S.  F.  Direct.,  1852-3,  7-18;  Kimball'sS.  F.  Direct., 
1850,  124-30;  Sac.,  Placer  Times,  May  5,  12,  19,  26,  June  2,  30,  1849,  passim. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

POLITICAL  HISTORY. 
1846-1849. 

THE  SLAVERY  QUESTION  BEFORE  CONGRESS — INACTION  AND  DELAY — MILITARY 
RULE  IN  CALIFORNIA — MEXICAN  FORMS  OF  CIVIL  AND  JUDICIAL  GOVERN 
MENT  MAINTAINED  —  FEDERAL  OFFICIALS  IN  CALIFORNIA  —  GOVERNOR 
MASON — PRANKS  OF  T.  BUTLER  KING — GOVERNOR  RILEY — LEGISLATIVE 
ASSEMBLY — CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION  AT  MONTEREY— SOME  BIOGRA 
PHIES — PERSONNEL  OF  THE  CONVENTION — MONEY  MATTERS — ADOPTION 
OF  THE  CONSTITUTION — ELECTION. 

IN  the  anthem  of  human  progress  there  is  here  and 
there  a  chorus  of  events  which  rolls  its  magnificent 
volume  around  the  world,  making  all  that  went  before 
or  that  follows  seem  but  the  drowsy  murmur  of  the 
night.  In  this  crash  of  chorus  we  regard  not  the  in 
struments  nor  the  players,  but  are  lifted  from  the 
plane  by  the  blended  power  of  its  thousand-stringed 
eloquence,  and  under  the  spell  of  its  mighty  harmonies 
become  capable  of  those  great  emotions  which  lead 
to  heroic  deeds.  The  political  history  of  California 
opens  as  such  a  chorus,  whose  mingling  strains,  dis 
tinctive  heard  for  more  than  a  decade,  come  from  a 
few  heavy -brained  white  men  and  four  millions  of  negro 
slaves. 

Calhoun,  the  great  yet  sinister  Carolinian,  knew, 
when  he  opposed  the  conquest  of  California,  that  the 
south,  and  he  more  than  all,  had  brought  about  the 
event;1  and  while  pretending  not  to  desire  more  ter- 

1  Benton,  in  the  congressional  debates  of  1847,  in  which  Calhoun  opposed 
the  acquisition  of  more  territory,  and  into  which  he  introduced  his  firebrand 
resolutions — see  Cong.  Globe,  1846-7,  p.  455 — made  a  clear  case  against  Cal 
houn,  showing  unequivocally  that  either  he  had  three  times  changed  his 

(251) 


252  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

ritory,  the  slave  power  was  covertly  grasping  at  the 
Spanish-speaking  countries  beyond  the  Rio  Grande, 

policy,  or  that  he  was  the  Machaivelli  of  American  politics.  Benton's  history 
of  the  causes  of  the  war  was  as  follows:  'The  cession  of  Texas  is  the  begin 
ning  point  in  the  chain  of  causes  which  have  led  to  this  war;  for  unless  the 
country  had  been  ceded  away  there  could  have  been  no  quarrel  with  any 
power  in  getting  it  back.  For  a  long  time  the  negotiator  of  that  treaty  of 
cession  [Mr  J.  Q.  Adams]  bore  all  the  blame  of  the  loss  of  Texas,  and  his 
motives  for  giving  it  away  were  set  down  to  hostility  to  the  south  and  west, 
and  a  desire  to  clip  the  wings  of  the  slave-holding  states.  At  last  the  truth 
of  history  has  vindicated  itself,  and  has  shown  who  was  the  true  author  of 
that  mischief  to  the  south  and  west.  Mr  Adams  has  made  a  public  declara 
tion,  which  no  one  controverts,  that  that  cession  was  made  in  conformity  to 
the  decision  of  Mr  Monroe's  cabinet,  a  majority  of  which  was  slave-holding, 
and  among  them  the  present  senator  from  South  Carolina  [Mr  Calhoun],  and, 
now  the  only  survivor  of  that  majority.  He  does  not  contradict  the  state 
ment  of  Mr  Adams;  he  therefore  stands  admitted  the  co-author  of  the  mis 
chief  to  the  south  and  west  which  the  cession  of  Texas  involved,  and  to 
escape  from  which  it  became  necessary,  in  the  opinion  of  the  senator  from 
South  Carolina,  to  get  back  Texas  at  the  expense  of  a  war  with  Mexico.  This 
conduct  of  the  senator  in  giving  away  Texas  when  we  had  her,  and  then 
making  war  to  get  her  back,  is  an  enigma  which  he  has  never  yet  conde 
scended  to  explain,  and  which  until  explained  leaves  him  in  a  state  of  self- 
contradiction,  which,  whether  it  impairs  his  own  confidence  in  himself  or 
not,  must  have  the  effect  of  destroying  the  confidence  of  others  in  him,  and 
wholly  disqualifies  him  for  the  office  of  champion  of  the  slave-holding  states. 
It  was  the  heaviest  blow  they  had  ever  received,  and  put  an  end,  in  conjunc 
tion  with  the  Missouri  compromise  and  the  permanent  location  of  the  In 
dians  west  of  the  Mississippi,  to  their  future  growth  or  extension  as  slave 
states  beyond  the  Mississippi.  The  [Missouri]  compromise,  which  was  then 
in  full  progress,  and  established  at  the  next  session  of  congress,  cut  off  the 
slave  states  from  all  territory  north  and  west  of  Missouri,  and  south  of  SGg0 
of  north  latitude;  the  treaty  of  1819  ceded  nearly  all  south  of  that  degree, 
comprehending  not  only  Texas,  but  a  large  part  of  the  valley  of  the  Missis 
sippi  on  the  Red  River  and  the  Arkansas,  to  a  foreign  power,  and  brought  a 
noii-slave-holding  empire  to  the  confines  of  Louisiana  and  Arkansas;  the  per 
manent  appropriation  of  the  rest  of  the  territory  for  the  abode  of  civilized  In 
dians  swept  the  little  slave-holding  territory  west  of  Arkansas,  and  lying 
between  the  compromise  line  and  the  cession  line,  and  left  the  slave  states 
without  one  inch  of  ground  for  their  future  growth.  Even  the  then  territory 
of  Arkansas  was  encroached  upon.  A  breadth  of  40  miles  wide  and  300  long 
was  cut  off  from  her  and  given  to  the  Cherokees;  and  there  was  not  as  much 
territory  left  west  of  the  Mississippi  as  a  dove  could  have  rested  the  sole  of  her 
foot  upon.  It  was  not  merely  a  curtailment  but  a  total  extinction  of  slave- 
holding  territory;  and  done  at  a  time  when  the  Missouri  controversy  was 
raging,  and  every  effort  made  by  northern  abolitionists  to  scop  the  growth  of 
the  slave  states.  [The  northern  states,  in  1824,  gave  nearly  as  large  a  vote 
for  Calhoun  for  vice-president  as  they  did  for  Adams  for  president.]  The 
senator  from  South  Carolina,  in  his  support  of  the  cession  of  Texas,  and  ced 
ing  a  part  of  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  was  then  the  most  efficient  ally 
of  the  restrictionists  at  that  time,  and  deprives  him  of  the  right  of  setting  up 
as  the  champion  of  the  slave  states  now.  I  denounced  the  sacrifice  of  Texas 
then,  believing  Mr  Adams  to  have  been  the  author  of  it;  I  denounce  it  now, 
knowing  the  senator  from  South  Carolina  to  be  its  author;  and  for  this,  his 
flagrant  recreancy  to  the  slave  interest  in  their  hour  of  utmost  peril,  I  hold 
him  disqualified  for  the  office  of  champion  of  the  14  slave  states,  and  shall 
certainly  require  him  to  keep  out  of  Missouri  and  to  confine  himself  to  his 
own  bailiwick  when  he  comes  to  discuss  his  string  of  resolutions.  I  come 


SLAVE  TERRITORY.  253 

as  it  had  at  the  lands  beyond  the  Sabine,  the  whole 
to  become  a  breeding-ground  for  millions  more  of 

now  to  the  direct  proofs  of  the  authorship  of  the  war,  and  begin  with  the 
year  1836,  and  with  the  month  of  May  of  that  year,  and  with  the  27th  day 
of  that  month,  and  with  the  first  rumors  of  the  victory  of  San  Jacinto.  The 
congress  of  the  United  States  was  then  in  session;  the  senator  from  South 
Carolina  was  then  a  member  of  this  body;  and  without  even  waiting  for  the 
official  confirmation  of  the  great  event,  he  proposed  at  once  the  immediate 
recognition  of  the  independence  of  Texas,  and  her  immediate  admission  to 
the  union.  He  put  the  two  propositions  together — recognition  and  admission. 
. . .  Mr  Calhoun  was  of  opinion  that  it  would  add  more  strength  to  the  cause 
of  Texas  to  wait  a  few  days  until  they  received  official  confirmation  of  the 
victory  and  capture  of  Santa  Ana,  in  order  to  obtain  a  more  unanimous  vote 

in  favor  of  the  recognition  of  Texas He  had  made  up  his  mind,  not  only 

to  recognize  the  independence  of  Texas,  but  for  her  admission  into  this  union; 
and  if  the  Texans  managed  their  affairs  prudently,  they  would  soon  be  called 
upon  to  decide  that  question.  There  were  powerful  reasons  why  Texas  should 
be  a  part  of  the  union.  The  southern  states,  owning  a  slave  population,  were 
deeply  interested  in  preventing  that  country  from  having  the  power  to  annoy 
them;  and  the  navigating  and  manufacturing  interests  of  the  north  and  east 
were  equally  interested  in  making  it  a  part  of  this  union.  He  thought  they 
would  soon  be  called  on  to  decide  these  questions;  and  when  they  did  act  on 
it,  he  was  for  acting  on  both  together — for  recognizing  the  independence  of 
Texas  and  for  admitting  her  into  the  union ....  He  hoped  there  would  be  no 
unnecessary  delay,  for  in  such  cases  delays  were  dangerous;  but  that  they 
would  act  with  unanimity  and  act  promptly.  Here,  then,  is  the  proof  that 
ten  years  ago,  and  without  a  word  of  explanation  with  Mexico  or  any  request 
from  Texas — without  the  least  notice  to  the  American  people,  or  time  for 
deliberating  among  ourselves,  or  any  regard  to  existing  commerce — he  was 
for  plunging  us  into  instant  war  with  Mexico.  I  say,  instant  war;  for  Mex 
ico  and  Texas  were  then  in  open  war;  and  to  incorporate  Texas  was  to  incor 
porate  the  war  at  the  same  time I  well  remember  the  senator's  look  and 

attitude  on  that  occasion — the  fixedness  of  his  look  and  the  magisteriality  of 
his  attitude.  It  was  such  as  he  often  favors  us  with,  especially  when  he  is  in 
a  crisis,  and  brings  forward  something  which  ought  to  be  instantly  and  unani 
mously  rejected,  as  when  he  brought  in  his  string  of  abstractions  on  Thurs 
day  last.  So  it  was  in  1836 — prompt  and  unanimous  action,  and  a  look  to 
put  down  opposition.  But  the  senate  were  not  looked  down  in  1836.  They 

promptly  and  unanimously  refused  the  senator's  motion The  congress  of 

1836  would  not  admit  Texas.  The  senator  from  South  Carolina  became 
patient;  the  Texas  question  went  to  sleep,  and  for  seven  good  years  it  made 
no  disturbance.  It  then  woke  up,  and  with  a  suddenness  and  violence  pro 
portioned  to  its  long  repose.  Mr  Tyler  was  then  president;  the  senator  from 
South  Carolina  was  potent  under  his  administration,  and  soon  became  his 
secretary  of  state.  All  the  springs  of  intrigue  and  diplomacy  were  imme 
diately  set  in  motion  to  resuscitate  the  Texas  question,  and  to  reinvest  it  with 
all  the  dangers  and  alarms  which  it  had  worn  in  1836 ...  all  these  imme 
diately  developed  themselves,  and  intriguing  agents  traversed  earth  and  sea, 
from  Washington  to  Texas,  and  from  London  to  Mexico. '  I  will  now  give  a 
part  of  a  letter,  which  Benton  puts  in  evidence,  from  the  Texan  minister, 
van  Zandt,  to  Upsher,  the  American  sec.  of  state,  in  Jan.  1844,  and  the 
reply  of  Calhoun,  his  successor,  in  April.  '  In  view,  then,  of  these  things, ' 
said  the  Texan  minister,  '  I  desire  to  submit,  through  you,  to  his  excellency, 
the  president  of  the  U.  S.,  this  inquiry:  Should  the  president  of  Texas 
accede  to  the  proposition  of  annexation,  would  the  president  of  the  U.  S., 
after  the  signing  of  the  treaty  and  before  it  shall  be  ratified  and  receive  the 
final  action  of  the  other  branches  of  both  governments,  in  case  Texas  should 
desire  it,  or  with  her  consent,  order  such  number  of  the  military  and  naval 


254  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

human  chattels.  To  the  original  slave  territory  had 
been  added,  by  consent  of  congress,  the  Floridas,  which 
cost  $45,000,000  in  a  war,  and  $5,000,000  decency 
money  to  bind  the  bargain;  Louisiana,  which  cost 
$15,000,000,  or  as  much  of  it  as  made  three  states; 
Texas,  which  cost  $28,000,000  in  the  form  of  the 
Mexican  war,  and  before  we  were  done  with  it,  be 
tween  $18,000,000  and  $19,000,000  in  decency  money. 
That  the  government  was  able  to  reimburse  itself 
through  the  conquest  of  California  does  not  affect  the 
justice  of  the  charge  against  the  southern  politicians, 
who  were  always  ready  with  their  cry  of  northern 
aggression,2  and  the  unconstitutional ity  of  northern 
acts,  while  gathering  to  themselves  all  the  acquired  ter- 

forces  of  the  U.  S.  to  such  necessary  points  or  places  upon  the  territory  or 
borders  of  Texas  or  the  gulf  of  Mexico  as  shall  be  sufficient  to  protect  her 
against  foreign  aggression  ?  This  communication,  as  well  as  the  reply  which 
you  may  make,  will  be  considered  by  me  entirely  confidential,  and  not  to  be  em 
braced  in  my  regular  official  correspondence  to  my  government,  but  enclosed 
direct  to  the  president  of. Texas  for  his  information.'  To  this  letter  Upsher 
made  no  reply,  and  six  weeks  afterward  he  died.  His  temporary  successor, 
Attorney-general  Nelson,  did  reply  indirectly,  but  to  say  that  the  U.  S.  could 
not  employ  its  army  and  navy  against  a  foreign  power  with  which  they  were 
at  peace.  Calhoun,  however,  when  he  became  sec.  of  state,  wrote:  'I  am 
directed  by  the  president  to  say  that  the  secretary  of  the  navy  has  been  in 
structed  to  order  a  strong  naval  force  to  concentrate  in  the  gulf  of  Mexico 
to  meet  any  emergency;  and  that  similar  orders  have  been  issued  by  the  sec 
retary  of  war,  to  move  the  disposable  military  forces  on  our  southern  fron 
tier  for  the  same  purpose.'  Cong.  Globe,  1846-7,  494-501.  I  have  not  room 
for  further  quotations,  but  this  is  enough  to  show  the  southern  authenticity 
of  the  Mexican  war,  which  the  democratic  administration  of  Polk  brought 
to  a  crisis  in  1845-6,  but  which  was  ready  prepared  to  his  hand  at  the  moment 
of  his  inauguration,  by  the  scheming  of  the  most  bitter  opponent  of  conquest 
— after  the  restriction  of  slavery  began  again  to  be  agitated. 

2  No  more  convincing  reference  could  be  made  to  prove  the  conciliatory 
spirit  of  the  free  states  than  the  constitution  itself,  nor  to  show  that  they  re 
garded  slavery  as  local  and  temporary.  Section  9  of  article  1  declares :  '  The 
migration  or  importation  of  such  persons  as  any  of  the  states  now  existing 
shall  think  proper  to  admit  shall  not  be  prohibited  by  the  congress  previous 
to  the  year  1808,  but  a  tax  or  duty  may  be  imposed  on  such  importation,  not 
exceeding  ten  dollars  for  each  person.'  The  slave  states  were  fewer  in  num 
ber  and  more  thinly  settled  than  the  free  states;  therefore  the  latter,  to  equalize 
the  power  of  the  two  sections,  and  secure  the  federation  of  all  the  states,  made 
important  concessions;  and  while  saying  that '  no  capitation  or  direct  tax  shall 
be  laid,  unless  in  proportion  to  the  census  or  enumeration  hereinbefore  di 
rected  to  be  taken,'  and  that  representation  should  be  determined  by  numbers, 
says  further,  '  which  shall  be  determined  by  adding  to  the  whole  number  of 
free  persons,  including  those  bound  to  service  for  a  term  of  years,  and  ex 
cluding  Indians  not  taxed,  three  fifths  of  all  other  persons, '  meaning  three 
fifths  of  the  slaves  in  the  slave  states,  which  were  not  subject  to  taxation, 
though  held  as  property,  and  though  not  acknowledged  to  be  men,  were 
represented  in  congress.  See  sec.  1,  article  1,  of  the  constitution. 


CONQUEST  OF  CALIFORNIA.  255 

ritory,  enjoying  privileges  of  exemption  from  just  tax 
ation,  and  having  excessive  representation  in  congress 
and  a  preponderance  of  the  political  patronage  The 
north,  in  1846,  had  more  than  twice  the  free  voting 
population  of  the  south,  while  the  south  had  more 
states  than  the  north,3  consequently  more  votes  in  the 
United  States  senate,  with  the  privilege  of  a  prop 
erty  representation  in  the  lower  house.  Such  was 
the  aggressiveness  of  the  north  toward  the  south,  of 
which  for  a  dozen  years  we  heard  so  much  in  con 
gress.4 

It  was  said  in  seeming  earnest  that  the  south  had 
not  desired  the  acquisition  of  Mexican  territory.  This 
was  but  a  feint  on  the  part  of  the  southern  leaders. 
The  whigs  of  the  north  and  south,  in  the  senate,  op 
posed  the  war  policy,  while  the  democrats  favored  it. 
Nor  was  it  different  in  the  house  of  representatives. 
Yet  when  it  came  to  be  voted  upon,  the  matter  had 
gone  past  the  nation's  power  to  retract,  and  the  last 
$3,000,000  was  placed  in  the  president's  hands  by  a 
nearly  equal  vote  in  the  senate,  and  a  large  majority 
in  the  house.  Having  done  the  final  act,  the  people 
could  exult  in  their  new  possessions,  and  elect  a  whig 
to  the  presidency  for  having  been  the  conquering  hero 
in  the  decisive  Mexican  battles. 

The  conquest  of  California  had  been  a  trifling  mat- 

3  At  the  period  when  these  discussions  were  being  carried  on,  Feb.  1847, 
the  northern  or  free  states  were  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  Massa 
chusetts,  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania, 
Ohio,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Iowa,  and  Michigan,  14.  The  southern  or  slave 
states  were  Delaware,  Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina, 
Georgia,  Alabama,  Florida,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  Kentucky,  Tennessee, 
Missouri,  Arkansas,  and  Texas,  15.  In  August  Wisconsin  was  admitted, 
which  restored  the  balance  in  the  senate.  The  struggle  which  followed  over 
the  admission  of  California  was  a  battle  for  political  supremacy  as  well  as  for 
slave  territory.  That  this  cause  underlying  this  strife  has  been  removed,  the 
nation  should  be  profoundly  grateful. 

4Schenkof  Ohio,  speaking  to  the  house  of  representatives,  said:  'This 
much  we  do  know  in  the  free  states,  if  we  know  nothing  else,  that  a  man  at 
the  south  with  his  hundred  slaves  counts  61  in  the  weight  of  influence  and 
power  upon  this  floor,  while  the  man  at  the  north  with  his  100  farms  counts 
but  1.  Sir,  we  want  no  more  of  that;  and  with  the  help  of  God  and  our  own 
fir.ii  purpose  we  will  have  no  more  of  it.'  Cony.  Globe,  vol.  18,  1847-8,  1023. 


256  POLITICAL   HISTORY. 

ter,  mere  guerrilla  practice  between  a  few  hundred 
American  settlers  of  the  border  class  and  a  slightly 
larger  force  of  Californians.  At  the  proper  juncture 
the  former  were  given  aid  and  comfort  by  the  United 
States  military5  and  naval  forces,  and  the  conquest 
had  cost  little  bloodshed.  It  is  true,  there  was  a  re 
volt,  which  was  cut  short  by  the  treaty  of  Cahuenga 
in  January  1847  There  was  the  irony  of  fate  in 
what  followed  the  conquest,  first  planned  by  southern 
politicians,  and  accomplished  in  defiance  of  their  sub 
sequent  opposition  ;  namely,  the  contemporaneous  dis 
covery  of  gold,  and  the  influx  of  a  large  population, 
chiefly  from  the  northern  states.  As  to  the  real  Cali 
fornians,  those  of  them  who  had  not  been  masters  had 
once  been  slaves,  and  they  now  would  have  only  free 
dom. 

The  idea  of  conquest  in  the  American  mind  has 
never  been  associated  with  tyranny.6  On  the  con 
trary,  such  is  the  national  trust  in  its  own  superiority 
and  beneficence,  that  either  as  a  government  or  as 
individuals  we  have  believed  ourselves  bestowing  a 
precious  booft  upon  whomsoever  we  could  confer  in  a 
brotherly  spirit  our  institutions.  And  down  to  the 
present  time  the  other  nations  of  the  earth  have  not 
been  able  to  prove  us  far  in  the  wrong  in  indulging 
this  patriotic  self-esteem.  But  there  are  circum 
stances  which  obstruct  all  transitions  of  this  nature, 
and  temptations  which  being  yielded  to  by  individuals 
impart  an  odor  of  iniquity  to  governments  which  they 
have  not  justly  merited.  It  was  so  when  soldiers 

&  Prof.  Josiah  Royce,  of  Harvard  college,  by  philosophic  reasoning  as  well 
as  by  collateral  evidence,  arrives  at  similar  conclusions.  Study  of  American 
Character. 

6  Luis  G.  Cuevas,  sec.  of  interior  and  foreign  relations  of  Mexico,  in  his 
report  to  congress  of  5th  Jan.,  1849,  speaking  of  the  treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hi 
dalgo,  says  that  the  future  of  the  Californians  was  an  object  of  deep  solicitude 
to  the  govt  and  congress,  and  to  the  plenipotentiaries  of  Mexico,  '  and  the 
relative  stipulations  of  the  treaty,  and  the  measures  subsequently  taken  to 
diminish  their  misfortune,  make  evident  how  deep  is  the  feeling  caused  by 
the  separation  from  the  national  union  of  Mexicans,  those  so  worthy  of  pro 
tection,  and  of  marked  consideration.'  Mex.  Mem.  Relac.,  1849,  p.  14.  So 
far  as  the  Californians  were  concerned,  they  were  ripe  for  separation,  as  the 
secretary  must  have  known. 


MILITARY   RULE.  257 

of  the  Castilian  race,  under  the  seeming  authority  of 
the  Spanish  rulers  at  Madrid,  robbed  and  massacred 
the  native  races  of  this  continent,  notwithstanding  the 
mandate  not  to  commit  these  crimes  against  human 
ity.  It  is  so  to-day,  when  the  cry  is  daily  going  up 
against  our  Indian  policy,  which  thoughtfully  exam 
ined  in  the  light  of  history  is  in  some  respects  an 
enlightened  and  Christian  policy;  for  instead  of  reduc 
ing  the  savages  to  slavery  or  taxing  them  to  support 
the  government  of  the  invader,  it  simply  kills  them, 
the  few  survivors  being  supported  and  educated  at 
public  expense.  It  is  a  wise  policy,  a  humane  policy, 
but  in  the  hands  of  vile  politicians  and  their  creatures, 
it  results  in  acts  that  satisfy  Satan  most  of  all.  Still, 
if  certain  Americans,  being  possessed  of  the  souls  of 
sharks  rather  than  of  men,  contrived  by  the  aid  of 
laws  maleadministered  to  swallow  up  the  patrimony 
of  many  a  Juan  and  Ignacio  of  this  dolce  far  niente 
land,  it  cannot  be  said  that  the  United  States  was  an 
intelligent  party  to  the  scandal. 

When  Commodore  Sloat,  at  Monterey,  in  July 
1846,  proclaimed  California  free  from  Mexican  rule, 
and  a  territory  of  the  United  States,  he  exercised  no 
tyrannous  authority,  simply  informing  the  people  that 
until  the  United  States  should  erect  a  government 
they  would  be  under  the  authority  and  protection  of 
military  laws.7  He  assured  them  that  their  rights  of 
conscience,  of  property,  and  of  suffrage  should  be  re 
spected;  that  the  clergy  should  remain  in  possession  of 
the  churches ;  and  that  while  the  manufactures  of  the 
United  States  would  be  admitted  free  of  duty,  about 
one  fourth  of  the  former  rates  would  be  charged  on 
foreign  merchandise.  Should  any  not  wish  to  live 
under  the  new  government  as  citizens  of  it,  they  would 
be  afforded  every  facility  for  selling  their  property 
and  retiring  from  the  country.  Should  they  prefer  to 
remain,  in  order  that  the  peace  of  the  country  and 

Hist.  San  Jose,  148-50 
HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.    17 


258  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

the  course  of  justice  should  not  be  disturbed,  the  pre 
fects  of  districts  and  alcaldes8  of  municipalities  were 
to  retain  their  offices,  and  continue  the  exercise  of  the 
functions  pertaining  to  them  in  the  same  manner  as 
formerly.  Provisions  furnished  the  United  States 
officers  and  troops  should  be  fairly  purchased,  and  the 
holders  of  real  estate  should  have  their  titles  confirmed 
to  them.  Such  were  the  promises  and  intentions  of 
the  government,  reiterated  from  time  to  time  by  the 
military  governors. 

In  the  disquiet  incident  to  a  sudden  change  of  gov 
ernment,  it  happened  that  Americans  not  infrequently 
were  appointed  to  the  office  of  alcalde,  to  fill  vacancies 
occurring  through  these  disruptive  conditions.  Wal 
ter  Colton,  the  American  alcalde  at  Monterey,  exer 
cising  the  unlimited  authority  conferred  upon  him  by 
the  office,  impanelled  the  first  jury  ever  summoned  in 
Monterey,  September  4,  1846,  composed  one  third 

*Bidwell,  1841  to  1848,  MS.,  231.  The  district  of  Sonoma  was  bounded 
by  S.  F.  Bay,  the  ocean,  the  Oregon  line,  and  the  Sac.  River;  the  Sac.  dis 
trict,  the  territory  east  of  the  Sacramento,  and  north  and  east  of  the  San  Joa- 
quin;  and  so  on.  There  was  an  alcalde  wherever  there  was  a  settlement. 
Crosby's  Statement,  MS.,  16.  It  was  not  necessary  that  an  alcalde  should 
know  much  about  written  law  or  precedents.  In  both  civil  and  criminal 
suits  brought  before  him  his  decisions  were  final,  the  penalties  being  severe 
and  invariably  applied.  Burnett,  Recoil.,  MS.,  ii.  143.  The  punishment  of 
stealing,  the  most  common  crime,  was  for  Mexicans  a  fine,  and  for  Indians 
whipping.  The  Calif  ornians  had  no  penitentiary  system,  nor  work -houses. 
Colton,  who  was  appointed  by  Stockton  alcalde  of  Monterey,  July  28,  1846, 
introduced  compulsory  labor  for  criminals,  and  before  the  end  of  a  month  had 
8  Indians,  3  Calif ornians,  and  one  i,  'glishman  making  adobes,  all  sentenced 
for  stealing  horses  or  cattle.  Each  nuvt  make  53  adobes  per  day;  for  all  over 
that  number  they  were  paid  a  cent  a  piece,  the  total  of  their  weekly  earnings 
being  paid  every  Saturday  night.  A  captain  was  put  over  them,  chosen  from 
their  own  number,  and  no  other  guard  was  required.  Three  Years  in  Cal.,  41- 
2.  Colton  was  chaplain  on  board  the  ship  Congress  when  appointed.  He  held 
the  position  only  until  Sept.  15th,  when  he  returned  to  his  duties  on  board 
the  ship.  He  really  discharged  the  duties  of  prefect,  for,  he  says:  'It  devolved 
upon  me  duties  similar  to  those  of  a  mayor  of  one  of  our  cities,  without  any 
of  those  judicial  aids  which  he  enjoys.  It  involves  every  breach  of  the  peace, 
every  case  of  crime,  every  business  obligation,  and  every  disputed  land-title 
within  300  miles.  From  every  other  alcalde's  court  in  this  jurisdiction  there 
is  an  appeal  to  this,  and  none  from  this  to  any  higher  tribunal.  Such  an  ab 
solute  disposal  of  questions  affecting  property  and  personal  liberty  never 
ought  to  be  confided  to  one  man.  There  is  not  a  judge  on  any  bench  in  Eng 
land  or  the  United  States  whose  power  is  so  absolute  as  that  of  the  alcalde  of 
Monterey.'  Colton  held  under  a  military  commission,  succeeding  the  purser 
of  the  Congress,  R.  M.  Price,  and  the  surgeon,  Edward  Gilchrist.  After  the 
15th  of  Sept.  the  office  was  restored  to  its  civil  status,  the  incumbent  being 
elected  by  the  people. 


ALCALDE  JUSTICE.  259 

each  of  native  Californians,  Mexicans,  and  Americans. 
The  case  being  an  important  one,  involving  property 
on  one  side  and  character  on  the  other,  and  the  dis 
putants  being  some  of  the  principal  citizens  of  the 
county,  it  excited  unusual  interest,  to  which  being 
added  the  novel  excitement  of  the  new  mode  of  trial, 
there  was  created  a  profound  impression.  By  means 
of  interpreters,  and  with  the  help  of  experienced 
lawyers,  the  case  was  carefully  examined,  and  a  ver 
dict  rendered  by  the  jury  of  mixed  nationalities,  which 
was  accepted  as  justice  by  both  sides,  though  neither 
party  completely  triumphed.  One  recovered  his  prop 
erty  which  had  been  taken  by  mistake,  and  the  other 
his  character  which  had  been  slandered  by  design.9 
With  this  verdict  the  inhabitants  expressed  satisfac 
tion,  because  they  could  see  in  the  method  pursued  no 
opportunity  for  bribery  They  had  yet  to  learn  that 
even  juries  could  be  purchased. 

Stockton,  who  succeeded  Sloat,  acted  toward  the 
Californian  population  in  the  same  conciliatory  spirit. 
The  strife  in  1847  was  not  between  them  and  the  mili 
tary  authorities,  but  between  the  military  chiefs,  who 
each  aspired  to  be  the  first  to  establish  a  civil  govern 
ment  in  the  conquered  country,  as  I  have  shown  in  a 
previous  volume.10  Kearny  claimed  that  he  had  been 
instructed  by  the  secretary  of  war  to  march  from 
Mexico  to  California,  and  to  "take  possession  "of  all  the 
sea-coast  and  other  towns,  and  establish  civil  govern 
ment  therein.  When  he  arrived,  possession  had  al 
ready  been  taken,  and  a  certain  form  of  government, 
half  civil  and  half  military,  had  been  put  in  operation. 
Stockton  had  determined  upon  Fremont  as  military 
commander  and  governor,  who  was  to  report  to  him 
as  commander-in-chief.  Kearny  would  have  made 
Fremont  governor  had  he  joined  him  against  Stockton. 
On  January  19,  1847,  Fremont  assumed  the  civil  gov 
ernment,  with  William  H.  Russell  secretary  of  state, 

'Cotton's  Three  Years  in  Cal.,  47. 
19 Hist.  Cal.,  v.  444-51,  this  series. 


260  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

under  commissions  from  Stockton.  A  legislative 
council  was  appointed,  consisting  of  Juan  Bandini, 
Juan  B.  Alvarado,  David  Spence,  Eliab  Grimes,  San 
tiago  Arguello,  M.  G.  Vallejo,  and  T.  O.  Larkin, 
summoned  to  convene  at  Los  Angeles,  March  1st;  but 
no  meeting  was  ever  held.  Finally,  the  authorities 
at  Washington  ordered  Fremont  to  return  to  the  capi 
tal  as  soon  as  his  military  services  could  be  dispensed 
with.  There  was  a  new  naval  commander  in  January, 
Shubrick,  who  sided  with  Kearny.  Together  they 
issued  a  circular,  in  which  Kearny  assumed  executive 
powers,  fixing  the  capital  at  Monterey.  The  country 
was  to  be  held  simply  as  a  conquest,  and  as  nearly  as 
possible  under  the  old  laws,  until  such  time  as  the 
United  States  should  provide  a  territorial  government. 
In  June,  Kearny  set  out  for  Washington  with  Fre 
mont.  In  July,  Stockton  also  took  his  departure.  The 
person  left  in  command  of  the  land  forces,  and  to  act 
as  governor,  was  R.  B.  Mason,  colonel  1st  dragoons, 
who,  perceiving  the  rock  upon  which  his  predecessors 
had  split,  confined  his  ambition  to  compliance  with 
instructions,  and  who  ruled  as  acceptably  as  was  pos 
sible  under  the  anomalous  condition  of  affairs  in  the 
country. 

In  October,  Governor  Mason  visited  San  Francisco, 
where  he  found  a  newly  elected  town  council.  On 
taking  leave,  after  a  flattering  reception,  he  addressed 
a  communication  to  the  council,11  reminding  them  that 
their  jurisdiction  was  limited  to  the  territory  embraced 
by  the  town  limits,  which  the  alcalde12  was  directed  to 

11  The  council  consisted  of  William  Glover,  William  D.  M.  Howard,  Wil 
liam  A.  Leidesdorff,  E.  P.  Jones,  Robert  A.  Parker,  and  William  S.  Clark. 
Howard,  Jones,  and  Clark  were  chosen  a  committee  to  draught  a  code  of  muni 
cipal  laws.     Under  these  regulations  George  Hyde  was  first  alcalde,  and  was 
not  popular.     The  second  alcalde,  for  there  were  two,  was  T.  M.  Leavenworth. 
Leidesdorff  was  nominated  town  treasurer,  and  William  Pettet  secretary  of 
the  council.     At  the  same  meeting  the  council  imposed  a  fine  of  $500,  and  3 
months'  imprisonment  on  any  one  who  enticed  a  sailor  to  desert,  or  who  har 
bored  deserting  seamen.     Certain  odious  conditions  in  the  titles  to  town  lots 
were  removed. 

12  Washington  A.  Bartlett,  a  lieutenant  attached  to  a  U.  S.  vessel,  was 
the  first  American  alcalde  of  S.  F.,  appointed  in  Jan.  1847,  and  responsible 
for  the  restoration  of  name  from  Yerba  Buena  to  the  more  sonorous,  well- 


CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION.  261 

determine  without  unnecessary  delay ;  that  their  duties 
were  prospective,  not  retrospective;  warning  them 
against  abrogating  contracts  made  by  previous  author 
ities,  further  than  to  exercise  the  right  of  appeal  in 
the  case  of  injurious  regulations,  and  advising  the 
council  to  keep  the  municipality  free  from  debt.  Three 
petitions  being  presented  to  him  for  the  removal  of  the 
then  alcalde,  he  ordered  an  investigation  of  the  charges, 
which  resulted  in  the  resignation  of  that  officer  and 
the  appointment  of  another  in  his  place.  Having 
settled  these  affairs,  Mason  returned  to  Monterey; 
and  from  the  proceedings  here  hinted  at  may  be  in 
ferred  how  rapidly,  even  at  this  date,  the  country  was 
becoming  Americanized,  the  best  evidence  of  which 
was  the  freedom  with  which  the  existing  institutions 
were  assailed  by  the  press,  represented  by  two  weekly 
newspapers,  both  published  at  San  Francisco. 

As  early  as  February  13,  1847,  the  California  Star 
urged  the  calling  of  a  convention  to  form  a  constitu 
tion  for  the  territory,  justifying  the  demand  by  rail 
ing  at  the  existing  order  of  things.  The  author  of 
these  tirades  was  Doctor  Semple,  of  whom  I  shall 
have  more  to  say  hereafter,  and  whom  Colton  calls 
his  "tall  partner."  "We  have  alcaldes,"  he  said,  "all 
over  the  country,  assuming  the  power  of  legislatures, 
issuing  and  promulgating  their  bandos,  laws,  and  orders, 
and  oppressing  the  people."  He  declared  that  the 
"most  nefarious  scheming,  trickery,  and  speculating 
have  been  practised  by  some."  He  spoke  propheti 
cally  of  what  was  still  in  the  future  rather  than  of 

known,  and  saintly  appellation  which  it  now  bears.  It  had  at  this  time  300 
inhabitants,  50  adobe  houses,  and  a  weekly  newspaper,  the  California  Star, 
owned  by  Sam  Brannan  and  edited  by  E.  P.  Jones.  In  May  the  Californian, 
started  at  Monterey  Aug.  15,  1846,  was  removed  to  S.  F.  During  Bartlett's 
administration  Jasper  O'Farrell  surveyed  and  planned  the  city.  Some  dis 
satisfaction  existed  with  the  grants  made  by  his  successor,  Hyde,  who  was 
appointed  Feb.  22,  1847.  He  was  succeeded  by  Edwin  Bryant,  author  of 
What  I  Saw  in  California,  who  returned  to  the  states  with  Kearny  and  Fre 
mont.  Hyde  was  again  appointed,  and  was  succeeded,  as  I  have  said,  by  J. 
Townsend,  T.  M.  Leavenworth,  and  J.  W.  Geary,  the  last  alcalde  and  first 
mayor  of  S.  F. 


262  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

anything  of  which  complaint  had  been  made  at  that 
time.  Before  the  end  of  the  year,  however,  causes 
of  dissatisfaction  had  multiplied  with  the  population,13 
and  the  "inefficient  mongrel  military  rule"  was  becom 
ing  odious.  Some  of  the  alcaldes  refused  to  take  cogni 
zance  of  cases  involving  over  $100;  but  the  governor 
failing  to  provide  higher  tribunals,  they  were  forced 
to  adjudicate  in  any  amount  or  leave  such  cases  with 
out  remedy;  and  the  authority  they  exercised,  which 
combined  the  executive,  legislative,  and  judicial  func 
tions  in  their  persons,  constantly  became  more  poten 
tial,  and  also  more  liable  to  abuse.  But  there  was  no 
help  for  the  condition  of  public  affairs  until  the  United 
States  and  Mexico  should  agree  upon  some  treaty 
terms  by  which  military  rule  could  be  suspended  and 
a  civil  government  erected. 

The  year  1848  opened  with  the  discovery  that  the 
territory  acquired  by  the  merest  show  of  arms,  and 
for  which  the  conquering  power  was  offering  to  pay  a 
friendship-token  of  nearly  twenty  millions,  was  a  gold- 
field,  which  promised  to  reimburse  the  purchaser.  It 
had  hardly  become  known  in  California,  and  was  un 
known  in  Mexico  and  the  United  States,  when  on 
the  2d  of  February,  1848,  the  treaty  of  Guadalupe 
Hidalgo  was  signed;14  nor  was  it  fully  substantiated 
at  the  seat  of  government  when,  on  the  19th  of  June, 
the  treaty  was  proclaimed  by  the  president.  The 
news  did  not  reach  California  until  August,  when  it 
was  here  proclaimed  on  the  7th  of  that  month. 

Mason  seems  to  have  been  at  his  wit's  end  long 
before  this.  He  was  undoubtedly  favorable  to  the 
project  of  a  civil  government,  and  he  was  aware  that 
the  administration  secretly  held  the  same  views.  Polk 
understood  the  American  people — they  had  given  him 
a  precedent  in  Oregon.  When  Mason  had  reason  to 
think  that  any  day  he  might  receive  despatches  from 
Washington  appointing  a  governor,  and  furnishing  a 

13  California  Star,  Jan.  22,  1848. 

14  Hist.  Hex.,  v.  542,  this  series. 


AFFAIRS  AT  SAN  FRANCISCO.  263 

code  of  laws  for  the  temporary  government  of  the 
country,  he  drew  back  from  the  responsibility.  But 
the  rush  and  roar  of  the  tide  being  turned  upon  the 
country  by  the  gold  discovery  staggered  him.  In 
June  he  visited  the  mines  to  judge  for  himself  of  the 
necessity  for  political  action.15  When  he  issued  his 
proclamation  of  the  treaty  two  months  later,  he  an 
nounced  that  he  had  instructions  from  Washington 
"  to  take  proper  measures  for  the  permanent  occupa 
tion  of  the  newly  acquired  territory;"16  and  in  conso 
nance  with  this  declaration  he  formally  promulgated 
a  code,  printed  in  English  and  Spanish.17  With  this 
the  American  population  were  not  satisfied,  insisting 
on  a  complete  territorial  organization,  such  as  he  had 
no  authority  to  establish.18 

San  Francisco  was,  unlike  Monterey,  Los  Angeles, 
and  San  Jose,  to  all  intents  an  American  town,  whose 
inhabitants  demanded  security  for  their  persons  and 
property,  and  titles  to  their  real  estate.  But  this  was 
by  no  means  the  sole  or  most  urgent  cause  of  anxiety 
to  the  governor.19  Early  in  the  spring  there  had  ar- 

^Larlcin,  Doc.,  vi.  135. 

16  Californian,  S.  F.,  Sept.  2,  1848,  iv.,  p.  1. 

17 Id.,  Aug.  14,  1848,  iii.  2. 

18  Hyde,  Statement,  MS.,  11. 

19  The  Americans,  Mason  knew,  could  take  care  of  themselves.     They  had 
already  organized  the  San  Francisco  guards.     A  meeting  was  held  Sept.  2d 
in  the  public  building  on  Portsmouth  square.     It  was  called  to  order  t>y  P. 
A.  Roach;  J.  C.  Ward  was  appointed  chairman,  and  R.  M.  Morrison  secty. 
Officers  elected:  Edward  Gilbert,  captain;  James  C.  Ward,  1st  lieut;  James 
C.  Leighton,  2d  lieut;  William  Grove,  3d  lieut;  W.  D.  M.  Howard,  1st  sergt., 
A.  J.  Ellis,  2d  sergt;  George  W.  Whittock,  3d  sergt;  James  Lee,  4th  sergt; 
corporals,  Francis  Murray,  A.  Durkin,  Daniel  Leahy,  Ira  Blanchard;  surgeon, 
W.  C.  Parker;  quartermaster,  E.  H.  Harrison;  paymaster,  R.  M.  Sherman. 
Civil  officers  of  the  corps  selected  were,  prest,  T.  R.  P.  Lee;  1st  vice-prest, 
James  Creightonj  2d  vice-prest,   R.   M.   Morrison;  treasurer,   A.   A.  Brins- 
made;   secty,  H.  L.   Sheldon.     A  committee  was  appointed  to  address  thi 

fovernor,  asking  for  a  loan  of  arms.  Californian,  S.  F.,  Sept.  9,  1848,  iii.,  p. 
.  On  the  24th  of  Sept.,  1849,  bids  were  received  by  the  Guards  for  tho 
erection  of  a  building  on  the  corner  of  Jackson  and  Dupont  sts,  40x55  ft,  3 
stories  high.  The  contract  was  given  to  John  Sime  at  $21,000.  Such  a 
building  would  be  worth  in  1878  about  $2,500.  Williams'  Statement,  MS.,  10^ 
11.  A  branch  organization  was  formed  at  Sac.  in  1850,  called  the  Sacramento 
guards,  having  64  members.  The  officers  were  David  McDowell,  capt. ; 
Henry  Hale,  1st  lieut;  W.  H.  Crowell,  2d  lieut;  James  Queen,  3d  lieut; 
sergts,  1st,  H.  G.  Langley;  2d,  B.  B.  Gore;  3d,  C.  C.  Flagg;  4th,  W.  H.  Tal- 
mage;  corporals,  L.  I.  Wilder,  G.  L.  Hewitt,  T.  H.  Borden,  W.  E.  Moody; 
clerk,  W.  R.  McCracken.  Sac.  Transcript,  Aug.  30,  1850;  Bluxvme,  MS., 
6,  20. 


264  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

rived  a  number  of  vessels  with  troops,  despatched  to 
California  in  the  autumn  of  1849,  while  the  Mexican 
war  was  in  progress.20  Such  were  the  temptations 
offered  by  the  gold  mines  that  the  seamen  deserted, 
leaving  their  vessels  without  men  to  navigate  them. 
The  newly  arrived  soldiers  did  the  same,21  and  it  was 
found  necessary  to  grant  furloughs  to  the  men,  to  give 
them  an  opportunity  to  try  their  fortunes  in  gold-get 
ting.22 

On  the  arrival  of  Commodore  T.  Ap  Catesby  Jones, 
in  October,  he  felt  compelled  to  offer  immunity  from 
punishment  to  such  deserters  from  the  navy  as  were 
guilty  of  no  other  offence  than  desertion.  This  clem 
ency  was  based  upon  the  information,  real  or  pre 
tended,  that  many  of  them  were  in  distress,23  and 
deterred  from  returning  to  duty  only  by  their  fears ; 
but  the  majority  of  seamen  were  by  no  means  eager 
to  forsake  the  mines  for  the  forecastle,  or  the  chances 
of  a  fortune  for  a  few  dollars  a  month  and  rations.  In 
August,  Mason  wrote  to  the  quartermaster-general  of 
the  army  that,  in  consequence  of  the  quantity  of  gold 
obtained  in  the  country,  cash — meaning  silver  coin — 
was  in  great  demand,  and  that  drafts  could  not  be 
negotiated  except  at  a  ruinous  discount.  At  the  same 
time,  disbursements  were  heavy,  in  consequence  of 
the  small  garrisons,  and  the  necessity  of  hiring  laborers 
and  guards  for  the  quartermaster  storehouses,  at 
''tremendous  wages;"  namely,  from  $50  to  $100 
monthly.24 

20  There  was  the  Anita,  purchased  by  the  govt  for  the  quartermaster's 
dept,  and  placed  under  past  midshipman  Selim  E.  Woodworth,  who  it  will 
be  remembered  arrived  overland  with  the  Oregon  immigration  the  previous 
year.     She  is  mentioned  in  the  California  Star,  Feb.  26,  1848.     She  was  armed 
with  two  guns,  to  be  used  as  a  man-of-war  on  the  upper  California  coast,  and 
manned  with  seamen  from  the  sloop-of-war  Warren  at  Monterey.     The  ships 
Jsabella  and  Sweden  arrived  in  Feb.  with  recruits  for  N.  Y.  vols.,  who  were 
employed  in  garrisoning  the  Cal.  military  posts.     The  Huntress  arrived  later 
with  recruits,  who  nearly  all  deserted.  H.  Ex.  Doc.,  31,  i.,  no.  17,  pp.  648-9. 

21  The  history  of  the  arrival  in  Cal.  of  Comp.  F,  3d  artillery,  Jan.  1847, 
the  N.  Y.  volunteers  in  March  1847  and  Feb.  1848,  and  a  battalion  of  dra 
goons  from  Mexico  in  Aug.  1848,  is  given  in  my  Hist.  Cal.,  v.,  ch.  xix. 

22  Lancy,  Cruise  of  the  Dale,  222;  Grimshaw,  Narr.,  MS.,  12-13. 

23  Calif ornian,  S.  F.,  Dec.  23,  1848. 

24  H.  Ex.  Doc.,  17,  p.  641.     See  order  of  A.  A.  Adjut.  W.  T.  Sherman 


ATTITUDE  OF  THE  ARMY.  265 

It  was  indeed  a  difficult  position  to  occupy,  that  of 
chief  in  a  country  where  the  forts  were  without  sol 
diers,  ordnance  without  troops  enough  to  guard  it, 
towns  without  able-bodied  men  left  in  them;  a  colonial 
territory  without  laws  or  legislators,  or  communication 
with  the  home  government,  or  even  with  the  navy, 
for  many  months.  "The  army  officers,"  writes  one  of 
them,  "could  have  seized  the  large  amount  of  funds  in 
their  hands,  levied  heavily  on  the  country,  and  been 
living  comfortably  in  New  York  for  the  last  year,  and 
not  a  soul  at  Washington  be  the  wiser  or  worse  for  it. 
Indeed,  such  is  the  ease  with  which  power  can  go  un 
checked  and  crime  unpunished  in  this  region,  that  it 
will  be  hard  for  the  officers  to  resist  temptation ;  for  a 
salary  here  is  certain  poverty  and  debt,  unless  one 
makes  up  by  big  hauls."  That  temptations  were  not 
yielded  to  under  these  circumstances25  redounds  to  the 
honorable  repute  of  disbursing  officers  and  collectors 
of  the  special  war  tax  known  afterward  as  the  civil 
fund. 

This  was  a  duty  levied  on  imports  by  the  United 
States  authorities  in  California  during  the  military 
occupation  of  and  previous  to  the  extension  of  custom 
house  laws  over  the  country,26  and  amounted  in  1849 
to  $600,000.  The  custodian  of  this  fund  in  1848  at 
San  Francisco  was  Assistant  Quartermaster  Captain 
J.  L.  Folsom,  who  was  under  no  bonds,  and  account- 
relative  to  purchasing  or  receiving  arms,  clothing,  etc.,  from  deserters,  in 
California  Star,  June  14,  1848. 

25  Reference  to  the  Cal.  Star  and  CaUfornian  of  Dec.  9  and  16,  1848,  reveals 
the  fact  that  Gov.  Mason  and  his  adjutant,  Sherman,  were  driven  by  inade 
quate  salaries  to  attempt  some  unofficial  operations  to  eke  out  a  living. 
Charles  E.  Pickett,  who,  whether  he  was  on  the  banks  of  the  Willamette,  the 
shores  of  S.  F.  Bay,  or  among  the  peaks  of  the  Sierra,  was  always  critic-in-chief 
of  the  community  afflicted  with  his  presence,  was  the  author  of  charges 
against  these  officers,  and  against  Capt.  Folsom,  which  had  their  foundation 
in  these  efforts.  Sherman  tells  us  in  his  Memoirs,  64-5,  that  Mason  never 
speculated,  although  urged  to  do  so;  but  '  did  take  a  share  in  the  store  which 
Warner,  Bestor,  and  I  opened  at  Coloma,  paid  his  share  of  the  capital,  $500, 
and  received  his  share  of  the  profits,  $1,500.  I  think  he  also  took  a  share  in 
a  venture  to  China  with  Lark  in  and  others;  but  on  leaving  Cal.  was  glad  to 
sell  out  without  profit  or  loss.'  Com.  Jones  was  convicted  in  1851  of  specu 
lating  in  gold-dust  with  govt  funds,  and  sentenced  to  suspension  from  the 
navy  for  5  years,  with  loss  of  pay  for  half  that  time. 

™Gwin,  Memoirs,  MS.,  40,  111;  Crosby,  Events  in  Cal,  MS.,  43. 


266  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

able  to  no  one  except  his  commanding  officer.  He 
was,  in  fact,  collecting  duties  from  American  importers 
as  if  he  were  the  servant  of  a  foreign  power,  whereas 
he  was,  in  that  capacity,  the  servant  of  no  power  at 
all,  there  being  no  government  existing  in  California 
after  the  30th  of  May,  1848.  The  fund,  however, 
proved  a  very  convenient  treasury  to  fall  back  upon 
during  the  no-government  period,  as  we  shall  see  here 
after.27 

Notwithstanding  the  treaty,  the  opinion  was  preva 
lent  that  congress  would  fail  to  establish  a  territorial 
government,  it  being  well  understood  that  the  question 
of  slavery  would  obstruct  the  passage  of  a  territorial 
bill ,  but  the  difficulties  already  referred  to,  with  the 
necessity  for  mining  laws  and  an  alarming  increase  in 
crime,  furnished  sufficient  ground  on  which  the  agi 
tators  might  reasonably  demand  an  organization,  or  at 
least  a  governor  and  council,  which  they  insisted  that 
Mason,  as  commander  of  the  United  States  forces,  had 
the  power  to  appoint.  But  Mason  knew  that  while 
the  president  would  willingly  enough  have  conferred 
on  him  this  power,  had  he  himself  possessed  it,  with 
out  the  consent  of  congress,  no  such  authority  existed 
anywhere  out  of  congress ;  and  what  the  president  could 
not  do,  he  could  not  undertake.  The  agitators  were 
thus  compelled  to  wait  to  hear  what  action  had  been 
taken  by  congress  before  proceeding  to  take  affairs  in 
their  own  hands. 

The  subject  received  a  fresh  impetus  by  the  arrival 
in  November  of  Commodore  Jones,  with  whom  Mason 
had  a  conference.  It  was  agreed  between  them  that 

27  There  was  no  system  of  direct  taxation  existing  in  California  before  it 
become  a  state  of  the  union.  The  only  revenue  Mexico  derived  from  it  was 
that  produced  by  a  high  tariff  on  imports.  The  '  military  contributions, '  as 
the  U  S  govt  was  pleased  to  denominate  this  revenue,  diverted  to  itself, 
have  been  the  subject  of  much  discussion.  Dr  Robert  Semple,  in  an  article  in 
the  Calif ornian  of  Oct  21,  1848,  states  that  there  was  no  show  of  right  to  col 
lect  this  tariff  after  the  war  had  ceased,  but  that  the  ports,  coasts,  bays,  and 
rivers  of  Upper  California  were  '  as  free  as  the  island  of  Juan  Fernandez, '  in 
point  of  fact,  until  the  revenue  laws  of  the  U.  S.  were  extended  over  them. 
But  the  collection  went  on,  and  the  American  shipping-masters  and  mer 
chants  paid  it 


TIRESOME  WAITING.  267 

should  congress  prove  to  have  adjourned  without  pro 
viding  a  government  for  California,  the  people  should 
be  assisted  to  organize  a  temporary  constitution  for 
themselves,28  and  Mason  was  understood  as  promising 
to  turn  over  to  the  provisional  government  the  civil 
service  fund,  above  alluded  to,29  for  its  expenses. 

Time  passed,  and  the  last  vessel  on  which  any  com 
munications  from  Washington  could  be  hoped  for  had 
arrived,  while  the  agitators  openly  declared  that  the 
government  evidently  intended  that  they,  its  military 
officers,  should  have  taken  the  responsibility  of  making 
matters  easy  for  the  people  in  the  establishment  of  a 
civil  organization,  the  inference  being,  that  they  were 
exercising  unjustifiable  power  in  impeding  it.  An 
agent  was,  however,  actually  on  his  way  at  that  mo 
ment,  who  was  commissioned  to  observe  and  report 
upon  the  character  and  disposition  of  the  inhabitants, 
with  a  view  to  determining  whether  it  were  wise  or 
not  to  encourage  political  movements  in  California,  in 
the  event  of  the  struggle  in  congress  over  slavery  be 
ing  prolonged.  The  letter  of  instructions  furnished  to 
this  agent30  by  Secretary  Buchanan  contained,  indeed, 
no  such  admission.  On  the  contrary,  after  expressing 
the  regrets  of  the  president  that  California  had  not 
received  a  territorial  government,  the  secretary  "  ur 
gently  advised  the  people  of  California  to  live  peace 
ably  and  quietly  under  the  existing  government," 
consoling  themselves  with  the  reflection  that  it  would 
endure  but  for  a  few  months,  or  until  the  next  session 
of  congress.  But  to  live  peaceably  and  quietly  under 
the  government  de  facto,  half  Mexican  and  half  mili- 

28  Calif 'onian,  S   F.,  Oct.  21,  1848;  TutMl,  Hist.  Cal,  247. 

^Unbound  Doc.,  MS.,  140-1;  Star  and  Califorman,  Nov.  18,  1848. 

so  William  V.  Voorhies  was  the  agent  employed  by  the  postmaster-general 
to  make  arrangements  for  the  establishing  of  post-offices,  and  for  the  trans 
mission,  receipt,  and  conveyance  of  letters  in  Oregon  and  California. '  To  him 
was  intrusted  the  secretary's  open  message  to  the  people  of  Cal.,  and  such 
instructions  as  concerned  more  private  matters.  Buchanan's  letter  recog 
nizing  the  govt  left  at  the  termination  of  the  war  as  still  existing  and  valid, 
when  not  in  contradiction  to  the  constitution  of  the  U.  S.,  is  found  in  Amer. 
Quart.  Rey.,  iv.  510-13;  and  in  Ex.  Doc.,  i.,  accompanying  the  president's 
message  at  the  2d  sess.  of  the  30th  cong. 


268  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

tary,  was  what  they  had  decided  they  were  unable 
to  do.  Before  the  message  arrived  they  had  begun  to 
act  upon  their  own  convictions,  and  were  not  likely  to 
be  turned  back.31  Meantime,  to  the  population  already 

31  Proofs  of  this  were  not  lacking.  Mrs  Hetty  C.  Brown  of  S.  F.,  having 
been  deserted  by  her  husband,  applied  to  the  governor  for  a  divorce  in  Dec. 
1847.  He  decided  that  neither  he  nor  any  alcalde  had  the  authority  to  grant 
a  divorce;  but  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  there  being  no  law  in  Cal.  on  the 
subject  of  divorce,  and  she  being  left  without  any  support,  she  might  view 
her  husband  as  dead,  so  far  as  she  was  concerned.  Unbound  Doc.,  MS.,  137. 
Continual  complaints  were  made  of  the  alcaldes.  Pickett  wrote  to  Gen. 
Kearny,  in  March  1849,  that  John  H.  Nash,  alcalde  at  Sonoma,  was  ignorant, 
conceited,  and  dogmatical,  and  governed  by  whims;  he  was  also  under  the 
influence  of  a  pettifogger  named  Green.  The  unrestricted  powers  assumed 
by  these  magistrates  were  laying  the  foundations  for  much  litigation  in  the 
future  when  their  decisions  would  be  appealed  from.  J.  S.  Ruckel  wrote  to 
the  gov.  Dec.  28th  on  the  affairs  of  the  pueblo  of  San  Jose"  that  '  matters  which 
were  originally  bad  are  growing  worse  and  worse — large,  portions  of  the  popu 
lation  lazy  and  addicted  to  gambling  have  no  visible  means  of  livelihood,  and 
of  course  must  support  themselves  by  stealing  cattle  or  horses ....  Wanted, 
an  alcalde  who  is  not  afraid  to  do  his  duty,  and  who  knows  what  his  duty  is. ' 
On  the  other  hand,  there  were  complaints  that  Monterey  was  frequently  visited 
by  '  American  desperadoes,  who  committed  assaults  on  the  native  population, 
and  defied  the  authorities.  They  were  at  last  put  down;  some  were  shot  on 
the  spot,  and  some  were  afterwards  disposed  of  by  lynch  law. '  Roach,  Facts, 
on  California,  MS.,  5.  Charles  White,  alcalde  of  San  Jose,  wrote  to  Gov. 
Mason  in  March  1848,  that  he  had  received  information  of  60  men  organizing, 
and  daily  receiving  recruits,  who  had  constant  comnrinication  with  volun 
teers  in  the  service,  who  had  in  view  to  soon  attack  the  prison  at  Monterey 
and  release  the  prisoners.  '  They  also  have  formed  the  plan  of  establishing 
an  independent  government  in  California.  They  are  well  armed;  the  good 
people  of  the  country  standing  in  fear  of  exposing  these  people,  lest  they 
might  be  killed  in  revenge.'  Unbound  Doc.,  MS.,  169.  Immigrants  had  taken 
possession  of  the  missions  of  San  Jose  and  Santa  Clara,  injured  the  buildings, 
and  destroyed  the  vineyards  and  orchards,  having  no  respect  to  any  part  of 
them  except  the  churches.  At  the  same  time  wild  Indians  were  making  or 
ganized  and  successful  raids  on  the  stock  belonging  to  Americans  and  immi 
grants,  and  were  aided  by  the  mission  Indians.  W.  G.  Dana  writing  from 
San  Luis  Obispo  in  June  1847,  complained  that  'society  was  reduced  to  the 
most  horrid  state.  The  whole  place  has  for  a  long  time  past  been  a  complete 
sink  of  drunkenness  and  debauchery. '  Murders  were  also  reported  by  the 
alcalde.  Affairs  were  a  little  less  deplorable  at  the  more  southern  missions, 
where  lawless  persons,  both  native  and  foreign,  committed  depredations  on 
mission  property  everywhere.  In  July  1848  a  meeting  was  held  at  S.  F.  to 
consider  the  question  of  currency,  and  a  committee  consisting  of  W.  D.  M. 
Howard,  C.  V.  Gillespie,  and  James  C.  Ward  presented  to  Gov.  Mason  the 
following  resolutions:  1st.  That  the  gov'r  be  petitioned  to  appoint  one  or 
more  assayers  to  test  the  quality  of  the  gold  taken  from  the  placers  on  the 
Sacramento.  2d.  That  the  gov'r  he  asked  to  extend  the  time  allowed  for 
the  redemption  of  the  gold-dust,  deposited  as  collateral  security  for  payment 
of  duties,  to  6  months,  so  as  to  allow  time  for  the  importation  of  coined  money 
into  the  country  for  that  purpose.  3d.  That  the  gov'r  be  requested  to  ap 
point  a  competent  person  to  superintend  the  conversion  of  gold  into  ingots  of 
convenient  weights,  the  same  to  be  stamped  with  the  name  of  the  person  fur 
nishing  the  gold  to  be  cast;  the  weight,  and  if  possible,  its  fineness,  in  refer 
ence  to  standard;  the  said  officer  to  keep  a  record  of  all  the  gold  cast,  the 
expense  of  casting  to  be  defrayed  by  the  person  furnishing  the  raw  material. 


DETERMINED  ACTION.  209 

in  the  country  were  added  a  company  of  miners  from 
the  "state  of  Deseret,"  and  several  companies  from  the 
province  of  Oregon.  These  were  all  men  who  had 
supported  independent  governments;  some  of  them 
had  assisted  in  forming  one,  and  regarded  themselves 
as  experienced  in  state-craft.  There  was  also  consid 
erable  overland  immigration  in  the  autumn. 

The  murder  in  the  mining  district  of  Mr  Pomeroyand 
a  companion  in  November,  for  the  gold-dust  they  car 
ried,  furnished  the  occasion  seized  upon  by  the  Star  and 
Calif omian  of  renewing  the  agitation  for  a  civil  govern 
ment.  Meetings  were  held  December  11,  1 8  4  8 ,  at  San 
Jose;  December  21st,  at  San  Francisco;  and  at  Sacra 
mento  on  the  6th  and  8th  of  January,  1849.32  The  San 

Last  resolution  not  carried.  4th.  Appointment  of  a  committee  to  petition 
congress  to  establish  a  mint  in  this  town — the  petition  to  be  circulated  in  the 
Sacramento  Valley  and  elsewhere  for  signatures.  The  said  committee  to 
consist  of  C.  V.  Gillespie,  James  C.  Ward,  W.  D.  M.  Howard,  and  Capt. 
Joseph  L.  Folsom,  U.  S.  A.  M.,  136-7. 

32  The  meeting  was  held  at  the  alcalde's  office  in  San  Jose,  Charles  White 
in  the  chair;  James  Stokes,  Maj.  Thomas  Campbell,  Julius  Martin,  vice-prests; 
P.  B.  Cornwall,  William  L.  Beeles,  sees;  Capt.  K.  H.  Dimmick,  Ord,  Ben 
jamin  Cory,  Myron  Norton,  and  J.  D.  Hoppe  were  appointed  a  committee  to 
frame  resolutions.  The  meeting  was  addressed  by  O.  C.  Pratt  of  111.  A  con 
vention  was  appointed  for  the  2d  Monday  in  Jan.,  and  Dimmick,  Cory,  and 
Hoppe  elected  delegates.  Star  and  Californian,  Dec.  23,  1848.  Reports  of 
these  meetings  are  contained  in  the  A  ltd  California,  then  published  by  Edward 
Gilbert,  Edward  Kemble,  and  George  C.  Hubbard,  and  supporting  the  provis 
ional  govt  movement.  Of  the  Sac.  meetings  Peter  H.  Burnett,  who  had  been 
judge  and  legislator  in  Oregon,  and  helped  to  form  the  Oregon  laws,  was 
president.  The  vice-prests  were  Frank  Bates  and  M.  D.  Winship;  and  the 
sacs  Jeremiah  Sherwood  and  George  McKinstry.  A  committee  consisting 
of  Samuel  Brannan,  John  S.  Fowler,  John  Sinclair,  P.  B.  Reading,  and  Bar 
ton  Lee  was  appointed  to  frame  a  set  of  resolutions  which  should  express  the 
sense  of  the  meeting.  These  resolutions  recited  that  congress  had  not  ex 
tended  the  laws  of  the  U.  S.  over  the  country,  as  recommended  by  the  prest, 
but  had  left  it  without  protection;  that  the  frequency  of  robberies  and  mur 
ders  had  deeply  impressed  the  people  with  the  necessity  of  having  some  reg 
ular  form  of  government,  with  laws  and  officers  to  enforce  them;  that  the 
discovery  of  gold  would  attract  immigration  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  and 
add  to  the  existing  danger  and  confusion;  therefore,  that  trusting  to  the  govt 
and  people  of  the  U.  S.  for  sanction,  it  was  resolved  that  it  was  not  only 
proper  but  necessary  that  the  inhabitants  of  Cal.  should  form  a  provisional 
govt  and  administer  the  same;  and  that  while  lamenting  the  inactivity  of 
congress  in  their  behalf,  they  still  desired  to  manifest  their  confidence  in  and 
loyalty  to  the  U.  S.  rihe  proceedings  of  the  San  Jose  and  S.  F.  meetings 
were  concurred  in,  and  the  people  were  recommended  to  hold  meetings  and 
elect  delegates  to  represent  them  in  a  convention  to  be  held  March  Cth  at 
San  Jose  for  the  purpose  of  draughting  a  form  of  govt  to  be  submitted  to  the 
people  for  their  sanction.  A  meeting  was  appointed  to  take  place  on  the  15th 
to  elect  5  delegates  from  that  district  to  the  convention  at  San  Jose.  A  com 
mittee  was  chosen  by  the  prest  to  correspond  with  the  other  districts;  namely, 


270  POLITICAL  HISTORY 

Jose  meeting  recommended  that  the  convention  assem 
ble  at  that  place  on  the  second  Monday  of  January; 
the  San  Francisco  meeting,  that  the  convention  should 
assemble  on  the  5th  day  of  March;  but  on  the  24th 
of  January  the  corresponding  committee  of  San  Fran 
cisco  notified  a  postponement  of  the  convention  to  the 
6th  of  May.33  The  reasons  given  for  the  change  of 
date  were  the  inclemency  of  the  weather,  making  it 
difficult  to  communicate  with  the  southern  districts; 
and  recent  intelligence  from  the  United  States,  from 
which  it  appeared  probable  that  congress  would  organ 
ize  a  territorial  government  before  the  adjournment  of 
the  session  ending  March  4th.  A  month  being  al 
lowed  for  the  receipt  of  information,34  there  could  be  no 
further  objection  to  the  proposed  convention  should 
congress  again  disappoint  them.  All  these  circum 
stances  together  operated  to  defeat  the  movement  for 
a  convention.  The  Sacramento  delegates,  Charles  E. 
Pickett  and  John  Sinclair,  protested  against  a  change 
of  time,  but  the  majority  prevailed,  and  the  conven- 

Frank  Bates,  P.  B.  Reading,  and  John  S.  Fowler.  Frank  Bates,  Barton  Lee, 
and  Albert  Priest  were  appointed  judges  of  the  election  of  delegates.  A  res 
olution  was  offered  by  Sam  Brannan  that  the  delegates  be  instructed  to 
'  oppose  slavery  in  every  shape  and  form  in  the  territory  of  California,'  which 
was  adopted.  Burnett,  RecoLL,  295-8.  The  meeting  at  S.  F.  was  presided 
over  by  John  Townsend;  William  S.  Clark  and  J.  C.  Ward  were  chosen  vice- 
prests,  and  William  M.  Smith  and  S.  S.  Howison  sees.  The  committee  on 
resolutions  consisted  of  Edward  Gilbert,  George  Hyde,  B.  R.  Buckelew, 
Henry  A.  Schoolcraft,  Myron  Norton,  Henry  M.  Naglee,  and  James  Creigh- 
ton.  They  reported  on  the  23d,  and  their  resolutions  were  adopted.  Gilbert, 
Ward,  Hyde,  Toler,  and  Davis  were  appointed  judges  of  election.  Buckelew 
moved  that  duties  collected  at  all  ports  in  Cal.,  after  the  ratification  of  the 
treaty  of  peace  in  Aug.,  rightfully  belonged  to  Cal.;  and  furthermore,  that  as 
the  U.  S.  congress  had  not  provided  a  government  for  the  people  of  the  ter 
ritory,  '  such  duties  as  have  been  collected  since  the  disbandment  of  the  ex 
traordinary  military  force  justly  belongs  to  the  people  of  this  territory,  and 
should  be  claimed  for  our  benefit  by  the  govt  we  may  succeed  in  creating. ' 
Adopted  after  some  debate;  Gilbert,  Ward,  and  Hyde  were  appointed  corre 
sponding  committee.  Star  and  Californian,  Dec.  23,  1848. 

83  Alta  Calif brnia,  Jan.  24,  1849;  S.  F.  Minutes  Proceedinys  Legis.  Assem., 
etc.,  296  (no.  1,  in  8.  F.  Hist.  Inc.,  etc.).  Meetings  were  held  at  Santa  Cruz  and 
Monterey  to  elect  delegates  to  the  convention  in  May.  Santa  Cruz  delegates 
were  William  Blackburn,  J.  L.  Majors,  Eli  Moore,  John  Dobindiss,  J.  G.  S. 
Dunleavy,  Henry  Speal,  and  Juan  Gonzales.  Arch.  Sta  Cruz,  102.  Walter 
Colton  draughted  the  resolutions  for  the  Monterey  meeting.  Colton,  Three. 
Years,  393;  An.  S.  F.,  136;  Mendocino  Co.  Hist.,  269-319. 

34  The  ocean  mail  steamers  were  announced  to  commence  their  regular 
trips  between  Panama  and  California  and  Oregon  early  in  the  spring. 


SELF-GOVERNMENT.  271 

tion  was  finally  postponed  to  the  first  Monday  of 
August,35  when,  should  congress  not  then  have  created 
a  territorial  government  for  California,  there  should 
be  no  further  delay  in  organizing  a  provisional  gov 
ernment.  In  the  mean  time  event  crowded  on  the 
heels  of  event,  changing  the  purposes  of  the  people  as 
their  condition  changed. 

With  the  expiration  of  1848  expired  also  the  term 
of  the  town  council  of  San  Francisco  which  Mason 
had  authorized  in  August  of  the  previous  year.  By 
a  municipal  law,  an  election  for  their  successors  was 
held  on  the  27th  of  December,  when  seven  new  coun- 
cilmen  were  chosen.  The  former  council36  declared  the 
election  fraudulent  and  void,  and  ordered  a  new  one. 
A  majority  of  the  population  opposed  this  unwarrant 
able  assumption  of  power,  and  refused  to  attend,  but 
an  election  was  held  and  another  council  chosen. 
Until  the  15th  of  January,  when  the  old  council  voted 
itself  out  of  existence,  three  town  governments  were 
in  operation  at  the  same  time,  and  the  two  remaining 
ones  for  some  weeks  longer.  Wearied  and  exasper 
ated  by  the  confusion  in  their  affairs,  the  people  of 
San  Francisco  district  called  a  meeting  on  the  12th 
of  February,  at  which  it  was  resolved  to  elect  a  legis 
lative  assembly  of  fifteen  members,  who  should  be 
empowered  to  make  such  necessary  laws  "as  did  not 
conflict  with  the  constitution  of  the  United  States, 
nor  the  common  law  thereof."37  This  legislative  body 

35 This  postponement  was  made  in  a  communication  addressed  to  the  AUa 
Cal  of  March  22d,  signed  by  the  following  delegates:  W.  M.  Steuart, 
Myron  Norton,  Francis  J.  Lippitt,  from  S.  F.;  Charles  T.  Bolts,  Monterey; 
J.  D.  Stevenson,  Los  Angeles;  R.  Semple,  Benicia;  John  B.  Frisbie  and  M. 
G.  Vallejo,  Sonoma;  S.  Brannan,  J.  A.  Sutter,  Samuel  J.  Hensley,  and  P.  B. 
Reading,  from  Sac. 

36  Refer  to  note  11,  this  chapter,  for  names. 

37  M.  Norton  presided  at  the  meeting  of  the  12th,  and  T.  W.  Perkins  acted 
as  sec'y.     The  preamble  to  the  ordinances  established  by  the  meeting  recited 
that  'the  people  of  S.  F.,  perceiving  the  necessity  of  having  some  better  de 
fined  and  more  permanent  civil  regulations  for  our  general  security  than  the 
vague,  unlimited,  and  irresponsible  authority  that  now  exists,  do,  in  general 
convention  assembled,  hereby  establish  and  ordain. '     Then  follow  the  regu 
lations.  AUa  Cat.,  Feb.  15,  1849. 


272  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

also  appointed  an  election  of  three  justices  of  the  peace, 
abolished  the  office  of  alcalde,  his  books  and  papers 
being  ordered  to  be  resigned  to  one  of  the  justices; 
and  abolished  both  the  town  councils,  the  members 
being  commanded  to  send  their  resignations  to  a  com 
mittee  appointed  to  receive  them.38  The  election  of 
the  legislative  assembly  and  justices  was  ordered  for 
the  21st  of  the  month,  and  took  place;  but  as  there 
was  no  actual  power  in  the  legislature  to  enforce  its 
acts,  the  new  government  threatened  to  prove  as  pow 
erless  for  good  as  its  predecessor.  The  alcalde  Leav- 
enworth  refused  to  relinquish  the  town  records39  to 
the  chief  magistrate,  Norton,  as  directed ;  and  such  was 
the  pressure  of  private  business  that  it  was  found 
difficult  to  procure  a  quorum  at  the  meetings  of  the 
legislature.  To  correct  the  latter  defect  in  the  govern 
ment,  the  members  were  added  to  the  assembly  in 
May,  and  the  offices  of  register,  sheriff,  and  treasurer 
created. 

On  the  26th  of  February,  five  days  after  the  first 
election  of  assemblymen,  there  arrived  at  San  Fran 
cisco  the  mail  steamer  California,  having  on  board 
General  Persifer  F.  Smith,  who  as  commander  of  the 
military  division  of  California  superseded  Colonel 
Mason.  Smith  blundered,  as  military  men  are  prone 
to  do  in  managing  civil  affairs.  He  wrote  to  the 
secretary  of  war  from  Panamji  that  he  was  "partly 
inclined  to  think  it  would  be  right  for  me  to  prohibit 
foreigners  from  taking  the  gold,  unless  they  intend  to 
become  citizens."  Next  he  wrote  to  the  consuls  on 
South  American  coast  "that  the  laws  of  the  United 
States  forbade  trespassing  on  the  public  lands,"  and 
that  on  arriving  in  California  he  should  enforce  this 
law  against  persons  not  citizens.  To  the  secretary  he 
again  wrote:  "I  shall  consider  every  one  not  a  citizen 
of  the  United  States,  who  enters  on  public  land  and 
digs  for  gold,  as  a  trespasser,  and  shall  enforce  that 

38  The  eommitteemen  were  Alfred  J.  Ellis,  Wm  F.  Swasey,  B.  K.  Bucke- 
lew,  and  George  Hyde.  Burnett,  fiecoll.,  310. 
3*Fmdlat  Statement,  MS.,  10. 


LEADING  QUESTIONS.  273 

view  of  the   matter  if  possible,  depending  upon  the 
distinction  made  in  favor  of  American  citizens  to  en- 

fage  the  assistance  of  the  latter  in  carrying  out  what 
propose.  All  are  undoubtedly  trespassers ;  but  as 
congress  has  hitherto  made  distinctions  in  favor  of 
early  settlers  by  granting  preemptions,  the  difficulties 
of  present  circumstances  in  California  may  justify  for 
bearance  with  regard  to  citizens,  to  whom  some  favor 
may  be  hereafter  granted." 

This  doctrine  of  trespass  furnished  the  Hounds,  an 
organized  band  of  Australian  criminals  and  deserting 
English  sailors,  with  their  only  apology  for  robbing 
every  Mexican  01  Californian  they  met,  upon  the 
ground  that  they  were  foreigners,  at  least  not  citizens; 
and  passports  had  actually  to  be  furnished  to  these 
people  in  the  land  where  they  were  born.40  The 
Hounds  did  not  long  remain,  but  had  their  conge  from 
the  authorities  civil  and  military. 

To  General  Smith  the  legislature  of  San  Francisco 
district  addressed  a  letter  inviting  his  sympathy  and 
support,  to  which  he  returned  a  noncommittal  reply, 
without  attempting  to  interfere  with  the  operations  of 
the  experimental  government.  There  was  no  exigency 
requiring  him  to  intermeddle  while  awaiting  the  action 
of  congress,  drawing  to  a  close,  and  the  incoming  of  a 
new  national  administration  whose  policy  was  yet  un 
known.  The  community  in  general  supporting  the 
assembly,  the  sheriff,  furnished  by  Judge  Xorton  with 
a  writ  of  replevin,  and  assisted  by  a  number  of  volun 
teer  deputies,  finally  compelled  Alcalde  Leavenworth 
to  surrender  the  records,  which  were  deposited  in  the 
court-house,  where  justice  was  hereafter  to  be  admin 
istered.  This  did  not  occur,  however,  before  the  in 
action  of  congress  had  become  known,  and  California 
had  received  another  governor. 

I  think  the  American  inhabitants  of  California 
exhibited  great  and  undeserved  animosity  toward 

"Ex.  Doc.,  311,  no.  17,  p.  703-6,  708-10,  869,  870;  Amer<  Quart.  Reg.,  ii. 
296. 

HIST.  CAT,.,  VOL.  VI.    18 


274  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

Colonel  Mason  in  his  position  as  governor.  They 
failed  to  remember  that  it  required  as  much  patience 
in  him  to  govern  them,  as  it  did  in  them  to  be  governed 
by  him.  Into  his  ear  for  nearly  two  years  had  been 
poured  an  incessant  stream  of  complaints  from  both 
the  natives  and  themselves  Quite  often  enough  they 
had  been  in  the  wrong  If  they  did  not  steal  horses 
and  cattle  like  the  Indians,  or  rob  and  assassinate  like 
the  Mexicans,  they  had  other  ways  of  being  selfish 
and  unchristian — not  to  say  criminal — which  made 
bad  blood  in  those  ruder  people.  He  did  the  best  he 
could  between  them  all.  Had  his  soldiers  not  ab 
sconded  to  the  gold  mines,  even  then  he  would  have 
required  ten  times  their  number  to  keep  up  a  police 
system  throughout  the  country.  Only  law  can  reach 
to  every  part  of  a  territory,  but  to  do  that  it  must  be 
organized;  and  here  was  just  where  Mason's  delin 
quencies  were  most  flagrant.  He  was  not  an  execu 
tive  officer  according  to  law,  but  a  military  governor, 
which  as  they  reasoned  was  an  offence  in  time  of  peace. 
That  he  was  only  obeying  instructions,  and  that  he 
had  leaned  to  their  side  while  executing  his  trust,  did 
not  serve  to  soften  the  asperity  of  their  judgment,  and 
no  friendly  regrets  were  expressed  when  his  successor 
relieved  him  of  his  thankless  office.41  He  left  Califor 
nia  on  the  1st  of  May,  and  died  of  cholera  at  St  Louis 
the  same  summer,  at  the  age  of  sixty  years.42 

41  The  orders  of  Gen.  Smith  were  dated  Nov.  15,  1848,  and  ran  as  follows: 
*  By  direction  of  the  prest,  you  are  hereby  assigned,  under  and  by  virtue  of 
your  rank  of  brev.  brig. -gen.  of  the  army  of  the  U.  S.,  to  the  command  of 
the  third  geographical  or  Pacific  division,  and  will  proceed  by  way  of  New 
Orleans,  thence  to  Chagres,  and  across  the  isthmus  of  Panama  to  Cal.,  and 
assume  the  command  of  the  said  division.  You  will  establish  your  head 
quarters  either  in  Cal.  or  Or.,  and  change  them  from  time  to  time,  as  the 
exigencies  of  the  public  service  may  require.  Besides  the  general  duties  of 
clafanding  the  territories  of  Cal.  and  Or.,  and  of  preserving  peace  arid  protect 
ing  the  inhabitants  from  Indian  depredations,  you  will  carry  out  the  orders 
and  instructions  contained  in  the  letter  from  the  department  to  Col  R.  B. 
I.Iason,  a  copy  of  which  you  are  herewith  furnished,  and  such  other  orders 
au:l  instructions  as  you  may  receive  from  your  govt.'  H.  Ex.  Doc.,  31,  1,  no. 
17,  p.  2G4-5. 

42 Sherman  in  his  Memoirs,  64,  says:  'He  possessed  a  strong  native  intel 
lect,  and  far  more  knowledge  of  the  principles  of  civil  government  and  law 
than  he  got  credit  for; '  and  '  he  was  the  very  embodiment  of  the  principle  of 
fidelity  to  the  interests  of  the  gen.  govt. ' 


GOVERNOR  RILEY.  275 

On  the  12th  of  April  the  transport  ship  Iowa  landed 
at  Monterey  brevet  Brigadier-general  Bennett  Riley,43 
lieutenant-colonel  2d  infantry,  with  his  brigade.44 
Riley  had  instructions  from  the  secretary  of  war  to 
assume  the  administration  of  civil  affairs  in  California, 
not  as  a  military  governor,  but  as  the  executive  of  the 
existing  civil  government.  According  to  contempo 
rary  accounts,  he  was  a  "grim  old  fellow,"  and  a  "fine 
free  swearer."45  According  to  his  own  statement  he 
was  not  much  acquainted  with  civil  affairs,  but  knew 
how  to  obey  orders.  He  also  knew  how  to  make 
others  obey  orders — except  in  California.  Here  his 
soldiers  soon  deserted,46  leaving  him  without  the 
means  of  enforcing  the  laws.  In  this  dilemma  his 
good  sense  came  to  his  aid,  and  on  the  3d  of  June, 
having  sent  the  steamer  Edith  to  Mazatlan  for  the 
necessary  intelligence,  and  learning  that  nothing  had 
been  done  by  congress  toward  the  establishment  of  a 
territorial  government,  he  issued  a  proclamation  show 
ing  that  he  had  lost  no  time  in  improving  his  knowl 
edge  of  civil  affairs.  He  endeavored  to  remove  the 
prejudice  against  a  military  government  by  putting 
it  out  of  sight;  and  proposed  a  scheme  of  civil  gov 
ernment,  which  he  assured  them  should  be  temporary, 
but  which  while  it  existed  must  be  recognized.  The 
laws  of  California,  not  inconsistent  with  the  laws, 
constitution,  and  treaties  of  the  United  States,  he 
declared  to  be  in  force  until  changed  by  competent 
authority,  which  did  not  exist  in  a  provisional  legisla- 

"Larldn,  Doc.,  MS.,  vi.  203;  Aug.  Arch.,  MS.,  iii.  245,  246,272;  H.  Ex. 
Doc.,  31,  1,  no.  17,  p.  873;  Willey,  Personal  Memoranda,  MS.,  119;  Hyde, 
Statement,  MS.,  12;  Capran,  Cal,  44;  Tinkham,  Hist.  Stockton,  120;  Hist. 
Los  Angeles,  46;  Sol.  Co.  Hist.,  438;  Sherman,  Mem.,  i.  10. 

4iThe  brigade,  650  strong,  was  officered  as  follows:  Lieut  Hay  den,  com 
manding  officer  of  Co.  H;  Turner,  surgeon;  adjutant,  Jones,  com'd'g  Cos.  C 
and  G;  Lieut  A.  Sully,  regimental  quartermaster  and  commissary,  com'd'g 
Co.  K;  Lieut  Murray,  Co.  J;  Lieut  Schareman,  Co.  A;  Lieut  Jarvis,  Co.  B;  2d 
Lieut  Hendershot,  Co.  F;  2d  Lieut  Johnson,  Co.  E;  2d  Lieut  Sweeny,  Co.  D. 
N.  Y.  Herald,  Sept  19,  1848,  in  Niles'  Reg.,  Ixxiv.  193. 

**  Foster's  Angeles  in  1847,  MS.,  17-18.  He  had  a  defect  in  his  speech,  and 
was  55  or  56  years  old.  Val.,  Doc.,  MS.,  35,  116;  S.  D.  Arch.,  MS.,  ii.  349; 
Neal,  Vig.  Com.,  MS.,  23. 

46  Crosby,  Statement,  MS.,  30-2;  Burnett,  Recoil,  333-4. 


276  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

ture.  The  situation  of  California  was  not  identical 
with  that  of  Oregon,  which  was  without  laws  until  a 
provisional  government  was  formed;  but  was  nearly 
identical  with  that  of  Louisiana,  whose  laws  were 
recognized  as  valid  until  constitutionally  repealed. 
He  proposed  to  put  in  vigorous  operation  the  existing 
laws  as  designed  by  the  central  government,  but  to 
give  an  American  character  to  the  administration  by 
making  the  officers  of  the  law  elective  instead  of  ap 
pointive;  and  at  the  same  time  proposed  a  convention 
of  delegates  from  every  part  of  the  territory  to  form 
a  state  constitution  or  territorial  organization,  to  be 
ratified  by  the  people  and  submitted  to  congress  for 
approval.  A  complete  set  of  Mexican  officials  was 
named  in  the  proclamation,  with  the  salaries  of  each 
and  the  duration  of  their  term  of  office. 

The  first  election  was  ordered  for  August  1st,  when 
also  delegates  to  the  convention  were  to  be  elected. 
The  officers  chosen  would  serve  until  January  1,  1850 
The  convention  would  meet  September  1st.  A  regu 
lar  annual  election  would  be  held  in  November,  to 
choose  members  of  the  territorial  assembly,  and  to  fill 
the  offices  temporarily  supplied  by  the  election  of 
August  1st.  The  territory  was  divided  into  ten  dis 
tricts  for  the  election  of  thirty-seven  delegates,  ap 
portioned  as  follows:  San  Diego  two,  Los  Angeles 
four,  Santa  Barbara  two,  San  Luis  Obispo  two,  Mon 
terey  five,  San  Jose  five,  San  Francisco  five,  Sonoma 
four,  Sacramento  four,  and  San  Joaquin  four.47 

Such  was  the  result  of  Riley's  civil  studies.48  The 
people  could  not  see,  however,  what  constitutional 
power  the  president  had  to  govern  a  territory  by  ap 
pointing  a  military  executive  in  time  of  peace,  or  any 
at  all  before  the  Mexican  laws  had  been  repealed; 
much  less  what  right  the  secretary  of  war  had  to  in- 

*7  Debates  ConstU.  CaL,  3-5;  Cr&nise,  Nat.  Wealth,  58-9;  Hittell,  S.  F.t 
140-1;  LarTdn,  Doc.,  MS.,  vii.  137;  Val,  Doc.,  MS.,  35,  124;  San  Luis  Ob. 
Arch.,  MS.,  sec.  i.;  Savage,  Doc.,  MS.,  ii.  85;  Any.  Arch.,  MS.,  iii.  249-66; 
Placer  Times,  June  23,  1849. 

i8  Gen.  Riley  publicly  acknowledged  the  '  efficient  aid '  rendered  him  by 
Capt.  H.  W.  Halleck,  his  sect,  of  state. 


LEGISLATIVE  ASSEMBLY.  277 

struct  General  Hiley  to  act  as  civil  governor.  And 
perhaps  their  reasoning  was  as  good  as  the  general's, 
when  he  declared  they  had  no  right  to  legislate  for 
themselves  without  the  sanction  of  congress.  This 
question  had  been  argued  at  some  length  in  the  A Ita 
California  about  the  time  of  Riley's  arrival  by  Peter 
H.  Burnett,  who  had  come  down  from  Oregon  with 
the  gold-hunters  from  the  north  in  1848,  and  whose 
experience  with  the  provisional  government  of  the 
American  community  on  the  Columbia  made  him  a 
sort  of  umpire. 

On  the  day  following  the  above  proclamation  the 

Governor  issued  another,  addressed  to  the  people  of 
an  Francisco,  which  reached  them  on  the  9th,  in 
which  he  declared  that  "the  body  of  men  styling 
themselves  the  legislative  assembly  of  San  Francisco 
has  usurped  powers  which  are  vested  only  in  the  con 
gress  of  the  United  States."  Both  were  printed  in 
Spanish  as  well  as  English,  for  circulation  among  the 
inhabitants,  and  produced  no  small  excitement,  taken 
in  connection  with  the  arrival  of  the  mail  steamer  on 
the  4th  with  the  news  of  the  failure  of  congress  to 
provide  a  government,  aggravated  by  the  extension  of 
the  revenue  laws  over  California  and  the  appointment 
of  a  collector.49  Taxation  without  representation  was 
not  to  be  borne;  and  straightway  a  public  meeting 
had  been  held,  and  an  address  prepared  by  a  committee 
of  the  legislative  assembly,  of  which  Burnett  was  chair 
man,  protesting  against  the  injustice.  Among  other 
things,  it  declared  that  "the  legislative  assembly  of 
the  district  of  San  Francisco  have  believed  it  to  be 
their  duty  to  earnestly  recommend  to  their  fellow- 

49  James  Collier  was  appointed  collector  of  customs  and  special  depositary 
of  moneys  at  S.  F.,  in  March  1849  He  came  overland,  and  did  not  arrive 
until  late  in  the  autumn.  No  moneys  were  ever  deposited  with  him.  The 
act  mentioned  established  ports  of  delivery  at  San  Diego  and  Monterey,  and 
a  port  of  entry  at  S.  F.  Mies'  Reg,,  Ixxv.  193;  Cal.  Statute*,  1850,  app.  38; 
U.  8.  Acts  and  Res,,  70-5,  107-8,  30th  Cong.,  2J  Sess.;  Hunt's  Merck,  Mag,, 
xxiii.  663-5.  King  succeeded  Collier  in  May  1851,  at  S.  F.,  and  did  act  as  a 
depositary,  the  sums  collected  being  deposited  with  himself.  U.  S.  Sen.  Doc. , 
99,  vol.  x.,  32d  Cong.,  1st  Sess.  Major  Snyder  was  appointed  collector  in  1853, 
and  remained  in  office  until  1862.  Sivasey's  Remarks  on  Snyder,  MS.,  15-16. 


278  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

citizens  the  propriety  of  electing  twelve  delegates  from 
each  district  to  attend  a  general  convention  to  be  held 
at  the  pueblo  de  San  Jose  on  the  third  Monday  of 
August  next,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a  govern 
ment  for  the  whole  territory  of  California.  We  would 
recommend  that  the  delegates  be  intrusted  with  large 
discretion  to  deliberate  upon  the  best  measures  to  be 
taken;  and  to  form,  if  they  upon  mature  consideration 
should  deem  it  advisable,  a  state  constitution,  to  be 
submitted  to  the  people  for  their  ratification  or  rejec 
tion  by  a  direct  vote  at  the  polls.  .  .  .  From  the  best 
information  both  parties  in  congress  are  anxious  that 
this  should  be  done;  and  there  can  exist  no  doubt  of 
the  fact  that  the  present  perplexing  state  of  the  ques 
tion  at  Washington  would  insure  the  admission  of 
California  at  once.  We  have  the  question  to  settle 
for  ourselves;  and  the  sooner  we  do  it,  the  better." 
It  so  happened  that  this  address,  which  had  been  sub 
mitted  to  and  adopted  by  the  assembly  previous  to  the 
promulgation  of  Biley's  proclamation,  was  published 
in  the  Alta  June  14th,  five  days  after,  making  it  ap 
pear,  but  for  the  explanation  given  by  the  editor,  like 
a  carefully  designed  defiance  of  the  authority  of  the 
governor. 

Three  days  after  the  proclamation  addressed  to  the 
people  of  San  Francisco  was  received,  a  mass  meeting 
in  favor  of  a  convention  for  forming  a  state  constitu 
tion  was  held  in  Portsmouth  square,  presided  over  by 
William  M.  Steuart.50  Resolutions  were  passed  de 
claring  the  right  of  the  people  of  the  territory,  the 
last  congress  having  failed  them,  to  organize  for  their 
own  protection,  and  to  elect  delegates  to  a  convention 
to  form  a  state  government,  "that  the  great  and  grow 
ing  interests  of  California  may  be  represented  in  the 

«•  The  vice-prests  were  William  D.  M.  Howard,  E.  H.  Harrison,  C.  V.  Gilles- 
pie,  Robert  A.  Parker,  Myron  Norton,  Francis  J  Lippett,  J.  H.  Merrill, 
George  Hyde,  William  Hooper,  Hiram  Grimes,  John  A.  Patterson,  C.  H. 
Johnson,  William  H.  Davis,  Alfred  Ellis,  Edward  Gilbert,  and  John  Towns- 
end.  The  secretaries  were  E.  Gould  Buffum,  J.  R.  Per  Lee,  and  W.  C. 
Parker, 


MEETINGS  AND   MEASURES.  279 

next  congress  of  the  United  States."  A  committee 
was  appointed  to  correspond  with  the  other  districts, 
and  fix  an  early  day  for  the  election  of  delegates  and 
for  the  convention,  as  also  to  determine  the  number 
of  delegates,  the  committee  consisting  of  P.  H.  Bur 
nett,  W.  D.  M.  Howard,  M.  Norton,  E.  G.  Buffum, 
and  E.  Gilbert.  A  motion  to  amend  a  resolution, 
by  adopting  the  days  appointed  by  the  governor,  was 
rejected.  The  meeting  was  addressed  by  Burnett, 
Thomas  Butler  King,  congressman  from  Georgia  and 
confidential  agent  of  the  government,  William  M. 
Gwin,  a  former  congressman  from  Mississippi,  and 
others.  King  had  been  sent  out  to  work  up  the  state 
movement,51  which  he  was  doing  in  conjunction  with 
the  governor;  and  Gwin  had  come  out  on  the  same 
steamer  to  become  a  senator  from  California.  He 
addressed  the  people  of  Sacramento,  July  4th,  and 
on  the  following  day  a  mass  meeting  at  Fowler's 
hotel,  and  resolutions  passed  to  cooperate  with  San 
Francisco  and  the  other  districts  in  forming  a  civil 
government.52  At  a  meeting  held  July  4th  at  Mor 
mon  Island,  W.  C.  Bigelow  in  the  chair,53  and  James 
Queen  secretary,  resolutions  were  adopted  declaring 
that  in  consequence  of  the  failure  of  congress  to  pro 
vide  a  government,  the  separation  of  this  country 
from  the  mother  country  has  been  loudly  talked  of; 
but  pledging  themselves  "to  discountenance  every 
effort  at  separation,  or  any  movement  that  may  tend 
to  counteract  the  action  of  the  general  government 
in  regard  to  California."  Also  that  believing  slavery 
to  be  injurious,  they  would  do  everything  in  their 

blBufum,  Six  Months,  118;  H  Ex.  Doc.,  31,  1,  no.  17,  p.  9-11. 

^Gwin,  Memoirs,  MS.,  5.  M.  M.  McCarver,  the  'old  brass  gun'  of  the 
Oregon  legislature,  presided  at  this  meeting.  George  McKinstry  was  sec. 
C.  E.  Pickett,  Chapman,  and  Carpenter  constituted  a  committee  to  draught  res 
olutions.  A  com.  of  J2  was  appointed  to  organize  the  district  into  precincts, 
and  apportion  the  representatives,  and  to  nominate  candidates.  Correspond 
ing  com.  appointed.  Committee  of  12  was  composed  of  P.  B.  Cornwall,  Car 
penter,  Blackburn,  J.  R.  Robb,  Mark  Stewart,  John  Fowler,  C.  E.  Pickett, 
Sam.  Brannan,  John  McDougal,  Samuel  Housley,  M.  T.  McClellan,  and  Col 
Winn. 

33  Placer  Times,  July  9,  1849, 


280  POLITICAL  HISTORY, 

power  to  prevent  its  extension  to  this  country.     Taking 
alarm  at  some  of  these  proceedings,  Riley  gave  utter 
ance  to  his  views  in  the  Alta,  declaring  that  instruc 
tions  received  since  his  proclamations  fully  confirmed 
the  policy  there  set  forth,  and  that  it  was  distinctly 
said  that  "the  plan  of   establishing    an    independent 
government    in    California  cannot   be   sanctioned,   no 
matter  from  what  source  it  may  come."     The  phrase 
'independent    government'    drew  forth  a  reply  from 
Burnett  disclaiming  any  design    on  the  part  of  the 
agitators  of  a  civil  organization  to  erect  a  government 
not  dependent  on  the  United  States,  and    repelling 
as  a  libel  the  insinuation  contained  in  the  governor's 
communication  that  the  people  of  San  Francisco  had 
ever  contemplated  becoming  "the  sport  and  play  of 
the  great  powers  of  the  world,"   which  they  would  be 
should  they  attempt  a  separate  existence.     The  Alia 
also  denied  the  charge  in  a  subsequent  issue;  and  the 
committee    of   which    Burnett  was  chairman  having 
published  a   notice   making  the   day   of  election  and 
convention    conformable    to    the    governor's  appoint 
ments,  while  asserting  their  perfect  right  to  do  other 
wise,  there  was  a  lull  in  the  political  breeze  for  the 
intervening  period.54 

In  the  mean  time  San  Francisco  had  received  a  post 
master,  John  W.  Geary,55  who  in  spite  of  the  preju- 


Cal,  July  12  and  19,  1849;  Capron,  43-4;  U.  S.  H.  Misc.  Doc.,  44, 
i.,  p.  5-9,  31st  cong.,  1st  sess.  At  a  mass  meeting  in  Sac.,  that  district  was 
declared  entitled  to  10  delegates.  Placer  Times  (Sac.),  July  14,  1849. 

55  Unbound  Docs.,  MS.,  58.  John  W.  Geary  was  born  in  Westmoreland 
co.,  Pa,  in  1820.  He  had  been  col  of  a  reg.  from  his  state  in  the  Mexican 
war,  and  fought  at  the  battles  of  La  Hoya,  Chapultepec,  Garita  de  Belen,  and 
city  of  Mexico.  His  duties  as  alcalde  were  those  of  mayor,  sheriff,  probate 
and  police  judge,  recorder,  coroner,  and  notary  public.  After  the  appoint 
ment  of  W.  B.  Almond,  a  man  of  fair  legal  attainments  from  Missouri,  who 
was  at  his  request  made  judge  of  first  instance,  with  civil  jurisdiction,  his 
duties  were  less  complex.  Geary  was  reelected  in  1850,  with  only  12  votes 
against  him  in  4,000.  He  was  a  'splendid-looking  man,  cordial  and  affable.' 
He  returned  to  Pa  in  1852,  and  was  appointed  governor  of  Kansas.  He  served 
in  the  civil  war  as  col  of  the  28th  regt  Pa  vols.  His  death  occurred  at  Har- 
risburg,  Feb.  8,  1873.  An.  ofS.  F.,  718-34;  Sac.  Record,  Feb.  10,  1873;  Oak 
land  Gazette,  Feb.  15,  1873;  Nevada  Transcript,  Feb.  11,  1873;  Oakland 
Transcript,  Feb.  9,  1873;  Folsom  Telegraph,  Apr.  4,  1868;  Alpine  Silver  Moun 
tain  Chronicle,  Feb.  15,  1873;  Albany  Register,  Feb.  14,  1873;  Hittell,  S.  F., 
139;  AUa  California,  Jan.  9,  1866,  and  Feb.  9,  1873;  Upham,  Rem.  of  Pioneer 


GEARY  AND  KING  281 

dice  at  once  manifested  against  imported  officials, 
achieved  a  popularity  which  obtained  for  him  the 
office  of  first  alcalde,  or  judge  of  the  first  instance, 
at  the  election,  and  which  kept  him  in  office  after  a 
change  of  government  had  been  effected.58 

In  July,  T.  Butler  King,  in  his  character  of  confi 
dential  agent  of  the  government,  paid  a  visit  to  the 
mining  districts.  He  travelled  in  state,  accompanied 
by  General  Smith  and  staff,  Commodore  Jones  and 
staff,  Dr  Tyson,  geologist,  and  a  cavalry  detachment 
under  Lieutenant  Stoneman,  who  afterward  became  a 
general.67  He  made  an  extended  tour,  and  a  report  in 

Journalism,  in  Advertisers  Guide,  105,  Dec.  1876;  S.  F.  vs  U.  S.,  1854,  docs. 
22,  23;  S.  F.  Call,  Nov.  9,  1884;  Pierces  Rough  Sketch,  MS.,  188-9;  Auburn 
Placer  Argus,  Feb.  15,  1873;  S.  F.  Elevator,  Feb.  15,  1873. 

66 1  find  the  following  officers  under  military  govt  in  1 848-9,  mentioned 
in  Viilwuwl  Docs.,  MS.,  319-40-  James  W.  Weeks,  K.  H.  Dimmick,  alcaldes, 
San  Jose;  Estevan  Addison,  alcalde,  Sta  Barbara;  Isaac  Callahan,  alcalde, 
Los  Angeles,  1848.  In  1849,  William  Myers,  alcalde;  and  Albert  G.  Toomes 
and  David  Plemmons,  judges  in  the  upper  north  California  district;  John  T. 
Richardson,  alcalde,  San  Jose;  Stephen  Cooper,  Benicia;  Dennis  Gahagan, 
alcalde,  San  Diego;  J.  L.  Majors,  subprefect  at  Santa  Cruz;  Miguel  Avila,  al 
calde,  San  Luis  Obispo;  R.  M.  May,  alcalde,  San  Jose;  A.  M.  White,  alcalde, 
Mercedes  River;  G.  D.  Dickerson,  prefect  of  the  district  of  San  Joaquin; 
Charles  P.  Wilkins,  prefect  of  Sonoma;  W.  B.  Almond,  alcalde,  S.  F.  (asso 
ciate  of  Geary),  Horace  Hawes,  prefect  of  S.  F.  district;  Paciricus  Ord,  judge 
of  supreme  tribunal;  Lewis  Dent,  ditto;  John  E.  Townes,  high-sheriff  of  S.  F. 
district;  Edward  H.  Harrison,  collector  at  S.  F. ;  Rodman  M.  Price,  purser 
and  navy  agent,  and  chairman  of  town  council  committee;  Philip  A.  Roach, 
in  his  Facts  on  Cal.,  MS.,  7-8,  mentions  being  elected  to  the  offices  of  1st 
alcalde  and  recorder  of  Monterey,  in  Oct.  1849.  From  other  docs. — Ignacio 
Ezquer,  1st  alcalde,  Monterey;  Jacinto  Rodriguez,  2d  alcalde,  Monterey;  Jose 
Maria  Covarrubias  and  Augustin  Janssen,  jueces  de  paz;  Antoiiio  Maria  Pico, 
prefect  of  northern  Cal.  district;  N.  B.  Smith  and  Wellner,  subprefects. 

57  Crosby  gives  quite  a  particular  account  of  this  official  '  progress  '  through 
the  country.  King,  he  says,  nearly  lost  his  life  by  it,  through  his  inability 
to  adapt  himself  to  the  customs  of  border  life.  '  He  would  rise  in  the  morn 
ing  after  the  sun  was  well  up,  and  after  making  an  elaborate  toilet,  having 
his  boots  blacked,  and  dressing  as  if  going  to  the  senate-chamber,  would  then 
take  breakfast,  and  by  the  time  he  was  ready  to  start,  it  would  be  8  or  9 
o'clock,  the  sun  would  be  hot,  and  the  marches  made  in  the  worst  part  of  the 

day Gen.  Smith  said  to  him:  "Not  only  you,  but  all  the  rest  of  the  party, 

are  rendering  yourselves  liable  to  fever  and  sickness ....  We  ought  to  go  in 
the  early  morning,  and  lie  by  in  the  middle  of  the  day. "  But  King  would 
not  agree  to  this.  I  felt  premonitions  of  a  fever  coming  on,  and  took  my 
leave  of  the  party,  and  made  my  way  to  Sutter's  Fort,  ami  was  laid  up  three 
or  four  weeks  with  a  fever.  The  party  went  down  to  the  South  Fork,  and 
then  over  to  the  Mokelumne,  to  the  southern  mines.  King  brought  up  at 
S.  F.,  and  came  near  losing  his  life  with  a  fever.'  Events  in  Cal.,  M.S.,  29-30; 
Letter  of  Lieut  Cadwalder  Rim/gold,  in  H.  Ex.  Doc.,  31,  1,  no.  17,  pp.  954-5; 
Placer  Times,  July  14  and  Aug.'  1,  1849. 


282  POLITICAL  HISTORY 

which  he  gave  a  very  flattering  account  of  the  mines, 
and  reiterated  what  the  reader  already  knows  concern 
ing  the  people — their  anxiety  for  a  government  which 
they  could  recognize,  and  its  causes;  namely,  igno 
rance  of  Mexican  laws,  and  their  oppressive  nature 
when  understood;  the  absence  of  any  legal  system  of 
taxation  to  provide  the  means  of  supporting  a  govern 
ment;  the  imposition  of  import  duties  by  the  United 
States,  without  representation;  and  the  uncertainty 
of  titles,  with  other  things  of  less  importance. 

After  reporting  the  action  of  the  people  in  their 
efforts  to  correct  some  of  these  evils,  and  that  they 
had  resolved  upon  the  immediate  formation  of  a  state 
government,  he  further  remarked  that  "  they  consid 
ered  they  had  a  right  to  decide,  so  far  as  they  were 
concerned,  the  question  of  slavery,  and  believed  that 
in  their  decision  they  would  be  sanctioned  by  all  par 
ties."  King  declared  that  he  had  no  secret  instruc 
tions,  verbal  or  written,  on  the  subject  of  slavery; 
"  nor  was  it  ever  hinted  or  intimated  to  me  that  I 
was  expected  to  attempt  to  influence  their  action  in 
the  slightest  degree  on  that  subject."  "  In  the  elec 
tion  of  delegates,"  he  said,  "no  questions  were  asked 
about  a  candidate's  politics;  the  object  was  to  find 
competent  men."  But  of  the  thirty-seven  delegates, 
sixteen  were  from  the  slave-holding  states,  ten  from 
the  free  states,  and  eleven  were  native  citizens  of 
California,  all  but  one  of  whom  came  from  districts 
south  of  the  Missouri  compromise  line  of  36°  30'. 
The  convention  therefore  would  have  a  presumptive 
majority  of  twenty-seven  leaning  toward  the  south.58 
This  was  not  the  actual  proportion  after  the  election, 
forty-eight  members  being  chosen,  the  additional  dele 
gates  being  from  the  mining  districts  and  San  Fran 
cisco,  where  the  population  was  greatest.  Twenty-two 
were  then  from  the  northern  states,  fifteen  from  the 
slave  states,  seven  native  Californians,  and  four  for 
eign  born. 

58 King's  rept,  in  H.  Ex,  Doc.,  31,  1,  no.  59,  pp.  1-6;  Green's  Life,  and 
Adv.,  21. 


POPULAR  IDEAS.  283 

King  was  one  of  those  anomalous  individuals — a 
northern  man  with  a  southerner's  views.  Born  and 
reared  in  Pennsylvania,  he  went  early  in  life  to 
Georgia,  and  marrying  a  woman  of  that  state,  be 
came  infected  with  the  state-rights  doctrine,  and  in 
1838  was  elected  to  congress  as  its  representative. 
As  a  whig  he  supported  Harrison  and  Tyler  in  1840, 
and  Taylor  and  Fillmore  in  1848,  and  advocated  lead 
ing  whig  measures.  But  the  virus  of  slavery  with 
which  he  was  inoculated  developed  itself  later  in 
secession,  which  made  an  end  of  all  his  greatness. 
While  laboring  to  bring  California  into  the  union,  he 
had  in  view  the  division  of  the  territory  by  congress, 
and  that  all  south  of  36°  30'  should  be  devoted  to 
slavery.  This  was  to  be  the  price  of  the  admission 
of  California,  or  any  part  of  it.  Under  this  belief  he 
was  willing  to  be  and  was  useful  to  the  people  of 
California  in  their  efforts  to  obtain  a  civil  govern 
ment.  The  administration  paid  him  well  for  his  ser 
vices,  and  rewarded  him  with  the  office  of  collector  of 
customs.  If  the  people  would  willingly  have  had  no 
more  of  him  they  had  their  reasons.59 

59  King  made  an  ass  of  himself,  generally.  Crane  relates  with  much  gusto 
the  following  as  illustrative  of  King's  character.  When  the  custom-house 
was  burned  in  the  great  fire  of  1861,  King  had  occasion  to  remove  the  treas 
ure  from  a  vault  in  the  ruins  to  the  corner  of  Washington  and  Kearny  streets, 
and  assembled  his  force  of  employes  to  act  as  guard.  They  came  together, 
armed  with  cutlasses,  pistols,  etc.,  and  a  cart  being  loaded,  formed  a  line, 
himself  at  the  head,  leading  off  with  a  sword  in  one  hand  and  a  pistol  in  the 
other.  In  this  manner  several  cart-loads  were  escorted  to  the  place  of  deposit. 
When  the  last  train  was  en  route,  some  wags  induced  the  waiters  of  a  public 
eating-house  to  charge  upon  it  with  knives,  when  some  of  the  guard  ran 
away,  King,  however,  holding  his  ground.  Past,  Present,  and  Future,  MS., 
12.  Some  one  had  a  caricature  of  the  proceedings  lithographed,  and  entitled 
*  Ye  King  and  ye  Commones,  or  ye  Manners  and  Customes  of  California — a 
new  farce  lately  enacted  in  May  28,  1851.'  8.  F.  Alia,  May  29,  30,  1851. 
Gwin  attacked  Taylor's  administration  for  the  expense  of  King's  mission,  say 
ing  he  had  at  his  disposal  the  army,  navy,  and  treasury.  There  was  much 
truth  in  the  declaration.  His  pay  was  $8  per  diem;  he  was  drawing  pay  as  a 
member  of  congress,  although  he  subsequently  resigned,  and  the  officers  of 
the  army  and  navy  were  enjoined  to  '  in  all  matters  aid  and  assist  him  in 
carrying  out  the  views  of  the  government, '  and  '  be  guided  by  his  advice  and 
council  in  the  conduct  of  all  proper  measures  within  the  scope  of  those  [his] 
instructions. '  But  the  government  had  a  right  to  employ  all  its  means  for  an 
object.  H.  Ex.  Doc.,  31,  1,  no.  17,  p.  146;  Cong.  Globe,  1851-2;  App  ,  534-6. 
King  went  with  the  southern  states  when  they  seceded,  and  was  sent  as  a 
commissioner  to  Europe.  He  died  at  his  home  in  Georgia  May  10,  1864. 
S.  F.  Call,  June  20,  1864. 


284  POLITICAL  HISTORY 

Affairs  moved  on  with  occasional  disturbances  to 
the  public  peace,  which  were  suppressed  in  San  Fran 
cisco  by  a  popular  court,  and  in  the  outlying  districts 
by  military  authority.60  The  election  of  August  1st 
for  delegates  to  the  constitutional  convention,  and 
municipal  officers,61  passed  without  disturbance,  and 
preparations  began  to  be  made  for  the  convention 
itself,  which  was  to  be  held  at  Monterey.  But  now 
it  was  found  that  such  was  the  pressing  nature  of 
private  business,  such  the  expense  and  inconvenience 
of  a  journey  to  the  capital  from  the  northern  and 
southern  districts,  that  some  doubt  began  to  be  enter 
tained  of  the  presence  of  the  delegates.  King,  who 
had  the  principal  management  of  affairs,  overcame  this 
difficulty  by  directing  Commodore  Jones  to  send  the 
United  States  steamer  Edith  to  San  Diego,  Los  An 
geles,  and  Santa  Barbara,  to  bring  the  southern  dele 
gates  to  Monterey;62  while  the  northern  delegates 
chartered  the  brig  Fremont  to  carry  them  from  San 
Francisco.  The  Edith  was  wrecked  on  the  passage, 
and  the  Fremont  narrowly  escaped  the  same  fate.  All 
arrived  safely  at  their  destination,  however,  and  were 
ready  to  organize  on  the  3d  of  September 

Never  in  the  history  of  the  world  did  a  similar  con 
vention  come  together.  They  were  there  to  form  a 
state  out  of  unorganized  territory;  out  of  territory 
only  lately  wrested  from  a  subjugated  people,  who 
were  elected  to  assist  in  framing  a  constitution  in  con 
formity  with  the  political  views  of  the  conquerors. 
These  native  delegates  were  averse  to  the  change 
about  to  be  made.  They  feared  that  because  they  were 
large  land-owners  they  would  have  the  burden  of 

^Riley,  Order  No.  22,  to  commander  of  posts,  to  investigate  outrages. 
Savage,  Coll.,  MS.,  iii.  36;  U.  S.  Sen.  Doc.,  52,  xiii.  p.  12-41;  31st  Cong.,  1st 
Sess.;  H.  Ex.  Doc.,  5,  p.  i.  pp.  156,  161,  165-78,  31st  Cong.,  1st  Sess. 

61  Peter  H.  Burnett  was  elected  chief  justice,  Jose  M.  Covarrubias,  Pacifi- 
cus  Ord,  and  Louis  Dent  were  chosen  associate  judges.     Alcaldes  were  elected 
in  the  several  districts. 

62  The  Edith  was  commanded  by  Lieut  McCormick,  who  knew  little  of  the 
coast,  and  being  bewildered  in  a  fog,  lost  the  steamer.     Letter  of  Commodore 
Jones,  inH.  Ex.  Doc.,  31,  1,  no.  17,  pp.  951-2;  Cong.  Globe,  1851-2,  535,  578; 
Napa  Register,  April  20,  1872. 


PERSONNEL  OF  THE  CONVENTION.  285 

supporting  the  new  government  laid  upon  their  shoul 
ders,  and  naturally  feared  other  innovations  painful 
to  their  feelings  because  opposed  to  their  habits  of 
thought.  These  very  apprehensions  forced  them  to  be 
come  the  representatives  of  their  class,  in  order  to  avert 
as  much  as  possible  the  evils  they  foreboded.  Such 
men  as  Vallejo,  Carrillo,  and  De  la  Guerra  could  not 
be  ignored,  though  they  spoke  only  through  an  inter 
preter.  Carrillo  was  from  one  of  the  southern  districts, 
a  pure  Castilian,  of  decided  character,  and  prejudiced 
against  the  invaders.  De  la  Guerra  was  perhaps  the 
most  accomplished  and  best  educated  of  the  Spanish 
delegation,  and  had  no  love  for  the  Americans,  although 
he  accepted  his  place  among  them,  and  sat  afterward 
in  the  state  senate.  Vallejo  had  not  forgotten  the 
Bear  Flag  filibusters  who  had  subjected  him  to  the 
ignominy  of  arrest ;  and  each  had  his  reason  for  being 
somewhat  a  drawback  on  the  proceedings.63 

Of  foreign-born  delegates  there  were  few.  Captain 
Sutter  was  noticeable,  owing  to  his  long  residence  in 
the  country,  and  his  reputation  for  hospitality;  but 
otherwise  he  carried  little  weight.  Louis  Dent,  dele 
gate  from  Santa  Barbara,  an  Englishman,  voted  with 
De  la  Guerra.  Among  the  Americans  were  a  num 
ber  who  were,  or  afterward  became,  more  or  less 
famous ;  H.  W.  Halleck,  then  secretary  of  state  under 
Governor  Riley ;  Thomas  O.  Larkin,64  first  and  last 

63  Crosby,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  many  hints  regarding  character, 
says  that  when  the  state  seal  was  under  discussion,  the  Spanish  members 
exhibited  considerable  feeling  upon  the  bear  being  used  as  the  emblem  of 
California.     Vallejo  objected  to  it;  he  thought  it  should  at  least  be  under  the 
control  of  a  vaquero,  with  a  lasso  round  its  neck!  Events  in  CaL,  MS.,  34. 
Caleb  Lyon  of  Lyonsdale  enjoyed  the  reputation  of  designing  the  state  seal, 
although  it  was  not  justly  his  due.     Major  R.  S.  Garnet  designed  it,  but 
being  of  a  retiring  disposition,  gave  his  drawing  to  Lyon,  who  added  some 
stars  around  the  rim,  and  obtained  the  prize  of  $1,000,  but  forgot  to  purchase 
with  it  a  printing-press,  which  was  one  of  the  conditions.  Ross  Browne,  in 
Overland  Monthly,  xv.  346;  First  Ann  I  Territ.  Pioneers,  56-7;  S.  F.   CaL 
Courier,  July  1850;  Sac.  Union,  March  17,  1858.     The  great  seal  represents 
the  bay  of  San  Francisco,  with  the  goddess  Minerva  in  the  foreground,  the 
Sierra  in  the  background,  mining  in  the  middle  distance,  the  grizzly  bear  at 
the  feet  of  Minerva,  and  the  word  Eureka  at  the  top,  under  a  belt  of  stars. 
Around  the  whole,  'The  Great  Seal  of  the  State  of  California,'  S.  F.  Ann, 
App.,  805. 

64  Thomas  Oliver  Larkin  was  born  in  Mass,  in  1803,  and  migrated  to  Cali- 


286  POLITICAL  HISTORY 

United  States  consul  to  California;  Edward  Gilbert, 
who  established  the  Alia  California,  was  sent  to  con 
gress,  and  killed  in  a  duel,  McDougal  became  gov 
ernor,  and  Gwin  United  States  senator;  J  Ross 
Browne,  reporter  of  the  convention,  and  a  popular 
writer,  was  afterward  employed  as  a  secret  and  open 
agent  of  the  government,  to  look  into  politics  and  into 
mines,65  Jacob  R  Snyder,  a  Philadelphian,  whom 
Commodore  Stockton  found  in  the  country,  and  to 
whom  he  intrusted  the  organization  of  an  artillery 
corps,  and  made  quartermaster  to  Fremont's  battalion. 
Under  Mason's  administration  he  was  surveyor  for 
the  middle  department  of  California,  and  one  of  the 
founders  of  Sacramento.  Stephen  G.  Foster,  Elisha 
O.  Crosby,  K.  H.  Dimmick,  Lansford  W.  Hastings, 
were  all  enterprising  northern  men ;  besides  others  less 
well  known.  Rodman  M.  Price  was  subsequently 
member  of  congress  from,  and  governor  of,  the  state 
of  New  Jersey;  and  Pacificus  Ord  district  attorney 
for  the  United  States  in  California. 

The  convention  was  not  lacking  in  talent.  It  was 
not  chosen  with  regard  to  party  proclivities,  but  was 
understood  to  be  mider  the  management,  imaginary  if 
not  real,  of  southern  men.  It  was  a  curious  mixture. 
On  one  hand  a  refined,  and  in  his  own  esteem  at  least 
an  already  distinguished,  representative  of  the  after 
ward  arrogant  chivalry  who  sought  to  rule  California, 

fornia  in  1832.  He  was  deeply  concerned  in  all  the  measures  which  severed 
Cal.  from  Mexico,  loaning  his  funds  and  credit  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the 
war.  He  was  made  consul  and  navy  agent  by  the  U.  S.  govt.  He  gave  each 
of  the  officers  of  the  Southampton  a  lot  in  Benicia.  Larkin,  Doc,,  vii.  72;  Colton, 
Three  Years,  28-30.  He  was  at  one  time  supposed  to  be  the  richest  man  in 
America.  S.  I.  Friend,  vii.  85. 

65  John  Ross  Browne  was  an  Irishman,  born  in  1822  at  Dublin,  where  his 
father  edited  the  Cornet,  a  political  paper,  and  who  immigrated  to  the  U.  S. 
in  1833.  The  lad,  whose  new  home  was  in  Louisville,  Ky.,  exhibited  a  pas 
sion  for  travel,  which  he  gratified.  He  had  talent,  and  became  reporter  to  a 
Cincinnati  paper,  studied  medicine,  reported  for  the  U.  S.  senate,  and  held 
several  situations  under  govt,  at  last  being  given  a  place  as  lieut  in  the 
revenue  service,  and  sent  to  Cal.,  where  he  found  the  service  had  been  reduced 
and  himself  discharged.  He  then  became  reporter  for  the  convention.  Sub 
sequently  he  was  secret  treasury  agent,  and  emyloyed  to  report  upon  mines. 
His  last  appointment  was  as  minister  to  China.  His  death  occurred  in  Dec. 
1875. 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  CONVENTION.  287 

was  William  M  Gwin.  On  the  other  the  loose-jointed, 
honest,  but  blatant  and  unkempt  McCarver,  whom 
we  have  known  in  Oregon.  Another  kind  of  south 
erner  was  Benjamin  F.  Moore,  who  had  migrated 
from  Florida  through  Texas,  carried  a  huge  bowie- 
knife,  and  was  usually  half  drunk.68  Joel  P.  Walker 
we  have  seen  coming  overland  in  1840  and  1841  with 
his  family  and  household  gods,  first  to  Oregon  and 
then  to  California,  a  pioneer  of  pioneers;  Charles  T. 
Betts  of  Virginia,  who  was  a  man  of  ability,  and  an 
earnest  southerner;  James  M.  Jones,  a  young  man,  a 
fine  linguist,  and  good  lawyer,  who  was  United  States 
district  judge  for  the  southern  district  of  California 
after  the  admission  of  California,  and  who  died  in  1851 
of  consumption,  at  San  "Jose,67  an  extreme  southerner 
in  his  views,  fully  believing  in  and  insisting  on  the 
divine  right  of  slave-holders  to  the  labor  of  the  African 
race;  the  genial  and  scholarly  0.  M.  Wozencraft, 
William  E.  Shannon,  an  Irishman  by  birth,  and  a 
lawyer, who  introduced  that  section  in  the  bill  of  rights 
which  made  California  a  free  state — borrowed,  it  is 
true,  but  as  illustrious  and  imperishable  as  it  is  Ameri 
can.68 

On  the  1st  of  the  month  the  members  present  met 
in  Colton  hall  to  adjourn  to  the  3d.  Some  debate 
was  had  on  the  apportionment  as  it  had  been  made, 
the  election  as  it  stood,  and  the  justice  of  increasing 
the  delegation  from  several  districts,  which  was  finally 
admitted,  when  forty-eight  instead  of  thirty-seven 
members  were  received.09  Of  these,  fourteen  were 

66  Foster,  A  ngeles  in  1847,  MS. ,  17 ;  Crosby,  Events  in  Cal. ,  MS. ,  47.  In  1 852 
Moore  received  the  whig  nomination  for  congress  but  was  defeated.  As  a 
criminal  lawyer  he  was  somewhat  noted.  He  several  times  represented 
Tuolumne  co.  in  the  legislature.  He  died  Jan.  2,  1866,  at  Stockton.  Pajaro 
Times,  Jan.  13,  1866;  Havilah  Courier,  Jan.  12,  1867. 

67 Burnett,  Recoil,  MS.,  ii.  255-67;  Gwin,  Mem.,  MS.,  14. 

^McClellan,  Repub.  in  Amer.,  115-16.  Shannon  came  to  the  U.  S.  in 
1830  at  the  age  of  7  years,  his  father  settling  in  Steuben  co.,  N.  Y.  He  studied 
law,  but  joined  the  N.  Y.  reg.  for  Cal.  in  1846.  He  was  elected  to  the  state 
senate  in  1850,  and  died  of  cholera  Nov.  13th  of  that  year.  Sac.  Transcript, 
Nov.  14,  1850;  Shuck's  Repres.  Men,  853-4;  San  Jose  Pioneer,  March,  30,  1878. 

69  The  rule  under  which  the  additional  delegates  were  admitted  was  that 


288  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

lawyers,  twelve  farmers,  seven  merchants.     The  re 
mainder  were  engineers,  bankers,  physicians,  and  print- 

every  one  having  received  over  100  votes  in  his  district  should  be  a  member. 

The  list  of  regular  delegates  stood  as  follows: 

Names.  Nativity.  Residence.  Age. 

John  A.  Sutter Switzerland 47 

H.  W.  Halleck      New  York  . . .  .Monterey .  .32 

William  M.  Gwin Tennessee San  Francisco ....  44 

William  M.  Steuart Maryland San  Francisc* 49 

Joseph  Hoborn Maryland    San  Francisco ...  .39 

Thomas  L.  Vermeule New  Jersey 35 

O.  M.  Wozencraft „ . .  .Ohio San  Joaquin 34 

B.  F.  Moore Florida San  Joaquin  29 

William  E.  Shannon  ...*..  .New  York Sacramento 27 

Winfield  S.  Sherwood New  York Sacramento 32 

Elam  Brown New  York San  Jose 52 

Joseph  Aram „ . .  .New  York San1  Jose 39 

J.  D.  Hoppe Maryland San  Jose 35 

John  McDougal Ohio . .  .Sutter 32 

Elisha  0.  Crosby New  York Vernon ' 34 

H.  K.  Dimmick .New  York San  Jose 34 

Julian  Hanks Connecticut.. . .  San  Jose 39 

M.  M.  McCarver Kentucky.    .  .  .Sacramento 42 

Francis  J.  Lippitt Rhode  Island     San  Francisco 37 

Rodman  M.  Price Massachusetts .  Monterey 47 

Thomas  O.  Larkin New  York San  Francisco 36 

Louis  Dent o .  .Missouri Monterey 26 

Henry  Hill Virginia Monterey 33 

Charles  T.  Betts. Virginia.     Monterey. 40 

Myron  Norton .Vermont San  Francisco. . .  .27 

James  M.  Jones Kentucky San  Joaquin 25 

Pedro  Sainsevain Bordeaux San  Jose 26 

Jose  M.  Covarrubias France Santa  Barbara. .  ..41 

Antonio  M.  Pico . .    California San  Jos6 40 

Jacinto  Rodriguez California Monterey 36 

Stephen  G.  Foster Maine Los  Angeles 28 

Henry  A.  Tefft New  York San  Luis  Obispo  .  26 

J.  M.  H.  Hollingsworth.1.  .Maryland San  Joaquin 25 

Abel  Stearns c . . « .Massachusetts  .Los  Angeles 51 

Hugh  Pveid Scotland San  Gabriel 38 

Benjamin  S.  Lippincott. . .  .New  York San  Joaquin 34 

Joel  P.  Walker Virginia Sonoma 52 

Jacob  R.  Snyder Pennslyvania . .  Sacramento 34 

Lansford  W.  Hastings Ohio Sacramento 30 

Pablo  de  la  Guerra California Santa  Barbara 30 

M.  G.  Vallejo .California.  e .  .  .Sonoma 42 

Jose  Antonio  Carrillo.  .  - . .  California Los  Angeles 53 

Manuel  Dominguez California. . .  , .  Los  Angeles 46 

Robert  Semple Kentucky Benicia 42 

Pacificus  Ord  Maryland Monterey. ... 33 

Edward  Gilbert. .... .' .New  York San  Francisco 27 

A.  J.  Ellis New  York San  Francisco 33 

Miguel  de  Pedrorena Spain San  Diego .  .41 

S.  F.  Bulletin,  May  25,  1878;  Mendoano  Co.  Hist.,  292-7;  Browne,  Constvb. 

Debates,  An.  S.  F.,  136-7;  San  Joaquin  Co.  Hist.,  22-3;  Alameda  Co.  Hist. 

Atlas,  13;    Yuba  Co.  Hist.,  37-8;  James  Queen  and  W.  Lacy  were  elected 

'additional  delegates'  to  represent  Sac.   Sutter  Co.  Hist.,  26;  Ezquer,  Mem., 

31-2;  S.  F.  Post,  June  26,  1886. 


NORTH  AND  SOUTH.  289 

ers.70  These  professions  did  not  prevent  their  being 
miners  any  more  than  it  disqualified  them  from  legis 
lation,  and  nothing  but  crime  bars  the  American  from 
that  privilege.  All  were  in  the  prime  of  life,  all  very 
much  in  earnest,  and  patriotic  according  to  their  light, 
albeit  their  light  was  colored  more  or  less  by  local 
prejudices.  To  be  a  patriot,  a  man  must  be  prejudiced  ; 
but  the  respect  we  accord  to  his  patriotism  depends 
upon  the  breadth  or  quality  of  his  bias. 

As  I  have  remarked,  the  northern  spirit  was  pre 
pared  to  array  itself,  if  necessary,  against  any  assump 
tion  on  the  part  of  the  chivalry  in  the  convention, 
whose  pretensions  to  the  divine  right  to  rule  displayed 
itself,  not  only  upon  slave  soil,  but  was  carried  into 
the  national  senate  chamber,  and  had  already  flaunted 
itself  rather  indiscreetly  in  California.  While  the 
choice  of  a  president  was  under  discussion,  Snyder 
took  occasion  to  state  in  a  facetious  and  yet  pointed 
manner  that  Mr  Gwin  had  come  down  prepared  to  be 
president,  and  had  also  a  constitution  in  his  pocket 
which  the  delegates  would  be  expected  to  adopt,  sec 
tion  by  section.71  Both  Snyder's  remarks  and  G win's 
denial  were  received  with  laughter,  but  the  hint  was 
not  lost.  Snyder  proposed  Doctor  Semple  for  presi 
dent  of  the  convention,  and  the  pioneer  printer  of 
Monterey,  a  giant  in  height  if  not  in  intellect,  was 
duly  elected.72  He  was  a  large-hearted  and  measur 
ably  astute  man,  with  tact  enough  to  preside  well, 
and  as  much  wisdom  in  debate  as  his  fellows.'3 

The  chosen  reporter  of  the  convention,  J.  Ross 
Browne,  had  a  commission  to  establish  post-offices, 
and  established  one  at  San  Jose  before  the  conven 
tion,  and  none  anywhere  afterward.  William  G* 

7«  Overland  Monthly,  ix.  14-16;  Simonin,  Grand  Quest.,  320-3. 

71  Crosby,  Events  in  Cal.,  MS.,  38-40.     This  was  true;  but  it  was  the  consti 
tution  of  Iowa. 

72  Gwin  explains  that  it  was  the  distrust  of  the  native-born  members  that 
defeated  him.     They  attributed  to  him  '  the  most  dangerous  Designs  upon 
their  property,  in  the  formation  of  a  state  government.'  Memoirs,  MS.,  11. 

73  Royce,  California,  62;   Colton,   Three  Years,  32j  Sherman,  $f em.,  i.  78j 
Capi-on,  47-8. 

HIST  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.    19 


290  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

Marcy  was  selected  secretary ;  Caleb  Lyon,  of  Lyons- 
dale,  first  assistant,  and  J.  G.  Field,  second  assistant 
secretaries.  William  Hartnell  was  employed  to  inter 
pret  for  the  Spanish  members.  Chaplains  were  at 
hand,  Padre  Ramirez  and  S.  H.  Willey  alternating 
with  the  refugee  superior  of  the  Lower  California  mis 
sions,  Ignacio  Arrellanes.74 

Thus  equipped  the  delegates  proceeded  harmoniously 
with  their  work.  They  did  not  pretend  to  originate 
a  constitution ;  they  carefully  compared  those  of  the 
several  states  with  whose  workings  they  were  familiar, 
and  borrowed  from  each  what  was  best  and  most  ap 
plicable,  or  could  be  most  easily  made  to  conform  to 
the  requirements  of  California,  all  of  which,  by  amend 
ments  frequently  suggested,  became  modelled  into  a 
new  and  nearly  faultless  instrument. 

To  the  surprise  of  northern  men,  no  objection  was 
made  by  the  southerners  to  that  section  in  the  bill  of 
rights  which  declared  that  neither  slavery  nor  invol 
untary  servitude,75  except  in  punishment  of  crime, 
should  ever  be  tolerated  in  the  state.  It  was  not  in 
the  bill  as  reported  by  the  committee76  having  it  in 

74  Browne,  L.  Cal.,  51;    Willey  s  Thirty  Years,  32. 

75  The  temper  of  the  majority  was  understood.     As  early  as  1848  the  qiies- 
tion  was  discussed  in  Cal.  in  relation  to  its  future.     The  editor  of  the  Call- 
fornian,  in  May  of  that  year,  declares  that  he  echoes  the  sentiment  of  the 
people  of  California  in  saying  that '  slavery  is  neither  needed  nor  desired  here, 


signing  himself  G.  C.  H.,  in  the  same  journal  of  Nov.  4,  1848,  writes:  'If 
white  labor  is  too  high  for  agriculture,  laborers  on  contract  may  be  brought 
from  China,  or  elsewhere,  who  if  well  treated  will  work  faithfully  for  low 
wages.'  Buckelew,  in  the  issue  of  March  15,  1848,  said:  'We  have  not  heard 
one  of  our  acquaintance  in  this  country  advocate  the  measure,  and  we  are 
almost  certain  that  97-100  of  the  present  population  are  opposed  to  it.'  'We 
left  the  slave  states,'  remarked  the  editor  again,  *  because  we  did  not  like  to 
bring  up  a  family  in  a  miserable,  can't-help-one's-self  condition,'  and  dearly 
as  he  loved  the  union  he  should  prefer  Cal.  independent  to  seeing  her  a  slave 
state.  The  N.  Y.  Express  of  Sept.  10,  1848,  thought  the  immigration  would 
settle  the  question.  It  did  not  change  the  sentiment,  except  to  add  rather 
more  friends  of  slavery  to  the  population,  but  still  with  a  majority  against  it. 
On  the  8th  of  Jan.,  1849,  a  mass  meeting  in  Sac.  passed  resolutions  opposing 
slavery.  This  was  the  first  public  expression  of  the  kind. 

76  G  win  was  chairman  of  the  committee  on  constitution.  Norton,  Hill, 
Foster,  De  la  Guerra,  Rodriguez,  Tefft,  Covarrubias,  Dent,  Halleck,  Dim- 
mick,  Hoppe,  Vallejo,  Walker,  Snyder,  Sherwood,  Lippiucott,  and  Moore 
constituted  the  committee.  Browne,  Comtit.  Debates,  29. 


THE  BAD  BLACK  MAN.  291 

charge,  but  when  offered  by  Shannon  was  unanimously 
adopted.  Gwin  had  set  out  on  the  road  to  the  United 
States  senate,77  and  could  not  afford  to  raise  any 
troublesome  questions ;  and  most  of  the  southern  men 
among  the  delegates  having  office  in  view  were  sim 
ilarly  situated.  Some  of  them  hoped  to  regain  all 
that  they  lost  when  they  came  to  the  subject  of 
boundary.  Let  northern  California  be  a  free  state; 
out  of  the  remainder  of  the  territory  acquired  from 
Mexico  half  a  dozen  slave  states  might  be  made. 

But  the  African,  a  veritable  Banquo's  ghost,  would 
not  down,  even  when  as  fairly  treated  as  I  have 
shown ;  and  McCarver  insisted  on  the  adoption  of  a 
section  preventing  free  negroes  from  coming  to  or 
residing  in  the  state.  It  was  adroitly  laid  to  rest  by 
Green,  who  persuaded  McCarver  that  his  proposed 
section  properly  belonged  in  the  legislative  chapter  of 
the  constitution,  where,  however,  it  never  appeared. 

The  boundary  was  more  difficult  to  deal  with,  intro 
ducing  the  question  of  slavery  in  an  unexpected  phase. 
The  report  of  the  committee  on  boundary  included  in 
the  proposed  state  all  the  territory  between  the  line 
established  by  the  treaty  of  1848  between  Mexico  and 
the  United  States,  on  the  south,  and  the  parallel  of 
42°  on  the  north,  and  west  of  the  116th  meridian  of 
longitude.  McDougal,  chairman  of  the  committee, 
differed  from  it,  and  proposed  the  105th  meridian  as 
the  eastern  boundary,  taking  in  all  territory  acquired 
from  Mexico  by  the  recent  treaty,  and  a  portion  of 
the  former  Louisiana  territory  besides.  Semple  was 
in  favor  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  as  the  eastern  boundary, 
but  proposed  leaving  it  open  for  congress  to  decide. 
Gwin  took  a  little  less,  naming  for  the  eastern  line  the 
boundary  between  California  and  New  Mexico,  as  laid 

77  Gwin  says  in  his  Memoirs,  MS. ,  5,  that  on  the  day  of  Prest  Taylor's 
funeral  he  met  Stephen  A.  Douglas  in  front  of  the  Willard's  Hotel,  and  in 
formed  him  that  on  the  morrow  he  should  be  en  route  for  California,  which 
by  the  failure  of  congress  to  give  it  a  territorial  government,  would  be  forced 
to  make  itself  a  state,  to  urge  that  policy  and  to  become  a  candidate  for 
U.  S.  senator;  and  that  within  a  year  he  would  present  his  credentials.  He 
was  enabled  to  keep  his  word. 


292  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

down  on  Preuss'  map  of  Oregon  and  California  from 
the  survey  of  Fremont  and  others.  Halleck  suggested 
giving  the  legislature  power  to  accede  to  any  proposi 
tion  of  congress  which  did  not  throw  the  eastern  line 
west  of  the  Sierra;  to  which  Gwin  agreed.  "If  we 
include  territory  enough  for  several  states,"  said  the 
latter,"  it  is  competent  for  the  people  and  the  state  of 
California  to  divide  it  hereafter."  He  thought  the 
fact  that  a  great  portion  of  the  territory  was  unex 
plored,  and  that  the  Mormons  had  already  applied  for 
a  territorial  government,  should  not  prevent  them  from 
including  the  whole  area  named.  Then  arose  McCar- 
ver,  and  declared  it  the  duty  of  the  house  to  fix  a 
permanent  boundary,  both  that  they  might  know 
definitely  what  they  were  to  have,  and  to  prevent  the 
agitation  of  the  slavery  question  in  the  event  of  a  fu 
ture  division  of  "territory  enough  for  several  states." 
Shannon  proposed  nearly  the  line  which  was  finally 
adopted  for  California,  which  he  said  included  "  every 
prominent  and  valuable  point  in  the  territory;  every 
point  which  is  of  any  real  value  to  the  state  ;"  and  in 
sisted  upon  fixing  the  boundary  in  the  constitution. 
"  I  believe,  if  we  do  not,  it  will  occasion  in  the  congress 
of  the  United  States  a  tremendous  struggle/'  said  he ; 
and  gave  good  reasons  for  so  believing.  "  The  slave- 
holding  states  of  the  south  will  undoubtedly  strive 
their  utmost  to  exclude  as  much  of  that  territory  as 
they  can,  and  contract  the  limits  of  the  new  free  state 
within  the  smallest  possible  bounds.  They  will  nat 
urally  desire  to  leave  open  as  large  a  tract  of  country 
as  they  can  for  the  introduction  of  slavery  hereafter. 
The  northern  states  will  oppose  it  [the  constitution], 
because  that  question  is  left  open" — and  so  the  admis 
sion  of  California  would  be  long  delayed,  whereas  the 
thing  they  all  most  desired  was  that  there  should  be 
no  delay.  Hastings  also  took  this  view.  "  The  south 
will  readily  see  that  the  object  [of  Gwin's  boundary] 
is  to  force  the  settlement  of  the  question  [slavery ]. 
The  south  will  never  agree  to  it.  It  raises  the  ques- 


BOUNDARY  QUESTION.  293 

tion  in  all  its  bitterness  and  in  its  worse  form,  before 


congress." 


These  remarks  aroused  Betts,  who  plunged  into  the 
controversy :  "I  understand  now,  from  one  of  the  gen 
tlemen  that  constitute  the  new  firm  of  Gwin  and  Hal- 
leek — the  gentleman  from  Monterey — who  avows  at 
last  the  reason  for  extending  this  eastern  boundary  be 
yond  the  natural  limits  of  California,  that  it  will  settle 
in  the  United  States  the  question  of  slavery  over  a 
district  beyond  our  reasonable  and  proper  limits,  which 
we  do  not  want,  but  which  we  take  in  for  the  purpose 
of  arresting  further  dispute  on  the  subject  of  slavery 
in  that  territory.  It  has  been  well  asked  if  the  gen 
tleman  can  suppose  that  southern  men  can  be  asleep 
when  such  a  proposition  is  sounded  in  their  ears.  Sir, 
the  avowal  of  this  doctrine  on  the  floor  of  this  house 
necessarily  and  of  itself  excites  feelings  that  I  had 
hoped  might  be  permitted  to  slumber  in  my  breast 
while  I  was  a  resident  of  California.  But  it  is  not  to 
be.  This  harrowing  and  distracting  question  of  the 
rights  of  the  south  and  the  aggressions  of  the  north 
—this  agitating  question  of  slavery — is  to  be  intro 
duced  here.  .  . .  Why  not  indirectly  settle  it  by  extend 
ing  your  limits  to  the  Mississippi?  Why  not  include 
the  island  of  Cuba,  a  future  acquisition  of  territory 
that  we  may  one  day  or  other  obtain,  and  forever  settle 
this  question  by  our  action  here  ? "  And  then  he  gave 
his  reasons  for  fixing  a  boundary,  and  not  a  too  exten 
sive  one,  urging  the  greater  political  power  of  small 
states. 

McDougal  seems  to  have  been  enlightened  by  the 
discussion,  and  to  have  made  up  his  mind  to  present 
his  views;  this  being  his  first  attempt  to  deliver  any 
kind  of  argument  in  a  deliberative  body.  He  was  now 
opposed  to  taking  in  the  country  east  of  the  Sierra, 
which  he  had  first  advocated.  "The  people  may 
change  their  notions  about  slavery  after  they  get  hold 
of  the  territory;  they  may  assemble  in  convention  and 
adopt  slavery.  It  leaves  this  hole  open.  You  at 


294  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

once  acquire  the  sole  control  over  this  confederacy  for 
time  immemorial.  We  do  not  wish  to  give  you  this 
power,  because  other  subjects,  as  important  as  that  of 
slavery,  may  arise  in  this  government,  and  you  would 
have  power  alone  to  control  them.  And  another  very 
good  reason,  which  they  might  urge  with  a  great  deal 
of  plausibility:  Suppose  this  state  should  have  this 
immense  population,  this  immense  representation — 
suppose,  like  South  Carolina,  she  should  undertake  to 
act  independently,  and  recede  from  the  confederacy — 
she  could  do  it,  having  the  physical  and  all  other 
powers  to  do  it.  If,  therefore,  we  adopt  this  line,  I 
am  very  sure  it  will  be  sent  back  to  us.  We  will  have 
to  call  another  convention  and  adopt  other  lines  to  suit 
the  views  of  congress.  In  the  mean  time  we  have  no 
law.  We  are  in  the  same  chaotic  condition  that  we 
are  now  in.  And  that  is  the  very  thing,  Mr  Chair 
man,  if  the  secret  was  known,  which  I  apprehend  they 
want  to  do.  They  want  a  constitution  presented  to 
congress  so  objectionable  that  it  will  be  thrown  back 
for  another  convention.  Gentlemen  have  risen  on 
this  floor  and  stated  that  they  had  received  letters 
from  the  south,  and  that  they  knew  of  many  others 
who  want  to  bring  their  slaves  here  and  work  them 
for  a  short  period  in  the  mines,  and  then  emancipate 
them.  If  this  constitution  is  thrown  back  upon  us 
for  reconsideration,  it  leaves  them  the  opportunity  of 
bringing  their  slaves  here.  It  is  what  they  desire  to 
do,  to  create  some  strongly  objectionable  feature  in 
the  constitution  in  order  that  they  may  bring  their 
slaves  here  and  work  them  three  months.  They  will 
even  then  get  more  than  they  can  get  for  them  in  the 
states.  I  look  upon  that  as  the  result  if  we  send  our 
constitution  to  congress  with  a  boundary  so  objection 
able  as  this.  We  will  have  herds  of  slaves  thrown 
upon  us — people  totally  incapable  of  self-government; 
and  they  are  so  far  from  the  mother  country  that  we 
can  never  get  rid  of  them;  and  we  will  have  an  evil 


NATIVE  CALIFORNIAN  MEMBERS.  295 

imposed  upon  us  that  will  be  a  curse  to  California  as 
long  as  she  exists." 

What  McDougal's  speech  lacked  in  grammar  and 
rhetoric  it  supplied  in  facts,  and  was  therefore  of 
value.  After  some  further  remarks  on  both  sides, 
Semple  related  a  conversation  he  had  held  with 
Thomas  Butler  King,  who  had  said:  "  For  God's 
sake,  leave  us  no  territory  to  legislate  upon  in  con 
gress;"  whereupon  Betts  repudiated  the  idea  of  King 
&i  an  exponent  of  the  wishes  of  congress.  Norton 
spoke  in  favor  of  Gwin's  boundary ;  Sutter  of  that  re 
ported  by  the  committee,  except  that  he  suggested 
the  southern  line  to  be  the  confluence  of  the  Gila 
River  with  the  Colorado,  in  order  to  facilitate  the 
trade  of  the  people  of  San  Diego  with  Sonora  and 
New  Mexico. 

The  debates  waxed  warm,  and  Shannon  took  occa 
sion  to  say  that  King  did  not  utter  the  sentiments  of 
the  entire  congress.  "  The  secret  of  it  is  this,"  said  he, 
"  that  the  cabinet  of  the  United  States  have  found 
themselves  in  difficulty  about  the  Wilmot  proviso,  and 
Mr  Thomas  Butler  King — it  may  be  others — is  sent 
here,  in  the  first  place,  for  the  purpose  of  influencing 
the  people  of  California  to  form  a  state  government, 
and  in  the  next  place  to  include  the  entire  territory. 
Sir,  it  is  a  political  quarrel  at  home  into  which  they 
wish  to  drag  the  new  state  of  California.  For  my 
part  I  wish  to  keep  as  far  away  from  such  rocks  and 
breakers  as  possible.  Let  the  president  and  his 
cabinet  shoulder  their  own  difficulties.  I  have  no 
desire  to  see  California  dragged  into  any  political 
quarrel.  Are  these  the  high  authorities  to  which  we 
should  so  reverentially  bow?  I  think  not.  I  believe 
they  speak  but  their  own  sentiments,  or  his  own  senti 
ments,  or  the  sentiments  of  the  cabinet.  Besides,  sir, 
I  always  wish  to  watch  a  political  agent;  I  would 
always  be  careful  of  men  of  that  description." 

When  Carrillo  had  spoken,  through  an  interpreter, 
in  favor  of  comprehending  in  the  state  of  California 


296  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

all  the  country  assigned  by  the  Spanish  government 
to  the  province  of  Upper  California,  in  1768,  and  rec 
ognized  as  such  by  Mexico,  upon  the  ground  that  they 
had  no  right  to  leave  any  part  of  the  people  without 
government,  Betts  raised  a  new  point,  which  was  that 
the  convention  had  been  called  by  proclamation  of 
General  Riley  to  represent  the  ten  districts  there 
named,  and  all  lying  west  of  the  Sierra.  How,  then, 
could  they  represent  any  more?  Some  of  them  had 
received  a  hundred  votes;  he  but  ninety-six;  how 
could  they  assume  to  legislate  for  30,000  Mormons  at 
Salt  Lake? 

The  subject  occupied  several  days  in  debate,  and 
was  laid  aside  to  be  brought  up  two  weeks  later,  when 
it  came  near  wrecking  the  constitution  altogether; 
but  after  a  scene  of  wild  confusion,  and  the  rejection 
of  several  amendments,  a  compromise  offered  by  Jones 
was  adopted  fixing  the  eastern  boundary  on  the  120th 
meridian  from  the  Oregon  line  to  the  39th  parallel, 
running  thence  to  the  Colorado  River  in  a  straight 
line  south-easterly,  to  the  intersection  of  the  35th  par 
allel;  and  thence  down  the  middle  of  the  channel  to 
the  boundary  established  between  the  United  States 
and  Mexico  by  the  treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo.  A 
proviso  was  attached  that  should  congress  refuse  to 
admit  the  state  with  that  boundary,  then  it  should 
include  all  the  territory  as  far  east  as  the  boundary 
line  of  New  Mexico,  as  drawn  by  Preuss  from  the 
surveys  of  Fremont  and  others.  In  this  form  it  was 
passed  by  a  vote  of  thirty-two  to  seven. 

No  other  subject  engendered  much  controversy,  and 
there  was  a  good  deal  of  "  slavish  copying  "  of  the  con 
stitutions  of  New  York  and  Iowa,  which  indeed  was 
the  highest  wisdom.  Every  white  male  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  and  every  white  male  citizen  of  Mex 
ico  who  had  chosen  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States  under  the  treaty  of  peace  of  1848,  of  the  age 
of  twenty-four  years,  and  who  had  resided  six  months 


STATE  DEBT  AND  TAXATION.  297 

in  the  state  preceding  the  election,  and  thirty  days  in 
the  district  in  which  he  claimed  his  vote,  was  eligible. 
A  proviso  permitted  the  legislature  by  a  two-thirds 
vote  to  admit  to  suffrage  Indians  or  the  descendants 
of  Indians,  in  special  cases  as  that  body  might  deem 
proper,  a  concession  to  the  native  Californians.78 

The  questions  of  corporations  and  state  debt,  and  of 
taxation,  received  much  attention  from  the  convention, 
which  restricted  the  legislature  in  its  power  to  create 
corporations  by  special  act,  or  to  charter  banks,  leav 
ing  it  to  form  general  laws  under  which  associations 
might  be  formed  for  the  deposit  of  gold  and  silver 
only,  but  without  the  power  to  issue  paper  of  any 
kind.  The  legislature  was  also  restricted  from  creat 
ing  a  state  debt  exceeding  the  amount  of  $300,000, 
unless  in  the  case  of  war;  but  it  might  pass  a  law 
authorizing  a  greater  expenditure  for  some  special 
object,  by  providing  ways  and  means  exclusive  of  a 
loan  for  the  payment  of  interest  and  principal.  Lot 
teries  were  also  prohibited  as  dangerous  to  the  welfare 
of  the  people. 

It  was  impossible  to  avoid  saying  in  the  constitu 
tion  that  taxation  should  be  equal ;  but  the  delegates 
from  that  portion  of  the  state  covered  by  Spanish 
grants  refused  to  listen  to  any  proposition  subjecting 
their  real  estate  to  taxation,  while  the  bulk  of  the 
population,  who  had  no  real  estate  nor  anything  that 
could  be  taxed,  enjoyed  the  benefits  of  a  government 
for  which  they,  the  Mexican  population,  paid.  To 
obviate  this  difficulty  the  assessors  and  boards  of 
supervisors  were  to  be  elected  by  the  voters  in  the 
county  or  town  in  which  the  property  was  situated, 
and  consequently  influenced  by  them.  This  provis 
ion  was  a  defect  of  which  the  constitution-makers 
were  conscious,  but  for  which  at  that  time  there 
seemed  no  remedy.  Some  guaranty  against  oppress 
ive  taxation  was  required,  and  none  better  offered, 

78 Suiter,  Autobiog.,  198-9;  Broume,  Consttt.  Debates,  179-80;  Owin,  Memoir, 
MS.,  16. 


298  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

although  it  was  plain  that  as  the  provision  stood,  it 
could  be  made  to  protect  the  great  and  oppress  the 
small  land-holders. 

The  legislature  was  forbidden  to  grant  divorces,  and 
was  required  to  pass  a  homestead  law.  All  property, 
real  and  personal,  of  married  women,  owned  at  the 
date  of  marriage  or  afterward  acquired  by  gift,  devise, 
or  inheritance,  was  made  separate  property,  and  the 
legislature  was  enjoined  to  pass  laws  for  its  registra 
tion;  and  other  laws  clearly  defining  the  rights  of 
wives  in  relation  to  property  and  other  matters. 

With  regard  to  education,  the  legislature  was  re 
quired  to  provide  for  a  system  of  common  schools,  by 
which  a  school  should  be  kept  up  in  each  district 
three  months  in  the  year;  and  any  district  neglecting 
to  sustain  such  a  school  should  be  deprived  of  its  pro 
portion  of  the  public  fund  during  such  neglect.  The 
support  of  common  schools  was  expected  to  be  derived 
from  the  sale  of  lands  with  which  the  state  was  in  the 
future  to  be  supplied  by  congress.  The  position  of 
California  was  quite  unlike  that  of  other  members  of 
the  United  States  when  demanding  admission,  having 

Eassed  through  no  territorial  period,  and  having  no 
ind  laws.  Considerable  time  would  elapse  before  it 
could  be  known  how  land  matters  stood,  how  much 
belonged  to  the  former  inhabitants,  the  nature  of 
their  titles,  and  other  questions  likely  to  arise.  But 
the  framers  of  the  constitution  could  only  proceed 
upon  the  ground  that  congress  would  not  be  less 
bountiful  to  California  in  the  matter  of  school  land 
than  it  had  been  to  Oregon  and  Minnesota.79  Has- 

79 1  have  been  at  some  trouble  to  find  who  first  suggested  our  present  lib 
eral  school  land  law.  It  seems  that  in  1846  James  H.  Piper,  acting  commis 
sioner  of  the  gen.  land  office,  made  a  report  to  Robt  J.  Walker,  sec.  of  the 
treasury,  on  the  '  expediency  of  making  further  provision  for  the  support  of 
common  schools  in  land,'  saying  that  it  was  attracting  much  attention,  and 
was  certainly  worthy  of  the  most  favorable  consideration.  '  Those  states  are 
sparsely  settled  by  an  active,  industrious,  and  enterprising  people;  who,  how 
ever,  may  not  have  sufficient  means,  independent  of  their  support,  to  endow 
or  maintain  public  schools.  In  aid  to  this  important  matter,  congress,  at  the 
commencement  of  our  land  system,  and  when  the  reins  of  government  were 
held  by  the  sages  of  the  revolution,  set  apart  one  section  out  of  every  town 
ship  of  36  sq.  miles.  At  that  early  day,  this  provision  doubtless  appeared 


GOVERNMENT  AND  JUDICIARY.  299 

tings  made  an  effort  to  have  the  obligatory  school  term 
extended  to  six  months;  but  Gwin  and  Dimmick  op 
posed  the  amendment,  and  it  was  lost.  The  legisla 
ture  was  required  to  take  measures  for  the  protection, 
improvement,  and  disposition  of  such  lands  as  congress 
should  grant  for  the  use  of  a  university,  and  to  secure 
the  funds  arising  therefrom ;  and  should  "  encourage 
by  all  suitable  means  the  promotion  of  intellectual, 
scientific,  moral,  and  agricultural  improvement." 

As  to  the  government  of  the  state,  its  executive  de 
partment  consisted  of  a  governor,  lieutenant-governor, 
secretary  of  state,  comptroller,  treasurer,  attorney- 
general,  and  surveyor-general;  the  governor  and  lieu 
tenant-governor  to  be  elected  by  the  people ;  the 
secretary  to  be  appointed  by  the  governor,  with  the 
other  officers  chosen  by  consent  of  the  senate,  and 
the  joint  vote  of  the  two  houses  of  the  legislature. 
The  judiciary  department  was  elective,80  and  consisted 
of  a  supreme  court,  district  courts,  county  courts,  and 
justices  of  the  peace. 

Among  the  miscellaneous  provisions  was  one  dis 
franchising  any  one  who  should  fight  a  duel  with  deadly 
weapons,  or  assist  in  any  manner  at  a  duel.81  The 

munificent,  but  experience  has  proved  it  to  be  inadequate. '  He  recommended 
further  grants.  H.  Ex.  Doc.,  9,  vol.  ii.,  29th  cong.,  2d  sess.  Walker  sent  the 
report  to  John  W.  Davis,  speaker  of  the  house.  In  the  report  of  sec.  Walker 
for  Dec.  1847,  he  refers  to  the  subject  again;  and  recommends  'the  grant  of  a 
school  section  in  the  centre  of  every  quarter  of  a  township,  which  would 
bring  the  school-house  within  a  point  not  exceeding  a  mile  and  a  half  from 
the  most  remote  inhabitant  of  such  qr  township. '  This  applied  first  to  Ore 
gon,  which  was  then  under  consideration  as  to  land  donations.  H.  Ex.  Doc., 
6,  p.  10  of  Rept  of  Sec  Treas.,  29th cong.,  1st  sess.  Addressed  to  Hon.  Robt 
C.  Winthop,  speaker  of  the  house.  In  1848,  Walker  again  recommends  the 
grant  of  4  sections  in  every  township  for  school  purposes,  '  in  each  of  the  new 
states,'  mentioning  however,  Or.,  Cal.,  and  New  Mexico.  H.  Ex  Doc.,  7, 
vol.  ii.,  30th  cong.,  2d  sess.  The  committee  to  which  it  was  referred  finally 
decided  upon  two  sections  to  every  township.  Gwin  quoted  from  Walker's 
report.  Browne,  Constit.  Debates,  207 

80  Du  Hailly,  in  Revue  des  Devx  Mondes,  Feb     1     1859,   608-9,  remarks 
upon  the  judiciary  being  subject  to  the  caprices  and  instabilities  of  elections 
at  short  inter\7als.     There  were  seven  in  the  convention  opposed  to  it-  among 
whom  was  Crosby.  Events  in  Cal.,  MS.,  44. 

81  During  the  discussions  in  the  early  part  of  the  session,  Jones  and  Tefft 
had  a  wordy  encounter  which  nearly  resulted  in  a  bloody  one,  but  the  wrould- 
be  duellists  were  brought  to  a  mutual  apology  by  the  interposition  of  Gwin, 
whose  knowledge  of  parliamentary  usages  was,  though  often  paraded,  really 
of  much  use  to  the  convention,  as  this  incident  illustrates 


300  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

question  of  a  capital  was  avoided  by  requiring  the 
legislature  to  meet  at  San  Jose  until  removed  by  law, 
the  consent  of  two  thirds  of  all  the  members  of  both 
branches  of  the  legislature  being  necessary  to  its 
removal. 

When  the  committee  on  finance  was  instructed  to 
report  on  the  compensation  of  members  of  the  con 
vention,  Gwin  summed  up  the  condition  of  the  revenue 
of  the  country  briefly  to  the  effect  that  the  new  state 
was  in  want  of  everything — public  buildings,  court 
houses,  jails,  roads,  bridges,  and  all  internal  improve 
ments — prices  were  excessively  high,  there  was  not  a 
dollar  of  public  money,  nor  could  any  be  raised  but  by 
levying  taxes  which  the  population  was  in  no  condition 
to  bear.  Ranches  were  abandoned  and  the  laborers 
gone  to  the  mines.  There  were  consequently  no 
crops,  and  property  that  yielded  $100,000  income 
three  years  before  was  then  yielding  nothing.  In  the 
mines  the  people  could  not  be  taxed,  having  no  prop 
erty  but  the  gold  they  dug  out  of  the  earth,  and  needing 
that  to  make  improvements.  The  proposition  was  made 
to  lay  before  congress  in  a  memorial,  to  accompany 
the  constitution,  the  condition  of  the  people,  and  call 
ing  for  support  to  a  state  government,  either  by  donat 
ing  a  part  of  the  public  domain,  or  appropriating  from 
the  moneys  collected  in  California  from  the  customs 
and  sale  of  the  public  lands  an  amount  sufficient  for 
the  object.  This  Gwin  thought  would  not  be  objected 
to  by  congress,  which  in  the  case  of  fourteen  other 
states  had  paid  the  expenses  of  a  territorial  govern 
ment  for  many  years.  The  memorial  which  was 
finally  presented  to  congress  with  the  constitution  did 
not  make  the  demand  proposed,  and  only  very  slightly 
alluded  to  the  fund  created  by  customs  collected  in 
California  while  in  its  transition  state.82  The  schedule 

82 1  have  already  several  times  alluded  to  this  fund,  but  without  giving  its 
entire  history,  which  is  this:  In  Oct.  1849,  a  Military  Contribution  tariff  was 
promulgated  by  the  president,  and  established  in  the  ports  of  Cal.  The  cus 
tom-houses,  which  until  then  had  remained  in  the  hands  of  citizens,  who 
accounted  to  the  military  governor,  or  commodore  of  the  Pacific  squadron, 
were  now  filled  with  army  or  navy  officers,  down  to  the  period  when,  peace 


CONVENTION  WORK  COMPLETED.  301 

attached  to  the  main  instrument  continued  the  exist 
ing  laws  in  force  until  altered  or  repealed  by  the  legis- 

being  proclaimed,  collectors  were  appointed  by  Mason,  in  his  position  of  gov. 
of  Cal. ,  customs  being  collected  0:1  all  foreign  goods  as  directed  in  the  tariff 
of  184G — the  commodore  of  the  Pacific  squadron  continuing  the  direction  of 
all  matters  relating  to  port  regulations.  'A  double  necessity,' says  Riley, 
'impelled  the  gov.  to  this  course;  the  country  was  in  pressing  need  of  these 
foreign  goods,  and  congress  had  established  no  port  of  entry  on  this  coast;  the 
want  of  a  more  complete  organization  of  the  existing  civil  govt  was  daily  in 
creasing;  and  as  congress  had  made  no  provision  for  supporting  a  territorial 
govt  in  this  country,  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  create  a  fund  for  that 
purpose  from  duties  collected  on  these  foreign  goods.  It  is  true,  there  was  no 
law  of  congress  authorizing  the  collection  of  those  duties,  but  at  the  same  time 
the  laws  forbade  the  landing  of  the  goods  until  the  duties  were  paid.  Congress 
had  declined  to  legislate  on  the  subject,  and  both  the  president  and  secretary 
of  the  treasury  acknowledged  the  want  of  power  of  the  treasury  department 
to  collect  revenue  in  Cal.  The  gov.  of  Cal.,  therefore,  assumed  the  respon 
sibility  of  collecting  this  revenue  for  the  support  of  the  govt  of  this  coun 
try.'  Letter  of  Riley  to  Col  J.  Hooker,  com'g  dept,  asst  adj. -gen.  Pacific 
division,  in  H.  Ex.  Doc.,  31,  i.  no.  17,  p.  814-29.  The  writer  goes  on  to  say 
that  in  the  interim  between  the  signing  of  the  treaty  of  peace  and  the  exten 
sion  of  the  revenue  laws  over  this  country,  it  is  a  fair  presumption  that  the 
temporary  regulations  established  by  the  executive  authority  continued  in 
force,  so  far  as  they  conflicted  with  no  treaties,  or  laws  of  the  U.  S. ,  or  con 
stitutional  provisions;  at  any  rate,  that  Mason  had  communicated  his  pro 
ceedings  to  Washington,  and  met  with  no  rebuke,  from  which  he  inferred 
they  were  approved;  in  fact,  that  congress  had  entirely  ignored  the  whole 
case.  'The  reason  of  this  is  obvious:  as  congress  had  failed  to  organize  a 
territorial  govt  here,  all  were  aware  the  existing  govt  must  continue  in  force, 
and  that  it  must  have  some  means  of  support.'  Such  was  the  extraordinary 
origin  and  history  of  the  civil  fund,  which  began  as  a  military  contribution, 
and  after  peace  was  continued  solely  by  the  will  of  a  military  officer,  without 
the  instructions  or  even  the  notice  of  congress,  but  which  congress  permitted 
to  be  applied  as  the  military  governors  saw  fit  until  the  state  govt  was  estab 
lished,  and  then  diverted  into  the  U.  S.  treasury.  In  Aug.  1849,  an  attempt 
was  made  to  remove  this  money  from  the  control  of  Riley,  and  to  place  it  at 
the  disposition  of  the  military  commander  who  had  had  '  no  responsibility  in 
its  collection,  and  who  of  right  can  exercise  no  authority  over  it.  It  was  the 
correspondence  on  this  subject  which  brought  out  the  above  statements. 
Among  other  facts  elicited  was  this,  that  when  money  was  wanted  by  the 
military  department  (formerly),  on  application  a  loan  or  temporary  transfer 
was  made  from  the  civil  fund.  Halleck  also,  in  May  1849,  complained  that 
it  was  difficult  to  keep  the  civil  funds  separate  from  the  military  appropria 
tions.  The  reason  was,  that  the  army  and  navy  officers  found  their  pay  so 
inadequate  to  their  expenses  as  to  force  them  to  make  calls  upon  the  civil 
fund.  That  'grim  old  fellow,'  Riley,  refused  to  give  up  the  money  already 
collected  under  his  administration,  and  in  his  charge,  to  Gen.  Smith,  who  had 
certainly  no  right  to  demand  it.  On  the  3d  of  Aug.  the  gov.  appointed  Maj. 
Robert  Allen  treasurer  of  Cal  ,  who  in  direct  violation  of  his  instructions  trans 
ferred  $35,124.79  to  the  quartermaster's  department,  and  $500  to  Maj.  Fitz 
gerald,  asst  qr  master.  In  Aug.  the  amounts  due  the  civil  fund  from  the 
military  dept  was  $10,000,  transferred  to  Maj.  Hardie  for  raising  troops  in 
Or  ;  $70,000  to  Naval  Purser  Forest,  for  the  expenses  of  bringing  immigrants 
from  Lower  Cal.;  $3,500  to  Maj.  Rich,  and  $200  to  Lieut  Warren;  $10,804.50 
transferred  by  Lieut  Davidson  to  the  qr  master  and  commissary  depts,  and 
$896.70  delivered  to  Capt.  Ingall  by  the  collector  at  San  Pedro.  Previous  to 
this,  in  1848,  Gen.  Kearny  appointed  two  sub-Indian  agents,  and  paid  them 
from  the  civil  fund,  and  there  had  been  loaned  $3,210  to  officers  of  the  navy. 


302  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

lature,  and  transferred  all  causes  which  might  be 
pending  to  the  courts  created  by  the  constitution  on 
the  admission  of  the  state.  It  provided  for  its  ratifi 
cation  by  the  people,  at  an  election  to  be  held  Novem 
ber  13th,  and  for  the  election  at  the  same  time  of  a 
governor,  lieutenant-governor,  a  legislature,  and  two 
members  of  congress.  Should  the  constitution  be 
adopted,  the  legislature  should  assemble  at  the  seat  of 
government  on  the  15th  of  December,  and  proceed  to 
install  the  officers  elect,  to  choose  two  senators  to  the 
congress  of  the  United  States,  and  to  negotiate  for 
money  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  state  government. 
By  close  application  to  business,  day  and  night,83 
the  constitution  was  brought  to  completion,  and  signed 
on  the  13th  of  October,  thirty-one  guns  being  fired 
from  the  fort  in  honor  of  the  occasion ;  the  last  one  for 
the  constitution  of  the  new  state  of  California.84  It 
was  an  instrument  of  which  its  makers  might  justly 
be  proud ;  its  faults  being  rather  those  of  circumstance 

None  of  this  money  had  been  accounted  for  in  Aug.  1849,  nor  do  I  find  any 
evidetice  that  it  ever  was  returned  to  the  civil  fund.  In  Sept.  Riley  author 
ized  the  loan  of  $30,000  for  the  use  of  the  pay  dept  of  the  army,  from  the  fund 
collected  at  Benicia.  In  Oct.  $15,000  was  loaned  Maj.  McKinstry,  for  the 
use  of  the  qr  master's  dept;  and  for  Lieut  Derby's  use  $3,000.  One  other 
source  of  revenue,  besides  customs,  was  the  money  received  from  the  rent  of 
the  missions — unauthorized,  like  the  first — all  of  which  is  to  be  found  in  the 
document  quoted  above.  See  also  Alia  Cal.,  Dec.  15,  1849,  and  Frost's  Hist. 
Cat.,  485-6.  King,  on  his  arrival,  had  to  have  a  finger  in  the  pie.  He  in 
structed  the  collectors  not  to  exact  duties,  but  to  receive  deposits  at  the  door 
of  the  treasury,  subject  to  the  action  of  congress.  On  the  20th  of  June  there 
was  half  a  million  in  the  hands  of  the  quartermaster,  a  part  of  which  belonged 
to  the  revenue,  congress  having  extended  the  revenue  laws  to  Cal.  Riley  had 
always  been  of  the  opinion  that  the  civil  fund  belonged  in  justice  to  the  peo 
ple  of  Cal.,  from  whom  it  had  been  collected  without  a  shadow  of  law,  and 
made  several  recommendations  on  the  subject,  some  of  which  were  that  it 
should  be  applied  to  school  purposes  and  to  public  improvements.  Neither 
object  ever  received  a  dollar  of  it;  but  the  money  was  ordered  into  the  U.  S. 
treasury,  after  the  expenses  of  the  convention  were  paid  out  of  it,  which  the 
general  took  care  should  be  liberal. 

83  Among  the  relics  of  the  convention  preserved  is  a  candlestick  which 
served  to  help  illuminate  its  evening  sessions. 

8i  Crosby  mentions  that  Sutter  had  a  great  love  for  the  noise  of  artillery, 
and  was  much  excited  by  the  discharge  of  the  cannon,  exclaiming  over  and 
over,  'This  is  the  proudest  day  I  ever  saw  !'  Cal.  Events,  MS.,  37.  The  gen 
tle  Swiss  was  mellow.  See,  further,  Sac.  Union,  Sept.  1859;  *Cal.  Past  and 
Present,  181;  8.  F.  Alta,  June  17,  1878;  Roach,  Statement,  MS.,  4;  8.  F.  Post, 
June  29,  1878;  Taylors  Eldorado,  i.  146-56;  Frignet,  125  et  seq.;  Jenkins' 
U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  440;  Sac.  Reporter,  Jan.  7,  1869;  Willey's  Per.  Mem.,  MS., 
128-34. 


PAY  AND  PLAY  303 

than  of  judgment.  The  heterogeneous  personnel  of 
the  convention  proved  a  safeguard  rather  than  a  draw 
back;  New  York  being  forced  to  consult  Mississippi, 
Maryland  to  confer  with  Vermont,  Rhode  Island  with 
Kentucky,  and  all  with  California.  Strangers  to  each 
other  when  they  met,  in  contending  for  the  faith  that 
was  in  them  they  had  become  brothers,  and  felt  like 
congratulating  each  other  on  their  mutual  achiev- 
raent.85 

Governor  Riley  had  made  no  secret  of  his  intention 
to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  convention  from  the  civil 
fund,  and  on  being  visited  by  the  delegates,  en  masse, 
received  them  with  his  usual  grim  humor,  and  allowed 
their  not  too  modest  demand  of  sixteen  dollars  per  day, 
and  sixteen  dollars  for  every  twenty  miles  of  travel  in 
coming  and  returning.  The  reporter  of  the  proceed 
ings  received  $10,000,  he  contracting  to  furnish  one 
thousand  printed  and  bound  copies  in  English,  and  one 
quarter  as  many  in  Spanish,  for  that  money.  The 
nearest  newspaper  office  being  in  San  Francisco,  and 
there  lacking  but  one  month  to  the  time  of  election,  a 
courier  was  despatched  post-haste  to  the  Alia  office  to 
procure  the  printing  of  copies86  for  immediate  circula 
tion  for  election  purposes,  together  with  a  proclamation 
by  Governor  Riley  submitting  the  constitution  and 
an  address  to  the  people,  prepared  by  Steuart,  and 
signed  by  the  delegates.  Then  they  all  drew  a  breath 
of  relief,  and  voted  to  have  a  ball,  in  which  men  of 
half  a  dozen  nationalities,  and  almost  as  many  shades 
of  complexion,  trod  the  giddy  mazes  of  the  dance  with 

86  Lieut  Hamilton  made  the  handsomely  engrossed  copy  of  the  constitu 
tion,  which  was  forwarded  to  congress,  for  $500.  For  the  text  of  the  funda 
mental  laws  of  Cal,  see  Cal.  Statutes,  1850,  24-6;  U.  S.  Sen.  Doc.  28,  viii. ;  31st 
cong.,  1st  sess.;  U.  S.  H.  Misc.  Doc.,  44,  i.  18-34;  31st  cong.,  Istsess.;  (7.  S. 
II.  Ex.  Doc.  39,  vii.  17;  31st  cong.,  1st  sess.;  Browne,  Consttt.  Debates  App.,  iii.- 
xiii. ;  HartneWs  Convention,  Original,  MS.,  pts.  1-16;  Am.  Quart.  Reg.,  iii.  575- 
88;  S.  I.  Friend,  vii.  90;  Simonin,  Grand  Quest.,  324-36;  Capron,  48-50;  Poly 
nesian,  vi.  110.  The  autographs  of  the  signers  are  to  be  found  in  the  museum 
of  the  Pioneer  Society,  S.  F.  In  1875  only  15  out  of  the  48  were  living,  and 
the  orator  of  the  anniversary  celebration  for  that  year  (Ross  Browne)  died  a 
few  weeks  later. 

80  Footers  Angeles  in  1847,  MS.,  17-18;  H.  Ex.  Doc.  31,  i.  no.  17,  p. 
845-6;  Gregory,  Guide,  11-46;  Val,  Doc.,  35,  153-7. 


304  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

California  senoras  in  striking  costumes,  whose  dark 
splendors  were  relieved  here  and  there  by  a  woman  of 
a  blonde  type  and  less  picturesque  attire. 

In  a  few  days  the  constitution  was  carried  to  every 
mining  camp  and  rancho  in  the  land.87  Candidates 
took  the  field  for  office  under  it,  should  it  be  sanctioned 
by  the  people,  and  made  their  speeches  as  in  any 
ordinary  campaign.  The  democracy,  whose  delight  it 
always  was  to  '  organize/  held  their  first  party  gather 
ing  in  Portsmouth  square,  San  Francisco,  October 
25th,  Alcalde  Geary  acting  as  chairman.88  The  or 
ganization,  however,  being  suspected  to  be  a  piece  of 
political  legerdemain  to  put  in  nomination  for  congress 
a  member  of  a  clique,  some  of  the  solid,  old-fashioned 
democrats  in  attendance  offered  a  resolution  to  invite 
the  towns  in  the  interior  to  participate  in  the  nomina 
tions,  which  resolution  being  adopted,  a  convention 
was  the  result,  and  Edward  Gilbert  was  nominated 
for  that  position.  Other  democrats  gave  as  a  reason 
for  introducing  party  politics  at  this  period  in  the  his 
tory  of  the  state,  that  T.  Butler  King,  having  resigned 
his  place  in  the  lower  house  of  congress,  was  aiming 
at  the  senate,  expecting  to  be  elected  by  a  no-party 
majority,  and  they  wished  to  defeat  these  aspirations.*9 

Large  assemblages  were  held  in  Sacramento  of  the 
no-party  politicians,  the  object  of  which  was  to  select 
and  present  candidates  for  election  to  both  houses  of 
the  legislature,  and  also  to  obtain  the  United  States 
senator  ship  for  some  man  of  that  district.90  The  can- 

87  Rather  at  a  loss  to  some  of  the  most  active  of  the  prefects  and  sub- 
prefects  whose  duty  it  was  to  disseminate  the  political  news.    Crosby  says  he 
spent  about  $1,400  for  which  he  was  never  reimbursed.  Events  in  Cat.,  MS., 
56;  Fernandez,  Doc.,  4;  Ang.  Arch.,  iii.  277-8;  Taylor,  Eldorado,  i.  159-bU 

88  O.  P.  Sutton,  McMillan,  ,Thos  J.  Agnew,  John  McVickar,  W.  H.  Jones, 
E.  V.  Joyce,  and  Annis  Merrill  acted  as  vice-presidents;  J.  Ross  Browne, 
Joseph  T.  Downey,  Daniel  Cronin,  and  John  H.   McGlynn  as  secretaries. 
Oakland  Transcript,  March  5,  1873;  Solano  Valkjo  Democrat,  Feb.  11,  1871; 
Upham,  Notes,  2(i,  25. 

89  Geary,  Van  Voorhies,  and  Sutton  were  opposed  to  King.  Siitton,  State' 
ment,  MS.,  9.     'St  Chupostom,'  in  Placer  Times,  Nov.  17,  1849,  condemns 
the  formation  of  parties,  and  says  King  '  ought  to  have  sense  enough  nou  to 
set  the  ball  rolling. '  Polynesian,  vi.  98. 

w  A  mass  meeting  for  these  purposes  in  Sac.  was  held  on  the  29th  of  Oct. 


ASPIRANTS  FOR  OFFICE.  305 

didates  in  the  field  for  the  executive  office  were  Peter 
H.  Burnett,  William  M.  Steuart,  John  W.  Geary, 
John  A.  Sutter,  and  Winfield  S.  Sherwood.  Burnett 
was  superior  judge  at  the  time,  having  been  appointed 
by  Governor  Riley  to  that  position  on  the  13th  of 
August.  He  was  in  Monterey  during  the  session  of 
the  constitutional  convention,  and  being  satisfied  that 
it  would  go  before  the  people  and  be  adopted,  an 
nounced  himself  a  candidate  in  September,  and  re 
turned  to  San  Jose  before  the  close  of  the  proceedings 
to  commence  a  canvass.  Sherwood91  proposed  that 
Burnett  and  himself  should  submit  their  claims  to  a 
committee  of  mutual  friends,  who  should  decide  which 
should  withdraw;  but  this  Burnett  declined.  The 
election  showed  that  he  knew  his  strength,  the  vote 
standing:  Burnett,  6,716;  Sherwood,  3,188;  Sutter, 
2,201;  Geary,  1,475;  Steuart,  619.  The  office  of 
lieutenant-governor  was  sought  by  John  McDougal 
and  A.  M.  Winn,  the  former  being  elected. 

The  13th  of  November,  the  day  appointed  for  the 
election,  was  one  of  storm,  and  the  vote  in  consequence 
was  light.  The  population  of  California  at  this  period 
was  estimated  at  107,000;  the  number  of  Americans 
in  the  country  76,000;  of  foreigners  18,000;  of  natives 
13,000.  The  whole  vote  polled  was  12,064  for  and 
811  against  the  constitution ;  or  the  vote  of  about  one 
sixth  of  the  American  inhabitants.  It  was  a  satis- 

in  front  of  the  City  hotel;  S.  C.  Hastings,  prest;  Albert  Priest,  vice-prest; 
W.  R.  Grimshaw,  sec.;  W.  M.  Steuart,  John  McDougal,  E.  Gilbert,  J.  R. 
Snyder,  W.  S.  Sherwood,  P.  A.  Morse,  G.  B.  Tingley,  Edward  J.  C.  Kewen. 
The  meeting  adjourned  to  the  30th,  when  it  put  in  nomination  for  state  sena 
tors  John  Bidwell,  E.  O.  Crosby,  Henry  E.  Robinson,  and  Thos  J.  Green; 
and  for  the  assembly  Thos  J.  White,  John  F.  Williams,  R.  Gale,  E.  W.  Mc- 
Kinstry,  P.  B.  Cornwall,  George  B.  Tingley,  John  Bigler,  J.  P.  Long,  and 
John  T.  Hughes.  The  meeting  divided  and  another  nominating  committee 
reported  another  ticket,  which  was  adopted.  For  state  senators,  Bidwell, 
Robinson,  Crosby,  and  Harding  Bigelow.  For  assemblymen,  Cardwell, 
Cornwall,  Fowler,  Ford,  Walthal,  W.  B.  Dickinson,  James  Green,  T.  M. 
Ames,  and  A.  K.  Berry.  Placer  Times,  Nov.  3  and  Dec.  1,  1849. 

91  Sherwood  was  a  native  of  Washington  co.,  N.  Y.  He  had  served  in  the 
N.  Y.  legislature,  and  although  awkward  in  appearance  was  possessed  of 
good  acquirements  and  ready  wit.  He  was  still  a  young  man.  In  1852  he 
was  a  democratic  presidential  elector.  S.  F.  Altn,  July  24,  1852;  Havilah, 
Courier,  Jan.  12,  1867;  Tinkham,  Hist.  Stockton,  124. 
HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.  20 


306  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

factory  majority  of  those  who  took  enough  interest  in 
the  future  of  the  country  to  go  to  the  polls.  Edward 
Gilbert  and  George  W.  Wright  were  elected  repre 
sentatives  in  congress.  State  senators  and  represent 
atives  were  also  elected. 

The  schedule  to  the  constitution  provided  that  if 
the  instrument  should  be  ratified,  the  legislature 
should  meet  on  the  15th  of  December,  elect  a  presi 
dent  pro  tempore,  proceed  to  complete  the  organization 
of  that  body,  and  to  install  all  the  officers  of  state  as 
soon  as  practicable.  Three  days  previous  to  the 
meeting  of  the  legislature,  Governor  Riley  had  issued 
a  proclamation  declaring  the  constitution  submitted 
to  the  people  in  November  to  be  "ordained  and  estab 
lished  as  the  constitution  of  the  state  of  California." 
On  the  20th  Burnett  was  installed  governor,  General 
Riley  having  by  proclamation  laid  down  that  office  on 
the  same  day,92  together  with  that  of  his  secretary  of 
state,  Halleck.  The  civil  appointments  made  under 
him  expired  gradually,  as  the  state  government  came 
into  action  in  all  its  branches.93 

The  services  of  General  Riley  to  California  were  of 
the  highest  value,  combining,  as  he  did,  in  his  admin 
istration  the  firmness  of  a  military  dictatorship,  with 
a  statesmanlike  tact  in  leading  the  people  to  the 
results  aimed  at  by  them,  and  in  a  manner  to  correct 
any  leaning  toward  independence,  but  uniting  them 
firmly  with  the  general  government  by  showing  them 
their  dependence  upon  it.  He  continued  to  reside  at 
Monterey  until  July  1850,  when  he  returned  to  the 

**Supp.  Pacific  News,  Dec.  27,  1849;  Wilmington  Journal,  May  27,  1865. 
Petef  iialstead,  '  the  erratic  and  talented  son  of  a  distinguished  father, '  was 
a  candidate  for  congressman  on  the  whig  side  of  politics.  He  was  from  New 
Jersey,  and  died  in  New  York  subsequently,  being  assassinated  in  a  house  of 
ill-fame.  Gwin,  Mem.,  MS.,  129. 

93 The  severa1  proclamations  are  given  entire  in  Burnett,  Recoil.,  359-60; 
Pico,  Doc.,  i.  228;  San  Luis  Ob.,  Arch.,  sec.  19;  Hall,  Hist.  San  Jose,  218; 
Hittell,  S.  F.,  145-6.  A  thanksgiving  proclamation  was  issued  by  Gov.  Riley, 
setting  apart  the  29th  day  of  Nov.  to  be  kept  in  making  a  general  and  public 
acknowledgment  of  gratitude  to  the  Supreme  Ruler  of  the  universe  for  his 
kind  and  fostering  care  during  the  year  that  was  past.  //.  Ex.  Doc.  31,  i. 
no.  17,  p.  867;  Pico,  Doc.,  i.  198;  Aug.  Arch.,  iii.  281;  San  Jose  Pioneer,  June 
23,  IS77. 


PRESENTATION  AND  BANQUET.  307 

states,  bearing  with  him  tangible  proofs  of  the  esteem 
in  which  he  was  held  by  the  citizens  of  that  town,  in 
the  form  of  a  massive  gold  medal,  and  a  heavy  chain 
composed  of  nuggets  of  gold  in  their  native  shapes.9* 
Thus  ended  with  a  banquet  and  a  presentation  one  of 
the  most  important  periods  through  which  the  Cali 
fornia  country  was  to  pass. 

94  These  gifts  were  presented  on  the  occasion  of  a  farewell  banquet  given 
to  General  Riley  at  the  Pacific  house  at  Monterey,  where  200  covers  were 
laid,  and  the  ceremonies  were  in  an  imposing  style.  Gen.  T.  H.  Bowen  pre 
sided.  The  city  of  Monterey  voted  him  a  medal  of  gold  weighing  one  pound, 
which  was  presented  to  him  by  Maj.  P.  A.  Roach.  It  cost  $600.  On  one 
side  it  bore  the  arms  of  the  city;  on  the  other,  this  legend:  'Ihe  man  who 
came  to  do  his  duty,  and  who  accomplished  his  purpose.'  Id.,  April  20,  1878. 
Canta  Cruz  Sentinel,  July  23,  1870;  Quigley,  frisk  Race,  343.  Some  citizens  of 
S.  F.  had  previously  presented  him  with  a  gold  snuff-box.  Pacific  JStio*,  <»an. 
1,  1850. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

POLITICAL  HISTORY. 
1849-1850. 

THE  FIRST  LEGISLATURE — QUESTION  OF  STATE  CAPITAL — MEETING  or  THE 
LEGISLATURE  AT  SAN  JOSE — ORGANIZATION  AND  ACTS — PERSONNEL  OF 
THE  BODY — STATE  OFFICERS — FURTHER  STATE  CAPITAL  SCHEMES — CALI 
FORNIA  IN  CONGRESS — IMPENDING  ISSUES — SLAVERY  OR  No  SLAVERY — 
ADMISSION  INTO  THE  UNION — CALIFORNIA  REJOICES. 

THE  first  legislature  of  the  state  of  California  con- 

O 

sisted  of  sixteen  senators  and  thirty-six  assemblymen. 
The  rainy  season  which  had  set  in  on  the  28th  of  Oc 
tober,  1849,  was  at  its  height  by  the  middle  of  Decem 
ber,  and  did  not  close  until  the  22d  of  March,  during 
which  period  thirty-six  inches  of  water  fell  upon  the 
thirsty  earth.1  The  roads  were  rendered  nearly  im 
passable,  and  the  means  of  travel,  otherwise  than  on 
horseback,  being  limited,  it  was  with  difficulty  that 
the  members  made  their  way  to  San  Jose  from  their 
different  districts,  no  quorum  being  present  on  the 
first  and  second  days. 

The  people  of  San  Jose  had  sent  as  commissioners 
Charles  White  and  James  F.  Reed  to  Monterey,  dur 
ing  the  session  of  the  constitutional  convention,  to 
endeavor  to  secure  the  location  of  the  capital  at  their 
town.  They  were  compelled  to  pledge  themselves  to 
provide  a  suitable  building  for  the  meetings  of  the  first 
legislature,  upon  the  chance  that  the  capital  might  be 
fixed  there.  The  legislative  building  furnished  was 

1  Dr  Logan,  at  Sac.,  kept  a  rain-gauge,  from  which  the  fall  for  the  season 
was  taken. 

(308) 


THE  FIRST  LEGISLATURE.  309 

an  unfinished  box,  sixty  feet  long  and  forty  feet  wide, 
two  stories  in  height,  having  a  piazza  in  front.  The 
upper  story,  devoted  to  the  use  of  the  assembly,  was 
simply  one  large  room,  approached  by  a  flight  of  stairs 
from  the  senate-chamber,  a  hall  forty  by  twenty  feet 
on  the  ground-floor;  the  remainder  of  the  space  being 
occupied  by  the  rooms  of  the  secretary  of  state,  and 
various  committees.2  For  the  first  few  weeks,  owing 
to  the  incompleteness  of  their  hall,  the  senators  held 
their  meetings  in  the  house  of  Isaac  Branham,  on  the 
south-west  corner  of  the  plaza. 

The  crudity  of  the  arrangements  occasioned  much 
dissatisfaction,  and  on  the  19th  a  bill  to  immediately 
remove  the  capital  to  Monterey  passed  its  first  read 
ing,  but  was  laid  over,  and  the  business  of  the  session 
allowed  to  proceed.3  The  senate  was  organized  on  the 

2  This  house  was  destroyed  by  fire  April  29,  1853.  S.  F.  Argonaut,  Dec.  1, 
1877. 

3  There  being  no  county  organizations,  the  members  of  the  legislature  were 
elected  by  districts.     San  Diego  district  sent  to  the  senate  E.  Kirby  Chamber 
lain;  San  Joaquin,  D.  F.  Douglas,  B.  S.  Lippincott,  T.  L.  Vermeule,  Nelson 
Taylor,  and  W.  D.  Fair;  San  Jose,  W.  R.  Bassham;  Sonoma,  M.  G.  Vallejo; 
Monterey,  Selim  E.  Wood  worth;  Santa  Barbara,  Pablo  de  la  Guerra;  Los 
Angeles,  A.  W.  Hope;  Sac.,  E.  O.  Crosby,  John  Bid  well,  H.  E.  Robinson,  and 
Thomas  Jefferson  Green;  S.  F.,  N.  Bennett,  G.  B.  Post,  D.  C.  Broderick. 
Post  resigned,  and  E.  Hydenfeldt  was  elected  to  fill  his  place.     Broderick 
was  not  elected  until  Jan.  1850.     Six  of  the  senators  were  from  New  York 
state;  namely,  John  Bidwell,  born  1819,  immigrated  to  Pa,  Ohio,  Mo.,  and 
thence  in  1841  to  California;  E.  O.  Crosby,  aged  34,  came  to  Cal.  in  1848;  D. 
C.  Broderick,  born  in  D.  C.,  but  brought  up  in  New  York,  came  to  Cal.  in 
1849;  B.  S.  Lippincott,   aged  34,   born  in  New  York,  came  out  with  N.  Y. 
Vol.  from  New  Jersey;  Thomas  L.  Vermeule,  born  in  New  York  in  1814, 
came  to  Cal.  in  Nov.  1849;  he  resigned  his  seat;  S.  E.  Woodworth,  born  in 
New  York  in  1815,  began  life  as  a  sailor  in  1832,  entered  the  navy  in  1838, 
came  to  Cal.  overland  through  Or.  in  1846,  resigned  his  commission  in  Oct. 
1849,  and  was  elected  senator  for  two  years  in  Nov.     He  was  a  son  of  the 
author  of  the  '  Old  Oaken  Bucket.'     Connecticut  furnished  2  senators:  E.  K. 
Chamberlain,  born  1805,  removed  to  New  York  in  1815,  to  Pa  in  1829,  to 
Cincinnati  subsequently,  where  he  studied  medicine,  served  during  the  Mexi 
can  war  as  army  surgeon,  and  accompanied  the  Boundary  Line  Commission 
to  Cal.  in  1849;  C.  Robinson,  born  in  Conn.,  removed  at  an  early  age  to  La, 
studied  law,  but  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits,  and  came  to  Cal.  on  the  first 
mail  steamer  in  Feb.  1849.     Cal.  furnished  2  senators:  Pablo  de  la  Guerra, 
born  at  Santa  Barbara  in  1829.     He  entered  the  public  service  at  the  age  of 
19,  being  appointed  administrator-gen.,  which  position  he  held  until  1846. 
M.  G.  Vallejo  was  born  at  Monterey  in  1807.     In  1824  he  commenced  his 
military  career,  as  a  cadet,  and  served  as  lieut,  lieut-col,  and  commander  of 
northern  Cal.     He  founded  the  town  of  Sonoma.     E.  Heydenfeldt  was  born 
in  S.  C.  in  1821,  removed  to  Alabama  in  1841,  to  La  in  1844,  and  to  Cal.  in 
1849.     D.  F.   Douglas  was  born  in  Tenn.  in  1821,  removed  to  Ark.  in  1836. 
Three  years  afterward  he  fought  a  duel  with  Dr  William  Howell,  killing  his 


310  POLITICAL  HISTORY 

17th,  E.  Kirby  Chamberlain  being  elected  president 
pro  tern.  On  the  same  day  the  assembly  elected 
Thomas  J.  White  speaker.4  On  the  20th  the  governor 
and  lieutenant-governor  were  sworn  in  by  Kimble  H. 
Dirnmick,  judge  of  the  court  of  first  instance  of  San 
Jose.  Immediately  thereafter  the  legislature  in  con 
vention  proceeded  to  the  election  of  United  States 

antagonist.  He  was  imprisoned  over  a  year,  and  when  liberated  returned  to 
Tenn.,  but  afterward  removed  to  Miss,  and  engaged  in  Choctaw  speculation, 
moved  with  these  Indians  as  their  commissary,  but  finally  lost  money,  and 
went  to  N.  0.,  where  he  was  clerk  to  a  firm;  from  N.  O.  he  went  to  Texas 
in  the  winter  of  1845-6,  and  in  Mex.  war  joined  Hay's  regiment.  From 
Mex.  he  came  to  Cal.  in  1848.  W.  D.  Fair  was  born  in  Va,  and  came  to 
Cal.  via  Rio  Grande  and  Gila  route  in  1846  from  Miss.,  as  president  of  the 
Mississippi  Rangers. 

4  The  assemblymen  came  from  the  several  districts  as  follows:  San  Diego, 
O.  S.  Witherby;  Los  Angeles,  M.  Martin,  A.  P.  Crittenden;  Santa  Barbara, 
J.  Scott,  J.  M.  Covarrubias;  San  Luis  Obispo,  H.  A.  Tefft;  Monterey,  T.  R. 
Per  Lee,  J.  S.  Gray;  San  Jose1,  Joseph  Aram,  Benjamin  Cory,  Elam  Brown; 
S.  F.,  W.  Van  Voorhies,  Edmund  Randolph,  J.  H.  Watson,  Alexander  Pat 
terson,  Alfred  Wheeler,  L.  Stowell,  and  Clarke;  Sonoma,  J.  E.  Brackett,  J. 
S.  Bradford;  Sac.,  P.  B.  Cornwall,  H.  C.  Card  well,  John  T.  Hughes,  E.  W. 
McKinstry,  J.  Bigler,  George  B.  Tingley,  Madison  Walthall,  Thomas  J. 
White,  John  F.  Williams;  San  Joaquin,  B.  F.  Moore,  R.  W.  Heath,  D.  P. 
Baldwin,  Charles  M.  Creaner,  J.  S.  K.  Ogier,  James  C.  Moorehead,  J.  F. 
Stephens,  Van  Beascheten,  Crane,  and  Stewart,  4  of  these  being  substitutes 
for  members  who  resigned  during  the  session.  Those  who  resigned  were 
Martin,  Van  Voorhies,  Cornwall,  and  speaker  White.  Joseph  Aram  was  a  na 
tive  of  N.  Y.,  who  came  to  Cal.  in  1846.  Elam  Brown,  born  in  N.  Y.  in  1797, 
removed  to  Mo.,  and  from  there  to  Cal.  in  1846.  E.  B.  Bateman  immigrated 
from  Mo.  in  1847,  to  Stockton,  Cal.  D.  P.  Baldwin,  born  in  Ala,  came  to 
Cal.  in  May  1849,  and  resided  at  Sonora,  in  what  is  now  Tuolumne  co.  A. 
P.  Crittenden,  born  in  Lexington,  Ky,  married  in  Va,  settled  in  Texas  in 
1839,  left  his  family  in  Tex.  and  came  to  Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  in  1849.  B. 
Cory,  born  in  Ohio  in  1825,  came  to  Cal.  in  1847,  and  resided  at  San  Jose. 
Jose  M.  Covarrubias,  born  in  France,  came  to  Cal.  in  1834,  and  resided  at 
Sta  Barbara.  James  A.  Gray,  born  in  Phil.,  came  to  Cal.  in  1846,  in  N.  Y. 
regt.  John  F.  Hughes,  born  in  Louisville,  Ky,  came  to  Cal.  in  1849.  Thomas 
J.  Henly,  born  in  Ind.,  came  to  Cal.  in  1849,  through  the  South  Pass;  resided 
at  Sac.  Joseph  C.  Moorehead,  born  in  Ky,  came  to  Cal.  in  1846.  Elisha 
W.  McKinstry,  born  in  Detroit,  Mich.,  came  to  Cal.  in  1849;  resided  at  Sut- 
ter.  J.  S.  K.  Ogier,  born  in  S.  C.,  removed  to  N.  0.,  and  thence  to  Cal.  in 
1848.  Edmund  Randolph,  born  in  Va,  migrated  via  N.  0.  to  S.  F.  in  1849. 
Geo.  B.  Tingley,  born  in  1815,  in  Ohio,  came  to  Cal.  in  1849.  John  Cave,  born 
in  Ky.  Alfred  Wheeler,  born  in  N.  Y.  city,  in  1820,  came  to  Cal.  in  1849; 
resided  at  S.  F.  Marin  Co.  Hist.,  210-12;  Colusa  Sun,  in  Southern  Calif or- 
nian,  May  22,  1873;  Anthropographic  Chart,  1867;  Cal.  State  Register,  1857. 
The  secretary  of  the  senate  was  J.  F.  Howe;  asst  sec.,  W.  B.  Olds;  enrolling 
clerk,  A.  W.  Lockett;  engrossing  clerk,  B.  Dexter — resigned  April  10,  1850— 
succeeded  by  F.  T.  Eldridge;  sergt-at-arms,  T.  J.  Austin;  door-keeper,  E. 
Russell.  The  clerk  of  the  assembly  was  E.  H.  Thorp,  who,  being  elected 
clerk  of  the  supreme  court  Feb.  21st,  was  succeeded  by  John  Nugent;  asst 
clerk,  F.  H.  Sandford;  enrolling  clerk,  A.  D.  Ohr,  appointed  asst  clerk,  and 
Sandford  enrolling  clerk  in  Jan.  Engrossing  clerk,  C.  Mitchell;  transcribing 
clerk  elected  in  Jan.,  G.  0.  McMullin;  sergt-at-arms,  S.  W.  Houston;  door 
keeper,  J.  H.  Warrington.  Hayes*  Scraps,  Cal.  Notes,  iii.  198. 


ELECTION  OF  SENATORS.  311 

senators,  this  being  the  object  of  the  so  early  meeting 
of  that  body,  the  candidates  being  upon  the  ground, 
plying  their  trade  of  blandishments,  including  an  inex 
haustible  supply  of  free  liquor.5 

Of  candidates  there  were  several,  Thomas  Butler 
King,  John  C.  Fremont,  William  M.  Gwin,  Thomas 
J.  Henley,  John  W.  Geary,  Robert  Semple,  and  H. 
W.  Halleck.  On  the  first  count  Fremont  received 
twenty-nine  out  of  forty-six  votes,  and  was  declared 
elected.  On  the  second  count  Gwin  received  twenty- 
two  out  of  forty-seven  votes,  increased  to  twenty- four 
at  the  third  count,  and  he  was  declared  elected.  Hal 
leck  ran  next  best ;  then  Henley.  King  received  ten 
votes  on  the  first  count,  the  number  declining  to  two, 
and  at  last  to  one.6  Charges  were  preferred  against 
him,  and  he  was  not  wanted  because  he  wras  thought 

*  O 

not  to  be  so  much  interested  in  California  as  in  his 
own  personal  aggrandizement.  Fremont  enjoyed  the 
popularity  which  came  from  his  connection  with  the 
conquest,  and  his  subsequent  trial  in  Washington,  in 
which  he  had  the  sympathies  of  the  people.  Gwin 

5  It  has  always  been  alleged  that  the  American-Californians  of  an  early 
period  drank  freely,  and  this  body  has  been  styled  the  '  legislature  of  a  thou 
sand  drinks.'     However  this  may  have  been,  it  was  the  best  legislature  Cali 
fornia  ever  had.     For  what  they  drank,  the  members  returned  thanks.     All 
were  honest — there  was  nothing  to  steal.     Their  pay  was  no  inducement,  as 
they  could  make  thrice  as  much  elsewhere.     Furthermore,  this  was  before 
Calif  ornians  began  to  sell  themselves  as  political  prostitutes.     In  Curriys  In 
cidents,  7,  I  find  it  stated  that  the  first  legislature  was  chiefly  made  up  of  the 
*  chivalry,'  who  were  aggressive,  and  so  on,  but  the  evidence  is  the  other 
way.    I  should  say  that  chiefly  they  were  hard-working  men.    The  candidates 
for  the  U.  S.  senatorship  kept '  ranches, '  as  they  were  termed,  or  open  houses, 
where  all  might  enter,  drink  freely,  and  wish  their  entertainer's  election.    But 
the  legislature  of  a  thousand  drinks  received  its  designation,  not  on  account 
of  this  prodigal  custom,  but  through  the  facetiousnass  of  Green  of  Sac. ,  who, 
for  lobbying  purposes,  kept  a  supply  of  liquors  near  the  state-house,  and 
whenever  the  legislature  adjourned,  he  cried  to  the  members,   '  Come  let  us 
take  a  thousand  drinks. '     Crosby  says :   '  There  were  a  few  roistering  men  in 
the  legislature,  more  in  the  assembly,  the  senate  being  a  small  body,  and 
composed  of   very  circumspect  gentlemen.'  Early  Events,  61-2;   Fernandez, 
Cal..   MS.,   165;    Watsonville  Pdjaro  Times,  April  29,  1865;  Owen,  Sta  Clara 

Valley,  10;  Hayes*  Scraps,  Cal.  Notes,  v.  30;  Sac.  Record  Union,  March  27,  1875; 
Hall,  San  Jose  Hist.,  220;  Peckfiam,  Biog.,  in  San  Jost  Pioneer,  July  28, 
1877,  30. 

6  Jour.  Cal.  Leg.,  1850,  23-26;  Petaluma  Argus,  Sept.  12,  1873;  Polynesian, 
vi.   150;  Amer.  Quart.  Reg.,  iv.  515;  Sup.  S.  F.   Pac.  News,  Dec.  27,   1849; 
TuthM,  Cal.,  76-7;  Cal.  Jour.  Sen.,  1850,  38-9;  ld.t  1851,  19-21. 


312  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

was  no  less  selfish  in  his  aspirations  than  King;  but 
there  was  this  difference :  he  was  an  abler  man,  cooler 
and  more1  crafty.  Furthermore,  while  King  cared 
only  for  himself  and  for  the  present,  Gwin's  selfishness 
was  less  proximate  and  prominent.  He  had  a  distinct 
object  in  view,  which  concerned  the  future  of  the  coun 
try.  His  sympathy  with  the  fire-eaters  of  the  south 
was  well  understood,  and  more  than  anything  else 
elected  him ;  for  in  the  then  existing  struggle  between 
the  north  and  south  in  congress,  the  northern  men  in 
the  legislature  saw  that  to  elect  two  senators  with 
anti-slavery  sentiments  would  prevent  the  admission 
of  the  state.  Conceding  that  honesty  was  his  best 
policy,  his  fitness  for  the  position  was  admitted,  while 
his  personal  interests,  it  was  believed,  would  lead  him 
to  labor  for  the  good  of  California. 

On  the  21st  Governor  Burnett  delivered  his  inaugu 
ral  message  to  the  legislature.  "The  first  question 
you  have  to  determine,"  said  he,  "is  whether  you  will 
proceed  at  once  with  the  general  business  of  legisla 
tion,  or  await  the  action  of  congress  upon  the  question 
of  our  admission  into  the  union."  Upon  this  he 
made  an  argument  which  was  conclusive  of  their  right 
to  proceed;  made  some  comments  on  the  science  of 
law;  cautioned  them  concerning  the  "grave  and  deli 
cate  subject  of  revenue,"  informing  them  that  the  ex 
penses  of  the  state  government  for  the  first  year  would 
probably  exceed  half  a  million  dollars;  recommended 
a  direct  tax,  to  be  received  in  California  gold  at  six 
teen  dollars  per  ounce;  advised  the  exclusion  of  free 
negroes  from  the  state;  and  made  suggestions  touch 
ing  the  judiciary.  It  is  a  verbose  document,  charac 
terized  by  no  special  ability.  The  exclusion  of  free 
negroes  was  always  a  hobby  of  Burnett's.  When  he 
revised  the  Oregon  fundamental  laws  in  1844,  he 
introduced  the  same  measure  against  negroes,  which 
was  finally  incorporated  in  the  constitution  of  that 
state,  where  it  remains  to  this  day,  a  dead  letter. 
The  negro  had  never  so  great  an  enemy  as  his  former 


GOVERNOR  BURNETT.  313 

master,  with  whom  there  was  no  compromise ,  it  was 
master  or  nothing.  Burnett  had  been  brought  up  in 
a  slave  state,  and  although  he  had  resigned  the  privi 
leges  of  master,  he  could  not  brook  the  presence  of 
the  enslaved  race  in  the  character  of  freedmen.  Then, 
too,  if  to  exclude  black  slaves  was  a  popular  measure, 
to  exclude  black  freemen  must  be  more  popular,  and 
popularity  was  by  no  means  to  be  ignored.  There 
was  a  good  deal  of  apprehension  among  men  of  Bur 
nett's  class,  who  were  alarmed  at  the  rumor  that  many 
southern  men  designed  bringing  their  slaves  to  work 
in  the  mines,  taking  the  risk  of  their  becoming  free. 
In  point  of  fact,  a  good  many  persons  of  the  African 
race  were  brought  to  California  in  1849  and  1850, 
who  being  thus  made  free,  asserted  their  rights  and 
remained  free,  often  acquiring  comfortable  fortunes 
and  becoming  useful  citizens.  As  soon  as  it  became 
established  by  experience  that  slavery  could  not  exist 
in  California,  even  for  a  short  time,  the  importation 
of  negroes  ceased,  and  there  was  no  need  of  a  law  for 
their  exclusion,  and  the  preservation  of  society  from 
the  evils  apprehended  from  their  presence.  But  the 
effort  to  maintain  the  right  of  the  master  to  the  slave 7 

7  An  advertisement  appeared  in  the  Jackson  Mississippian,  of  April  1,  1850, 
headed,  '  California,  the  Southern  Slave  Colony, '  inviting  citizens  of  the  slave- 
holding  states  wishing  to  go  to  Cal.  to  send  their  names,  number  of  slaves, 
period  of  contemplated  departure,  etc.,  to  the  Southern  Slave  Colony,  Jack 
son,  Miss.  It  was  stated  that  the  design  of  the  friends  of  the  enterprise  was 
to  settle  in  the  richest  mining  and  agricultural  portions  of  Cal.,  and  'to  se 
cure  the  uninterrupted  enjoyment  of  slave  property.'  The  colony  was  to 
comprise  about  5,000  white  persons,  and  10,000  slaves.  The  manner  of  effect 
ing  the  organization  was  to  be  privately  imparted.  Placer  Times,  May  1,  1850. 
Under  the  influence  of  the  governor's  message,  and  their  apprehensions,  the 
assembly  passed  a  bill  excluding  free  negroes,  which  was  indefinitely  post 
poned  in  the  senate.  Jour.  Cal.  Leg.,  1850,  1232-3,  347.  On  the  23d  of  May 
a  colored  man  named  Lawrence  was  married  to  a  colored  woman,  Margaret, 
hired  out  to  service  by  a  white  man  named  William  Marr,  who  claimed  her 
as  his  slave.  Early  on  the  following  morning  Marr  forced  the  woman,  by 
threats,  and  showing  a  pistol,  to  leave  her  husband  and  go  with  him.  He 
afterward  offered  to  resign  her  on  payment  of  $1,000.  Placer  Times,  May  27, 
1850.  A  white  man  named  Best  brought  a  colored  woman,  Mary,  to  Nevada, 
Cal.,  in  1850,  from  Mo.  He  was  a  cruel  master,  but  she  remained  with  him 
until  he  returned  in  1854,  when  she  borrowed  money  to  purchase  her  freedom. 
Soon  after  she  married  Harry  Dorsey,  a  colored  man,  and  live  I  happily  with 
him  until  her  death  in  1864.  -Nevada  Gazette,  Sept.  3,  1884.  Charles,  a 
colored  man,  came  to  Cal.  as  the  slave  of  Lindal  Hayes.  He  escaped,  and 
was  brought  before  Judge  Thomas  on  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  and  discharged, 


314  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

was  not  relinquished  for  a  number  of  years,  as  will  be 
seen  hereafter. 

On  the  22d  and  succeeding  days  contributions  were 
made  to  a  state  library  of  the  Natural  History  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  and  reports  upon  the  common 
schools  and  agriculture  of  that  state,  Dana's  Mineral 
ogy,  Fremont's  Geographical  Memoir  and  Map,  the  Mier 
Expedition,  and  a  copy  of  the  Bible.  If  any  of  the 
members  found  time  to  look  between  the  covers  of 
these  improving  books,  it  does  not  appear  in  the  jour 
nals. 

An  election  of  state  officers  resulted  in  making 
Richard  Roman,  treasurer;  John  S.  Houston,  comp 
troller;  Edward  J.  C.  Kewen,  attorney-general;8  and 
Charles  A.  Whiting,  surveyor-general.  S.  C.  Has 
tings  was  elected  chief  justice  of  the  supreme  court, 
and  Henry  A.  Lyons  and  Nathaniel  Bennett  associ 
ate  judges.  There  was  not  so  much  as  a  quire  of 
writing  paper,  an  inkstand,  or  a  pen  belonging  to  the 
state,  nor  any  funds  with  which  to  purchase  them. 
No  contract  had  been  made  for  printing,  and  each  sena- 

the  judge  maintaining  that  under  the  laws  of  Mexico,  which  prevailed  at  the 
time  of  his  arrival,  he  was  free.  The  constitution  of  Cal.  forbade  slavery 
also;  and  the  man  having  been  freed  by  the  Mexican  law  could  not  be,  in 
any  case,  seized  as  a  slave.  On  the  24th  of  May  Charles  was  brought  up  for 
breach  of  the  peace,  charged  with  assault  on  Hayes,  and  resistance  to  the 
sheriff.  It  turned  out  that  the  sheriff  had  no  warrant,  and  that  Charles  hav 
ing  been  declared  a  freeman  was  justified  in  defending  himself  from  assault 
by  Hayes,  and  the  unauthorized  officers  who  assisted  him.  Counsellor 
Zabriskie  argued  the  law;  also  J.  W.  Winans;  Justice  Sackett  discharged  the 
prisoner.  Placer  Times,  May  27,  1850;  8.  F.  Pac.  News,  May 29,  1850;  Fays 
Statement,  18-21.  In  Aug.  1850,  one  Galloway,  from  Mo.,  arrived  in  Cal. 
with  his  slave  Frank,  whom  he  took  to  the  mines,  whence  he  escaped  in  the 
spring  of  1851,  going  to  S.  F.  Galloway  found  him  in  March,  and  locked 
him  up  in  the  Whitehall  building  on  Long  wharf.  A  writ  of  habeas  corpus 
was  issued  in  Frank's  behalf  by  Judge  Morrison,  the  negro  stating  that  he 
believed  Galloway  meant  to  take  him  on  board  a  vessel  to  convey  him  to  the 
states.  Byrne  and  McGay,  and  Halliday  and  Saunders,  were  employed  in 
the  interest  of  the  slave,  and  Frank  Pixley  for  the  master,  who  alleged  that 
he  was  simply  travelling  with  his  attendant,  and  meant  to  leave  the  state 
soon.  But  the  judge  held  that  Galloway  could  not  restrain  Frank  of  his  lib 
erty,  as  he  was  not  a  fugitive  slave,  but  if  brought  at  all  to  the  state  by  Gal 
loway,  was  so  brought  without  his  consent.  He  was  allowed  to  go  free.  A  Ua 
Cal,  April  2,  1851;  S.  F.  Courier,  March  31,  1851.  There  were  many  slaves 
in  the  mines  in  1 85 1 ,  and  many  appeals  in  court  for  the  reclamation  of  slaves. 
Borthwick,  164-5;  Hayes'  Scraps,  Angeles,  MS.,  i.  28. 

8  Kewen  resigned  in  1850,  and  James  A.  McDougall  was  elected  to  fill  the 
vacancy. 


THE  POOR  LAW-MAKERS  315 

tor  had  ordered  a  copy  of  the  governor's  message  for 
liis  individual  use  In  this  strait  a  joint  resolution 
that  the  secretary  of  state,  comptroller,  judges  of  the 
supreme  court,  and  all  other  state  officers  should  have 
power  to  procure  the  necessary  blank  books,  station 
ery,  and  furniture  for  their  offices,  was  offered — and 
lost.  The  weather,  their  accommodations,  and  their 
poverty  together  were  almost  more  than  men  who 
had  sacrificed  their  own  interests  to  perform  a  public 
duty  were  able  to  bear;  but  they  sturdily  refused  to 
adjourn,  taking  only  three  days  at  the  Christinas  holi 
days  in  which  to  recreate,  and  wait  for  printing  pro 
posals. 

To  lighten  their  hearts  the  inhabitants  of  San  Jose 
gave  them  a  ball  on  the  27th  of  December,  in  the 
assembly-chamber,9  and  hither  came  the  beauty  and 
chivalry  of  California,  at  least  as  much  of  it  as  could 
get  there  through  a  drenching  rain,  on  a  Liliputian 
steamboat,  from  Benicia,  and  by  whatever  means  they 
had  from  other  directions.  About  the  1st  of  January 
they  settled  down  to  the  work  before  them. 

Green,  the  irrepressible  senator  to  whom  everything 
was  a  huge  joke,  who  had  been  elected  in  a  frolic,  and 
thought  legislation  a  comedy,  had  very  inappropriately 
been  placed  at  the  head  of  the  finance  committee,  and 
brought  in  a  bill  for  a  temporary  loan  at  ten  per  cent 
per  annum,  when  the  lowest  bank  rate  was  five  per 
cent  per  month.  While  the  legislature  was  struggling 
with  the  problem  of  how  to  get  money  for  current 
expenses,  Michael  Reese,  long  a  prominent  money 
bags  of  San  Francisco,  made  a  suggestion  that  they 
pass  a  bill  authorizing  the  issue  of  treasury  notes, 
payable  in  six  or  twelve  months,  with  interest  at  the 
lowest  current  rate,  and  in  small  denominations,  which 
hotel-keepers  would  accept  for  board,  promising  to 
take  some  of  them  himself  for  money — he  did  not  say 

9  Annals  S.  F.,  237;  Cal  State  Register,  1857,  189;  S.  F.  Pac.  News,  April 
27,  1850;  Hayes1  Scraps,  An<jeles,  i.  15;  Oakland  Transcript,  in  West  Coast  Sig 
nal,  May  27,  1874;  S.  F.  Argonaut,  Dec.  1,  1877. 


316  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

at  the  rate  of  fifty  cents  on  the  dollar.  An  act  author 
izing  a  loan  of  $200, 000,  to  pay  the  immediate  demands 
on  the  treasury  until  a  permanent  fund  could  be  raised, 
passed,  and  was  approved  January  5th,  proposals  to 
be  received  until  the  25th,  the  loan  to  be  for  a  term 
of  not  less  than  six,  nor  more  than  twelve  years.  An 
other  act  was  passed  in  February  creating  a  tempo 
rary  state  loan,  authorizing  the  treasurer  to  issue  the 
bonds  of  the  state  in  sums  of  $100  and  upwards  to 
$1,000,  payable  in  six  months,  and  not  exceeding  in 
the  aggregate  $300,000,  with  interest  at  three  per 
cent  per  month.  The  bonds  were  to  remain  at  par 
value,  be  received  for  taxes,  and  redeemed  as  soon  as 
there  was  sufficient  money  in  the  treasury.10 

Laws,  enacted  for  the  collection  of  revenue,  taxed 
all  real  and  personal  estate,  excepting  only  that  de 
voted  to  public  uses  and  United  States  property, 
exempting  the  amount  of  the  holder's  indebtedness, 
and  exempting  the  personal  property  of  widows  and 
orphan  children  to  the  amount  of  $1,000  each.  Money 
was  construed  to  be  personal  property,  and  incorporated 
companies  were  liable  to  be  taxed  on  their  capital. 
The  amount  levied  for  the  year  1850  was  fifty  cents 
on  every  $100  worth  of  taxable  property,  and  a  poll 
tax  of  $5  on  every  male  inhabitant  over  twenty-one 
and  under  fifty  years  of  age.  It  was  a  peculiarity  of 
California  at  that  period  that  there  were  few  men 
here  fifty  years  old,  excepting  the  elders  of  the  native 
Californians.  The  argonauts  were  all  in  their  prime. 

Courts  of  second  ana  third  instance  were  abolished, 
and  courts  of  first  instance  retained  until  the  district 
courts  should  be  organized.  Nine  judicial  districts 
were  created,  the  first  comprising  the  counties  of  San 
Diego  and  Los  Angeles;  the  second  Santa  Barbara 
and  San  Luis  Obispo;  the  third  Monterey,  Santa 
Cruz,  Santa  Clara,  and  Contra  Costa;  the  fourth  San 
Francisco;  the  fifth  Calaveras,  San  Joaquin,  Tuol- 

l*Cal.  Statutes,  1850,  53-4,  458;  Crosby,  Events  in  Gal,  MS.,  63;  S.  F.  Alto, 
Jan  14,  1850 


COUNTIES  AND  THEIE  BOUNDARIES.  317 

umne,  and  Mariposa;  the  sixth  Sacramento  and  El 
Dorado;  the  seventh  Marin,  Sonoma,  Napa,  Solano, 
and  Mendocino;  the  eighth  Yolo,  Sutter,  and  Yuba; 
the  ninth  Butte,  Colusa,  Trinity,  and  Shasta.  The 
judges  were  to  be  elected  by  the  people,  and  commit 
sioned  by  the  governor.  Besides  the  supreme  court 
elected  by  the  legislature,  which  should  hold  its  ses 
sions  at  the  seat  of  government  after  holding  first  one 
special  term  at  San  Francisco,  there  was  created  the 
municipal  court  of  superior  judges  for  the  city  of  San 
Francisco,  consisting  of  a  chief  justice  and  two  assor 
ciate  justices.  Justices  of  the  peace  attended  to  minor 
causes.  Crosby  was  chairman  of  the  judiciary  com 
mittee,  and  made  an  able  report  on  the  adoption  of 
the  common  law,  as  against  the  civil  law,  as  the  rule 
governing  the  decisions  of  the  courts  in  the  absence  of 
statutory  law.11 

De  la  Guerra  was  chairman  of  the  committee  on 
counties  and  their  boundaries,  for  the  senate,  and 
Cornwall  for  the  assembly.  The  state  was  divided 
into  twenty-seven  counties,  and  a  commission  ap 
pointed  to  report  the  derivation  and  definition  of  their 
several  names,  of  which  Vallejo  was  the  chief,  and 
made  an  interesting  report.19  No  objection  seems  to 
have  been  offered  by  the  inhabitants  to  the  boundaries, 
unless  in  the  case  of  Monterey  district,  which  in  Au 
gust  1849  had  petitioned  the  local  legislature  against  a 
proposed  division.  However,  the  state  legislature  re 
ceived  two  petitions  from  Santa  Cruz,  and  from  141 
Americans,  headed  by  A.  A.  Hecox,  and  another 
from  nineteen  native  Californians,  headed  by  Juan 
Perez,  asking  for  a  separate  county,  which  was  set  off 
in  accordance  with  a  report  of  a  joint  delegation  from 
Monterey  and  San  Jose.13 

11  Crosby  says  there  was  quite  an  element  of  civil  law  in  the  legislature, 
which  naturally  might  be,  as  the  foreign  element  was  chiefly  descended  from 
the  Latin  races.  Being  a  New  Yorker,  he  favored  the  English  common  law. 
His  report  was  scanned  by  Bennett,  and  being  sent  to  members  of  the  bar  in 
that  'state,  he  received  as  a  testimonial  a  handsome  seal  engraved  with  his 
crest.  Rockwell,  Span,  and  Mex.  Law,  506. 

l*Jour.  Cal  Leg.,  1850,  523-7. 

13 Santa  Cruz  Sentinel,  Aug.  1,  1868;  Jour.  Cal  Leg.,  92. 


318  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

The  county  seats  were  established  at  the  principal 
towns,  except  in  the  cases  of  Marin  and  Mendocino, 
attached  to  Sonoma  for  judicial  purposes;  and  Colusa 
and  Trinity  attached  to  Shasta  until  organized,  some 
of  the  northern  counties  being  left  to  choose  their  own 
seats  of  justice.14  The  expenses  of  county  govern 
ments  were  to  be  defrayed  out  of  licenses  collected  in 
them,  upon  every  kind  of  trade  and  business  except 
mining  by  citizens  of  California.15  County  elections 
were  to  be  held  on  the  first  Monda}7  of  April  1852, 
and  on  the  same  day  of  every  second  year  thereafter; 
but  the  annual  state  election  for  members  of  the  as 
sembly,  and  other  officers  required  to  be  chosen  by 
the  qualified  electors  of  the  state  or  of  districts,  was 
fixed  for  the  first  Monday  in  October. 

The  militia  law  declared  subject  to  enrolment  for 
military  duty  all  free  white  men  between  the  ages  of 
eighteen  and  forty-five,  excepting  such  as  had  served 
a  full  term  in  the  army  or  navy,  or  were  members  of 
volunteer  companies  within  the  state.  The  militia 
and  independent  companies  were  organized  into  four 
divisions  and  eight  brigades ;  the  governor  to  be  com 
mand  er-in-chief,  who  might  appoint  two  aides-de-camp, 
with  the  rank  of  colonels  of  cavalry;  but  the  legisla 
ture  should  elect  the  major  and  brigadier-generals,  one 
adjutant  and  one  quartermaster  general,  with  the  rank 
of  brigadier-general,  all  to  be  commissioned  by  the 

14  To  be  more  explicit,  and  preserve  some  early  names:  In  San  Diego,  Los 
Angeles,  Santa  Barbara,  San  Luis  Obispo,  Monterey,  Santa  Cruz,  S.  F.,  Sac., 
Napa,  and  Sonoma,  the  county  seats  bad  the  same  name  as  the  county.     Of. 
Santa  Clara,  San  Jose  was  made  the  county  seat;  Contra  Costa,  Martinez; 
Solano,  Benicia;  Yolo,  Fremont;  El  Dorado  could  choose  between  Coloma 
and  Placerville,  and  took  the  latter;  Sutter,  Oro;  Yuba,  Marys ville;  Butte 
had  to  choose  between  Butte  and  Chico,  and  took  the  latter;  Colusa  was  at 
tached  to  Butte  co. ;  Shasta,  Reading;  Trinity  was  attached  to  Shasta;  Cala- 
veras  was  first  given  Pleasant  Valley  for  a  county  seat,  but  it  was  changed  a 
few  weeks  later  to  Double  Springs;  San  Joaquin,  Stockton;  Tuolumne,  Stew 
art,  formerly  known  as  Sonoran  Camp;  Mariposa,  Aqua  Fria.     An  act  was 
passed  providing  for  the  removal  and  permanent  location  of  the  seats  of  jus 
tice,  as  required  by  the  people. 

15  A  law  was  enacted  taxing  foreign  miners  $20  per  month  as  part  of  the 
revenue  of  the  state,  until  the  gov.  should  be  '  officially  informed  of  the  pas 
sage  of  a  law  by  the  U.  S.  congress  assuming  the  control  of  the  mines  of  the 
state.'  Gal.  Statutes,  1850,  221-2. 


MILITARY   MATTERS.  319 

governor.  All  persons  liable  to  enrolment,  and  not 
members  of  any  company,  were  required  to  pay  two 
dollars  annually  into  the  county  treasury.  The  money 
thus  collected  was  called  the  military  fund,  which  was 
increased  by  the  exemption  tax  of  minors  required  of 
their  parents  or  guardians,  and  applied  solely  to  the 
payment  of  the  expenses  of  that  department  of  the 
government,  including  salaries  of  officers.16  The  four 
major-generals  of  division  elected  were  Thomas  J. 
Green,  John  E.  Brackett,  David  F.  Douglas,  and 
Joshua  H.  Bean,  in  the  order  here  given.  The  gen 
erals  of  brigade  were  J.  H.  Eastland  and  William  M. 
Winn,  1st  division;  Robert  Semple  and  Major  Mc 
Donald,  2d  division;  John  E.  Andison  and  D.  P. 
Baldwin,  3d  division;  Thomas  H.  Bowen  and  J.  M. 
Covarrubias,  4th  division.  T.  R.  Per  Lee  was  chosen 
adjutant  and  Joseph  G.  Moorehead  quartermaster- 
general.  Only  these  last  two  officers  drew  any  salary. 
In  the  following  October,  the  Indians  being  trouble 
some  in  El  Dorado  county,  the  governor  called  on  the 
sheriff  of  that  county.  William  Rogers,  to  raise  troops 
to  operate  against  them,  and  the  legislature  of  1851 
passed  laws  providing  for  the  payment  of  Rogers  as 
major,  and  of  the  troops  employed  in  two  expeditions 
against  the  Indians,  but  took  no  notice  of  generals, 
who  remained  in  office  merely  for  the  distinction  of 
their  rank.  Nor  was  the  law  amended  for  many 
years;  but  in  1872  the  organized,  uniformed  troops 
of  the  state  were  the  subject  of  legislation  which 
converted  them  into  the  present  National  Guard,  con 
sisting  of  thirty-two  infantr}^  six  cavalry,  and  two 

16  Cal  Statutes,  1850,  190-6.  This  law  was  several  times  revised,  and  in 
1872  took  its  present  form.  Cal.  Codes,  154-84.  Only  two  officers  were 
salaried;  the  adjutant-general  receiving  $1,000  per  annum,  and  the  quarter 
master-general  $2,000.  Gen.  Winn  brought  in  a  claim  in  1800  for  services 
rendered,  which  were  not,  however,  recognized  by  the  legislature,  as  no  law 
could  then  be  found  authorizing  the  payment  of  any  officer  above  the  rank  of 
major.  Cal.  Jour.  Assem.,  1860,  253-4.  The  clerk  of  the  honse  military  com. 
was  Davis  Divine,  a  lawyer  from  Oneida  co.,  N.  Y.,  who  camo  to  Cal.  in  1849, 
and  settled  in  San  Jose.  He  was  also  clerk  of  the  judiciary  com.  of  the  senate. 
He  was  for  many  years  justice  of  the  peace  and  judge  of  the  court  of  sessions; 
and  projected  the  first  R.  R.  co.  to  build  a  road  to  S.  F.  from  San  Jose. 
Owens,  Santa  Clara  Valley,  37. 


320  POLITICAL  HISTORY 

artillery  companies,  whose  pay  when  in  service  is  the 
same  as  that  of  United  States  officers  and  soldiers. 
All  claims  are  submitted  to  a  board  of  military  audi 
tors,  consisting  of  the  commander-in-chief,  adjutant- 
general,  and  attorney-general;  and  its  warrants  are 
paid  by  the  state  treasurer.  The  sum  of  $300  is  annu 
ally  allowed  to  each  company  of  over  sixty  members, 
a  proportionate  amount  to  smaller  companies,  and  $100 
to  each  detachment  of  engineers,  for  expenses.  Three 
officers  are  salaried :  the  armorer,  adjutant-general,  and 
assistant  adjutant-general 

An  act  was  passed,  which  was  allowed  by  tne 
schedule  to  the  constitution,  to  the  first  legislature, 
authorizing  a  loan  in  New  York  on  the  faith  and 
credit  of  the  state,  for  the  expenses  of  the  state,  not  to 
exceed  $1,000,000,  at  ten  per  cent  per  annum,  and  re 
deemable  in  twenty  years,  or  if  desired  by  the  state 
at  any  time  after  ten  years.  This  unfortunate  will 
ingness  to  plunge  into  debt  was  a  part  of  the  mental 
condition  of  Californians  at  this  period,  and  was  in 
marked  contrast  with  the  prudent  economy  of  the 
early  Oregonians.  Both  were  the  result  of  circum 
stances.  In  Oregon  there  was  no  money;  in  Califor 
nia  there  promised  to  be  no  limit  to  it.  The  amount 
required  to  pay  the  salaries  of  state  officers  was  $107,- 
500,  which  did  not  include  the  state  printing,  always 
considerable,  nor  the  pay  of  legislators  at  sixteen  dol 
lars  per  diem,  and  equally  extravagant  mileage.  Yet 
it  was  difficult  to  retain  a  quorum,  such  were  the  in 
ducements  to  members  to  look  after  their  mining  or 
other  interests,  and  the  sergeant-at-arms  found  his 
office  no  sinecure.  At  one  period  the  senate,  in  order 
to  go  on  with  its  business,  was  reduced  to  the  neces 
sity  of  deciding  that  eight  constituted  a  quorum  in 
stead  of  nine,  and  one  ever-busy  senator  was  arrested 
for  being  absent  long  enough  to  pay  a  sick  member  a 
morning  visit.  Several  resignations  and  new  elections 
took  place,  and  one  assemblyman  never  claimed  his 


SLAVERY  RESOLUTIONS.  321 

seat.  Nevertheless,  the  code  of  1850  is  a  very- 
creditable  performance,  liberal  in  its  tone,  and  re 
markably  well  adjusted  to  the  new  conditions  in  which 
the  legislators  found  themselves. 

The  resolutions  passed  on  the  subject  of  slavery 
were  sounding  brass  and  tinkling  cymbal  ten  years 
later,17  but  were  sound  democratic  doctrine,  though 
somewhat  unsound  democratic  grammar,  in  1850. 
The  democratic  party  in  America  was  fast  becoming  the 
pro-slavery  party.  In  congress  this  party  insisted  on 
the  right  of  a  state  to  determine  the  question  of  slav 
ery  for  itself,  but  when  such  state  elected  to  be  free, 
endeavored  to  keep  it  out  of  the  union.  California, 
with  a  strong  southern  element,  was  controlled  by 
northern  sentiment;  and  the  interests  of  all  men  as 
individuals  demanding  the  admission  of  the  state, 
there  was  by  universal  consent  at  this  time  an  effort 
to  ignore  the  necessity  for  the  tremendous  struggle 
going  on  at  the  national  capital.  At  a  later  period 
some  of  these  same  men  were  drawn  into  the  conflict. 

One  great  error  committed  by  the  first  legislature 
was  in  not  making  a  permanent  location  of  the  capital. 
Instead  of  so  doing,  the  question  was  left  open  to 
election  between  the  towns  aspiring  to  the  honor,18 
and  the  seat  of  government  was  hawked  about  for 
years  in  a  manner  disgraceful  to  the  state.  Monterey, 
San  Jose,  Sacramento,  and  Valleju  all  desired  and 

17  *  That  any  attempts  by  congress  to  interfere  with  the  institution  of  slavery 
in  any  of  the  territories  of  the  U.  S.  would  create  just  grounds  of  alarm  in 
many  of  the  states  of  the  union;  and  that  such  interference  is  unnecessary, 
inexpedient,  and  in  violation  of  good  faith;  since,  when  any  such  territory 
applies  for  admission  into -the  union  as  a  state,  the  people  thereof  alone  have 
the  right,  and  should  be  left  free  and  unrestrained,  to  decide  such  question 
for  themselves. '     Broderick,  who  had  been  elected  to  fill  the  place  of  Bennett, 
resigned  in  January,  moved  the  insertion  of  the  following:   'That  opposition 
to  the  admission  of  a  state  into  the  union  with  a  constitution  prohibiting 
slavery,  on  account  of  such  prohibition,  is  a  policy  wholly  unjustifiable  and 
unstatesman-like,  and  in  violation  of  that  spirit  of  concession  and  compromise 
by  which  alone  the  federal  constitution  was  adopted,  and  by  which  alone  it 
can   be   perpetuated,'  which   addition   was   adopted.  Jour.  CaL  Leg.,   1850, 
372-3. 

18  Cal  Statutes,  1850,  412;  8.  F.  Pac.  News,  Oct.  5,  7,  1850. 

HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.    21 


322  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

made  bids 19  for  the  seat  of  government.  Sacramento 
offered  public  buildings,  and  actually  secured  $1,000,- 
000  in  subscriptions  toward  this  object.  The  offer 
of  Vallejo  being  considered  superior20  in  many  respects, 
the  people  voted  to  accept  his  proposition.  But  when 
the  second  legislature  met,  they  found  the  new  town 
remote  and  dull,  hotel  accommodations  limited,  and 
amusement  lacking;  whereupon,  after  a  few  days,  they 
adjourned  to  San  Jose,  which  was  still  the  legal  cap 
ital,  no  act  having  been  passed  changing  its  location, 
for  which  reason  and  others,  the  executive  had  re 
mained  at  San  Jose,  this  town  being  his  residence. 
On  the  4th  of  February  a  bill  was  passed  making 
Vallejo  the  permanent  seat  of  government.  At  this 
place  the  third  legislature  was  convened,  but  before 
the  end  of  the  month  removed  to  Sacramento,  "to 
procure  such  accommodations  as  were  absolutely  and 
indispensably  necessary  for  a  proper  discharge  of  their 
legislative  duties,"  the  archives  and  the  state  officers 
joining  in  these  perambulations  by  land  and  water,  the 
latter  under  protest,  and  the  former  at  great  risk  of 
destruction.  On  the  1st  of  June,  1852,  the  archives 
were  carried  back  to  Vallejo,  and  the  state  officers 
ordered  to  transport  themselves  thither.  The  legis 
lature  of  1853  was  induced  to  move  to  Benicia,  where 
it  was  solicited  to  accept  for  the  state  a  present  of  a 
legislative  hall,  and  other  property,  and  on  the  4th  of 
February  and  18th  of  May  of  that  year  passed  acts 
making  Benicia  the  "permanent  seat  of  government." 

19  San  Jose  subscribed  a  tract  of  land  a  mile  square,  all  eligibly  situated, 
with  a  perfect  title;  water  and  building  stone  on  the  land;  the  consideration 
being  that  the  state  should  lay  it  off  in  lots,  to  be  sold  to  the  best  advantage 
(except  such  portions  as  should  be  reserved  for  state  buildings),  ^  of  the  pro 
ceeds  to  go  to  the  subscribers  and  §  to  the  erection  of  the  public  buildings. 
Val.,  Doc.,  xiii.  72;  Sta  Clara  Co.  Hist.  Atlas,  10-11;  Tuthill,  Hist.  Cal,  391- 
2;  Gal.  Jour.  Sen.,  1850,  498-504,  1302,  1307,  1310;  Richardson,  Hist.  Vallejo 
City,  in  Cal.  Pioneers,  no.  3,  p.  12. 

20 See  chapter  on  birth  of  towns,  this  vol.;  Cal.  Statutes,  1851,  430;  Marin 
Co.  Hist.,  212-14;  Val,  Doc.,  MS.,  35,  221;  Id.,  MS.,  xiii.  72,  179,  211,  218, 
228;  Cal  Statutes,  1853,  309;  Vallejo  Chronicle,  July  6,  1867;  Id.,  Jan.  25, 
1868;  8.  F.  Evening  Picayune,  July  16,  1851;  Oakland  Transcript,  May  13, 
1874;  Eureka  West  Coast  Signal,  May  27,  1874;  Sacramento  Transcript,  Feb. 
1,  1851;  Polynesian,  vi.  150;  Assem.  Jour.,  1852,  500-2,  701-2,  99;  Solano 
Suisun  Press,  July  17,  1867;  Cal  Sen.  Jour.  App.y  503. 


STATE  CAPITAL  ON  WHEELS.  323 

Vallejo  being  thus  abandoned,  the  friends  of  San 
Josd  who  were  numerous  in  San  Francisco,  and  com 
prised  some  of  the  principal  men  in  the  state,  and  the 
state  officers,  began  to  plot  for  the  return  of  the  cap 
ital  to  that  pueblo;  while  the  Sacramentans  renewed 
their  efforts  to  secure  this  anything  but  permanent 
blessing.  The  fifth  legislature  met  at  Benicia  the 
second  day  of  January,  1854,  and  on  the  25th  of  Feb 
ruary  again  permanently  located  the  seat  of  govern 
ment  at  Sacramento.  But  by  this  time  the  executive 
and  judicial  branches  of  the  government  had  become 
so  bewildered  that  the  latter  refused  to  obey  the 
plain  letter  of  an  act  requiring  the  supreme  court  to 
hold  its  sessions  "  at  the  capital  of  the  state,"  and  sat 
instead  at  San  Francisco,  whither  it  had  been  ordered 
in  1850  to  betake  itself,  and  two  of  the  judges  de 
clared  Sacramento  not  the  legal  capital.  District 
Judge  Hester  also  threatened  those  state  officers  who 
had  complied  with  the  law  and  repaired  to  Sacramen 
to  with  an  attachment  unless  they  came  to  San  Jose, 
thus  placing  themselves  above  the  legislative  power 
through  which  they  held  their  office.  To  test  the 
question,  suits  were  brought  before  Hester,  of  the 
third  judicial  district,  and  the  mandamus  case  was 
argued  by  Parker  H.  French  and  Hall,  attorneys  for 
the  complainants,  Thomas  L.  Vermeule,  and  others; 
P.  L.  Edwards,  he  who  in  1834  accompanied  Jason 
Lee  to  Oregon,  and  the  acting  attorney-general, 
Stewart,  appearing  for  the  defence.  Ground  was 
taken  against  the  right  of  individuals  to  sue  the  state. 
The  relators,  however,  were  allowed  to  amend  their 
complaint  to  read,  "The  people  of  the  state,"  as  plain 
tiffs.  They  relied  chiefly  upon  the  position  that  San 
Jos£  was  the  constitutional  capital,  which  the  defence 
denied,  denying  also  that  the  state  officers  were  re 
quired  by  the  constitution  or  laws  to  reside  or  keep 
their  offices  at  the  seat  of  government,  and  denying 
that  they  constituted  any  inferior  tribunal,  corpora- 


324  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

tion,  board,  or  person  against  whom  a  writ  of  man 
damus  might  issue  according  to  statute. 

Judge  Hester's  decision  was  as  peculiar  as  the  other 
features  of  the  case.  He  placed  himself  on  the  defens 
ive,  and  in  the  light  of  a  partisan,  by  declaring  that 
the  legislature  had  in  March  passed  an  act  requiring 
the  supreme  court,  then  in  session  at  San  Francisco, 
to  hold  its  sessions  "at  the  capital  of  the  state;"  and 
that  the  supreme  court,  "in  determining  as  to  the  loca 
tion  of  their  sessions,  as  required  by  the  act,  decided 
that  San  Jose  was  the  capital,  and  had  since  in  pur 
suance  held  their  sessions  there."  The  reasoning  by 
which  the  court  had  come  to  this  conclusion  was  by 
assuming  that  the  constitution  established  the  capital 
at  San  Jose' ;  that  the  second  legislature  removed  it  to 
Vallejo;  that  by  reason  of  the  failure  of  Vallejo  to 
fulfil  his  bond,  upon  which  the  removal  was  condi 
tioned,  the  act  became  void,  and  the  seat  of  govern 
ment  reverted  to  San  Jose,  from  which  it  had  never 
been  removed  by  a  constitutional  vote  of  two  thirds 
of  both  houses  of  the  legislature.  On  the  other 
hand,  Chief  Justice  Murray  differed  from  his  asso 
ciates,  Heydenfeldt  and  Wells,  and  from  Judge 
Hester.  He  held  that  the  legislature  had  acted  in  a 
constitutional  manner  in  fixing  the  seat  of  government 
by  the  act  of  1851;  and  had  an  equal  right  to  remove 
to  any  other  place  by  a  majority  vote,  the  two-thirds 
vote  being  applicable  only  to  the  act  of  first  removal 
from  San  Jose,  and  therefore  that  Sacramento  was 
the  legal  capital  of  the  state. 

To  settle  these  vexed  questions  a  special  term  of 
the  supreme  court  was  ordered  to  be  held  at  Benicia, 
in  January  1855,  at  which  time  the  legislature  would 
be  in  session.  A  crisis  had  evidently  arrived  when  a 
final  decision  must  be  made,  and  the  legislature  must 
vindicate  itself.  In  the  mean  time  the  case  of  the 
people  against  the  state  officers  had  been  appealed  to 
the  supreme  court,  and  submitted  on  stipulation  that 
a  decision  rendered  out  of  term  should  stand  as  if 


STATE  OF  DESERET.  325 

given  at  the  regular  session.  The  opinion  rendered 
in  December  reversed  the  judgment  of  the  court 
below,  and  the  highest  judicial  authority  in  the  state 
made  its  obeisance  to  the  itinerant  law-making  power.21 
From  that  time  to  this,  with  the  exception  of  the 
winter  of  1862,  when  the  great  flood  forced  everybody 
out  of  Sacramento  who  could  go,  the  seat  of  legisla 
tion  and  government  has  remained  at  Sacramento. 

That  money  was  used  freely  to  corrupt  members  of 
the  legislature  while  the  seat  of  government  was  for 
sale,  no  one  has  ever  pretended  to  doubt.22  If  the 
practice  which  has  prevailed  down  to  the  present  time, 
of  buying  and  selling  votes,  could  be  said  to  have 
originated  in  the  race  for  the  capital,  it  is  to  be 
regretted  that  the  constitution  and  first  legislature 
left  the  subject  open  to  this  species  of  patriotism. 

In  February  1850,  the  governor  laid  before  the 
assembly  an  address  from  the  citizens  of  the  "State 
of  Deseret,"  presented  by  John  Wilson  and  Arnasa 
Lyman,  delegates,  asking  that  a  new  convention  be 
held,  to  allow  the  people  of  California  to  vote  upon  the 
proposition  of  uniting  Deseret  and  California  tempo 
rarily  in  one  state.  The  reason  given  for  this  request 
was  that  when  the  men  of  Deseret  formed  the  consti 
tution  of  their  state,  they  neglected  to  exclude  slavery, 
which  now  they  perceived,  in  order  to  relieve  congress 
of  the  existing  conflict,  they  should  have  done.  The 
true  reason  appeared  to  be,  however,  the  desire  to  se 
cure  the  privileges  of  state  governrnei^t'  without  a 
sufficient  population,  and  peradventure  to  prevent 
California  being  first  admitted,  with  the  boundary  as 


,  Statement,  MS.,  4;  Santa  Clara  News,  Nov.  7,  1867;  Placer  Times, 
Jan.  15,  1852;  Gal  Statutes,  1853,  217;  Cal  Jour.  Sen.,  1854,  574,  603,  601; 
Cal  Code,  1854,  45;  Alta  Cal,  May  27,  1854;  Sac.  Union,  Nov.  13,  1854. 

22  A  writer  in  the  8.  F.  Post,  April  14,  1877,  says  that  he  was  told  by  a 
shrewd  and  wily  politician  that  to  secure  the  passage  of  the  bill  removing  the 
capital  to  Sac.,  he  paid  $10,000  in  gold  to  the  reigning  king  of  the  lobby,  with 
which  to  purchase  the  votes  of  ten  senators,  and  that  the  money  was  paid 
over  for  that  purpose,  and  secured  the  measure.  Though  many  of  our  patriots 
who  go  to  Sacramento  to  make  laws  can  be  bought  for  $200  or  $300,  as  high 
as  $50,000  has  been  paid  for  a  single  vote. 


326  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

chosen  by  her,  which  cut  them  off  from  a  sea-port 
accessible  during  the  winter  season;  their  constitution 
taking  in  San  Diego  and  a  "very  small  portion  of  the 
coast.""23  The  governor,  in  his  message  accompanying 
the  address,  and  both  branches  of  the  legislature,  de 
clined  to  consider  the  proposal. 

With  regard  to  the  public  domain  and  mineral  lands, 
two  reports  were  presented  by  the  committee  on  these 
subjects.  The  majority  report  presented  the  follow 
ing  views:  that  the  mineral  wealth  of  California  had 
cost  the  United  States  too  much  to  justify  its  unre 
stricted  diffusion  among  foreigners;  that  permitting 
persons  from  South  America  to  work  their  peons  in 
the  mines  was  giving  them  an  advantage  over  citizens 
of  the  United  States,  who  were  prohibited  from  bring 
ing  their  slaves  to  California  for  the  same  purpose; 
that  the  presence  of  so  large  a  foreign  population  as 
was  crowding  into  the  mines  was  dangerous  to  the 
peace  of  the  country,  tending  toward  collisions,  some 
of  which  had  already  occurred;  that  the  morals  of  the 
young  men  flocking  here  from  the  states  were  jeopar 
dized  by  enforced  contact  with  the  convict  class  which 
the  mines  were  drawing  from  Australia;  in  short,  that 
the  mines  of  California  should  be  reserved  for  her  own 
citizens,  and  that  congress  be  asked  to  pass  laws  ex 
cluding  all  except  citizens,  and  those  who  honestly 
designed  to  become  such,  and  empowering  the  legisla 
ture  to  make  such  regulations  as  should  be  deemed 
necessary.  This  report  urged  on  the  government  the 
policy  of  not  selling,  but  of  leasing,  mineral  land,  in  small 
tracts,  and  only  to  American  citizens  or  naturalized 
foreigners.  This,  it  was  thought,  would  secure  the 
settlement  of  the  mining  regions  with  a  moral  and 
industrious  class.  The  minority  report  opposed  both 

23  The  Mormon  legislators  assumed  that  the  Sierra  Nevada  was  the  proper 
boundary  between  west  and  east  California.  By  extending  a  line  south  from 
the  main  chain,  where  it  breaks  off  above  the  35th  parallel,  the  sea  is  reached, 
owing  to  the  south-east  trend  of  the  coast,  about  San  Pedro  Bay.  For  the 
documents  in  this  case,  see  Jour.  Gal  Leg.,  1850,  756-70;  Tuthill,  Cal.,  287-8; 
Hall,  Hist.  San  Jose,  223-4. 


PUBLIC  DOMAIN.  327 

selling  and  leasing,  either  system  being  sure  to  result 
in  the  control  by  monopolists  of  vast  districts,  to  the 
exclusion  of  the  great  mass  of  the  people,  the  holders 
combining  to  reduce  labor  to  the  lowest  point,  and  de 
grading  the  laborer.  But  congress  was  to  be  urged 
to  allow  the  mines  to  remain  free,  "a  common  inheri 
tance  for  the  American  people." 

The  legislature  finally  passed  joint  resolutions  on 
the  subject  of  lands  and  other  matters,  instructing  the 
California  delegates  to  ask  for  the  early  extension  of 
preemption  laws  over  California;  the  survey  of  tracts 
fronting  on  streams  of  water;  for  grants  of  land  for 
educational  and  other  purposes;  for  the  passage  of  a 
law  prohibiting  foreigners  from  working  in  the  mines ; 
for  the  establishment  of  custom-houses  at  Sacramento, 
Stockton,  Benicia,  Monterey,  and  San  Diego;  for  a 
branch  mint  at  each  of  the  towns  of  Stockton  and 
Sacramento;  for  the  money  collected  in  California 
from  impost  duties  before  the  extension  of  the  revenue 
laws  of  the  United  States  over  the  country,  and  until 
the  adoption  of  the  state  constitution;  and  to  prevent 
any  action  by  congress  which  should  either  strengthen 
or  impair  the  title  to  land  in  the  state  of  California, 
but  to  have  all  questions  concerning  titles  left  to  the 
judicial  tribunals  of  the  country.  The  only  law  passed 
touching  the  subject  of  lands  belonging  to  the  United 
States  gave  the  occupant  title  by  possession,  against 
intrusion,  provided  the  amount  of  land  claimed  did  not 
exceed  160  acres,  that  it  was  marked  out  by  boundaries 
easily  traced,  or  had  improvements  thereon  to  the 
value  of  $100;  but  a  neglect  to  occupy  or  cultivate 
for  a  period  of  three  months  should  be  considered  an 
abandonment  of  the  claim.  Any  person  claiming 
under  this  act  was  entitled  to  defend  his  rights  accord 
ing  to  its  provisions  in  courts  of  law. 

Another  act  concerned  cases  of  forcible  entry  and 
detainer,  and  like  the  first  was  intended  to  prevent 
land  troubles,  which,  as  has  already  been  shown,  com- 


328  POLITICAL  HISTORY 

menced  with  the  conquest  of  the  country,24  and  par 
ticularly  in  Sacramento,  the  validity  of  the  Sutter 
title  to  lands  in  and  contiguous  to  that  city  being  in 
dispute.  But  these  laws  had  exactly  the  opposite 
effect  to  that  intended,  since  they  gave  vitality  to  the 
squatter  organization,  which  became  contumelious  in 
consequence,  the  discontent  leading  up  to  serious  riot 
ing,  in  which  several  officers  of  the  law  and  citizens 
were  killed. 

The  squatter  party  was  composed  chiefly  of  men 
from  the  Missouri  border,  who  had  no  knowledge  of 
Spanish  grants,  and  who  regarded  the  whole  country 
as  belonging  to  the  United  States  and  subject  to  pre 
emption — the  same  class  of  men  who  rooted  out  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  from  Oregon,  schooled  in 
the  idea  that  all  soil  under  the  American  flag  is  free 
to  all  Americans  until  patented  to  individuals  by  the 
government.  Finding  that  the  Sacramento  town  com 
pany  was  making  money  freely  out  of  sales  of  land 
to  which,  in  their  estimation,  no  title  had  yet  been 
obtained,  they  sat  down  on  vacant  lots  within  and 
without  the  surveyed  limits,  and  without  reference  to 
the  fact  that  other  men  had  purchased  those  same 
parcels  of  land  at  high  prices  from  the  Spanish  grantee 
and  his  associates,  proceeded  to  enclose  and  build  upon 
the  same.  To  the  laws  passed  by  the  legislature  they 
paid  no  heed,  except  to  condemn  them  as  hostile  to 
themselves,  refusing  to  yield  obedience  to  a  govern 
ment  not  yet  sanctioned  by  congress.  This  subject 
has  been  treated  of  in  a  general  way  in  my  chapter  on 
Mexican  land  titles;  but  the  incidents  attending  the 

24  As  early  as  1847  and  1848  the  Gal.  Star  published  articles  advocating  a 
territorial  legislature  in  order  that  laws  might  be  enacted  for  the  settlement 
of  land  titles.  The  author  of  these  articles  was  probably  L.  W.  Hastings,  to 
whom  I  have  often  had  occasion  to  refer.  Later,  when  he  was  a  member  of 
the  constitutional  convention,  he  was  held  in  check  by  the  necessity  of  making 
such  regulations  as  congress  would  pronounce  valid  and  just  under  the  treaty. 
But  Hastings  only  represented  the  western  idea  of  land  matters.  To  the 
people  belonged  all  the  unoccupied  U.  S.  territory.  Cal.  was,  after  the  con 
quest  and  treaty,  U.  S.  territory;  therefore  Cal.  belonged  to  the  people. 
Better  informed  men  held  similar  views,  founded  vipon  the  right  and  duty  of 
the  people  to  frustrate  monopolies — a  higher  law  doctrine. 


SQUATTER  RIOT.  329 

squatter  outbreak  .at  Sacramento  offering  a  striking 
commentary  upon  the  critical  condition  of  the  country 
while  waiting  for  congress  to  admit  the  state,  I  append 
an  account  condensed  in  the  form  of  a  note.23 

25  Sacramento  was  surveyed  in  the  autumn  of  1848,  for  Sutter  by  Warner, 
when  Burnett  became  agent  and  attorney  for  Sutter,  to  sell  lota  and  col 
lect  money.  The  sales  were  rapid,  at  good  prices,  and  naturally  excited  re 
mark  among  the  ultra-American  element  in  the  mines.  Sutter,  who  had  been 
in  embarrassed  circumstances,  was  quickly  relieved,  and  under  the  excite 
ment  of  success  sold  land  to  which  his  title  was  doubtful,  and  as  it  afterward 
proved  worthless — that  is,  on  his  Micheltorena  grant,  which  was  made  to 
cover,  as  the  squatters  declared,  'the  whole  Sacramento  Valley.'  An  exami 
nation  of  the  Sutter  grants  showed,  as  many  believed,  that  the  Alvarado  grant 
did  not  reach  to  the  city  of  Sacramento  by  a  distance  of  4  miles,  as  has  else 
where  been  stated.  Those  who  had  no  respect  for  Spanish  and  Mexican 
grants  believing  that  to  be  valid  they  must  first  be  confirmed  by  congress, 
and  that  congress  would  never  allow  such  vast  tracts  to  pass  to  single  individ 
uals;  and  those  who  believed  that  the  Alvarado  grant  did  not  cover  the  city 
of  Sac. — began  in  1847  to  organize  themselves  into  a  Settlers'  Association, 
Placer  Times,  June  3,  1850,  and  to  squat  upon  land  both  in  the  town  and  out 
side  of  it.  About  the  middle  of  October,  Z.  M.  Chapman,  erroneously  called 
George  Chapman  in  Morses  Directoi-y  of  Sac.,  1853-4,  17,  went  upon  a  piece 
of  unoccupied  land  out  of  city  limits  claimed  by  Priest,  Lee,  &  Co.,  and  cut 
timber,  to  erect  a  cabin  and  for  other  purposes.  In  Chapman's  account  in 
the  S.  F.  Bulletin,  of  June  15,  1865,  which  seems  an  honest  statement,  he 
says  that  if  a  man  pitched  a  tent  within  the  limits  of  the  city  he  was  com 
pelled  to  pay  to  Priest,  Lee,  &  Co.  a  bonus  of  from  $5  to  $12  per  day.  This 
tax  fell  heavily  on  the  weary  gold-seeker  who  had  just  come  across  the  plains 
and  desired  to  have  a  starting-point  from  which  to  set  out  in  the  spring.  It 
was  probably  designed  to  compel  such  persons  to  purchase  lots.  But  lots 
were  held  at  from  Sfc-500  to  $6,000  and  &8,000;  and  Chapman,  who  was  a  new 
comer,  '  thought  he  had  as  good  a  right  to  any  unoccupied  lands  adjacent  to 
the  city  as  any  citizen  of  the  U.  S. , '  squatted  accordingly,  as  I  have  said,  claim 
ing  160  acres.  Twelve  days  after  he  began  building;  and  when  his  house  was 
ready  for  the  roof,  he  was  visited  by  Pierre  B.  Cornwall  and  another  of  the 
town  owners,  who  required  him  to  desist  from  cutting  timber,  and  on  his  de 
claring  his  intention  to  preempt  the  land,  warned  him  off  at  the  peril  of  his 
life.  Chapman  replied  that  they  were  all  within  jurisdiction  of  civil  author 
ity,  and  as  his  life  was  threatened,  they  must  immediately  report  at  the  al 
calde's  office,  or  submit  to  arrest,  on  which  they  agreed  to  dispossess  him 
legally  if  they  could.  On  the  following  day  a  writ  of  ejectment  was  served 
on  Chapman,  who  was  ordered  to  stand  trial  a  few  days  afterward.  When 
the  suit  came  on  many  persons  were  in  attendance.  Chapman  called  for 
proofs  of  Sutter 's  title,  and  none  satisfactory  were  produced.  Three  times 
the  case  was  adjourned,  but  finally  a  jury  decided  in  favor  of  Sutter's  claim, 
a  decision  which  the  settlers'  organization  ignored,  calling  the  trial  a  sham. 
It  was  then  that  squatting  on  town  lots  began,  nearly  every  unoccupied  lot 
being  taken.  Chapman  still  refused  to  quit  his  claim.  Placer  Times,  Dec.  1, 
and  15,  1849.  According  to  his  statement,  he  was  offered  peaceable  possession 
of  20  acres  to  relinquish  his  pretensions  to  the  remainder  of  the  160  acres, 
which  offer  he  refused,  when  he  was  waited  on  by  the  sheriff  with  a  writ  of 
ejectment.  Still  Chapman  refused  to  vacate  the  premises,  and  received  an 
other  visit  from  the  sheriff,  with  a  posse  of  50  men,  who,  the  friends  of 
Chapman  being  absent,  pulled  his  house  down,  after  removing  his  portable 
property.  This  was  Saturday  evening.  On  Monday  a  meeting  was  called 
for  Tuesday,  which  was  largely  attended,  and  resolutions  passed  by  the 
squatters  that  no  more  houses  should  be  torn  down.  While  the  resolutions 


330  POLITICAL  HISTORY 

The  land  questions  were  indeed  of  the  greatest  im 
portance,  while  congress  had  failed  to  take  any  meas- 

were  being  passed,  the  Sutter  party  set  fire  to  and  burned  a  cabin  which 
had  been  erected  on  Monday  by  the  squatters  on  Chapman's  claim.  Another 
cabin  soon  arose  on  the  same  site,  and  the  squatters  held  another  meeting,  at 
which  it  was  resolved  to  retaliate  upon  Sacramento  if  any  more  squatter 
buildings  were  destroyed.  The  rainy  season  commencing  soon  afterward, 
and  a  flood  causing  both  parties  to  abandon  temporarily  the  city  site,  no 
further  action  was  taken  before  the  following  spring.  As  for  Chapman,  he 
returned  to  the  states,  having  lost  his  health  from  exposure  to  the  inclemency 
of  that  season,  and  never  returned  to  renew  his  claim.  Not  so  his  associates, 
who  in  the  spring  of  1850  redoubled  their  efforts  to  prove  Sutter's  claim  illegal. 
At  their  head  in  1850  was  Charles  Robinson,  afterward  governor  of  Kansas, 
who  was  an  immigrant  from  Fitchburg,  Mass.,  a  college  graduate,  a  physi 
cian,  and  a  man  of  honest  convictions,  who  was  fighting  for  squatterism  be 
cause  he  believed  in  it.  J.  Royce,  in  Overland  Monthly,  Sept.  1885. 

In  May  there  was  a  great  accession  to  the  squatter  force.  The  organiza 
tion  kept  a  recorder's  office,  paid  a  surveyor  and  register,  and  issued  certificates 
of  title  as  follows: 

We  know  our  rights,  and  knowing  dare  defend  them. 

OFFICE  OF  THE  SACRAMENTO  CITY,  SETTLERS'  ASSOCIATION. 
SACRAMENTO  CITY,  1850. 

Received  of fifteen  dollars  for  surveying  and  recording  lot  No 

situated  on  the  ....  side  of street,  between and street; 

measuring  forty  feet  front  by  one  hundred  and  sixty  feet  in  depth,  according 
to  the  general  plan  of  the  city  of  Sacramento,  in  conformity  with  the  rules  of 
the  association. 
$15.  [Signed] 

Surveyor  and  Register  of  the  Sacramento  Settlers'  Association. 

The  public  domain  is  alike  free  to  all. 

Men  who  had  purchased  lots  of  Priest,  Lee,  &  Co.  had  their  lumber 
brought  for  building  purposes  removed,  or  were  forbidden  to  leave  it  on  the 
ground.  Even  a  sum  of  money  offered  by  the  owner  failed  to  induce  the 
squatter  to  vacate  the  lot.  A  petition  was  forwarded  to  congress  asking  in 
effect  for  a  distribution  of  the  public  lands  among  actual  settlers.  Cases 
brought  into  the  courts,  and  determined  against  the  squatters  produced  110 
change  in  their  proceedings.  Two  suits  were  decided  adversely  to  them  in  Jus 
tice  Sackett's  court,  argued  by  McCane  on  their  side,  and  Murray  Morrison  on 
the  opposite  side.  Nothing,  however,  moved  them  from  their  position;  and 
least  of  all  the  charge  of  cowardice,  which  was  hurled  at  them  by  the  press. 
Complaint  being  made  that  the  squatters  had  not  a  fair  hearing  in  the  news 
papers,  they  were  invited  to  '  come  out  openly,  and  make  known  their  real 
views.  Merely  abstract  ideas  do  not  meet  the  present  occasion.  And  all 
who  properly  consider  their  own  interests  and  the  peace  and  welfare  of  the 
city  must  take  immediate  and  summary  action. '  Placer  Times,  June  3  and  5, 
1850.  The  excitement  increased;  squatters'  fences  were  pulled  down,  and 
meetings  continued  to  be  held.  The  squatters  endeavored  to  evade  going  to 
court,  hoping  to  hold  out  until  the  state  should  be  admitted,  when  they  ex 
pected  that  U.  S.  laws  would  come  to  their  relief.  Yet  they  did  sometimes 
get  into  the  courts. 

On  the  10th  of  August  an  adverse  decision  was  rendered  in  the  case  of 
John  F.  Madden,  who  had  squatted  on  a  lot  belonging  to  John  P.  Rogers 
and  others,  of  the  Sutter  party,  in  the  county  court,  by  Judge  Edward  J. 
Willis.  The  attorneys  for  Madden  talked  of  appealto  the  supreme  court,  on 
the  ground  that  the  plaintiff  Rogers  had  shown  no  title.  Judge  Willis  re 
marked  that  he  knew  of  no  law  authorizing  such  an  appeal.  The  rumor 
spread  abroad  that  Willis  had  said  no  appeal  could  or  should  be  had.  '  No 
appeal!  Shall  Judge  Willis  be  dictator?  Outrage!'  Such  were  the  ejacula- 


LAND  TITLES.  331 

ures  providing  for  their  adjustment.  The  titles  to  the 
land  on  which  the  three  chief  cities  were  built  were 

tions.  A  meeting  was  called  for  that  evening,  and  resolutions  of  resistance 
to  oppression  passed.  On  the  12th,  being  Monday,  Robinson  published  a  mani 
festo  refusing  to  recognize  the  state  legislature  and  other  state  officials  as 
anything  but  private  citizens,  and  threatening  a  resort  to  arms  if  molested 
by  the  sheriff.  This  amounted  to  rebellion  and  revolution,  and  in  fact  re 
tarded  the  execution  of  the  judge's  order  to  dispossess  the  squatters  on  the 
land  in  question.  About  200  men  were  assembled  on  the  disputed  territory. 
Robinson  had  about  50  names  enrolled  of  men  he  could  depend  upon  to  fight, 
and  managed,  by  adroitly  mingling  them  with  the  other  150,  to  make  his  army 
appear  larger  than  it  really  was.  Mayor  Bigelow  appeared  on  horseback 
and  made  an  address,  advising  the  crowd  to  disperse,  to  which  Robinson 
replied  respectfully  but  firmly  that  his  men  were  upon  their  own  ground, 
and  had  no  hostile  intentions  unless  assailed.  An  interview  was  finally  ar 
ranged  between  Robinson  and  the  mayor  at  his  office,  when  the  latter  said 
that  he  would  use  his  personal  influence  to  prevent  the  destruction  of  the 
property  of  the  settlers,  and  also  informed  Robinson  of  the  postponement  of 
the  executions  issued  by  the  court.  The  squatters  then  dispersed  for  the 
day.  Some  steps  had  been  taken  to  organize  militia  companies,  but  from  the 
unready  condition  in  which  the  crisis  found  the  municipal  government,  it  is 
apparent  that  Mayor  Bigelow  did  not  realize  the  danger  of  the  situation.  On 
the  13th  James  McClatchy  and  Michael  Moran  were  arrested  and  brought 
before  Justice  Fake,  charged  with  being  party  to  a  plan  to  resist  the  enforce 
ment  of  Judge  Willis'  writ  of  ejectment.  The  evidence  being  strong,  in  de 
fault  of  $2,000  bail  they  were  lodged  in  the  prison  brig,  anchored  in  the  river. 
The  county  attorney,  McCune,  was  also  under  arrest,  to  be  tried  on  the  14th, 
and  a  warrant  was  out  for  Robinson,  but  he  was  not  taken.  Sac.  Transcript, 
Aug.  14,  1850.  On  the  morning  of  the  14th  the  sheriff,  Joseph  McKinney, 
seized  a  house  on  2d  street,  in  pursuance  of  his  duty.  A  party  of  30  squat 
ters,  under  the  leadership  of  James  Maloney,  retook  the  house.  Maloney,  on 
horseback  armed  with  a  sword  and  pistols,  next  marched  down  L  street  to 
the  levee,  in  the  direction  of  the  prison  ship,  followed  by  a  crowd  of  citizens, 
who  thought  their  intention  was  to  release  the  prisoners.  By  this  time  the 
excitement  ran  high,  although  there  was  no  apprehension  of  bloodshed.  The 
affair  seemed  rather  a  spectacle  than  a  coming  tragedy,  and  the  spectators 
hooted,  laughed,  and  shouted.  But  the  mayor,  who  could  no  longer  blind 
himself  to  the  necessity  of  asserting  his  authority  and  the  power  of  law,  rode 
up  and  down  the  streets,  and  made  his  proclamation  to  the  people  to  sustain 
both.  Many  then  ran  for  arms.  The  squatters  on  reaching  I  street  halted 
and  began  to  remove  some  lumber  from  a  lot;  but  Maloney  checked  them, 
alleging  that  the  lumber  belonged  to  one  of  his  friends.  He  then  led  them 
up  I  street,  still  followed  by  a  laughing  and  jeering  crowd.  At  the  corner  of 
I  and  Second  street,  seeing  the  mayor  approaching,  the  citizens  waited  to 
hear  what  he  might  have  to  say  to  them,  but  the  squatters  marched  on,  turn 
ing  into  Third  street,  and  continuing  to  J  street.  In  the  mean  time  the 
mayor  had  ordered  the  citizens  to  arrest  the  armed  squatters,  and  with  three 
cheers  they  followed  his  lead.  The  two  parties  approached  each  other  on 
J  street,  the  squatters  drawing  up  in  time  across  Fourth  street,  facing  J. 
The  mayor  and  sheriff  rode  up,  and  ordered  them  to  lay  down  their  arms 
and  yield  themselves  to  arrest.  While  they  were  yet  advancing,  Maloney 
gave  the  order  to  fire,  and  said  distinctly,  '  Shoot  the  mayor.'  His  order  was 
oidy  too  well  obeyed,  seve.  1  guns  being  pointed,  though  some  were  elevated 
to  be  out  of  range.  The  hrmg  was  returned  by  those  citizens  who  had  se 
cured  arms;  a  general  melee  ensued,  and  the  squatters  fled  from  the  field, 
which  was  now  a  field  of  blood.  The  mayor  received  no  less  than  4  wounds, 
in  the  cheek,  the  thigh,  the  hand,  and  through  the  body  in  the  region  of  the 
liver.  He  recovered  in  a  maimed  condition,  after  a  long  illness,  and  a  $2,238 


332  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

almost  hopelessly  confused.  As  a  consequence,  the 
state  was  left  without  property  or  revenue,  without 

bill  for  five  weeks '  attendance  and  care  at  Dr  Stillman's  house  in  S.  F. ,  only 
to  die  of  cholera,  Nov.  27th  following,  in  the  same  city.  Harding  Bigelow  was 
born  in  Mass.,  of  the  well-known  family  of  Bigelow,  removed  to  N.  Y.  in 
early  childhood,  where  he  grew  to  manhood,  and  subsequently  moved  to 
the  north-west  territory.  In  the  explosion  of  the  steamboats  Moselle  and 
Wilmington  he  sustained  severe  losses  and  narrowly  escaped  with  his  life. 
During  the  Black  Hawk  war  in  111.  he  had  also  some  hair-breadth  escapes. 
He  went  to  the  West  Indies,  New  Granada,  Peru,  Chili,  and  Central  America, 
arriving  in  Cal.  by  the  first  steamer,  and  entered  at  once  into  the  affairs  of 
the  country,  being  much  interested  in  building  up  Sac.,  whose  first  mayor  he 
was.  It  was  greatly  by  his  personal  exertions  that  the  town  was  saved  dur 
ing  the  flood  of  1849-50.  Sac.  Transcript,  April  26,  1850.  His  course  with  the 
squatters  was  marked  with  charity  and  moderation  even  to  a  fault.  S.  F. 
Pacific  News,  Nov.  29,  1850.  He  was  interred  with  military  honors  at  Sac 
ramento.  Culvers  Sac.  Ci'y  Directory,  74,  79;  Shuck,  Repres.  Men,  936;  Placer 
Times,  April  6,  1850;  Winans'  Statement,  MS.,  21. 

Besides  the  mayor,  the  city  assessor,  J.  M.  Woodland,  was  wounded  mor 
tally,  surviving  but  a  few  moments.  Jesse  Morgan  was  killed  outright.  On 
the  squatter  side,  Maloney  was  killed,  being  shot  by  B.  F.  Washington,  city 
recorder;  Robinson  was  severely  wounded,  and  another  man  killed,  name  not 
mentioned  in  any  of  the  reports  of  the  battle.  J.  H.  Harper,  of  Mo.,  was 
severely  wounded;  Hale,  of  the  firm  of  Crowell  &  Hale,  was  slightly 
wounded;  and  a  little  daughter  of  Rogers,  of  the  firm  of  Burnett  &  Rogers, 
was  slightly  injured;  total,  4  killed  and  5  wounded.  The  bolt  had  fallen, 
and  nothing  more  was  to  be  seen  than  the  ruins.  Lieut-gov.  McDougal  now 
appeared  upon  the  scene,  'his  face  very  pale,'  and  ordered  all  the  men  with 
arms  to  assemble  at  Fowler's  hotel,  after  which  he  immediately  left  for  S.  F. 
by  steamer.  But  not  many  went  to  the  rendezvous,  where  a  few  men  had 
mounted  an  old  iron,  ship's  gun,  on  a  wooden  truck,  which  was  loaded  with 
scrap  iron.  That  night  about  60  volunteers  were  enrolled,  under  Capt.  J. 
Sherwood,  and  remained  at  headquarters,  near  the  corner  of  Front  and  L 
streets.  A  guard  was  set,  of  regular  and  special  police,  and  men  were  chal 
lenged  on  the  streets  as  if  the  city  were  under  martial  law.  Robinson  was 
carried  to  the  prison  ship  on  a  bed.  One  Colfield,  a  squatter,  was  arrested 
and  accused  or  killing  Woodland.  County  Attorney  McCune  was  brought 
into  court,  but  his  case  postponed  for  the  next  day.  Recorder  Washington 
was  placed  by  the  city  council  at  the  head  of  the  police,  with  authority  to 
increase  the  force  to  600;  and  the  prest  of  the  council,  Demas  Strong,  as 
sumed  the  duties  of  mayor.  Sac.  Transcript,  Aug.  15,  1850.  On  the  follow 
ing  day,  after  the  burial  of  Woodland,  Sheriff  McKinney  and  a  posse  of 
about  20  men  proceeded  to  Brighton,  near  Sutter's  Fort,  to  attempt  the  arrest 
of  a  party  of  the  squatters  at  a  place  which  was  kept  by  one  Allen.  The 
house  was  carefully  approached  after  dark,  the  force  being  divided  into  three 
detachments,  under  Gen.  Winn,  a  Mr  Robinson,  and  the  sheriff,  who  were  to 
approach  so  as  to  surround  the  house.  McKinney  entered  first,  and  went  to 
the  bar  with  his  squad  to  call  for  drinks,  in  doing  which  he  caught  sight  of 
8  or  10  armed  men,  whom  he  commanded  to  lay  down  their  arms.  They 
replied  by  a  volley  from  their  guns  and  pistols,  and  were  answered  by  shots 
from  the  sheriff's  party.  All  was  confusion.  McKinney  had  run  out  of  the 
house  after  the  attack,  and  stood  near  the  door,  when  Allen  deliberately  shot 
him,  and  he  fell,  expiring  in  a  few  moments.  Briarly  then  fired,  wounding 
the  assassin,  who  however  sent  another  shot  among  the  sheriff 's  party,  grazing 
Crowell's  arm,  who  returned  the  shot.  The  further  immediate  results  of  the 
battle  were  the  killing  of  two  squatters,  M.  Kelly  and  George  W.  Henshaw, 
the  wounding  of  Capt  Radford  severely,  and  the  injury  of  Capt.  Hammersly 
by  being  thrown  from  his  horse  in  the  melee.  Reinforcements  being  sent  for 


REVENUE  SYSTEM.  333 

the  means  of  paying  the  liabilities  already  contracted, 
of  defraying  current  expenses,  or  of  completing  her 

arrived  during  the  night — 10  men  under  Lundy  and  12  under  Tracy,  who 
placed  themselves  under  Gen.  Winn.  Four  prisoners  were  taken,  John 
Hughes,  James  R.  Coffman,  William  B.  Cornogg,  and  a  man  whose  name  is 
not  given  in  any  of  the  accounts  of  the  squatter  war.  The  arrival  of  the 
second  party  frightened  to  death  Allen's  wife,  who  was  lying  ill  in  the  house. 
Allen  escaped  sorely  wounded,  and  was  traced  next  day  to  the  river,  where 
it  was  supposed  he  was  drowned.  Sac.  Transcript  Extra,  Aug.  16,  1850.  But 
he  survived,  suffering  much,  until,  reaching  a  mining  camp,  he  received  assist 
ance.  Moore's  Pioneer  Express,  MS.,  8-10.  Great  grief  and  indignation  were 
felt  over  the  death  of  Sheriff  McKinney,  who  was  generally  esteemed.  He 
had  been  but  a  short  time  married,  and  his  wife  was  distraught  with  grief. 
P.  F.  Ewer,  coroner,  assumed  the  duties  of  sheriff  and  paid  a  visit  to 
Brighton,  arresting  a  man  named  Hall,  who  was  found  in  hiding  near  Allen's 
house.  Threats  of  lynching  were  made  against  the  prisoners,  but  better 
counsels  prevailed,  and  it  was  determined  to  abide  by  the  laws.  The  steamer 
Senator  had  returned  from  S.  F.  on  the  night  of  the  loth  with  the  lieut-gov. 
and  two  companies  of  volunteers,  namely,  the  California  Guard,  Capt.  W. 
D.  M.  Howard,  and  Protection  Engine  Co.,  of  the  fire  department,  Capt. 
Shay,  under  arms,  and  together  numbering  150  men.  Connor,  Early  Cal,, 
MS.,  6;  S.  F.  Picayune,  Aug.  16,  1850.  There  was  no  longer  any  need  of 
their  services,  the  squatter  leaders  being  dead  and  wounded,  and  the  citizens 
having  resolved  to  leave  their  wrongs  to  be  adjudicated  by  the  courts. 

At  this  juncture  the  newspapers  entered  into  a  discussion  of  the  merits  of 
the  cause  on  both  sides.  The  Settlers'  and  Miners'  Trilmne,  of  Oct.  30,  1850,  in 
answering  the  S.  F.  Picayune  of  the  17th,  says  that  it  is  wrong  to  condemn 
squatterism  as  the  foundation  of  a  party;  for  'Sutterism  in  Upper  California 
has  too  long  despoiled  her  of  her  inheritance,  and  self-defence  requires  her 
interference.'  Immigrants  expected  to  find  public  land,  and  found  it;  but 
*  Sutterism  has  squatted  all  over  it,  and  pretends  to  claim  it  under  a  Mexican 
grant  which  does  not  exist.'  The  legislature  was  charged  with  making  laws 
expressly  to  protect  S  utter,  with  or  without  a  title  to  that  part  of  the  state. 
This  charge  was  in  reference  to  an  act  passed  April  22,  1850,  which  forbade 
any  forcible  entry,  the  .penalty  being  a  fine  and  restitution,  if  the  justics 
should  so  order.  No  proof  of  title  was  required.  Cal.  Statutes,  1850,  425.  In 
Cal.,  and  in  the  Cal.  sense,  said  the  Tribune,  legislators  and  judges  were  anti- 
squatter — their  decisions  invariably  anti-squatter;  while  if  the  squatters  dif 
fered  from  them,  and  dared  to  appeal  to  the  supreme  court,  they  were  said 
to  have  forfeited  all  support  from  the  state  govt,  and  even  its  protection.  The 
unrecognized  courts  of  Cal.  were  not  the  places  where  land  titles  should  be 
determined.  Squatterism  was  made  a  party  issue  because  the  natural  and 
constitutional  rights  of  the  people  were  sought  to  be  wrested  from  them  by 
men  of  the  stamp  of  the  Picayune  writers.  When  anti-squatterism  ceases  to 
prey,  ftien  the  squatter  party  will  cease  to  exist.  Such  were  the  utterances 
of  the  settlers  after  the  Sac.  affair,  as  well  as  before.  But  the  Picayune  had, 
soon  after  the  riot,  urged  a  calm  and  considerate  review  of  the  affair,  and 
pleaded  many  things  in  extenuation  of  the  course  pursued  by  the  squatters,  ad 
vising  '  the  greatest  moderation,  mingled  with  firmness,  which  the  adminis 
tration  of  justice  requires.'  This,  in  point  of  fact,  was  the  course  into  which 
the  administration  of  law  resolved  itself.  There  was  a  good  deal  to  be  said 
on  the  side  of  the  squatters,  seriously  as  they  had  blundered.  Robinson  and 
the  other  prisoners,  who  were  indicted  by  the  grand  jury  for  murder,  were 
admitted  to  bail  in  Nov.  A  change  of  venue  was  obtained,  and  the  '  cloud  of 
indictments  melted  away  like  the  last  cloud-flake  of  our  rainy  season,'  as  says 
Prof.  Josiah  Royce,  who  has  ably  presented  the  subject  of  the  Sac.  squatter 
riot  in  the  Overland  Monthly  for  Sept.  1885,  as  an  example  how  Mexican 
grants  were  dealt  with  by  American  settlers  iu  Cal.  YetT  think  he  would 


334  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

organization  and  putting  in  operation  her  system  of 
local   government.     Her    securities,    dismally  depre- 

have  found  better  illustrations  elsewhere;  for,  as  he  himself  shows,  there  was 
good  ground — in  the  belief  of  the  squatters  that  the  Alvarado  grant  did  not 
extend  to  Sac.,  and  in  the  fact  that  the  Michel torena  grant  was  actually  in 
valid — for  the  feeling  of  the  squatters  that  Sutter  was  playing  into  the  hands 
of  a  set  of  soulless  speculators,  who  used  the  pretence  of  a  grant  for  securing 
paper  titles  to  the  best  portions  of  Cal.  Accounts  of  the  squatter  troubles  of 
1850  are  contained  in  the  newspapers  of  the  day,  particularly  in  the  Sac. 
Transcript.  See  also  the  S.  F.  Cal.  Courier,  S.  F.  Pac.  News,  S.  F.  A  Ita,  8. 
F.  Picayune,  and  S.  F.  Herald,  extending  over  a  long  period.  There  is  an 
account  of  the  riot  in  Sac.  Illustrated,  13-18;  Upliam,  Notes,  333-51;  in  Cul 
ver's  Sac.  Directory,  78-9;  in  Thomas'  Directory  Sac.,  1871,  66-75;  in  Hist.  Sac. 
Co.,  50-6;  and  references  in  TutldWs  Cal,  336-7;  Sac.  Bee,  Nov.  1,  1871; 
Bauer's  Statement,  MS.,  9?  and  Winans'  Statement,  MS.,  20-1.  The  theory 
has  been  advanced  that  to  the  riot  of  1850  was  due  the  great  depression  in 
business,  and  the  numerous  failures  which  followed.  I  think  the  conclusion 
erroneous.  The  population  suddenly  declined,  but  certainly  not  because  peo 
ple  were  frightened  away  by  an  incident  of  this  kind.  It  was  the  uncertainty 
of  land  titles  in  the  vicinity  which  the  squatter  movement  exposed.  Had  the 
squatters  prevailed,  the  population  would  have  remained,  and  the  loss  to  a 
few  individual  lot-owners  would  have  been  far  less  than  the  whole  community 
sustained  by  their  defeat.  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Nov.  2,  1877.  I  do  not  wish  to  be 
understood  as  saying  that  the  squatters  were  right.  As  the  evidence  after 
ward  proved,  they  were  in  the  wrong.  But  it  would  have  been  better  for 
Sac.  could  they  have  maintained  their  position;  for  how  could  a  city  hope  to 
prosper  surrounded  by  a  country  to  which  no  one  could  for  a  long  time  obtain 
a  clear  title?  The  courts  finally  decided  that  all  the  sales  made  by  Burnett 
as  Sutter's  agent  were  valid.  Could  the  founders  of  Sac.  have  foreseen  the 
contention  to  arise  out  of  the  location  of  their  city,  the  trouble  might  have 
been  avoided. 

Squatters  also  gave  trouble  in  S.  F.  in  Jan.  1851,  8.  F.  Alta,  Feb.  3,  1851, 
which  continued  for  more  than  a  year.  Nathaniel  Page  commenced  the  erec 
tion  of  a  building  on  a  lot  belonging  to  the  Leidesdorff  estate,  and  sold  to 
Captain  Folsom.  A  collision  occurred,  in  which  Folsom  shot  at  Page,  whose 
watch  arrested  the  ball,  and  saved  his  life.  Page's  lumber  was  thrown  into 
the  bay.  In  April  1853  Sheriff  W.  W.  Twist  and  posse  of  Santa  Barbara 
were  about  to  take  possession  of  a  cannon  to  use  in  ejecting  a  squatter  named 
John  Powers  from  the  rancho  Arroyo  Burro,  belonging  to  Hill  and  Den.  A 
Californian,  Alejo  Servis,  stabbed  the  sheriff,  who  turned  and  shot  him  dead. 
Firing  then  became  general  between  the  sheriff's  party  and  the  squatter 
party,  and  J.  A.  Vidall,  a  squatter,  was  killed.  Hill  and  Den  were  placed 
in  possession.  S.  F.  Alta,  May  7  and  June  8,  1853.  During  this  year  there 
appeared  to  be  something  like  an  organized  revival  of  squatterism.  All  about 
S.  F.,  at  the  presidio  and  the  mission,  lots  were  settled  upon  without  title. 
One  of  the  public  squares  was  treated  as  public  domain.  The  Odd  Fellows' 
cemetery  was  seized,  which  two  years  before  had  been  conveyed  by  deed  to  the 
society  by  Sam  Brannan.  On  the  20th  of  July  a  squatter  named  McCarty, 
who  had  taken  possession  of  a  vacant  lot  on  the  corner  of  Second  and  Mission 
streets,  belonging  to  Robert  Price,  resisted,  and  shot  the  sheriff  who  was  at 
tempting  to  eject  him;  McCarty  was  also  shot,  both  seriously;  but  Price  was 
placed  in  possession. 

It  was  believed  that  an  organization  of  wealthy  men  were  at  the  bottom 
of  the  squatterism  of  1853,  who  furnished  means  for  carrying  on  the  seizures 
of  lots  with  a  view  to  obtaining  the  lion's  share.  Attempts  were  made  to 
squat  on  the  Peralta  claim  in  Alameda  the  same  year.  In  June  1854  a  pitched 
battle  was  fought  between  a  party  of  squatters  on  Folsom's  property  on  First 
street,  S.  F.,  and  a  party  of  15  placed  to  defend  it.  George  D.  Smith  was 


SAN  FRANCISCO  DEFRAUDED.  335 

ciated,  afforded  slight  compensation  to  those  who  were 
forced  to  receive  them  for  services  rendered.  The 
effect  on  the  cities  and  particularly  on  San  Francisco 
was  deplorable.  Heir  to  lands  worth  millions  of  dol 
lars,  she  was  practically  bankrupt.  Sales  of  lots  were 
arrested  by  the  doubt  thrown  upon  her  title ;  or  if  any 
one  took  them,  it  was  experimentally,  at  prices  much 
below  their  value.  A  commissioner  appointed  to  in 
quire  into  the  extent  and  value  of  city  property  was, 
after  a  lengthy  examination,  unable  to  determine 
if  there  were  any  lands  rightly  belonging  to  the  city, 
unless  by  preemption,  which  right  congress  had  not 
yet  extended  to  them.  Had  congress  accorded  the 
cities  a  relinquishment  of  the  interests  of  the  United 
States  in  the  lands  within  their  municipal  juris 
dictions,  it  would  greatly  have  simplified  matters  for 
them,  and  infinitely  enhanced  their  resources.  An 
other  point  of  interest  with  the  people  was  whether  or 
not  speculators  should  be  permitted  to  buy  up  the  public 
lands  to  which  no  shadow  of  a  Mexican  grant  attached ; 
and  this,  it  was  insisted,  was  legitimate  ground  for  a 

killed  in  this  fight,  and  several  persons  wounded.  After  this  affair  the  prop 
erty  holders  in  S.  F.  organized,  and  48  policemen  were  added  to  the  force. 
Houses  were  fortified  and  besieged.  In  one  house  on  Green  street  a  woman 
holding  a  child  in  her  arms  was  shot  and  killed.  The  occasion  of  this  outbreak 
was  that  the  title  of  the  city  of  S.  F.  was  undergoing  examination  by  commis 
sioners;  all  kinds  of  rumors  were  afloat,  and  opportunities  supposed  to  be 
afforded  of  securing  lots.  For  several  years  more  these  troubles  were  recur 
ring.  The  Sac.  Union  of  June  29,  1855,  suggested  as  a  remedy  to  'fee  no 
lawyers' — an  excellent  suggestion.  Felice  Argenti,  sent  by  Brown  Bros, 
bankers  of  Colon,  to  Cal.  as  their  agent,  in  1849  amassed  a  fortune  of  several 
millions,  but  his  suits  with  S.  F.  for  certain  lands  cost  him  the  larger  share 
of  his  wealth.  Torres,  Perip.,  101-2.  In  1856  was  the  famous  case  of  the 
Green  claim,  when  the  vigilants  arrested  the  holder  of  important  documents 
concerning  the  city's  title  to  the  mission  lands,  on  a  trumped-up  charge,  in 
order  to  get  possession  of  those  documents,  which  Green  himself  had  ob 
tained  by  trickery  from  Tiburcio  Vasquez,  and  which  he  sold  to  his  captors 
for  $12,500,  though  he  brought  suit  afterward  for  $50,000  damages,  of  which 
he  obtained  $150.  Greens  (A.  A.)  Life  and  Adv.,  MS. ,  1-86.  This  manuscript 
of  Green's,  of  about  90  pp.,  is  a  most  interesting  contribution  to  the  literature 
of  land  titles,  containing  the  history  in  detail  of  the  Santillan  claim.  S.  F. 
Alia,  June  7  and  21,  1878.  In  1858  a  party  of  squatters  in  Sonoma  county 
attacked  and  drove  from  his  land  one  of  the  owners  of  the  Peiias  rancho,  com 
pelling  him  to  sign  a  release  of  his  property  to  them.  They  almost  captured 
the'town  of  Healdsburg  in  an  attempt  to  take  Dr  Fitch,  another  owner;  and 
attacked  the  government  surveyor  Mandeville,  destroying  his  papers.  But 
such  acts  as  these  were  performed  by  a  few  ruffians  taking  advantage  of  the 
squatter  sentiment.  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Apr.  13,  1858. 


33«  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

party  in   politics — ground  which    California  senators 
found  themselves  unable  to  ignore.29 

The  legislature  adjourned  April  22d.  Congress 
had  again  disappointed  the  people.27  In  January, 
the  California  delegation  had  taken  its  departure  for 
Washington  to  urge  the  claims  of  the  state  to  be  im 
mediately  admitted.  It  was  high  time.  In  1849  the 
citizens  of  San  Francisco  had  banished  the  worst  of 
its  criminals.  In  1850  a  straw  authority  attempted 
to  hold  lawlessness  in  check,  but  it  had  attained  such 
strength  that  years  were  afterward  required  to  get  it 
under  control.  In  spite  of  these  drawbacks  a  great 
deal  had  been  accomplished.  It  was  no  small  achieve 
ment  for  the  American  portion  of  the  population  in  so 
short  a  time  to  have  so  regulated  mining,  the  chief  in 
dustry  of  the  country,  that  a  heterogeneous  multitude 
from  the  four  corners  of  the  earth  could  work  together 
in  peace;  and  to  so  administer  justice  in  the  occupa 
tion  of  the  mines  that  individuals  and  companies  were 
willing  to  be  governed  by  laws  formed  in  mining 
camps.  The  general  perfection  of  the  rules  adopted 
was  such  that  neither  congress  nor  the  state  legislature 
ever  attempted  to  improve  upon  their  essential  fea 
tures.  Thus  good  and  evil  grew  side  by  side,  while 
men  longingly  waited  to  catch  the  first  whisper  of  the 
words  "admitted  to  the  union." 

The  question  of  the  admission  of  California  had 
become  the  chief  topic  in  congress ;  and  whenever  the 
word  'California'  was  pronounced  close  after  came 
the  word  'slavery.7  All  through  1849  the  subject  of 
providing  a  government  for  California  was  discussed, 
and  at  every  point  it  was  met  by  objections  originat 
ing  in  a  fear  of  disturbing  the  balance  of  power  in 

26  Settlers   and  Miners    Tribune,  Oct.  30,   1850;  Sac.   Transcript,  Nov.  29, 
1850. 

27  Speaker  Bigler  in  his  valedictory  address  alluded  to  that  '  most  embar 
rassing  question  of  domestic  policy, '  which  to  his  regret  had  kept  Cal.  out  of 
the  union.  S.  A  Pac.  News,  Apr.  27,  1850;  S.  F.  Herald,  Oct.  22,  1850. 


ADMISSION  AS  A  STATE.  337 

the  senate  to  the  prejudice  of  slavery.  The  growth 
of  the  nation  had  reached  that  critical  point  when  its 
affairs  could  no  longer  be  safely  referred  to  a  sectional 
interpretation  of  the  constitution;  or  the  constitution 
being  faulty,  when  the  nation  could  no  longer  strictly 
abide  by  it;  or  when,  conceding  it  to  be  a  perfect  in 
strument,  one  portion  of  the  people  refused  to  abide 
by  it  at  the  will  of  the  other  portion.  The  conces 
sions  made  to  the  slave  states  when  the  union  was 
formed,  on  account  of  their  weakness  in  population, 
and  when  the  growth  of  slavery  by  importation  and 
natural  increase  was  not  clearly  foreseen,  had  placed 
the  sceptre  of  political  power  in  the  hands  of  the 
south,  where  for  thirty-eight  years  out  of  fifty  it  had 
remained.  The  profits  derived  from  cotton-planting 
with  slave  labor  had  enabled  the  men  of  the  south  to 
abjure  labor  for  themselves,  to  employ  their  leisure  in 
congenial  pursuits  at  home,  in  foreign  education  and 
travel,  and  in  politics.  Their  senators  in  congress 
were  men  who  assumed  an  air  of  nobility  on  account 
of  their  exemption  from  the  cares  of  trade,  whose 
habits  on  their  plantations  gave  them  a  dictatorial 
manner,  even  in  the  society  of  their  peers,  that  their 
generous  culture  could  not  always  sufficiently  soften ; 
and  it  was  yearly  more  openly  asserted  that  the  ruling 
class  in  the  United  States  was  the  planter  class. 
Cotton  was  king;  but  a  cotton  manufacturer  and  a 
cotton-cloth  seller  were  contemptible  in  the  eyes  of 
this  pampered,  self-constituted  aristocracy. 

There  was  a  middle  class  in  the  south,  which  aped 
all  that  was  offensive  in  the  manners  of  the  cultivated 
class,  and  were  loud  in  their  praises  of  chivalry,  and 
their  scorn  of  northern  ' mudsills.'  Even  the  'poor 
white  trash,'  which  constituted  a  class  despised  even 
by  the  slaves,  regarded  the  institution  as  something 
sacred,  and  a  l  southern  gentleman '  as  a  being  far 
above  anything  in  the  free  states.  So  strong  are  the 
teachings  of  custom  and  prejudice ! 

Such  a  condition  of  society  was  not  contemplated  by 

HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.    22 


338  POLITICAL  HISTORY, 

the  framers  of  the  constitution.  It  was  opposed  to 
the  nature  of  the  republican  government,  and  soon  or 
late  must  introduce  discord.  In  1846  that  discord 
was  already  strongly  apparent ;  and  the  southern  press 
did  not  conceal  the  fact  that  the  south  regarded  itself 
as  destined  to  have  the  mastery  on  the  American 
continent.  In  congress,  certainly,  these  boasts  were 
sparingly  alluded  to;  but  they  had  their  influence. 
Congressmen  and  senators  talked  about  the  rights  of 
the  two  sections  under  the  constitution.  The  acquisi 
tion  of  New  Mexico  and  California,  which  the  south 
had  plotted  and  fought  for,28  had  brought  with  it  new 
issues  and  a  determined  struggle.  It  was  a  battle 
between  intellectual  giants  for  a  cherished  idea. 

Regarded  from  a  sentimental  stand-point,  the  sudden 
collapse  of  great  expectations  appeals  to  our  sympathy, 
although  the  means  resorted  to  in  support  of  them 
may  not  command  our  confidence.  The  gaunt  Caro 
linian,  he  of  the  burning  eyes,  pointing  his  fateful 
finger  toward  his  adversary,  and  giving  utterance  to 
his  fire-brand  resolutions,  is  a  striking  spectacle.  The 
polished  and  fiery  Butler,  pouring  forth  his  reproaches 
against  the  faithless  north,  holds  his  audiences  en 
chained.  Berrien  of  Georgia,  logical  and  impressive, 
commands  breathless  attention  while  he,  too,  arraigns 
the  north  for  injustice.  Foote  of  Mississippi,  correct 
and  impressive,  never  hasty,  sometimes  half  insolent, 
but  always  attractive,  sets  forth  the  wrongs  of  the 
south.  Toombs  of  Georgia,  armed  at  every  point 
with  accusations  against  the  north,  and  demands  for 
restitution  of  rights  that  he  declares  have  been  wrested 
from  the  south,  impresses  us  with  his  eloquence,  and 

28 The  Charleston  Patriot  said,  referring  to  the  Mexican  war:  'We  trust 
that  our  southern  representatives  will  remember  that  this  is  a  southern  war. ' 
And  thus  the  Charleston  Courier:  '  Every  battle  fought  in  Mexico,  and  every 
dollar  spent  there,  but  insures  the  acquisition  of  territory  which  must  widen 
the  field  of  southern  enterprise  in  the  future.  And  the  final  result  will  be  to 
readjust  the  whole  balance  of  power  in  the  confederacy  so  as  to  give  us  con 
trol  over  the  operations  of  the  government  in  all  time  to  come.  If  the  south 
be  but  true  to  themselves,  the  day  of  our  depression  and  suffering  is  gone  for 
ever.'  Cong.  Globe,  1846-7,  364;  Id.,  1849-50,  256.  Others  called  it  'a  south- 
em  war  fought  by  southern  men.' 


NATIONAL  ISSUES.  339 

rouses  us  with  the  lash  of  his  denunciation.  These 
and  more  were  the  men  the  south  sent  to  represent 
her  in  the  national  legislature;  and  against  them  was 
opposed  the  genius  of  Webster,  Clay,  Seward,  Doug 
las,  Benton,  and  the  cumulative  talent  of  the  nation. 
To  the  fire  of  the  south,  the  great  Massachusetts  sen 
ator  opposed  a  collected  front.  "  Times  have  changed," 
he  said,  "since  the  constitution  was  formed." 

The  south  complained  that  she  had  always  been 
making  concessions,  and  instanced  the  ordinance  of 
1787,  when  it  was  agreed  by  Virginia  that  the  north 
west  territory  surrendered  by  her  should  be  free  ter 
ritory;  to  which  the  north  replied  that  God  and  nature 
had  made  that  free  territory,  and  slavery  could  not 
exist  there,  had  there  been  no  ordinance  against  it.29 
The  Missouri  compromise  of  1820  was  called  another 
concession  by  the  south ;  but  the  north  contended  that 
it  was  not  an  unfair  division  of  the  Louisiana  purchase, 
and  that  the  admission  of  Missouri  as  a  slave  state 
was  allowed  to  balance  the  admission  of  Maine  as  a 
free  state  at  the  same  time,  and  that  one  was  as  much 
a  concession  as  the  other. 

The  Wilmot  proviso,  the  south  alleged,  was  aggress 
ive.  It  made  the  condition  of  furnishing  money  to 
buy  Mexican  territory  this :  that  no  part  of  the  terri 
tory  so  purchased  should  be  open  to  slavery.  The 
north  replied  that  the  Mexican  government  had  abol 
ished  slavery  in  all  its  territory,  and  the  United  States 
would  not  reestablish  it.  The  south  declared  that 
wherever  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  went, 
slavery  went  with  it.  And  on  this  ground,  untenable 
as  it  appears  to  me,30  the  ship  of  state  seemed  likely 

29  For  a  history  of  the  ordinance  of  1787,  see  Cong.  Globe,  1849-50,  App., 
pt  i.  599. 

30 Section  9  of  article  I.  of  the  constitution  says:  'The  migration  or  im 
portation  of  such  persons  as  any  of  the  states  now  existing  shall  think  proper 
to  admit,  shall  not  be  prohibited  by  congress  prior  to  the  year  1808,  but  a 
tax  or  duty  may  be  imposed  on  such  importation,  not  exceeding  $10  for  each 
person. '  That  is,  congress  would  not  interfere  with  slavery  in  the  then  slave 
states  for  that  period  of  time.  Section  2  of  article  IV.  declares  that  'no 
person  held  to  service  of  labor  in  one  state,  under  the  laws  thereof,  escaping 
into  another,  shall,  in  consequence  of  any  law  or  regulation  therein,  be  dis- 


340  POLITICAL  HISTORY 

to  be  stranded.  The  Wilmot  proviso  was  not  adopted, 
and  the  money  was  paid.  In  so  much  the  south  tri 
umphed.  But  it  was  a  barren  victory ;  because  the 
moment  that  a  government  was  demanded  for  the  new 

O 

territory,  the  conflict  began  concerning-  the  nature  of 
it,  and  the  principles  of  the  Wilmot  proviso  were  re 
vived,  to  be  fought  over  for  a  period  of  nearly  two 
years,  during  which  time  California  had  passed  through 
the  events  already  recorded  in  this  and  previous  chap 
ters. 

The  news  that  California  had  formed  for  herself  a 
free  state  government  was  ill  received  by  southern 
men,  who  called  it  a  northern  measure,  and  felt  them 
selves  wronged.  It  was,  they  said,  a  whig  manoeuvre, 
and  due  to  the  administration  of  Taylor,  although  in 
fact  Riley,31  on  whom  the  opprobrium  was  heaped, 
was  intrusted  with  the  management  of  California 
affairs  by  the  previous  administration;  while  King, 
the  owner  of  several  hundred  slaves,  was  the  agent  of 
the  whig  administration  in  forwarding  the  state  move 
ment.  It  was  true  that  King  called  himself  a  whig, 
but  it  was  true  also  that  Taylor  was  a  native  of 
Louisiana.  Nothing  was  said  of  slavery  in  King's 
instructions ;  he  was  merely  to  assist  California  to  a 
government,  provided  it  could  be  done  without  danger 
to  the  authority  of  the  United  States. 

charged  from  such  service  or  labor,  but  shall  be  delivered  up  on  claim  of  the 
party  to  whom  such  service  or  labor  may  be  due.'  A  simple  construction  of 
this  article  does  not  make  it  the  duty  of  a  free  state  to  pass  laws  in  the  inter 
est  of  slavery,  or  to  compel  its  public  officers  to  arrest  and  return  a  slave. 
If  a  horse  should  be  found  in  possession  of  a  citizen  of  a  free  state  which  be 
longed  in  a  slave  state,  it  would  have  to  be  delivered  up.  So  would  a  slave, 
and  no  more;  but  the  south 's  most  grievous  complaint  against  the  north  was 
that  it  was  not  a  good  slave-catcher;  and  that  a  few  northern  persons  were 
organized  to  make  matters  still  worse  for  the  barbarism  there.  Concerning 
territorial  and  other  property,  the  constitution  said:  'The  congress  shall  have 
power  to  dispose  of  and  make  all  needful  rules  and  regulations  respecting  the 
territory  or  other  property  belonging  to  the  United  States;  and  nothing  in 
this  constitution  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  prejudice  any  claims  of  the 
United  States,  or  of  any  particular  state. '  But  the  south  denied  the  power 
of  congress  to  keep  slavery  out  of  the  territories;  and  on  that  ground  the  bat 
tle  was  fought. 

31  Cong.  Globe,  1849-50,  A  pp.,  pt  i.  pp.  102-4.  The  prest  denied  author 
izing  any  govt  in  Cal.,  except  to  suggest  to  the  people  to  form  a  constitution 
to  be  presented  to  congress.  See  message  of  Jan.  21,  1850,  in  Cong.  Globe, 
1849-50,  195;  Amer.  Quar.  Reg.,  iii.  603-4;  Frost,  Hist.  Gal,  427-30;  //.  Ex. 
Doc.,  31,  i.  no.  5,  161. 


CALIFORNIA  AT  WASHINGTON.  341 

It  was  an  affront  to  the  pride  of  the  south  that  the 
outside  world  did  not  look  with  approval  upon  her  pet 
institution,  and  it  was  a  wound  to  the  moral  sensibility 
of  the  north  that  the  whole  nation  shared  in  the  re 
proach.  The  rebuke  received  from  both  northern  and 
southern  men,  and  foreigners,  in  the  exclusion  of 
slavery  from  California,  was  extremely  irritating  to 
the  former.  To  admit  California  at  all  under  the  cir 
cumstances  would  be  an  humiliation.  But  the  great 
point  was  the  admission  of  two  senators  from  a  free 
state  to  destroy  the  balance  of  power.  Once  gone, 
it  might  never  be  restored.32  On  the  other  hand,  the 
north  felt  the  perilous  position  it  would  be  in  should 
the  south  in  its  recently  revealed  .temper  ever  again 
have  control  of  the  national  councils. 

Early  in  1850  Mr  Clay  attempted  a  compromise  by 
resolutions:  that  California,  with  suitable  limits,  be 
admitted;  that  the  Wilmot  proviso  should  not  be 
insisted  on  for  the  territories;  that  the  boundary  line 
of  Texas  should  be  established  so  as  to  exclude  any 
portion  of  New  Mexico;  that  the  United  States 
should  pay  that  part  of  the  debt  of  Texas  contracted 
before  its  annexation,  amounting  to  $10,000,000,  on 
condition  that  Texas  should  solemnly  renounce  any 
claim  to  any  part  of  New  Mexico ;  that  slavery  should 
not  be  abolished  in  the  District  of  Columbia  without 
the  consent  of  the  state  of  Maryland,  of  the  people  of 
the  district,  and  just  compensation  to  the  owners 
of  slave  property;  that  the  export  and  import  of 
slaves  from  and  into  the  district,  as  merchandise, 
should  be  abolished;  that  provision  should  be  made  by 
law  for  the  restitution  of  fugitive  slaves  in  any  state 
or  territory  of  the  union ;  and  that  the  trade  in  slaves 

32  Calhoun  said  that  to  '  save  the  union  the  north  had  only  to  do  justice  by 
conceding  to  the  south  an  equal  right  in  the  acquired  territory,  and  to  do  her 
duty  by  causing  the  stipulations  relative  to  fugitive  slaves  to  be  faith  fully 
fulfilled;  to  cease  the  agitation  of  the  slave  question,  and  to  provide  for  the 
insertion  of  a  provision  in  the  constitution,  by  an  amendment,  which  will 
restore  to  the  south  in  substance  the  power  she  possessed  of  protecting  herself 
before  the  equilibrium  between  the  sections  was  destroyed  by  the  action  of 
this  government.'  Cong.  Globe,  1849-50,  App.,  pt  i.  370-1. 


342  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

between  slave-holding  states  should  be  regulated  by 
the  laws  of  those  states.  The  debates  upon  these 
resolutions  continued  for  many  months;33  and  by  the 
last  of  July  they  had  been  so  altered  and  amended 
that  nothing  remained  of  their  original  features. 
Most  of  their  several  provisions  were,  however,  in 
corporated  in  bills  which  were  passed,  and  which  con 
stituted  in  effect  a  compromise. 

In  the  midst  of  this  conflict  the  California  delega 
tion  arrived  and  added  to  the  excitement,  their 
presence  being  regarded  by  some  of  both  sections,  but 
especially  by  the  south,  as  unwarranted,  even  imper 
tinent.  Calhoun,  who  was  dying,  sent  for  Senator 
Gwin,  with  whom  he  held  a  conference,  "  solemn  and 
impressive."  They  differed  upon  the  policy  to  be 
pursued  by  congress  in  the  admission  of  California, 
Calhoun  insisting  that  it  would  destroy  the  equilibrium 
in  the  senate,  which  was  the  only  safeguard  of  the 
south  against  the  numerical  superiority  of  the  north, 
and  prophesying  civil  war.  He  held  that  in  the  event 
of  the  north  conquering  the  south,  "this  government, 
although  republican  in  name,  would  be  the  most  des 
potic  of  any  in  the  civilized  world."  So  much  bitter 
ness  poisoned  this  great  and  generous  mind!34 

33  Davis  of  Miss,  repudiated  the  idea  of  concession  from  the  north. 
'  Where  is  the  concession  to  the  south?  Is.  it  in  the  admission,  as  a  state,  of 
California,  from  which  we  have  been  excluded  by  congressional  agitation?  Is 
it  in  the  announcement  that  slavery  does  not  and  is  not  to  exist  in  the  remain 
ing  territories  of  New  Mexico  and  California?  Is  it  in  denying  the  title  of 
Texas  to  one  half  of  her  territory? '  He  held  that  gold  washing  and  mining 
was  particularly  adapted  to  slave  labor,  as  was  agriculture  that  depended  on 
irrigation.  Cong.  Globe,  1849-50,  App.,  pt  i.  149-57. 

34 '  Mr  Calhoun, '  says  Gwin,  '  never  appeared  in  the  senate  but  once  after 
this  interview.  It  was  on  the  occasion  of  the  delivery  of  Mr  Webster's  great 
speech  of  the  7th  of  March,  1850.  The  senate-chamber  as  well  as  the  galleries 
were  crowded,  and  it  was  known  only  to  a  few  that  Mr  Calhoun  was  in  his 
seat;  and  when  Mr  Webster,  in  alluding  to  him,  regretted  the  cause  of  his 
vacant  seat  in  the  senate,  Mr  Calhoun  rose  up  in  the  presence  of  that  immense 
audience,  as  a  man  rising  from  the  grave,  for  he  looked  like  a  corpse,  and 
said,  in  a  hollow,  deep-toned  voice,  "I  am  here  !  "  which  electrified  the  whole 
audience.  Mr  Webster  turned  to  him  and  said:  "Thank  God  that  the  sena 
tor  is  able  again  to  resume  his  seat  in  the  senate,  and  I  pray  to  God  he  may 
long  continue  to  adorn  this  chamber  by  his  presence,  and  aid  it  by  his  coun 
sels."  '  The  same  as  reported  in  the  Cong.  Globe,  App.,  i.  271,  is  less  dramatic. 
Owins  Memoir*,  MS.,  32-5;  Crane's  Past,  Present,  etc.,  10;  Cong.  Speeches,  no. 
3,  4,  8,  9,  19,  20;  Placer  Times,  Apr.  22,  May  8,  1850;  Niks'  Rey.,  Ixx.  index 
p.  viii. ;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Sept.  9,  1802,  and  1864;  Bentona  Thirty  Years,  ii.  769- 


GWIN'S  PERFORMANCES.  343 

Gwin,  finding  himself  on  the  unpopular  side  with 
his  party,  "retired  to  New  York  in  order  not  to  be 
considered  a  partisan,"  but  was  recalled  by  Mr  Clay, 
who  imparted  to  him  his  design  of  offering  his  com 
promise  resolutions,  combining  all  the  questions  on  the 
subject  of  slavery  then  agitating  the  country,  in  order 
to  overcome  the  united  opposition  of  the  south  to  the 
admission  of  California.35  Again  Gwin  retired  to  New 
York,  and  again  was  he  recalled,  this  time  by  the 
president,  who  desired  that  the  California  delegation 
should  make  a  joint  communication  to  congress  upon 
the  necessity  of  admitting  California,  aside  from  other 
considerations,  and  disconnected  with  the  compromise 
measures.  This  request  was  complied  with  early  in 
March,36  and  a  concise  history  of  California,  since  the 
treaty  of  1848,  laid  before  both  houses.  The  effect  of 
the  memorial  was  apparently  to  bring  General  Riley 
into  unpleasant  prominence,  and  the  president  under 
the  displeasure  of  the  south.37 

Thus  the  struggle  was  maintained  until  August  13th, 
when  the  bill  for  the  admission  of  California  passed 
the  senate  by  a  vote  of  34  to  18;  the  vote  standing, 
whigs  19,  democrats  32,  free-soilers  two.38  On  the  14th 

73;  Polynesian,  vii.  34;  Speech  of  J.  M.  Read,  in  Philadelphia,  March  13, 
1850;  Letter  of  Gilbert,  in  8.  F.  Alto,  June  25,  1850;  N.  Am.  fieview,  Ixx. 
221-51;  Am.  Quart.  Ee<j.,  iv.  16-54,  58-64;  U.  S.  H.  Jour.,  1676,  1683,  1793, 
1800;  31st  cong.,  1st  sess.;  Santa  Cruz  S.  W.  Times,  6  to  9,  1871;  Life  of 
Stockton,  App.,  69-79;  Sherman,  Mem.,  i.  81-3;  Gwin,  Memoirs,  MS.,  32. 

80  It  is  stated  in  Gwins  Memoirs  that  political  differences  had  divided  Clay 
and  Ben  ton  for  years,  though  they  were  connected  by  marriage.  The  ques 
tion  of  the  admission  of  Cal.  brought  them  together  in  cordial  relations; 
but  Clay's  compromise  resolutions  again  sundered  them  more  widely  than 
before,  in  which  estrangement  they  ended  their  lives.  Few  men  are  too  great 
to  quarrel,  few  minds  too  magnanimous  not  to  stoop  to  beastly  bickerings. 

36  This  memorial  is  printed  along  with  Ross  Browne's  Constit.  Debates,  App. , 
xiv.-xxiii. ;  see  also  Placer  Times,  Apr.  26,  1850;  U.  S.  Misc.  Doc.,  44,  i.  1- 
18,  34-5,  31st  cong.,  1st  sess. 

37  Gwin  dwells  upon  the  obstinacy  of  Prest  Taylor,  and  remarks  that  he 
has  always  believed  that  had  Taylor  lived  a  civil  war  would  have  resulted  at 
that  time.     Taylor,  he   says,  was   strongly  opposed   to   Clay's  compromise 
measures.     Thurston  of  Oregon  was  the  only  man  in  congress  from  the  Pa 
cific  coast,  and  he  defended  Riley's  action,  saying  that  the  govt  in  Cal.  would 
have  been  formed  without  his  proclamation.  Cong.  Globe,  1849-50,  App.,  i. 
345-9. 

38  It  was  in  the  last  days  of  this  memorable  conflict  that  Seward  said  he 
should  have  '  voted  for  the  admission  of  Cal.,  even  if  she  had  come  as  a  slave 
state,'  under  the  circumstances  of  her  justifiable   and  necessary  establish- 


344  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

Hunter  of  Virginia  presented  a  protest  against  the 
admission,  and  asked  that  it  might  be  spread  upon  the 
journals  of  the  senate;  but  this  was  refused  upon 
parliamentary  grounds.  This  protest  is  a  significant 
part  of  the  history  of  the  California  bill.  It  declares 
that  the  act  of  admission  gave  the  sanction  of  law,  and 
thus  imparted  validity  to  the  unauthorized  action  of  a 
portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  California,  by  which  an 
odious  discrimination  was  made  against  the  property 
of  the  slave-holding  states,  which  were  thus  deprived 
of  that  position  of  equality  which  the  constitution  so 
manifestly  designed.  It  defeated  the  rights  of  the 
slave-holding  states  to  a  common  and  equal  enjoyment 
of  the  territory  of  the  union.  To  vote  for  such  a  bill 
was  to  agree  to  a  principle  which  would  forever  exclude 
the  slave  states  from  all  enjoyment  of  the  common 
territory  of  the  union,  and  thereby  rob  them  of  their 
rights  of  equality.  Every  effort  to  obtain  a  fair  divis 
ion  of  California  between  the  slave  and  free  states 
had  failed.  And  lastly,  the  bill  was  contrary  to  prece 
dent,  obvious  policy,  and  the  spirit  and  intention  of 
the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  therefore 
dangerous  to  liberty  and  equality.39 

Such  was  the  fateful  character  imputed  to  the 'instru 
ment  draughted  at  Monterey  by  men  of  all  sections, 
who  intended  primarily  to  escape  the  strife  and  pas 
sion  of  the  slavery  question  by  excluding  slavery  from 
the  state;  and  who  secondly  had  some  fastidious  ob 
jections  to  working  in  the  mines  side  by  side  with  the 
' niggers'  of  chivalry  masters.  The  truth  will  have 
to  be  acknowledged  that  the  admission  of  California 
as  a  free  state  led  to  the  war  of  the  rebellion.  The 
spirit  of  the  south  protested  angrily  against  it;  the 
more  so  that  it  was  a  land  of  gold  and  sunshine.  They 

ment  of  a  constitution,  '  and  the  inevitable  dismemberment  of  the  empire 
consequent  upon  her  rejection.' 

39  This  protest  was  signed  by  Mason  and  Hunter  of  Va;  Butler  and  Barn- 
well  of  S.  C.;  Soule  of  La;  Turney  of  Term.;  Jeff.  Davis  of  Miss.;  1).  R. 
Atchison  of  Mo.;  Morton  and  Yulee  of  Fla.  McCluakey,  Pol.  Text  Book,  005-6; 
Benton,  Thirty  Years,  ii.  769-71;  Cong.  Globe,  1849-50,  1578;  S.  F.  Bulletin, 
Sept.  9,  1862. 


CALIFORNIA  BILL  PASSED.  345 

read  in  it  the  doom  of  slavery  and  loss  of  power. 
For  their  disappointment  every  generous  heart  must 
feel  a  sympathetic  pang.  We  experience  the  same 
pain  when  we  see  the  surgeon  maiming  a  brother  to 
save  his  life — protesting  and  consenting  in  the  same 
thought. 

On  the  7th  of  September  the  house  of  representa 
tives  passed  the  California  bill  by  a  vote  of  150  to  56. 
All  the  votes  against  it  were  of  southern  men.  The 
act  was  approved  September  9th,40  and  the  California 
delegation  presented  themselves  on  the  llth.  Objec 
tions  were  made  by  southern  senators  to  their  being 
sworn  in,  Davis  of  Mississippi  leading  the  opposition, 
supported  by  Butler  of  South  Carolina,  Mason  of 
Virginia,  and  Berrien  of  Georgia.  It  was  the  last 
kick  at  their  dead  lion,  and  ineffectual.  Congress  had 
been  in  session  for  nine  months,  and  now  made  haste 
to  despatch  neglected  business.  Gwin,  who  had  drawn 
the  long  term,  busied  himself  during  the  time  before 
adjournment  in  draughting  bills ;  no  less  than  eighteen41 

40  U.  S.  Pub.  Laws,  452-3,  31st  cong.,  1st  sess.  ;Capron,  51;  Acts  and  ResoVns, 
31st  cong.,  1st  sess.,  51-2;  Amer.  Quart.  Reg.,  ii.  295-C. 

41  Some  of  these  bills  were  before  congress  for  a  long  time.    They  are  num- 
bsred  in  Gwins  Memoirs  as  follows:  I.  A  bill  to  provide  for  the  appointment 
of  a  recorder  of  land  titles  in  Cal.    II.  To  provide  for  the  appointment  of  sur.  - 
gen.  in  Cal.,  and  for  the  survey  of  the  public  lands.     III.  To  provide  for  the 
erection  of  land-offices  in  Cal.     IV.    To  provide  for   the   ascertainment  of 
private  land  titles,  and  for  the  adjudication  and  settlement  of  the  same.     V. 
To  grant  donations  of  land  to  settlers  in  Cal.,  before  the  cession  of  that  coun 
try  to  the  U.  S. ,  and  to  allow  preemption  rights  to  subsequent  and  all  future 
settlers.     VI.  To  regulate  the  working  of  the  placers  and  gold  mines,  and  to 
preserve  order  by  granting  temporary  permits  to  actual  operators  to  work 
the  same  in  limited  quantities.     VII.  For  extending  the  laws  and  judicial 

ystem  of  the  U.  S.  to  Cal.     VIII.  To  refund  to  the  state  of  Cal.  the  amount 


of  moneys  collected  for  duties  on  imported   goods  at  S.  F.  and  the  other 

quan' 
nships 
struct 
ips  of  Ian 
the  deaf  and  dumb,  and  for  the  blind  and  insane.     XIII.    To  relinquish  to 


ports,  before   the  custom-house  laws  of  the  U.   S.  were  extended  to  Cal. 
IX.  To  grant  to  the  state  of  Cal.  certain  quanti 

ss  of  education.     X.  To  grant  6  townships 

grant  4  sections  of  land  to  aid  in  constructing 
of  govt.     XII.  To  grant  two  townships  of  land  for  establishing  an  asylum  for 


JLY.  To  grant  to  the  state  of  Cal.  certain  quantities  of  public  land  for  the  pur 
poses  of  education.  X.  To  grant  6  townships  of  land  for  a  university.  XI. 
To  grant  4  sections  of  land  to  aid  in  constructing  public  buildings  at  the  seat 


the  city  of  S.  F.  all  the  grounds  reserved  for  military  or  other  purposes  in 
said  city  which  are  no  longer  wanted  for  such  purposes.  XIV.  To  grant  to 
the  state  of  Cal.  12  salt  springs,  with  a  section  of  land  around  each.  XV. 
To  grant  to  the  city  of  Monterey  the  old  government  house  in  that  city,  and 
the  ground  upon  which  it  stands.  XVI.  To  provide  for  opening  a  road  across 
the  Sierra  Nevada,  on  the  line  of  the  Rio  de  los  Americanos  and  Carson 
River,  and  the  pass  at  their  heads,  as  the  commencement  of  opening  a  common 
travelling  road  between  the  present  western  settlements  of  the  U.  S.  and  the 


346  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

were  presented  by  Fremont,  who  thought  three  weeks 
of  senatorial  life  hardly  long  enough  to  win  a  reelec 
tion,  and  was,  by  consent  of  his  colleague,  put  forward 
on  the  subject  of  Mexican  and  Spanish  land  grants, 
and  came  to  blows  with  Foote  of  Mississippi  on  that 
issue. 

The  condition  of  California  during  the  period  occu 
pied  by  congressional  discussion,  politically,  was  one 
of  indifference.  Some  effort  there  was  by  would-be 
party  leaders  to  divide  the  population  into  whigs  and 
democrats ;  and  so  far  as  the  districts  containing  prin 
cipal  towns  were  concerned,  they  were  partially  suc 
cessful,  San  Francisco  being  governed  by  democrats 
and  independents,  and  Sacramento  by  whigs.42  The 
second  general  election  under  the  state  constitution 
took  place  on  the  7th  of  October,  when  senators  and 
assemblymen,  with  a  number  of  state  officers,  were 
elected.43  Although  little  interest  was  manifested  by 
the  mining  population  in  the  results  of  election,  the 
canvass  showed  the  great  numerical  superiority  of  the 
northern  counties,  which  were  able  to  exercise  a  pow 
erful  influence  in  determining  the  future  political 
action  of  the  state,44  and  to  carry  their  measures  in 
the  legislature.  The  miners  were,  in  truth,  much 
more  interested  in  legislation  concerning  mining,  both 

state  of  Cal.  XVII.  To  grant  the  state  of  Cal.  1,600,000  acres  of  land  for 
purposes  of  internal  improvement,  in  addition  to  the  500,000  acres  granted 
for  such  purposes  to  each  new  state  by  a  general  law.  XVIII.  To  preserve 
peace  among  the  Indian  tribes  in  Cal.  by  providing  for  the  extinction  of  their 
territorial  claims  in  the  gold-mining  districts,  and  a  resolution  establishing 
numerous  post-routes  in  Cal. 

^Ashley,  Doc.,  533-79;  Peckham,  JSiog.,  in  San  Jose  Pioneer,  July  28,  1877; 
S.  F.  Picayune,  Sept.  4,  1850;  Placer  Times,  March  30,  1850;  Sac.  Transcript, 
Aug.  30,  Sept.  30,  Oct.  14,  and  Nov.  29,  1850;  8.  F.  Alta,  May  20  and  Dec. 
17,  18G8. 

43  E.  J.  C.  Kewen  having  resigned,  James  A.  McDougall  was  chosen  to  fill 
the  vacancy  in  the  office  of  attorney-general.     John  G-.  Marvin  was  made 
supt  of  public  instruction.     E.  H.  Sharp  was  chosen  clerk  of  the  sup.  ct. 
Dist  attys  were  elected  in  the  9  districts. 

44  Moore,  Pion.  Exper.,  MS,,  10;  Burnett,  Recoil.,  MS.,  ii.  266-7.     The  votes 
polled  in  Sac.  co.  were  3,000;  El  Dorado,  2,900;  Yuba,  4,163;  Sutter,  1,389; 
Yolo,   107;  Butte,  900;  Colusa,  20;   Shasta,   150;  aggregating   12,629.     The 
whole  vote  of  the  San  Joaquin  country  was  not  more  than  6,850,  and  of  S.  F. 
3,450.  Sac.  Transcript,  Nov.  29,  1850 


RECEPTION  OF  THE  NEWS.  347 

state  and  national,  than  in  party  questions,  and  more 
likely  to  make  this  a  party  issue  at  that  time  than 
slavery  or  anti-slavery,  much  as  they  had  done  to 
bring  on  the  agitation.  There  were  men  in  the  mines 
whose  journey  to  California,  whose  digging  and  delv 
ing,  whose  gambling  and  whiskey-drinking,  whose  pros 
pecting,  Indian-shooting,  and  clubbing  of  foreigners, 
were  all  as  lenses  that  enabled  them  to  see  how  much 
of  self  and  how  little  of  public  weal  occupied  the  pon 
derous  brains  of  the  eight-dollars- a-day  law-makers  at 
Washington ! 

The  defeat  of  the  compromise  bill,  and  consequent 
probability  that  no  definite  action  would  be  taken  by 
congress  for  the  admission  of  California  for  some  time 
to  come,  was  engendering  angry  feelings  in  the  wait 
ing  state,  where  rebellious  utterances  were  beginning 
to  be  heard.  Judge  Thomas,  of  the  district  court  of 
Sacramento,  openly  reproached  the  government  for 
neglect,  and  Bear-Flag  sentiments  were  voiced  in  the 
streets.  Some  there  were  who,  in  the  event  of  dis 
couraging  news  by  the  next  two  or  three  steamers, 
were  in  favor  of  a  separation  from  the  United  States, 
if  separation  it  could  be  called  where  there  was  no 
union,  and  setting  up  an  independent  government. 
Anarchy  and  confusion  would  have  resulted  from  such 
a  movement.  The  public  journals  generally  discoun 
tenanced  the  expression  of  bitter  feeling,  but  admitted 
that  California  would  not  submit  to  be  dismembered, 
and  acknowledged  the  critical  nature  of  the  situation.45 
But  the  heavily  burdened  people  were  to  be  spared 
the  last  straw.  Intelligence  of  the  admission  of  Cali 
fornia  reached  San  Francisco  on  the  morning  of  Octo 
ber  18th,  when  the  mail  steamer  Oregon  entered  the 
harbor  flying  all  her  bunting,46  and  signalling  the  good 

45  Id.,  Apr.  26  and  Aug.  30,  1850;  Placer  Times,  May  8,  1850;  S.  F.  Pica 
yune,  Sept.  14,  1850;  Crosby,  Early  Events,  MS.,  52-3. 

46  A  nag  had  been  made  in  New  York  and  forwarded  by  the  Cherokee.to  be 
given  to  Capt.  Patterson  of  the  Oregon  on  this  side,  and  another  was  made  on 
board  the  Oregon,  on  which  was  inscribed,  *  California  is  a  state. '    The  pioneer 


348  POLITICAL  HISTORY 

news.  The  revulsion  of  feeling  was  instant  and 
extreme.  Business  was  suspended ;  courts  were  ad 
journed;  and  the  whole  population,  frenzied  with 
delight,  congregated  on  Portsmouth  square  to  con 
gratulate  each  other.  Newspapers  containing  the 
intelligence  from  Washington  sold  for  five  dollars  each. 
The  shipping  in  the  harbor  was  gayly  dressed  in  flags; 
guns  boomed  from  the  height;  bonfires  blazed  at 
night;  processions  were  formed;  bands  played;  and 
the  people  in  every  way  expressed  their  joy.  Mount 
ing  his  box  behind  six  fiery  mustangs  lashed  to  high 
est  speed,  the  driver  of  Crandall's  stage  cried  the  glad 
tidings  all  the  wray  to  San  Jose,  "  California  is  admit 
ted!"  while  a  ringing  cheer  was  returned  by  the  peo 
ple  as  the  mail  flew  by.  On  the  29th  there  was  a 
formal  celebration  of  the  event,  when  a  new  star  was 
added  to  the  flag  which  floated  from  the  mast  in  the 
centre  of  the  plaza,  and  every  species  of  amusement 
and  parade  was  made  to  attest  the  satisfaction  of  the 
citizens  of  the  first  American  state  on  the  Pacific 
coast.47  As  it  is  good  to  be  young  once  in  our  lives, 

society  is  now  in  possession  of  these  flags,  presented  by  capts  Phelps  and  Cox. 
S.  F.  Bulletin,  Feb.  5,  1869;  Gal  Courier,  Oct.  19,  1850;  S.  F.  Alta,  Feb.  5, 
1869;  San  Jos6  Pioneer,  Sept.  15,  1877. 

47  The  public  procession  was,  considering  the  youth  of  the  city,  quite  a  re 
markable  parade.  It  was  divided  into  7  parts,  in  charge  of  4  marshals  each, 
wearing  crimson  scarfs  with  gold  trimmings.  The  several  societies  and  asso 
ciations  had  their  marshals  in  variously  colored  scarfs,  all  mounted  on  capari 
soned  horses.  After  the  grand  marshal  were  4  buglers,  then  3  marshals, 
followed  by  mounted  native  Californians  bearing  a  banner  with  31  stars  on  a 
blue  satin  ground,  with  the  inscription  in  gold  letters,  '  California.  E  Pluribus 
Unum.'  Next  came  the  California  pioneers  with  a  banner  on  which  was 
represented  a  New  Englander  in  the  act  of  stepping  ashore  and  facing  a 
native  Californian  with  lasso  and  serape.  In  the  centre,  the  state  seal  and 
the  inscription,  'Far  West,  Eureka,  1846.  California  Pioneers,  organized 
August  1850.'  Then  came  the  army  officers  and  soldiers,  the  navy  officers 
and  marines,  the  veterans  of  the  Mexican  war,  and  the  consuls  and  repre 
sentatives  of  foreign  governments.  Behind  these  was  a  company  of  Chinese 
in  rich  native  costumes  under  their  own  marshal,  carrying  a  blue  silk  banner 
inscribed,  '  The  China  Boys. '  In  the  triumphal  car  which  followed  were  30 
boys  in  black  trousers  and  white  shirts,  representing  the  30  states,  and  each 
supporting  the  national  breast-plate  with  the  name  of  his  state  inscribed 
thereon.  In  the  centre  of  the  group  was  a  young  girl  robed  in  white,  with 
gold  and  silver  gauze  floating  about  her,  and  supporting  a  breast-plate  upon 
which  was  inscribed,  'California,  The  Union,  it  must  and  shall  be  preserved.' 
After  these  came  the  municipal  officers  and  fire  department,  followed  by  a 
company  of  watermen  with  a  boat  on  wheels;  and  finally  the  several  secret 
and  benevolent  societies.  At  the  plaza  the  ceremonies  consisted  of  prayer, 


ADMISSION  DAY.  349 

so  it  is  pleasant  to  remember  occasions  when  our  local 
world  seemed  revolving  in  an  intoxicating  atmosphere 
of  self-praise  and  mutual  admiration.  For  the  encour 
agement  of  these  agreeable  sentiments,  admission  day 
continues  to  be  celebrated  in  California,  and  is  by 
statute  a  legal  holiday. 

The  Spanish-sired  young  state,  like  a  Sabine  maiden, 
had  been  wrested  from  her  kindred,  and  forcibly  wed 
ded  with  a  greater  people.  She  had  protested48  in 
vain,  and  consented  with  reluctance;  yet  she  had  con- 
music,  an  oration  by  Judge  Bennett,  and  an  original  ode  by  Mrs  Wills  of 
Louisiana.  See  S.  F.  Picayune,  Oct.  19,  30,  and  31,  1850;  8.  F.  Pac.  News, 
Oct.  21,  28,  29,  and  30,  1850;  8.  F.  Herald,  Oct.  19,  25,  28,  and  31,  1850;  S. 
F.  Courier,  Oct.  31,  1850;  8.  F.  Bulletin,  Sept.  8,  1875;  Sonoma  Democrat, 
Sept.  14,  1878;  Napa  Register,  Sept.  21,  1878;  S.  F.  Post,  Sept.  9,  1878;  Peta- 
lurna  Ar<jus,  Oct.  5,  1877;  8.  F.  Call,  Sept.  9  and  10,  1870;  Sac.  Union,  Sept. 
13,  1871;  Pac.  Rural  Press,  Sept.  20,  1879;  Oakland  Transcript,  Sept.  9,  1877; 
Visa  fa  Delta,  Sept.  11,  1875.  Jacks,  of  S.  F.,  manufactured  a  medal 
which  was  designed  to  commemorate  the  admission  of  the  state,  and  to  com 
pliment  her  friend,  the  statesman  of  Ky.  It  was  2^  inches  in  diameter, 
weighing  over  2  ounces.  On  the  upper  edge  was  engraved,  '  California,  ad 
mitted  Sept.  9,  1850;'  on  the  lower  edge,  'City  of  San  Francisco,  October  29, 
1850.'  Within  the  circle  was  inscribed,  'Presented  to  Henry  Clay  by  Jacks 
and  brothers.'  On  the  reverse  was  a  raised  rim  like  a  wreath,  composed  of 
small  gold  specimens  from  Bear,  Yuba,  and  Feather  rivers,  and  from  the  Los 
Angeles  Mining  Co.'s  veins.  Inside  the  wreath  were  30  small  stars,  with  a 
large  star  in  the  centre,  on  which  stood  a  piece  of  white  gold  quartz  of  the 
size  and  shape  of  an  acorn.  S.  F.  Cal.  Courier,  Jan.  25,  1851;  Sac.  Transcript, 
Feb.  1,  1851. 

*8  In  Feb.  1850,  the  people  of  Los  Angeles,  alarmed  at  the  action  of  the 
legislature  in  taxing  land,  held  a  mass  meeting  to  propose  some  method  of 
escape  from  the  impending  evil.  They  wished  not  to  have  to  pay  the  '  enor 
mous  expense  '  of  a  state  govt;  and  complained  that  the  legislature  favored 
the  more  thickly  populated  north,  disregarding  the  interests  of  the  thinly 
populated  south.  This  was  unavoidable,  as  the  public  domain  could  not  be 
taxed,  and  the  lands  covered  by  Spanish  grants  only  could.  The  Los  An 
geles  people  said  they  feared  ruin;  and  proposed  to  petition  congress  to 
form  a  territory  to  be  called  Central  California,  embracing  the  country  from 
San  Luis  Obispo  to  San  Diego.  An  address  to  congress  was  finally  adopted, 
declaring  that  they  had  not  had  time  to  become  acquainted  with  American 
institutions  when  they  joined  in  forming  a  state  constitution.  They  believed 
a  territorial  govt  the  most  suitable.  Ruinous  taxes  would  have  to  be  levied 
to  support  the  state.  They  could  not  believe  congress  would  admit  Cal.  as  a 
state.  It  was  too  large,  and  the  interest  too  diverse.  They  would  have  a 
separation  and  a  territorial  govt.  It  was  signed  by  Manuel  Requena,  prest, 
Enrique  Dal  ton  and  Agustin  Olvera,  sees.  Vol.,  Doc.,  MS.,  xiii.  39;  Hayes1 
Scraps,  Angeles,  i.  5,  12,  29-30;  8ta  Barbara  Arch.,  MS.,  viii.  229-30,  233; 
Costa  Coll.,  25-36.  On  the  9th  of  May,  1850,  Foote  produced  in  the  U.  S. 
senate  a  letter  addressed  to  him  by  Agostin  Harazthy,  of  San  Diego,  enclos 
ing  the  address  of  the  Los  Angeles  meeting.  The  Santa  Barbara  and  San 
Luis  Obispo  people  were  opposed  to  the  memorial.  Foote  moved  to  have  the 
documents  printed,  but  objections  being  made,  they  were  not  received.  Cong. 
Globe,  1849-50,  967. 


350  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

sented,  and  now  joined  in  the  rejoicings.49  Henceforth 
her  destiny  was  one  with  the  superior  race.  At  the 
union  the  world  looked  on  amazed.50  The  house  she 
entered  was  divided  against  itself  on  her  account.  But 
under  all  these  embarrassments  she  conducted  herself 
with  dignity,  doing  her  best  to  preserve  the  honor  and 
unity  of  the  nation,  and  contributing  of  her  treasures 
as  required  of  her  with  a  liberal  hand.  Thrice  blessed 
California !  Blessed  in  giving  rather  than  in  receiv 
ing  ;  for  of  all  the  many  mighty  states  of  this  American 
confederation,  she  has  given  more  and  received  pro 
portionately  less  than  any  one  of  them. 

49  An  address  'a  los  Calif ornias, '  urging  them  to  celebrate,  was  printed  in 
Spanish,  and  circulated  among  the  native  population. 

60  The  London  Times,  commenting  on  the  admission  celebration  at  S.  F. , 
said:  '  Forgetting  for  a  moment  the  decorative  features  of  this  exhibition,  let 
the  reader  consider  the  extraordinary  character  of  the  facts  it  symbolized. 
Here  was  a  community  of  some  hundreds  of  thousands  of  souls  collected  from 
all  quarters  of  the  known  world — Polynesians  and  Peruvians,  Englishmen 
and  Mexicans,  Germans  and  New  Englanders,  Spaniards  and  Chinese — all 
organized  under  old  Saxon  institutions,  and  actually  marching  under  the 
command  of  a  mayor  and  alderman.  Nor  was  this  all,  for  the  extemporized 
state  had  demanded  and  obtained  its  admission  into  the  most  powerful  feder 
ation  in  the  world,  and  was  recognized  as  a  part  of  the  American  union.  A 
third  of  the  time  which  has  been  consumed  in  erecting  our  house  of  parlia 
ment  has  here  sufficed  to  create  a  state  with  a  territory  as  large  as  Great 
Britain,  a  population  difficult  to  number,  and  destinies  which  none  can  fore- 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

UNFOLDING  OF  MINERAL  WEALTH. 

1848-1856. 

EXTENT  OF  GOLD  REGION  IN  1848-9 — AMERICAN  RIVER  THE  CENTRE — EL 
DORADO  COUNTY — SOUTH  FORK  AND  SOUTHWARD — MIDDLE  BRANCH — 
PLACER,  NEVADA,  YUBA,  SIERRA,  PLUMAS,  BUTTE,  AND  SHASTA  COUNTIES 
— TRINITY  AND  KLAMATH  —  GOLD  BLUFF  EXCITEMENT,  1850-1 — DEL 
NORTE,  HUMBOLDT,  AND  SlSKIYOU — IN  THE  SOUTH — AMADOR,  CALA- 
VERAS,  AND  TuOLUMNE — TABLE  MOUNTAIN — MARIPOSA,  KERN,  SAN  BER 
NARDINO — Los  ANGELES  AND  SAN  DIEGO — ALONG  THE  OCEAN. 

DURING  the  year  1848  the  gold  region  of  California 
was  explored  and  worked  from  Coloma  to  the  Tuol- 
umne  in  the  south,  and  to  Feather  River  in  the  north, 
with  a  slight  inroad  upon  the  country  beyond  and 
westward  to  the  Trinity.  It  might  have  been  ex 
pected  that  observations  would  have  extended  farther 
in  the  south,  since  this  was  in  a  measure  the  pathway 
from  Sonora  and  southern  California;  but  hostile 
Indians,  and  the  distribution  of  gold  in  patches  and 
less  regular  streaks  in  dry  ground,  tended  to  discour 
age  the  casual  prospector.  In  the  north,  on  the  other 
hand,  every  bar  could  be  counted  upon  to  contain  suf 
ficient  color  for  remuneration  or  guidance,  with  greater 
indication  of  finding  in  this  quarter  the  supposed 
mother  beds.  The  inflowing  hordes  of  18491  and  sub 
sequent  years  followed  the  paths  so  far  opened,  and 
passed  onward  to  the  poorer  districts  beyond  the 

1  There  must  have  been  10,000  or  12,000  people  waiting  in  August  for  pas 
sage  from  S.  F.  to  the  mines,  for  small  vessels  were  scarce.  Connor s  Stat., 
MS.,  2;  Crosby's  Events  in  Col.,  MS.,  14.  It  was  a  repetition  of  the  scenes  en 
route  given  in  the  chapters  for  1848. 

(351) 


352  UNFOLDING  OF  MINERAL  WEALTH 

Meroed,  and  into  the  more  attractive  north-west,  be 
yond  the  borders  of  Oregon  and  into  Nevada. 

The  attention  of  new-comers  continued  throughout 
these  early  years  to  be  directed  toward  the  American 
River,  as  the  chief  centre  and  distributing  point  for 
mining  movements.  It  was  famed  moreover  for  Mar 
shall's  discovery,  and  for  a  well -sustained  production, 
not  merely  from  placers  along  the  crowded  river-beds 
and  intermediate  uplands,  but  from  the  auriferous 
rock  belt  some  thirty  miles  in  breadth,  which  opened 
prospects  for  even  greater  operations.  Coloma,  the 
starting-point  for  the  world-wide  excitement,  reaped 
benefit  in  becoming  for  a  time  a  flourishing  county 
seat,2  the  head  in  1848  of  numerous  mining  camps, 
especially  along  the  line  to  Mormon  Island,3  which 
multiplied  further  in  the  following  years,  with  Michi- 

fan  flat  and  Salmon  Falls  as  the  most  prominent.4 
mproved  methods,  and  such  enterprises  as  fluming 
the  river,  in  the  summer  of  1849,  increased  the  yield 
and  sustained  the  mining  interest  for  years.5  On 
the  divide  southward  a  still  greater  development 
took  place,  along  Webber  Creek,6  notably  at  the  old 

2  Coloma  claimed  the  first  ditch,  in  this  region,  the  El  Dorado,  six  miles 
long,  for  bringing  water  to  her  placer  field.     Here  was  placed  the  first  ferry 
on  the  South  Fork,  and  the  first  bridge  in  the  county,  to  attest  the  popu 
larity  of  the  spot.     Later,  fruit-raising  arrested  total  decline. 

3  Dutch  Bar,  Kanaka,  Red,  Stony,  Ledge,  Missouri,  Michigan,  and  other 
bars.     Negro  Hill,  opposite  Mormon  Island,  so  named  after  subsequent  negro 
miners  of  1849,  had  in  1853  over  1,003  inhabitants.     Unioiitown,  first  called 
Marshall,  was  the  centre  for  the  miners  on  Granite  and  Shingle  creeks,  with 
Poague's  bridge  and  the  second  saw-mill  in  the  county. 

4  The  former  composed  of  Red  Hill,  Coyote  Diggings,  and  Rich  Gulch;  the 
latter,  beginning  with  Higgins'  Point,  was  laid  out  as  a  town  in  1850,  and 
attained  at  one  time  a  population  of  3,000,  sustained  by  tributary  camps  like 
Pinchemtight,  Jayhawk,  Green  Springs,  and  McDowell  Hill.     In  the  sum 
mer  of  1849  the  Mormon  Island  Mining  Assoc.  undertook  to  turn  the  course 
of  the  South  Fork,  for  the  purpose  of  mining  in  its  bed.     Farther  down  an 
other  company  was  prepared  for  a  similar  task.     Shares  sold  at  $5,000.  Alta 
Cal,  Aug.  2,  1849;  Placer  Times,  Apr.  28,  June  19,  Sept.  22,  1847;  Brooks,  Four 
Mo.,  51,  was  there  in  June.     In  1850  a  'green '  hand  took  out  $19,000  in  three 
days,  and  three  pounds  of  dust  one  afternoon.  Sac.  Transcript,  Aug.  30,  1850. 
In  Oct.  1850  there  were  1,500  miners  at  Mormon  Island  making  more  money 
than  ever.  Id.,  Oct.  14,  1850;  Jan.  14,  1851;  Pac.  News,  May  27,  etc.,  1850; 
Crosbys  Events,  MS.,  16-17. 

5  'The  mines  were  never  yielding  better,'  writes  one  to  the  S.  F.  Bulletin, 
Dec.  13,  1855,  of  the  Coloma  region. 

6  See  previous  chapter  on  mines  of  1848.     lowaville  and  Dogtown,  later 
Newtown,  were  among  the  camps  of  1849.  Sac.  Transcript,  Apr.  26,  1850,  etc. 


AMERICAN  RIVER.  353 

dry  diggings,  which  after  1848  acquired  the  name 
of  Hangtown,  subsequently  Placerville,  the  county 
seat.7  Below  sprang  up  Diamond  Springs  and  Mud 
Springs,  each  in  a  rich  district,8  and  along  the  north 
ern  line  of  the  Cosumnes  rose  a  series  of  less  im 
portant  bars,  surpassed  in  wealth  by  several  diggings 
on  the  divides  between  the  forks.9  The  adjoining  Sac 
ramento  county  came  in  for  a  minor  share  in  the  gold 
sand  of  both  the  American  and  Cosumnes,  which  was 
collected  at  a  number  of  camps;10  and  along  the  upper 
border  ran  a  quartz  belt  half  a  dozen  miles  in  width, 
which  was  slowly  opening.  Eastward  El  Dorado 
miners  had  penetrated  as  early  as  1850  into  Carson 
Valley.11 

North  of  the  American  South  Fork,  Kelsey  and 
Pilot  Hill  formed  the  rival  centres  of  two  important 
groups  of  mines,12  and  above  them  Greenwood  and 

7  In  1854  it  polled  the  third  largest  vote  in  the  state.     The  diggings  con 
tinued   rich  all   around   for  years,  and  were  several  times  rewashed.    CaL 
Courier,  Oct.   18,  1850;  Pac.  News,  id.;  Sac.   Transcript,  Apr.  26,   Oct.   14, 
1850,  etc. 

8  The  latter  renamed  El  Dorado.     Diamond  Springs  competed  in  1854  for 
the  county  seat.     Cold  Springs,  above  Placerville,  attained  at  one  time  to 
2,000  inhab.     Shingle  sustained  itself. 

9  As  Grizzly  Flat  and  Indian  Diggings  of  1850,  the  latter,  near  Mendon, 
having  for  a  time,  in  1855,  a  population  of  1,500.     Among  the  bars  were  Big, 
Bucks,  Pittsburgh,  and  Nashville.     Quartz  excitements  were  rife  in  this  re 
gion  at  the  close  of  1S50.  Pac.  News,  Oct.  18,  1850;  Sac.  Transcript,  Nov.  29, 
1850;  Placerville  Repub.,  June  27,  1876,  gives  a  history  of  Grizzly  Flat,  and 
contributes  in  other  numbers  to  different  local  reminiscences. 

10  Below  the  well-known  Mormon  Island  lay  Negro  Bar  with  700  people  in 
1851;  Alabama  Bar,  Big  Gulch,  later  Ashland;  Prairie  City,  the  centre  for 
several  interior  diggings,  with  a  tributary  popul.  in  1854  of  1,000,  quartz-mills 
near  by  in  1855;  Texas  Hill;  the  rich  Beam  Bar  of  1849.     The  branches  and 
extensions  of  several  ditches  reached  this  region  in  1851-5,  as  did  others  along 
the  Cosumnes,  including  Knightsomer's  ditch,  possessing  since  1851  the  old 
est  water  right  on  this  river.     In  1855  there  were  4  ditches  in  the  county,  29 
miles  in  length,  which  by  1860  increased  to  11  ditches  of  135  miles.     Along 
the  lower  Cosumnes  lay  Michigan  and  Cook  bars  of  1849,  the  former  with 
over  1,000  inhab.  at  one  time.     Katesville  and  Sebastopol  rose  later.     For 
other  details,  see  Hist.  Sacramento  Co.,  214-29,  and  references  of  later  notes. 

11  Pac.  News,  Aug.  21,  Oct.  10,  1850;  CaL  Courier,  July  15,  1850.     See 
Hist.  Nevada,  this  series. 

12  The  former  at  one  time  having  extensive  business  tributaries  in  Louis 
ville,  Columbia,  Irish  Creek,  American  Flat,  Fleatown,   Elizaville,  Yankee, 
Chicken,    Stag,    Barley,    and   Union   flats.     Spanish  Flat  was   named  after 
Spanish  diggers  of  1849,  when  Mosquito  Valley  also  claimed  prominence  with 
two  camps.     At   Pilot  Hill,  later   Centreville,   discovered   late  in  1849,  32 
miners  wintered;  yield  §8  to  $60  daily  per  man;  many  small  nuggets.  /<£.., 
Apr.  26,  1859;  S.  F.  Picayune,  Dec.  2l",  1850;  Connors  Stat.,  MS.,  2. 

HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VL    23 


354  UNFOLDING   OF  MINERAL  WEALTH. 

Georgetown,  both  dating  from  1848,13  as  did  Spanish 
Dry  Diggings.14  On  the  Middle  Fork  the  develop 
ments  made  in  184815  led  to  a  series  of  camps  along  its 
entire  length,  from  Beal  Bar  to  the  headwaters.16  It 
was  esteemed  the  richest  river  for  a  regular  yield  in 
California,  with  more  bars  than  any  other,  several  of 
which  were  said  to  have  produced  from  one  to  three 
millions  each,  and  to  have  sustained  themselves  to 
some  extent  until  recent  times.17  Meanwhile  hydrau- 

13  The  latter  competing  in  1854  for  the  county  seat;  a  pretty  spot;  it  con 
tinued  to  thrive  though  ravaged  more  than  once  by  fire.     Greenwood,  first 
called  Long  Valley,  then  Green  Valley,  and  Lewisville,  also  aspired  to  the 
county  seat.     Near  by  were  Hoggs  diggings,  Oregon  canon,  Hudson  gulch, 
and  Georgia  slide  or  iiat. 

14  Called  in    1849  Dutchtown,  where  quartz  was    found.     Near    by  was 
Jones  Hill.     Little,  Stat.,  MS.,  8,  says  that  from  one  to  four  ounces  a  day 
could  readily  be  made  here. 

15  Notably  at  Michigan  Bluff,  which  experienced  its  real  '  rush '  in  1850, 
and  developed   best   under  hydraulic   operations   after    1852.     Rector   Bar, 
Sailor's  Claim,  and  Horseshoe  Bar  were  long  active. 

10  Including  Massachusetts  Flat,  Condemned  Bar,  Long,  Doton,  Horseshoe, 
Whiskey  where  the  pioneer  wire  bridge  opened  in  1854,  Rattlesnake  which 
in  1853  took  the  lead,  Lacey,  Milkpunch,  Deadman's,  Granite,  Manhattan, 
and  other  bars,  up  to  the  junction  of  South  Fork.  Then  the  bars  of  Oregon, 
Louisiana,  New  York,  Murderer's,  Wildcat,  Willow,  Hoosier,  Green  Moun 
tain,  Maine,  Poverty,  Spanish,  Ford,  at  Otter  Creek,  Volcano,  Sandy,  Grey 
Eagle,  Yankee  Slide,  Eureka,  Boston,  Horseshoe,  Junction,  Alabama — all 
on  the  south  side  of  the  middle  fork.  Along  the  north  bank  lay  Vermont, 
Buckner,  opposite  Murderer's,  Rocky  Point,  Mammoth,  Texas,  Quail,  Brown, 
Kennebec,  Buckeye,  American,  Sardine,  Dutch,  African,  Drunkard's,  Pleas 
ant,  and  yet  farther  Greenhorn,  Fisher,  Menken  Cut,  Mud  Canon,  Niggers' 
Bluff,  Missouri  Canon,  and  Grizzly  Canon.  In  the  summer  of  1850  fully  1,500 
men  from  Oregon  were  at  work  up  the  stream.  Murderer's  Bar,  so  named 
from  the  murder  by  Indians  of  five  men  in  Ross' party,  Ross,  Narr.%  MS., 
13-19,  was  remarkable  for  a  very  rich  crevice,  but  so  deep  and  dangerous  to 
work  that  it  has  not  yet  been  thoroughly  exploited.  In  1853  one  of  the 
largest  and  best  river  bars  in  the  county  was  constructed  here,  although 
fluming  had  been  done  in  1849.  It  was  a  lively  place  during  the  entire 
decade.  Placer  Times,  Apr.  23,  May  19,  June  2,  July  20,  Oct.  13,  27,  Nov. 
24,  Dec.  15,  22,  1849;  March  9,  May  3,  8,  24,  1850;  Sac.  Transcript,  Apr. 
23,  May  29,  Aug.  30,  Sept.  30,  Nov.  29,  1850;  Jan.  14,  Feb.  1,  14,  May 
15,  1851;  Woodward's  Stat.,  MS.,  5;  Fowlers  Diet.,  MS.,  14  et  seq.;  8.  F. 
Picayune,  Sept.  11,  1850;  Cal  Courier,  July  18,  Aug.  5,  1850,  with  allusion 
to  hill  tunnel;  Pac.  News,  Jan.  10,  Oct.  25,  1850.  A  rise  in  the  river  Aug.- 
Sept.  1850  caused  great  loss  and  delay.  Placer  Times  and  Trans.,  1851-2, 
passim;  Barstow'sStat.,  MS.,  6-7,  14;  Moore  sExper.,  MS.,  6-7;  AUa  Cal,  Aug. 
2,  1849,  etc. 

17  Mud  Canon  and  American  Bar  are  credited  with  $3,000,000  each;  Horse 
shoe  Bend,  Volcano  Bar,  Greenhorn  Slide,  and  Yankee  Slide,  with  sums 
ranging  down  to  $1,000,000,  and  a  number  of  others  with  several  hundred 
thousand  each.  In  El  Dorado  Co.  Hist.,  76,  85,  the  yield  of  the  county  is 
placed  at  $100,000,000.  Sac.  Union,  Nov,  9,  18,  1854;  Jan.  13,  Feb.  ,19,  26, 
Mar.  23,  Apr.  6,  12,  23,  June  10,  20,  26,  Oct.  23,  1855;  Dec.  22,  1856;  AltaCal, 
July  30,  Dec.  5,  1852;  Nov.  25,  1855;  Apr.  29,  Oct.  14,  Nov.  29,  1856;  8.  F. 
Bulletin,  Dec.  3,  21,  1855;  Mar.  3,  Apr.  29,  1856,  with  allusions  also  to  ditches. 


BEAR  RIVER.  355 

lie  and  quartz  mining  stepped  in  to  supply  the  defi 
ciency,  assisted  by  numerous  ditch  enterprises,  which 
by  the  end  of  1855  covered  in  El  Dorado  more  than 
GOO  miles,  at  a  cost  of  $1,000,000.18 

The  narrow  divide  between  the  Middle  and  North 
forks  was  exceedingly  rich,  as  shown  by  the  number 
of  important  camps  which  sprang  up,  notably  Yankee 
Jim's,  Todd  Valley,  Wisconsin  Hill,  and  Iowa  Hill;19 
and  of  this  wealth  the  North  Fork  had  an  ample 
share,  distributed  along  numerous  bars,20  with  many 
fine  nuggets.21  One  of  the  most  famous  diggings 
here  was  opened  in  1848  round  Auburn,22  which  throve 
so  well  as  to  secure  in  due  time  the  county  seat.  On 
the  adjoining  Bear  River,  Dutch  Flat  became  the 

18 In  Cal.  Jour.  Ass.,  1856,  26,  are  given  20  ditches  of  610  miles,  valued 
at  $935,000.  A  later  version  increases  the  mileage  to  800  and  the  value  to 
$1,400,000,  pertaining  to  16  leading  canals,  the  main  trunk  of  which  measured 
475  miles.  Of  quartz-mills,  to  be  treated  in  vol.  vii.,  there  were  then  7 
crushing  56  tons  daily.  The  history  of  the  chief  canals  is  given  in  El  Dorado 
Co.  Hist.,  104  et  seq.  Near  Placerville  was  a  ridge  of  quartz.  Sac.  Union,  Mar. 
13,  1855;  8.  F.  Bulletin,  Jan.  19,  1856;  instance  rock  yielding  $225  per  ton. 

19  The  first  two  dating  from  1849.  Near  Yankee  Jim's,  long  a  leading 
town  of  Placer  county,  rose  Georgia  Hill,  which  proved  one  of  the  richest 
surface  diggings.  Here  abutted  also  Shirt-tail,  Brushy,  and  Devil's  canons. 
Bird's  store,  El  Dorado,  and  Antoine  canons  above  Michigan  Bluffs,  worked 
since  1850,  when  Bath,  of  many  other  names,  came  into  prominence,  to  be 
eclipsed  soon  after  by  the  contemporary  Forest  Hill.  Not  far  off  lay  Bogus 
Thunder,  Damascus  or  Strong  Diggings,  Dead  wood,  which  belied  its  name  only 
between  1852-5,  Humbug  Canon,  Euchre  Bar,  the  rich  Grizzly  Flat.  Iowa  Hill 
yielded  $100,000  weekly  in  1856  from  its  hydraulic  mines,  and  continued  to 
prosper.  Its  yield  for  thirty  years  was  placed  at  $20,000,000. 

2jSuch  as  Kelly,  Barnes— discovered  by  Barnes,  Or.  ami  Cal.,  MS.,  14-18, 
early  in  1849 — Smith,  Spanish,  and  Oregon  Gulch,  the  last  spoken  of  by 
Thompson.  Stat.,  MS.,  21-6;  Crosby,  Stat.,  MS.,  19-20;  Moore,  Exper.,  MS., 
7-8;  Placer  Times,  May  26,  July  25,  Dec.  15,  1849;  S.  F.  Picayune,  Sept.  11, 
1850;  Alta  Cal.,  Aug.  2,  1849;  Directory  Placer  Co.,  1861,  13,  etc.  Among 
other  bars  were  Calf,  Rich,  Jones,  Mineral,  Pickering,  and  the  noted  Mormon 
Bar. 

21  In  1849  two  nuggets  of  40  ounces  and  25  pounds  respectively  were  re 
ported.  Placer  Times,  June  23,  1849.     Two  weighing  25  Ibs.  and  16  Ibs.  Sac. 
Transcript,  Apr.  26,  1850. 

22  By  Claude  Charnay  and  party  near  Ophir.     It  was  first  called  North 
Fork  Dry  Diggings,  and  in  1849  Auburn.     Ophir,  first  called  Spanish  Corral, 
was  in  1852  the  largest  place  in  Placer  county,  quartz  veins  and  fruit-growing 
tending  to  avert  any  serious  decline,  and  to  keep  it  above  its  former  rival, 
Frytown,  which  died  after  contributing  to  raise  Auburn  to  the  summit.     The 
story  is  told  that  some  of  the  richest  ground  was  found  beneath   House's 
hotel,  and  so  enabling  him  to  devote  his  leisure  moments  to  digging  under 
cover,  and  earning  about  $100  a  day.     A  $4,000  nugget  was  reported.   Ala- 
meda  Co.  Gaz.,  Apr.  19,  1873;  June  19,  1875;  Sac.  Transcript,  May  29,  1850; 
Armstrong's  Exper.,  MS.,  13-14. 


356  UNFOLDING  OF  MINERAL  WEALTH. 

leading  place.23  The  several  streams  running  in  close 
proximity  were  a  welcome  source  for  the  many  ditch 
enterprises  required  for  hydraulic  and  tunnel  mining, 
which  here  predominated,  gravel  beds  of  100  feet  in 
depth  being  abundant  from  Todd  Valley  north- west 
ward.24 

Nevada  stands  forward  preeminently  a  mining 
county,  with  placers  as  rich  as  any  along  the 
branches  of  the  Yuba,  followed  by  extensive  gravel 
deposits  through  the  central  and  eastern  parts,  where 
runs  the  famous  Blue  Lead,  and  finally  by  wide  quartz 
belts.  The  lodes  did  not  prove  very  heavy,  and  the 
veins  averaged  only  two  feet  in  width,  but  the  ore 
was  of  a  high  grade,  very  tractable,  and  mostly  asso 
ciated  with  sulphurets.25  The  first  recognized  discov 
ery  of  auriferous  ore  was  made  in  June  1850  at  Grass 
Valley,  which,  by  opening  the  first  mill,  became  the 
initial  point  in  California  for  a  new  era  in  mining. 
An  excitement  soon  set  in,  and  machinery  was  intro 
duced  by  different  parties ;  but  owing  to  inexperience 
and  imperfect  methods,  the  cost  of  reduction  ranged 
so  high  as  to  absorb  rich  yields,  and  spread  general 
discouragement.  A  few  rich  mines  alone  managed  to 
sustain  themselves,  and  their  improvements,  by  which 

23  Mining  was  done  in  June  1848  at  Steep  Hollow.     In  1849  a  number  of 
bars  were  opened,  and  Alder  Grove  or  Upper  Corral,  near  Coif  ax,  and  Illinois - 
town  attracted  a  large  influx.  Placer  Times,  May  17,  1850,  dilates  upon  the 
yield  of  Gold  Run. 

24  In  1855  there  were  29  canals  480  miles  long  in  Placer  county,  valued  at 
$649,000,  yet  costing  much  more.  CaL  Ass.  Jour.,  1856,  26.     The  tunnels  at 
Michigan  Flat  were  estimated  to  be  28  miles  in  length,  costing  $1,330,000. 
There  were  in  1856  only  four  quartz-mills  in  the  county.     The  total  produc 
tion  for  1S56  was  placed  at  $5,000,000.     County  surveyor's  report.  S.  F.  Bul 
letin,  Dec.  10, 1856;  Aug.  3,  1857.     The  largest  canal  belonged  to  the  Auburn 
and  Bear  River  W.  Co.,  with  main  line  of  50  miles  and  150  miles  of  branches. 
A  short  railroad  was  built  in  1853  from  Auburn  to  Virginia  Hill,  but  a  ditch 
soon  replaced  it.  Placer  Co.  Hist,  271,  224.     For  early  mining  operations  in 
this  county,  see,  further,  Placer  Times,  May  12,  June  30,  1849;  Jan.  26,  1850; 
Nov.  15,  1851;  8.  F.  Picayune,  Sept.  11,  27,   1850;  Sac.   Transcript,  Apr.  26, 
June  29,  Aug.  30,   Oct.  15,   1850;  June  1,   15,  1851;  CaL   Courier,  July  15, 
Sept.  27,  1850;  Pac.  News,  May  17,  Dec.  22,  1850;  Fays  Slat.,  MS.,  11-13. 
Concerning  later  progress  and  excitements,  see  Sac.  Union,  1854-6;  AUa  Cal.y 
1852-6,  passim. 

25  The  auriferous  belt  turns  here  and  runs  more  directly  north  and  south. 
In  the  south-western  part  of  the  county  the  limestone  belt  is  conspicuous 


YUBA  RIVER.  357 

the  cost  of  extracting  and  reducing  was  lowered, 
gradually  regained  confidence,  so  that  by  1856  three 
quarters  of  a  million  of  dollars  had  been  invested  in 
this  branch,  employing  500  men,  with  the  prospect  of 
rapid  increase.  Nevada  City  was  the  chief  participant 
with  Grass  Valley  in  the  threefold  development  of 
placer,  gravel,  and  quartz  resources,  which  secured  for 
her  the  dignity  of  county  seat.  Few  places  were  so 
favored,  and  the  most  of  these  had  but  a  temporary 
success  as  camps,  a  fewr  alone  surviving  till  late  days, 
chiefly  as  agricultural  centres.  They  sprang  up  along 
the  south  and  middle  Yuba,  the  upper  part  of  Bear 
River,  and  in  the  ravines  and  flats  of  the  intervening 
divides,  some  yielding  large  sums,  Rus-h  Creek  being 
credited  with  three  millions,  Poorrnan's  Creek  with 
one  million,  and  Grass  Valley  four  millions  within  six 
years  from  her  placers,  her  total  production  for  four 
teen  years  being  about  twenty-four  millions.  The 
broad  gravel  belts  of  the  central  and  northern  parts  of 
the  county  helped,  not  alone  in  swelling  the  an 
nual  total,  but  in  promoting  the  construction  of  a 
vast  water  system,  which  in  1856  embraced  100  ditches 
and  canals,  800  miles  in  length,  one  of  16  miles  costing 
$350,000,  while  others,  in  favorable  ground,  had  in 
volved  an  expense  as  low  as  $200.  These  belts  thus 
developed  likewise  gave  to  Nevada  the  credit  of  per 
fecting  and  introducing  such  mining  appliances  as  the 

O  O  O         L  J. 

torn,  sluice,  and  hydraulic  methods.26 

26  The  miners  who  wintered  on  the  Yuba  in  1848-9  made  several  new  de 
velopments  which  were  amplified  by  the  fast  inflowing  gold-seekers.  Rough 
and  Ready  sprang  up  rapidly  as  a  mining  centre,  casting  in  1850  nearly  1,000 
votes;  but  after  this  decade  it  declined.  Near  by  were  Randolph,  Butte, 
Rich,  and  Texas  flats,  and  Squirrel  Creek.  In  1851  the  Kentucky  Ridge 
quartz  ledge  was  opened.  In  the  following  decade  a  brief  excitement  in  cop 
per  mines  gave  rise  to  several  settlements,  of  which  Spenceville  alone  proved 
a  feeble  survival.  Eastward,  past  Newtown,  or  Sailor  Flat,  and  along  Wolf 
Creek,  miners  drifted  into  the  renowned  Grass  Valley,  where  D.  Stump  and 
two  other  Oregonians  had  found  gold  in  1848.  Boston  Ravine  became  the 
starting-point  for  the  several  placers  here,  which,  within  six  years,  yielded 
nearly  $4,000,000,  and  led  to  the  discovery  of  gold  quartz  at  Gold  Hill,  in  June 
1350.  Little  attention  was  paid  to  it  till  October,  when  one  McKnight  opened 
a  rich  vein  two  feet  wide,  and  created  a  furore  for  all  claims  in  every  direc 
tion.  Round  Grass  Valley  were  located,  within  a  few  months,  a  number  of 
other  hills,  as  Massachusetts,  the  second  in  order  of  discovery,  Ophir,  Osborn, 


358  UNFOLDING  OF  MINERAL  WEALTH. 

Mining  in  Yuba  county  has  been  restricted  to  the 
north-eastern  part,  and  to  bar  and  gravel  claims;  for 

Lafayette,  and  Eureka,  which  latter  failed  to  pay  for  several  years,  till  a  rich 
ledge  was  struck;  the  Allison,  one  of  the  richest  in  the  world,  opened  in  1853 
by  following  a  placer  vein;  but  owing  to  the  disrepute  then  cast  upon  quartz 
mining  from  the  ill  success  of  inexperienced  men,  the  ledge  was  long  ne 
glected.     A  few  mines  did  well,  however,  and  the  occasional  finds  of  rich 
quartz   chunks   by  diggers,  as  at  Coyote,  Sac.    Transcript,   Sept.   30,    1850, 
tended  to  revive  coniidence.     Similar  were  the  experience  and  condition  of 
Nevada  City,  which  had  an  earlier  start,  and  was  in  March  1850  organized 
as  a  town,  and  subsequently  as  a  city,  with  the  dignity  of  county  seat.     All 
around  rose  flourishing  camps,  especially  along  Deer  and  Brush  creeks,  the 
latter  yielding  within  a  few  years  some  $3,003,000.     There  were  the  hills  of 
Selby,  Phelps,  Oregon,  Coyote,  Lost,  Wet,  and  American,  the  latter  famous 
as  the  scene  of  Matteson's  first  hydraulic  venture;  the  flats  known  as  Gold, 
Thomas,  and  Selby;  the  rich  Gold  Run  where  claims  sold  in  April   1850  at 
from  $5,000  to  $18,000;  Gold  Tunnel  sold  in  March  1851  for  $130,000— Alta 
Cal,  March  28,   1851;  Sac.   Transcript,  Apr.  26,  1850;  S.  F.  Picayune,  Sept. 
14,  1850 — Beckville,  and  Coyoteville,  so  named  from  its  peculiar  coyote  min 
ing.     Its  lead  is  said  to  have  yielded  $8,000,000.     In  Oct.  1850  the  quartz 
excitement  led  also  here  to  the  opening  of  several  promising  ledges.     Three 
men  bought  quartz  claims  for  a  trifle,  and  by  employing  men  to  break  the 
rock  with  hammers,  and  picking  out  the  gold,  they  netted  $20,000  in  ten 
days.    One  piece  of  251bs.  yielded  $200.  Sac.  Transcript,  Feb.  20,  1851.    There 
were  then  three  companies  at  Nevada  operating  quartz  machinery;  one  six- 
horse  machine  crushed  ten  tons  daily.     At  Grass  Valley  the  pound  of  rock 
produced  from  10  to  30  cents.     Id.,  Feb.  1,  14,  28,  March  14,  1851;  Placer 
Times,  Oct.  26,  1851,  contains  a  list  of  quartz-mills;  Simonin,  Vir  Souter.,  419. 
According  to  the  Nevada  Democ.,  the  capital  invested  in  quartz  mines  and 
machinery  in  the  county  in  1858  exceeded  three  qiiarters  of  a  million,  giving 
employment  to  500  men.     The  cost  of  crushing  was  about  $12  per  ton.   The 
Grass  Vol.  Intellirjencer  reduced  this  to  $10  per  ton  for  many  mills,  or  nearly 
double  when  custom  mills  were  used,  raising  and  hauling  included.  S.  F. 
Bulletin,  Nov.  29,   1856.     Of  the  Grass  Valley  mills  five  were  reducing  ore 
yielding  not  less  than  $60  per  ton,  some  exceeding  $100  per  ton,  and  Allison 
reaching  $300.  Alta  Cal,  Dec.  5,  1856,  et  seq.     East  of  Nevada  City  lay  a 
broad  belt  of  gravel  which  extended  from  the  Middle  Yuba  to  Bear  River 
and  beyond,  expanding  in  Little  York  township  into  several  eastern  branches. 
Placer  mining  had  here  spread  from  Scott  Ravine — though  Union  Bar  and 
Nigger  Ravine  were  the  initial  mining  points — to  Little  York,  which,  in 
1852,  rose  to  a  stanch  town  «n  the  strength  of  the  gravel  discoveries;  so  did 
Red  Dog,  which  after  1806  moved  almost  entirely  to  You  Bet,  dating  from 
1857.     It  also  absorbed  Walloupa  without  gaining  any  permanent  strength. 
In  the  adjoining  Washington  township,  Alpha  and  Omega  marked  two  min 
ing  centres,  dating  one  year  subsequent  to  Indiana  Camp,  or  Washington,  of 
1849,  on  the  south  Yuba,  which  in  1850-1  had  3,000  miners  in  the  vicinity. 
Along  the  South  Yuba,  in  this  region,  were  the  bars,  Canal,  Long,  Keno, 
Jimmy  Brown,  Boulder,  later  Rocky,  Grissell,  and  Brass  Wire;   the  flats, 
Whiskey,  Brandy,  Jackass,  Lizard,  and  Virgin.     JefTerson,  or  Greenwood,  was 
a  lively  place;  likewise  Gold  Hill.     Poorman's  Creek  is  supposed  to  have 
yielded  a  million.  Crosby's  Stat.,  MS.,  21-2.     On  the  divide  toward  the  Mid 
dle  Yuba,  Eureka  South  was  opened  in.  1850  to  become  a  bustling  town  for 
half  a  dozen  years;  in  18G6  quartz  discovery  revived  it  in  a  certain  measure. 
Lower  were  Orleans,  Woolsey,  arid  Moore  flats,  which  rose  in  close  rivalry 
in  1851,  the  first  leading  a  while,  but  declining  with  the  second,  and  leaving 
Moore's  alone  a  thriving  town.     Like  them,  North  Bloomfield,  Lake  City 
Columbia  Hill,  or  North  Columbia,  and  Relief,  or  Grizzly  Hill,   owed  their 
existence  from  1851-3  to  the  gravel  belts,  of  which  a  branch  entered  Bridge- 


THE  GRAVEL  BELTS.  359 

quartz,  while  freely  scattered,  has  proved  unprofitable 
in  almost  every  instance.  Among  river  bars  the  rich 
est  were  found  on  the  main  Yuba,  near  the  end  of  the 
auriferous  line,  as  at  Long,  Rose,  and  notably  Parks, 
the  first  of  long  duration  and  the  last  productive  of 
several  rapidly  acquired  fortunes.  These  deposits 
were  drawn  by  the  river  from  the  ancient  blue  lead  a 
short  distance  above.  The  gravel  belts  here,  although 
of  comparatively  small  extent,  have  been  very  remu 
nerative,  particularly  at  Sicard  Flat,  between  Timbuc- 
too  and  Mooney  Flat,  and  between  Camptonville  and 
Oak  Valley,  their  wealth  causing  the  construction  by 
1855  of  a  score  of  ditches  about  360  miles  in  length.27 

port  township  to  sustain  Cherokee,  of  1850,  North  San  Juan,  which  became 
a  strong  town,  Birchville,  Sweetland,  and  French  Corral,  the  latter  dating 
s  nee  1849.  Westward  lay  the  well-known  Condemned,  Frenchmen,  and 
Rice  bars,  and  along  the  South  Yuba,  Bridgeport  and  Jones.  Nevada  ranks 
foremost  in  mining  enterprise,  for  inventing  and  applying  machinery,  and  in 
conducting  water  for  working  it.  In  1850  four  ditches  were  undertaken, 
b  ginning  in  March,  it  is  claimed,  with  a  channel  about  1^  miles  long  from 
Mosquito  Creek  to  Coyote  Hill.  In  May  water  was  brought  from  Little 
Deer  Creek  to  Phelps  Hill,  at  the  rate  of  $4  per  day  per  '  ton.  Moore  began 
in  August  the  ditch  from  Deer  Creek  to  Rough  and  Ready,  which  was  com 
pleted  in  1851  by  A.  L.  &  B.  0.  Williams,  for  15  miles.  In  Dec.  a  canal  from 
Rock  Creek  to  Coyote  Hill,  9  miles,  was  finished,  at  a  cost  of  §10,000.  Sac. 
Transcript,  May  15,  1851,  calls  the  Rock  Creek  Canal  the  first  of  the  kind, 
followed  by  two  from  Deer  Creek.  Grass  Vol.  Directory,  185G,  10-12,  claims 
the  first  in  Aug.,  for  Moore;  in  1851  was  begun  the  15-mile  canal  from  Deer 
Creek  to  GoLl  Flat;  the  Newton  ditch  of  5  miles,  and  the  Triunion  to 
Sucker  Flat,  15  miles.  By  the  close  of  1855  there  were  44  ditches,  682  miles 
long,  says  Cal.  Ass.  Jour.,  1856,  p.  26.  The  assessor's  report  for  1856  has 
over  100  ditches,  with  a  total  length  of  800  miles.  The  South  Yuba  canal 
of  16  miles  cost  $350,000,  owing  to  its  durability  of  construction  and  difficult 
route,  including  a  tunnel  of  3,200  feet.  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Nov.  29,  1856.  The 
next  in  cost  was  the  Middle  Yuba  of  26  miles,  $100,000;  the  Miner's  from 
the  same  source,  20  miles,  $80,000;  the  Poorman's,  20  miles,  and  Grizzly, 
45  miles,  cost  $40,000  each,  and  several  ranged  above  $20,000;  Simpson  of 
11  miles,  from  Shady  Creek,  is  rated  at  only  $2,000;  and  the  Wisconsin, 
from  Steep  Hollow,  4  miles,  at  $800,  owing  to  aid  from  self-sluicing,  no 
doubt.  Nevada  Co.  Hist.,  171-2.  The  charge  in  1851  ranged  from.  §16  for 
the  first  use  to  $1  for  the  muddy  residue  of  the  last  claim.  In  1855  a  stormy 
convention  met  to  obtain  a  reduction  to  25  cents  per  inch  of  water.  Nev. 
Jour.,  Nov.  23,  30,  1855;  Jan.  18,  1856.  Further  details  of  Nevada  mining 
in  Marysville  Directory,  1858,  26,  94,  etc.;  Yuba  Co.  Hist.,  136,  etc.;  Gross 
Val.  Directory,  1865,  69-88;  Neo.  Democ.,  Nov.  29,  1854;  Grass  Val  Telcj., 
Dec.  12,  1854,  etc.;  Id.,  Union,  Nov.  15,  1867,  etc.;  Sac.  Transcript,  1850-1, 
passim;  Placer  Times,  1849-50,  passim;  Pac.  News,  Oct.  2,  Nov.  13,  1850; 
Cal.  Courier,  July  13,  Sept.  27,  1850;  Alta  Cal.,  Aug.  2,  1847;  Feb.  5,  1850; 
Jan.  30,  1853,  and  1849-56,  passim;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  1855-6,  passim;  Sac. 
Union,  Id. 

27  The  Yuba  revealed  gold  as  far  down  as  Marysville,  in  Aug.  1851,  but 
here  mining  was  forbidden.     The  first  bar  above  of  any  note  was  Swiss,  dat- 


360  UNFOLDING  OF  MINERAL  WEALTH. 

The  same  famous  Blue  Lead  stretches  with  a  great 
profusion  of  gravel  deposits  into  Sierra,  Butte,  and 
Plumas  counties,  marked  by  a  long  line  of  tunnels 
and  camps.  The  auriferous  slate  is  generally  covered 
by  beds  of  volcanic  origin  which  form  the  crest  of 
the  Sierra,  but  rivers  have  furrowed  deep  channels 
through  them,  especially  along  the  western  rims, 
leaving  numerous  rich  bars  and  flats  to  delight  the 
early  surface  diggers.  Rich  was  indeed  a  common 
appellation  for  bars  in  this  region,  as  well  it  might  be, 
with  prospects  of  several  hundred  dollars  to  the  pan 

ing  since  1850,  which  like  several  others  was  soon  buried  beneath  the  debris 
from  the  upper  mines.  Above  lay  the  bars  known  as  Sand,  Long,  very  rich 
and  lasting,  Ousley,  Kennebec,  Saw-mill,  Cordua,  all  of  1849;  Spect,  of  1848, 
named  after  the  first  gold  discoverer  on  the  Yuba,  who  also  opened  the  richer 
and  enduring  Rose  Bar.  Below  this  lay  Parks,  also  of  1848,  perhaps  the 
most  valuable  on  the  river,  which  polled  600  votes  in  1852,  and  threatened  to 
rival  Marysville.  Here  5  men  took  out  525  Ibs.  of  gol;l  within  a  few  days, 
and  returned  home.  Sac.  Transcript,  Sept.  30,  1850.  Above  lay  Sicard  Bar 
of  1849,  which  in  1850  led  up  to  Sicard  Flat,  a  rich  and  lasting  hydraulic 
point,  whose  gravel  belt  extends  in  the  hills  toward  Long  Bar  to  Chimney 
Hill,  and  southward  to  Gatesville  or  Sucker  Flat  and  Sand  Hill,  of  1850. 
The  adjoining  limbuctoo,  Mooney's  Flat,  and  Smartsville  rose  to  prominence 
in  1855-6.  Continuing  along  the  river  we  find  Barton  Bar,  Malay  Camp, 
Lander,  Union,  Industry,  National,  Stoney,  Poverty,  Kanaka,  English,  Wins- 
low,  the  latter  named  after  a  captain  who  introduced  Cninese  laborers,  Negro, 
Missouri,  and  Horseshoe  bars,  Lousey  Level,  or  Rice  Crossing,  Frenchman, 
and  Condemned  bars,  Cliiigman's  Point.  At  the  mouth  of  Middle  Yuba  were 
many  miners,  and  above  lay  Freeman  Bar.  Along  the  North  Yuba  were  Bui- 
lard,  Ferry,  and  Foster  bars,  of  1849,  the  latter  having  in  1850  about  1,000 
people;  at  Bullard  $50,000  was  spent  to  turn  a  worthless  river-bed.  Above 
were  the  minor  Long  No.  2,  Oregon,  Pittsburg,  Rock  Island,  Elbow,  and 
Missouri  No.  2  bars.  In  1852  several  bars  appeared  higher  up  toward  the 
Slate  Range  Bar  of  1849.  Within  the  angle  of  the  river  bend  extended  the 
Camptonville  district,  which  became  prominent  after  1850,  and  gave  rise  to 
a  number  of  rich  camps  along  the  gravel  belt  from  Oak  Valley,  to  Campton 
ville,  along  Young,  Galena,  and  Railroad  hills,  the  latter  so  named  from  the 
first  use  of  iron  rails  in  tunnel  operations.  The  north-east  district  embraced 
Strawberry  Valley  and  Eagleville.  In  upper  Foster  district  were  Oregon 
Hill,  or  Greenville,  and  Indiana  Rancho,  the  latter  with  500  miners  in  1851-2. 
Westward,  in  New  York  district,  Natchez  became  after  1850  the  centre  of 
several  rich  ravines,  which  extended  at  intervals  through  Ohio  Flat  to  Mt 
Hope,  and  afforded  later  a  little  quartz  mining.  Lower,  along  Dry  Creek, 
rose  Frenchtown  and  Brown's  Valley,  the  latter  remarkable  for  the  most  ex 
tensive  though  not  very  profitable  quartz  mining  in  the  county.  To  the 
gravel  deposits  are  due  nearly  all  the  ditch  enterprises,  which,  begun  in  1850, 
numbered  eight  years  later  24,  with  a  length  of  218  miles,  of  which  60  miles 
belonged  to  the  Triunion,  from  Deer  to  Sucker  Flat  district,  32  miles  to  the 
Excelsior  to  the  same  point,  from  Middle  Yuba  and  Deer  Creek.  A  number 
of  ditches,  16  miles  and  less  in  length,  supplied  the  Camptonville  belt,  and 
Brown  Valley  had  also  its  conduits,  one  of  10  miles  from  Dry  Creek.  For 
authorities,  see  preceding  note,  and  Hist.  Yuba  Co.,  passim;  Marysville  Direc 
tory,  1858,  22  et  seq. ;  Cal  Ass.  Jour.,  1856,  p.  26,  has  18  ditches  of  360 
miles,  value  $560,000. 


QUARTZ  MINING.  361 

of  dirt,  and  with  nuggets  ranging  from  the  Monu 
mental  of  Sierra  City,  141  pounds  in  weight,  to  several 
of  20  and  50  pounds.  On  the  north  Yuba,  Downieville 
became  the  centre  of  a  wide  circle  of  camps.  South 
of  it  tunnelling  early  developed  at  Forest  City,  and 
in  the  opposite  directions  Slate  and  Canon  creeks 
loomed  into  prominence,  with  many  dry  diggings. 
For  the  year  1851-2  the  assessor  estimated  the  yield 
of  Sierra  county  at  $3,000,000,  a  figure  well  sustained 
by  the  expansion  of  drift  and  hydraulic  mining,  aided 
by  about  300  miles  of  ditching  prior  to  1856,  and  by 
the  growth  of  quartz  crushing,  for  which  half  a  dozen 
mills  were  erected.  This  branch  was  here  led  by  the 
Sierra  Butte  mine,  which  ranked  with  the  best  of 
Nevada.  In  Butte  and  Plumas  deep  and  extensive 
operations  were  more  restricted,  partly  from  the  ob 
stacles  to  the  hydraulic  method  in  Butte,  owing  to  the 
level  surface  which  offered  an  insufficient  fall,  and  in 
Plumas  owing  largely  to  the  difficulty  and  cost  of 
conveying  water.  By  1856  the  latter  possessed  only 
65  miles  of  ditches.  Quartz  mining  had  in  both  re 
ceived  a  discouraging  check  from  early  reckless  exper 
iments,  but  was  gradually  resumed  to  counteract  the 
decline  in  shallow  placers.  Along  the  lower  Feather 
River,  Bidwell  Bar,  Long  Bar,  Forbestown,  all  soon 
eclipsed  by  Oroville,  contributed  largely  to  the  pro 
duction  of  Butte,  which  was  noted  for  the  surpassing 
fineness  of  its  gold.28  In  Plumas  the  bars  unfolded 
in  such  profusion  and  wealth  as  to  satisfy  even  the 
expectations  of  the  stragglers,  who  in  1850  had  been 
lured  by  the  Gold  Lake  fiction  to  this  region.  The 
North  Fork  boasted  several  places  which  had  yielded 
fortunes  in  rapid  succession,  and  Nelson  Creek  was 
literally  speckled  with  nuggets  and  dust.29 

28  Ranging  as  high  as  $20.40  per  ounce. 

29  Along  the  north  Yuba,  Cut  Eye,  Foster,  and  Goodyear  bars  had  been 
opened  in  1849,  the  last  polling  in  1852  a  vote  of  nearly  600.     Intermediate 
rose  in   1850  St  Joe,   Nigger   Slide,   Ranty  Doddler,   Hoodoo,   Cut   Throat 
or  Woodville,  and  Slaughter  bars.     On  Goodyear  Creek,  Eureka  flourished  in 
1856,  and  subsequently  prominent  near  by  lay  Excelsior  Diggings.     The  lead 
ing  place  was  Downieville,  first  prospected  by  Goodyear  or  Anderson,  but 


362  UNFOLDING  OF  MINERAL  WEALTH. 

Northward  placer  mining,  especially  of  the  surface 
character,  remained  preeminent,  hydraulic  and  quartz 

opened  in  the  autumn  of  1849  by  Downie  and  others,  and  proving  very  rich, 
a  population  of  5,000  had  gathered  by  April  1850.  A  year  later  over  1,10J 
votes  were  polled.  Near  by  lay  Snake,  Cox,  Steamboat,  Big  Rich,  and  Little 
Rich  bars,  Durgan  Flat  or  Washingtonville,  Jersey  Flat  or  Murraysville, 
Zumwalt,  O'Donnell,  Charcoal,  and  Kanaka  flats,  and  Sierra  City,  which 
became  prominent  in  1858.  The  divide  southward  was  marked  by  the  exten 
sive  tunnel  operations  at  Forest  City,  first  known  as  Brownsville  and  Eliza- 
ville,  and  at  Smith  Flat  and  Alleghany,  the  latter  unfolding  rich  quartz  veins 
in  due  time.  On  the  north  side  of  North  Yuba  ran  Canon  Creek,  with  Poker 
and  Craig's  flats,  and  Slate  Creek,  with  a  number  of  tributary  diggings,  as 
Port  Wine,  Sears,  which  in  1856  had  a  vote  of  308,  Howland  Flat,  which  long 
prospered,  Pine  Grove,  Gibsonville,  Whiskey  Diggings  or  Newark,  Hepsidam 
Chandlerville,  Spanish  Flat,  and  Minnesota.  Several  were  dry  diggings, 
which  yielded  their  share  of  nuggets,  and  of  these  Sierra  county  boasted 
many,  including  the  Monumental,  elsewhere  mentioned,  from  Sierra  City, 
weighing  148  Ihs.  4  oz.  The  second  largest  of  California  was  a  chunk  of  51 
Ibs.  from  French  Ravine  in  1853,  and  one  from  above  Dowaieville  in  1851 
which  netted  about  £8,000.  Fluming  added  greatly  to  the  gold  production, 
which  the  assessor  for  the  year  1851-2  estimated  at  .$3,000,000.  Cal.  Jour. 
Sen. ,  1 853,  app.  3,  pp.  55-6.  Instances  of  rich  finds  in  Sac.  Transcript,  Aug. 
30,  Nov.  29,  1850,  Feb.  14,  1851,  which  speaks  of  strata  yielding  as  high  as 
$5 JO  to  the  pan,  and  a  score  of  pounds  of  gold  in  a  day.  VowdCs  Mining,  MS., 
23-4.  Drift  and  hydraulic  mining  acquired  their  real  development  only  in 
later  years,  together  with  quartz.  Nevertheless,  several  good  ledges  were 
worked  in  early  days,  notably  Sierra  Buttes,  opened  in  1850,  which  ranked 
second  only  to  the  Nevada  lodes,  and  is  supposed  to  have  produced  no  less 
than  $7,000,000  in  30  years.  Gold  Bluff,  near  Downieville,  promised  well. 
By  1858  seven  mills  had  been  erected  in  the  county,  valued  at  $56, 000  and 
crushing  12,500  tons  of  ore.  The  length  of  mining  ditches  was  then  183 
miles,  carrying  22,000  inches  of  water,  the  earliest,  between  1850-3,  being 
Haven's  flume,  which  supplied  Downieville,  the  Goodyear  Bar  ditch  from 
Rock  Creek,  and  Sears'  Union,  1 1  miles  from  Slate  Creek.  Feather  River, 
which  for  a  time  claimed  to  be  the  richest  of  the  streams,  was  opened  by  Bid- 
well,  who  as  a  land-owner  upon  it  prospected  in  1848  and  found  gold  near  Ham 
ilton,  for  a  time  county  seat,  and  at  Bidwell  Bar,  the  leading  place  in  Butte 
county  till  1856;  in  1853  it  had  a  tributary  population  of  2,000.  The  main 
Feather  River,  round  Thompson  Flat,  Adams  Bar,  and  Long  Bar,  were  also 
mined  in  1848,  the  last  turning  out  very  rich,  and  counting  at  one  time  4,0^ 
diggers.  Thompson  Flat,  or  Rich  Gulch,  attained  by  1854  at  least  500  inhab 
itants.  All  these  were  eclipsed  by  Oroville,  called  Ophir  from  1849  to  1855, 
which  in  the  following  year  claimed  a  population  of  fully  4,000,  and  attained 
the  dignity  of  county  seat.  The  adjoining  Lynchburg  became  in  1855  a  pow 
erful  rival,  but  collapsed.  Above  lay  the  rich  Oregon  City  and  Cherokee 
Flat,  the  latter  sustained  by  heavy  hydraulic  operations.  Mountain  View, 
Dogtown,  or  Magalia,  was  in  1855-6  a  prominent  mining  place.  Eastward, 
above  Honcut  Creek,  Evansville,  Wyandotte,  Honcut,  Dickyburg,  and  Forbes- 
town  rose  in  1850,  the  latter  becoming  in  1853  second  only  to  Bidwell  Bar, 
with  a  population  of  1,000,  In  1855  Clipper  Mills  and  Bangor  unfolded,  the 
latter  with  large  gravel  deposits.  Along  the  south  fork  of  Feather  River 
were  Stringtown,  dating  since  1849,  and  subsequently  Enterprise,  the  latter 
revived  in  later  years  by  quartz  mining.  On  the  north  fork  were  Potter  Bar, 
opened  in  1848,  and  Yankee  Hill  in  1850.  Coricow  township  embraced  a 
number  of  extinct  camps,  as  Rich,  Chuh,  and  Spring  gulches,  Berry  Creek, 
Huff  and  Bartees  bars.  Among  nuggets  Butte  county  obtained  from  Dog- 
town  a  chunk  of  54  Ibs,  and  elsewhere  a  large  number  worth  over  $1,000. 
With  the  increase  of  fluming  and  hydraulic  operations,  1855  and  subsequent 


IN  THE  NORTH.  :',.;< 

finding  fewer  devotees,  partly  from  the  capricious 
nature  of  the  deposits,  and  partly,  as  in  Trinity,  from 

years  saw  a  steady  maintenance  in  the  yield.  Even  in  1873  this  amounted  to 
over  a  million  for  four  months.  Quart/  lodes  were  discovered  in  18.30,  and 
proved  KO  promising  that  two  years  later  the  county  joined  ttie  excitement, 
and  expended  much  time  and  money  in  fruitless  experiments,  as  with  the 
Stitter  Quartz  Co.  of  Forbestown,  whose  mill  cost  $200,000.  The  result  was 
that  most  of  the  13  companies  existing  in  1854  retired,  a  few  alone,  lilte  the 
'49  and  50,'  Trojan,  and  Banner,  proving  remunerative.  The  excitement 
assisted  in  promoting  the  construction  of  ditches,  which  served  to  develop 
other  branches.  The  first  three,  of  1852,  supplied  Long  liar,  Thompson  Fl.it, 
and  the  Oroville-Wyandotte  region,  the  last,  from  Forbestown,  being  30 
miles  long.  In  1855-6  Oroville  obtained  a  special  ditch. 

The  clioice  part  of  Feather  River  deposits  fell  within  the  limits  of  Plumos 
county,  which  was  practically  opened  only  in  1850  by  stragglers  fro;a  the 
Gold  l^ake  rush.  BLJ!OW  the  Middle  Fork,  Onion  and  Little  Grass  valleys 
served  as  wintering  ground,  whence  were  explored  Sawpit  Flat,  Richmond 
Hill,  Rabbit  Creek,  and  other  diggings.  The  adjoining  Nelson  Creek  proved 
exceedingly  rich,  nuggets  lying  strewn  on  the  ground,  and  rockers  yiel.ling 
£500  a  day.  Alia  Cat.,  July  14,  1851.  A  host  of  bar,  flat,  ami  creek  cair.ps 
sprang  up,  as  Graveyard,  Henpeck,  Poormari's,  etc.  On  the  Middle  Fork, 
Kureka  quartz  lodge  was  discovered  iu  1851,  and  gave  rise  to  the  ephemeral 
City  of  '76.  Near  by  grew  up  Jamiesou.  City.  Among  noted  bars  were  Rich, 
well  deserving  the  name,  Butte,  Sailor,  Poplar,  Nigger,  and  Bingharn;  here 
were  also  Poverty  and  Columbia  flats.  Toward  the  North  Fork  lay  Llizabcih- 
town,  or  Betsyburg,  which  became  the  largest  camp  in  the  county,  and 
rivalled  the  adjoining  Quincy  for  the  county  seat,  but  declined  after  18"5. 
On  the  river  itself  a  number  of  bars  were  opened,  as  Junction,  Twelve-mile, 
So.la,  Indian,  French,  Smith,  etc.,  and  not  least  Rich  Bar,  so  named  from  a 
prospect  of  1*2,900  from  two  pans  of  dirt.  Several  spots  paid  equally  well. 
Four  men  took  out  $50,000  within  a  short  time,  and  three  others  £36,000  in 
four  days.  In  due  time  gravel  beds  and  quartz  attracted  the  main  effort  of 
miners;  by  1856  only  65  miles  of  ditches  had  been  constructed.  Cat.  Jour. 
AM.,  1856,  p.  26;  45  miles  at  a  cost  of  $'.170, (XX),  says  the  assessor's  report  of 
1857.  Thomas,  Mining  Iternin.,  MS.,  3  et  seq.,  Tyler,  Buluxli's  B>r,  MS.,  4 
et  seq.,  Armstrong,  '4&  Ejyer.,  MS.,  13,  etc.,  give  interesting  personal  ex 
periences  in  this  region.  Sac.  Tramcript,  Aug.  14,  1850,  and  1851,  passi  .1; 
Plarer  Time*,  Jan.  5,  March  23,  1850et  seq.;  Pac.  New*,  Jan.  10,  May  15, 
23,  Aug.  21-3,  Nov.  6,  1850,  refer  to  big  finds,  of  7  Ibs  at  a  ti  ne,  50  cents  to 
the  pan,  etc.,  of  consequent  fresh  rush  to  Feather  River  early  in  1851.  Then 
came  notices  of  men  tailing  out  nuggets,  and  over  £2,000  a  day.  In  Aug. 
1850,  1,000  men  were  said  to  be  working  on  the  North  Fork  of  Feather  River, 
where  claims  of  15  feet  square  sold  from  §100  to  £300,  and  on  Nelson  Creek  at 
$250  a  foot.  It  was  supposed  that  Feather  River  would  for  1850  yield  more 
than  the  rest  of  the  gold-fields.  Rich  quartz  specimens  were  shown  from  the 
Yuba-Feather  region  in  May  1850.  For  developments  till  1856,  see  notices  in 
Alta  CaL,  1849-56,  passim;  S.  F.  Herald,  1851-6,  passim;  S~ic.  Union,  1854- 
6,  passim;  Sierra  Citizen,  Nov.  11,  Dec.  9,  1854;  Mount.  Mexsenjer,  Dec.  2, 
18.34,  etc.;  Meadow  Lake  W.  Sun,  Nov.  24,  18o6;  Quinsy  Union,  Dec.  9,  1'J,  23, 
30,  1805,  etc.;  S.  F.  Sun,  June  8,  1853,  refers  to  Onion  Valley  yielding  the 
'hansomest  gold,' though  worked  for  the  third  time;  Pioneer  M<uj.,  iv.  345, 
etc.;  Miner's  Adivcate,?\QV.  25,  1854,  etc.;  8.  F.  Bulleti.i,  1855-6,  passim; 
Mar.  23,  July  3,  7,  etc.,  1857;  May  26,  1860.  At  Rich  Bur  a  man  took  out 
apparently  $15,000  in  two  days.  Aniuitrony'aExper.y  MS.,  13.  Bates  obtained 
$2,500  from  one  panful  and  sold  the  lead  for  $5,000.  At  Downieville  the  aver- 
age  yield  is  reputed  at  2  H>s  a  day  per  man.  CaL  Courier,  Aug.  9,  14,  23,  33-1, 
S:*pt.  2,  1850.  At  Foster  and  Goodyear  bars,  average  £00  a  day;  near  Nel 
son  Creek  £300  to  £400  a  day  per  man:  a  streak  at  South  Bar  yielded  £5,000  a 


364  UNFOLDING  OF  MINERAL  WEALTH 

unfavorable  environment,  and  the  difficulties  and  cost 
of  access.  Tehama  has  been  practically  excluded  from 
metallic  distribution,  situated  as  it  is  almost  wholly  in 
the  valley,  so  that  only  a  few  mining  camps  of  minor 
note  fell  at  one  time  within  its  limits.  In  Shasta  the 
industry  reasserts  itself  and  shares  in  the  eastern  part 
in  the  silver  lodes  which  form  a  leading  feature  of 
trans-mountain  Lassen,  to  be  developed  in  later  years. 
The  main  fields  of  Shasta  lie  between  Clear  Creek  and 
Soda  Springs,  tributary  properly  to  the  hitherto  bar 
ren  Coast  Range,  which,  however,  is  here  commingled 
with  the  westward  turning  Sierra  Nevada,  forming 
throughout  the  north-west  an  intricate  network  of 
spurs  and  narrow  ravines,  relieved  by  a  few  small  val 
leys  and  flats.  Reading,  of  Trinity  River  fame,  gave 
his  name  to  the  district  which  sprang  up  in  1849  round 
Clear  Creek  and  lifted  Shasta  City  to  prosperity.  The 
main  headwaters  of  the  Sacramento  and  McLeod 
fork  rose  to  prominence  in  the  following  year,  the 
former  proving  enduring  and  sharing  with  the  lower 
diggings  in  subsequent  revivals  which  gave  such  ac 
tivity  in  1855  to  ditch  enterprises  and  operations  on  a 
large  scale. 

The  fields  north  and  westward  had  been  made 
known  by  passing  Oregoniaris,  and  particularly  by 
Reading,  who  in  1848  penetrated  to  the  Trinity,  and 
was  so  encouraged  as  to  return  the  following  season. 
He  was  followed  by  a  large  train,  a  section  of  which 
started  by  sea  from  San  Francisco  to  seek  an  entrance 
from  the  coast,  and  there  plant  supply  stations. 
Among  the  results  were  the  settlement  of  Humboldt 
Bay  and  Crescent  City,  and  the  vapid  Gold  Bluff  ex 
citement,  during  the  winter  1850-1,  with  the  expec 
tation  to  reap  an  easy  harvest  from  the  auriferous 
shore  sand  already  washed  by  the  sea  waves.30  Mean- 
day  in  quarter  and  half  pound  lumps;  two  men  got  56  Ibs  in  one  day;  Mont 
gomery  and  McCabe's  claim  yielded  &1,000  a  day  for  weeks;  SmiLh  Bar  yielded 
$1,000  per  hour.  Pac.  News,  July  17,  Aug.  21-3,  Oct.  2,  22,  Dec.  11,  1802. 
Two  Germans  made  35  Ibs  in  one  day  at  Rich  Bar.  S.  F.  Picayune,  Aug.  21-5, 
31,  Oct.  3,  Nov.  23,  1850. 

3J  The  Gold  Bluffs  proper,  below  Klamath  River,  were  discovered  in  May 


THE  SHASTA  REGION  365 

while  prospectors  poured  from  the  Trinity  to  other 
branches  of  the  Klamath,  finding  rich  bars  on  the 
Salmon,  and  meeting  on  Shasta  River  with  gold- 
hunters  from  Oregon.  The  discovery  of  Scott  Bar 
and  similar  glittering  spots  chained  them  to  this  re 
gion,  and  brought  quickly  large  reinforcements  from 
the  south.  Bars  and  gulches  were  opened  throughout 
Scott  Valley,  on  Thompson  Creek  and  other  tribu 
taries,  as  well  as  upon  the  main  Klamath.  The  open 
ing  of  Cottonwood  Creek  and  the  hitherto  misunder 
stood  Yreka  flat,  Greenhorn  and  Humbug  creeks, 
whose  coarse  grains  and  nuggets  yielded  fortunes  in 
rapid  succession,  assisted  in  pointing  out  the  true 
extent  and  nature  of  these  strata,  and  in  promoting 
the  extensive  operations  marked  by  such  ditch  con 
structions  as  the  Shasta  canal  of  1856  running  for  80 

O 

miles. 

The  bars  and  tributaries  of  the  lower  Klamath, 
especially  Salmon  River,  added  to  the  wealth  of 
Klamath  and  Del  Norte  counties,  the  latter  possess 
ing,  moreover,  remunerative  diggings  close  to  the 
coast,  round  Crescent  City  and  upon  Smith  River. 
Humboldt's  share  was  practically  limited  to  the  scanty 
production  of  the  ocean  gold  bluffs,  for  the  interior 
Trinity  county  tapped  the  main  sources  on  the  head 
waters  of  the  Trinity,  with  numerous  bars,  and  with 
branch  streams  like  Stewart,  the  site  of  Ridgeville, 

1850,  and  to  them  was  directed,  under  highly  colored  accounts  by  interested 
parties,  the  senseless  rush  of  Dec.  1C50,  and  subsequent  months.  The  aurif 
erous  sand  was  estimated  to  yield  from  10  cents  to  $10  a  lb.,  and  the  patch 
corresponding  to  one  member  of  the  formed  company  was  valued  at  !j/13,000,- 
003,  assuming  it  to  be  one  tenth  as  rich  as  supposed.  For  reports  on  the 
fiold  and  the  rush,  see  Van  Dyke's  Stat.,  MS.,  4  etseq.;  Sac.  Transcript,  Jan.- 
Fcb.  1851,  and  other  journals.  With  the  return  of  one  unsuccessful  party 
early  in  Feb.  1851,  the  journals  began  to  discredit  the  reports,  observing  sa 
gaciously  that  the  eagerness  of  stockholders  to  sell  shares  looked  suspicious. 
Over  2,000  miners  were  lured  from  El  Dorado  and  Calaveras  alone,  it  was  said. 
Yet  the  Placer  Times,  Nov.  15,  1851,  still  speaks  of  successful  operations  by 
the  chief  company,  although  most  trials  had  proved  the  gold  specks  to  be  too 
fine  for  remunerative  separation  from  the  heavy  black  sand  in  which  they  lay. 
The  deposits  extended  nearly  from  Crescent  City  to  Humboldt  Bay.  By 
watching  for  the  richer  patches  left  by  the  retreating  tule,  a  considerable 
amount  of  sand  could  be  secured,  and  with  the  ai d  of  sluicing  at  some  adjoin 
ing  creek,  as  the  readiest  process,  a  sufficient  proportion  of  specks  could  be 
saved  to  repay  the  labor  of  a  small  number  of  men. 


366  UNFOLDING  OF  MINERAL  WEALTH. 

Rush  Canon,  the  site  of  Canon  City,  and  Weaver 
Creek,  the  site  of  thriving  Weaverville.  The  county 
claimed  in  1856  over  2,500  miners,  whose  average 
income  amounted  to  $1,000  each  for  the  year.  Flum- 
ing  and  hydraulic  undertakings  were  in  the  north-west 
restricted  to  a  small  area,  owing  to  unfavorable  sur 
roundings.  This  interfered  also  with  the  reduction  of 
quartz.  Ledges  had  been  discovered  in  1851,  and  the 
excitement  which  seized  upon  the  branch  throughout 
California  found  its  due  response  also  here;  but  dis 
tance  from  the  base  of  supply  for  machinery  and  pro 
visions  so  increased  the  obstacles  presented  by  nature, 
inexperience,  and  costlier  labor,  as  to  cast  a  long  spell 
upon  the  industry.31 

31  In  the  Reading  district,  centring  round  Shasta,  or  The  Springs,  a  num 
ber  of  camps  sprang  up  in  1849,  along  and  near  Clear  Creek,  among  which 
Briggsville  and  Horsetown  became  the  most  prominent  and  enduring.  Hayes' 
Mining,  iv.  49  et  seq.  The  bed  of  the  creek  proved  rich,  and  by  the  autumn 
of  1850  some  20  dams  were  placed  to  turn  the  current.  Sue.  Tmncript,  Aug. 
33,  1850.  Northward  rose  the  noted  Grizzly  Gulch,  Flat  Creek,  Gold  Run, 
Muletown,  Churn  Creek,  Buckeye,  Mad  Mule,  Hardscrabble,  and  other 
gulches.  The  main  Sacramento  toward  Soda  Springs  acquired  fame,  chie!ly 
in  1859,  when  Dog  Creek  and  other  tributaries  lured  the  prospector.  The 
mystic  Lost  Cabin,  which  so  long  formed  one  of  their  ignes  fatui,  was  said  to 
have  been  rediscovered  after  14  years.  Yreka  Union,  Feb.  20,  1864.  McLcoJ. 
River  also  proved  remunerative,  and  new  fields  continued  to  be  unfolded,  as 
shown  by  the  scattered  notices  in  Alta  Cal.  for  1850  et  seq.,  and  Shasta.  Cour 
ier,  1852-4,  passim.  Early  in  1855,  the  main  Sacramento  created  a  decided 
excitement,  the  bars  at  different  points  yielding  readily  $5  per  day  and  up 
ward.  Sac.  Union,  Apr.  13,  19,  1855.  In  the  following  year  the  yield  was 
declared  to  be  greater  than  ever.  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Jan.  29,  Feb.  19,  1856;  and 
Shasta  flourished  till  it  acquired  a  population  of  some  6,000.  The  increase  was 
greatly  due  to  flumes,  tunnels,  and  other  extensive  operations,  which  more 
over  increased  the  construction  of  ditches,  particularly  in  1855.  The  most 
notable  enterprises  were  the  Clear  Lake  ditch,  35  miles  in  length.  Briggs 
ville  was  supplied  by  a  special  ditch  from  Cotton  wood,  and  shared  in  the  con 
duit  to  Lower  Texas  Springs.  Sac.  Union,  Feb.  15,  Apr.  10,  May  29,  June  12, 
Oct.  30,  1855,  etc.  Yet  during  1856  water  became  scarce,  which  interfered 
with  sluicing.  Beyond  Mount  Shasta,  whose  volcanic  flows  had  covered 
many  ancient  deposits,  Siskiyou  revelled  in  a  series  of  rich  districts  tributary 
to  the  upper  Klamath.  Oregonians  on  the  way  to  and  from  the  Sacramento 
had  prospected  them  with  moderate  results;  their  unfoldment  was  due  chiefly 
to  the  attention  created  by  Reading's  venture  on  the  Trinity,  to  which 
stream  he  penetrated  in  1848  by  crossing  from  Cottonwood  Creek  with  a  baud 
of  Indians,  and  finding  sufficient  inducement  to  return  in  1849  to  work  the 
bar  bearing  his  name.  He  was  joined  by  Kelsey  and  others,  who  reported  a 
yield  of  from  $100  to  $300  per  day.  Placer  Times,  Sept.  29,  1849,  etc.;  Alta 
Cal,  Aug.  2,  1849;  S.  F.  Herald,  June  8,  1850;  -Sac.  Transcript,  Oct.  14, 
1850.  R.  G.  Shaw  and  his  unfortunate  companions  were  among  the  few  who 
dared  to  winter  here.  The  glowing  accounts  transmitted  roused  a  lively  in 
terest  in  the  south,  and  as  the  Trinity  was  supposed  to  abut  at  Trinidad  Bay, 
this  point  was  regarded  as  the  best  entrance  to  it.  Expeditions  accordingly 


VARYING  DISTRIBUTION  367 

The  southern  gold  region,  below  El  Dorado,  as  I 
have  said  before,  is  marked  by  a  less  regular  distribu- 

set  out  by  sea  in  Dec.  1849,  and  found  the  bay  after  much  search.  Pac.  News, 
Apr.  20,  1850,  etc.  Disappointment  in  the  course  of  the  Trinity  tended 
to  disperse  the  gold-seekers,  and  to  promote  the  opening  of  other  districts, 
swelled  by  the  inpouring  mass  from  the  Sacramento  Valley.  Crossing  from  the 
Trinity,  prospectors,  led  by  Rufus  Johnson,  found  in  June  1850  rich  bars  on 
Salmon  River,  especially  at  the  forks  and  up  the  north  branch.  Thence  they 
crossed  to  the  Klamath  and  followed  it  up  to  Shasta  River,  where  Gov.  Lane 
had  just  been  making  a  fairly  successful  test  in  July- August.  Inexperience 
with  the  ground  and  with  mine  indications  stamped  most  efforts  in  this  sec 
tion  during  the  year,  and  Yreka  Flat  and  other  rich  places  were  then  de 
clared  worthless.  Nevertheless  several  precious  spots  were  found,  such  as 
Scott  Bar,  from  which  Scott  was  driven  by  Indians,  in  August,  although  others 
followed  and  sustained  themselves.  Pac.  News,  Aug.  22,  1850,  has  contradic 
tory  reports,  with  best  yield  at  10-15  cents  per  pan,  but  later  accounts — Id., 
Oct.  18,  Nov.  1,  Sac.  Transcript,  Oct.  14,  Nov.  10,  1850,  Cal.  Courier,  July  1, 
1850,  and  Alta  Cal.,  June  7,  1850,  etc. — gave  such  glowing  accounts  that  a 
rush  set  in  during  the  winter.  The  smallest  average  was  an  ounce,  while 
many  took  out  $100  daily.  Early  in  Feb.  1851  a  thousand  miners  passed 
through  Sacramento  for  the  north.  Sac.  Transcript,  Feb.  14,  28,  1851;  Pub. 
Balance,  Jan.  25,  1851;  Cal.  Courier,  etc.  The  chief  allurement  was  Yreka 
flat  with  its  coarse  gold,  opened  in  the  spring  of  1851,  which  lured  2,000  men 
within  a  few  weeks  to  build  Yreka,  first  called  Thompson  Dry  Diggings,  then 
Shasta  Butte  City.  Frogtown,  or  Hawkinsville,  near  by,  became  the  centre 
for  Long,  Rich,  Canal,  and  Rocky  gulches.  Humbug  Creek,  10  miles  below, 
belisd  its  name  by  a  profuse  yield,  which  in  1853  occupied  1,000  men,  and 
gave  rise  to  Freetown,  which  died  in  1854,  Riderville  which  revived  in  1859  as 
Plugtown,  Mowry  Flat,  or  Frenchtown.  McBride  Gulch  was  well  known, 
and  beyond  Joe  Lane  Bar,  near  the  mouth  of  Yreka  Creek,  Greenhorn  Creek 
gave  many  a  fortune  after  1850.  Still  more  renowned  was  Cottonwood,  on  the 
creek  of  that  name,  later  Henly,  with  a  number  of  tributary  channels,  gulches, 
and  flats.  Southward,  below  Shasta  River,  were  Hamburg  and  Oak  bars  of 
1350,  and  Virginia.  On  Scott  River,  famed  for  its  coarse  gold  and  nuggets, 
Scott  Bar  long  sustained  itself,  closely  rivalled  by  Junction,  Slapjack,  Ly  tte, 
Poorman,  French,  and  Johnson  bars.  Near  the  latter  rose  in  1854  Simon  ville. 
The  three-year-old  Deadwood  on  McAdam's  Creek  then  received  a  decided 
advance,  but  declined  after  1858.  Hardscrabble  and  Oro  Fino  were  minor 
neighbors.  Mugginsville,  or  Quartz  Valley,  experienced  a  quartz  excitement 
in  1852,  which  later  bore  fruit  in  two  mills.  Rough  and  Ready  unfolded  into 
Etna,  and  Thompson  Creek  added  its  quota.  Below  Scott  River  rose  a  num 
ber  of  bars,  as  Mead,  China,  Masonic,  and  Fort  Goff.  Gen.  Lane  gives  his 
experiences  herein  1850-1.  Narr.,  MS.,  108-12;  also,  Anthony's Rem.  Siskiyou, 
MS.,  6-14;  Siskiyou  A/airs,  MS.,  10;  Yreka  Union,  June  5,  1869,  etc.;  Ashland 
Tidings,  Aug.  9,  1878.  Barry,  Up  and  Down,  125-30,  mentions  some  rich 
throves;  Hearns  Cal.  Sketches,  MS.,  3.  Steele  refers  to  the  Yreka  discovery 
in  Or.  Jour.  Council,  1857-8,  ap.  42-3;  Placer  Times,  Nov.  15,  1851,  etc. 

At  first,  miners  on  Scott  River  were  restricted  to  pan  and  knife  working, 
and  the  usual  pickings  returned  nothing  less  than  pieces  varying  from  $2.50 
to  $900.  Sac.  Transcript,  Jan.  13,  Feb.  1,  14,  28,  1851.  Some  accounts  are 
contradictory,  yet  the  yield  continued  large,  with  new  developments  reported 
every  now  and  then  till  1855,  at  Pinery,  which  were  the  last  important  dig 
gings  of  Siskiyou,  says  Yreka  Union,  June  5,  1SG9,  although  the  old  points 
widely  sustained  themselves,  aided  by  quartz  and  a  little  hydraulic  work. 
Indian  Creek  was  famed  in  1855-6.  8.  F.  Bulletin,  Mar.  3,  1856.  Poverty 
Gulch  gave  $4  per  bucket,  etc.  Sac.  Union,  Nov.  10,  1854;  June  15,  July  19, 
1855;  Alta  Cal.,  1851-6,  passim;  Hist.  Siskiyou  Co.,  29,  59,  210  et  seq.  Quartz 
leads  were  found  on  Humbug  Creek  and  in  Scott  Valley  as  early  as  1851,  and 


368 


UNFOLDING  OF  MINERAL  WEALTH. 


NORTHERN  MINES,  1849-50. 


IN  THE  SOUTH. 


369 


SOUTHERN  MINES,  1849-50 
HIST.  CAT,.,  VOL.  VI.    24 


370  UNFOLDING  OF  MINERAL  WEALTH. 

tion  of  placer  deposits,  which  occur  chiefly  in  patches 
and  pockets  in  coarse  form,  rendering  the  search  more 

several  companies  formed  in  1852,  Sitskiyou  Affairs,  MS.,  22--S;  but  high  prices 
and  wages,  and  difficulty  of  introducing  machinery,  added  here  to  the  general 
obstacles  in  this  branch  in  early  days,  and  it  received  a  long-enduring  check, 
till  1862,  when  Humbug  rose  into  prominence.  The  first  ditch,  the  gross  2^ 
miles,  was  constructed  in  1852  from  Rancheria  Creek  in  Cottonwood,  and 
several  others  were  added  by  1856,  notably  the  Shasta  River  caial,  80  miles, 
completed  in  the  spring  of  1856,  at  a  cost  of  $200,000.  Sac.  Union,  Dec.  14, 
1854;  Feb.  2,  Apr.  14,  May  11,  July  6,  1855;  Alta  Gal,  Feb.  5,  July  19,  1856; 
S.  F  Bulletin,  Feb.  11,  1856.  Below,  on  the  Klamath,  were  several  bars  and 
creeks  of  note,  which  added  to  the  wealth  of  Del  Norte  county,  as  Indian 
Creek,  and  the  adjoining  well-sustained  Happy  Camp,  with  subsequent  hy 
draulic  works.  Wood  and  Wingate  were  among  the  main  river  bars  below. 
Elk  Creek  yielded  well,  and  around  Crescent  City  sprang  up  a  flourishing 
district,  with  Bald  Hills,  which  gave  rise  to  the  ephemeral  Vallardville,  and 
to  more  enduring  hydraulic  claims,  and  with  the  Smith  River  mines,  notably 
Myrtle  Creek,  which  paid  from  $5  to  $25  per  day.  Van  Dyke's  Stat.,  MS.,  8; 
Sac.  Transcript,  Jan.  14,  1851.  There  were  also  French  Hill,  Hayne  Flat, 
and  Big  Flat,  the  latter  with  extensive  gravel  beds.  Bledsoes  Del  Norte,  10, 
21,  39  et  seq.;  Crescent  City  Herald,  Nov.  29,  1854;  Hist.  Humboldt  Co.,  121, 
etc.;  Sac.  Union,  Dec.  14,  1854;  June  15,  1855;  and  references  above.  Klam 
ath  county  shared  also  in  the  gold  tribute  of  Klamath  River,  and  Orleans  Bar, 
which  became  the  county  seat  in  1856,  dates  since  1850  as  her  first  placer 
field.  Her  largest  yield  came,  however,  from  the  Salmon  River  fork,  with 
Gullion  Bar,  Negro  Flat,  Bestville,  and  Sawyer  Bar  as  leading  places.  On 
Frost  Bar,  a  large  party  made  from  $2,000  to  $6,000  each  within  two  months. 
Sac.  Transcript,  Oct.  14,  Nov.  14,  1850;  Feb.  1,  14,  28,  1851.  Early  in  1851, 
about  1,000  persons  left  Trinidad  for  that  river,  paying  from  $1  to  $225  a 
pound  for  packing  food.  Two  men  had  come  down  from  Salmon  River  with 
^90,000,  the  result  of  three  weeks'  work.  The  streain  continued  to  yield  well, 
and  in  1855  the  miners  were  making  from  $6  to  $50  per  day  between  Best 
ville  and  Sawyer.  At  Sawyer  it  was  proposed  to  exclude  Chinese.  Alta 
Gal,  Apr.  2,  Aug.  7,  1854;  Apr.  21,  May  25,  1855;  July  26,  1857;  S.  F.  Bul 
letin,  Mar.  11,  1857;  Aug.  4,  1856;  Sac.  Union,  Feb.  15,  Apr.  2,  May  10,  Aug. 
17-18,  1855.  Humboldt  county  could  show  little  of  mineral  resources  beyond 
her  share  in  the  scanty  Gold  Bluff  production.  The  interior  of  Trinity  county 
absorbed  the  main  sources  from  this  coast  region  by  occupying  the  headwaters 
of  Trinity  River.  Reading's  Bar  of  1848 — which  worked  in  1849-51,  revived 
in  1852 — had  been  followed  in  quick  succession  by  a  series  of  diggings,  as 
Evans',  dating  since  1849,  with  the  first  log  cabin,  and  with  a  ditch  in  1851. 
In.  1850  the  number  of  camps  multiplied,  including  Red,  Whetstone,  Slate, 
Pike  County,  and  other  bars.  Steiner  flat,  or  ville,  lasted  many  years.  In 
1851  rose  Trinity  Center,  long  prosperous,  Eastman,  Bolt,  and  Deadwood 
diggings,  Arkansas  Dam,  twice  dammed  in  1854  at  a  cost  of  $45,000.  Point, 
Polka,  and  Poverty  bars,  and  Miners,  or  Diggers,  ville  followed,  the  latter  on 
Stewart  Fork,  where  in  1855  rose  Ridgeville,  or  Golden  City,  with  700 
inhab.  in  1856,  though  it  soon  declined.  One  of  the  most  prosperous  places 
was  Weaverville  of  1850,  which  became  the  county  seat  in  1851,  and  claimed 
at  one  time  4,000  inhabitants.  It  lay  on  Weaver  Creek,  which  was  pros 
pected  in  1849.  Canon  Creek  had  two  prominent  camps  in  Mill  Town  and 
Canon  City,  the  latter  dating  since  1851,  and  having  in  1855  fully  400  inhab 
itants.  It  revived  in  1858.  Below  Cooper,  Big  Bar,  with  first  female  settler, 
Mrs  Walton,  and  Manzanita,  were  among  the  bars  opened  in  1849,  fol 
lowed  in  1850  and  later  by  Big  Flat,  which  counted  250  persons  in  1855, 
Vance  Bar,  North  Fork,  important  in  1852,  and  Taylor  Flat.  On  the 
lower  Trinity  were  Cedar  Flat  and  Burnt  Ranch.  The  Sac.  Transcript, 
Apr.  26,  Oct.  14,  1850,  Feb,  14,  June  15,  1851,  reports  that  one  man 


CALAVERAS  AND  TUOLUMNE.  371 

precarious,  but  also  more  fascinating  by  the  larger 
rewards  for  the  fortunate  miner.  This  applies  like 
wise  to  gravel  beds.  Quartz  on  the  other  hand  pre 
sents  itself  in  more  defined  outline.  An  auriferous 
belt  of  earth  and  rock  extends  along  the  foot  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada,  from  Sacramento  county  where  it  lies, 
only  six  to  eight  miles  in  width,  upon  the  eastern 
border,  through  Amador  and  Calaveras,  gradually 
expanding  till  in  Tuolumne  it  reaches  a  width  of  25 
miles.  In  Mariposa  it  again  tapers,  dropping  away 
in  the  districts  southward.  The  western  edge  con 
tains  the  productive  veta  madre,  with  its  line  of 
representative  quartz  mines,  which  in  Mariposa  splits 
into  two  branches.32  Its  eastern  line  is  bordered  by  a 
heavy  limestone  belt,  met  in  Amador  by  the  granite 
formation  from  the  north,  and  covered  by  volcanic 
masses.33 

This  county  received  its  share  of  alluvial  wealth 
from  the  Cosumnes  and  Mokelumne  twin  rivers;  and 
although  ranking  rather  as  a  halting-place  for  the  mi 
gration  to  and  from  the  southern  field,  a  series  of  bars 
and  camps  sprang  up,  which  were  especially  numerous 
along  the  tributaries  of  the  latter  stream.  Most 
prominent  was  Dry  Creek,  with  the  branch  creeks, 
S utter  and  Jackson,  the  latter  with  the  county  seat. 
On  the  headwaters  lay  Volcano,  famed  for  its  rich 

made  $11,000  in  eleven  days;  on  Campbell  Creek  miners  averaged  $10 
a  day.  Placer  Times,  Feb.  2,  Apr.  22,  May  3,  22,  27,  1850,  adds  that 
Bowies'  party  averaged  $50  daily  per  man  in  1849.  Below  Big  Canon,  a 
man  took  out  2^  Ibs  a  day  for  some  time.  Big  Bar  had  000  miners  in  the 
spring  of  1850,  average  $25  to  $50  each  daily.  One  man  had  200  Ibs  of  gold, 
but  few  had  great  success.  Diarrhoea,  etc.,  frightened  away  many.  Pac.  Neivs, 
Apr.  27,  May  2,  9,  18-23,  Aug.  22,  24,  Sept.  7,  1850;  Cal.  Courier,  Sept.  28, 
1850;  Polynesian,  vii.  34;  Van  Dykes  Stat.,  MS.,  3;  8.  F.  Picayune,  Dec.  18, 
1850.  By  1854  Canon  Creek  Water  Co.  and  two  other  parties  were  doing 
fluming  on  a  large  scale,  and  others  followed  the  example  elsewhere.  Ridge- 
ville  occupied  1,000  men  in  1855.  At  Oregon  Gulch  three  men  made  $300  per 
day  for  some  time.  Sac.  Union,  Nov.  28,  1854,  Apr.  19,  June  7,  26,  1855.  West 
Weaver  paid  $10  to  $30  to  the  hand.  8.  F.  Bulletin,  Feb.  2,  1856.  The  yield 
for  the  year  to  2,600  miners  was  $2,500,000.  A Ua  Cal.,  Oct.  26,  1856;  Bar- 
stow 's  Stat.,  MS.,  4-5,  and  above  general  references. 

32  At  Volcano  a  recent  formation  of  quartz  veins  is  revealed  in  the  gravel. 

33  In  Calaveras  the  limestone  has  been  worked,  near  Murphy's,  for  placer 
gold.     It  has  also  here  and  in  Amador  imbedded  quartz  veins,  with  a  little 
cinnabar. 


372  UNFOLDING   OF  MINERAL  WEALTH. 

deposits  and  its  gravel  beds,  the  latter  in  due  time 
inviting  the  hydraulic  process,  which  also  found  an 
ample  field  in  Jackson,  French  Camp,  and  other  dis 
tricts.  Quartz  veins  were  unfolded  early  in  1851  on 
Amador  Creek,  with  several  points  rich  enough  to 
sustain  themselves  under  early  adverse  circumstances, 
till  improved  methods  brought  forward  a  long  line  of 
permanent  mines  on  both  sides  of  the  veta  madre, 
among  which  Jackson  marked  the  western  and  Volcano 
the  upper  edge.34 

34  Amador  shared  in  the  wealth  of  the  Cosumnes  at  a  number  of  bars 
along  its  main  and  south  fork,  whereof  Yeomet,  or  Saratoga,  at  their  junction, 
long  maintained  itself  a  promising  town.  Below,  on  the  divide,  rose  Ply 
mouth,  one  of  the  earliest  quartz  mining  places,  which  absorbed  the  interests 
of  the  adjoining  Pokerville  Camp,  and  gradually  overshadowing  Fiddletown. 
of  1849,  which  had  received  a  decided  impulse  in  1852.  The  richer  section  of 
the  county  bordered  upon  Mokelumne  River  and  its  tributaries,  notably 
Dry  Creek,  where  Dry  town  sprang  up  in  1848,  and  flourished  till  1857.  At 
Amador,  on  the  creek  of  that  name,  the  placer  mining  of  1848  early  gave 
way  to  quartz.  Its  branch,  Rancheria  Creek,  stood  since  1848  in  good  repute 
with  its  deep  and  slate  gulches,  which  brought  the  tributary  population  of 
Lower  Rancheria  at  one  time  to  600.  Irish  Hill  has  sustained  itself  till 
recent  times.  Muletown,  on  Mule  Creek,  was  famed  for  its  productive 
ravines,  to  which  hydraulic  methods  were  applied  in  1854  with  continued 
success.  Fort  John,  on  the  north  fork  of  Dry  Creek,  promised  in  1849-50  to 
become  a  leading  town,  but  declined  rapidly;  yielding  the  honors  to  Volcano, 
which  opened  in  1848.  Here  were  some  remarkably  rich  deposits,  one  in 
gravel,  which  must  have  yielded  $1,000,000  in  the  course  of  30  years.  At 
Indian  and  Soldier  gulches,  a  pan  of  dirt  could  frequently  give  several  hun 
dred  dollars,  many  readily  obtained  $1,000  a  day.  In  1853  ditches  were  con 
structed  for  working  less  rich  deposits,  and  quartz  mining  was  added  to 
sustain  the  production.  Russell  Hill  and  Aqueduct  City  proved  ephemeral. 
Other  noted  points  on  Sutter  Creek  were  Ashland,  Grizzly  Hill,  Wheeler 
Diggings,  and  several  gulches  and  flats  toward  the  headwater.  The  lone 
City  of  1850  developed  into  a  permanent  settlement,  and  Sutter  Creek,  opened 
in  1848  by  the  historic  Swiss,  developed  after  1851,  with  quartz  mining, 
into  one  of  Amador 's  leading  towns.  Another  prominent  tributary  of  Dry 
Creek  was  Jackson  Creek,  with  Jackson,  the  county  seat,  founded  in  1848  by 
Mexicans  as  Botellas,  and  sustained  by  a  wide  gold-field,  embracing  The 
Gate  of  1849,  Ohio  Hill,  Squaw  Gulch,  and  Tunnel  Hill,  with  rich  gravel, 
tunnelled  in  1852,  and  with  hydraulic  works  in  1858.  The  more  distant  Slab- 
town  and  Clinton  proved  less  valuable.  Encounters  with  Indians  and  native 
Californians  gave  rise  to  such  names  on  Dry  Creek  as  Murderer's  Gulch  of 
1849,  and  Blood  Gulch.  There  were  also  Rattlesnake  gulch  and  flat.  The 
Mokelumne  was  found  very  productive,  especially  at  Jarnes  Bar,  in  1849,  and 
the  gulches  known  as  Rich,  Murphy's,  Black,  and  Hunt.  Butte  City  was 
once  a  rival  of  Jackson.  Lancha  Plana,  opened  by  Mexicans  in  1848,  flour 
ished  in  1850,  and  received  in  1856  fresh  impulse  from  bluff  mining,  particu 
larly  on  Chaparral  Hill,  which  rapidly  raised  the  population  to  1,000;  but 
after  a  decade  it  declined.  The  adjoining  Puts  Bar,  while  not  rich,  had  after 
1855  several  hundred  miners,  mostly  Chinese;  and  so  with  Camp  Opera, 
which  flourished  between  1853-7.  French  Camp  was  marked  by  heavy  tun 
nel  operations  in  the  gravel  range  for  some  time  after  1856.  Contreras  was 
a  favorite  place  for  Mexicans.  The  first  quartz  vein  discovery  is  here  attrib- 


TABLE  MOUNTAIN.  373 

South  of  Mokclumne  River  the  rich  patches  mul 
tiply,  first  at  Mokelurnne  Hill,  a  veritable  gold  moun 
tain,  which  from  slopes  and  gulches  and  adjoining  flats 
yielded  fortunes  in  rapid  succession  for  many  years. 
Even  more  extensive  were  the  glittering  deposits  on 
the  Stanislaus,  especially  round  the  celebrated  dry 
diggings  of  Sonora,  with  their  pockets  and  streaks  of 
coarse  gold  and  nuggets,  caught  by  the  riffle  crevices 
of  the  limestone  bed.  Woods  Creek  which  traverses 
this  district  may  be  classed  as  probably  the  richest 
stream  of  its  size.  The  more  regular  strata  of  the 
north  afforded  no  doubt  greater  satisfaction  to  the 
toiler  with  their  fairer  average  returns,  but  lucky  find 
ings  and  sudden  fortunes  caught  the  visionary  and 
the  speculator,  and  procured  a  glowing  record  for  the 
south,  which  brought  to  it  an  early  population  par 
taking  of  the  capricious  mining  feature  in  its  striking 
propensity  for  gambling  and  excesses. 

The  Stanislaus  formed  the  boundary  between  Cala- 
veras  and  Tuolumne  counties,  which  stood  linked  as 
leaders  of  the  southern  field  by  the  remarkable  Table 
Mountain,  once  the  lava  filling  of  an  ancient  river-bed, 

uted  to  Davidson,  a  Baptist  preacher,  in  Feb.  1851,  on  the  south  side  of 
Amador  Creek.  The  original  Amador  mine,  on  the  north  side,  was  located 
about  the  same  time.  After  clumsy  attempts  at  crushing  with  crude  engines,  a 
German  from  Peru  introduced  the  arastra,  and  with  this  improvement  a  num 
ber  of  parties  were  encouraged  to  open  veins,  only  to  receive,  as  elsewhere, 
the  check  from  inexperience  which  only  a  few  managed  for  the  time  to 
overcome.  An  instance  of  the  hazardous  nature  of  quartz  mining  is  afforded 
by  the  Eureka  or  Hay  ward  mine,  which,  opened  in  1852,  paid  well  for  a  year, 
and  then  declined;  yet  the  energetic  owner  kept  sturdily  on  though  losing 
money  for  four  years.  After  this  a  vein  was  struck  which  raised  the  mine  to 
one  of  the  richest.  The  east  side  of  the  belt  was  also  lined  by  a  number  of 
mines  which  yielded  well,  especially  at  Volcano.  In  Calaveras  the  line  grew 
less  regular.  By  1860  there  were  32  mills  crushing  over  60,000  tons  a  year, 
and  600  miles  of  main  ditches,  the  first  conduit,  at  The  Gate,  being  ascribed  to 
Johnson  early  in  1851.  Several  were  begun  by  1852,  and  by  1861  there  were 
nearly  30  in  operation,  one  66  miles  long.  A  Ita  Cai,  Dec.  18,  1850,  Cal.  Courier, 
Oct.  21,  1850,  etc.,  allude  to  the  wealth  of  different  camps.  Scattered  de 
tails  in  Alia  Cal,  1851-6;  Sac..  Union,  1854-6;  S.  F.  Bulktin,  1855-6;  Woods' 
Pioneer,  MS.,  98-9;  Hist.  Amador  Co.,  90  et  seq.;  Frask's  Geol.,  23-4.  Sac. 
Transcript,  Feb.  14,  1851,  alludes  to  a  quartz  blast  producing  $30,000. 
Placerville  Democ.,  Aug.  19,  1876.  In  the  east  part  of  Amador  were  found 
indications  of  silver  which  in  later  years  became  the  main  wealth  of  Alpine 
county.  The  gold-bearing  veins  here  were  little  worked,  owing  to  need  for 
deeper  development,  yet  short  adit  levels  would  have  sufficed  and  wood  and 
water  abounded. 


374  UNFOLDING  OF  MINERAL  WEALTH. 

and  now  presenting  in  its  raised  isolation  a  conspicuous 
instance  of  surface  remodelling  by  water  currents. 
Ousted  from  their  original  channel,  they  here  avenged 
themselves  by  washing  away  the  lofty  banks  which 
formed  the  serpentine  mould  of  the  lava.  The  rich 
deposits  in  this  subterranean  bed,  which  raised  such 
excitement  in  1855,  and  led  to  a  close  line  of  tunnels 
under  Table  Mountain,  explain  in  a  measure  the  source 
for  the  surrounding  wealth.  The  bars  of  the  living 
streams  also  produced  much  gold,  and  camps  were 
numerous  along  the  banks,  particularly  near  the  trans 
verse  auriferous  belt,  and  extending  into  the  valley 
counties  of  San  Joaquin  and  Stanislaus.  San  Andreas, 
Vallecito,  and  Angel  Camp  were  centres  of  rich  dis 
tricts  which  in  time  revealed  quartz  to  sustain  their 
prospects.  Carson  Hill  proved  a  minor  Mokelumne. 
Sonora,  the  chief  camp  of  the  south,  was  surrounded 
in  close  proximity  by  a  larger  number  of  important 
towns  and  settlements  than  could  be  found  elsewhere 
within  the  same  area.  Among  them  Jackass  Gulch 
bore  the  palm  for  yield,  and  Yankee  Hill  for  nuggets. 
Chinese  Camp,  started  by  an  importer  of  mongol  la 
borers,  was  long  the  headquarters  for  this  race.  In 
both  counties  were  stretches  of  gravel  and  cognate 
strata,  which  about  1855  began  to  attract  attention 
for  hydraulic  operations,  with  ditches  measuring  600 
miles  in  length.  The  line  of  quartz  veins,  which  soon 
became  the  main  feature  of  mining,  was  bordered  on 
the  lower  side  by  the  towns  of  Angel,  Carson,  and 
Jamestown,  and  on  the  east  by  Soulsby,  whose  ledges 
are  among  the  richest  in  the  country.35 

35  Even  richer  than  the  Amador  section  of  Mokelumne  River  was  that  em 
braced  by  Calaveras  county,  with  the  county  seat  for  a  time  at  Mokelumne 
Hill,  which  was  discovered  in  1850,  and  yielded  fortunes  for  many  years. 
AUa  Gal,  Feb.  13,  1851.  Big  Bar  and  Murphy  Camp,  of  1849,  had  a  wide 
reputation,  the  latter  with  a  population  of  1,000  in  1855.  Safford's  Narr.t 
MS.,  21-2;  Pac.  News,  May  10,  1850.  Poverty  and  Winter  bars  lay  near 
Lancha  Plana.  At  Douglas  Flat  Table  Mountain  was  first  tapped.  Vallecito 
formed  the  centre  of  a  wide  circle  of  places,  such  as  French  Camp.  Angel 
Camp  had  fine  placers,  which  soon  led  to  equally  promising  quartz  veins  ex 
tending  beyond  Cherokee  Flat.  Carson  Hill  created  in  1851  great  excitement; 
its  discovery  claim  alone  produced  within  8  years  about  $2.000,000;  an  ad 
joining  claim  gave  half  as  much,  and  several  others  added  to  the  total,  with 


STANISLAUS  AND  MARIPOSA.  375 

Thus  far  extended  the  mining  explorations  of  1848, 
including   the   most   valuable   sections   of  the   field. 

simple  methods.  Wide-spread,  though  less  glittering,  were  the  flats  and 
gulches  round  San  Andreas,  the  county  seat,  which  in  1856  managed  to  sus 
tain  a  large  population  with  the  aid  of  three  ditches  and  quartz  development. 
S.  F.  Bulletin-,  Jan.  27,  1857.  The  eastern  districts  have  less  regular  and  re 
liable  quartz  veins;  yet  at  West  Point  they  yield  from  $20  to  $100  per  ton. 
Gossan  deposits  exist  at  Quail  Hill,  Iron  Mountain,  and  Robinson  Ferry,  the 
latter  remarkable  for  rare  telluret.  Hydraulic  operations  found  many  open 
ings  in  gravel  and  other  suitable  ground,  near  West  Point,  at  Old  and  French 
gulches,  etc.  Upper  Calaveritas  was  especially  promising.  Id.  Several 
ditches  were  in  operation,  including  that  of  the  Mokelumne  Hill  Co.,  one  of 
whose  extensions  in  1855  measured  12  miles,  and  cost  $40,000.  Sac.  Union, 
Apr.  9,  May  15-29,  June  11,  July  30,  1855.  In  1855  there  were  17  ditches, 
325  miles  long.  Cat.  Ass.  Jour.,  1856,  p.  26.  There  were  16  companies  with 
property  worth  $638,000.  Alta  Cal,  Oct.  1,  Nov.  4,  1855,  etc.  The  weekly 
yield  of  gold  in  the  county  was  estimated  at  $125,000  in  May  1855.  Some 
rich  strikes  mentioned  in  Id.,  Oct.  6,  1856;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Mar.  25,  1856; 
which  journal  consult  for  scattered  reports  of  progress,  based  partly  on  the 
Calaveras  Chronicle,  1853  et  seq.  Earlier  references  in  Pac.  News,  1849-50; 
S.  F.  Herald,  1850  et  seq.  laylor;  Eldorado,  i.  88,  speaks  of  the  rush  to 
Lower  Bar,  where  the  two  prospectors  obtained  14  Ibs  of  gold  in  two  days, 
including  a  2-lb  nugget.  Campo  Seco,  Clay  Bar,  Chile  Gulch,  Jenny  Lind, 
French  Creek,  the  latter  on  Calaveras  River,  were  among  the  early  camps. 
Tuolumne  county  acquired  fame  in  1848  for  its  dry  diggings  and  coarse  gold. 
Gov.  Riley  pronounced  the  placers  on  the  Stanislaus  and  Tuolumne  as  among 
the  richest  in  California.  Report,  Aug.  30,  1849.  The  region  round  Sonora 
was  especially  rich  in  pockets  with  nuggets.  Placer  Times,  Apr.  6,  1850, 
alludes  to  a  piece  of  64  Ibs.  But  the  river  bars  were  also  rich  with  more  regu 
lar  strata.  A  claim  was  not  considered  worth  working  then  unless  it  yielded 
one  or  two  ounces  per  day.  Some  secured  four  times  that  amount.  Suttons 
Stat.,  MS.,  11;  Hancock's  'Thirteen  Years,  MS.,  136.  Dean,  Stat.,  MS.,  3, 
obtained  several  ounces  daily  on  the  Stanislaus.  Men  are  making  as  high 
as  5  Ibs  daily  at  Peoria.  Cal.  Courier,  Nov.  21,  1850;  Ryan's  Pers.  Adven.; 
Frost's  Cal.,  62-73.  They  make  3  ounces  and  more  daily  below  Keeler's  Ferry, 
and  old  dirt  rewashed  yielded  as  much  as  $1  to  the  pan.  Son.  Herald;  Sac. 
Transcript,  Feb.  14,  1851.  And  so  on  the  Tuolumne,  one  of  the  richest 
streams.  One  small  party  took  out  daily  $1,500,  and  even  28  Ibs.  Id.,  Nov. 
14,  1850;  Hewlett's  Stat.,  MS.,  4  et  seq.;  Barstows  Stat.,  MS.,  2;  Woods'  Six 
teen  Mo.,  100;  Randolph's  Stat,,  MS.,  5.  A  Mexican  took  out  75  Ibs  in  a 
short  time.  It  is  a  common  thing  for  two  partners  to  divide  40  or  50  Ibs  per 
week.  Pac.  News,  Aug.  27,  Jan.  1,  May  9-10,  1850;  Cal.  Courier,  Aug.  9,  17, 
Sept.  9,  Oct.  21,  28,  1850.  A  German  obtained  40  Ibs  in  2  hours  at  Sullivan's. 
Woods'  Sixteen  Mo.,  139;  Cal.  Past  and  Pres.,  109-12;  Cal.  Courier,  Aug.  26, 
29,  July  11,  24,  Sept.  2,  16,  1850;  S.  F.  Picayune,  Aug.  31,  Sept.  2,  Oct.  1, 
19,  1850;  Pac.  News,  Dec.  22,  1849;  Jan.  1,  May  8-14,  24,  Aug.  1,  Sept.  7, 
Oct.  15,  19,  29,  1850;  Alta  Cal.,  Aug.  2,  May  24,  Aug.  4,  1850,  and  1851-6, 
passim;  Present  and  Future,  July  1,  1853;  Son.  Herald,  1851^4,  passim;  Colum 
bia  Clipper,  Id.  Gaz.,  Dec.  2,  9,  1854,  etc.;  Hayes'  Mining,  viii.  217  et  seq. 
Some  Mexicans  who  struck  a  decomposed  quartz  lead  near  Curtisville  gave 
some  shares  to  Mayor  Dodge  and  others  for  securing  them  against  American 
rowdies.  They  frequently  obtained  $10,000  a  day.  Alta  Cal.,  Mar.  1,  1853. 
There  was  excitement  in  Sonora  in  1854,  when  a  party  sought  to  mine  the 
creek  through  the  town.  Id.,  Jan.  3-4,  1854.  Sonora,  the  county  seat,  and 
long  the  headquarters  for  the  southern  mines,  was  opened  in  1848  by  Sonorans, 
and  counted  in  the  following  year  several  thousand  inhabitants.  The  foreign 
miners'  tax  gave  it  a  blow,  yet  in  1856  it  had  3,000,  with  support  from  a  wide 
circle  of  camps.  Woods  Crossing,  when  the  southern  mines  were  first  opened 


376  UNFOLDING  OF  MINERAL  WEALTH. 

Southward  the  deposits  diminished  in  quantity  and 
quality.     Mariposa  county  could  still  boast  of  valuable 

in  1845,  had  in  1855  over  75  votes.  It  was  overshadowed  by  Jamestown,  the 
American  camp  of  1849,  which  in  1850  aspired  to  the  county  seat,  and  in  1855 
had  a  vote  of  300.  Northward  lay  Shaw  Flat,  once  claiming  2,000  inhabi 
tants;  Springfield,  on  Mormon  Creek;  Gold  Springs,  noted  for  its  pure  gold; 
Saw  Mill  Flat,  where  the  bandit  Murietta  had  his  headquarters  a  while;  Co 
lumbia,  which  in  1855  polled  974  votes;  Yankee  Hill,  noted  for  its  nuggets, 
had  in  1856  some  400  miners.  Jackass  Gulch  of  1848,  was  one  of  the  richest. 
Most  of  these  settlements  lay  on  Woods  Creek,  which  is  said  to  have  yielded 
more  gold  than  any  stream  of  similar  size.  There  were  also  Brown  Flat, 
Mormon  Gulch,  and  Tuttletown  of  1848-9,  Montezuma,  Chinese  Camp,  started 
with  Chinese  labor  and  the  headquarters  of  Mongolians,  once  having  300  votes, 
Jacksonville,  Yorktown,  the  last  three  of  1849,  Poverty  Hill,  Algerine,  Curtis- 
ville,  Sullivan's,  and  Humbug.  On  the  Tuolumne  Stevens,  Red  Mountain, 
Hawkins',  Indian,  Texas,  Morgan,  Don  Pedro,  and  Rodgers  were  the  largest 
bars  in  1850,  and  still  of  note  in  1855.  Southward  extended  Big  Oak  Flat, 
with  Garrote  1  and  2.  A  feature  of  the  county  is  Table  Mountain,  a  mass  of 
basaltic  lava  on  an  average  150  feet  thick  from  1,200  to  1,800  feet  wide  and 
some  30  miles  long,  which  once  pouring  down  the  deep  bed  of  an  ancient 
stream,  forced  the  waters  aside,  and  in  cooling  assumed  the  serpentine  shape 
of  the  channel.  Meanwhile  the  ejected  waters  wore  away  the  banks  on  either 
side  and  left  the  lava  in  isolated  prominence.  Five  years  passed  ere  the 
miners  were  led  by  streaks  around  to  discover  that  the  bed  of  the  filled  river 
was  immensely  rich  in  coarse  gold  of  a  high  quality,  especially  in  the  Sonora 
region,  for  the  section  extending  into  Calaveras  was  less  rich.  The  excite 
ment  concerning  it  arose  in  1855,  when  one  claim  of  100  feet  square  was  found 
to  have  yielded  §100,000,  and  journals  vied  in  presenting  glowing  estimates. 
S.  F.  Bulletin,  Oct.  19,  Dec.  1-5,  17,  1855;  Jan.  21,  28,  Mar.  5,  July  26,  1856; 
Nev.  Jour.,  Nov.  2,  1855;  Alta  Cal,  Nov.  1,  10-12,  21,  Dec.  24,  1855;  Jan. 
21,  Feb.  3,  Mar.  16,  Nov.  26,  1856;  Sac.  Union,  Oct.  29,  1855,  etc.  Claims 
were  taken  up  all  along  the  base  and  on  the  summit,  with  consequent  con 
flicts,  and  tunnels  driven  in  close  succession,  some  reaching  a  layer  of  pay 
dirt  several  feet  in  thickness,  which  produced  $20  or  more  to  the  pan,  others 
obtaining  little  or  nothing  to  compensate  their  costly  efforts.  Tunnels  were 
also  numerous  along  the  auriferous  belt,  whose  rich  veins  revived  the  droop 
ing  prospects  of  many  a  camp.  The  best  yield  was  at  Soulsby,  but  James 
town  and  other  points  boasted  valuable  ledges.  Bours  stumbled  upon  a  vein 
yielding  50  per  cent  of  gold.  Sac.  Transcript,  Feb.  1,  1851.  Surface  placers, 
while  long  sustained,  passed  in  1855  largely  into  hydraulic  claims,  supplied 
by  a  number  of  ditches.  The  Columbia  and  Stanislaus  were  over  40  miles 
long,  and  the  Tuolumne  Big  Oak  Flat  canal  was  begun  in  May  1856  for  a 
75-mile  course,  costing  over  $20,000.  8.  F.  Bulletin,  Jan.  7,  Dec.  5,  1856;  AUa 
Cal,  July  9,  1853;  May  17,  1855;  Dec.  30,  1856;  Sac.  Union,  Nov.  7,  1854; 
Apr.  16,  1855;  Tuolumne  Directory,  25,  54,74,  etc.  These  assisted  to  maintain 
a  yield  which  in  1856  was  estimated  round  Sonora  alone  at  from  $40,000  to 
$60,0^0  weekly.  Cald well's  claim  at  Shaw  Flat  gave  289  ounces  in  two  days, 
and  Read's  40  Ibs  in  four  days.  A  claim  at  Middle  Bar  yielded  30  ounces  daily, 


general  accounts.  A  portion  of  the  Tuolumne  wealth  extended  into  the  val 
ley  country  of  Stanislaus,  where  bars  were  worked  for  years  upon  the  Stanis 
laus  and  the  Tuolumne,  particularly  round  Knight  Ferry  and  La  Grange,  or 
French  Camp,  for  a  time  county  seat,  and  very  flourishing  in  1854-5.  San 
Joaquin  county  had  a  similar  smaller  streak  of  mining  along  its  eastern  bor 
der.  For  particulars,  see  above  general  references;  and  AUa  Cal,  Dec.  23, 
1852;  Jan.  19-21,  1853;  Feb.  18,  1854;  Dec.  22,  1855,  etc.;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Apr. 


SILVER  REGION.  377 

surface  layers  along  the  Merced  and  Bear  Creek, 
which  attracted  a  considerable  number  of  diggers, 
particularly  below  Horshoe  Bend  on  Merced  River, 
and  near  Quartzburg;  but  on  the  Mariposa,  Chow- 
chilla,  Fresno,  and  San  Joaquin  they  diminished  to 
small  proportions,  disappearing  in  Tulare  county. 
Beyond  this  they  were  again  discovered  in  1853,  and 
led  to  the  brief  Kern  River  excitement  of  1854—5. 
Bank  and  gravel  claims  also  faded,  with  a  correspond 
ingly  decreasing  demand  for  hydraulic  methods.  The 
chief  wealth  of  the  section  consisted  of  quartz;  and 
although  the  mother  lode  tapers  rapidly,  it  still  makes 
a  good  display  in  Mariposa,  dividing  here  into  two 
veins  which  a  number  of  mines  opened.  This  county 
is  entitled  to  the  distinction  of  the  first  discovery  of 
such  veins  in  California,  on  Fremont's  grant,  in 
1849;  but  development  was  obstructed,  not  only  by 
the  early  obstacles  hampering  this  branch,  but  by  liti 
gation  and  lack  of  energy.  Kern  River  revealed 
several  ledges  of  value,  and  above  there  the  Sierra 
Nevada  disclosed  a  large  number,  especially  of  silver, 
extending  into  Tulare  county  and  southward ;  but  being 
less  accessible  and  rich,  they  had  to  bide  their  time. 
The  real  silver  region  lies  on  the  eastern  slopes  of  the 
Sierra  and  beyond,  in  Alpine,  Mono,  Inyo,  and  San 
Bernardino  counties,  each  containing  some  gold,  which 
in  the  last  named  is  found  also  in  gravel;36  but  lack 
of  wood  and  water  tended  here  to  discourage  early 
efforts.37 

4-5,  May  10,  July  24,  1856;  Sac.  Union,  Nov.  4,  1854;  Mar.  12,  June  18, 
July  28,  Sept.  27,  Nov.  5,  1855.  Eastward,  the  auriferous  bodies  passed  into 
Mono  county,  beyond  the  Sierra  Nevada,  but  the  limited  placers  round  Mono- 
ville  were  soon  exhausted,  and  elsewhere  the  prospect  was  poor.  Quartz  was, 
however,  in  due  time  to  produce  activity  here.  Monoville  possessed  a  ditch 
of  20  miles. 

36  For  allusions  to  Alpine  and  Mono,  see  Amador  and  Tuolumne  sections, 
to  which  they  belonged  in  early  years. 

37  In  Mariposa  county,  which  at  first  included  Fresno  and  Merced,  the  shal 
low,  spotted  placers  were  of  smaller  extent  than  in  Tuolumne;  yet  the  rich 
discoveries  made  at  times  sufficed  to  attract  diggers.     Instance  reports  in 
Pox.  News,  May  25,  June  4,  Aug.  23,  Oct.  28,  1850;  Cat.  Courier,  Oct.  5,  1850; 
8.  F.  Picayune,  Nov.  26,  1850.     In  Nov.  1851,  Bear  Valley  created  an  excite 
ment  by  the  report  of   six  persons  obtaining  $220,000  in  four  days.     At 
Bear  Gulch  near  Quartzburg,  some  Mexicans  were  said  to  have  taken  out  a 


378  UNFOLDING  OF  MINERAL  WEALTH. 

The  junction  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  with  the  Coast 
Range,  both  at  the  north  and  at  the  south,  brought 

similar  amount.  Martin's  Narr.t  MS.,  54-5.  In  Drunken  Gulch  and  at 
Cunningham's  rancho  near  Princeton  new  ground  was  opened  in  1854,  and 
at  Snelling's  on  the  Merced,  a  river  which  supplied  many  profitable  races. 
The  section  between  Horseshoe  Bend  and  Washington  Flat  was  producing 
largely  in  1858,  and  at  Red  Banks  $20  a  day  was  obtained,  yet  some  made 
from  $100  to  $200,  mostly  in  pieces  of  from  25  cents  to  $20.  Hornitos  yielded 
by  lumps,  partly  of  decomposed  quartz.  Mariposa  Creek,  worked  since  1851, 
was  paying  $3  to  $4  a  day  in  1856.  Chowchilla,  Fresno,  and  San  Joaquin 
rivers  had  each  their  placers.  Coarse  Gold  Gulch,  which  though  prominent 
in  1851,  declined  under  Indian  hostilities;  Fine  Gold  Gulch  rose  later;  Root- 
ville  revived  under  the  name  of  Millerton,  and  Indian  Gulch,  Mounts  Ophir 
and  Bullion,  Agua  Frio  and  Mormon  Bar  nourished  a  while.  Jamestown,  Junc 
tion  Bluff,  and  Coulterville  stood  in  high  repute.  Many  details  are  given  in 
Mariposa  Chronicle,  Dec.  8,  1854,  etc.;  Id.,  Oaz.,  June  27,  1873,  etc.,  with 
reproduction  of  earlyrecords;  AltaCal,  Jan.  16,  1852;  Mar.  1,  13,  1854;  Apr. 
16,  Oct.  1,  1855;  Jan.  7,  26,  July  12,  Sept.  13,  22,  Oct.  12,  Nov.  4,  29,  Dec. 
27,  1856;  8.  F.  Bulletin,  Jan.  7,  12,  19,  Aug.  5-7,  29,  Sept.  13,  20,  26,  1856; 
Dec.  5,  1854;  Oct.  1,  17,  20,  Nov.  13,  1855;  also  1856,  passim.  Bank  diggings 
and  gravel  claims  were  limited,  and  consequently  tunnelling  and  hydraulic 
works,  with  few  ditches.  Alta  Cal,  Mar.  26,  Sept.  28,  1856.  The  valley  section, 
later  formed  into  Merced  county,  shared  in  its  north-east  part  in  placer  min 
ing.  The  veta  madre  tapers  off  in  this  region,  and  divides  on  Fremont's  grant 
into  two  veins,  Pine  Tree  and  Josephine,  upon  which  a  number  of  mines 
opened  in  course  of  time.  Princeton  was  the  centre  of  another  group  opened 
in  1852,  which  at  first  yielded  $75  per  ton.  The  first  discovery  of  California 
quartz  veins  was  made  on  Fremont's  grant  in  1849,  the  reddish  samples  yield 
ing  2  ounces  to  every  25  Ibs,  as  Taylor  testifies.  Eldorado,  i.  110-11.  Sub 
sequent  developments  by  others  showed  6  or  8  Ibs  to  50  Ibs  of  rocks,  and  $2,500 
to  100  Ibs.  Pac.  News,  Sept.  7,  1850;  Sac.  Transcript,  June  29,  Nov.  29,  1850. 
On  Maxwell  Creek  a  bowlder  of  124  Ibs  was  literally  striped  with  gold.  Alta 
Cal,  July  15,  1851.  According  to  J.  Duff,  in  Mariposa  Gaz.,  Jan.  17,  1873, 
a  quartz-mill,  the  first  in  Cal.  with  steam-engine,  was  brought  by  him  for 
Fremont  and  planted  near  Mariposa  as  early  as  August  1849,  but  this  should 
probably  read  1850;  see  later  about  quartz-mills;  four  other  mills  were  erected 
in  1850,  two  by  J.  Johnson,  and  the  others  by  Capt.  Howard  and  by  I.  R. 
Morris  for  Com.  Stockton.  Palmer,  Cook,  &  Co.  took  charge  of  Fremont's 
claim,  and  uniting  with  a  London  company  made  large  profits.  The  first 
week's  crushing  yielded  $18,000.  Sac.  Transcript,  Jan.  14,  Feb.  14,  1851;  June 
29,  1850.  One  party  sold  a  vein  at  Burns  for  $55,000.  Fremont's  agent  was 
accused  of  swindling  English  capitalists  by  representing  purchased  quartz  as 
coming  from  his  Mariposa  lead.  Morn.  Globe,  Aug.  19,  1856.  Litigation  in 
terfered  with  development  on  this  estate;  elsewhere  rich  croppings  continued 
to  be  found,  as  at  Hornitos  and  Johnson  Flat.  Near  Mariposa  the  yield  was 
in  1856  reported  at  $43  per  ton.  Pac.  News,  May  15,  Oct.  4,  1850,  and  Picayune, 
May  15,  Sept.  7,  1850,  allude  to  numerous  lumps  from  $4,500  downward. 
The  poorest  quartz  veins  yield  $120  per  ton.  Alta  Cal.,  Jan.  3,  Feb.  20,  1854; 
Dec.  13,  1856;  Sac.  Union,  Feb.  5,  28,  May  4,  1855;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Jan.  7, 
Aug.  25,  1856,  etc.;  Hist.  Fresno  Co.,  87-9,  187,  etc.;  Hist.  Merced  Co.,  86,  etc. 
Southward  no  placer  deposits  of  any  note  were  found  till  1853-4,  when  Kern 
River  revealed  specimens,  including  lumps,  one  of  42  ounces,  which  soon  pro 
duced  the  Kern  River  excitement.  This  was  wholly  overdone,  for  the  de 
posits  proved  limited  in  extent.  A  few  parties  made  from  $16  to  $60  daily, 
others  were  content  with  $5  to  $8,  but  the  majority  failed  to^btain  satisfac 
tory  returns.  The  quality  was  also  inferior,  assaying  only  $14  per  ounce. 
The  discovery  was  made  by  immigrants.  Bakersfield  South.  Cal. ,  June  8,  Nov. 
23,  1876,  etc.;  South.  Cal.,  Dec.  7,  1854;  Fresno  Expositor,  June  22,  1870; 


LOS  ANGELES  AND  SAN  DIEGO.  379 

the  auriferous  strata  nearer  to  the  ocean,  although  in 
greatly  attenuated  form.  It  was  this  approximation 
in  the  south  that  led  to  the  first  discovery  of  gold  in 
California,  in  Los  Angeles  county,  as  explained  else 
where.  After  being  long  neglected  for  the  richer 
slopes  of  the  Sierra,  this  region  again  received  atten 
tion,  and  with  improved  methods  the  limited  placers 
were  made  to  yield  fair  profits.  The  chief  result  was 
the  revelation  of  valuable  quartz  leads,  extending  into 
San  Diego  county,  upon  which  a  number  of  mines 
opened  in  later  years.  Northward  the  coast  counties 
presented  only  slight  scattered  indications  of  gold, 
which,  however,  unfolded  in  Santa  Cruz,  along  the 
San  Lorenzo,  into  a  limited  placer  and  quartz  field, 
and  later  attracted  a  certain  attention  in  Marin  county. 
Beyond  this  another  barren  expanse  intervened  till 
the  approach  once  more  of  the  auriferous  Sierra 
Nevada  became  apparent  in  the  rich  earth  and  rock 
of  Trinity  and  adjoining  counties.  Yet  the  central 
coast  region  was  not  devoid  of  mineral  wealth.  It 
contained  some  coal,  the  leading  quicksilver  mine 
of  the  world,  and  other  metals,  consonant  with  the 
solfataric  nature  of  the  determining  range,  the  proper 

Havilah  Courier,  Sept.  8,  1866;  Sac.  Union,  Dec.  1854-May  1855;  Alia  CaL, 
id.,  and  scattered  items  in  later  numbers;  Hayes'  Angeles,  ii.  102-8,  258,  272; 
Id.,  Mining  v.  122-42  There  had  been  a  rush  in  1851  to  Kern.  A Ita  CaL, 
July  22,  1851.  The  deposits  led  to  more  encouraging  quartz  lodes,  at  Whiskey 
Flat,  later  Kernville,  Keysville,  Havilah,  etc.;  for  which  mills  began  to  be 
erected.  While  not  extensive,  the  veins  have  proved  rich,  some  assaying  at 
16  cents  per  Ib.  8.  F.  Bulletin,  Dec.  26,  1855;  A  Ita  Cal,  Oct.  20,  1855;  Mar. 
31,  1856,  etc.;  Hist.  Kern  Co.,  101,  110-13,  151.  High  in  the  Sierra  were 
more  extensive  indications,  chiefly  of  silver,  whereof  Tulare  county  had  her 
share,  but  being  less  rich  and  accessible  they  had  to  bide  their  time.  Above 
the  water  line  the  ores  were  easy  to  reduce,  but  not  so  the  main  sulphureted 
bodies  below.  On  Clear  Creek,  in  Tulare,  the  veins  were  from  2  to  6  feet 
thick.  East  of  the  Sierra  the  regular  silver  district  was  about  to  unfold  in 
Inyo  county  in  Panamint  Mountains,  near  the  main  deflection  of  the  Amar- 
goso  at  Mojave  desert,  and  at  Lone  Pine  along  the  west  base  of  Inyo  Mts,  the 
latter  with  much  gold,  and  assaying  $100  to  $300  per  ton.  The  lack  of  wood 
and  water  together  with  hostile  Indians  were  here  serious  obstacles,  which 
applied  also  to  San  Bernardino  county,  wherein  the  continuation  of  these  leads 
extended.  Here  a  limited  placer  field  with  gravel  was  found  at  Lytte  Creek, 
which  awaited  ditches  for  thorough  working.  Soule  penetrated  to  the  Amar- 
goso  in  1850,  found  rich  specimens,  formed  a  company,  but  spent  money  in 
vain.  Stat.,  MS.,  3-4.  Others  tried  and  failed.  Sac.  Transcript,  Nov.  29, 
1850;  Hayes'  Mining,  v.  111-22;  Alto,  CaL,  Aug.  26,  1852;  Sac.  Union.  Jan. 
18,  Oct.  12,  Nov.  14,  1855. 


380  UNFOLDING  OF  MINERAL  WEALTH 

development  of  which  pertains  to  the  period  covered 
by  my  next  volume.38 

38  In  1851  several  slight  excitements  were  stirred  up  by  prospectors  in  the 
coast  region,  and  in  Los  Angeles  the  old  San  Fernando  field  was  reopened. 
Sac.  Transcript,  Feb.  14,  1851;  Hayes  Mining,  v.  110-20;  Janttsen,  Vida,  MS., 
221.  In  1854  Santa  Anita  received  a  rush;  the  gravel  claims  of  San  Gabriel 
Canon  were  then  worked  with  moderate  success,  encouraging  the  construction 
of  ditches,  and  subsequently  quartz  was  developed  of  promising  quality,  the 
region  round  Soledad  Pass  revealing  silver.  A  Ita  CaL,  Feb.  19-22,  1854; 
Dec.  29,  1856;  Sac.  Union,  Jan.  10,  Mar.  28,  Apr.  18,  May  9,  1855;  Hayes 
Mining,  v.  116-20,  143,  et  seq.;  L.  A.  Eve.  Express,  May  29,  1872.  In  1856 
Sta  Catalina  Island  was  found  to  contain  veins,  which  it  was  in  later  times 
proposed  to  open.  S.  F.  Bulletin,  June  12,  1856;  L.  A.  Herald,  Dec.  23,  1874. 
San  Diego  also  gave  indications  which  in  later  times  led  to  the  opening  of 
several  veins.  Alta  CaL,  March  19,  1855;  Hayes1  8.  Dieyo,  i.  94.  North  of 
Los  Angeles  the  prospect  faded,  with  small  indications  in  Sta  Barbara  and 
Ventura,  8.  F.  Bulletin,  Oct.  15,  1855;  and  with  very  limited  developments 
in  later  years  in  S.  Luis  Obispo.  Hist.  8.  L.  Ob.  Co.,  248-53.  In  Santa  Cruz, 
however,  both  ledges  and  placers  were  revealed  which  gave  employment  to  a 
small  number  of  men.  The  padres  are  supposed  to  have  known  of  their 
existence,  but  kept  it  secret.  In  1851  Anson  discovered  placers  on  Guada- 
lupe  Creek,  but  yielding  only  $3  or  $4  a  day,  they  were  neglected  till  1853, 
Placer  Times,  June  27,  1853,  when  remunerative  spots  were  found  also  on  S. 
Lorenzo  Creek.  A  Ita  CaL,  July  29,  1853.  Trask,  GeoL,  pointed  to  auriferous 
signs  from  Soquel  to  Point  Ano  Nuevo.  In  1854  a  rich  bowlder  was  found  on 
Graham  Creek.  In  1855  Gold  Gulch  on  the  San  Lorenzo  yielded  from  $3  to 
$10  a  day,  and  lasted  for  several  years.  Quartz  was  also  found,  and  a  large 
number  of  companies  took  Tip  claims;  but  the  first  promise  was  not  sustained. 
Hayes  Mining,  399-403;  Sac.  Union,  July  21,  Nov.  7,  1855;  S.  F.  Bulletin, 
June  19,  1856.  Attempts  were  also  made  at  beach  mining.  In  Monterey 
county  a  ripple  was  created  by  a  placer  at  Pacheco  Pass,  which  for  a  brief 
period  yielded  from  85  to  $9  a  day.  Sac.  Transcript,  Feb.  14,  28,  1851;  S.  F. 
Picayune,  Jan.  26,  1851.  In  1855-6  San  Antonio  Creek  attracted  attention 
with  a  yield  of  $3  to  $5  a  day,  and  occasional  richer  developments;  also  Cow 
Creek.  Sac.  Union,  March  23,  June  20,  Nov.  17,  1855;  Apr.  23,  1856;  Alta 
CaL,  Mar.  21,  1855.  Feb.  7,  Apr.  21,  1856;  Hist.  Mont.  Co.,  95;  S.  F.  Bulk- 
tin,  Feb.  7,  1856.  Rumors  of  placers  near  the  southern  end  of  S.  F.  Bay,  even 
around  Oakland  and  Mount  Diablo,  floated  at  one  time.  Sac.  Transcript,  June 
29,  1850;  Sac.  Union,  Feb.  7,  1856;  Hittell,  Mining,  27;  and  San  Francisco 
had  indications  on  Telegraph  Hill.  Annals  S.  F.,  417-18;  leakages  from 
miners'  bags  caused  once  or  twice  a  scramble  at  the  plaza,  Taylor's  El 
dorado,  ii.  60-1 ;  and  Bernal  Heights  gave  food  for  vain  excitements  in  later 
years.  In  Marin  county  a  little  mining  was  done  in  later  years.  Hist.  Marin 
Co.,  288,  311,  378-82;  and  on  the  Russian  River  some  indications  lured  to 
iinsuccessful  attempts.  T.  M.  Smyth  obtained  a  little  dust  from  Dry  Creek. 
Russian  R.  Flag.,  Jan.  22,  1874;  Alta  CaL,  Sept.  20,  1853;  Apr.  6-7,  1855; 
Sac.  Union,  May  30,  1855;  signs  at  Bodega,  Hist.  Sonoma  Co.,  29-38;  and 
in  Colusa.  Colusa  Co.  Annual,  1878,  46.  Equally  feeble  were  the  prospects 
in  Mendocino,  but  in  the  adjoining  Trinity  county  the  auriferous  Sierra 
Nevada  again  revealed  itself. 


CHAPTER  XV 

GEOLOGICAL   AND  SOCIAL  ANATOMY   OF   THE   MINES. 
1848-1856. 

PHYSICAL  FORMATION  OF  THE  CALIFORNIA  VALLEY — THE  THREE  GEOLOGIC 
BELTS— PHYSICAL  ASPECT  OF  THE  GOLD  REGIONS— GEOLOGIC  FORMA 
TIONS —  INDICATIONS  THAT  INFLUENCE  THE  PROSPECTOR— ORIGIN  OF 
RUSHES  AND  CAMPS — SOCIETY  ALONG  THE  FOOTHILLS— HUT  AND  CAMP 
LIFE — SUNDAY  IN  THE  MINES — CATALOGUE  OF  CALIFORNIA  MINING 
RUSHES— MARIPOSA,  KERN,  OCEAN  BEACH,  NEVADA,  GOLD  LAKE,  LOST 
CABIN,  GOLD  BLUFF,  SISKIYOU,  SONORA,  AUSTRALIA,  ERASER  RIVER, 
NEVADA,  COLORADO,  AND  THE  REST- -MINING  LAWS  AND  REGULATIONS 
—MINING  TAX— DISCRIMINATION  AGAINST  FOREIGNERS. 

THE  largest  and  most  important  section  of  California, 
between  latitudes  35°  and  41°,  may  be  divided  into 
three  geological  as  well  as  physical  belts,  beginning 
at  the  main  axial  line  drawn  from  Mount  Shasta 
through  the  leading  summit  peaks  of  the  Sierra 
Nevada  for  nearly  500  miles.  The  limit  of  the  first 
belt  would  be  a  line  50  miles  westward  along  the  edge 
of  the  foothills,  touching  at  Red  Bluff  and  Visalia. 
The  next  belt,  of  equal  width,  would  be  bounded  by 
the  eastern  edge  of  the  Coast  Range,  and  the  third 
belt  by  the  coast  line.1  A  fourth  belt  may  be  added, 
which,  extending  eastward  from  the  Sierra  summit, 
falls  partly  within  Nevada,  and  covers  a  series  of  lakes, 
arid  depressions,  and  tracts  marked  by  volcanic,  con 
vulsions.  South  of  the  great  valley,  where  the  united 
ranges  subdivide  into  low  and  straggling  elevations, 

1  Prof.  Whitney,  upon  whose  Geol.  Survey  ofCal.,  i.  2  et  seq.,  I  base  these 
observations,  makes  the  belts  55  miles  wide,  and  adds  a  fourth,  eastward 
from  the  Sierra  crest.  The  zonal  parallelism  of  the  metals  in  these  belts  was 
first  observed  by  Prof.  Blake. 

(381) 


382  ANATOMY  OF  THE  MINES. 

this  belt  supplants  it  with  vast  deserts,  the  topography 
of  which  is  as  yet  obscure,  like  that  of  the  confused 
mountain  masses  of  the  northern  border. 

The  second  and  third  belts  embrace  the  agricul 
tural  districts,  with  the  broad  level  of  the  California 
valley;  yet  they  contain  a  certain  amount  of  mineral 
deposits.  Solfataric  action  is  still  marked  in  the  Coast 
Range,  especially  in  the  hot  springs  of  the  Clear  Lake 
region.  Its  rocks  are  as  a  rule  sandstones,  shales, 
and  slates  of  cretaceous  and  tertiary  formations,  with 
a  proportion  of  limestone,  granite  being  rare  except 
in  the  south.  The  metamorphism  of  the  sedimentary 
beds,  chiefly  chemical,  is  so  prevalent  as  to  render  the 
distinction  of  eruptive  rocks  difficult.  Most  striking 
is  the  vast  transformation  of  slates  into  serpentines, 
and  partly  into  jaspers,  the  combination  of  which  in 
dicate  the  presence  of  valuable  cinnabar  bodies.  In 
the  sandstones  of  these  cretaceous  formations  occur 
all  the  important  coal  beds  so  far  discovered.  The 
tertiary  strata,  chiefly  miocene  of  marine  source,  but 
little  changed,  begin  properly  south  of  Clear  Lake 
and  assume  importance  below  Carquinez,  where  they 
appear  much  tilted.  South  of  latitude  35°  bituminous 
slate  predominates  in  the  shale  overlying  the  coarse 
sandstone,  and  contains  deposits  of  superficial  asphal- 
tum,  with  promising  indications  of  flowing  petroleum. 
Below  Los  Angeles  the  rocks  acquire  more  of  the 
crystalline  character  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  and  in  the 
Temescal  range,  with  its  granite,  porphyry,  and  meta- 
morphic  sandstone,  tin  ore  has  been  found.  Along 
the  San  Gabriel  range  gold  exists ;  but  while  pliocene 
gravels  are  frequent  enough  along  the  Coast  Range, 
the  metal  seldom  occurs  in  paying  quantities. 

The  gold  region  is  practically  confined  to  the  first 
belt,  along  the  west  slopes  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  in 
tersected  by  nearly  parallel  rivers,  and  broken  by  deep 
canons.  An  intrusive  core  of  granite  forms  the  cen 
tral  feature,  which  becomes  gradually  more  exposed 
and  extensive,  till,  in  latitude  36-7°,  it  reaches  almost 


GEOLOGICAL  AND  PHYSICAL.  383 

from  crest  to  plain.  The  core  is  flanked  by  metamor- 
phic  slates  of  triassic  and  Jurassic  age,  much  tilted, 
often  vertical,  the  strike  being  generally  parallel  with 
the  axis  of  the  range,  and  in  the  south  dipping  toward 
the  east.  This  so-called  auriferous  slate  formation 
consists  of  metamorphic,  crystalline,  argillaceous,  chlo- 
ritic,  and  talcose  slates.  In  the  extreme  north-west 
it  appears  with  though  subordinate  to  granite.  Grad 
ually  it  gains  in  importance  as  the  superimposed  lava 
in  Butte  and  Plumas  counties  decreases,  and  north  of 
the  American  River  it  expands  over  nearly  the  entire 
slope ;  but  after  this  it  again  contracts,  especially  south 
of  Mariposa;  beyond  the  junction  of  the  ranges  it  re 
appears  in  connection  with  granite.  To  the  same  for 
mation  are  confined  the  payable  veins  of  gold  quartz,2 
chiefly  in  the  vicinity  of  crystalline  and  eruptive  rocks. 
They  vary  in  thickness  from  a  line  to  twoscore  feet 
or  more,  and  follow  a  course  which  usually  coincides 
with  that  of  the  mountain  chain,  that  is,  north-north 
west  with  a  steep  dip  eastward.3  The  most  remark 
able  vein  is  the  extensive  mother  lode  of  the  Sierra 
Nevada,  which  has  been  traced  for  over  60  miles  from 
the  Cosumnes  to  Mariposa.4 

The  slate  formation  is  covered  by  cretaceous,  ter 
tiary,  and  post-tertiary  deposits,  of  which  the  marine 
sedimentary,  chiefly  soft  sandstone,  made  up  of  granite 
debris,  occurs  all  along  the  foothills,  conspicuously  in 
Kern  county.  The  lava  region  extends  through  Plumas 
and  Butte  northward  round  the  volcanic  cones  headed 
by  mounts  Lassen  and  Shasta,  whose  overflows  have 

2  The  quartz  occurs  in  granite,  and  in  the  Coast  Range,  but  rarely  in  pay 
ing  quantities. 

3  The  richer  streak  along  the  footwall,  or  in  the  lower  side  of  the  lode,  is 
often  the  only  payable  part.     Sometimes  a  lode  contains  streaks  of  different 
qualities  and  appearance.     According  to  Marcon,  Geol.,  82,  the  richest  veins 
of  California  are  found  where  sienitic  granite  and  trap  meet.     Branches  and 
offsets  often  cut  through  the  slate  beds  at  considerable  angles. 

*  It  runs  south-east,  while  veins  in  the  Sacramento  valley  turn  more  nearly 
north  and  south.  Its  dip  is  45°  lo  the  north-east.  The  white  quartz  is  di 
vided  into  a  multitude  of  seams,  with  gray  and  brown  discoloration,  and  with 
small  proportions  of  iron,  lead,  and  other  metals.  The  accompanying  side 
veins  contain  the  rich  deposits.  Blakeslee.  The  width  may  average  30  feet, 
the  thickness  from  2  to  16  feet,  though  deepening  to  many  rods. 


384  ANATOMY  OF  THE  MINES. 

hidden  the  gold  formation  of  so  large  an  area.  The 
wide-spread  deposits  of  gravel  are  attributed  to  a  sys 
tem  of  tertiary  rivers  long  since  filled  up  and  dead, 
which  ran  in  nearly  the  same  direction  as  the  present 
streams,  and  with  greater  slope  and  wider  channels. 
Eroding  the  auriferous  slates  and  their  quartz  veins, 
these  river  currents  spread  the  detritus  in  deposits 
varying  from  fine  clay  and  sand  to  rolled  pebbles,  and 
bowlders  weighing  several  tons,  and  extending  from 
perhaps  300  or  400  feet  in  width  at  the  bottom  to 
several  thousand  feet  at  the  top,  and  from  a  depth  of 
a  few  inches  to  600  or  700  feet.  The  whole  mass  is 
permeated  with  gold,5  the  larger  lumps  remaining 
near  their  source,  while  the  finer  particles  were  carried 
along  for  miles.6  The  most  remarkable  of  these  gravel 
currents  is  the  Dead  Blue  River,  so  called  from  the 
bluish  color  of  the  sand  mixed  with  the  pebbles  and 
bowlders,  which  runs  parallel  to  the  Sacramento  some 
fifty  miles  east  ward,  with  an  average  width  of  a  quarter 
of  a  mile.7  The  depth  of  detritus  averages  three  hun 
dred  feet,  and  is  very  rich  in  the  lower  parts,  where  the 
debris  is  coarser  and  full  of  quartz.  Although  the 
so-called  pay  dirt,  or  remunerative  stratum,  lies  in  allu 
vial  deposits  nearly  always  within  ten  feet  of  the  bed 
rock,  and  frequently  permeates  this  for  a  foot  or  so  in 
the  slate  formations,  yet  the  top  layers  often  contain 

5  Fossil  wood  and  animals  are  found  here,  and  occasionally  layers  of  lava  and 
tufa  often  sedimentary,  and  some  superimposed,  others  in  alternation.     The 
deposits  at  La  Grange,  Stanislaus,  in  a  distance  of  1|  miles  cross  4  widely 
varying  formations,  with  elephant  remains  embedded.     Some  of  these  dead 
rivers  present  peculiar  features;  instance  the  Tuolumne  table  mountain,  30 
miles  long  by  half  a  mile  in  width,  which  consists  of  a  lava  flow  upon  the  rich 
gravel  of  an  ancient  river-bed.     The  waters  forced  aside  by  this  flow  washed 
away  the  banks  on  either  side,  leaving  the  lava  isolated  above  the  surrounding 
soil,  with  steep  sides  and  a  bare  level  top. 

6  The  smaller  and  smoother  the  gold,  so  the  gravel,  and  nearer  the  bottom 
lands. 

7  The  driftwood  in  it,  the  course  of   the  tributary  gravel  currents,  the 
position  of  the  bowlders,  etc.,  indicate  a  stream,  and  one  of  mighty  force,  to 
judge  by  the  size  of  the  bowlders;  yet  some  scientists  object  to  the  river-bed 
theory.     A  line  of  towns  stands  along  its  course  through  Sierra  and  Placer 
counties,  65  miles,  which  shows  a  descent  from  4,700  to  2,700  feet,  or  37  feet 
per  mile.     But  subterranean  upheavals  may  have  effected  it.     North  of  Sierra 
county  it  is  covered  by  lava,  and  south  of  Placer  it  has  been  washed  away  or 
covered  by  later  alluvium. 


PROSPECTING.  385 

gold  in  payable  quantities,  even  in  the  upper  portions 
of  high  banks,  which  can  be  washed  by  cheap  hy 
draulic  process.8 

The  miners  were  a  nomadic  race,  with  prospectors 
for  advance  guard.  Prospecting,  the  search  for  new 
gold-fields,  was  partly  compulsory,  for  the  over-crowded 
camp  or  district  obliged  the  new-comer  to  pass  onward, 
or  a  claim  worked  out  left  no  alternative.  But  in 
early  days  the  incentive  lay  greatly  in  the  cravings  of 
a  feverish  imagination,  excited  by  fanciful  camp-fire 
tales  of  huge  ledges  and  glittering  nuggets,  the  sources 
of  these  bare  sprinkling  of  precious. metals  which  cost 
so  much  toil  to  collect.  Distance  assists  to  conjure 
up  mirages  of  ever-increasing  enchantment,  encircled 
by  the  romance  of  adventure,  until  growing  unrest 
makes  hitherto  well-yielding  and  valued  claims  seem 
unworthy  of  attention,  and  drives  the  holder  forth  to 
rove.  He  bakes  bread  for  the  requirements  of  several 
days,  takes  a  little  salt,  and  the  cheering  flask,  and 
with  cup  and  pan,  pick  and  shovel,  attached  to  the 

8 Fine  gold  has  frequently  been  found  in  grass  roots,  as  observed  also  in 
Walsh's  Brazil,  ii.  122.  At  Bath  a  stratum  100  feet  above  the  bed-rock  was 
drifted  profitably,  and  the  top  dirt  subsequently  washed  by  hydraulic  method. 
In  Nevada  county  the  bulk  of  pay  dirt  is  within  30  feet  of  the  bottom.  The 
deposits  at  French  Hill,  Stanislaus,  show  that  an  undulating  bed-rock  gathers 
richer  dirt,  yet  in  certain  currents  bars  and  points  catch  the  gold  rather  than 
pools  and  bends,  as  proved  also  in  Australia.  Gold  Fields  of  Victoria,  134.  The 
sand  layers  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  drifts  contain  little  gold.  In  the  gravel 
strata  at  Malakoff,  Nevada  county,  a  shaft  of  200  feet  yielded  from  2.9  to  3.8 
cents  per  cubic  yard  from  the  first  120  feet,  from  the  remainder  32.9  cents, 
the  last  8  feet  producing  from  5  to  20  cents  per  pan.  Bowies  Hydraulic  Mining, 
74-5.  There  are  also  instances  of  richer  strata  lying  some  distance  above  a 
poor  bed-rock.  The  dead  rivers  are  richer  in  gold  than  the  present  streams, 
and  when  these  have  cut  through  the  former  they  at  once  reveal  greater  wealth. 
In  addition  to  Cat.  Geol.  Survey,  see  Browne's  Min.  Res.,  1867;  Whitney's  Aurif. 
Gravels,  516,  etc.;  Laur.  Gisement  de  I'Or.  Cal,  Ann.  des  Mines,  iii.  412,  etc.; 
Sillimans  Deep  Placers;  Phillip's  Mining,  37  et  seq. ;  Bowie's  Hydraul.  Mining, 
53  etseq.;  Hittell's  Mining,  66etseq.;  Balch's  Mines,  159  et  seq.;  Trade's  Geol. 
of  Coast  Arts,  42-68;  Hayes1  Mining,  v.  393,  398;  ix.  6  et  seq.;  Cal.  Jour.  Sen., 
1853,  ap.  59;  1856,  ap.  14;  Sac.  Union,  Mar.  12,  27-9,  Aug.  10,  Oct.  13,  27, 
1855;  Tyson's  Geol.  Cal.;  Cal.  Geol.  Survey,  Rept  Com.,  1852.  Blake,  in  Pac. 
R.  R.  Rept,  v.  217  etc.,  classified  the  placers  as  coarse  bowlder-like  drifts, 
river  drifts,  or  coarse  alluvium,  alluvial  deposits  on  flats  and  locustrine  de 
posits  made  at  the  bottom  of  former  lakes,  all  of  which  have  been  greatly 
changed  by  upheavals,  transformed  river  systems,  and  the  erosion  of  currents. 
Additional  geologic  points  are  given  in  connection  with  the  districts  and 
counties. 

HIST.  CAL.,  VOL,  VL    25 


386  ANATOMY  OF  THE  MINES. 

blanket  strapped  to  his  back,  he  sallies  forth,  a  trusty 
rifle  in  hand  for  defence  and  for  providing  meat.  If 
well  off  he  transfers-  the  increased  burden  to  a  pack- 
animal;  but  as  often  he  may  be  obliged  to  eke  it  out 
with  effects  borrowed  from  a  confiding  friend  or  store 
keeper.9 

Following  a  line  parallel  to  the  range,  northward  or 
south,  across  ridges  and  ravines,  through  dark  gorges, 
or  up  some  rushing  stream,  at  one  time  he  is  seized 
with  a  consciousness  of  slumbering  nuggets  beneath 
his  feet,  at  another  he  is  impelled  onward  to  seek 
the  parent  mass;  but  prudence  prevails  upon  him 
not  to  neglect  the  indications  of  experience,  the  hy 
pothetical  watercourses  and  their  confluences  in  dry 
tracts,  the  undisturbed  bars  of  the  living  streams, 
where  its  eddies  have  thrown  up  sand  and  gravel,  the 
softly  rounded  gravel-bearing  hill,  the  crevices  of  ex 
posed  rocks,  or  the  out-cropping  quartz  veins  along  the 
bank  and  hillside.  Often  the  revelation  comes  by 
accident,  which  upsets  sober-minded  calculation;  for 
where  a  child  may  stumble  upon  pounds  of  metal, 
human  nature  can  hardly  be  content  to  toil  for  a  piti 
ful  ounce. 

.Rumors  of  success  are  quickly  started,  despite  all 
care  by  the  finder  to  keep  a  divscovery  secret,  at  least 
for  a  time.  The  compulsion  to  replenish  the  larder  is 
sufficient  to  point  the  trail,  and  the  fox-hound's  scent 
for  its  prey  is  not  keener  than  that  of  the  miner  for 
gold.  One  report  starts  another;  and  some  morning 
an  encampment  is  roused  by  files  of  men  hurrying 
away  across  the  ridge  to  new-found  treasures. 

Then  spring  up  a  camp  of  leafy  arbors,  brush  huts, 
and  peaked  tents,  in  bold  relief  upon  the  naked  bar,  dot 
ting  the  hillside  in  picturesque  confusion,  or  nestling 

9  In  Valle,  Doc.,  72  et  seq.,  are  several  agreements  for  repayment  of  outfits 
and  advances  in  money  or  in  shares  of  the  expected  discoveries.  Advice  for 
outfits  in  Pkicer  Times  and  Atia  Cal,  Aug.  2,  1849.  Wheaton,  Stat.,  MS.,  9, 
and  other  pioneers  testify  to  the  honesty  with  which  such  loans  were  repaid. 
Later  the  '  tenderfoot, '  or  new-comer,  would  be  greeted  by  weather-beaten 
and  dilapidated  prospectors  who  offered  to  find  him  a  dozen  good  claims  if 
provided  with  a  'grub-stake,'  that  is,  an  outfit  of  provisions  and  tools. 


EVOLUTION  OF  THE  MINING  CAMP.  387 

beneath  the  foliage.  The  sounds  of  crowbar  and  pick 
reecho  from  the  cliffs,  and  roll  off  upon  the  breeze 
mingled  with  the  hum  of  voices  from  bronzed  and 
hairy  men,  who  delve  into  the  banks  and  hill-slope, 
coyote  into  the  mountain  side,  burrow  in  the  gloom  of 
tunnels  and  shafts,  and  breast  the  river  currents. 
Soon  drill  and  blast  increase  the  din;  flumes  and 
ditches  creep  along  the  canon  walls  to  turn  great 
wheels  and  creaking  pumps.  Over  the  ridges  come 
the  mule  trains,  winding  to  the  jingle  of  the  leader's  bell 
and  the  shouts  of  arrieros,  with  fresh  wanderers  in  the 
wake,  bringing  supplies  and  consumers  for  the  stores, 
drinking-saloons,  and  hotels  that  form  the  solitary 
main  street.  Here  is  the  valve  for  the  pent-up  spirit 
of  the  toilers,  lured  nightly  by  the  illumined  canvas 
walls,  and  the  boisterous  mirth  of  revellers,  noisy,  oath- 
breathing,  and  shaggy;  the  richer  the  more  dissolute, 
yet  as  a  rule  good-natured  and  law-abiding.10  The 
chief  cause  for  trouble  lay  in  the  cup,  for  the  general 
display  of  arms  served  to  awe  criminals  by  the  intima 
tion  of  summary  punishment;  yet  theft  found  a  certain 
encouragement  in  the  ease  of  escape  among  the  ever- 
moving  crowds,  with  little  prospect  of  pursuit  by  pre 
occupied  miners.11 

The  great  gathering  in  the  main  street  was  on  Sun 
days,  when  after  a  restful  morning,  though  unbroken 
by  the  peal  of  church  bells,  the  miners  gathered  from 
hills  and  ravines  for  miles  around  for  marketing  and 
relaxation.  It  was  the  harvest  day  for  the  gamblers, 
who  raked  in  regularly  the  weekly  earnings  of  the 
improvident,  and  then  sent  them  to  the  store  for 
credit  to  work  out  another  gambling  stake.  Drinking- 

10  Conspicuous  arms  add  to  the  unfavorable  impression  of  language  and  ap 
pearance,  '  but  strange  to  say,  I  never  saw  a  more  orderly  congregation,  or 
such  good  behavior  in  such  bad  company, '  writes  Coke,  Ride,  360.     Gov.  Riley 
reported  in  similar  commendatory  strains.    U.  S.  Goo.  Doc.,  Cong.  31,  Sess.  1, 
H.  Ex.  Doc.  17,  p.  780-9.     Borthwick,  CaL,  171-4,  found  camp  hotels  in  1851 
charging  from  $12  to  $15  per  week.     Meals  were  served  at  a  long  table,  for 
which  there  was  generally  a  scramble.     With  1850  crockery,  table-cloths,  and 
other  signs  of  refinement  began  to  appear.  Delano's  Life,  200. 

11  See  the  testimony  of  Borthwick,  63,  Randolph,  Stnt.,  MS.,  10,  and  others, 
and  details  of  crime  in  my  Popular  Tribunal,',  i.  143,  435,  521-3,  586,  etc. 


388  ANATOMY  OF  THE  MINES. 

saloons  were  crowded  all  day,  drawing  pi  rich  after 
pinch  of  gold-dust  from  the  buck-skin  bags  of  the 
miners,  who  felt  lonely  if  they  could  not  share  their 
gains  with  bar-keepers  as  well  as  friends.  And  enough 
there  were  of  these  to  drain  their  purses  and  sustain 
their  rags.  Besides  the  gambler,  whose  abundance 
of  means,  leisure,  and  self-possession  gave  him  an 
influence  second  in  this  respect  only  to  that  of  the 
store-keeper,  the  general  referee,  adviser,  and  provider, 
there  was  the  bully,  who  generally  boasted  of  his 
prowess  as  a  scalp-hunter  and  duellist  with  fist  or  pistol, 
and  whose  following  of  reckless  loafers  acquired  for 
him  an  unenviable  power  in  the  less  reputable  camps, 
which  at  times  extended  to  terrorism.12  His  opposite 
was  the  effeminate  dandy,  whose  regard  for  dress  sel 
dom  reconciled  him  to  the  rough  shirt,  sash-bound, 
tucked  pantaloons,  awry  boots,  and  slouchy  bespattered 
hat  of  the  honest,  unshaved  miner,  and  whose  gin 
gerly  handling  of  implements  bespoke  in  equal  con 
sideration  for  his  hands  and  back.  Midway  stood  the 
somewhat  turbulent  Irishman,  ever  atoning  for  his 
weakness  by  an  infectious  humor;  the  rotund  Dutch 
man  ready  to  join  in  the  laugh  raised  at  his  own 
expense;  the  rollicking  sailor,  widely  esteemed  as  a 
favorite  of  fortune.  This  reputation  was  allowed  also 
to  the  Hispano  Californians,  and  tended  here  to  cre 
ate  the  prejudice  which  fostered  their  clannishness.1* 
Around  flitted  Indians,  some  half-naked,  others  in 
gaudy  and  ill-assorted  covering,  cast-off  like  them 
selves,  and  fit  subjects  for  the  priests  and  deacons, 
who,  after  preaching  long  and  fervently  against  the 
root  of  evil,  had  come  to  tear  it  out  by  hand.14 

12 Bor^hwick.  Cat,  134,  makes  most  of  these  ruffians  western  border  men. 
Lamfiertie,  Voy.,  259,  declaims  against  the  roughness  and  brutal  egotism  of 
certain  classes  of  Americans. 

13  Letts,  Cat.,  103-4,  remarks  on  the  luck  attending  sailors,  etc.     Military 
deserters  abounded.     Riley  appealed  to  people  to  aid  in  restoring  deserters 
from  the  war  and  merchant  vessels,  partly  to  insure  greater  protection  and 
cheapness.  S.   D.  Arch.,  iv.   349;    Wiltey**  Mem.,  80;  Carson  s  Rec.,    17-19; 
Reveres  Keel,  16-24;  Unbound  Doc.,  327-8;  Fishers  Gal,  42-9;  Barry  and  Pat 
tens  Men,  263,  287-98,  with  comments  on  Spanish  American  traits. 

14  Their  open-air  meetings  attracted  some  by  their  novelty,  others  as  a 
means  for  easy  penance. 


CABIN  ROUTINE.  389 

On  week  days  dulness  settled  upon  the  camp,  and 
life  was  distributed  among  clusters  of  tents  and 
huts,  some  of  them  sanctified  by  the  presence  of 
woman,15  as  indicated  by  the  garden  patch  with  flow 
ers  For  winter,  log  and  clapboard  houses  replaced 
to  a  great  extent  the  precarious  tent  and  brush  hut,16 
although  frequently  left  with  sodded  floor,  bark  roof, 
and  a  split  log  for  the  door.  The  interior  was  scantily 
provided  with  a  fixed  frame  of  sticks  supporting  a 
stretched  canvas  bed,  or  bolster  of  leaves  and  straw. 
A  similarly  rooted  table  was  at  times  supplemented 
by  an  old  chest,  with  a  bench  or  blocks  of  wood  for 
seats.  A  shelf  with  some  dingy  books  and  papers,  a 
broken  mirror  and  newspaper  illustrations  adorned  the 
walls,  and  at  one  end  gaped  a  rude  hearth  of  stones 
and  mud,  with  its  indispensable  frying-pan  and  pot,  and 
in  the  corner  a  flour- bag,  a  keg  or  two,  and  some  cans 
with  preserved  food.  The  disorder  indicated  a  batch- 
elor's  quarters,  the  trusty  rifle  and  the  indispensable 
flask  and  tobacco  at  times  playing  hide  and  seek  in 
the  scattered  rubbish.17 

The  inmates  were  early  astir,  and  the  cabin  stood 
deserted  throughout  the  day,  save  when  some  friend 
or  wanderer  might  enter  its  unlocked  precincts,  wel 
come  to  its  comforts,  or  when  the  owners  could  afford 
to  return  for  a  siesta  during  the  midday  heat.18 
Toward  sunset  the  miners  came  filing  back  along  the 
ravines,  gathering  sticks  for  the  kitchen  fire,  and 
merrily  speeding  their  halloos  along  the  cliffs,  whatso 
ever  may  have  been  the  fortune  of  the  day.  If  sev 
eral  belonged  to  the  mess,  each  took  his  turn  as  cook, 

15  Not  a  few  joined  their  husbands  in  gold-washing.  Cal.  Courier,  Dec.  7, 
1850;  Grans  Vol.  Directory,  1856,  44;  Burnett's  Kec.,  MS.,  ii.  150-3;  S.  J. 
Pioneer,  Nov.  23,  1878;  Santa  fiosa  Democ,,  Aug.  29,  1876. 

16 The  latter  made  of  four  corner  posts  covered  with  leafy  brushwood,  the 
sides  at  times  with  basket-work  filling.  Others  erected  a  sort  of  brush  tent 
with  a  ridge-pole  upheld  at  one  end  by  a  tree  and  supporting  sloping  sticks 
upon  which  the  brush  was  piled. 

17  The  kitchen  fire  was  in  summer  as  often  kindled  beneath  a  tree,  in  the 
smoke  of  which  dangled  the  ham  bone.     No  sooner  was  a  cabin  erected  than 
a  large  black  species  of  rat  nestled  beneath  it,  to  make  raids  on  food  and 
clothing. 

18  We  returned  to  work  at  3  P.  M.    Wheatons  Stat.,  MS.,  6. 


390  ANATOMY  OF  THE  MINES. 

and  preceded  the  rest  to  prepare  the  simple  food  of 
salt  pork  and  beans,  perhaps  a  chop  or  steak,  tea  or 
coffee,  arid  the  bread  or  flapjack,  the  former  baked 
with  saleratus,  the  latter  consisting  of  mere  flour  and 
water  and  a  pinch  of  salt,  mixed  in  the  gold-pan  and 
fried  with  some  grease.19  Many  a  solitary  miner  de 
voted  Sunday  to  prepare  supplies  of  bread  and  coffee 
for  the  week.  Exhausted  nature  joined  with  custom 
in  sustaining  a  change  of  routine  for  this  day,20  and 
here  it  became  one  for  renovation,  bodily  and  mental, 
foremost  in  mending  and  washing,  brushing  up  the 
cabin,  and  preparing  for  the  coming  week's  campaign, 
then  for  recreation  at  the  village.  Every  evening  also, 
the  camp  fire,  replenished  by  the  cook,  drew  convivial 
souls  to  feast  on  startling  tales  or  yarns  of  treasure- 
troves,  on  merry  songs  with  pan  and  kettle  accom 
paniment,  on  the  varying  fortunes  of  the  cards.  A. 
few  found  greater  interest  in  a  book,  and  others,  lulled 
by  the  hum  around,  sank  into  reverie  of  home  and 
boyhood  scenes. 

The  young  and  unmated  could  not  fail  to  find 
allurement  in  this  free  and  bracing  life,  with  its  nature 
environment,  devoid  of  conventionalisms  and  fettering 
artificiality,  with  its  appeal  to  the  roving  instinct  and 
love  of  adventure,  and  its  fascinating  vistas  of  enrich 
ment.  Little  mattered  to  them  occasional  privations21 
and  exposure,  which  were  generally  self-imposed  and 
soon  forgotten  midst  the  excitement  of  gold-hunting. 
Even  sickness  passed  out  of  mind  like  a  fleeting  night- 

19 The  Australian  'damper,'  formed  by  baking  the  dough  beneath  a  thick 
layer  of  hot  ashes,  prevailed  to  some  extent.  While  heavy,  it  retained  an 
appetizing  moisture  for  several  days.  Americans  preferred  to  use  saleratus, 
for  which  sedlitz  and  other  powders  were  at  times  substituted.  Low's  Stat., 
MS.,  3-4.  The  flapjack  was  also  roasted  by  placing  the  pan  upright  before 
the  fire.  Bortkwick's  Cal ,  152-6;  Helper  s  Land,  156-7.  Coffee  could  be  ground 
by  crushing  a  small  bagful  between  stones. 

20  Perry,  Travels,  90-1,  observes  that  fines  were  sometimes  good-humoredly 
exacted  from  workers  on  this  day.     In  some  districts  a  briefer  season  con 
verted  Sunday  into  a  cleaning-up  day,  when  the  sluice  washing  was  panned 
out.     There  were  no  laundries  in  the  camps,  and  had  there  been  their  prices 
would  not  have  suited  the  miner. 

21  With  scanty  supplies,  as  when  rain  or  snow  held  back  the  trains.  Pac. 
News,  Dec.  22,  1849;  Armstrongs  Expfor.,  MS.,  13. 


FATE  OF  THE  MINER.  391 

mare.22  And  so  they  kept  on  in  pursuit  of  the  will-o'- 
the-wisp  of  their  fancy,  neglecting  moderate  prospects 
from  which  prudent  men  were  constantly  getting  a 
competency.  At  times  alighting  upon  a  little  'pile/ 
which  too  small  for  the  rising  expectation  was  lav 
ishly  squandered,  at  times  descending  to  wage-working 
for  relief.  Thus  they  drifted  along  in  semi-beggary, 
from  snow-clad  ranges  to  burning  plain,  brave  and 
hardy,  gay  and  careless,  till  lonely  age  crept  up  to 
confine  them  to  some  ruined  hamlet,  emblematic  of 
their  shattered  hopes — to  find  an  unnoticed  grave  in 
the  auriferous  soil  which  they  had  loved  too  well.23 
Shrewder  men  with  better  directed  energy  took  what 
fortune  gave,  or  combining  with  others  for  vast  enter 
prises,  in  tunnels  and  ditches,  hydraulic  and  quartz 
mining,24  then  turning,  with  declining  prospects,  to 
different  pursuits  to  aid  in  unfolding  latent  resources, 
introducing  new  industries,  and  adding  their  quota  to 
progress,  throwing  aside  with  a  roaming  life  the 
loose  habits  of  dress  and  manner.  This  was  the 
American  adaptability  and  self-reliance  which,  though 
preferring  independence  of  action,  could  organize  and 
fraternize  with  true  spirit,  could  build  up  the  greatest 
of  mining  commonwealths,  give  laws  to  distant  states, 
import  fresh  impulse  to  the  world's  commerce,  and 
foster  the  development  of  resources  and  industries 
throughout  the  Pacific.25 

22  Nature  and  causes  in  the  chapters  on  society  and  population.  See  also 
Riveres  Keel,  251-^t;  Carsons  Rec.,  39;  Brooks  Four  Mo.,  183.    Buffum,  Six 
Mo.,  97,  refers  to  early  scurvy  from  lack  of  vegetables  and  acids.    Burnett's 
Rec.,  MS.,  iL  237;  AUaCal.,  Dec.  15,  1849;  CoUon's  Three  Years,  339. 

23  The  incident  of  finding  a  corpse  on  Feather  River,  and  by  its  side  a 
plate  with  the  inscription,  '  Deserted  by  my  friends,  but  not  by  God'— Cal., 
Misc.  Hist.  Pap.,  26,  p.  10 — applies  to  many  of  these  Wandering  Jews  of  the 
gold  region.    Parsons,  Life  of  Marshall,  157-61,  gives  a  characteristic  sketch  of 
a  miner's  burial.     Woods,  Pioneer,  108,  tells  of  a  miner  crazed  by  good  for 
tune.     The  habit  of  Americans  to  'rap-dement  depunser  1'or  quils  recueill- 
eront '  is  a  blessing  as  compared  with  the  hoarding  of  the  Russians,  observes 
the  Revue  des  Deux  Monties,  Feb.  1,  1849. 

24  It  is  a  not  uncommon  story  where  the  poor  holders  of  a  promising  claim 
divided  forces,  some  to  earn  money  as  wage-workers  wherewith  to  supply 
means  for  the  rest  to  develop  the  mines. 

23  From  Chile  to  Alaska,  from  the  Amur  to  Australia.  For  traits,  see 
Bonwicks  Mormons,  350-1,  370-1,  379,  391:  Hutchings  Mag.,  i.  218,  340;  iii.  343, 
469,  50&-19;  iv.  452,  497;  King's  Mountaineering,  285;'  Buffum  and  Brooks, 


392  ANATOMY  OF  THE  MINES. 

The  broader  effect  of  prospecting,  in  opening  new 
fields,  was  attended  by  the  peculiar  excitement  known  as 
rushes,  for  which  Californians  evinced  a  remarkable 
tendency,  possessed  as  they  were  by  an  excitable  tem 
perament  and  love  of  change,  with  a  propensity  for 
speculation.  This  spirit,  indeed,  had  guided  them  on 
the  journey  to  the  distant  shores  of  the  Pacific,  and 
perhaps  one  step  farther  might  bring  them  to  the  glit 
tering  goal  The  discoveries  and  troves  made  daily 
around  them  were  so  interesting  as  to  render  any  tale 
of  gold  credible.  An  effervescing  society,  whose  day's 
work  was  but  a  wager  against  the  hidden  treasure  of 
nature,  was  readily  excited  by  every  breeze  of  rumor. 
Even  men  with  valuable  claims,  yielding  perhaps  $20 
or  $40  a  day,  would  be  seized  by  the  vision  and  follow 
it,  in  hopes  of  still  greater  returns.  Others  had  ex 
hausted  their  working-ground,  or  lay  under  enforced 
inactivity  for  lack  or  excess  of  water,  according  to  the 
nature  of  the  field,  and  were  consequently  prepared  to 
join  the  current  of  less  fortunate  adventurers.26 

So  that  the  phenomenon  of  men  rushing  hither  and 
thither  for  gold  was  constant  enough  within  the  dis 
tricts  to  keep  the  population  ever  ready  to  assist  in 
extending  the  field  beyond  them.  The  Mariposa 
region  received  an  influx  in  1849,27  which  two  years 
later  flitted  into  Kern,  yet  left  no  impression  to  guard 
against  the  great  Kern  River  excitement  of  1855, 
when  the  state  was  disturbed  by  the  movement  of 

passim;  Merrill's  Stat.,  MS.,  5,  10;  Cassin's  Stat.,  MS.,  18;  Miscel.  Stat.,  MS., 
10,  etc.;  Wide  West.,  Jan.  1855;  Pioneer  Mag.,  i.  273,  347;  CapronsCal,  236; 
S.  F.  Bulletin,  Jan.  4,  1858;  Borthwick's  CaL,  passim;  Polynesian,  vi.  78,  82; 
St  Amant,  Voy.,  575-9;  Overland,  May  1872,  457-8;  xiv.  321-8;  Northern 
Enterprise,  March  20,  1874;  Nouv.  Annaks  Voy.,  cxxix.  121-4,  225-46;  Kip's 
CaL  Sketches,  36-52.  Frignet,  CaL,  109,  comments  on  the  absence  of  organi 
zations  among  Europeans  and  Spanish  Americans  for  great  enterprises. 
Woodward's  Stat.,  MS.,  3-38,  and  Tylers  Bidwell's  Bar,  MS.,  5-8,  contain 
personal  reminiscences  of  mining  life. 

2(5  Ignorance  of  geologic  laws  fostered  a  belief  in  a  vast  mother  lode,  per 
haps  deposited  by  a  volcanic  eruption,  from  which  the  metal  could  be 
shovelled  or  chiselled  off  by  the  cart-load.  Instances  of  theories  in  Woods* 
Pioneer,  64-5;  Dean's  Stat.,  MS.,  3;  Bu/um's  Sic  Mo.,  74-5;  Simpsons  CaL, 
11-13;  Overland  Mo.,  i.  141;  Hayes'  Mining,  i.  86. 

27  Carson's  JRecoL,  9 


RUSHES  FOR  NEW  YIELDS.  393 

nearly  5,000  disappointed  fortune-hunters.28  An  ex 
amination  of  the  encircling  ranges  led  to  more  or  less 
successful  descents  upon  Walker  River  and  other  dig 
gings,'29  which  served  to  build  up  the  counties  of  Mono, 
Inyo,  and  San  Bernardino,30  while  several  smaller  de 
tachments  of  miners  at  different  periods  startled  the 
staid  old  coast  counties,  from  Los  Angeles  to  Monte 
rey  and  Sonoma,  with  delusive  statements  based  on 
faint  auriferous  traces.  Eastward  the  fickle  enchan 
tress  led  her  train  on  a  wild-goose  chase  to  Truckee 
Lake,31  in  1849,  and  in  the  following  year  she  raised 
a  mirage  in  the  form  of  a  silver  mountain,32  while 
opening  the  gate  at  Carson  Valley  to  Nevada's  silver 
land,  which  was  occupied  by  the  multitude  in  18GO 
and  the  following  years.  The  same  eventful  1850  saw 
considerable  northern  extensions  arising  from  the  Gold 
Lake  fiction,  which  drew  a  vast  crowd  toward  the 
headwaters  of  Feather  River.  Although  the  gold- 
lined  lake  presented  itself,  a  fair  compensation  was 
offered  at  the  rich  bars  of  the  stream.33  Another 

28  The  disappointing  rush  of  1851  sought  for  Kern  under  the  Rio  Blanco  of 
Indian  reports.   AltaCal.,  July  22,  1851.     In  1853  a  flutter  occurred  here. 
Vlsalla  Delta,  Aug.  6,   1874;  Deans  Stat.,  MS.,   15.     Yet  the  rush  of  1855 

proved  not  wholly  a  delusion. 

29  Denounced  by  the  Placerville  Index  and  S.  F.  Bulletin,  May  27,  1858. 

30  Entries  had  been  made  here  already  in  1850.  Sac.  Transcript,  Nov.  29, 
1850;  Soule's  St<it.,  MS.,  3-4.     In  1858  an  exploring  party  found  diggers  in 
different  parts  of  the  Sierra,  on  the  way  from  Los  Angeles  to  Mono.  S.  F. 
bulletin,  Sept.  15,  1858. 

31  Based  on  the  stories  of  one  Greenwood,  about  gold  pebbles  on  its  strand. 
Six  weeks  of  hardships  rewarded  the  expedition. 

32  Through  the  instrumentality  of  Redmond  of  Stockton,  who  led  24  men 
by  the  'iulare  Valley  in  Nov.  1850.     Account  in  AltaCal.,  Jan.   27,    1850. 
Yet  Carson  Valley  was  opened  successfully  this  year.  Pac.  News,  Aug.  21, 
Oct.  10,  1850. 

33  Notably  Nelson  Creek.  A Ita  Cat.,  June  13-14,  July  1,  1850,  and  contem 
poraries  described  the  excitement,  especially  at  Marysville,  and  the  depopu 
lation  of  many  camps.     It  had  been  started  by  one  Stoddard  on  the  vague 
stories  of  others,  and  he  narrowly  escaped  lynching  at  the  hands  of  his  dis 
appointed  party.  Kane's  Stat.,  Mlscel.  Shit.,  MS.,  9-10;  Delano's  Life,  332-3; 
Ballous  Ad  cen.,  MS.,  25;  Overland,  xiv.  324.     Versions  of  the  story  vary,  as 
in  8.   F.  Bulletin,  July  20,  1858;  Feb.  20,   1880;  Nevada  D.  Gaz.,  June  26, 
I860;  Shasta  Courier,  March  31,  1886,  which  latter  states  that  Greenwood  had 
once  lived  on  the  lake,  where  his  children  played  with  the  nuggets.     He  died 
before  the  searching  party  started,  but  a  negro  overheard  their  plan  and 
profited  by  it.     Mt  Messenger,  of  July  1865,  and  Oct.  4,  1873,  identified  the 
lake  with  a  spot  12  miles  from  Dowuieville;  but  contemporary  accounts  show 
that  diggers  on  the  North  Fork  were  then  looking  toward  Feather  River  for  it, 
as  the  Ten-it.  Enterprise,  of  July  1865,  points  out,  in  refutation  of  the  Messemjei: 


394  ANATOMY  OF  THE  MINES 

widely  current  story  placed  the  once  fabulously  rich 
mine  of  1850,  known  as  the  Lost  Cabin,  in  the  region 
of  the  upper  Sacramento  or  McLeod  River,  and  kept 
hundreds  on  a  mad  chase  for  years.34  North-eastward 
on  the  overland  route  a  party  of  emigrants  of  1850 
invested  Black  Rock  with  a  silver-spouting  volcano, 
although  long  searches  failed  to  reveal  anything  better 
than  obsidian.35  More  stupendous  was  the  Gold  Bluff 
excitement  of  1850—1,  an  issue  of  the  chimerical  ex 
pedition  to  Trinidad  Bay,36  the  originators  of  which 
blazoned  before  San  Francisco  that  millions'  worth  of 
gold  lay  ready-washed  upon  the  ocean  beach,  disinte 
grated  by  waves  from  the  speckled  bluffs.  The  diffi 
culty  was  to  wrest  from  the  sand  the  little  gold 
actually  discovered.37  Some  of  the  deluded  parties 
joined  in  the  recent  Trinity  River  movement,  and  par 
ticipated  in  the  upper  Klamath  rush,  which  in  its  turn 
led  to  developments  on  Umpqua  and  Rogue  rivers.38 
In  this  way  the  extreme  borders  of  California  were 
early  made  known,  and  restless  dreamers  began  to 

A  new  gold  lake  was  sought  in  1851  by  a  party  from  Downieville,  guided  by 
Deloreaux.  Some  of  the  deluded  ones  opened  Forest  City  Diggings.  Hittell  s 
Minim/,  25-6. 

34  Two  brothers  had  worked  it  until  the  Indians  killed  one  and  drove  the 
other  with  his  tale  to  the  valley.  Bi~istow's  Rencounters,  MS.,  9-10.     Another 
version  ascribes  it  to  Joaq.  Miller  and  a  brother  of  Gov.  McDougal.    Vallejo 
Recorder,  Sept.  10,  1871.     AUa  CaL,  May  1,  1851,  instances  one  report  of  its 
discovery.     A  similar  cabin  story  is  credited  to  two  Germans  far  up  on  the 
American  North  Fork,   who  never  could  find  their  way  back  to  it.  Dutch 
FlatEng.,  Oct.  2,  1867. 

35  8.  J.  Pioneer,  July  19,  1879,  says  that  a  mill  was  erected  16  years  later 
to  crush  the  so-called  ore.    An  expedition  from  Yreka  penetrated  to  it  in  1858 
by  way  of  Goose  Lake.  8.  F.  Bulletin,  Sept.  16,  1858. 

36  See  account  of  early  mining  on  Trinity  River  and  the  search  for  its 
mouth  at  Trinidad.     Cottonwood  Creek,  which  had  been  the  first  pathway 
for  Trinity  miners  of  1848-9,  received  a  disappointed  influx  in  1850.     In  1848 
a  party  had  proposed  to  seek  Trinidad  Bay.  Calif ornian,  March  29,   1848; 
Palmers  Voy.,  22-9. 

37  A  calculation  proved  clearly  on  paper  that  each  member  of  the  formed 
company  would  secure  at  least  $43,000,000.     Nevertheless,  these  members 
evinced  a  self-sacrificing  willingness  to  share  with  others  by  selling  stock. 
Eight  vessels  were  announced  for  the  bluffs,  but  ere  many  miners  had  de 
parted  the  bubble  burst.  Annals  S.  F.,  312-14,  states  that  the  exhibited  sand 
was  speckled  with  brass  filings.     See  reports  on  treasure  and  excitement  in 
Alta  CaL,  Jan.  9-18,  etc.,  1851;  Placer  Times,  etc.;  Polynesian; vii.  154,  etc.; 
Friynet,   Voy.,  180-3. 

38  CaL  Courier,  Sept.  27,  1850,  mentions  an  exped.  by  sea  to  the  Umpqua. 
Lambertie,   Voy.,  222-3. 


CALIFORNIA  TOO  SMALL.  395 

look  beyond  for  the  sources  to  which  mystery  and 
distance  lent  additional  charm,  enhanced  by  increas 
ing  dangers.  Large  numbers  sought  Lower  Cali 
fornia  and  Sonora  at  different  times,39  particularly 
Frenchmen  and  Mexicans  embittered  by  the  persecu 
tion  of  the  Anglo-Saxons.  A  similar  feeling  prompted 
many  among  those  who  in  1852-3  hastened  to  the 
newly  found  gold-fields  of  Australia.40  In  1854  nearly 
2,000  men  were  deluded  by  extravagant  accounts  in 
the  Panamd  journals  to  flock  toward  the  headwaters 
of  the  Amazon,  on  the  borders  of  Peru.41  In  the 
opposite  direction  British  Columbia  became  a  goal  for 
wash-bowl  pilgrims,  who,  often  vainly  scouring  the 
slopes  of  Queen  Charlotte  Island  in  1852,42  found  in 
1858,  upon  the  Fraser  River,  a  shrine  which  drained 
California  of  nearly  twenty  thousand  sturdy  arms, 
and  for  a  time  cast  a  spell  upon  the  prospects  of  the 
Golden  Gate.43  Thence  the  current  turned,  notably 
between  1861-4,  along  the  River  of  the  West  into 
wood-clad  Washington,  over  the  prairie  regions  of 
Idaho,  into  silver-tinted  Nevada,  and  to  the  lofty  table 
lands  of  Colorado. 

Other  spirit-stirring  mirages  rose  in  due  time  to 
lend  their  enchantment,  even  to  ice-bound  Alaska  and 
the  bleak  shores  of  Patagonia,  some  conjured  by 
unscrupulous  traders,  others  by  persons  really  self- 
deceived.44  Although  California  has  become  more 

39  In  1852,  1854,  etc.  The  French,  in  connection  with  Raousset,  the 
Spanish  Americans  by  government  invitation.  Ihe  placer  mines  here  proved 
of  comparative  small  value. 

4JThe  convict  element  mostly  joined  the  thousand  and  more  who  sailed. 

41  Where  25  Ibs  of  gold  could  daily  be  obtained  by  any  one. 

42  Three  vessels  sailed  thither  in  March. 

43  See  Hist.  B.  C.,  this  series;  also  journals  for  the  summer  and  autumn 
of  1858. 

41  Nearly  every  excitement  was  fostered  in  some  way  by  business  men  to 
create  a  demand  for  goods,  and  for  stage  and  steamer  service.  The  Gold 
Lake  and  other  rushes  were  traced  partly  to  vague  utterances.  The  absence 
of  some  well-known  digger  from  his  camp,  or  the  unusual  plethora  of  some 
hitherto  thin  purse,  as  revealed  at  the  store,  would  set  the  neighborhood 
agog.  The  least  favorable  discovery  on  the  part  of  those  who  set  themselves 
to  watch  and  track  the  suspected  miner  might  empty  the  camp.  A  rush 
below  Sacramento  in  June  1855  was  caused  by  the  filled  pockets  of  a  pair  of 
trousers  left  probably  by  some  dying  miner.  Hittelfs  Mining,  28.  The  streets 
of  Yreka  were  once  staked  off  and  partly  overturned,  owing  to  the  salting 


396  ANATOMY  OF  THE  MINES. 

settled  and  sedate,  with  industrial  and  family  ties  to 
link  them  to  one  spot,  yet  a  proportion  of  restless, 
credulous  beings  remain  to  drift  with  the  next  current 
that  may  come.  They  may  prove  of  service,  however, 
in  warning  or  guiding  others  by  their  experience. 
Excitements  with  attendant  rushes  have  their  value, 
even  when  marked  by  suffering  and  disappointment. 
They  are  factors  of  progress,  by  opening  dark  and 
distant  regions  to  knowledge  and  to  settlement;  by 
forming  additional  markets  for  industries  and  stimu 
lated  trade;  by  unfolding  hidden  resources  in  the  new 
region  wherewith  to  benefit  the  world,  while  estab 
lishing  more  communities  and  building  new  states. 
Each  little  rush,  like  the  following  of  a  wild  theory 
or  a  dive  into  the  unknowable,  adds  its  quota  to 
knowledge  and  advancement,  be  it  only  by  blazing  a 
fresh  path  in  the  wilderness.  Local  trade  and  condi 
tions  may  suffer  more  or  less  derangement,  and  many 
a  camp  or  town  be  blotted  out,45  but  the  final  result 
is  an  ever- widening  benefit. 

The  sudden  development  of  mining  in  California,  by 
men  new  to  the  craft,  allowed  little  opportunity  for 
introducing  the  time-honored  regulations  which  have 
grown  around  the  industry  since  times  anterior  to  cunei 
form  or  Coptic  records.  Even  Spanish  laws,  which  gov 
erned  the  experienced  Mexicans,  had  little  influence, 

trick  of  a  wag.  Yreka  Union,  July  3,  1875.  Many  another  town  was  actually 
uprooted  or  shifted  by  diggers.  No  place  was  sacred  before  the  pick  and 
pan;  farms,  dwellings,  and  even  cemeteries  were  burrowed.  Thus  suffered 
the  grave-yard  at  Columbia,  and  the  Indian  burial-place  near  Oroville;  the 
brick-yard  at  San  Andreas  came  to  grief.  Who  has  not  heard,  besides,  of  the 
expeditions  to  Cocos  Island  in  quest  of  buried  pirate  treasures?  See,  for 
instance,  Alta  Gal,  Oct.  19,  .1854. 

45  This  was  especially  observed  after  the  Fraser  excitement,  from  which 
interior  towns  suffered  greatly.  One  feature  of  the  rushes  was  that  they  car 
ried  off  foremost  the  least  desirable  classes,  leaving  steady  and  industrious 
family  men;  and  brought  out  much  unproductive  hidden  capital  to  promote 
enterprise.  See,  further,  Durbins  Stat.,  MS.;  Garniss'  Early  Days,  MS.,  19- 
20;  Henshaws  Events,  MS.,  10;  8.  F.  Elevator,  May  14,  1869;  West  Shore  Gaz., 
15;  Carson's  Appeal,  June  1806;  Grass  Valley  Direct.,  10-11;  Letts'  Cal,  101- 
2;  Overland,  May  1873,  393,  etc.;  Yuba  Co.  Hist.,  42-3;  Browne's  Min.  Res., 
15-18;  Nevada  Jour.,  Aug.  3,  1855;  8.  F.  Bulletin,  Nov.  21,  1861;  Apr.  5, 
1865;  Oct.  14,  1878;  HitteWs  8.  F.,  271-3;  TutkilVs  Cal,  334,  etc.;  Annals 
S.  F.,  403-5. 


LAWS  AND  REGUIATIONS.  397 

owing  to  the  subordinate  position  held  by  this  race, 
and  to  the  self-adaptive  disposition  of  the  Anglo-Sax 
ons.  In  the  course  of  time,  however,  as  mining  as 
sumed  extensive  and  complicated  forms,  in  hydraulic, 
quartz,  and  deep  claims,  European  rules  were  adopted 
to  some  extent,  especially  German  and  English,  partly 
modified  by  United  States  customs,  and  still  more 
transformed  here  in  accordance  with  environment  and 
existing  circumstances.  In  truth,  California  gave  a 
moulding  to  mining  laws  decidedly  her  own,  which 
have  acquired  wide-spread  recognition,  notably  in  gold 
regions,  where  their  spirit,  as  in  the  golden  state,  per 
meates  the  leading  institutions. 

The  California  system  grew  out  of  necessity  and 
experience,  based  on  the  primary  principle  of  free 
land,  to  which  discovery  and  appropriation  gave  title. 
At  first,  with  a  large  field  and  few  workers,  miners 
skimmed  the  surface  at  pleasure ;  but  as  their  number 
increased  the  late-coming  and  less  fortunate  majority 
demanded  a  share,  partly  on  the  ground  that  citizens 
had  equal  rights  in  the  national  or  paternal  estate,  and 
superior  claims  as  compared  with  even  earlier  foreign 
arrivals  on  the  spot.46  And  so  in  meetings,  improvised 
upon  the  spot,  rules  were  adopted  to  govern  the  size 
and  title  to  claims  and  the  settlement  of  disputes. 
On  the  same  occasion  a  recorder  was  usually  elected 
to  register  the  claims  and  to  watch  over  the  observ 
ance  of  the  resolutions,  although  frequently  officers 
were  chosen  only  when  needed,  custom  and  hearsay 
serving  for  guidance. 

The  size  of  claims  varied  according  to  the  richness  of 
the  locality,  with  due  regard  for  its  extent,  for  the  num 
ber  of  eager  participants  composing  the  meeting,  and 
the  difficulty  of  working  the  ground;  so  that  in  some 
districts  they  were  limited  to  ten  feet  square;  in  others 
they  covered  fifty  feet  along  the  river,  while  in  poorer 
regions  one  hundred  or  more  feet  were  allowed ;  and 
this  applied  also  to  places  involving  deep  digging, 

46  At  least  until  the  government  should  issue  regulations. 


398  ANATOMY  OF  THE  MINES. 

tunnels,  and  other  costly  labor,  and  to  old  fields  worked 
anew.  The  discoverer  generally  obtained  the  first 
choice  or  a  double  lot.47  Claims  were  registered  by 
the  recorder,  usually  for  a  fee  of  $1,  and  frequently 
marked  by  stakes,  ditches,  and  notices.48  Possessory 
rights  were  secured  by  use,  so  that  a  certain  amount 
of  work  had  to  be  done  upon  the  claim  to  hold  it, 
varying  according  to  the  depth  of  the  ground,  the 
nature  of  the  digging,  whether  dry  or  with  water 
accessible,  and  the  condition  of  the  weather.49  For  a 
long  time  holders  were,  as  a  rule,  restricted  to  one 
claim,  with  no  recognition  of  proxies,50  but  the  trans- 

47  While  10  feet  square  prevailed  in  many  rich  diggings,  this  the  lowest  rec 
ognized  size  was  frequently  made  the  rule  at  other  places,  owing  to  the  clamor 
of  numerous  participants.     Instance  at  Weber,  in  Kelly's  Excur.,  ii.  24.     In 
Willow  Bar  district  27  feet  were  conceded  to  the  discoverer  of  a  rich  gulch 
and  18  feet  to  other,  with  indefinite  depth.    Unbound  Doc.,  50.     At  Jackass 
Gulch,  near  Sonora,  the  claim  of  10  feet  square  often  yielded  $10,000  from 
the  surface  dirt.     In  reworking  this  ground,  the  limit  was  extended  to   100 
feet.     At  Jacksonville  the  rule  was  50  feet  along  the  river;  in  Garrote  district 
50  yards  along  the  creek  and  75  yards  in  the  gulches;  at  Montezuma,  Tuol- 
umne,  three  squares  of  100  feet  each  for  surface  claims;  150  feet  in  width  for 
tunnel  claims;  100  by  300  for  deep  shaft  claims.     For  such  claims  with  costly 
work,  double  claims  were  at  times  granted.     Quartz  claims  will  be  considered 
later.     See  also  special  later  rules  in  different  districts  in  Hittell's  Mining, 
192-6.     Existing  holders  were  frequently  respected  in  their  claims,  but  new 
comers  must  accept  a  smaller  size. 

48  At  times  the  recorder  had  to  inspect  the  claim  and  mark  the  corner 
stakes,  or  affix  a  tin  plate  with  the  number  to  the  claim  stake,  as  at  New 
Kanaka  and  Copper  Canon.     The  stakes  and  notices,  with  the  owner's  name 
and  limits,  were  required  in  some  camps  to  be  of  prescribed  form,  boxed  for 
protection,  painted,  or  cut,  etc.     The  inscriptions  were  frequently  peculiar, 
both  in  grammatic  aspect  and  in  force  of   expression,  as   '  Clame  Notise. 
Jumpers  will  be  shot. '     In  Jamestown  a  ditch  one  foot  wide  and  one  deep 
must  be  cut  round  the  claim  within  three  days.     A  common  rule  was  to 
mark  possession  by  leaving  old  tools  in  the  claim,  and  woe  to  the  man  who 
disturbed  them. 

49  At  New  Kanaka  one  full  day's  work  in  three  was  required,  unless  the 
owner  could  prove  sickness.     In  case  of  temporary  absence,  claim  notices 
had  to  be  renewed  every  month  or  oftener.     At  dry  diggings  the  term  was 
reduced  by  half  when  water  could  be  had;  as  at  Jackass  Gulch,  where  an 
absence  of  5  days  during  washing  time  forfeited  the  claim.     At  Pilot  Hill, 
Calaveras,  work  to  the  value  of  $25  per  week  was  in  1855  required  from  each 
company  holding  a  shaft  or  tunnel  claim.    At  North  San  Juan,  Nevada  co.,  an 
hydraulic  centre,  an  expenditure  of  $500  secured  the  claim  for  two  years.     At 
Shaw  Flat  claims  over  24  feet  in  depth  could  be  held  without  work  from 
Dec.  1st  to  May  1st,  owing  to  the  effects  of  the  rains.     In  many  places  work 
must  be  begun  within  three  days  after  staking  a  claim.     River  claims  could 
be  left  untouched  during  winter,  and  dry  ravine  claims  during  summer,  with 
out  forfeiture. 

60  CW.,  Miscel.  Pap.,  34.  Owners  of  different  claims  could  unite  to  work 
one.  This  led  frequently  to  the  formation  of  companies  with  fictitious 
members,  as  Frignet,  Voy.>  105-8,  points  out.  At  Shaw  Flat  the  abuse  was 


COURTS  AND  CLAIMS.  399 

fer  of  claims,51  like  real  estate  property,  soon  sprang 
into  vogue,  with  the  attendant  speculation.  Disputes 
were  settled  in  certain  cases  by  appeal  to  a  meeting,52 
but  generally  by  the  recorder,  alcalde,  or  a  standing 
committee.53 

For  the  settlement  of  important  questions,  meetings 
were  held  at  stated  periods.  In  Nevada  miners  as 
sembled  from  every  district  in  the  county  late  in  1852 
to  frame  laws  for  quartz  mining.  Claims  were  ex 
tended  to  100  feet  on  the  ledge,  including  "  all  dips, 
angles,  and  variations,"  a  Germanic  form  of  inclined 
location,  adopted  in  England  and  the  United  States. 
The  Spanish  law  limited  placer  and  quartz  mining 
alike  to  perpendicular  sides  within  the  surface  lines  of 
the  claim,  and  this  simpler  rule  has  strong  advocates 
in  the  United  States.54  The  Nevada  miners  further 
decided  that  work  to  the  value  of  $100  had  to  be  done 

checked  by  declaring  that  part  of  a  company  could  not  hold  the  claims  of  the 
whole.  The  incorporation  of  companies  is  outlined  in  hi.,  182-3.  While 
members  of  a  company  shared  alike,  nuggets  were  often  assigned  to  the 
finder,  if  found  before  entering  the  cradle.  Brooks'  Cal.,  77.  Mush  Flat, 
Placer  co. ,  allowed  a  hill,  flat,  and  ravine  claim  to  one  holder  by  preemption, 
or  occupation,  and  any  number  by  purchase. 

51  Often  by  verbal  agreement,  but  more  safely  by  deed,  under  the  rules  of 
the   district,  as   shown   by  McCarron  vs  O'Connell,   7  Cal.    152;    Jackson  vs 
Feather  River  Water  Co.,  14  Cal.  23.     The  title  could  be  sold  under  execu 
tion.  McKeon  vs  Bisbee,  9  Cal.  139.     To  this  many  objections  were  raised. 
AltaCaL,  March  25,  1856;  Sue.  Union,  March  9,  1855;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  March 
7,  1857;  Nev.  Journal,  Jan.  18,  1856.     Legislation  was  demanded  to  remedy 
the  looseness  prevailing  in  mining  titles.     Miners'  words  were  all  sufficient 
in  early  days.    Simpsons  Cal.,  67.     Midst  the  friendship  pervading  camps, 
rules  were  of  course  waived  or  stretched,  and  jumping  claims  was  widely 
overlooked,  especially  where  only  foreigners  were  injured.     The  restriction 
to  one  claim  has  been  maintained  in  many  districts  till  late  times.  Deans 
Stat.,  MS.,  4. 

52  Or  miners'  jury  specially  summoned,  and  responding  if  the  case  seemed 
to  deserve  it. 

53  Or  by  any  member  of  the  committee.     They  were  sworn  by  the  justice 
of  the  peace.     Decision  of  jury  or  arbitrator  was  final,  cost  being  paid  as  in 
legal  cases.     The  average  fee  of  an  arbitrator  was  &2.     This  according  to 
Springfield  rules.     At  Sawmill  Flat  each  disputant  was  advised  to  choose  two 
arbitrators,  the  four  selecting  a  referee.     At  Montezuma  Camp  the  recorder 
was  president  of  this  improvised  court  of  four  arbitrators.     Appeal  could  be 
made  to  a  meeting.     Brown  Valley,  Yuba,  held  semiannual  meetings  to  de 
cide  different  questions;  claims  not  represented  were  forfeited.    Shinn,  Mining 
Camp,  220-6,  instances  a  case  at  Scott  Bar,  near  the  Oregon  border,  where 
two  strong  parties  narrowly  avoided  a  bloody  battle  over  a  rich  gravel  claim, 
and  sent  to  S.  F.  for  lawyers,  the  winners  paying  the  cost. 

5i  See  my  chapters  on  mining  in  H'ist.  Mex.,  in.,  vi. ;  Hist.  Nevada,  Cal.,  etc., 
this  series;  Rockwell's  Sp.  Mex.  Lawn,  514,  etc. 


400  ANATOMY  OF  THE  MINES. 

within  30  days,  and  reported  yearly,  to  hold  the  claim 
until  a  company  was  organized.  The  erection  of  a 
mill  worth  $5,000  entitled  it  to  a  title-deed.55 

A  defect  in  these  spontaneous  regulations  was  the 
lack  of  uniformity,  which,  however,  was  largely  neces 
sary,  owing  to  the  varied  nature  of  the  field.  To  a 
certain  extent  it  was  due  to  the  pressure  of  partici 
pants,  but  throughout  equity  was  the  guiding  prin 
ciple;  and  so  courts  lent  their  approval  by  basing 
decisions  on  the  customs  of  the  district,  and  the  gov 
ernment  displayed  a  spirit  of  the  utmost  liberality  by 
abstaining  from  interference.  This  was  more  than 
the  miners  had  counted  upon.  Under  Spanish  laws, 
the  crown  asserted  its  claim  on  the  mineral  wealth  by 
exacting  a  royalty,  and  it  was  widely  expected  that 
the  United  States  would  proclaim  its  rights  in  similar 
manner.  Indeed,  Governor  Mason,  Senator  Fre'mont, 
and  others  proffered  suggestions  for  the  lease  or  sale 
of  claims,  the  issue  of  licenses,  or  the  imposition  of  a 
tax  on  miners.56  A  royalty  need  not  appear  objec- 

55  Guaranteeing  perpetual  proprietorship.  The  above  work,  equivalent  to 
20  full  days'  labor,  must  be  repeated  till  then  each  year.  The  Sacramento 
miners  required  the  recorder  to  certify  to  the  20  days  of  annual  work.  They 
excluded  foreigners  who  had  not  declared  their  intention  of  becoming  citizens 
from  holding  claims.  Sierra  county  extended  claims  to  200  feet  on  the  lode 
by  500  in  width.  Other  points  in  the  regulations  concerned  the  form  of  con 
veyance,  rights  of  adjoining  holders,  abandonment  of  riparian  rights,  for 
eigners,  assessments,  etc.  The  regulations  of  Columbia  District,  Tuolumnc, 
among  the  most  complete,  considers  in  18  articles  the  extent  of  the  district, 
size  of  claims,  limitation  of  one  claim  to  each  holder,  term  of  forfeiture,  non- 
diversion  or  absorption  of  water  without  consent,  exclusion  of  certain  for 
eigners,  laying  over  of  claims  during  disadvantageous  periods,  recorder's 
duties,  right  to  run  water  and  tailings  across  adjoining  claim  so  long  as  no 
injury  done.  According  to  the  regulations  of  Mush  JFlat,  unremunerative 
work  to  the  amount  of  $1,000  upon  a  claim  entitled  the  hoi  Jar  to  discontinue 
work  for  a  year.  Several  prospect  claims  could  be  held  if  in  different  locali 
ties.  Concerning  the  formation  of  camps  and  districts  an:l  local  government, 
I  refer  to  my  chapter  on  birth  of  towns;  Caprons  CaL,  231;  BortkwidJs  Cat., 
125,  155-7;  Woods'  Sateen  Mo.,  125-48;  Helpers  Land,  152-3;  Alt*  CaL, 
March  21,  1852;  Jan.  13,  25,  1853,  etc. 

56lhe  latter  was  Fremont's  idea.  Mason  thought  that  licenses  to  work 
lots  of  100  yards  square  could  be  issued  from  $100  to  $1,000  a  year,  under 
a  superintendent;  or  better,  to  survey  and  sell  20  or  43  acre  tracts,  or  levy 
a  percentage  on  the  gold  found.  The  sec.  of  the  int.  recommended,  Dec.  3, 
1849,  that,  as  the  sovereignty  in  mineral  lands  had  passed  to  the  U.  S.,  they 
be  leased  or  sold  on  condition  that  the  gold  pass  through  the  mint  for  levying 
a  percentage.  Surface  deposits  might  be  leased.  By  this  means  the  wealth 
could  be  protected  from  the  foreign  intruders.  The  latter  point  was  especially 


THE  MINES  BEFORE  CONGRESS.  401 

tionable,  especially  if  regulated  in  favor  of  citizens; 
but  the  sale  or  lease  of  claims,  as  tending  to  favor 
speculators  and  monopolists,  to  the  prejudice  of  poor 
men — this  raised  a  general  outcry.  The  legislature 
joined  in  protesting  and  recommending  free  mining, 
and  Benton  and  Seward  led  in  urging  upon  congress 
the  adoption  of  a  liberal  policy.  They  gained  at  the 
time  only  a  delay,  but  this  sufficed.  Before  the  next 
session  took  place,  the  operations  of  the  free  system 
presented  so  favorable  an  aspect,  and  local  regulations 
appeared  so  satisfactory,  that  interference  was  deemed 
unwise.57  Indeed,  the  government  allowed  no  land 
surveyors  within  the  mining  region  to  impede  the 
industry.  Notwithstanding  the  occupation  and  trans 
fer  of  claims,  there  was  no  real  possessory  right,  so 
that  the  same  piece  of  land  might  be  enjoyed  by  sev 
eral  parties,  for  placer  digging,  quartz  working,  tailing, 
and  fluming,58  and  water  could  be  led  away  from  its 
channel  by  the  first  claimant  for  any  purpose.53  Farms 

urged  by  the  sec.  of  state,  and  the  president  also  favored  the  sale  of  lots. 
Congress.  Globe,  1848-9,  p.  257,  etc.;  1849-50,  ap.  22-3,  and  index  'mines;'  Id., 
1850-1,  4;  Cal.  Past  and  P.,  187-9;  U.  S.  Gov.  Doc.,  Cong.  31,  Sess.  2,  Sen. 
Doc.,  i;  p.  11;  H.  Ex.  Doc.,  1,  p.  27-8;  Universal,  Nov.  30,  1850,  etc.;  Poly 
nesian,  v.  190;  Taylors  Eldorado,  i.  191;  Cranes  Past,  23-30.  Mason  in 
structed  an  officer  to  inspect  the  gold-fields,  and  report  on  measures  for 
regulations,  etc.,  and  he  threatened  at  one  time  to  take  military  possession  if 
the  miners  did  not  help  him  in  arresting  deserters.  The  miners  saw  the 
Irishism,  if  the  governor  did  not,  for  without  his  deserters  caught — or  even 
with  them,  for  that  matter — where  was  the  force  to  come  from  to  impose 
regulations  on  10,000  moving  miners,  buzzing  about  500  miles  of  wilderness 
like  bees?  U.  8.  Gov.  Doc.,  Cong.  31,  Sess.  1,  H.  Ex.  Doc.,  17,  477,  554-6, 
561,  580-1;  Brooks'1  Four  Montlis,  15,  206.  The  Mexican  custom  of  'denounc 
ing'  mines  was  abolished  by  Mason's  order  of  Feb.  12,  1848.  Unbound  Doc., 
318,  408-11;  S.  D.  Arch.,  iv.  325;  Califomian,  Feb.  23,  1848;  S.  J.  Arch.,  ii. 
49,  69. 

57  The  president  so  regarded  it,  and  withdrew  his  former  recommendation. 
Message,  Dec.  2,  1851;  Cong.  Globe,  1851-2,  18,  etc.;  U.  S.  Gov.  Doc.,  Cong. 
32,  Sess.  1,  H.  Ex.  Doc.,  2,  p.  15,  etc.;  Cal  Jour.  Ho.,  1850,  802,  etc.;  Id.,  Ass., 
1852,  p.  829-35;  Id.,  Sen.,  1852,  583-92;  Pac.  News,  Apr.  26,  May  11,  1850; 
Sac.  Transcript,  Feb.  14,  1851;  Alta  Cal,  Aug.  13,  29,  Sept.  29,  1851;  Jan. 
28,  March  3,  July  17,  Dec.  11,  1852;  JRyans  Judges,  79;  Cranes  Past,  23;  Ca- 
prons  Cal.,  231.  The  people  would  rise  against  officers  who  might  lease  or 
sell  land,  it  was  declared.  Riley  upheld  local  regulations,  and  the  legislature 
conferred  jurisdiction  in  mining  claims  upon  justices  of  the  peace,  to  be  guided 
by  miners  meetings. 

08  Jones  vs  Jackson;  O'Keefe  vs  Cunningham,  9  Cal.  237,  589.  Any  damage 
inflicted  upon  a  neighbor  by  subsequent  occupants  of  the  tract  must  be  paid 
for. 

59  Subsequent  claimants  may  deviate  and  use  it  on  condition  of  returning 
it.  Ditching  companies  can,  therefore,  by  priority  carry  away  and  sell  the 
HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.  26 


402  ANATOMY   OF  THE  MINES. 

established  in  the  mining  region  were,  therefore,  apt 
to  be  encroached  upon  by  miners,  without  further 
consideration  than  payment  of  damage  to  crop  and 
buildings.  Mining  was  paramount  to  all  other  inter 
ests  in  early  days,60  and  its  followers  could  wash  away 
roads  and  soil,  undermine  houses,  and  honey-comb  or 
remove  entire  towns.61  In  course  of  time  agriculture 

O 

assumed  the  ascendency,  and  with  the  opening  of  land 
to  actual  settlers,  the  ownership  in  fee- simple  embraced 
the  soil  and  everything  embedded,  to  the  exclusion  of 
intruders.62 

Those  we  have  injured  we  hate;  so  it  was  with 
Mexicans  and  Americans  in  California;  we  had  un 
fairly  wrested  the  country  from  them,  and  now  we 
were  determined  they  should  have  none  of  the  bene 
fits.  The  feeling  bred  by  border  war  and  conquest, 
and  the  more  or  less  defiant  contempt  among  Anglo- 
water.  McDonald  and  Blackburn  vs  Bear  River  and  Auburn  Water  and  M.  Co., 
13  Cal.  220;  Irwin  vs  Phillips,  5  Cal.  140;  Sims  vs  Smith,  7  Cal.  148;  Butte 
Canal,  etc.,  vs  Waters,  etc.,  11  Cal.  143.  This  was  contrary  to  English  ripa 
rian  rules,  which  were  agitated  in  later  years  for  irrigation  purposes,  as  will 
be  shown  in  my  next  vol. 

60  Instance  decisions  in  Nims  vs  Johnson,  7  Cal.  110;  Gillam  vs  Hutchinson, 
16  Cal.  153;  Lentz  vs  Victor,  17  Cal.  271;  Irwin  vs  Philips,  5  Cal.  145;  Hicks 
vs  Bell,  3  Cal.  227.     In  course  of  time,  miners  were  forbidden  to  approach 
too  close  to  buildings.     An  act  of  Apr.  25,  1855,  protected  crops  and  improve 
ments  till  after  harvest.     Even  town  lots  could  be  mined  so  long  as  residences 
and  business  were  not  injured,  and  many  camps  and  settlements  were  moved 
more  than  once.     No  patents  were  issued  to  land  in  this  region  in  early  days, 
and  so  long  as  it  was  not  formally  withdrawn,  miners  might  bring  proof  for 
gaining  entry.     See  comments,  in  Sac.   Union,  Dec.  8,  1854;  Sept.  20,  1855; 
A Ita  Cal,  Nov.  3,  Dec.  21,  1852;  Hayes'  Mining,  ii.  206-48;  Sac.  Transcript, 
Jan.  14,  1851;    Wood's  Pioneer,  98-9. 

61  Instance  cases  in  Shinns  Mining  Camps,  262  et  seq.     Often  barren  places 
were  enriched  with  valuable  soil,  but  oftener  good  land  was  ruined  by  barren 
debris.     This  question  belongs  to  my  later  vol. 

62  Such  holdings  under  Mexican  grants  did  exist,   and  contrary  to  the 
usage  of  most  countries,  and  of  Mexico  itself,  the  United  States  permitted 
no  intrusion  upon  them  even  for  minerals.     See  Fremont  vs  Flower.     Folsom, 
Bidwell,  and  Reading  were  among  other  tract  owners  in  the  mining  region. 
Land  in  the  mining  region  was  too  long  withheld  from  sale  to  farmers,  for 
most  of  it  was  valueless  for  mining.    Conventions  met  to  consider  the  respect 
ive  interests,  and  the  legislature  gave  them  attention.  Cal.  Jour.  Ass.,  1853, 
p.  865;  Id.,  Sen.,  649;  Hayes  Mining,  ii.  201,  etc.;  Cal.  Politics,  207-74;  Land 
Off.  Kept,  1855,  141;  Sac.  Union,  March  16,  July  13,  Aug.  9-10,  1855;  Jan.  28, 
Feb.  14,  Apr.  22-3,  1856;  A  Ita  Cal,  Dec.  8-11,  Dec.  25-31,  1852;  May  28, 
Aug.  1,  Nov.  2,   12,   1853,  with  convention  proceedings.  Peachy,  on  Mining 
Laws,  1-86;  Savage's  Coll.,  43-4. 


FOREIGNERS  IN  THE  MINES.  403 

Saxons  for  the  dark-bued  and  undersized  Hispano- 
Americans,  nicknamed  greasers,  had  early  evoked  an 
ill-disguised  animosity  between  the  two  races.  A 
question  having  two  sides  arose  when  the  United  States 
men  saw  pouring  into  a  country  which  they  regarded 
as  their  own  a  host  of  aliens  to  share  in  the  golden 
harvest.  Then  rose  rankling  jealousy  as  the  untiring 
experience  and  tact  of  Mexicans  and  Chilians  became 
apparent  in  the  discovery  of  good  claims  and  their 
profitable  development.  The  zeal  of  General  Smith 
in  proposing  to  exclude  foreigners  from  the  mines63 
gave  countenance  to  a  class  which  stood  prepared  to 
achieve  it  by  forcible  measures..  A  number  of  iso 
lated  affairs  took  place,  chiefly  in  ejecting  Spanish- 
Americans  from  desirable  claims,  which  the  usurpers 
proceeded  to  work  with  a  tacit  approval  of  their 
countrymen. 

This  occurred  chiefly  in  the  central  and  northern 
mines,  where  Mexicans  were  few  in  number  and  unable 
to  offer  resistance.  In  several  places,  however,  on  the 
American  forks,  they  banded  for  resistance,  and  lent 
support  to  rumors  of  future  retaliation,  and  of  a  grow 
ing  strength  which  might  soon  give  them  the  ascen 
dency  in  some  rich  districts.  The  prospect  created 
wide-spread  alarm ;  and  fortified  by  arguments  against 
aliens  who  carried  away  the  wealth  of  the  soil  to  en 
rich  other  regions,  and  who  employed  serfs  to  degrade 
labor,64  entire  districts  rose  in  self-protection,  to  banish 

63  His  announcement  as  military  chief  of  California,  that  he  would  check 
the  influx  of  foreigners  into  the  gold  region,  was  addressed  through  the  consul 
at  Panama  to  consuls  throughout  Spanish-America,  and  published  in  Pan. 
Star,   Feb.   24,    1849,   etc.;  Pioneer  Arch.,  3^1,    19-21.     He  would  treat  all 
foreigners  as  trespassers.     Despatch  to  Washington,  U.  S.  Gov.  Doc.,  Cong. 
31,  Sess.  1,  H.  Ex.  Doc.  17,  p.  704-8,  720.     No  attention  was  paid  to  it,  says 
Willey,  Mem.,  MS.,  60-2;  but  it  must  have  checked  the  emigration  some 
what.     The  government  did  not  approve  of  the  step. 

64  Placer  Times,  Apr.  28,  June  2,   1849,  expresses  itself  strongly  against 
Chilian  gangs  employed  by  masters.     Native  Californians  brought  Indians  to 
dig  for  them,  but  Americans  also  employed  them.     Shaw,  Golden  Dreams, 
59,  observes  that  Australians  banded  in  open  defiance,  and  adopted  blue 
shirts  for  a  party  color.     The  cynical  Helper,  Land  of  Gold,  151-2,  dwells  on 
the  suicidal  policy  of  allowing  aliens  to  enjoy  every  benefit  without  sharing 
the  burdens  of  citizens. 


404  ANATOMY  OF  THE  MINES. 

foreigners.65  Men  of  the  Latin  race  thought  it  prudent 
to  obey  quietly,  and  to  join  their  brethren  in  the  San 
Joaquin  Valley.  Here,  indeed,  they  could  muster  in 
sufficient  number  to  frustrate  detached  and  unauthor 
ized  hostility,  but  this  very  attitude  roused  their 
opponents  to  additional  efforts.  The  aid  of  the  legis 
lature  was  induced  to  impose  a  tax  of  $20  per  month 
on  all  foreign  miners,  in  the  form  of  a  license.66 

So  heavy  an  impost  implied  prohibition,  in  view  of 
the  reduced  average  gain  among  miners,  under  months 
of  inactivity,  prospecting,  or  fruitless  preliminary 
labor.  A  host  there  were  whose  earnings  seldom 
yielded  the  surplus  required  for  the  tax.  Thousands 
had  consequently  to  abandon  the  gold-fields,  and  to 
drift  into  dependent  positions  in  the  towns,  or  to  be 
assisted  to  return  home.67  Others  hastened  in  their 

63  Riley  lays  the  chief  blame  on  the  English,  Irish,  and  Germans,  and  adds 
that  the  foreigners  '  quietly  submitted. '  Report  of  Aug.  30,  1849.  Chilians 
and  Peruvians  were  expelled  from  every  section  of  the  Middle  and  North 
Forks.  Placer  Times,  May  26,  July  25,  1849.  The  victims  were  given  three 
hours'  grace.  Many  naturalized  citizens  suffered.  They  were  not  allowed  to 
take  with  them  their  provisions  and  machines.  Id.,  June  30,  July  14,  Sept.  1, 

1849.  Mexicans  also  leaving.     The  desire  to  expel  foreign  'vagrants  '  is  very 
general.  Alta  Cal,  Aug.  2,  1849.    Wheaton,  Stat.,  MS.,  6,  refused  to  lend  his 
rifle  to  the  regulators.     On  Deer  Creek  the  miners  elected  an  alcalde  to  order 
away  foreigners.  Kirkpatrick' s  Jour.,  MS.,  37;  Frost's  Hist.  Cal.,  439;  Poly 
nesian,  vi.  71.     Taylor,  Eldorado,  i.  87,  102-3,  speaks  of  expulsions  also  on 
the  S.  Joaquin  tributaries,  and  regards  the  foreigners  as  intruders.     Blood 
shed  attended  several  demonstrations.  Pac.  News,  Nov.  27,  1849,  etc.;  Kelly's 
Excur.,  ii.  23;  Torres,  Perip.,  MS.,  148-9.     Even  Frenchmen  were  included 
in  some  proscriptions,  but  a  show  of  spirit  overruled  the  order.  Ryans  Adven., 
ii.  296—8.     In  several  camps  the  more  liberal-minded  Americans  interfered 
to  annul  the  banishment.     Instance  Georgetown,  Foster  Bar,  etc.    Uphanis 
Notes,  328-9;  Marysville  Directory,  1858,  25-6;  Lambertie,  Voy.,  259-61. 

6tiThe  treaty  with  Mexico  in  1831,  revived  in  1848,  exempted  people  of 
either  country  from  any  charge  or  tax  not  paid  by  citizens  of  the  state  where 
they  may  reside.  See  also  the  Chilian  treaty  of  1844,  as  alluded  to  by  the 
consul  in  U.  S.  Gov.  Doc.,  Cong.  31,  Sess.  1,  H.  Ex.  Doc.  17,  p.  35-7.  Peru 
sent  a  war  ship  in  1849  to  look  after  her  people.  Polynesian,  v.  183.  For 
Spanish- American  consuls,  see  Unbound  Doc.,  12,  383.  The  tax  act,  passed 
Apr.  13,  1850,  provides  that  no  foreigner  shall  mine  without  a  license  (till 
congress  issue  regulations  for  the  industry).  After  the  second  Monday  in 
May  1850,  the  license  to  be  renewed  monthly  at  $20  per  month.  Cal.  Statutes, 

1850,  p.  221-3.     Report  of  committee,  in  Cal.  Jour.  Ho.,  1850,  802;  Id.,  Sen., 
493,  1302,  1342.     Comments,  in  Sonorense,  Aug.  16,  1850,  rather  against  the 
continued   abuse   despite   licenses;  S.  F.  Picayune,  Aug.   14,   1850;    W.  Pac. 
News,  Aug.  1,  1850;  Cal  Courier,  Feb.  1,  1851;  S.  F.  Herald,  June  1,  4,  1850. 
Lambertie,    Voy.,  239,  is   disgusted.     Frenchmen   remonstrated   as   late   as 
1856,  on  the  ground  of  treaty  privileges.  Le  Mineur,  June  29,  1856. 

67  City  crowded  with  Mexicans  who  have  been  driven  from  the  mines. 


CHINESE  AND   MEXICANS.  405 

helplessness  from  the  exposed  northerly  districts,  to 
seek  counsel  with  their  countrymen  in  the  San  Joa- 
quin  region;  for  the  tax  was  rigidly  enforced  againstl 
few  others  than  the  Chinese  and  Spanish-Americans./ 
The  headquarters  of  the  Mexicans  centred  at  Sonora; 
whose  famous  dry  diggings  suited  their  methods,  and 
where  monte-banks,  bull-rings,  and  other  revelry  bore 
testimony  to  their  predilections.88  Here  the  news  of 
the  tax  collector's  approach  had  a  different  effect. 
Made  confident  by  numbers,  and  by  the  desperation 
of  a  large  proportion  which  could  neither  pay  nor 
depart,  they  resolved  in  public  meetings  not  to  heed 
the  act.  The  gatherings  were  sufficiently  demonstra 
tive  to  rally  Americans  from  surrounding  camps  for 
self- protection,  and  for  maintaining  order.  The  as 
pect  became  threatening,  but  nothing  serious  occurred 
beyond  the  excitement  attending  the  fruitless  trial  of 
four  suspected  murderers,  the  arrest  of  a  large  num 
ber  of  blustering  Mexicans,69  and  the  advance  of  the 
collector  with  his  formidable  escort,  before  which  most 
of  the  Mexicans  either  turned  in  flight,  lining  the 
roads  with  their  women  and  chattels,  or  pleaded  pov 
erty  and  abandonment  of  mining,  though  ready  to 
resume  operations  under  the  sheltering  screen  of  those 
who  possessed  a  license.  At  more  distant  camps  they 
defied  the  collector,  arms  in  hand.  Others  passed 
onward  to  seek  new  diggings  in  less  frequented  spots 
where  it  would  be  difficult  to  follow  them;  or  yielding 
to  a  national  propensity,  under  the  impulse  of  want 
and  vindictiveness,  they  became  highwaymen.  So 
startling,  indeed,  was  the  increase  in  robberies  and 

Cat.  Courier,  Aug.  6,  1850;  Martins  Narr.,  MS.,  54;  Sac.  Transcript,  June 
29,  1850.  The  Chilian  consul  arranged  to  send  home  800  persons,  at  $60 
each,  under  promise  of  repayment.  Torres,  Perip.,  MS.,  149. 

68  King,  Report,  26,  estimates  the  number  of  Mexicans  here  in  1849  at 
10,000. 

69  Over  100  were  brought  in  and  detained  awhile  in  a  corral.     Four  others 
were  found  in  suspicious  connection  with  two  dead  Americans,  and  narrowly 
escaped  lynching.     The  court  being  installed,  they  were  tried  and  acquitted. 
Details,  and  of  poor  result  attending  the  tax  collection,  Alta  Cal.,  May  24, 
June  3,  1850,  etc.;  S.  F.  Herald,  July  19-23,  Aug.  1,  1850;  Pac.  News,  May 
27-30,  Oct.  10,  22,  1850;  Cal  Courier,  July  11,  16,  1850;  6'.  F.  Picayune,  Aug. 
14,  1850;  S.  J.  Pioneer,  Aug.  11,  18,  1877. 


406  ANATOMY   OF  THE  MINES. 

murders  that  a  company  had  to  be  raised  to  pursue 
the  marauders  and  watch  over  the  district,70  and  a 
vigilance  committee  was  formed,  which  after  some 
abortive  efforts  reappeared  in  the  following  year  of 
popular  tribunals  to  achieve  most  gratifying  results.71 
The  difficulty  of  collecting  the  heavy  tax,  due  chiefly 
to  its  excessiveness,  the  protestations  even  from  those 
not  subjected  to  it,  and  the  questions  raised  concerning 
its  constitutionality '2  caused  it  to  be  repealed  in  1851; 
but  after  further  consideration  and  pressure  it  was  re 
stored  in  the  following  year  at  the  reduced  rate  of  $3 
per  month,  which  was  increased  to  $4  a  year  later  and 
long  sustained.73 

70  So  resolved  in  meeting  of  July  3,  1850,  when  subscriptions  began  for  the 
25  men  to  be  raised  by  Litton.     Appeal  was  also  made  to  the  government  for 
a  detachment.     A  meeting  of  July  21st  resolved  to  appoint  a  committee  in 
each  camp  to  issue  permits  to  respectable  foreigners,  and  order  all  others  to 
leave;   all   foreigners   having  to   deliver  up   their  arms.     The  enforcement 
proved  difficult.  Avila,  Doc.,  225.     At  Don  Pedro  Bar,  Tuolumne,  an.  affray 
took  place,  Aug.  7,  1850,  between  the  collector's  party  of  12  and  the  gathered 
Mexicans.     The  former  fired  and  killed  several,  but  received  so  warm  a  reply 
that  they  withdrew.  S.  F.  Picayune,  Aug.   12,   1850;    W.  Pac.  News,  Aug.  1, 
1850;  and  references  in  preceding  note. 

71  As  fully  related  in  my  Popular  Tribunals,  i.  496-514,  etc. 

72  The  supreme  court  affirmed  the  constitutionality,  although  art.  1,  sec. 
17,  of  the  state  organic  law  implies  that  foreigners  shall  enjoy  the  same  prop 
erty  rights  as  citizens. 

73 The  law  of  May  4,  1852,  gave  as  a  reason  for  the  tax  'the  privileges  and 
protection '  secured  to  the  foreigner  while  not  liable  to  the  same  duties  as  citi 
zens.  Loop-holes  were  cut  off  by  making  employers  liable  for  the  tax  of  em 
ployes,  and  by  imposing  it  upon  all  foreigners  in  the  mining  region  not 
directly  engaged  in  other  pursuits.  An  amendment  of  1855  raised  the  tax  to 
$6  for  persons  ineligible  for  citizenship  (not  intending  to  become  citizens)  and 
increased  it  by  $2  every  year;  but  this  was  annulled  in  1856,  and  the  general 
$4  rate  affirmed.  Another  act  of  April  30,  1855,  made  captains  liable  to  pay 
$50  for  every  immigrant  not  competent  to  become  citizens;  but  it  proved 
short-lived.  Gal.  Statute*,  1851,  March  14,  p.  424;  1852,  p.  84;  1853,  March 
30,  p.  62-5;  1854,  166;  1855,  Apr.  28,  30,  p.  194,  216;  1853,  Apr.  19,  p.  141. 
Cal  Comp.  Laws,  1850-3,  218-22;  Cal  Jour.  Ass.,  1853,  704-5,  etc.;  Auger, 
CaL,  110-11.  It  was  stated  that  8,000  Sonorans  stood  prepared  at  Los 
Angeles  to  rush  to  the  mines  when  the  repeal  law  of  1851  was  issued.  Alto 
CaL,  March  20,  1851.  The  receipts  from  the  tax  for  the  2d  fiscal  year  1850-1 
amounted  to  only  $29,991,  despite  the  heavy  rate;  the  3d  fiscal  year  brought 
§1,003;  the  4th  $53,121,  at  $3;  the  5th  and  6th,  at  $4,  $100,558,  and  $123,323, 
and  the  following  year,  1855-6,  brought  still  more,  nearly  a  half  at  $6.  CaL 
Jour.  Sen.,  1851,  pp.  531-8,  660-701;  1855,  Apr.  3,  p.  27;  1856,  p.  400-1,  Apr. 
22,  p.  6;  Id.,  Ass.,  1857,  Apr.  2,  p.  31.  Sac.  Union,  Aug.  13,  Sept.  25,  Oct. 
9,  1855,  June  28,  Dec.  31,  1856,  refers  also  to  fraudulent  licenses  and  evasions. 
S.  F.  Manual,  197-204;  Hayes'  Mining,  ii.  20-5;  CaL  Revenue,  4-10.  The  fol 
lowing  statistics  show  the  proportion  of  mining  as  well  as  foreigners  in  each 
county  for  the  civil  year  1856:  Foreign  Miners'  Licenses,  1856,  in  counties: 
El  Dorado  co.  $25,300,  Placer  $14,500,  Nevada  $10,000,  Tuolumne  $10,000, 
Klamath  $3,000,  Trinity  $4,500,  Sacto  $1,000,  Siskiyou  $1,000,  Butte  $10,000, 


FOREIGN  MINERS'  TAX.  407 

The  reduction  gave  fresh  courage  to  the  Mexicans, 
who  with  the  Mongols  constituted  almost  the  exclusive 
prey  of  the  collector;  but  it  brought  little  relief  from 
Anglo-Saxon  persecution,  with  the  attendant  seizures 
of  tempting  claims  and  maltreatment,  exclusion  from 
camps  and  districts  and  not  infrequent  bloody  encoun 
ters  when  objections  were  made,74  a  show  of  armed 
resistance  affording  an  excuse  for  even  more  liberal 
minded  men  to  regard  the  safety  of  the  community 
as  endangered  and  to  support  the  crusaders.  The 
French,  with  Latin  blood  and  sympathies,  suffered  so 
severely  from  the  persecution  that  their  immigration 
was  much  reduced,  while  large  numbers  sought  relief 
by  departing,  notably  with  the  disastrous  expeditions  of 
Haousset-Boulbon.75  Native  Californians  found  so  lit 
tle  protection  in  their  citizenship  from  similar  outrages, 

Calaveras  $12,500,  Shasta  $3,500,  Mariposa  $7,500,  Sierra  $3,000,  Yuba 
$li,50t>,  Plumas  $4,750,  Amador  $3,850,  Stanislaus  $400,  San  Joaquin  $500, 
Tulare  $500,  Merced  $1,000,  Fresno  $2,000.  Total  $125,300. 

74  Idlers  would  occasionally  raise  a  '  stake  '  by  a  fraudulent  double  levy  of 
tax,  after  tearing  up  the  exhibited  receipt.  For  notable  outrages,  see  Cal. 
Courier,  Feb.  18,  1851;  Alta  Cal,  Apr.  30,  June  18,  1851;  Sac.  Transcript, 
Feb.  28,  May  15,  1851,  with  mention  of  three  encounters,  half  a  score  of  killed, 
and  consequent  exodus  of  Mexicans.  The  miners  at  Rough  and  Ready  in 
May  1852  prohibited  foreigners  from  mining  in  the  district.  S.  F.  Herald, 
May  21,  1852.  In  Mariposa  both  French  and  Mexicans  were  driven  off  from 
a  series  of  valuable  claims,  but  the  French  consul  succeeded  in  reinstating 
some  of  the  expelled.  AltaCal.,  May  12-14,  June  12-13,  July  1,  5,  11,  15-16,  22, 
1852.  A  convention  met  in  Tuolumne  on  Sept.  18th  to  consider  the  question. 
Id.,  Sept.  20,  28,  Oct.  18;  Calaveras  Chronicle,  Sept.  1852;  Echo  Pac.,  July, 
Sept.  1852;  Sonora  Herald,  Sept.,  Oct.  1856.  At  Bidwell's  Bar  and  other 
places  it  was  resolved  not  to  register  claims  for  foreigners.  In  1853  Calaveras 
county  was  marked  by  wide-spread  expulsions,  with  attendant  outrages  that 
roused  a  cry  of  indignation,  throughout  Mexico.  Sonorense,  Mar.  25,  Apr.  8, 
15,  1853,  etc.;  Rivera,  Hist.  Jal,  iv.  371;  AltaCal.,  Apr.  20,  Aug.  21,  Oct.  2, 
Nov.  1,  1853;  March  18,  1854;  S.  F.  Herald,  Jan.  29,  1853;  S.  F.  Whi<j,  Jan. 
29,  1853,  with  allusions  to  squatter  outrages.  Cronica,  Dec.  20,  1854,  and  Voz 
Sonora,  Oct.  5,  1855,  etc.,  continued  to  deplore  the  Hispano  persecution.  Sac. 
Union,  Apr.  9,  May  7,  28,  July  28,  Aug.  11,  14,  Sept.  5,  1855,  has  allusions 
to  Mexican  robber  depredations  and  consequent  ill  feeling  in  Amador,  Cala 
veras,  and  adjoining  counties.  In  the  summer  of  1856  Mexicans  were  largely 
expelled  from  Amador.  Id.,  June  20,  Dec.  16,  1856;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  May  1, 
July  2,  Dec.  18,  1856;  Hayes1  Angeles,  xviii.  101-3;  and  so  at  Greenwood 
valley  and  in  Mariposa.  In  Shasta  the  sheriff  had  to  bring  fire-arms  to  bear 
on  a  party  intent  upon  expelling  Chinese.  Marysville  Appeal,  Aug.  24,  1867, 
brings  up  the  fate  of  the  rifles. 

70  As  related  in  the  chapter  on  filibustering.  Lambertie,  Voy.,  231-3,  and 
Auger,  Cal.,  105-13,  instance  several  marked  outrages.  They  acknowledge 
the  lack  of  unity  and  perseverance  among  French  parties.  See  AUa  Cal.,  Apr. 
28,  1851,  July  1853,  etc.,  for  outrages,  and  preceding  notes. 


408  ANATOMY  OF  THE  MINES. 

from  land  spoliation  and  other  injustice,76  which  had 
moreover  reduced  a  large  proportion  to  poverty,  that 
plans  for  emigrating  to  Mexico  were  widely  enter 
tained.77  In  the  mines  the  ill-will  turned  greatly  in  a 
new  direction  with  the  growing  influx  of  the  yet  more 
obnoxious  Chinese,  upon  whom  the  wrath  of  America 
gradually  concentrated.78 

76  Officials  of  their  race  were  treated  with  contempt,  from  which  many 
sought  to  save  themselves  by  taking  sides  with  their  oppressors.  Pico,  Doc., 
i.  191,  507-9.     Incautious  arrangements  with  lawyers,  gambling,  and  extrav 
agant  display  brought  about  the  ruin  of  a  large  proportion  of  wealthy  fam 
ilies.  Roach's  Stat.,  MS.,  5-6;  AltaCal,  Aug.  19,  1851,  Aug.  5,  1853. 

77  The  insecurity  in  Mexico  from  internal  wars,  Indian  raids,  and  arbi 
trary  officials  alone  prevented  a  large  exodus  in  response  to  the  invitations 
tendered  by  states  as  well  as  private  land-holders.     For  colony  schemes  and 
measures,  see  Vallejo,  Doc.,  xxxvi.  189,  213;  Hist.  Doc.  Col.,  i.  520;  iii.  371-82; 
Sac.  Union,  Feb.  12,  1855;  Savage,  Coll.,  MS.,  iii.  188;  Hist.  North  Mex.  States 
and  Tex.,  ii.,  this  series,  especially  in  direction  of  Sonora,  for  which  a  special 
colonization  society  was  formed. 

7bA  man  whose  early  life  in  California  is  a  mosaic  of  such  experiences  as 
are  indicated  in  the  above  chapter,  is  Hon.  Peter  Dean  of  San  Francisco. 
Born  in  England  Dec.  25, 1828,  he  came  to  the  U.  S.  in  1829  with  his  father's 
family,  his  ancestors  having  been  land-owners  from  the  Norman  period. 
Educated  in  New  England,  he  came  to  California  June  13,  1849,  on  the 
second  trip  of  the  Oregon,  being  one  of  12  forming  the  Gaspee  mining  co. 
After  some  experimental  mining,  the  company  established  a  ferry  across  the 
Tuolumne  river,  and  afterwards  dug  a  canal  to  furnish  water  to  miners, 
neither  of  which  made  their  fortunes  owing  to  accidents.  In  the  fall  of 
1851  Dean  returned  to  San  Francisco,  and  in  company  with  Samuel  Jackson 
want  to  Oregon  in  a  schooner,  which  was  loaded  with  lumber  and  live 
stock  for  Portland.  After  getting  to  sea,  a  southeast  storm  disabled  the 
vessel,  which  was  driven  up  the  coast,  but  finally  found  its  way  into  Dean's 
inlet  on  the  mainland  east  of  Queen  Charlotte  island,  where  they  were  detained 
43  days,  the  crew  suffering  many  hardships,  after  which  the  vessel  was 
worked  back  to  Puget  sound,  and  Dean  went  by  land  to  the  Columbia 
river,  where  he  took  passage  on  the  steamship  Columbia  for  San  Francisco. 
After  mining,  trading  in  cattle  in  Idaho,  and  various  undertakings  in  many 
places,  he  settled  in  San  Francisco  in  18G9.  Throughout  the  war  period 
he  was  an  ardent  unionist.  In  1871  he  was  elected  director  of  the  Pioneer 
society.  In  1873  he  was  elected  school  director;  and  also  waschosen  vice- 
president  of  the  Pioneer  society.  In  1875  and  1876  he  was  acting  president, 
and  in  1877  was  elected  president.  His  politics  in  1875  was  independent, 
he  being  a  member  of  the  Dolly  Varden  convention.  In  1877  he  was  elected 
to  the  state  senate,  and  defended  the  school  system  of  San  Francisco 
against  attacks  from  its  enemies.  He  was  in  the  state  convention  of  the 
republican  party  in  1878.  He  opposed  the  unlimited  coinage  of  silver, 
and  urged  upon  congress  the  policy  of  governmental  control  of  the  transcon 
tinental  railways;  endeavored  to  divide  the  burden  of  tbe  water-tax 
between  the  rate-payer  and  property-owner;  opposed  Chinese  immigration, 
and  labored  for  the  purity  of  the  ballot,  and  the  registration  of  voters. 
Mr  Dean  has  also  been  prominent  in  commercial  affairs.  He  was  elected 
president  to  close  up  the  business  of  the  Masonic  bank  and  Merchant's 
Exchange  bank;  and  is  (1888)  president  of  the  Sierra  lumber  company 
and  holds  other  official  positions;  besides  attending  to  an  extensive  private 
business. 


CHAPTER  XYI. 

MINING  METHODS. 

1848-1856. 

PRIMITIVE  MINING  MACHINERY — IMPROVED  MEANS  FOR  POOR  DIGGINGS- 
CALIFORNIA  INVENTIONS — TOM,  SLUICE,  FLUMING — HYDRAULIC  MINING 
— DITCHES,  SHAFTS,  AND  TUNNELS— QUARTZ  MINING — THE  FIRST  MILLS 
— EXCITEMENT,  FAILURE,  AND  REVIVAL — IMPROVED  MACHINERY — CO 
OPERATION — YIELD — AVERAGE  GAINS — COST  OF  GOLD — EVIL  AND  BENE 
FICIAL  EFFECTS  OF  MINING. 

RICH  surface  deposits  and  few  participants  did  not 
tend  to  advance  mining  methods;  but  as  the  easily 
worked  alluvia  became  scarcer,  and  the  number  of 
miners  increased,  attention  was  turned  to  less  remu 
nerative  auriferous  strata,  to  be  found,  not  alone  in  the 
shallow  river  bar  and  gulch  diggings  which  so  far  had 
been  merely  skimmed,  but  extending  through  benches 
above  the  level  of  the  streams  and  ravine  hollows,  and 
through  flats  and  gravel  hills,  the  deposits  of  ancient 
rivers.  With  these  were  connected  rich  beds  difficult 
of  access,  as  in  the  bottom  of  rivers,  or  at  a  great  depth 
beneath  layers  of  soil  of  little  or  no  value.  All  of 
which  required  a  combination  of  hands  and  capital,  for 
removing  barren  surface,  sinking  shafts,  and  driving 
tunnels,  and  for  machinery  with  which  to  perform  this 
wasteful  work  in  the  most  expeditious  manner,  and  to 
better  extract  a  compensating  amount  of  gold. 

Numbers  of  experiments  were  introduced  by  thought 
ful  immigrants,  but  nearly  all  devised  without  practical 
knowledge,  and  utterly  useless.1  Many  excellent  ideas 

1  Instance  the  cumbrous  and  complicated  sieves,  alembics,  washers,  and 
digesters  mentioned  in.  Burnett's  Rcc.,  MS.,  ii.  42-5;  Placer  Times,  May  26, 

(409) 


410  MINING  METHODS. 

were,  however,  obtained  from  men  conversant  with 
the  methods  of  other  countries,  and  these  suggestions 
assisted  in  unfolding  one  method  after  another.  In 
1850  the  long-torn  began  to  supplant  the  cradle,  of 
which  it  formed  practically  an  extension,  with  a  capa 
city  fivefold  and  upward  greater.2  Complementary  to 
it  was  the  quicksilver  machine  for  saving  fine  gold.3 
Both  were  replaced  within  two  or  three  years  by  the 
more  effective  and  permanent  sluice,4  an  extension  of 

1849;  Swan's  Trip,  48-9;  Cal.  Pioneers,  no.  49;  Simpsons  Gold  Mines,  7-8; 
Auger,  Cal.,  8-9;  Sac.  Bee,  Jan,  16,  1874;  Overland,  xiii.  274-85;  which  drew 
ridicule  upon  the  owners,  and  were  cast  aside  often  without  trial.  The  ex 
pressman  Gregory  brought  out  diving  suits  for  which  he  was  offered  700  per 
cent  profit  betore  trial,  and  Degroot's  diving  bell  raised  hopes  in  many  breasts; 
but  they  proved  worthless. 

2  An   inclined,  stationary  wooden  trough  or  box  from  10  to  30  feet  in 
length,  ITS  ft  in  width  at  the  upper  end,  and  widening  at  the  lower  end,  where 
perforated  sheets  of  iron  are  let  into  the  bottom,  under  which  is  placed  a 
shallow  flat  riffle- box,  four  or  five  feet  long,  with  cross-bars  to  catch  the  run 
ning  gold.     Such  bars  are  sometimes  nailed  also  across  the  bottom  of  the  upper 
box  to  assist  in  catching  the  gold.     Dirt  is  shovelled  into  the  upper  end  by 
one  or  more  men,  and  vipon  it  plays  a  continuous  stream  brought  in  hose  from 
the  dam  above.     Other  men  below  assist  in  dissolving  the  dirt  by  stirring  it 
with  shovels  or  forks,  and  in  removing  gravel.     The  puddling  box  obtained 
favor  where  water  was  scanty  and  the  clay  tough.     It  was  a  box  about  6  feet 
square  wherein  the  dirt  could  be  stirred  in  the  same  water  for  some  time, 
with  a  rake,  and  frequently  with  animal  power.     By  removing  a  plug  a  few 
inches  from  the  bottom,  the  slimy  matter  could  be  run  off  and  fresh  water 
introduced.     The  box  has  been  more  widely  adopted  in  Australia.     Both  of 
these  machines  existed  in  cruder  forms  in  Georgia  and  elsewhere.   See  A  usted's 
Gold  Seeker,  85-7;  Zerrenorer,  Aulletung,  51,  for  similar  apparatus.     Crosby, 
Stat.,  MS.,  21,  refers  to  toms  in  May  1849,  apparently. 

3  Which  the  simple  cross-bars  failed  to  catch.     It  was  a  long  rocker  with 
perforated  iron  top  throughout,  above  the  riffle-box,  above  each  of  whose  bars 
some  quicksilver  was  placed  to  absorb  the  gold,  which  was  regained  by  squeez 
ing  the  mercury  through  buckskin  and  retorting  the  amalgam.     The  cradle 
has  been  described  in  the  previous  chapter  on  earliest  mining  methods.     The 
quicksilver  machine  was  introduced  from  the  eastern  states  in  1849,  3-400  Ibs 
in  weight,  and  costing  $1,000-$  1,200,  as  described  in  Placer  Times,  Oct.  20, 
1849;  but  by  1850  they  were  reduced  in  weight  and  price  from  three  to  six 
fold.     The  introduction  and  improvement  are  ascribed  to  C.  Bruce,  who  re 
sided  in  Mariposa  in  1873.  Marysville  Appeal,  Jan.  16,  1873;  Sac.  Transcript, 
May  29,  1850;  Placer  Times,  Apr.  13,  1850. 

4  Either  may  be  several  hundred  feet  long.     When  of  board  it  is  made  in 
sections  for  ready  fitting  and  removal.     Small  sluices  require  from  half  a 
dozen  to  a  score  of  men.     Large  ones  demand  preliminary  hydraulic  oper 
ations  for  bringing  dirt  and  a  little  river  of  water,  which  obviate  much  manual 
labor.     The  wear  of  timber  for  the  boxes,  the  bottom  of  which  has  often  to 
be  renewed  every  20  days,  led  to  the  adoption  of  the  under-current  sluice, 
wherein  iron  bars  and  double  channels  separate  the  coarse  debris  from  the 
finer,  and  allows  a  more  gentle  and  prolonged  current  to  save  more  gold. 
The  costly  timber  is  wholly  or  partly  saved  by  ditch  sluices,  such  as  the  rock 
sluice,  wherein  the  bottom  is  formed  of  lenticular  rolled  pebbles  or  cobble 
stones  overlapping  each  other  in  regular  order.     One  form  of  this  is  the  tail 
sluice,  generally  laid  in  the  bed  of  a  creek  with  larger  stones,  for  washing  the 


TOM  AND  SLUICE.  411 

the  torn,  and  either  constructed  of  boards,  or  as  a  sim 
ple  inclined  ditch,  with  rocks  instead  of  wooden  riffles 
for  retaining  the  gold.  Operations  on  river  bars  soon 
led  to  explorations  of  the  bed  itself,  to  which  end  the 
stream  was  turned  into  artificial  channels  to  lay  bare 
the  bottom.5  The  cost  and  risk  of  deviating  the  river 
course  caused  the  introduction  of  dredgers  with  fair 
success.6  Along  the  northern  coasts  of  California  the 
auriferous  bluffs,  worn  away  by  the  surf,  deposit  very 
fine  gold  in  the  beach  sand,  which  is  carried  away  on 
mule-back  and  washed  at  the  nearest  stream. 

To  the  sluice  and  its  coordinates  are  due  the  im 
mense  increase  in  the  production  of  gold  during  the 
early  mining  period;  for  without  their  aid  the  industry 

escaped  tailings  of  other  sluices.  Tunnels  are  sometimes  cut  to  obtain  an 
outlet  for  washing,  whence  the  term  sluice  tunnels.  The  ground  sluice  is 
used  for  rapid  descents,  and  as  it  can  cut  its  own  channels  it  is  often  applied 
for  opening  railroad  cuts,  etc.  Booming  is  to  discharge  an  entire  reservoir 
upon  a  mass  of  dirt.  The  grade  of  the  ordinarj'  sluice  ranges  from  2  to  20 
inches  for  every  12  feet.  The  upper  part  may  preferably  be  steeper  to  pro 
mote  the  disintegration  of  debris;  the  lower  part  must  be  gentler  in  descent 
to  prevent  the  fine  gold  from  being  washed  away.  The  rock  sluice  not  only 
saves  more  gold  than  board  sluices,  but  it  offers  less  facility  for  robbers,  and 
requires  less  frequent  cleanings  up.  Quicksilver  is  used  in  proportion  to  fine 
ness  of  the  gold,  frequently  in  the  cheaper  connection  of  amalgamated  copper 
plates.  Nevada  county  claims  the  credit  of  first  using  the  torn,  grizzly  (in 
connection  with  under-current  sluices),  and  sluice.  Nevada  Co.  Directory,  1867, 
61-2.  Pliny,  in  his  Nat.  History,  Del  Mar,  Free.  Metals,  286,  Austed,  Gold 
Seeker  and  Mining  in  Pac.,  115,  129-33,  show  that  sluices  and  hydraulic  wash 
ing  were  known  to  Romans,  Brazilians,  and  others.  Others  point  to  board 
sluices  in  N.  Carolina  in  1840.  W.  Elwell  constructed  one  at  Nevada  City  in 
the  spring  of  1850;  but  some  incline  to  credit  Mr  Eddy.  Mr  Eddy  is  credited 
with  the  accidental  discovery  of  the  sluice  method  in  California,  by  using  a 
trough  to  carry  the  dirt  and  water  from  his  claim,  across  that  of  a  quarrel 
some  neighbor,  to  the  rocker  below.  The  cleats  or  bars  in.  the  trough  caught 
the  gold,  leaving  none  for  his  rocker  to  wash.  Blake,  Mining  Machinery,  9, 
instances  a  tail  sluice  5,500  feet  long  at  Dutch  Flat,  which  cost  §55,000,  and 
took  4  years  to  construct.  The  best  account  of  sluices  is  given  in  Bowie's 
Hydraulic  Mining,  218  et  seq. 

0  The  water  is  turned  by  wing  dams  into  flumes,  which  are  usually  cheaper 
than  ditches,  owing  to  the  rocky  character  of  the  banks.  The  flume  current 
supplies  water  for  sluicing  and  power  to  pump  the  bed.  Bowlders  are  lifted 
by  derricks.  At  times  the  stream  is  confined  to  one  half  of  the  bed  while  the 
other  is  worked.  The  absence  of  heavy  rains  between  May  and  December 
permit  such  operations.  Placer  Times,  July  20,1849,  refers  to  several  fluming 
enterprises  on  the  American  forks  thus  early;  also  Deans  Stat.,  MS.,  4-5. 

6 The  steam  dredger  Phoenix,  of  the  Yuba  Dredging  Co.,  in  Jan.  1851,  was 
highly  commended  for  its  success.  The  buckets  discharged  the  dirt  into  huge 
rocker  riffles.  Pac.  News,  Oct.  19,  1850;  Sac.  Transcript,  Sept.  30,  1850;  Feb. 
1,  14,  1851;  S.  F.  Picayune,  Nov.  27,  1850;  Moore,  Pioneer,  MS.,  11-12,  re 
fers  to  success  and  failure  in  dredging;  also  Comstock,  Vi<j.,  MS.,  36. 


412  MINING  METHODS. 

would  have  failed  to  provide  remunerative  employ 
ment  for  more  than  a  small  proportion  of  the  mining 
force,  as  shown  by  the  rapid  deviation  of  poorer  labor 
ers  to  other  pursuits  after  1852.  The  saving  effected 
by  the  rocker,  as  compared  with  the  pan,  was  about 
fourfold.  The  torn  gained  an  equal  advance  upon  the 
rocker,  and  the  sluice  was  found  to  be  three  times 
cheaper  than  the  torn,7  for  about  35  cents  per  cubic 
yard  of  mining  dirt.  Even  this  price,  however,  was  too 
heavy  to  permit  the  mining  of  the  largest  auriferous 
deposits,  in  the  gravelly  banks  and  hills,  which  had 
moreover  to  be  removed  before  richer  underlying  strata 
could  be  profitably  worked.  The  sluice  process  per 
mitted  them  to  be  cheaply  washed,  so  that  in  the  ex 
cavation  or  removal  lay  the  chief  cost.  To  this  end 
was  invented  in  1853  the  hydraulic  process,8  to  under- 

7  The  calculations  of  Laur,  Product.  Metaux  Col.,  on  a  basis  of  20  francs 
per  day  for  wages,  made  the  pan  process  cost  75  fr.  per  cubic  metre  of  gravel; 
by  the  rocker  20  fr.,  by  torn  5  fr.,  by  sluice  1.71  fr.,  and  by  hydraulic  process 
0.28  fr. 

8  A  Frenchman  named  Chabot,  in  April  1852,  used  a  hose  without  nozzle 
upon  his  claim  at  Buckeye  Hill,  Nevada  co.,  to  sluice  away  the  gravel  which 
had  been  loosened  by  the  pick.     A  similar  method  is  said  to  have  been  used 
at  Yankee  Jim's  in  the  same  spring.     The  idea  was  applied  a  year  later  by 
E.  E.  Matteson,  from  Sterling,  Conn.,  with  improved  pressure  to  wash  down 
the  bank  itself,  and  so  save  the  costly  pick  and  shovel  work.     He  soon  found 
that  the  nozzled  hose  could  do  the  work  of  a  large  force  of  men  at  small  cost. 
Nevada  Co.  Directory,   1867,  32-3,  &J ;' Hittell's  Mining,  22,   144.     Hydraulics 
first  used  at  American  Hill,  Nevada  City,  says  Hist.  Nev.  Co.,  197.     One  of 
the  best  improvements  on  the  pipe,  etc.,  was  suggested  by  Macy  and  others  of 
the  same  county.    Matteson 's  perishable  canvas  hose,  strengthened  by  netting 
and  rope,  and  with  wooden  nozzle,  was  speedily  replaced  by  sheet-iron  pipes, 
and  these  by  wrought-iron  pipes,  with  goose-neck  and  other  nozzles.     The 
wide  application  of  the  method  without  due  proportion  of  plant  to  claims 
caused  disappointment  in  many  directions,  with  a  consequent  abatement  of 
use,  but  with  greater  experience,  combination,  and  improvements,  the  re 
vival  became  extensive.    The  main  effort  was  now  to  obtain  a  sufficient  quan 
tity  of  water,  with  pressure  increased  from  30  or  40  feet  to  200  or  400.     To 
this  end  special  companies  undertake  to  construct  reservoirs,  or  to  bring  water 
from  distant  rivers.     The  fall  ranged  from  6  to  25  feet  per  mile,  the  best 
grade  being  13  feet.     Wooden  flumes  were  in  time  largely  replaced  by  the 
less  fragile  iron  tubes,  with  inverted  siphons  and  other  saving  appliances; 
yet  ditches  proved  the  most  lasting,  needing  also  less  repair.     The  water  is 
sold  per  inch;  that  is,  the  amount  escaping  through  an  opening  one  inch 
square,  yet  the  volume  varies  with  pressure.     For  detailed  accounts  of  hy 
draulic  apparatus,  methods,  and  cost,  see  the  Report  of  the  commissioner  of 
mining  statistics;  Bowie's  Hydraulic  Mining;  Blake's  Mining  Machinery,  etc. 
Blasting  assisted  in  loosening  the  more  packed  strata.     Care  had  to  Ke  taken 
for  obtaining  a  sufficient  dumping-place  for  the  vast  debris,  to  which  end 
tunnels  and  other  outlets  were  at  times  required. 


HYDRAULIC  SYSTEM.  413 

mine  and  wash  down  banks  by  directing  against  it  a 
stream  of  water  through  a  pipe,  under  great  pressure. 
The  same  stream  did  the  work  of  a  host  of  pickmen 
and  shovellers,  and  supplied  the  washing  sluice;  so 
that  in  course  of  time,  with  cheaper  labor  and  machin 
ery,  the  cost  of  extracting  gold  from  a  cubic  yard  of 
gravel  was  reduced  as  low  as  half  a  cent,  while  the 
cost  under  the  old  rocker  system  of  1848-9  is  estimated 
at  several  dollars.  After  many  checks  from  lack  of 
experience  the  hydraulic  system  acquired  here  a  greater 
expansion  than  in  any  other  county,  owing  to  the  vast 
area  of  the  gravel  beds,  and  the  natural  drainage  pro 
vided  by  the  Sierra  Nevada  slopes ;  but  an  immense 
preliminary  outlay  was  required  in  bringing  water 
through  flumes,  ditches,9  and  tunnels,  sometimes  for 

9  The  official  report  for  1855  gives  the  following  list  of  canal  ditches  and 
branches: 

Counties.              No.  of  Canals.       No.  of  Miles.  Value. 

Amador 30  355  $446,000 

Butte 16  287  347,000 

Calaveras 17  325  497,500 

El  Dorado 20  610  935,000 

Humboldt 60  60  100,000 

Klamath 6  130  150,000 

Mariposa  8  150  180,000 

Nevada , 44  682  1,123,000 

Plumas 2  65  100,000 

Placer  , 29  498  649,400 

Sacramento 4  29  54,800 

Shasta 5  89  109,000 

Siskiyou 1  80  84,000 

Sierra 79  310  330,000 

Trinity 10  278  228,500 

Tuolumne „,....  13  285  447,500 

Yuba 8  360  560,000 

Total 303  4,493  $6,341,700 

In  year  1854 1,164  $2,294,000 

Increase  in  one  year 3,429  $4,047,700 

In  addition  to  the  above,  112  canals  and  ditches  have  been  commenced, 
and  will  probably  be  completed  within  the  next  year.  Amongst  them  is  the 
Sierra  Nevada  Mountain  Canal — an  immense  work — ten  feet  at  the  bottom, 
fourteen  at  the  top,  and  designed  with  branches,  to  extend  over  about  150 
miles.  The  above  report  is  not  perfect,  but  better  than  that  for  1856.  Com 
pare  Cal.  Jour.  Ass.,  1856,  p.  26;  Id.,  1857,  ap.  4,  p.  28-32;  Id.,  1855,  p.  41- 
2,  etc.  Also  preceding  notes,  and  later  account  in  my  next  vol. 

The  first  noteworthy  ditch  is  ascribed  to  Coyote  Hill,  from  Mosquito 
Creek,  Nev.  co.,  in  1850,  when  two  or  three  more  were  constructed  in  the 
same  county,  as  already  ppinted  out  under  this  district.  The  claim  is  con 
firmed  in  the  mfri"  by  Sac.  Transcript,  which  on  Feb.  14,  1851,  points  out 


414  MINING  METHODS. 

several  score  of  miles,  through  mountains,  over  deep 
ravines,  and  along  precipitous  cliffs,  by  means  of  lofty 
aqueducts  hung  sometimes  by  iron  brackets;  large 
reservoirs  had  also  to  be  provided,  and  outlets  and 
extensive  places  of  deposit  at  a  lower  elevation  for 
the  washed  debris. 

Deep,  timbered  shafts  were  not  common  in  placer 
mining,  for  the  pay  dirt  was  seldom  profitable  enough 
to  cover  the  expense,  but  for  prospecting  hills  they 
proved  of  value  in  determining  the  advisability  and 
direction  of  a  tunnel,  which  by  permitting  easy  drift 
ing,  and  offering  a  slight  incline  for  drainage  and  use 
of  tramways,  greatly  reduced  the  cost  of  extracting 
dirt.10 

This  system  became  more  identified  with  quartz 
operations,  which  already  in  1849  began  to  be  regarded 
as  a  future  main  branch  of  mining.  Explorations  soon 
justified  the  belief  by  revealing  the  mother  vein,  which 
with  its  breadth  of  easily  worked  pay  rock  promised 
stability,  while  the  outlying  parallel  veins,  in  harder 

that  two  canals  of  9  and  6  miles  were  already  bringing  water  at  Nevada,  the 
first  of  the  1,000  long-toms  kept  busy  thereby  paying  $16  per  day,  and  the 
last  in  order  $1,  for  the  muddy  residue.  On  May  15,  1851,  it  adds  that 
the  '  first  canal  experiment '  was  made  near  Nevada  by  bringing  Rock  Creek 
waters;  followed  by  a  Deer  Creek  conduit,  a  third  canal  from  Deer  Creek, 
parallel  to  the  first  being  nearly  ready.  Several  other  projects  had  been 
started.  See  also  June  15,  1851.  Grass  Val  Directory,  1856,  10-12,  alludes 
to  the  canal  from  Deer  Creek  to  Rough  and  Ready,  begun  in  Aug.  1850,  as 
the  first  enterprise  '  on  a  large  scale. '  Coloma's  claim  to  the  first  ditch,  of  six 
miles,  is  supported  in  Iltet.  El  Dorado  Co.,  177,  and  that  of  Yankee  Jim's,  in 
1851,  by  Placer  Co.  Directory,  1861,  13,  and  by  San  Andreas  Independent, 
which  attributes  it  to  1850.  Iowa  mil  Patriot  denies  this,  but  Placerville  Ob 
server  affirms.  Some  of  these  ditches  could  with  the  aid  of  natural  channels, 
easy  ground,  etc.,  be  constructed  for  as  low  a  rate  as  $200  per  mile,  but  as  a 
rule  the  expense  was  not  under  $1,000  per  mile,  and  often  much  more,  espe 
cially  when  bridges  and  tunnels  were  required.  On  the  Yuba,  water  was 
pumped  from  the  river  by  means  of  wheels  attached  to  barges  which  were 
moored  in  the  strongest  current.  S.  F.  Bulletin,  June  13,  1856.  The  Eureka 
Lake  Ditch  was  75  miles  long,  with  190  miles  of  branches,  costing  nearly  a 
million,  and  yielding  a  weekly  revenue  of  $6,000.  Sac.  Union,  of  Nov.  15, 
1854,  speaks  of  a  flume  over  3,000  feet  long  on  Feather  River. 

10  This  method  had  its  beginning  in  California  in  the  '  coyote '  burrowing 
of  the  Mexicans,  and  in  following  gravel  deposits  under  river  banks.  It  did 
not  assume  the  rank  of  a  distinct  branch  until  1852,  when  ancient  river  chan 
nels  began  to  attract  attention.  Fully  half  of  the  early  attempts  resulted  in 
failure,  owing  to  miscalculations  and  insufficient  adjuncts,  but  the  experience 
proved  of  value.  The  first  extensive  drift  mining  was  begun  in  1852  at  For 
est  Hill,  Nev.  J.  McG-illivray  had  however  in  1851  drifted  a  claim  at  Brown 
Bar  on  the  Middle  Fork  of  the  American. 


FLUMING  AND  COYOTING.  415 

casing,  presented  more  hazardous  prospects  of  speedy 
profits  in  their  narrower  and  richer  but  also  more 
unevenly  distributed  deposits.  The  first  quartz  vein 
was  discovered  in  Mariposa  in  1849,11  which  was 
quickly  followed  by  other  developments  along  the  gold 
belt,  and  in  1850  the  first  mill  was  planted  at  Grass 
Valley.12 

Preoccupied  with  remunerative  and  ready  placers 
few  among  the  gold-seekers  had  so  far  taken  an  inter 
est  in  the  new  branch ;  but  now,  with  the  organization 

11  On  Fremont's  grant,  the  reddish  samples  yielding  two  ounces  to  every 
25  pounds,  as  Taylor  testifies  in  Eldorado,  i.   110-11.     Among  those  who 
became  interested  in  the  branch  was  G,  W.  Wright,  who  spent  the  summer 
of  1849  in  exploring  the  gold  region  for  quartz,  *  and  his  experiments  have 
proved  so  wonderful  as  almost  to  challenge  credulity,'  writes  Buffum  at  the 
time  in  his  Six  Months,  109.     Comparing  the  quality  with  Georgia  ore,  which 
paid  well  at  12^  cents  per  bushel  of  rock,  'it  was  found  that  the  California 
quartz  would  yield  $75  per  bushel;  so  that  a  mill  might  readily  crush  $100,000 
daily.     According  to  Bean,  Nevada  Directory,  18G7,  48,  the  first  quartz  loca 
tion  is  ascribed  to  Butte  co.,  near  Oroville.  Pac.  News,  May  23,  1850,  reports 
large  quartz  discoveries  on  Yuba  and  Feather  rivers,  yielding  $14  to  two 
ounces  of  quartz. 

12  The  first,  a  '  periphery '  from  the  eastern  states,  is  ascribed  to  Witten- 
bach,  who  after  working  vainly  on  mica,  on  American  River  in  1849,  set  it 
up  at  Grass  Valley  in  the  following  year  for  Wright.  Rush,  1-2;  Cal.  Misc. 
Hist.  Pap.,  doc.   34.     Bean  agrees  with  this.     The  second  was  an  8-stamp 
*  Stockton '  mill,  with  an  engine  of  16-horse  power,  brought  across  the  Isth 
mus,  and  also  erected  by  Wittenbach  for  Wright  of  Phil.     Rush  had  10  tons 
crushed  at  a  cost  of  $40  per  ton,  while  the  yield  was  only  $397.  H>.     Hist. 
Nevada  Co.,   187,  calls  this  the  first,  and  dates  the  erection  early  in  1851. 
Hawlcy,    Stat.,  MS.,   9,   calls   King  the   first  builder  of  quartz-mills,    first 
erected  at  Grass  Valley,  and  his  testimony  is  good,  for  he  owned  a  mill  in 
Mariposa  late  in  1850.     Mariposa  Gcz.,  Jan.  17,  1873,  claims  the  first  mills 
for  its  county,  and  states  that  J.  Duff,  residing  there  in  1873,  erected  the 
first  quartz-mill,  including  a  small  engine,  in  August  1849,  close  to  Mariposa. 
It  was  known  as  the  Palmer,  Cook,  &  Co.'s  mill.     Another  was  erected  in 
June  1850  on  Stockton  Creek,  for  Com.  Stockton.     A  third,  brought  out  by 
Capt.  Howard,  dates  about  the  same  time.     J.  F.  Johnson  put  up  two  mills 
in  1850.  Sac.  Transcript,  June  29,  1850,  refers  to  Brock  way  going  east  to  ob 
tain  machinery.  AUa  Cal.,  Feb.  13,  1869,  refers  the  above  Palmer  &  Cook  mill 
from  Phil,  erected  by  C.  Walker,  to  Sept.  1850,  while  still  calling  it  the  first; 
the  second  is  ascribed  to  E.  F.  Beale,  later  U.  S.  surveyor-gen.   Marip.  Gaz., 
Feb.  26,  18G9;  National,  March  28,  18G8.     Pac.  News,  Aug.  27,  1850,  alludes  to 
a  party  leaving  Stockton  with  machinery  for  a  quartz  vein.     This  may  be  for 
the  mill  either  of  Wittenbach  or  Palmer,  Cook,  &  Co.      '  Till  now  the  pulver 
izing  of  quartz  has  been  confined  almost  exclusively  to  the  southern  diggings,' 
says  Sac.  Transcript,  Nov.  14,  1850.     Matthewson,  Stat.,  MS.,  8-9,  writes  of 
of  his  own  fruitless  efforts  with  mills;  and  so  does  Hawley,  Stat.,  MS.,  8-9, 
who  erected  a  mill  on  Saxton  Creek,  Mariposa,  end  of  1850,  and  crushed  ore 
at  $150  per  ton,  so  that  the  rich  yield  of  over  $100  per  ton  failed  to  pay.   Cal. 
Courier,  Aug.  26,  1859.     By  Feb.  1851  there  were  three  companies  at  Nevada 
operating  quartz  machinery.  Sac.  Transcript,  Feb.  1,  14,  28,  March  14,  1851. 
Placer  Times,  Oct.  23,  1851,  gives  a  list  of  mills. 


416  MINING  METHODS. 

of  companies,13  the  air  became  filled  with  wild  rumors. 
Assay  upon  assay  demonstrated  that  California  ore 
was  ten  to  a  hundred  fold  richer  than  well-paying 
lodes  abroad,  and  exploration  revealed  that  auriferous 
rock  existed  throughout  the  state.  Here,  then,  lay 
an  inexhaustible  wealth,  and  one  which  eclipsed  the 
famed  placers.  Owners  of  ledges  regarded  their  for 
tunes  as  assured,  and  reluctantly  yielded  a  share  to 
the  clamoring  mass  of  buyers,  chiefly  to  obtain  funds 
for  machinery,  vast  sums  being  spent  upon  plants. 
When  the  practical  test  came,  it  was  found  that  rock 
assaying  20  or  30  cents  to  the  pound  would  yield  two 
or  three  cents  only,  and  that  the  reduction  cost  from 
$40  to  $150  per  ton,  when  it  should  have  been  effected 
for  $6  to  $15. 

The  chief  trouble  was  inexperience  in  saving  the 
gold,  and  in  the  deceptive  nature  of  the  ore ;  for  the 
rich  pockets  which  had  led  to  the  erection  of  costly 
mills  were  found  to  be  contained  in  the  least  promis 
ing  veins.  Hundreds  were  ruined.  A  reaction  set  in. 
Quartz  mining  fell  into  disrepute,  and  mills  were  left 
to  decay.14  A  few  prudent  men,  and  those  with  very 
rich  ledges,  persevered,  however,  aided  by  arastras 
and  other  simple,  inexpensive  machinery.  Their  suc 
cess  spread  valuable  lessons,  which  with  1853  led  to  a 
revival  of  confidence,  and  two  years  later  saw  three 
score  mills  in  operation,  producing  over  $4,000,000.15 

13  The  first  regular  quartz  mining  co.   was  the  Merced,  including  J.  C. 
Palmer,  prest,  Moffat,  the  assayer,  Butler  King,  and  others.  Mariposa  Gaz., 
Jan.  17,  1873.     The  Los  Angeles  Mining  Co.  organized  about  the  same  time 
to  tear  asunder  the  bowels  of  a  gold  mount.  200  miles  s.  E.  of  Los  Angeles. 
Its  shares  were  offered  at  auction  Aug.  27,  1850,  which  was  probably  the  first 
public  sale  of  mining  stock  in  Cal.    Some  10  or  12  sets  of  machinery  had  been 
ordered  by  different  cos.  in  Grass  Valley  before  the  spring  of  1851.   Sac. 
Transcript,  March  14,  1851.    Companies  were  forming  in  London.  Eve.  Jour., 
May  25,  1852.     The  first  incorporated  mining  company  of  Cal.  was  the  Bos 
ton  Bar  Co.  of  1850.  Hist.  El  Dorado  Co.,  35. 

14  The  erection  of  machinery  ere  the  vein  had  been  sufficiently  opened  and 
tested  was  a  mistake  oft  repeated.     Others  sank  costly  shafts  without  due 
surface  indication,  or  drifted  from  '  chimneys'  into  barren  ground,  or  trusted 
to  unskilled  superintendents. 

15  The  official  returns  not  quite  complete  mention  59  mills,  crushing  222,  • 
000  tons  and  yielding  $4,082,100.  Cal.  Jour.  Ass.,  1856,  p.  26;  Id.,  1857,  ap. 
4,  p.  28  et  seq. ,  less  complete.     Over  a  dozen  more  mills  were  begun  before 
the  close  of  1855.     This  compares  well  with  1853-4,  but  not  with  that  of 


QUARTZ  CRUSHING.  417 

Machinery  was  now  turned  to  better  use,  and  Cali 
fornia  added  several  new  processes  and  improvements 
with  which  to  advance  the  industry.16 

Quartz  mining  belongs  less  to  the  present  period 
than  the  exploitation  of  placers,  in  which  progress  has 
been  as  rapid  and  extensive  as  the  transformation  of 
the  Pacific  wilderness  into  a  populous  and  flourishing 
state,  and  the  progress  is  due,  not  alone  to  the  vastness 

1852.  U.  S.  Census,  1850,  p.  985,  which  enumerates  108  mills,  and  a  capital 
of  $5,876,000  invested  in  quartz  mining,  mostly  wasted.  Sac.  Union,  March  6, 
1855,  gives  a  list  of  53  quartz  companies.  Puffing  began  again,  Nevada, 
Jour.,  Feb.  29,  1856,  as  it  had  been  in  1850-1.  Pat.  News,  Oct.  24,  Nov.  15, 
1850.  In  1857  a  quartz  convention  met,  which  did  good  service  in  promoting 
the  branch.  S.  F.  Bulletin,  June  17,  1857,  etc.  See,  further,  Cat.  Courier, 
Nov.  25,  1850;  Borthwick's  Cal.,  189,  244,  324;  Hunt's  May.,  xxvii.  382-3, 
445-50;  Alta  Cal,  Aug.  25,  Oct.  28,  1852;  June  16,  1853;  Aug.  16,  1854;  July 
16,  1855;  Feb.  9-24,  1856,  etc.;  Grass  Vol.  Tidings,  March-May,  1879;  Sac. 
Union,  1854-6;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  1855-6,  passim. 

16  As  will  be  more  fully  related  in  my  next  vol. ,  stamping  and  milling  was 
in  the  Hay  ward  mine  reduced  to  66  cents  per  ton.  Cronise,  Cal.,  424.  Cali 
fornia  has  borrowed  quartz  machinery  from  different  nations,  from  the  slow 
yet  effective  Mexican  arastra,  described  in  Hint.  Mex.,  iii.,  vi.,  chapters  on 
mining,  this  series;  the  Chilian  mill,  in  which  the  drag-stone  of  the  arastra 
is  replaced  by  one  or  two  large  wheels  to  turn  on  a  pivot  in  the  ore-crushing 
bed;  to  the  square  stamp  with  its  vertical  fall,  which  has  been  the  favorite. 
The  mechanical  and  chemical  processes  for  separating  the  goLl  are  numerous; 
for  the  Californian  is  ever  ready  to  try  the  latest  and  best.  A  few  early  local 
inventions  are  referred  to  in  Sac.  Union,  Aug.  18,  Oct.  22,  Dec.  20,  1855; 
Feb.  12,  Dec.  30,  1856;  Alta  Cat.,  May  19,  Oct.  27,  1856;  the  latter  with  fre 
quent  special  and  general  reports  of  mining  operations  throughout  the  state 
since  1848.  See  also  S.  F.  Herald,  and  after  1854  and  1855,  Sac.  Union  and 
S.  F.  Bulletin;  Hayes1  Mining,  i.-ii.,  passim.  More  scattering  and  incidental 
are  the  accounts  in  Carson s  Recol.,  10;  Woods'  Sixteen  Mo.,  50-4;  Crosby's 
Events,  MS.,  20-1;  Shermans  Mem.,  i.  52;  Caprons  Cal.,  229;  ScJdagintweit, 
Cal,  216  et  seq.;  Watson's  Life,  MS.,  7;  Moore  s  Exper.,  MS.,  11-12;  Bur 
nett's  Rec.,  304,  etc.;  Cokman's  Vig.,  MS.,  146;  Tylers  Bidwell's  Bar,  MS., 
2;  Thomas'  Mining  Remin.,  MS.,  1  etseq.;  Nouv.  Annales  foy.,  cxxviii.  325- 
41;  cxxix.  109-20,  353-73;  Harpers  Mag.,  xx.  598-616;  Overland,  xiii.  273, 
etc.;  Hinton's  Ariz.,  88-99;  Roswag,  Metaux,  24-53;  Miners  Own  Book,  1-32; 
Thompsons  Golden  Res.,  1-91;  Simonin,  Vie  Souter,  494,  etc.;  Bale/is  Mines, 
passim;  HittelVs  Mining,  22,  etc..  Id.,  MS.,  4-12;  Phillips'  Mining,  129  et  seq.; 
Blake's  Mining  Machinery,  passim;  Gold  Mining  in  Cal,  53  et  seq.;  Bowie's 
Hydraulic  Mining,  47,  etc.;  Sillimans  Deep  Placers,  15-^42;  the  last  few  books 
containing  more  or  less  comprehensive  reviews.  Among  curious  appliances 
may  be  mentioned  the  Norwegian  telescope  for  examining  river  bottoms;  a 
dirt-boiling  apparatus,  in  Hunt's  Mag.,  xxvi.  513,  and  the  gold  magnet  and 
divining-rod  superstitions;  the  former  a  tiny  affair  two  or  three  inches  square 
carried  over  the  heart  by  the  prospector,  and  supposed  to  give  a  shock  when 
passing  over  gold;  the  rod,  a  fresh-cut  fork  of  hazel  held  horizontally  by  both 
hands;  the  point  in  front  tips  over  ore  bodies  when  carried  by  appropriately 
constituted  person.  Reichenback  seeks  to  explain  the  principle  in  his  Odic- 
Magnetic  Letters,  and  many  intelligent  miners  vouch  for  it.  They  do  not  seem 
to  consider  that  nature  is  always  true  to  herself,  and  that  if  these  tests  are 
ever  true  they  are  always  true.  For  mining  terms,  see  Hintons  Ariz.,  ap., 
62-7;  Wright's  Big  Bonanza,  567-9;  Balch's  Mines,  729  et  seq. 
HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.  27 


418  MINING  METHODS. 

of  the  deposits  and  the  favorable  configuration  of  the 
country,  but  to  the  ingenuity  and  enterprise  of  the 
men  who  invented  and  perfected  means  for  exploita 
tion,  and  knew  how  to  organize  their  strength  for 
great  undertakings.  A  striking  feature  in  this  con 
nection  is  the  number  of  such  operations  by  miners 
who  possessed  few  or  no  resources  for  them  save  pluck. 
Each  successive  improvement  of  method  by  torn, 
sluice,  or  hydraulic  process,  increasing  as  it  did  the 
extent  of  claims  and  work  connected  with  each  opera 
tion,  demanded  more  cooperation,  and  augmented  the 
number  of  companies  at  the  expense  of  individual 
laborers,  whose  diminution  corresponded  to  the  de>- 
crease  of  rich  surface  placers  and  the  advent  of  scien 
tific  mining.  The  massing  of  forces  eliminated  the 
weaker  members  of  the  fold,  partly  under  the  pressure 
of  lower  wages,  and  drove  them  to  other  pursuits  for 
which  they  were  more  fitted.  The  industry  acquired 
further  stability  in  the  abatement  of  nomadic  habits, 
by  the  growing  magnitude  of  operations  which  de 
manded  a  prolonged  stay  at  one  place.  Concentrated 
and  improved  efforts,  not  only  resulted  in  a  rapid  swell 
ing  of  the  gold  yield  after  1849,  but  in  sustaining  the 
production  for  years  at  a  high  rate,  largely  from 
ground  which  elsewhere,  under  less  favorable  configu 
ration  and  skill,  had  been  rejected  as  utterly  worth 
less. 

California  placer  gold,  tinged  in  some  parts  by 
copper,  reveals  in  the  more  general  paleness  the 
wide-spread  admixture  of  silver,  which  is  especially 
marked  beyond  the  summit  of  the  Sierra  and  in  the 
south.  In  Kern  the  fineness  ranges  as  low  as  600  or 
700  thousandths,  but  increases  rapidly  northward, 
until  on  the  Stanislaus  it  reaches  over  900.  After 
another  decline  to  somewhat  below  this  figure,  it  rises 
again  above  it  on  the  Yuba  and  Feather  rivers,  that 
of  Butte  coming  at  times  within  ten  thousandths  of 
absolute  purity.  Beyond  this  county  there  is  another 


FINENESS  OF  GOLD.  419 

abatement  to  below  900.  The  average  fineness  for 
the  state  being  placed  by  Dana  and  King  at  880  or 
883,  which  is  a  fraction  above  the  average  for  the 
United  States.17 

Many  spots  are  remarkable  for  the  uniformity  of 
shape  in  their  deposits,  of  scales,  pellets,  grains,  or 
threads,  and  in  quartz  are  frequently  found  the  most 
beautiful  arborescent  specimens.18  It  is  strange  that 
lumps  above  an  ounce  in  weight  should  be  so  rare  in 

17  The  lowest  quality,  whitened  by  silver  admixture,  lies  on  the  east  side 
of  the  Sierra,  and  in  the  southern  part  of  San  Joaquin  Valley.     In  Kern  it 
falls  nearly  to  600  thousandths,  the  other  400  being  mostly  silver.     The  aver 
age  fineness  is  about  060.     In  Fresno  it  rises  about  100,  reaching  in  Mariposa 
an  average  considerably  over  800,  and  in  Tuolumne  as  high  as  950,  the  aver 
age  being  nearer  this  figure  than  900.     King  found  920  for  Stanislaus  county 
assays,  and  850  to  960  for  Calaveras.    U.  JS.  Geol.  Kept,  1880-1,  379.     The 
grade  declines  again  until  it  touches  below  900  for  the  Mokelumne.     This 
applies  also  for  El  Dorado,  although  there  the  quality  varies  greatly.     On  the 
Yuba  it  ascends  again,  several  spots  reported  by  Whitney,  Auriferous  Gravels, 
giving  from  910  to  950,  with  a  few  also  below  900.     Several  examinations  by 
King  in  Placer  yield  784  to  960,  in  Plumas  846  to  936,  and  in  Butte  900  to 
970;  for  the  latter  Whitney  has  925  to  950  and  for  Butte  958  to  980.     In 
Sierra  the  figure  varies  greatly,  although  the  average  is  over  900.     Butte 
county  stands  preeminent  for  its  fine  gold,  which  has  assayed  even  above  990, 
and  brought  $20.40  per  ounce.     Northward  it  falls  again  somewhat.     Trinity 
ranges  between  875  and  927,  Del  Norte  875  to  950,  Siskiyou  749  to  950,  and 
samples  from  Humboldt  and  Shasta  726  to  940  and  885.     The  gold  bluffs  yield 
about  880.     Hittell,  Mining,  49-50,  placed  the  California  average  at  855;  Dana, 
Mineralogy,  raised  it  to  880;  and  King,  Geol.  Survey,  1880-1,  p.  382,  to  883.0, 
with  an  average  for  the  United  States  of  876,  Idaho  being  780.6,  Colorado 
820. 5,  Oregon  872.7,  Montana  895.1,  Georgia  922.8,  Dakota  923.5.     See  also 
Bowies  Hydraulics,  289-91;    Whitney's  Auriferous  Gravel;  Phillips'  Mining,  3; 
Batch's  Mines,  etc.;  Sayivard's  StaL,  MS.,  12-13,  by  an  early  gold  broker. 

18  Of  the  smooth  water- worn  gold  usually  found  in  rivers,  '  flour  and  grain' 
gold,  the  fineness  approaching  to  flour  and  gunpowder,  belongs  mostly  to 
locustrine  deposits,  and  to  the  gold  bluffs.      '  Shot '  gold  samples  have  been 
furnished  by  Secret  Ravine,  Placer.     '  Scale  '  gold  is  often  of  remarkable  uni 
formity.     On  Yuba  and  Feather  river  bars  it  was  almost  circular,  about  one 
tenth  of  an  inch  in  diameter.      '  Thread  '  gold  has  been  found  near  Yreka, 
and  on  Fine  Gold  Creek,  Fresno.     Of  the  coarse  gold  generally  attributed  to 
ravines,  the  crystalline  is  rare;  pellets  of  the  size  of  peas  are  presented  by 
Cotton  wood  Creek,  Shasta;  at  the  adjoining  Horsetown  they  took  the  shape 
of  beans.     Gold  shaped  like  moccasons  is  found  in  Coarse  Gold  Gulch,  Fresno. 
Near  Prairie  City,  El  Dorado,  a  long  ridge  presents  shot  gold  on  one  side  and 
'  scale  '  gold  on  the  other.  Alia  Cal,  Dec.  24,  1850,  comments  on  the  beautiful 
leaf  gold  found  at  Wood  Diggings.     The  latter  form  is  common  in  quartz, 
where  the  gold,  usually  ranging  between  imperceptible  specks  and  streaks, 
appears  also  in  pellets,  in  aborescent,  denditric,  and  foliated  forms.     Fern- 
leaf  specimens  are  very  beautiful,  as  found  near  Shingle  Springs,  El  Dorado, 
some  studded  with  octahedron  crystals,  as  at  Irish  Creek,  Coloma.     Blake 
describes  several  specimens.    N.  S.,  Pac.  R.  R.  Rept,  v.  300.     Most  rich 
quartz  crumbles  readily,  so  that  pieces  for  jewelry  have  to  be  sought.     Marble 
Springs,   Mariposa,  furnished  the  most  in  early  days.   Hitters  Mining,  41; 
Alia  Cat.,  Sept.  21,  1854. 


420  MINING  METHODS. 

actual  quartz  veins,  while  the  supposed  derivatory 
placers  have  yielded  nuggets  by  the  hundreds  from 
one  pound  and  upward.  Australia  still  holds  the 
palm  for  the  largest  piece,  but  California  ranks  not 
far  behind.  The  largest  ever  found  here,  in  Novem 
ber  1854,  from  Calaveras,  weighed  161  pounds,  less 
some  20  pounds  for  quartz,19  which  represented  a  sum 

19  At  $17.25  per  ounce  the  estimated  value  was  $38,916.  It  measured 
irregularly  15  inches  by  6  in  width  and  4  in  thickness.  The  claim  belonged 
to  5  poor  men,  4  Americans  and  a  Swiss,  who  upon  finding  the  lump,  in  Nov. 
1854,  set  out  for  S.  F.,  guarding  it  night  and  day.  Other  accounts  reduce 
the  value  to  $29,000.  S.  F.  Gazette  and  VEcho  Pac.,  Dec.  1,  1854;  Sac.  Union, 
Nov.  27-30,  1854,  May  24,  1855.  It  was  to  be  exhibited  abroad.  Hunt's  Mag.y 
xxxii.  255;  Daily  Transcript,  Feb.  28,  1866.  On  the  strength  of  this  discovery 
goes  the  story,  a  stranger  deposited  a  nugget  of  2,319  ounces  at  a  N.  York 
assay  office,  which  he  permitted  to  be  assayed  from  one  point,  not  wishing  to 
mar  the  appearance.  He  obtained  a  loan  of  $6,000.  The  lump  was  subse 
quently  found  to  be  a  gold-covered  piece  of  lead.  Grass  Vol.  Union,  June 
18-22,  1872.  One  of  even  greater  valuation  than  the  161 -Ib.  lump  is  said  to 
have  been  found  by  Chinese  in  Aug.  1886,  but  at  present  I  will  confine  my 
self  to  early  annals.  Alia  Cat.,  May  11,  1855,  refers  to  a  95-lb.  lump  from 
near  Downieville;  72  Ibs  from  Columbia  Sept.  1854;  Gal.  Courier,  Nov.  14, 
1850,  to  50-60  Ibs  from  the  Yuba;  a  $10,000  piece  from  Ophir,  Sutter  co.,  Id., 
Dec.  21,  1850;  8.  F.  Picayune,  Dec.  20,  1850;  a  65-lb.  from  near  Columbia, 
S.  J.  Pioneer,  Feb.  16,  1878;  also  one  of  54  Ibs  from  Dogtown,  Butte,  and 
one  of  51  Ibs  from  French  Ravine,  Sierra,  1853;  50  Ibs  with  some  quartz  from 
near  Mariposa,  Placer  Times,  Apr.  13,  1850;  500  ounces  near  Gibsonville, 
Alta  Cat.,  Oct.  4,  1855;  one  netting  $8,829,  Sac.  Union,  May  21,  1855;  33  Ibs 
with  7  Ibs  of  quartz,  near  Yuba  forks,  S.  F.  Herald,  July  7,  1850;  an  $8,000 
lump  near  Downieville,  1851;  30  Ibs  near  Sonora,  Sac.  Union,  Jan.  16,  1855; 
30  and  26  Ibs  at  Vallecito,  Calaveras,  Alta  Gal,  May  7,  1854;  28  Ibs  worth 
$4,400,  Holden's  garden,  Sonora,  Sawtell's  Pioneers,  MS.,  5;  27  Ibs  at  Colum 
bia,  A  Ltd  Cal.,  Apr.  5,  1854;  400  ounces,  at  Gibsonville,  Sac.  Union,  Oct.  6, 
1855;  25  Ibs,  American  North  Fork,  Placer  Times,  June  23,  1849;  and  another 
such  mentioned  in  Sac.  Transcript,  Apr.  26,  1850;  25  Ibs,  Mt  Echo  and  Alta 
Cal,  Sept.  1,  1852;  23  Ibs,  Sonora,  Pac.  News,  May  17,  1850;  23  Ibs,  French 
Gulch,  Alta  Gal,  Sept.  15,  1856;  22  Ibs  on  the  Calaveras,  Id.,  Dec.  23,  1850; 
Polynesian,  vi.  198;  Cal.  Courier,  Dec.  25,  1850;  also  284  ounces,  near  El  Do 
rado.  Quartz  bowlders  are  several  times  referred  to  of  about  403  Ibs,  esti 
mated  as  high  as  $25,000.  S.  F.  Picayune,  Sept.  16,  1850;  A Ua  Gal,  March 
4,  1854;  Gal  Courier,  Sept.  16,  26,  1850;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Oct.  30,  1855.  At 
Carson  Hill  a  piece  of  112  Ibs  was  chiselled  out  in  Feb.  1850.  Hayes'  Mining,  ii. 
46.  Several  more  might  be  added,  for  Sonora,  round  Sonora  alone  claims 
eight  nuggets  between  20  and  30  Ibs,  uncovered  from  1850  to  1855.  The  list 
is  based  mainly  on  newspaper  items.  Lumps  below  20  Ibs  in  weight  are 
innumerable,  and  the  region  round  Sonora  is  the  most  prolific  in  this  direction, 
as  shown  in  S.  F.  Picayune,  Sept.  16,  Oct.  15,  1850,  which  writes,  '  one  hun 
dred  pieces  of  gold  averaging  12  Ibs  each  have  been  got  out  within  a  few 
months.'  Gal  Courier,  Oct.  15,  1850;  Pac.  News,  May  14,  Aug.  30,  Oct.  19, 
1850;  AUa  Cal,  Feb.  19-21,  May  16,  1853;  Oct.  9,  1855;  Placer  Times,  May 
17,  1850:  and  list  in  HitteWs  Mining,  48.  Mariposa  claimed  a  goodly  share. 
8.  F.  Picayune,  Sept.  10,  1850;  Cal.  Courier,  Nov.  16,  1850;  Sac.  Union,  Aug. 
4,  1855;  Pac.  News,  May  10,  1850.  The  size  of  Mokelumne  pieces  is  instanced 
in  Cal.  Courier,  Dec.  16,  1850;  Alta  Cal,  Oct.  5,  1852.  Placer  Times,  Feb.  9, 
1850,  refers  to  a  woman  near  Placerville  who  took  out  a  13-11).  nugget;  Hayes' 
Alining,  ii.  3.  Auburn  boasted  of  many  fine  lumps.  Placer  Times,  Feb.  23, 


NUGGETS  AND  POCKETS.  421 

of  over  $30,000.  It  is  doubtful  whether  any  more 
lumps  were  obtained  prior  to  1856  containing  100 
pounds  of  pure  gold,  but  there  are  several  ranging 
below  this  to  50  pounds,  and  a  large  number  from  ten 
pounds  upward. 

Those  who  found  valuable  nuggets  were  few  as 
compared  with  the  number  who,  alighting  on  remu 
nerative  claims,  took  out  fortunes  from  coarse  and 
fine  pay  dirt.  These  especially  form  the  theme  of 
anecdote  and  newspaper  record,  all  with  the  usual 
exaggeration.20  Instance  the  prospecting  claim  on 
Carson  Hill,  from  which  gold  was  chiselled  out  in 
big  chunks,  and  which  yielded  within  a  short  time 
some  $2,000,000;  and  such  troves  as  were  repeat 
edly  obtained  by  individual  diggers,  especially  in  the 
numerous  *  pockets'  of  the  Sonora  region,  including 
Wood  Creek,  the  richest  of  its  size,  the  bars  of 
American,  Yuba,  and  Feather  rivers,  with  such  spots 

1850;  Sat.  Transcript,  Apr.  26,  1850;  Placer  Times,  March  9,  1850;  AUa  Cal, 
March  23,  1856.  For  finds  at  Grass  Valley,  etc.,  Id.,  March  18,  1854;  Sac. 
Transcript,  May  15,  1851;  Sac.  Union,  June  30,  1855.  Scott's  River  had  many 
specimens.  Id.,  Jan.  27,  March  7,  1855;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Nov.  30,  1855;  AUa 
CaL,  July  2,  1851.  See,  further,  Little's  Stat.,  MS.,  12;  Hayes1  Mining,  i.-vi., 
passim,  and  under  different  districts  in  this  chapter,  as  Feather  River  and 
Tuolumne. 

29  The  results  of  fluming,  sluicing,  and  other  work  entailing  costly  prelim 
inaries  by  a  company  are  numerous,  but  hardly  belongs  to  the  instances  here 
intended,  yet  the  product  of  a  single  claim  is  to  the  point,  as  that  of  Carson 
Hill,  where  big  pieces  were  chiselled  out,  one  of  112  Ibs;  a  single  blast  yielded 
$110,000,  and  within  2  years,  says  the  report  in  Hayes'  Mining,  ii.  46,  over 
$2,000,000  was  obtained.  Three  men  obtained  $80,000  on  the  Yuba.  Cal 
Courier,  Nov.  14,  1850;  and  five  are  credited  with  525  Ibs.  Sac.  Transcript, 
Sept.  30,  1850.  A  party  of  21  gathered  $140,000  at  Jacksonville.  S.  F.  Bul 
letin,  Apr.  28,  1856;  8.  F.  Picayune,  Nov.  13,  1850.  A  rich  lead  was  struck 
on  top  of  a  hill.  Sac.  Transcript,  March  14,  1851.  At  Oregon  Canon  four  men 
took  300  Ibs  in  coarse  gold.  Little's  Stat.,  MS.,  12.  At  Sherlock's  diggings 
$30,000  was  obtained  from  a  small  hole.  Woods'  Sixteen  Mo.,  84.  One  man 
brought  $12,000  from  Deer  Creek,  mostly  dug  out  in  one  day.  Placer  Times, 
March  16,  1850.  A  Mexican  took  28  Ibs  from  a  '  pocket, 'and  another  $8,000. 
Taylors  Eldorado,  i.  246-7.  Six  are  said  to  have  obtained  $220,000  from 
Bear  Valley,  Mariposa.  Murderer's  Bar  was  first  worked  by  three  sailors, 
who  averaged  11  Ibs  daily.  AUa  CaL,  July  15,  1853.  Rush  Creek  lays  claim 
to  a  yield  of  $3,000,000.  Barstow's  Stat.,  MS.,  2.  Other  similar  instances  in 
Golden  Era,  cap.  20;  Sac.  Transcript,  Jan.  14,  1851;  Pico,  Acont.,  MS.,  77; 
S.  F.  Picayune,  Aug.  19,  1850;  Little's  Stat.,  MS.,  6-7;  Fosters  Gold  Region, 
17-29;  Torres,  Perip.,  MS.,  81;  Ballous  Adven.,  MS.,  25;  Polynesian,  vii.  7; 
Pac.  News,  Nov.  10,  1849;  AUa  CaL,  Aug.  2,  Dec.  15,  1849;  Fitzgerald's 
Sketches,  179-81;  Sherwood's  CaL,  MS.,  3.  See  ubi  sup.  for  additional  troves 
and  value  of  mining  ground  under  the  districts.  'As  much  as  $2,700  has 
been  washed  out  from  one  pan.'  McDaniel's Early  Days,  MS.,  7. 


422  MINING  METHODS 

as  Park  Bar,  Rush  and  Nelson  creeks,  where  the 
yield  of  one  day's  work  frequently  fulfilled  the  bright 
est  hopes  of  the  gold-hunter.  The  American  Middle 
Fork  yielded  perhaps  the  best  steady  average  of  gold- 
dust.  All  found  sooner  or  later  that  mining  was  a 
lottery,  for  adjoining  claims  even  in  a  reputably  rich 
spot  might  bring  to  one  a  fortune,  to  others  nothing;21 
and  the  veriest  tyro  might  strike  a  deposit  in  the  most 
unfavorable  place,  while  experienced  diggers  toiled  in 
vain.22 

It  was  a  lottery  wherein  a  vast  number  of  blanks 
were  overshadowed  by  the  glitter  of  the  few  prizes. 
The  great  majority  of  diggers  obtained  little  more 
than  the  means  to  live  at  the  prevailing  high  prices, 
and  many  not  even  that.  At  times  they  might  find  a 
remunerative  claim,  but  this  was  offset  by  periods  of 
enforced  idleness  in  searching  for  new  ground,  by 
waiting  for  rains  or  for  the  abatement  of  waters,  by 
more  or  less  extensive  preliminary  work  to  gain  access 
to  the  paying  strata  and  making  it  available,  with  the 
aid  of  shafts,  tunnels,  ditches,  and  so  forth.  In  addi 
tion  to  obstacles  came  the  drains  of  companionship, 
which  absorbed  time  and  money  to  the  enrichment  of 
stores  and  drinking-places.23  It  was  generally  admit- 

21  Woods  relates  a  striking  case.     A  dispute  arose  between  two  miners 
concerning  a  narrow  strip  between  their  claims.     An  arbitrator  was  called  to 
settle  it,  who  in  compensation  received  the  portion  of  the  disputed  tract. 
Within  a  few  hours  the  two  large  claims  were  abandoned  as  worthless,  while 
the  arbitrator  found  in  his  strip  a  pocket  yielding  $7,435.  Sixteen  Mo.,  57. 

22  It  was  a  common  saying  that  sailors,  niggers,  and  Dutchmen  were  the 
luckiest,  particularly  the  drunken  old  salt.  Borthwick's  CaL,  66.     At  Pilot 
Hill  a  greenhorn  was  directed  by  some  fun-loving  miners  to  a  most  unlikely 
spot  by  the  side  of  a  hill  for  taking  up  a  claim;  but  the  joke  was  reversed 
when  the  novice  there  struck  a  rich  deposit.  Moore's  Exper.,  MS.,  5-6.     The 
slave  of  a  southerner,  who  worked  with  his  master,  dreamed  of  gold  beneath 
a  certain  cabin.     This  was  purchased,  and  $20,000  was  obtained  before  the 
ground  was  half  worked.  Borthwick's  CaL,  163.     A  cook  found  $7  in  the  giz 
zard  of  a  chicken.  Pac.  News,  Nov.  11,  1850.     S.  F.  Bulletin,  Aug.  22,  1857, 
relates  how  a  claim  fraudulently  sold  by  '  salters '  yielded  a  fortune  to  the 
dupe.     Many  another  claim  had  been  abandoned  or  sold  by  a  despairing  or 
impoverished  digger  in  which  the  new-comer  found  a  rich  spot,  perhaps  at  the 
first  stroke.     Hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  were  on  the  other  hand  ex 
pended  on  flumes  and  other  costly  work  at  times  without  bringing  any  re 
turns.     Delano,  Life,  281-2,  instances  cases. 

23  Traders  and  speculators  secured  the  most  of  it.     A  miner  came  back  to 
camp  after  some  weeks'  absence  with  what  he  considered  a  good  yield,  only 


GOLD  PRODUCTION.  423 

ted  that  the  steady  wage-worker  coula  show  a  far 
larger  balance  at  the  end  of  the  year  than  the  aver 
age  miner,24  and  as  a  test,  one  has  merely  to  divide 
the  total  annual  production  by  the  number  of  workers 
to  find  that  their  earnings  were  far  below  the  current 
wages.25  In  1852  the  average  yield  for  each  of  the 

to  find  that  his  wife  by  laundry  work  had  earned  much  more.  Ryans  Pers. 
Advert.,  ii.  1-64.  A  fair  illustration  of  average  success  is  presented  in  Woods' 
Sixteen  Months,  171-6,  showing  that  in  a  company  of  141  members,  two  made 
$15,000  and  $7,000  by  trading;  two  made  $0,000  each  by  mining  and  manu 
facturing;  three  made  $2,000  by  mining,  trading,  and  teaming;  two  others 
made  $1,500  and  $1,000;  about  70  made  a  mere  living  in  mining,  etc.,  and 
the  remainder  died  or  disappeared  into  obscurity.  Woods  adds  other  similar 
data.  Letts,  CaL,  102,  shows  that  if  a  man  finds  a  lead  paying  $6  a  day  he 
does  well,  but  this  as  a  rule  lasts  only  from  six  to  ten  days,  owing  to  the  lim 
ited  size  of  claims.  Then  comes  a  week  or  more  searching  for  a  new  lead  or 
claim.  If  he  goes  far  a  mule  must  be  bought  to  carry  food,  machine,  etc. 
Add  cost  of  living  to  the  expense,  and  what  remains  ?  The  cynic  Helper, 
Land  of  Gold,  103-5,  158-65,  paints  the  situation  in  still  darker  colors.  Auger, 
CaL,  113-16,  and  Shaw,  Golden  Dreams  and  Leaden  Realities,  116,  etc.,  take  a 
prosaic  middle  course,  which  agrees  with  the  average  statement  by  pioneers  in 
the  MSS.  referred  to  in  this  chapter.  Numbers  went  home  with  the  reputa 
tion  of  having  made  fortunes,  when  only  a  small  proportion  of  the  shame 
faced  and  disappointed  crowd  could  point  even  to  a  sum  equivalent  to  the 
salary  they  might  have  earned  duri)ig  their  absence. 

24Borthwick,  CaL,  190-2,  believes  that  the  average  earning  of  the  miner 
who  worked  was  in  1851  $8,  but  generally  not  over  $3  or  $4.  Buffum,  Six 
Montlis,  131-2,  places  the  average  in  1849  at  $8,  although  a  stout  persevering 
man  could  make  $16.  Gov.  Riley,  Report,  Aug.  30,  1849,  agreed  with  the  lat 
ter  item.  Ten  dollars,  says  N.  Y.  Herald,  Aug.  3,  1849;  CaL  Past,  Pres., 
112.  Only  $6  or  $8,  says  Velasco,  Son. ,  307.  The  average  decreased  gradually 
every  year.  See  also  Frisbie's  Remin.,  MS.,  35,  and  later  references. 
25  The  estimated  gold  production  stands  as  follows: 

1848 $10,000,000  1853 $65,000,000 

1849 40,000,000  1854 60,000,000 

1850 50,000,000  1855 55,000,000 

1851 60,000,000  1856 56,000,000 

1852 60,000,000 

Total $456,000,000 

Based  on  a  recorded  export  of  $331,000,000,  plus  unregistered  treasure  and 
gold  retained  for  local  use.  For  argument  and  references  in  support  of  these 
figures,  I  refer  to  the  chapter  on  commerce,  in  connection  with  shipments  of 
gold  and  currency.  According  to  the  census  of  1852,  three  fifths  of  the  popu 
lation,  about  153,000  out  of  255,000,  belonged  to  the  mining  counties,  and  100,- 
000  of  this  number  might  be  called  miners.  An  official  report  in  CaL  A  ss.  Jour. , 
1855,  ap.  14,  p.  80,  also  accepts  this  figure,  but  reduces  it  to  86,000  for  1853 
and  1854.  Dividing  $60,000,000  by  100,000  leaves  $600  a  year  as  the  average 
earning  of  a  miner;  and  as  many  made  fortunes  as  individuals  or  employers, 
the  average  for  the  struggling  majority  fell  to  little  more  than  $1  per  day, 
and  this  at  a  time  when  common  labor  was  still  four  or  five  times  higher,  as 
shown  in  the  chapter  on  commerce.  The  average  rate  makes  the  gold  cost 
three  times  its  value.  Del  Mar,  Precious  Metals,  262-4,  has  a  calculation 
which  brings  its  cost  to  five  times  the  value,  but  he  exaggerates  the  number  of 
miners  and  the  rate  of  wages,  and  adds  that  the  low  yield  caused  the  death 
of  thousands  by  privation.  Miners  could  always  earn  or  obtain  food.  The 
High  wages  were  due  to  the  preference  for  mining  life.  King  complains  that 


424  MINING  METHODS. 

100,000  men  engaged  in  mining  was  only  $600,  or 
barely  $2  a  day,  while  wages  for  common  labor  ruled 
twice  and  three  times  higher.  Deducting  the  profits 
of  employers  and  the  few  fortunate  ones,  the  majority 
of  diggers  earned  little  more  than  $1  a  day.  This, 
however,  was  the  culminating  year  for  individual 
miners,  for  the  lessening  share  disheartened  large 

*  O  O 

numbers  and  directed  their  attention  to  other  indus- 


in  1849  foreigners,  chiefly  Mexicans,  carried  away  $2,000,000.  Report  Cal,  68; 
and  Sonorense,  March  28,  1851,  shows  that  at  Guaymas  alone  2,500  marcos  of 
gold  were  registered.  During  1850  there  was  more  than  $350,000  besides  un 
registered  introduction.  A  calculation  in  Placer  Times,  Oct.  1850,  estimates 
ihat  two  thirds  of  the  miners,  or  57,000,  were  mining  in  the  region  between 
the  Cosumnes  and  the  upper  Feather  River,  and  producing  during  the  average 
mining  season  of  five  months  fully  $30,000,000,  of  which  Feather  River,  with 
9,000  diggers,  yielded  $6,400,000,  at  $6  a  day;  the  Yuba,  with  30,000  diggers, 
$14,400,000,  at  $4  a  day;  the  Bear,  with  3,000  diggers,  $1,440,000,  at  $4  a 
day;  the  American,  with  5,000  diggers  on  each  of  its  three  forks,  $9,000,000, 
at  $5  a  day.  Pac.  News,  Oct.  29,  1850.  Bu/ums  Six  Mo.,  131,  divides 
100,000  miners  in  Jan.  1850  in  five  20,000  groups,  one  for  the  American  forks, 
one  for  Yuba  and  Feather  rivers,  two  for  the  S.  Joaquin  tributaries,  and  one 
in  various  dry  diggings.  In  Aug.  1850,  Cal.  Courier,  Aug.  9,  1850,  as 
signed  8-10,000  to  the  Stanislaus  and  Tuolumne.  Alta  Cal  assigns  15,000 
souls  to  the  American  forks  on  Dec.  15,  1849.  Buffum  regards  the  American 
Middle  Fork  as  most  widely  permeated  with  gold.  Six  Mo.,  79-87.  The 
Feather  yielded  probably  the  most  brilliant  results  to  the  first  comers, 
to  judge  by  the  items  given  under  this  district.  The  remaining  29,000 
diggers  were  occupied  chiefly  between  the  Mokelumne  and  Tuolumne, 
with  a  scattering  below  and  in  the  north-west,  and  to  them,  if  the  above 
figures  be  correct,  nearly  $20,000,000  must  be  attributed  to  make  up  the 
$50,000,000  estimated  for  1850.  With  virgin  ground  and  rich  pockets,  they 
certainly  ought  to  have  made  more  than  the  above  $4  to  $5  average.  See 
also  Lamb's  Mining,  MS.,  and  Hancock's  Thirteen  Years,  MS.,  131-6.  The 
preceding  annual  total  yields  are  nearly  all  from  placer  diggings.  Quartz 
mining  was  as  yet  in  its  infancy,  for  the  59  quartz  mills  of  1855  produced 
only  $4,082,100  from  222,060  tons  of  ore.  Cal  Ass.  Jour.,  1856,  p.  26.  The 
report  for  1856  reduces  the  mills  to  58.  Id.,  1857,  ap.  4,  p.  28-32.  Hy 
draulic  work  proper  also  claimed  merely  a  small  proportion,  although  fast 
gaining  strength,  as  may  be  judged  from  the  sudden  increase  of  ditches, 
which  from  1,164  miles  in  1854,  costing  $2,294,000,  expanded  to  4,593  miles 
in  1855,  costing  $6,341,700.  The  increase  for  1856  was  small,  to  judge  by  the 
less  complete  returns  for  that  year.  Compare  above  references  with  Id., 
1855,  ap.  14,  p.  69-91;  Id.,  Sen.,  40-3,  ap.  5,  p.  29  et  seq.;  Id.,  1856,  ap.  5, 
p.  50  et  seq.;  Id.,  1853,  ap.  14;  1852,  651-2;  U.  S.  Census,  1850.  985;  Browne's 
Min.  Res.,  15-200;  S.  F.  Merc.  Gaz.,  Jan.  3,  1857;  also  Alta  Cal,  S.  F.  Bulle 
tin,  and  Sac.  Union,  for  the  close  of  each  year.  Also  Id.,  Dec.  23,  1854;  Sept. 
29,  1855;  AUa  Cal,  Feb.  5,  1853;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  March  26,  May  6,  9,  Aug.  23, 
1856;  Hayes'  Mining,  i.  93-5,  etc.;  Hunt's  Mag.,  xxiii.  19;  xxxv.  121,  etc.; 
Nev.  Jour.  Sen.,  1877,  ap.  10,  i.  179,  introduce  comparisons  with  Australia; 
Quart.  Review,  Ixxxvii.  422;  xc.  492;  xci.  529;  South.  Quart.  Rev.,  v.  301; 
Revue  Deux  Mondes,  Feb.  1,  1849;  Jacob's  Prec.  Metals,  ii.  41;  JRoswag,  Metaux, 
64,  etc.,  have  figures  on  gold  yield  in  the  world,  with  comments  on  the 
effect  of  California's  large  addition.  This  subject  will  be  touched  in  my  next 
'volume. 


FASCINATIONS   OF   MINING   LIFE.  425 

tries  which  should  bring  a  better  and  more  permanent 
result.  Yet  mining  had  attractions  in  its  independent, 
unrestrained  camp  life  and  roaming  intercourse  with 
nature,  besides  the  alluring,  though  generally  declusive, 
hope  of  rich  troves,  which  for  many  years  continued 
to  bring  fresh  recruits  to  its  ranks. 

The  increase  of  production  from  $40,000,000  in  1849, 
by  ordinary  digging  process,  to  $60,000,000  in  1852, 
a  figure  long  sustained,  or  nearly  so,  was  at  first  due 
to  the  extension  of  the  field  over  much  new  ground, 
and  then  to  the  gradual  improvement  in  methods, 
which  permitted  larger  quantities  of  soil  to  be  opened 
and  washed  at  an  ever-decreasing  expenditure  of  time 
and  labor,  as  shown  elsewhere.26  The  development  of 
hydraulic  and  quartz  fields  brought  additional  means 
for  checking  a  decline  which  otherwise  would  have 

O 

been  rapid.  Measured  by  the  labor  expended  upon 
the  production,  its  cost  was  three  times  the  value.  A 
host  of  other  items  may  be  entered  to  its  debit,  such 
as  the  disturbing  influence  of  the  emigration  of  gold- 
seekers,  and  the  loss  to  different  countries  of  capital27 
and  stout  arms,  a  proportion  of  which  succumbed  to 
hardships  and  danger.  Society  suffered  by  the  loos 
ened  moral  restraint  of  mining  life,  with  the  consequent 
development  of  vice  and  increase  of  crime  and  blood 
shed,  and  the  spread  of  a  gambling  spirit  which  fos 
tered  thriftlessness,  and  disturbed  the  healthy  mental 
equilibrium.28  California  had  further  to  endure  devas- 

26  It  is  curious  to  note  the  gloomy  predictions  expressed  at  frequent  inter 
vals,  whenever  a  temporary  decline  in  gold  remittances  agitated  commercial 
fears.     In  1849-51  it  was  generally  supposed  that  the  yield  would  soon  be 
exhausted.     After  this,  doubters  became  more  cautious,  yet  even  local  jour 
nals  raised  a  wail  at  times.  Alfa  Gal,  Sept.  9,  Dec.  31,  1852;  Jan.  9,  1856;  8. 
F.  Bulletin,  Apr.  15,  Aug.  23,  1856. 

27  The  London  Times,  in  the  autumn  of  1849,  remarks:  'A  great  man  once 
said  that  it  was  no  wonder  if  Oxford  and  Cambridge  were  such  learned  places, 
considering  how  much  knowledge  was  yearly  carried  thither,  and  how  little 
was  ever  brought  away.     We  are  almost  inclined  to  apply  the  same  rule  to 
the  settlements  on  the  Sacramento.     If  California  is  not  the  richest  country 
upon  the  earth,  it  soon  ought  to  be;  for  all  the  available  capital,  whether  in 
goods  or  cash,  of  the  Indian,  Pacific,  and  the  Atlantic  seaboards,  appears  to 
be  despatched  to  San  Francisco,'  showing  so  far  a  large  balance  against  the 
placers. 

28  Compare  statistics  of  insanity  in  Cal.  and  elsewhere.     The  effect  of  ex- 


426  MINING  METHODS 

tation  of  soil  by  the  washing  away  of  fertile  surfaces, 
and  the  ravaging  of  others  by  noxious  gravel  deposits, 
and  of  streams  by  pollution  and  fillage.29  On  the  other 
hand  must  be  considered  the  great  and  enduring  good 
effected  by  gold-mining,  and  the  movements  to  which 
it  gave  rise;  the  impulse  received  by  trade  and  in 
dustries  throughout  the  world  through  the  new  mar 
kets  and  traffic,  besides  affording  additional  outlets  for 
surplus  population;  the  incentive  and  means  for  ex 
ploring  arid  unfolding  resources  in  adjoining  and  in 
new  regions,  and  enriching  them  with  settlements. 
The  gold  discoveries  in  Australia,  British  Columbia, 
and  half  a  dozen  other  countries,  with  their  trains  of 
migration  and  prosperity,  followed  closely  on  the  Cali 
fornia  event.30  The  United  States  was  at  one  step 
placed  a  half-century  forward  in  its  commercial  and 
political  interests  on  the  Pacific,  as  marked  by  the 
opening  of  the  sealed  ports  of  China  and  Japan,  partly 
by  steamers  which  completed  the  steamship  girdle 
round  the  world,  by  the  construction  of  the  Panama 
railway,  and  by  the  great  transcontinental  steam  line. 
The  democratic  principles  of  the  republic  received, 
moreover,  a  brilliant  and  effective  demonstration  in 
the  equality,  organizing  skill,  self-government,  and 
self-advancement  displayed  on  the  Pacific  coast.  That 
is  to  say,  at  one  breath,  gold  cleared  a  wilderness  and 
transplanted  thither  the  politics  and  institutions  of  the 
most  advanced  civilizations  of  the  world. 


posure  and  privations  in  the  mines  was  to  some  extent  balanced  by  the  value 
of  the  training  in  strengthening  many  constitutions. 

29  Helper,   in   his   Land  of  Gold,   23-31,   makes   a   formal   list   of  losses 
standing  to  the  debit  of  California,  the  purchase-money  by  U.  S.,  the  wages 
of  her  population,  the  cost  of  transport  to  and  fro,  losses  by  conflagrations, 
by  wrecks  and  debts,  which  alone  would  cover  the  value  of  the  gold  by  1855 
threefold.     He  might  have  added  the  cost  of  the  war  of  conquest,  the  value 
of  steamers  and  other  connecting  service,  the  capital  invested  in  and  with 
California,  and  lost  in  trade,  etc.,  the  expenses  of  Indian  wars,  and  so  on. 
He  looks  only  on  the  dark  side,  and  fails  to  find  compensating  good. 

30  A  mania  set  in  for  discovering  gold,  and  in  1852  alone  it  was  found  in 
ten   countries,   Siberia,  New  Zealand,  South  America,  etc.     Men  swarmed 
from  California  to  all  pares  of  the  Pacific,  as  diggers,  adventurers,  manufac 
turers,  capitalists.     Quart.  Review,  xci.  512,  has  pertinent  remarks  on  the 
Australian  gold  discovery 


AUTHORITIES.  427 

General  mining  authorities  are:  Cong.  Globe,  1848-9,  pp.  257-8;  1849-50, 
app.  22-3,  index,  p.  xviii.;  1850-1,  4;  1851-2,  18;  Helpers  Land  of  Gold, 
103-5,  151-7,  160-5;  Carson*  Early  RccolL,  5-9,  17,  19,  39;  Croshi/'s  Events, 
MS.,  14,  16-17,  19-22,  25;  Colemans  Vig.  Com.,  MS.,  146;  Sutler,  in  Col. 
Asttoc.  Pion.,  N.  Y.,  1875,  53;  Sherman's  Mem.,  i.  52;  Simonin,  Vie  Soutcr., 
409-10,  419-23,  494,  498,  541-8;  Rivera,  Hist.  Jalapa,  iv.  371;  vi.  371;  Pico, 
J)oc.,  i.  191;  Id.,  Acont,  77;  London  Quart.  Rev.,  Ixxxvii.  416-23;  xc.  492- 
502;  xci.  505-6,  512,  529-40;  Low's  Stat.,  MS.,  3-4;  Larkin's  Doc.,  vi.  107; 
Id.,  Off.  Corr.,  ii.  55;  Kind's  Rcpt  Cal.,  68;  Id.,  Geol  Explor.,  iii.  1-9;  Del 
Mar's  H'ist.  Free.  MetaU,  165,  260-5;  Fowler's  Diet.,  MS.,  14  et  seq.;  Lamb's 
Mining  Camps,  MS.,  passim;  Lane's  Narr.>  MS.,  108-112;  Shaw's  Golden 
Dreams,  33-4,  59,  87-8,  116;  Siltimaris  Deep  Placers,  15-23,  39^2;  Hittell's 
Hist.  S.  F.,  127-8,  289,  462;  Id.,  Mining,  2-8,  20-22,  36;  Id.,  Land  Cases, 
MS.;  Dietz  Our  Boys,  166-71;  Ashland  (Or.)  Tidings,  Aug.  9,  1878;  Crane's 
Past,  Pres.,  23,  29-30,  112,  184-9;  Cal.  Statutes,  1850,  221-2;  1851,  424;  1852, 
295;  1853/63;  1854,  166;  1856,  141;  A nnals  S.  F.,  417-18;  Esmeralda  Herald, 
Oct.  4,  1879;  El  Dorado  Co.  Hi*t.,  117;  Cal  Comp.  Laws,  1850-3,  218-22; 
J)ela/io's  Life,  etc.,  281-2,  290;  Anthony's  Sisldyou  Co.,  MS.,  6-14;  Moore's 
Pion.  Exp.,  MS.,  5-12;  Nouv.  Annales  Voy.,  cxx.  365-74;  cxxiii.  225;  cxxviii. 
325-41;  cxxix.  109-24,  225-46,  353-64;  Roswag,  Metaux,  24-53;  Cal,  Jour. 
House,  1850,  802,  and  index  'min.  lands;'  1852,  829-35;  1853,  704-5,  715; 
1855,  893,  app.  no.  14,  pp.  67-91;  1856,  24-7;  1857,  no.  2,  31;  no.  4,  28-38; 
Ciil,  Jour.  Sen.,  1850,  1302,  1C42;  1851,  591-8,  660-3,  683-701;  1852,  651-2, 
659-65,  755;  1853,  638,  649,  715,  app.  no.  3,  55-6;  1854,  586;  1855,  43-3,  905, 
915,  app.  no.  3,  27,  app.  no.  5,  29,  86-8;  1856,  400-1,  app.  no.  5,  50-7,  223- 
324,  app.  no.  22,  6;  Burnett's  Recoil,  MS.,  i.  367,  390-7;  ii.,  passim;  El  Sono- 
rense,  March  21,  25,  28,  Apr.  8,  15,  Aug.  16,  Sept.  27,  Nov.  29,  Dec.  22,  1848; 
Avila,  Doc.,  225;  Frisbie's  Rem.,  MS.,  35;  Cronise's  Nat.  Wealth,  132;  Nev., 
Jour.  Sen.,  1S77,  app.  10,  pp.  179-81;  Northern  Enterprise,  March  20,  1874; 
Rockwell's  Span,  and  Mex.  Law,  507-94;  Hunt's  Merch.  Mag.,  xxvi.  513; 
xxvii.  382-3,  445-50;  xxxii.  255;  xxxv.  121-2;  Overland  Monthly,  xiii.  273- 
83;  xiv.  321-8;  Miner's  Advocate,  Nov.  25,  1854;  Present  and  Future,  July  1, 
1353;  Dean's  Statement,  MS.,  2-5;  Miner's  Own  Book,  pp.  32;  El  Mineur,  June 
29,  1856;  Russian  River  Flag,  Jan.  22,  1851;  Mining  Review,  1876,  6,  8,  17-18; 
Steele,  in  Or.  Jour.  Council,  1857-8,  app.  42-3;  Ross'  Narrative,  MS.,  13-17; 
Ryan's  Judges  and  Crim.,  79;  Id.,  Pers.  Adv.,  ii.  1-64,  293-8;  Havilah 
Courier,  Sept.  8,  1866;  Harper's  Mag.,  xx.  598-616;  Oakland  Gazette,  Apr. 
19,  1873;  June  19,  1875;  Roach's  Stat.,  MS.,  5-6;  Revere's  Keel  and  Saddle, 
160-4,  251-4;  Randolph's  Stat.,  MS.,  51;  Simonin,  Les  Mines,  in  Revue  des  Deux 
Mondes,  Nov.  1875,  pp.  286-8;  Crusoe  Island,  336;  A.  M.  Comstock,  in  Vig. 
Com.  Misc.,  36;  Los  Ang.  Herald,  Dec.  23,  1874;  Los  Ang.  Eva  Express,  May 
29,  1872;  Sac.  Bee,  Jan.  16,  1374;  Sac.  Record,  Sept.  10,  1874;  Sac.  Rec.- 
Unlon,  Nov.  3,  1877;  Delessert,  Les  Mines,  in  Revue  des  Deux  Mondes,  Feb.  1, 
1849,  pp.  478-83;  Taylor's  El  Dorado,  i.  60-1,  87-9,  92,  101-3,  110-11,  191, 
235-7,  246-8;  Id.,  Spec.  Press,  15i,  150,  150.^,  2G5-6,  293J,  296,  391.',,  431, 
437-9,  441,  451,  453,  500,  5S1£;  Revue  des  Deux  Monde*,  Feb.  1,  1849;  Lloyd's 
Lights,  155,  508;  Quincy  Union,  Dec.  9,  16,  23,  30,  1SJ5;  Frijnet,  La  Cal., 
83-4,  99-103,  105-8;  Or.,  Jour.  Council,  1857-8,  app.  42-3;  Navarro  Lcyes, 
Feb.  1856,  3G3-9,  551-6;  Nev.  Journal,  Aug.  3,  Nov.  23,  1855,  Jan.  18,  Feb. 
29,  1856;  Nevada  D.  Transcript,  Feb.  28,  1866;  Nevada  D.  Gazette,  May  10, 
1366;  Nev.  City  Tri-weekly  Herald,  May  23,  1878;  Hist.  Nevada,  170-206; 
Nevada-Grass  Val  Direct.,  1856,  10-12,  28-32;  Direct.  Nev.  Co.,  1867,  32-3, 
43-9,  61-2;  Thomas'  Mining  Remin.,  MS.;  Hancock's  Thirteen  Years,  MS., 
131-6;  Pion.  Mag.,  iv.  345;  Colusa  Co.  Annual,  1S78,  46;  Bujfums  S'x 
Mouths,  passim;  Fremont's  Amer.  Travel,  99,  103-4;  Direct.  Placer  Co., 
1861,  13;  Thompson's  Golden  Res.t  1-91;  Souk's  Stit.,  3-4;  8.  F.  Picayune, 
Aug.-Dec.  1850,  passim;  Hinton's  Ariz.,  app.  62-99;  Eureka  West.  Coast  Sig 
nal,  March  19,  1873;  Portland  Bulletin,  Aug.  3,  1872;  Placerrille  Repub.,  June 
27,  1876;  PlacerviVe  Democrat,  July  1,  Aug.  19,  1876;  Cottons  Three  Years, 
274-5,  280-1,  306,  339;  Armstrong's  '49  Experiences,  MS.,  13-14;  Merrill's 
Stat.,  MS.,  5-10;  Foster's  Gold  Region,  17-29;  Connors  Stat.t  MS.,  2;  Grass 


428  MINING  METHODS. 

Vol.  Union,  June  22,  1872;  Panama  Star,  Feb.  24, 1849;  Hewlett's  Stat.,  MS.; 
Hearris  Cal  Sketches,  MS.,  3;  Little's  8tat.t  MS.,  6-8,  12;  Sayward's  Pion. 
Remin.,  MS.,  12-13;  Auger,  Voy.  en  Cal. ,  105-16;  Crescent  City  Herald,  Nov. 
29,  1854;  Chas  Holland,  in  (7<xw«  Review,  May  1873,  p.  75;  Coke's  Ride,  185, 
359-60;  #ra,ss  Val  Foothill  Tidings,  March  15,  22,  29,  Apr.  5,  12,  19,  26, 
May  3,  10,  17,  1879;  Cassin's  Stat.,  MS.,  18;  Fresno  Expositor,  June  22,  1870; 
Fay's  Stat.,  MS.,  11-13;  Lambertie,  Voy.  Cal,  239-40,  259-63;  Hist.  Stanis- 
laus  Co.,  103-4;  Perry's  Travels,  90-1;  8.  F.  Call,  Jan.  19,  1873;  Jan.  10, 
1875;  8.  F.  Mer.  Gaz.  and  Shipp'g  Reg.,  Jan.  3,  1857-;  8.  F.  Whig  and  Advert., 
June  11,  1853,  2;  8.  F.  Post,  Aug.  8,  1877;  8.  F.  Manual,  197-204;  8.  F. 
Herald,  Jan.  29,  June  1,  4,  6,  8,  July  19,  23,  Aug.  1,  1850;  May  21,  1852; 
Ctl  Spirit  Times,  Dec.  25,  1877;  S.  F.  Morn.  Globe,  Aug.  19,  1856;  S.  F. 
Town  Talk,  May  6,  1856;  Ferry,  Cal,  106-7;  Lecky's  Rat.,  i.  275;  Cerruti's 
Ramblings,  28-9;  Fishers  Cal  42-9;  TJiompsoris  Stat.,  MS.,  21-6;  Fitzgerald's 
Cal.  Sketches,  179-81;  Mrs  Tibbey,  in  Miscel  Stat.,  19-20;  Peachy's  Mining 
Laws,  1-86;  Lett's  Cal  Illrnt.,  102-4;  Findla's  Statement,  MS.,  94,  Cal.  Rev. 
and  Tax.  Scraps,  4-10;  8.  F.  Bulletin,  1855-7,  passim;  Brooks'  Four  Months, 
15,  17,  51-3,  59-61,  65,  68-72,  77,  89,  91,  183,  206;  Id.,  Hist.  Hex.  War,  536; 
Grass  Val.  Union,  Nov.  15,  1867;  Meadow  Lake  W.  Sun,  Nov.  24,  1864;  C. 
Costa  Gazette,  Apr.  9,  1879;  Cal  Digger's  Hand-Book,  7-9,  12-14,  27-8,  30-8, 
43,  66,  72-8;  S.  F.  Pacific  News,  Dec.  22,  1849;  Jan.  1,  10,  Apr.  26-7,  1850; 
May-Dec.  1850,  passim;  Unbound  Doc.,  12,  50,  318,  327-8,  383,  408-11;  El 
Universal,  June  5,  1849;  Nov.  30,  1850;  Tyler's  Bidwell's  Bar,  MS.,  2-7; 
Trinity  Times,  Jan.  27,  1855;  Trade's  Geol.  Cal,  23-4;  Torres,  Perip.,  81, 
148-9;  Todd's  Sunset  Land,  45;  South.  Quart.  Review,  v.  (N.  S.)  301-21;  Kirk- 
Patrick's  Jour.,  MS.,  37;  Kip's  Cal  Sketches,  MS.,  5,  36-41,  48-52;  Kelly's  Ex 
cursion,  ii.  23-4;  Matthewson's  Stat.,  MS.,  8-9;  Upham's  Notes,  328-9;  Seventh 
U.  S.  Census,  985;  Siskiyou  Co.  A/airs,  MS.,  10;  Sherwood's  Cal,  3-27;  8.  F. 
Cal  Courier,  July-Dec.  1850,  passim;  Sac.  Union,  1854-6,  passim;  St  Amant, 

Voy.,  575-9;  Miguel  Urrea,  in  Soc.  Mex.  Geog.,  ii.  44;  Grass  Val  National,  Dec. 
31,  1G74;  S.  Josi  Mercury,  Jan.  12,  1865;  Direct.  Grass  Val,  1865,  69-88; 
Garniss'  Early  Days  S.  F.,  MS.,  15;  S.  Diego  Arch.,  325,  349;  Hayes'  Scraps, 
San  Diego,  i.  94;  Id.,  Angeles,  ii.  102-8,  258,  272,  279;  xviii.  101-3;  Id.,  Min 
ing  Cal,  i.-vii.,  passim;  Cal  Gold  Regions,  15;  Cal  Pol  Scraps,  267-74; 
Siaan's  Trip  to  the  Gold  Mines;  Cal  Pion.,  no.  49,  pp.  48-9;  Barstow's  Stat., 
MS.,  2,  4-7,  14;  Capron's  Hist.  Cal,  229-34;  Borthwick's  Three  Years  in  Cal., 
passim;  Bonwick's  Mormons,  350-1,  370-1,  379,  391;  Knox'  Underground,  797- 
814;  Savage  Coll,  MS.,  iii.  188;  U.  S.  Land  Off.  Kept,  1855,  141-2;  Simpson's 
Gold  Mines,  5,  7-8,  11,  13,  27;  Marysville  W.  Appeal,  Aug.  24,  1867;  Marys- 
ville  D.  Appeal,  Oct.  23,  1864;  Marysville  Direct.,  1858,  23-30,  94;  Barry's  Up 
and  Down,  125-30;  Hutchings'  Illust.  Cal  Mag.,  i.  218,  340;  iii.  343,  469,  506, 
519;  iv.  452,  497;  Valle,  Doc.,  72  et  seq.;  Hist.  Doc.  Cal,  i.  507-9,  520;  iii. 
371,  373,  379-82;  Vallejo,  Col  Doc.,  xxxv.  63;  xxxvi.  189,  213;  Bigler's 
Diary,  MS.,  76;  Browne's  Min.  Res.,  15-72,  193-200;  Martin's  Nar.,  MS., 
54-5;  Marryat's  Mountains;  Kane,  in  Miscel  Stat.,  10;  Hawley's  Observ.,  MS., 
8-9;  Mariposa  Gazette,  Feb.  26,  1869;  Jan.  17,  June  27,  1873;  Id.,  Chron., 
Dec.  8,  1854;  U.  S.  Govt  Doc.,  Spec.  Sess.,  March  1853,  Sen.  Doc.  4,  pp.  405; 
Id.,  31st  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  Sen.  1,  p.  488;  McDaniel's  Early  Days,  MS.,  7; 
McCollums  Cal,  45;  Jacob's  Prec.  Metals,  ii.  41  et  seq.;  Janssens,  Viday  Ad., 
MS.,  221;  Bdkersfield  South.  Cal,  June  8,  Nov.  23,  1876;  Barnes'  Or.  and 
Cal,  14-18,  118;  Misc.  Hist.  Papers,  Doc.  28,  34;  Soc.  Mex.  Geog.,  Bolet.,  ii. 
44;  Voivell's  Mining  Districts,  MS.,  23-4;  Ballou's  Advent.,  MS.,  25;  Wheaton's 
Stat.,  MS.,  6,  9;  Columbia  Gaz.,  Dec.  9,  1854;  Id.,  Clipper,  Dec.  2,  1854; 
S-mora  Herald,  Dec.  9,  1854;  Schlagintweit,  Cal,  216-311;  Safford's  Narr., 
MS.,  21-2;  Son.  Co.  Hist.,  29-38;  Westons  Life  in  the  Mines,  MS.,  7;  La  Voz 
de  Sonora,  Oct.  5,  1855;  Velasco,  Son.,  307;  Van  Dyke's  Stat.,  MS.,  3-5,  8; 
Yuba  Co.  Hist.,  44,  136;  Vallejo  D.  Recorder,  Nov.  5,  1870;  8.  F.  Alta  Cali 
fornia,  1849-56,  passim;  Wright's  Big  Bonanza,  567-9;  Son.  Democrat,  Jan. 
31,  1880;  Sutton's  Stat.,  MS.,  3^,  11;  Yreka  Union,  Feb.  20,  1864,  June  5, 
1839;  Woodward's  Stat.,  MS.,  3,  5;  Wood's  Sixteen  Months,  50-4,  57,  64,  84, 
100,  125-30,  135,  144-8,  171-6;  Id.,  Pioneer  Work,  64-5,  98-9. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

BIRTH  OF  TOWNS. 
1769-1869. 

MEXICAN  TOWN-MAKING — MISSION,  PRESIDIO,  AND  PUEBLO — THE  ANGLO- 
AMERICAN  METHOD — CLEARING  AWAY  THE  WILDERNESS-  THE  AMERI 
CAN  MUNICIPAL  IDEA — NECESSITIES  ATTENDING  SELF-GOVERNMENT — 
HOME-MADE  LAWS  AND  JUSTICE — ARBITRATION  AND  LITIGATION — CAMP 
AND  TOWN  SITES— CREATION  OF  COUNTIES — NOMENCLATURE — RIVERS 
AND  HARBORS — INDUSTRIES  AND  PROGRESS. 

FOR  three  quarters  of  a  century  California  had  been 
a  colonial  appendage  of  Mexico,  occupied  as  a  military 
frontier,  with  friars  to  superintend  the  subjugation  of 
the  natives,  and  convert  them  into  citizens  useful  to 
themselves  and  to  the  state.  They  were,  for  lack  of 
ready  material,  to  swell  the  ranks  of  the  colonists,  who, 
under  protection  of  the  sword  and  cross,  formed  nuclei 
for  towns,  raising  up  in  due  time  a  self-sustaining 
province  of  tribute-paying  subjects.  The  missions 
being  gradually  changed  into  locally  self-governing 
pueblos,  the  teaching  and  protecting  friars  and  soldiers 
were  to  pass  onward  with  the  extending  border  line. 
But  the  Mexicans  did  not  possess  the  true  spirit 
of  hard-working,  thrifty  colonists  and  home-builders. 
They  were  easily  deterred  by  such  obstacles  as  distance 
from  convenient  centres  and  home  associations,  espe 
cially  when  their  indolent  disposition  was  disturbed 
by  danger  from  beasts  and  savages.  Even  for  con 
tiguous  states  within  the  republic,  colonization  had  to 
be  fostered  by  military  settlements,  with  semi -com 
pulsory  enlistment;  hence  progress  fell  into  the  ruts  of 

(429) 


430  BIRTH  OF  TOWNS. 

slow  pastoral  life,  in  which  the  well-known  prolificness 
of  the  race  ranked  as  chief  factor.  Under  like  con 
ditions  there  would  have  been  like  drawbacks,  only 
in  less  intensified  degree,  when  California  became  a 
part  of  the  United  States.  Development  would  have 
been  very  gradual  but  for  the  same  incentive  which 
had  promoted  the  occupation  of  America,  and  the 
rapid  extension  of  Spanish  conquests  to  the  borders 
of  Arizona — gold.  The  broader  effect  of  its  discovery 
was  here  greatly  owing  to  the  facilities  provided  for 
immigration  by  a  more  advanced  age,  no  less  than  to 
the  energetic,  enterprising  character  of  the  chief  par 
ticipants. 

The  Anglo-Americans  were  in  good  training  for 
the  conquest  of  nature.  During  the  past  two  centu 
ries  much  of  their  time  had  been  spent  in  subduing 
the  wilderness,  in  killing  off  the  wild  beasts  and  wild 
men,  and  planting  settlements  along  the  gradually 
retreating  frontiers;  so  that  when  they  came  to  Cali 
fornia  they  were  ready  to  make  short  work  of  what 
ever  should  stand  between  them  and  that  prand 

O 

development  which  was  to  see  a  valley  of  pathless 
plains  and  silent  foothills  blossom  within  one  brief 
year  into  countless  camps  and  busy  highways.  Be 
fore  this  their  adventurous  vanguard  had  displayed 
to  easy-going  pueblo  dwellers  their  bent  for  city 
building  by  planning  more  than  one  pretentious  site; 
but  it  was  in  the  mining  region  that  this  talent  was 
to  appear  in  impromptu  evolutions,  out  of  which 
should  spring  regulations  so  admirable  in  principle 
and  adaptability  as  to  serve  as  a  basis  for  later  com 
munities,  and  to  eclipse  the  century  codes  of  Europe. 
The  concurrence  of  the  miners  at  some  promising 
locality,  and  the  demand  of  numerous  and  less  fortu 
nate  late  comers,  called  for  a  distribution  or  readjust 
ment  of  ground  claims  on  the  principle  of  free  land 
and  equal  rights,  at  least  among  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  as  title-holders,  and  with  special  consideration 
for  the  discoverer.  This  was  the  foundation  of  the 
mining-camp  system. 


MINING  COMMUNITIES.  431 

The  miners  were  an  ultra-democratic  body,  priding 
themselves  upon  an  equality  which  to  the  present  end 
manifested  itself  in  according  free  and  full  voice  to 
every  person  present.  True,  might  here  also  retained 
a  certain  sway,  permitting  the  bully  at  times  to  over 
ride  the  timid  stranger  or  the  stripling,  and  ever 
giving  precedence  to  the  preponderance  of  brain,  of 
tact,  of  fitness,  which  required  assurance,  however,  to 
make  its  way  in  the  jostling  crowd.  The  only  injus 
tice  countenanced  in  general  assembly  was  perhaps  in 
the  direction  of  race  prejudice.  A  large  proportion 
of  the  people  had  been  trained  partly  in  local  political 
clubs  and  movements,  partly  in  the  rules  and  coopera 
tive  duties  of  overland  companies;  and  the  need  of 
partners  for  labor  and  camp  routine  tended  to  sustain 
the  practice,  frequently  defined  by  written  rules,1  but 
tinctured  by  a  socialism  of  the  fraternal  type. 

With  the  Germanic  trait  of  swift  adaptation  of 
means  to  ends,  so  highly  developed  among  Americans, 
the  first  indication  of  a  gathering  community  or  the 
brewing  of  public  questions  was  signalized  by  a  meet 
ing  for  framing  rules  and  appointing  officers  to  watch 
over  their  observance.  The  emergency  found  both  able 
leaders  and  intelligent  followers.  A  committee  was 
promptly  nominated  of  men  with  clear  heads  and  per 
haps  legal  experience;  and  their  project  for  regulating 
the  size  and  tenure  of  claims,  the  settlement  of  dis 
putes,  recording  titles  and  enforcing  order  in  the  camp, 
would  be  enunciated  by  the  chairman  from  the  com 
manding  elevation  of  a  tree-stump  or  empty  provision 
barrel,  and  adopted  with  occasional  dissent,  article  by 
article,  by  show  of  hands  or  word  of  mouth.2  The 

1  Concerning  the  share  in  expenses,  household  and  mining  labor,  tools, 
yield,  etc.,  as  shown  in  the  chapters  on  mines. 

2  For  rules,  see  the  chapter  on  mining.     In  due  time  the  boundaries  of  dis 
tricts  were  given  to  which  the  rules  applied.     The  use  of  water,  encroach 
ments,  rights  of  foreigners,  recorder's  duties,  meeting  place  and  procedure, 
the  sale  of  claims,  fees,  amendments,  etc.,  received  consideration,  although 
not  at  all  meetings,  the  earliest  rules  covering  as  a  rule  only  a  few  essential 
points.     Each  camp  was  a  body  politic  by  itself,  asking  leave  or  counsel  of 
none  others;  and  thus  arose  a  lack  of  uniformity,  which  in  due  time,  however, 
was  modified  through  the  lessons  brought  by  intercourse. 


432  BIRTH  OF  TOWNS. 

prevalence  of  distinct  rules,  even  in  closely  adjoining* 
districts,  was  no  doubt  confusing,  but  they  had  the 
merit  of  better  suiting  the  requirements  of  its  occu 
pants  and  the  nature  of  the  environments  than  a 
general  code,  which  frequently  proved  obstructive  by 
inapplicable  features.  In  some  camps  hearsay  suf 
ficed  to  rule  proceedings  subsequent  to  the  first  distri 
bution,  but  usually  a  recorder  was  chosen  to  register 
claims  and  decide  disputes.  Compromise  formed  here 
the  leading  feature  of  Anglo-Saxon  adjustment,  until 
complex  society  and  interests  gave  predominance  to 
lawyers.3  In  grave  cases,  or  in  those  of  wide  appli 
cation,  a  gathering  was  called,4  from  which  judge,  jury, 
and  defenders  might  be  chosen  to  hold  trial.  Conven 
tions  were  also  ordained  for  stated  periods  to  consider 
the  condition  of  affairs  and  effect  improvements.5  A 
public  jealous  of  its  rights,  and  with  ready  views,  kept 
guard  over  proceedings,  and  assisted  with  fixed  or  vol 
untary  and  casual  contributions  to  form  a  financial  de 
partment  for  the  simple  and  honest  administration  of 
affairs. 

Larger  camps  found  it  prudent  for  order  and  ad 
ministration  to  install  a  permanent  council,6  with  more 

3As  a  rule,  questions  were  submitted  to  neighbors.  Some  districts  desig 
nated  a  special  arbitrator,  or  a  standing  committee  sworn  by  the  alcalde. 
Fees  ranged  from  $2  or  $3  to  50  cents,  at  times  with  mileage  added. 

4At  the  instance  of  any  one,  although  it  was  left  to  the  summoned  persons 
to  disregard  the  appeal  if  trivial.  A  vote  on  the  spot  might  settle  the  ques 
tion;  otherwise  a  presiding  officer,  judge,  jury,  and  defenders  would  be 
chosen;  witnesses  were  summoned,  and  a  written  record  was  kept.  Any  one 
was  permitted  to  prosecute,  while  liable  to  be  called  out  as  executive  officer. 
In  civil  cases  the  jury  was  often  restricted  to  six  men  for  the  sake  of  economy. 
There  were  plenty  of  lawyers  among  the  miners,  who  appeared  when  called 
upon.  Although  decisions  were  as  a  rule  prompt,  with  enforcement  or  exe 
cution  within  a  few  hours,  yet  at  times  days  were  consumed  to  accord  full 
weight  to  testimony.  The  fund  derived  from  registration  of  claims  provided 
for  the  costs;  otherwise  collections  or  assessments  were  made,  particularly  to 
pay  the  sheriff.  The  alcalde  used  to  receive  his  ounce  of  gold  for  a  trial,  jurors 
probably  $5  for  a  case,  and  witnesses  actual  expenses.  Two  rival  claimants 
to  a  deposit  at  Scott  Bar,  Klamath  River  region,  once  sent  to  S.  F.  for  lawyers 
and  judge  to  conduct  the  case.  The  winners  paid  the  cost. 

5  With  the  aid  of  delegates  from  other  districts,  and  to  annul  obnoxious 
rules.     Instance  the  six-monthly  meetings  at  Jamestown,  and  those  of  Brown 
Valley  in  Jan.  and  Aug.  1853.     Claim-holders  had  in  some  places  to  attend. 
Instance  also  the   'hungry  convention'  at  Grass  Valley  during  the  winter 
of  1852-3. 

6  As  at  Rcugh  and  Ready,  where  three  citizens  composed  it.     The  stand- 


MUNICIPAL  GOVERNMENT.  433 

or  less  extended  sway.  Others  adhered,  under  the 
guidance  of  earlier  arrivals,  to  the  existing  form  of 
local  government  by  chosing  an  alcalde.  This  semi- 
oriental  feature  was  indeed  upheld  by  the  military 
governors,  who  preferred  to  interfere  as  little  as  pos 
sible  with  Mexican'  customs  pending  congressional 
enactments.7  But  the  American  alcalde  had  about 
him  little  of  the  autocratic  and  parental  control  ac 
corded  to  his  southern  prototype,  whose  subjects  were 
so  largely  composed  of  servile  Indians.  The  prevail 
ing  sense  of  intelligent  equality  quelled  assumption. 
Yet  a  certain  degree  of  arbitrary  power  was  exercised 
by  him  to  save  precious  time.  Guided  by  simple 
equity,  and  occasionally  by  some  code  from  an  eastern 
state,  his  decisions  were,  as  a  rule,  abided  by,  with 
rare  appeal  to,  the  governor. 

In  1850  the  state  laws  ordered  alcaldes  to  be  re- 
placed  by  justices  of  the  peace  for  every  township, 
with  jurisdiction  of  no  mean  grade;8  but  several  places 
incorporated  as  towns  and  cities,9  burdening  them 
selves  often  too  hastily  with  an  elaborate  staff  of  offi- 

ing  committee  of  arbitration  was  a  form  of  it.  At  Sonora  a  regular  town 
council  of  seven,  with  a  mayor,  was  chosen  in  Nov.  1849,  in  connection  with 
a  movement  to  establish  a  hospital. 

7  As  late  as  Aug.  1849  Gov    Riley  ordered  an  election  of  alcaldes  and 
other  local  officials.     See  remarks  on  Nevada,  Sonora,  Marysville,  and  Sac 
ramento,  and  in  the  chapter  on  S.  F.  1849;  also  Riley 's  favorable  comment 
on  the  mining  alcalde.     Rept  of  Aug.   1849;   Taylor's  Eldorado;  Ryans  Ad 
vent.     In   Southern   Cal.   the   alcalde   spirit   lingered   long   under   Mexican 
officials.  Sta Barb.  Arch.,  77-115,  passim,  1854,  etc.;  and  Vallejo,  Doc.,  xxxiv.- 
v.     A  constable  was  early  chosen  to  aid  the  alcalde. 

8  Chiefly  because  they  were  empowered  to  settle  mining  cases  of  any  value. 
The  townships  at  this  time  extended  at  times  over  an  average  county. 

9  In  some  cases  town  organization  had  been  effected  too  hastily,  for  a  char 
ter  from  the  legislature  was  required  to  give  it  legality.     The  existing  coun 
cil  at  Sonora  was  accordingly  disbanded  till  this  document  was  obtained. 
Nevada  fell  into  debt,   dismissed  her  officials,  and  reincorporated  under  a 
cheaper  charter;  San  Bernardino  suffered  a  relapse  in  the  Mormon  exodus; 
Benicia  was  overshadowed  by  S.  F.,  and  so  forth.     The  first  rules  governing 
such  incorporations  are  given  in  Cal.  Statutes,  1850,  78,  128.     The  population 
necessary  for  towns  must  exceed  200,  whose  government  was  assigned  to  five 
trustees,   elected   annually,    with  a  treasurer,   assessor,  and   marshal.     For 
cities  the  population  must  exceed  2,000.     The  officials  to  be  elected  were 
mayor,  marshal,  police  judge,  and  a  council  of  at  least  three  members,  one 
for  each  ward;  term  not  to  exceed  two  years.     These  rules  were  elastic,  for 
old  Alameda  was  incorporated  in  1854,  when  the  population  on  the  entire 
peninsula  barely  exceeded  100;  and  Benicia  and  others  assumed  city  garb  with 
less  than  2,000. 

HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.    28 


434  BIRTH  OF  TOWNS. 

cials  under  the  selfish  manoeuvring  of  politicians  and 
speculators.  Taking  advantage  of  the  unsettled  con 
dition,  and  the  business  preoccupation  among  citizens, 
these  worthies  furthermore  proceeded  to  divert  local 
resources  to  their  own  ends,  and  ingulf  the  settlement 
in  debt  by  useless  or  extravagant  measures  from  which 
they  sought  enrichment.  They  sold  offices  to  the 
highest  bidder,  and  by  the  complexity  of  departments 
and  routine  they  manipulated  justice  to  shield  the 
corrupt,  by  whose  support  they  sustained  themselves.10 
These  were  among  the  causes  which  converted  larger 
towns  into  hot-beds  of  crime,  the  refuge  of  a  class 
driven  from  camps  and  other  places  ruled  by  the  fear- 
inspiring  swiftness  of  a  miners'  court.11 

The  site  of  mining  camps  received  apparently  little 
of  the  consideration  governing  the  location  of  settle 
ments.  In  the  rush  for  gold,  nothing  was  thought  of 
save  the  momentary  convenience  of  being  near  to  the 
field  of  operation.  And  so  they  sprang  up,  often  in 
the  most  out  of  the  way  spots,  on  the  sandy  flat  left 
by  retreating  river  currents,  along  the  steep  slope  of  a 
ravine,  on  the  arid  plain,  on  the  hilltop,  or  in  the 
cul-de-sac  hollow  of  some  forbidding  ridge,  with  lack 
or  excess  of  wrater,  troublesome  approach,  and  other 
obstacles.  Even  the  picturesque  faded  fast  as  the 
foliage  fringe  round  the  white-peaked  tents  was  reduced 
to  shorn  stumps,  midst  unsightly  mounds  of  earth, 
despoiled  river-beds,  and  denuded  slopes,  the  ghastly 
battle-field  of  Titanic  forces.  The  chief  conveniences 
were  due  to  the  store-keepers  and  liquor  dealers,  who, 
with  a  keen  eye  to  the  main  chance,  followed  in  the 
train  of  the  diggers;  and  while  planting  themselves 
on  the  most  conspicuous  spot,  were  prompted,  on  pub 
lic  grounds,  although  for  private  gain,  to  demand  for 

10 See  the  chapters  on  S.  F.,  and  the  sections  on  Sac.,  Oakland,  etc. 
Under  the  county  notes  are  shown  instances  of  incorporation.  As  Gwin 
came  to  Cal.  with  the  express  aim  to  legislate  for  her,  so  others  nocked  hither 
to  gather  the  crumbs  of  local  management. 

11  Compulsory  in  a  great  degree,  owing  to  the  lack  of  prisons  and  keepers 
for  affording  delay  for  trials. 


THE  MAIN  STREET.  435 

residents  and  wayfarers  an  outline  for  a  street  with 
ready  access  to  their  bar  and  counter.  Along  this 
thoroughfare  clustered  the  shrines  of  Bacchus  and 
Fortuna,  gambling-halls,  shed -like  hotels,  and  other 
adjuncts  of  life  and  traffic,  corresponding  to  the  extent 
and  prominence  of  the  diggings.  In  most  cases  the 
solitary  and  perhaps  crooked  main  street  formed  the 
only  avenue  among  the  cluster  of  tents,  brush  huts,  and 
log  cabins;  in  others  the  camps  were  scattered  at  fre 
quent  intervals,  especially  along  the  Stanislaus.  Occa 
sionally  a  rich  field  drew  a  gathering  of  thousands 
within  a  few  weeks12  to  one  point,  which,  like  Sonora, 
Columbia,  Placerville,  and  Nevada,  became  the  centre 
for  a  number  of  minor  groups,  and  marked  its  stages 
of  progress  by  such  significant  features  as  the  trans 
formation  of  early  canvas  structures  and  sheds  into 
frame  buildings,  and  these  again  sometimes  into  sub 
stantial  brick  edifices;  the  appearance  of  a  local  news 
paper;  the  introduction  of  sewers  and  water-works, 
and  finally  gas,  the  crowning  affirmation  of  permanent 
prosperity,  more  so  than  the  documentary  claim 
presented  in  a  city  charter,  whose  pretensions  were 
frequently  swept  away  by  disincorporation. 

As  centres  of  mining  districts  they  often  controlled 
a  flourishing  trade  over  a  large  extent  of  country,13 
until  the  growth  of  population  demanded  a  division 
with  new  or  subordinate  rallying  points.  In  due  time 
they  became  aspirants  for  the  honors  of  a  county  seat, 
some  by  influencing  the  creation  of  a  county,  on 
pleas  similar  to  those  for  organizing  districts — pub 
lic  convenience14 — but  which  were  widely  stretched 

12  Any  of  the  rich  streams,  Stanislaus,  Yuba,  Feather,  furnishes  instances, 
as  shown  in  the  note  on  counties,  and  in  the  chapter  on  mining.     Sonora  and 
Nevada  are  among  the  best  known. 

13  To  which  physical  obstacles,  as  ravines,  rivers,  and  ranges,  and  the 
attendant  convenience  assigned  the  limits.     The  moment  these  created  ob 
jections  a  new  district  was  formed  without  even  consulting  the  mother  dis 
trict.     Rules  were  modified  to  suit  the  change  and  wishes  of  the  majority 
occupying  the  new  centre.     At  times  camps  united  also  for  certain  objects. 
Districts  were  frequently  cut  in  two  by  the  arbitrary  border  lines  of  counties, 
yet  this  seldom  affected  their  organization  or  unity. 

14  The  legislature  was  swayed  greatly  by  whim  and  political  intrigue  in 
creating  counties.     Sections  like  El  Dorado  and  Calaveras  were  long  left  in- 


436  BIRTH  OF  TOWNS. 

to  suit  the  fancy  of  speculators  and  politicians,  in 
and  out  of  legislature.  Others  managed  by  a  pre 
ponderating  vote  and  interest  to  wrest  the  dig 
nity  from  less  powerful  towns.15  In  many  instances 

tact,  although  counting  already  in  1850  a  population  of  over  20,000  and 
16,000  respectively,  and  presenting  numerous  internal  obstacles,  notably  in 
steep  ranges  and  rugged  divides;  while  other  regions,  like  Mendocino,  with 
a  white  population  of  only  55,  and  small  prospects  for  advancement,  were 
accorded  equal  status.  Compare  also  the  contemporaneous  segregation  of 
Colusa,  Yolo,  and  Solano,  with  ready  means  for  intercourse  and  a  scanty  pop 
ulation,  except  in  a  few  spots,  and  the  limitation  of  Marin  to  a  mountain 
ous  corner,  while  the  adjoining  Sonoma  revelled  in  a  fertile  expanse,  with 
jurisdiction  in  a  measure  as  far  as  Humboldt.  Subsequently  such  small  sec 
tions  were  lopped  off  as  rich  Amaclor  on  one  side  of  the  Mokelumne,  and 
barren  Alpine  on  the  other.  Lassen  was  granted  autonomy  to  please  a  few 
growlers,  while  similar  louder  and  sounder  complaints  elsewhere  remained 
unheeded.  Del  Norte  and  Klamath  were  given  the  sway  of  their  respective 
rocky  circuits;  and  when  the  latter  speedily  sought  relief  from  the  privilege, 
its  terrain  must  needs  be  awarded  to  the  already  cumbersome  Humboldt  and 
Siskiyou,  without  a  share  to  Del  Norte,  for  which  proximity  and  natural 
boundaries  designed  it.  According  to  the  act  of  Apr.  22,  1850,  the  petition  of 
at  least  100  electors  was  required  for  organizing  a  county.  Later  the  Sac. 
Union,  Apr.  11,  1855,  etc.,  objected  to  a  voting  population  as  a  basis.  The 
Political  Code  of  Cal.  divides  the  counties  into  three  classes,  the  first  with  a 
population  of  20,000  and  over,  the  second  with  8,000  and  upwards,  the  third 
below  8,000,  with  boards  of  supervisors  numbering  7,  5,  and  3  members  re 
spectively,  each  representing  a  supervisor's  district  for  a  term  of  three  years,  a 
portion  of  the  board  retiring  annually.  Its  meetings  are  fixed  for  the  first 
Monday  in  Feb.,  May,  Aug.,  and  Nov.,  the  books  kept  by  it  covering  minutes 
of  proceeding,  allowances  from  the  treasury,  warrants  upon  the  treasury,  list 
of  franchises  granted,  and  records  of  roads  and  works.  Of  county  officers, 
every  two  years,  as  judge,  sheriff,  treasurer,  clerk,  auditor,  recorder,  attor 
ney,  surveyor,  coroner,  assessor,  collector,  school  superintendent,  public  ad 
ministrator,  and  commissioners  of  highways,  several  positions  may  after  due 
notice  be  consolidated  in  counties  of  inferior  rank,  for  the  sake  of  economy, 
the  clerk,  for  instance,  acting  also  as  auditor  and  recorder.  For  townships, 
subordinates  could  be  added  to  the  indispensable  justices  of  the  peace  and 
constables,  and  every  official,  except  judges,  supervisors,  and  justices,  could 
appoint  the  needful  deputies.  With  several,  residence  at  the  county  seat 
was  compulsory  for  obvious  reasons.  Bonds  ranged  from  $100,000  for 
treasurers  in  the  first-class  counties,  to  $5,000  for  school  superintendents 
and  coroners,  the  proportion  in  third-class  counties  being  about  one  fifth 
these  amounts.  Changes  have  been  made  under  this  heading,  as  well  as  that 
for  pay.  Instance,  proposed  reforms  in  Cal.  Jour.  Sen.,  18G7-8,  ap.  78.  One 
act  abolished  the  supervisor  office  in  several  counties.  Cal.  Statutes,  1854,  280. 
Other  reforms  are  indicated  by  the  assessment  list,  which  raised  valuations  for 
1873-4  to  nearly  three  times  the  amount  ruling  in  1872-3.  Property  in  Oak 
land,  for  instance,  then  valued  at  $6,600,000  was  in  1873-4  assessed  at 
$18,500,000. 

15  Placerville  gained  it  from  Coloma,  and  quelled  the  aspirations  of  several 
rivals.  In  Yolo  the  dignity  was  tossed  from  one  village  to  another,  as  differ 
ent  speculators  obtained  the  upper  hand.  In  the  south  San  Joaquin  counties 
the  railroad  founded  towns  and  aided  them  to  seize  the  prize.  In  Alameda 
Oakland  snatched  it  by  force  of  vote  from  a  more  central  locality.  In  some 
other  counties,  as  Solano,  a  central  point  was  specially  located  as  the  seat. 
Several  towns  owe  their  existence  chiefly  to  a  retention  of  the  officials.  Hum- 
Loldt  county  was  moved  to  secession  from  Trinity,  because  the  seat  was  trans 
ferred  to  inland  Weaverville. 


ORIGIN  OF  NAMES.  437 

private  efforts  supplemented  a  natural  expansion  in 
moving  the  centre  of  a  town  to  some  addition,  or  for 
mer  suburb.16  This  has  been  notably  the  case  in  the 
pueblos  of  the  south,  where  the  adobe  dwellings  of 
Mexican  days  generally  form  a  quarter  by  themselves, 
designated  as  the  old  town,  while  the  new  or  Ameri 
can  sections  present  the  characteristic  blocks  of  frame 
dwellings  in  the  midst  of  gardens,  or  with  a  yard  in 
the  rear  and  a  flower  or  lawn  patch  in  front,  radiating 
from  brick-lined  business  streets. 

Notwithstanding  their  recent  beginning,  the  history 
of  the  great  proportion  of  mining  towns  is  traditional  or 
obscure,  owing  to  the  erratic  course  of  mining  move 
ments.  Their  origin  is  too  frequently  loosely  ascribed 
to  some  sudden  influx  of  diggers,  guided  by  vague 
rumor;  but  these  so-called  first-comers  had  been  often 
preceded  by  a  band  of  workers  who  had  for  some  time 
veiled  their  operations  in  secrecy,  and  these  again  by 
some  prospector  who  was  ever  flitting  on  the  outskirts 
of  the  districts,  probing  into  virginal  ground.  Fre 
quently  the  only  record  lies  embedded  in  the  name. 
Yet  this,  if  a  personal  appellation,  indicates,  perhaps, 
only  the  trader  whose  store,  as  the  general  rendezvous, 
gave  name  to  the  spot.  More  generally  it  points  to 
some  incident  or  feature  connected  with  the  site  or 
founding,  for  California  names  are  certainly  as  signifi 
cant  as  they  are  varied.17  They  mark  the  progress  of 

16  At  New  San  Diego,  Morton's  addition  gained  the  supremacy.     In  S.  F. 
the  centre  has  moved  away  from  Portsmouth  square,  and  even  the  city  hall 
here  has  been  supplanted. 

17  The  earliest  Spanish  explorers  by  sea  left  their  records  along  the  coast  as 
far  as  Trinidad,  to  which  later  English  navigators  added  names  like  Point  St 
George,  always  remembering  such  localities  as  Drake  Bay.     The  Russians, 
who  actually  occupied  the  country,  are  only  indirectly  recalled  in  Russian 
River,  Fort  Ross,  Sebastopol;  Mount  St  Helena  being  their  solitary  christen 
ing.     The  terms  of  French  cruisers  failed  to  remain,  but  cognaite  trappers 
blazed  their  path  in  the  interior  as  marked  by  Cache,  Butte,  and  as  some 
have  it,  Siskiyou  and  Shasta,  while  a  Danish  confrere  is  remembered  in  Las- 
sen.     In  the  south  Mexican  designations  naturally  predominate,  and  they 
certainly  surpass  all  others  for  beauty.     Observe  the  melodious  San  Juan, 
Santa  Cruz,  Tamalpais,  Santa  Rosa,  the  majestic  Mendocino,  Del  Monte,  the 
sweet  Alameda,  San  Benito.     True,  the  frequent  recurrence  ot  the  San,  and 
its  feminine  Santa,  present  a  detracting  monotony,  for  which  are  responsible 


438  BIRTH  OF  TOWNS. 

explorers  from  the  time  of  Cabrillo  and  Drake  to  the 
era  of  missionaries  and  trappers.  The  Spaniards  had 

partly  the  friar  element  in  exploration  and  management,  partly  the  religious 
custom  of  applying  the  name  of  the  saints  which  figure  for  every  day  in  the 
calendar  alike  to  the  new-born  babe,  or  to  the  discovered  site  of  the  pro 
posed  town.  The  sacred  prevails  also  without  the  saint,  as  in  Los  Angeles, 
Trinidad,  Sacramento.  The  descriptive  profane  appears  in  Caliente,  Posas, 
Gatos,  Pescadero,  Sauzalito.  The  ito  is  a  common  diminutive  ending,  often 
caressing  in  import.  Spaniards  have  not  neglected  the  devil  and  his  ilk,  as 
in  Monte  del  Diablo,  but  the  application  differs  from  the  American  in  being 
of  superstitious  source.  Bare  terms  like  Pajaro,  bird,  and  Soledad,  solitude, 
are  peculiar.  A  certain  concession  is  shown,  especially  by  intelligent  Amer 
icans,  for  Indian  names,  partly  in  justice  to  the  original  lords  of  the  soil, 
partly  from  a  taste  for  the  antique  and  melodious,  and  native  words  are 
not  deficient  in  liquid  beauty.  Instance  the  soft  intonation  of  Sonoma, 
Tehama,  Wyeka,  Inyo,  Napa,  Yolo,  which  are  compact;  while  Chowchilla, 
Tuolumne,  Suisun,  Klamath,  savor  of  the  barbaric.  Americans  have  not 
always  preserved  these,  or  even  Spanish  terms,  uncorrupted.  To  Wyeka 
they  have  added  the  r  so  widely  lacking  among  aborigines,  and  made  it 
Yreka;  of  Uba,  Yuba;  San  Andreas  of  San  Andres;  Tulare  instead  of  Tulares 
or  Tular;  Carquinez  in  place  of  Carquines,  es  being  the  Spanish  plural.  The 
K  initial  here  applied  by  the  original  recorder  was  due  to  ignorance.  Some 
appellations,  as  for  the  islands  Angeles  and  Yeguas,  have  been  translated  into 
Angel  and  Mare  islands. 

In  the  northern  half  of  the  state  American  designations  prevail,  save  in 
occasional  deference  to  Indian  and  Spanish,  the  latter  usually  due  to 
pioneers  dating  before  1849,  who  had  acquired  a  smattering  of  or  liking 
for  Spanish  forms.  The  terms  are  as  a  rule  both  appropriate  and  expres 
sive,  although  tinged  too  much  by  the  looseness  and  hairbrained  reckless 
ness  of  the  flush  times,  with  their  characteristic  abjuration  of  elegance. 
Like  the  Spaniards,  they  displayed  a  bent  for  the  supernatural,  while  sub 
stituting  the  satanic  for  the  saintly.  Never,  indeed,  was  the  devil  better 
remembered,  even  though  the  spots  dedicated  to  him  harbored  little  of 
the  complimentary.  Instance  especially  the  Geyser  regions.  Other  common 
and  characteristic  terms  were  drawn  from  the  prevalent  drinking  and 
gambling,  as  Whiskey,  Brandy,  and  Drunkard's  bars,  Keno,  Euchre,  and 
Poker  flats,  etc.,  with  Fiddletown  of  cognate  revelry.  The  general  ap 
plication  of  nicknames  among  comrades  was  widely  recorded,  with  the 
striking  trait  of  the  victim,  as  Jim  Crow,  You  Bet,  after  a  man  using  this 
expression,  Red  Dog,  from  the  owner  of  such  an  animal,  Ranty  Doddler;  also 
Greenhorn,  Loafer  Hill,  Chicken  Thief  Flat.  Nationality  was  frequently 
added,  as  Yankee  Jim's,  Dutch  Flat,  Hoosier,  Buckeye,  Nigger  Bar,  Greaser 
and  Chinese  flats.  The  superstitious  element  occurs  in  the  many  Horseshoe 
bars  and  Last  Chance.  The  repulsive  have  often  been  transformed  into  neater 
shape,  as  Lousy  Level  or  Liar's  Flat  into  Rice's  Crossing;  yet  Shirt-tail 
Canon  lingered.  Scholarly  affectation  has  been  left  unchallenged  in  Alpha 
and  Omega,  and  puritan  selections  are  revealed  in  Havilah  and  Antioch.  The 
common  Rich  gulches  and  bars  point  to  strokes  of  fortune.  Gold  Hill,  Ophir, 
and  Eureka  have  also  been  frequently  applied,  though  replaced  by  less  hack 
neyed  terms  to  prevent  confusion.  Localities  denoting  disappointment  are 
equally  numerous,  as  Pinch-em-tight,  Bogus  Thunder,  Liar's,  Humbug,  and 
Poverty  flats,  the  latter  two  being  frequently  paraded,  although  the  better 
known  of  these  places  have  proved  misnomers;  indeed,  they  were  frequently 
applied  by  lucky  finders  to  frighten  away  rivals.  Many  are  the  spots  com 
memorative  of  misfortunes,  as  Murderer's  bars  and  gulches,  Hangtown,  Gouge 
Eye,  Dead  Man's  Gulch.  These  are  relieved  by  a  large  sprinkling  with  natural 
features,  as  Otter,  Grizzly,  Jackass,  Wildcat,  with  ironic  allusions,  Red  Bluff, 
Green  Mountain,  Deadwood,  Blizzardville.  Honorary  and  patriotic  names 


NOMENCLATURE.  439 

time  to  stamp  little  more  than  the  southern  coast 
region  with  a  nomenclature  characterized  by  saintly 
form  and  melodious  and  stately  ring.  A  portion  of 
the  Indian  terms  preserved  by  antiquarian  taste  and 
sense  of  justice  fall  not  behind  in  liquid  beauty.  Both 
have  been  to  some  extent  corrupted  by  Americans, 
who  filled  the  north  and  interior  with  their  expressive 
and  descriptive  terms,  tinged  in  the  mining  region  by 
the  loose  and  reckless  spirit  of  the  flush  times,  with 
their  predilection  for  slang  and  nickname,  blunt  terse 
ness  and  waggery.  Camp,  bar,  flat,  run,  slide,  are 
among  the  peculiar  affixes  here  supplementary  to  the 
hackneyed  ville,  city,  ton,  burg. 

The  large  proportion  of  camps  have  disappeared 
with  the  decline  of  mining.  Some  fell  as  rapidly  as 
they  had  risen,  when  the  rich  but  scanty  surface  gold 
which  gave  them  life  was  worked  out.  Everything 
partook  of  the  precarious  and  unstable  marking  this  era 
of  wild  speculation  and  gambling.  Never  was  there 
a  place  or  people  where  the  changes  of  life,  its  vicissi 
tudes  and  its  successes,  were  brought  out  in  such  bold 
relief  as  here.  The  rich  and  the  poor,  the  proud  and 
the  humble,  the  vile  and  the  virtuous,  changed  places 
in  a  day.  Wild  speculation  and  slovenly  business 
habits,  together  tvith  the  gambling  character  of  all  occu 
pations,  and  the  visitations  or  benign  influences  of  the 
elements,  and  a  thousand  uncalculable  incidents  usually 

abound,  as  in  Rough  and  Ready,  after  Gen.  Taylor;  Fremont,  Jackson,  Car 
son,  Visalia,  after  Vice;  with  home  associations  in  Washington,  Boston,  Ban- 
gor,  Alabama;  Timbuctoo  has  a  humorous  twang,  and  Bath  an  English  aspect. 
The  hackneyed  form  of  ville  is  due  more  to  the  personal  ambition  of  founders 
than  to  poor  taste;  burg  is  less  frequent  than  the  addition  city  and  town, 
which  are  so  grandiloquently  applied  even  to  petty  collections  of  huts. 
Nomenclature  is  frequently  accorded  paragraphs,  especially  in.  country  jour 
nals,  and  in  most  instances  commentators  allow  themselves  to  be  deluded  by 
casual  resemblances  to  words  in  foreign  languages.  They  actually  hunt 
vocabularies  for  terms  to  fit  their  hobby,  as  marked  notably  by  the  calida 
fornax  explanation  for  California,  the  Narizona  or  arida  zona  forms  for  Ari 
zona,  Ore jones  for  Oregon,  instead  of  recurring  to  the  more  likely  aboriginal 
sources.  Compare  Argonaut,  July  26,  1879;  Alta  Cal,  June  29,  1870;  Sept. 
17,  1871;  Aug.  22,  1S86,  etc.;  Sta  Rosa  Democ..,  Nov.  12,  1870^  fiuss.  River 
Flag,  June  20,  1870;  Hittell's  Res.,  422-8;  Id.,  Mining,  44-6;  Cath.  World,  ii. 
800;  Haye*  Cal.  Notes,  ii.  48.  Taylor,  Eldorado,  151,  was  particularly  struck 
by  Hell's  Delights  and  Ground  Hog's  Glory.  Helpers  Land,  150,  176,  etc.; 
Williams'  Pac.  Tourist,  205;  Hearne'a  Sketches,  MS.,  4-5. 


440  BIRTH  OF  TOWNS. 

classed  in  the  category  of  luck,  were  constantly  lifting 
up  one  and  pulling  down  another,  inflating  this  town  or 
district  and  shrivelling  that.  Brick  stores  and  flashy 
residences  displace  the  cloth  tents  and  rude  cabins  of 
the  mining  camp  that  suddenly  displays  its  treasures 
in  bright  abundance ;  and  almost  in  a  day  sometimes 

^when  the  pockets  of  the  placers  appear  abruptly  empty 
^  (_^the  town  collapses,  the  houses  are  deserted.  Some 
lingered  for  years  the  victims  of  countless  ordeals,  of 
sweeping  fires,  which  befell  almost  every  town  in  this 
inflammable  land;18  of  undermining  and  removal  to 
more  favored  localities.19  Finally  yielding,  they  left 
as  record  of  the  struggle  long  lines  of  tottering  edi 
fices  and  unroofed  cabins,  with  here  and  there  crum 
bling  walls  of  brick  to  signal  the  extent  of  the  defeat,20 
and  around,  the  desolate  aspect  of  denuded  slopes  and 
barren  gravel  plains,  with  gaping  pits  and  decaying 
tree-stumps,  and  rivers  turned  from  their  ancient 
course.  Another  proportion  survived,  partly  as  cen 
tres  for  later  hydraulic  and  quartz  operations,  though 
chiefly  as  farming  villages,  at  times  under  the  veil  of 
a  new  name;  and  in  humbler  though  more  assured 
prospects,  others  outgrew  their  period  of  mining  and 
gambling,  roughs  and  vigilants,  to  rise  to  staid  busi- 

/  ness  centres,  affecting  piety  and  learning.21  Agricul 
ture  had  here  its  beginning  in  garden  patches,  with 
powerful  auxiliaries  in  the  water  ditches  of  mining 

18  Yankee  Jim's  and  Ophir  were  burned  down  in  1852,  the  latter  succumb 
ing  under  the  blow.     Downieville  suffered  in  the  same  year  $500,000.    Towns 
not  distant  for  nearly  the  same  amount  in  1858.     And  so  the  torch  circulated. 
See  under  counties  and  towns,  and  compare  with  S.  F.,  with  damages  ranging 
as  high  as  a  half-score  millions.     Helper,  Land  of  Gold,  26,  etc.,  assumes  the 
fire  losses  during  1849-55  at  over  $45,000,000.     Others  raise  it  to  $66,000,000 
by  1852.     Not  only  were  houses  as  a  rule  of  combustible  material,  but  people 
were  careless,  with  a  large  criminal  admixture. 

19  For  no  site  in  the  gold  region  was  safe  in  early  days  from  miners'  in 
roads.    Farming  land  and  highways  were  washed  away,  and  entire  town  sites, 
leaving  propped  walls  and  caving  streets,  a  certain  amount  of  damages  being 
alone  recoverable. 

20  These  remains,  once  plentiful,  are  growing  scarce  under  the  utilizing 
efforts  of  adjoining  settlers. 

21  Hangtown  being  changed  to  the  more  attractive  Placerville,  for  obvious 
reasons.     Others  to  avoid  confusion  with  namesakes,  or  under  the  ambitious 
efforts  of  new  founders. 


RISE  OF  AGRICULTURE.  441 

days,  which  assisted  to  change  the  industries  of  entire 
counties  within  a  few  years. 

Even  the  central  El  Dorado  and  Placer  are  becom 
ing  known  as  vinicultural  rather  than  mining  districts. 
Alpine  relies  upon  her  pastures,  and  most  of  the  gold 
belt  depends  upon  tillage ;  while  in  the  extreme  south 
San  Diego  and  Los  Angeles  unfolded  quartz  deposits. 
The  Santa  Barbara  region  was  by  the  drought  of  one 
season  transformed  from  a  stock-raising  to  a  predomi 
nating  farming  range.  The  current  of  population 
began  in  1850  to  turn  back  to  the  momentarily  aban 
doned  coast  slopes,  filling  first  the  central  bay  valleys, 
then  with  a  reflux  the  river  bottoms, near  the  mines; 
till  under  the  growing  occupation  of  land  it  swept  also 
over  the  south  and  grouped  elsewhere  around  ports, 
and  timber,  and  fishing-grounds.  In  many  regions, 
especially  the  south,  it  was  stemmed  a  while  by  dis 
puted  land  titles,  due  greatly  to  intriguing  new-comers; 
but  whatever  personal  injustice  they  inflicted  by 
usurpation  of  ranchos,  they  infused  a  new  energetic 
spirit  into  the  easy-going  Hispano-Californian  com 
munity,  lifted  stagnant  pueblos  into  flourishing  cen 
tennial  cities,  and  with  irrigation  and  other  undertak 
ings  transformed  arid  plains  into  waving  fields  and 
golden  orange  groves. 

Aside  from  mining  camps,  lingering  or  transformed, 
California  possesses  a  wide  range  of  settlements,  from 
the  missions,  pueblos,  and  harbors,  sites  of  Spanish 
origin,  through  the  series  of  agricultural  and  manu 
facturing  centres,  inland  ports  and  entrepots,  suburbs 
and  resorts,  to  the  recent  railroad  stations  and  hor 
ticultural  colonies.  Sea-ports,  which  antedate  in  a 
measure  even  the  ancient  pueblos  as  entrepots  for  the 
first  foundations,  have  been  widely  reenforced  by  land 
ings  since  the  early  fur-trading  times.  While  gaining 
in  local  trade  they  have  declined  in  general  importance, 
as  compared  with  the  only  two  good  ship  harbors  of 


442  BIRTH  OF  TOWNS. 

San  Francisco  and  San  Diego.22  A  fact  due  to  im 
proved  coast  and  interior  traffic,  inland  ports  had  their 
beginning  properly  in  Benicia,  the  first  to  receive  large 
vessels  and  assert  itself  as  a  harbor  town.  Sacramento 
and  Stockton,  so  far  petty  landings,  followed,  each 
becoming  the  centre  of  a  host  of  tributary  river  land 
ings,  Sacramento  having,  however,  to  share  its  trade 
with  the  upper  heads  of  navigation,  notably  Marys- 
ville.23  All  of  these  prominent  places  were  beset  by 
a  number  of  rivals,  eager  for  their  prospective  prizes. 
Benicia,  risen  as  a  competitor  of  San  Francisco,  had 
in  time  to  yield  to  the  adjacent  Vallejo  both  its  trade 
and  aspirations,  and  Marysville  having  in  time  to 
divide  its  gains  from  Sacramento  with  towns  above. 

Many  of  these  aspirants  attained  only  to  the  rank 
of  paper  towns,  of  which,  speculative  California  has 
probably  had  a  larger  proportion  than  any  other  coun 
try  of  its  size,24  owing  to  the  unparalleled  unfold  ment 
of  settlements,  the  consequent  opportunity  for  entre- 
p6ts  in  different  directions,  and  the  abundance  of 
money  for  investments.  City  building  became  a  busi- 

22  See  chapters  on  trade  in  preceding  volumes.     Humboldt  Bay  admits  only 
smaller  vessels;  Crescent  City  is  a  good  roadstead,  with  a  scanty  range  of  ac 
cessible   country.     Wilmington  rises  little  above  the  southern  roadsteads, 
despite  costly  artificial  breakwaters.     Sauzalito  is  an  anchorage  tributary  to 
San  Francisco. 

23  For  early  port  of  entry  privileges,  see  the  chapter  on  commerce.     Peta- 
luma  became  the  chief  shipping  point  for  Sonoma,  Napa  and  Vallejo  for  Napa, 
Suisun  for  Solano,  etc. 

24  Instance  Montezuma  and  New  York  of  the  Pacific,  and  Collinsville  or 
Newport — expose  in  S.  F.  Bulletin,  May  11,  1857,  etc. — which  strove  for  the 
valley  trade  against  all  the  prominent  towns  above  named;  Vernon,  Fremont, 
Nicolaus,  and  Hoboken,  which  entered  the  list  against  Sacramento  and  Marys 
ville;  Hamilton  and  Plumas  against  the  latter;  Butte  City  and  Monroeville, 
which  sought  to  be  recognized  as  heads  of  Sacramento  navigation,  a  privilege 
gained  in  a  measure   by  Colusa,  Tehama,  and  Red   Bluff.     Stockton,  also 
Fredrina,  Sac.  Transcript,  Apr.  26,  1850,  had  even  less  successful  claimants 
in  the  cities  of  San  Joaquin,  Stanislaus,  Mokelumne,  and  Tuolumne.    Instance 
also  Klamath  City,  which  was  killed  by  the  shifting  river  bar.     They  were 
duly  trumpeted  before  the  people,  with  the  aid  of  interesting  maps,  subsidized 
journals,  and  persuasive  agents,  and  many  made  fortunes  for  their  projectors 
before  the  collapse  came.     Frightened  by  adverse  reports,  bad  titles,  or  peri 
odical  spells  of  dulness  at  existing  towns,  men  bought  lots  in  different  places 
to  secure  themselves.     Yet  others  failed  to  cover  expenses.     One  company 
spent  nearly  $150,000  in  vain.  Helper's  Land,  177-8.     The  failure  of  Vallejo 
to  secure,  for  a  time,  at  least,  the  capital,  was  due  to  bad  management.     The 
speculative  excitement  subsided  for  the  bay  towns  by  the  summer  of  1850. 
In  1863  a  revival  occurred  for  sea-ports 


THE  BOOMING  BUSINESS.  443 

ness.  At  various  points  tracts  of  land  were  seized 
and  town  lots  mapped  out  and  sold.  Then  the  ad 
vantages  of  the  place  were  trumpeted  far  and  wide, 
and  all  were  invited  by  oily-tongued  agents  to  come 
and  buy  and  live.  Title  acquired  often  by  force  and 
trickery  was  kept  by  the  power  of  the  rifle  and  legal 
jugglery.  The  most  ambitious  projects  sought  to 
combine  the  head  of  ship  navigation  in  the  bay  with 
a  command  of  the  great  valley  outlets,  as  instanced  in 
New  York  of  the  Pacific.  Then  followed  claimants 
to  the  head  of  river  navigation  in  the  Sacramento  and 
San  Joaquin,  beginning  with  Vernon,  and  contestants 
for  the  control  of  the  trade  with  certain  tributaries 
and  districts.  Along  the  coast  rose  several  pretenders 
to  harbors,  with  promising  river  drainage,  as  Klamath 
City,  and  throughout  the  interior  were  sprinkled  plats 
intended  for  valley  centres  and  county  seats,  some  of 
which  nurse,  as  mere  hamlets,  the  dream  of  greatness 
realized  by  their  successful  neighbors.  The  specula 
tive  fever  for  city  building  raged  most  virulently  dur 
ing  1849  and  into  1850,  raising  a  crop  of  prospective 
millionaires,  after  which  the  symptoms  abated  to  spo 
radic  forms,  with  occasional  epidemics,  as  in  1863. 

Agricultural  towns  date  from  the  Spanish  pueblo 
colonies,  supplemented  in  time  by  converted  missions, 
and  latterly  by  lingering  and  transformed  mining 
camps,  some,  like  San  Jose,  of  centennial  dignity,  and 
the  younger  Salinas,  depending  on  wheat  regions,  Los 
Angeles  boasting  of  her  orange  groves,  Anaheim  and 
St  Helena  leading  a  host  of  vinicultural  communities, 
and  Healdsburg  prominent  in  the  display  of  orchards. 
Aside  from  the  woollen  mills  and  other  industrial  ad 
juncts  of  the  large  cities,  a  number  of  towns  live  by 
their  manufacturing  interests.  Eureka  and  Guerne- 
ville  are  conspicuous  among  a  host  of  places  producing 
lumber,  the  earliest  manufacture  on  a  large  scale. 
Flour-mills  have  found  development  at  Yallejo;  So- 
quel  depends  upon  a  variety  of  industries,  notably 
tanneries ;  Taylorsville  is  a  paper-mill ;  Suisun  a  pack- 


444  BIRTH  OF  TOWNS. 

ing  place ;  Martinez  figures  among  fish-canning  places ; 
Alvarado  is  known  for  its  beet-sugar  mills;  Boca  for 
breweries ;  and  Newhall  for  oil.  Nortonville  and  New 
Almaden  find  their  chief  support  in  coal  and  quicksil 
ver;  Folsom  flourishes  by  a  prison  and  its  quarries; 
Berkeley,  Benicia,  and  Santa  Clara  rank  among  col 
lege  towns;  Santa  Cruz,  Santa  Barbara,  and  Santa 
Monica  are  sustained  greatly  as  watering-places,  their 
list  swelled  by  San  Diego,  Calistoga,  Auburn,  and  a 
number  of  other  places,  particularly  in  Lake  and  San 
Mateo,  as  health  and  pleasure  resorts;  while  Oakland, 
Alameda,  and  Washington  are  known  rather  as  the 
bed-chambers,  or  suburbs,  of  cities. 

During  the  last  three  decades  the  railroad  has  risen 
as  arbitrator  in  the  fortunes  of  many  of  these  towns. 
By  passing  them  by  it  has  drawn  away  their  trade 
and  left  them  to  lingering  decay,  as  illustrated  notably 
by  San  Juan  Bautista,  and  several  towns  of  the  San 
Joaquin  Valley.25  It  has  build  up  instead  numerous 
thriving  stations,  among  which  towns  like  Modesto, 
Merced,  Bakersfield,  and  Hollister  have  been  so  effect 
ively  fostered  as  to  secure  the  important  dignity  of 
county  seats  to  swell  their  expanding  trade  resources. 
In  other  cases  it  has  revived  many  languishing  settle 
ments,  as  for  example,  Calistoga,  Oroville,  Sauzalito, 
and  opened  the  way  in  the  southern  deserts  for  flour 
ishing  and  reclaiming  oases. 

The  latest  feature  of  town  building  is  presented  by  a 
new  form  of  the  agricultural  colonies,  which  were  first 
planted  by  Spaniards,  under  official  auspices,  as  at 
San  Jose,  Los  Angeles,  and  Branciforte.  Sonoma 
was  a  subsequent  semi-official  venture,  and  Sutter's 
Fort  partook  of  this  stamp.  Americans  introduced 
the  cooperative  system,  beginning  with  San  Bernar 
dino  of  the  industrious  Mormons,  but  more  properly 
with  Anaheim.  This  stands  as  a  prototype  here  of 

25  Modesto  overshadowed  Knight's  Ferry  and  La  Grange,  Merced  took 
life  and  honors  from  Snelling,  Fresno  from  Millerton.  Alviso  has  suffered, 
Shasta  is  reduced,  etc.  A  few,  like  Brighton  and  Stanislaus,  saved  a  weak 
existence  by  moving  to  the  railroad  line. 


STARTLING   SURPRISES.  445 

the  chiefly  horticultural  settlements  started  on  coop 
erative  principles  to  overcome  the  early  difficulties  of 
such  undertakings,  marked  by  costly  irrigation  canals, 
non-productive  planting  periods,  and  manufacturing 
adjuncts.  These  vanquished,  each  member  assumed 
independent  control  of  his  allotted  share,  associated 
with  his  neighbors  only  by  a  general  and  voluntary 
interest  in  certain  branches,  and  in  sustaining  the  in 
dispensable  canals.  Many  owners  of  large  ranchos 
are  profiting  by  the  success  of  these  ventures,  which 
with  proper  management  is  almost  assured,26  by  open 
ing  ditches  and  occasionally  planting  tracts,  and  then 
selling  the  land  in  small  lots,  with  the  expectation  of 
profiting  also  by  the  formation  of  a  village  by  each 
cluster  of  colonists.  There  are  a  number  of  these  set 
tlements  round  Fresno,  and  in  the  three  southern 
counties  along  the  coast;  and  with  the  now  growing 
reputation  of  California  as  a  wine  region,  so  well 
suited  for  them,  they  are  assuming  wider  proportions 
and  importance.27  They  form  one  of  the  many  star 
tling  surprises  with  which  this  country  has  abounded, 
from  the  first  glittering  harvests  of  gold  to  the  suc 
ceeding  and  richer  crops  from  waving  fields;  in  the 
spreading  fame  of  balmy  clime  and  fertile  soil,  once 
overshadowed  by  supposed  deserts  and  aridity;  in  the 
variety  of  its  magnificent  resources  and  the  grandeur 
of  its  scenery,  with  giant  trees  and  geysers,  with  caves 
and  mountain  clefts;  in  the  birth  of  towns  and  expan 
sion  of  resources  and  wealth,  at  times  swift  in  rise  and 
fall  as  the  terror-inspiring  justice  of  the  vigilance 
committees,  at  times  slow  and  majestic  as  befits  the 
dawning  of  eternal  empire. 

26  The  earliest  colony  at  Fresno  failed  for  lack  of  due  precaution  and 
energy. 

a7  Agua  Mansa,  in  San  Bernardino,  is  a  languishing  colony,  formed  in 
1842  by  New  Mexicans.  The  not  far  distant  Riverside  is  one  of  the  most 
flourishing  spots  in  the  county.  Lompoc  is  a  Temperance  colony  in  Sta 
Barbara.  Compare  with  Nordhoff's  Communistic  Societies,  361-6.  Homestead 
associations  are  to  be  found  in  connection  with  most  large  cities.  Comments 
in  National,  Dec.  26,  1864;  Apr.  10,  1865.  Just  before  the  opening  of  the 
overland  railway  in  1870  a  homestead  fever  raged  all  round  the  bay.  Lottery 
sales  attended  them  at  one  time.  Sic.  Union,  June  25,  1855;  Jan.  27,  1857; 
S.  F.  Ab.  Post,  July  23,  1870.  See,  further,  under  counties,  next  chapters. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

CITY  BUILDING. 

1848-1888. 

THE  GREAT  INTERIOR — RIVER  AND  PLAIN — SUTTERVILLE  AND  SACRAMENTO — 
PLAN  OF  SURVEY— THE  THRICE  SIMPLE  Swiss — BETTER  FOR  THE  COUN 
TRY  THAN  A  BETTER  MAN — HEALTHY  AND  HEARTY  COMPETITION — DEVEL 
OPMENT  OF  SACRAMENTO  CITY — MARYSVILLE — STOCKTON — PLACERVILLE 
— SONORA — NEVADA — GRASS  VALLEY — BENICIA — VALLEJO — MARTINEZ — 
OAKLAND  AND  VICINITY — NORTHERN  AND  SOUTHERN  CITIES. 

IN  illustration  of  the  preceding  observations,  I  ap 
pend  a  sketch  of  the  early  development  of  the  princi 
pal  and  typical  cities,  and  of  each  county  in  the  state, 
particularly  with  reference  to  the  birth  of  its  towns, 
and  to  the  general  tendency  of  progress.  Limited 
space  forbids  more  than  a  brief  consideration  of  the 
topical  points;  and  I  must  refer  the  reader  to  the 
special  chapters  on  politics,  mining,  agriculture,  man 
ufacture,  commerce,  society,  education,  and  church, 
for  further  details  touching  the  different  sections. 
My  information  has  been  culled  by  systematic  search 
through  many  original  manuscripts,  and  through  the 
newspapers  of  San  Francisco,  as  well  as  those  from 
every  quarter  of  the  state.  I  have  also  carefully  con 
sulted  the  reports  of  census  officers,  surveyors,  and 
assessors,  county  histories,  and  directories,  local  ar 
chives  of  towns  and  counties,  the  Vallejo,  Larkin,  and 
Hayes  documents,  and  scattered  notes  in  books  and 
pamphlets  of  a  more  or  less  general  character,  as 
indicated  in  the  narrative,  only  the  most  pointed 
references  being  retained  to  affirm  or  illustrate  special 
statements. 

(446) 


SACRAMENTO  AND   SUTTERVILLE.  447 

The  Lest  prospects  for  an  interior  city  lay  naturally  along  the  Sacramento 
River,  near  the  mouth  of  its  last  great  tributary,  the  gate  to  the  central  and 
northern  parts  of  the  great  valley,  This  advantage  must  have  influenced  the 
founder  of  Sutter's  Fort;  but  the  small  extent  of  its  hill  site,  surrounded  by 
low-lying  banks  which  were  subject  to  overflow  in  very  wet  seasons,  was  in 
adequate  for  a  city,  and  such  a  one  being  required,  Sutterville  was  laid  out  on 
the  rising  ground  three  miles  below,  whence  a  dry  wagon-road  to  the  moun 
tains  could  be  constructed.  It  made  slow  progress,  for  the  fort  still  retained 
the  ascendency,  by  virtue  of  its  ferry,  supplies,  stores,  and  workshops.  The 
gold  excitement,  however,  while  assuring  urban  preeminence  to  this  quarter, 
demanded  quickly  an  expansion  of  site,  and  it  was  to  be  expected  that  the 
chosen  spot,  Sutterville,  should  become  the  centre.  "  Had  I  not  been  snowed 
in  at  Coloma,'*  said  Sutter  to  me  at  Litiz,  "Sacramento  never,  never,  would 
have  been  built."  But  the  Swiss  potentate  lacked  business  ability.  He  had 
vast  resources  and  golden  opportunities;  but  in  his  wide-reaching  plans  he 
had  become  heavily  involved,  and  to  escape  his  creditors  he  transferred  his 
property  to  his  son,  John  A.  Sutter,  a  young  man  lately  from  school.  This 
took  place  Oct.  14,  1848.  Sutter  s  Per.  Rem.,  MS.,  pp.  178-81;  Placer  Times, 
Dec.  15,  1849;  Sac.  III.,  p  8,  AUa  Cal ,  Feb  6,  1853;  S.  F.  Herald,  Feb.  9, 
1853;  TuthiWs  Hist.  Cal,  p  297  For  testimony,  In  re  John  C.  Reiky  vs  A. 
Heisch  et  al,  1860,  see  Sac.  Directory,  1871.  As  the  interest  in  Sutterville 
had  mostly  passed  out  of  his  hands,  Sutter  permitted  his  son  to  lay  out 
another  town  at  the  embarcadero,  or  landing,  just  below  the  fort,  to  which 
the  name  of  the  river  was  applied. 

The  fort  had  frequently  been  called  by  that  name,  although  Tehama  was 
the  Indian  appellation.  The  survey  was  made  by  Wm  H.  Warner,  of  the 
U.  S.  topog.  engineers.  He  was  shot  in  1849  by  the  Indians  while  surveying 
near  the  sources  of  Feather  River.  The  fort  formed  the  nucleus  of  his  opera 
tions;  thence  down  to  the  embarcadero  and  along  the  river  bank  he  laid  out 
streets.  Those  parallel  with  the  stream  were  called  First,  Second,  Third, 
etc. ;  those  at  right  angles  to  it  A,  B,  C,  etc. ;  the  avenue  bordering  on  the 
river  was  called  Front  street.  All  were  80  feet  wide  except  the  centre  street, 
M,  which  was  made  100  feet.  The  blocks  were  320  by  400  feet,  divided  by 
20-foot  alleys  running  east  and  west.  The  landing-place  was  in  itself  no 
small  advantage  in  favor  of  Sacramento,  while  the  slough  at  Sutterville, 
which  required  bridging,  operated  against  the  latter.  Sutter's  Pers.  Rem., 
MS.,  178-81;  Placer  Times,  Dec  15,  1849;  Shermans  Mem,  i.  59,  77;  Bur 
nett's  Per.  Rec.,  MS.,  ii.  1-2;  Id.,  Rec  ,  287-8.  Winans,  Days  of  1849,  MS., 
8,  and  Crosby,  Events,  MS.,  27,  differ  on  the  date  and  surveyor.  A  year 
later  Seton,  Ord,  and  Sherman  were  employed  to  connect  Warner's  survey  of 
Sacramento  with  Davidson's  survey  of  Sutterville.  An  auction  sale  of  lots 
to  be  held  at  Sutter's  Fort  on  Jan.  8,  1849,  was  advertised  under  date  of  Dec. 
2d,  in  the  Star  and  Cal.  of  Dec.  23,  1848.  The  first  sales  were  near  the  fort, 
but  at  the  close  of  Jan.  1849  lots  near  the  river  came  into  demand.  The  pur 
chase  of  more  than  four  lots  to  one  person  was  discouraged  in  order  to  pro 
mote  settlement,  which  was  also  favored  by  time  payments  and  uniform 
prices.  P.  H.  Burnett  became  on  Dec.  30th  the  attorney  for  Sutter,  jr.  He 
received  one  fourth  of  the  proceeds,  but  becoming  too  rapidly  rich,  according 


448  CITY  BUILDING. 

to  Slitter's  idea,  the  power  was  transferred  to  Peachy,  who  shared  the  sale 
with  Schoolcraft.  In  less  than  six  months  Burnett  sold  half  of  his  lots  for 
$50,000.  "Peachy  made  $80,000  out  of  me,"  says  Sutter,  Autolriog.,  178-9. 
At  the  close  of  1848  there  were  at  the  embarcadero  only  two  houses,  one  a 
drinking-saloon,  the  other  occupied  by  the  Stewart  family,  and  a  dismantled 
ship,  which  G.  McDougall  and  his  partners,  Blackburn,  Parker,  and  Barton, 
had  brought  from  San  Francisco  laden  with  goods,  and  moored  as  a  store  at 
the  foot  of  I  street.  Burnett,  Per.  Rec.,  MS.,  ii.  14-16,  calls  both  of  the 
houses  log  cabins.  Henshaw,  Stat.,  MS.,  2,  designates  only  one  as  of  logs, 
the  other  as  a  wooden  building.  Buffum,  Six  Mo.,  32,  differs  somewhat;  but 
changes  were  rapid  in  those  days. 

In  January  1849  a  frame  building  was  placed  at  the  corner  of  Front  and 
I  sts,  by  Hensley,  Reading,  and  Company,  followed  by  the  cloth  houses  of 
Ingersoll  on  Front  st,  between  J  and  K,  and  of  Stewart  on  the  river  bank 
between  I  and  J,  the  latter  as  a  tavern.  Sam  Brannan  completed  a  frame 
store  at  the  corner  of  J  and  Front  sts  in  February,  about  which  time  also 
Priest,  Lee,  &  Co.  moved  from  the  fort  to  occupy  new  premises,  of  cloth,  says 
Barnes,  Or.  and  CaL,  MS.,  14.  Gillespie  and  Carpenter  erected  log  houses. 
Sac.  Ill,  8,  and  others  wrongly  call  Brannan's  the  first  building  in  Sacra 
mento.  Crosby's  Events,  MS.,  15;  Taylor's  Oreg.,  MS.,  5.  The  original  store  of 
Brannan,  associated  with  Mellus,  Howard,  Greene,  &  Stout,  was  a  one-story 
adobe  50  yards  east  of  the  fort.  Grimshaw's  Narr.,  MS.,  22-7;  Morse,  in  Sac. 
Dir.,  1853-4. 

The  first  public  sale  of  lots  on  January  8,  1849,  was  quickly  followed  by 
the  erection  of  business  houses  and  dwellings.  Sutterville  attempted  under 
the  direction  of  McDougall  &  Co.  to  gain  the  ascendency,  but  a  lavish  distri 
bution  of  lots  by  Sutter  thwarted  her,  and  further  judicious  efforts  tended  to 
direct  hither  the  inflowing  migration  by  land  and  water.  Vessels  gathered 
along  the  bank,  and  midst  the  thickly  sprinkled  tents  rose  pretentious,  if  not 
substantial,  canvas  and  frame  buildings,  which  by  June  numbered  100,  and 
lots  which  four  months  previously  had  sold  for  $250  commanded  now  as 
much  as  $3,000.  Sacramento  absorbed  also  the  remnant  of  trade  so  far  trans 
acted  at  the  fort,  leaving  New  Helvetia  a  neglected  suburban  spot,  and  dealt 
at  the  same  time  an  effective  blow  at  the  still  struggling  Sutterville. 

McDougall  &  Co.  had  a  large  amount  of  money,  and  began  to  feel  very 
strong.  From  Sutter  they  obtained  a  lease  of  the  ferry  privilege,  near  the 
outlet  of  Sutter  Lake;  on  the  strength  of  which  they  claimed  the  exclusive 
right  to  400  yards  of  river  bank.  This  being  disallowed,  they  became  angry, 
swore  vengeance  against  young  Sutter  and  his  Sacramento  town,  and  moved 
their  hulk  to  Sutterville.  They  urged  Priest,  Lee,  &  Co.  and  Brannan  to 
move  to  the  better  site  below,  offering  them  a  gift  of  eighty  lots  in  Sutter 
ville.  Seeing  their  advantage,  these  men  manipulated  Sutter  so  well  as  to  get 
500  Sacramento  lots  for  remaining.  See  Winans'  Days  of  1849,  MS.,  7-8; 
Taylor's  Oregonians,  MS.,  5;  and  Nar.t  MS.,  10,  by  McChristian,  who  was  a 
clerk  of  McDougall's. 

In  October  the  first  brick  house,  the  Anchor,  was  completed  by  G.  Zins, 
the  brick  being  made  by  him  at  Sntterville,  where  the  first  brick  house  in  the 
state  had  already  been  erected  from  the  first  kiln  of  his  brick-yard.  Hist.  Sac. 


NOTABLE  HOUSES  AND  FIRMS.  449 

Co.,  50,  146.  Harnett  burnt  one  kiln  this  year  at  Sac.,  and  in  1851  Carlish 
added  brick-making  to  his  building  operations.  Among  other  notable  houses 
which  rose  during  the  autumn  of  1849  were  the  zinc  warehouse  near  the  out 
let  of  Lake  Sutter;  the  zinc  house,  and  the  Empire  saloon  building  on  J  street, 
between  Front  and  Second;  Merritt's  building  on  the  corner  of  J  and  Second; 
the  brick  block  on  Front  st,  between  N  and  0  sts;  the  St  Louis  Exchange, 
kept  by  a  brother  of  Commodore  Garrison;  and  the  theatre,  a  frail  structure 
near  the  City  hotel.  For  additional  information,  see  Mcllvaines  Sketches,  7, 
with  view  of  town;  Culvers  Directory;  Sac.  Transcript,  May  29,  1850,  which 
rashly  reduces  the  number  of  houses;  Matthewsons  Stat.,  MS.,  1-2;  Friend, 
Dec.  1,  1849;  Richardson s  Mining,  MS.,  13;  the  Stat.,  of  Carpenter,  who  put 
up  a  doctor's  shop  on  the  corner  of  K  and  Second;  Stat.,  of  Brock,  who  opened 
a  tinware  shop;  Armstrong's  Exper.,  MS.,  15.  'A  town  of  tents,'  says  Cole- 
man,  Bus.  Exp.,  MS.,  141-4,  with  its  'future  on  paper,'  adds  Woods,  Sixteen 
Mo.,  47.  At  the  end  of  June  1849  the  embarcadero  contained  eleven  wholesale 
houses,  according  to  the  Placer  Times:  Priest,  Lee,  &  Co.,  with  P.  B.  Corn 
wall  as  partner,  Hensley,  Reading,  &  Co.,  Brannan,  Whitlock  and  Gibson, 
Samuel  Norris,  Gillespie,  Ingersoll,  Robinson,  D.  Hanna,  R.  Gelston,  and 
Taber.  Beside  these  were  fourteen  smaller  stores.  Mr  Henshaw  in  his  manu 
script  gives  lengthy  details  of  events,  such  as  the  wedding,  on  June  10th,  of 
James  H.  Lappens  and  Ann  Hitchcock.  The  Fourth  of  July  was  celebrated 
in  a  grove  adjacent,  and  with  fire- works.  The  second  week  in  July  the  ther 
mometer  marked  at  noon  1 14°,  and  at  night  82°.  Z.  Hubbard's  obscene  Round 
Tent  for  a  time  eclipsed  all  competitors.  This  was  followed  by  the  Gem,  the 
Empire,  the  Mansion,  the  Humboldt,  the  Diana,  and  others.  There  was  one 
called  the  Plains,  with  its  walls  adorned  with  scenic  illustrations  of  the  route 
across  the  continent.  'Building  lots  which  four  months  previous  had  sold  at 
from  $50  to  $200, '  writes  Buffum  in  April,  '  were  now  held  by  their  owners  at 
from  $1,000  to  $3,000.'  Yet  Morse  assumes  that  the  population  at  the  fort, 
Sac.,  and  Sutterville  did  not  exceed  150  April  1st.  Dir.  Sac.,  1853,  4.  On 
June  20th,  however,  he  estimates  the  number  of  houses  at  Sac.  alone  at  100, 
among  which  was  rising  the  City  hotel,  erected  from  the  material  prepare  I 
for  Sutter's  flouring  mill,  on  Front  st,  between  I  and  J,  35  by  55  feet,  three 
stories  in  height,  costing  $100,000,  and  renting  to  Fowler  and  Fry  a  few 
months  later  for  $5,000  a  month.  Placer  Times,  Feb.  16,  1850;  Bayard  Taylors 
Eldorado,  i.  220.  Shortly  after  McCollum,  Gal,  46,  mentions  the  U.  S.  hotel 
as  the  best.  The  Sutter  house  rose  on  Front  st,  between  K  and  L,  and  Mc- 
Knight's  American  hotel  on  K  st,  between  Second  and  Third. 

In  March  Burnett  visited  S.  F.  to  meet  the  incoming  tide  of  gold-seekers 
and  direct  it  to  Sac.  Meanwhile  several  vessels  gathered  along  the  banks, 
including  the  square-rigged  Eliodora,  Joven  Guipuzcoana,  and  the  bark  Wluton, 
in  April  and  May,  some  to  serve  for  store-ships  and  wharves;  and  habitations 
rose  in  all  directions,  most  of  them  frail  and  transient  in  character,  of  boards, 
canvas  stretched  on  sticks,  and  common  tents.  April  28th  the  weekly  Placer 
Times  was  issued  by  Ed.  Kemble  &  Co.  to  trumpet  the  town.  The  embar 
cadero  boasts  25  or  30  stores,  it  cries;  the  fort  and  its  vicinity  8  or  10  more. 
There  is  a  hotel,  a  printing-office,  bakery,  blacksmith-shop,  tin-shop,  billiard- 
room,  bowling-alley,  to  say  nothing  of  drinking-saloons,  and  houses  of  pros- 
HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.  29 


450  CITY  BUILDING. 

titution.  Though  an  exceedingly  healthy  place,  as  the  editor  affirmed,  it 
should  still  have  a  hospital.  Sacramento  will  become  great.  For  if  all  these 
rising  institutions  were  not  enough,  there  was  the  inauguration  of  the  game 
of  monte  in  the  famous  Stinking  Tent,  kept  by  James  Lee. 

About  June,  Sutter,  jr,  reconveyed  to  the  father  his  estates;  titles  for  the 
sold  lots  were  perfected,  and  with  the  changes  of  agents  a  spirit  of  rivalry 
sprang  up  between  the  fort  and  town.  The  former  had  so  far  retained  a 
prominent  position  as  mail  station,  as  general  point  of  arrival  and  departure, 
and  as  the  site  for  numerous  branch  stores,  all  of  which  served  to  sustain  a 
lively  intercourse  between  the  two  places,  so  much  so  that  three  lines  of 
stages  were  kept  busy  making  each  several  trips  daily.  But  Sutter,  jr, 
quarrelled  with  Hensley  and  Reading,  the  leading  firm,  and  retired  May  1st 
from  their  partnership,  J.  R.  Snyder  taking  his  place;  whereupon  the  firm 
withdrew  from  the  fort,  and  concentrated  their  business  at  the  more  conve 
nient  landing.  Others  followed  their  example,  giving  a  share  to  Sutterville, 
till  the  fort  was  deserted  by  traffic,  and  employed  chiefly  for  hospital  pur 
poses.  Sutterville  seized  the  opportunity  to  strengthen  itself,  and  the 
McDougall  firm  sought  to  attract  trade  by  loudly  offering  to  sell  goods  at 
cost;  but  the  shrewd  Sac.  dealers  combined  to  purchase  them,  and  so  thwarted 
the  manoeuvre.  Nevertheless  their  prospects  looked  fair  for  a  while.  Geo. 
McKinstry  opened  a  store;  a  hotel  was  begun  and  a  ferry  proposed,  and  a 
few  vessels  were  staying  there  to  land  intended  settlers.  The  latter  received 
poor  encouragement,  however,  for  L.  W.  Hastings,  who  owned  the  central  part 
of  the  town,  could  not  be  induced  to  sell  at  reasonable  prices,  despite  the  efforts 
of  McDougall  and  McKinstry,  the  holders  of  the  outskirts  on  either  side. 
Finally  the  latter  made  matters  worse  by  quarrelling.  The  quartering  here 
of  a  U.  S.  garrison  during  1849  served  only  momentarily  to  sustain  the  fast 
stagnating  town.  Sac.  Transcript,  May  29,  Sept.  30,  1850;  S.  F.  Daily  Herald, 
Feb.  9,  1853;  McChristian,  in  Pioneer  Sketches,  MS.,  10;  Shermans  Mem.,  i.  77; 
Brooks'  Four  MontJis,  27;  Morse,  in  Sac.  Directory,  1853-4;  Sac.  Illus.  Hist.,  8; 
Buffum's  Six  MontJis,  152-3;  Frost's  Hist.  Cal,  113;  Sherwood's  Gal,  30;  Bur 
nett's  Rec.,  MS.,  ii.  29;  Sac.  Directory,  1853-4,  9;  Schmolder,  Wegweiser,  78, 
with  plan. 

A  feature  of  this  progress  was  the  rapid  increase  of  river  traffic,  marked 
by  the  inauguration,  in  August,  of  steam  service  by  the  George  Washington. 
Within  three  months  half  a  dozen  rivals  appeared  on  the  scene,  including  the 
commodious  Senator.  Sailing  vessels  also  ascended  the  river  to  save  the  ex 
pense  of  transshipment,  and  to  serve  here  for  storing  goods,  and  by  May  1850 
a  fleet  of  85  sea-going  bottoms  lay  in  the  stream,  with  a  tonnage  of  over 
12,000,  half  of  which  was  claimed  for  storage.  The  dignity  of  a  port  of  entry, 
bestowed  since  April,  was  consequently  well  merited.  It  was  a  place  surging 
with  speculation  and  uproarious  with  traffic;  profits  reaching  more  than  100 
per  cent  above  the  rates  accepted  at  the  city  on  the  bay,  and  rents  ruling  as 
high  as  $5,000  a  month  for  a  building,  while  lots  crept  up  to  $30,000.  Not 
withstanding  the  flimsiness  of  the  structures,  their  value  toward  the  close  of 
1849  was  estimated  at  $2,000,000. 

On  the  15th  of  August  a  scow  was  launched,  and  two  days  later  the  George 
Washington,  the  first  river  steamboat  of  California,  arrived  from  Benicia.  In 


RIVER  NAVIGATION.  451 

September  the  Sacramento  was  launched  a  mile  above  the  town,  and  shortly 
after  arrived  another  of  the  same  name,  of  scow  build,  which  sold  for  $40,000. 
Alta  Cal,  Jan.  4,  1850;  Placer  Times,  Aug.  18,  1850.  In  October,  the  steam- 
boats  Mint  and  McKim  introduced  a  more  regular  and  superior  communication 
with  S.  F.,  although  both  were  surpassed  by  the  Senator,  which  made  her 
appearance  here  Nov.  6th.  Rates  of  passage  were  $30  and  $20  for  cabin  and 
deck,  and  freight  $2.50  per  100  Ibs,  or  $1  per  foot.  The  shipping  interest  had 
by  this  time  grown  to  respectable  proportions.  On  Sept.  1st  there  were  8 
barks,  1 1  brigs,  and  7  schooners  along  the  bank,  and  by  April  1850  they  had 
increased  to  some  20  barks  and  ships,  27  brigs,  and  a  number  of  minor  craft, 
ranging  as  high  as  400  tons,  and  drawing  over  10  feet  of  water.  For  May 
1850,  the  harbor-master  reported  33  store-ships  at  the  levee,  with  a  tonnage 
of  6,628;  52  ships,  barks,  and  brigs,  5,577  tons;  16  regular  steamers,  2,065 
tons;  his  receipts  $3,356.  Sac.  Transcript,  Apr.  26,  June  29,  Nov.  14,  1850; 
Placer  Times,  May  26,  Nov.  17,  1849;  March  9,  1850,  etc.;  Sac.  Directory, 
1871,  52;  Id.,  1873,  15;  Cal.  Courier,  Sept.  14,  1850;  ITpham's  Notes,  299-300, 
312.  Even  vessels  drawing  12  feet  could  reach  the  American  River,  says 
Currey,  Incid.,  MS.,  7.  The  ferry  to  the  Washington  side  of  the  river,  im 
proved  with  horse-power,  was  in  1850  converted  into  a  steamboat,  A  Ipha,  to 
suit  the  increasing  traffic.  The  rates  were  $2  for  a  two-horse  wagon,  ani 
mals  50  cents  each,  man  and  horse  75  cents.  Roads  to  the  interior  were  im 
proved  for  the  hundreds  of  teams  daily  passing.  A  post-office  had  been 
established  at  the  embarcadero  in  the  middle  of  1849,  on  board  the  Whiton, 
H.  E.  Robinson  being  the  first  postmaster;  but  the  service  proved  so  irregular, 
especially  during  the  winter,  that  expresses  had  to  be  invoked.  Placer  Times, 
July  20,  Aug.  1,  16,  Oct.  13,  1850;  Sac.  Transcript,  May  9,  Sept.  30,  1850; 
Alta  Cal.t  Dec.  21,  1850.  See  also  Larkin's  Doc.,  vii.  92,  123;  Winans'  Stat., 
MS.,  7-17,  20,  referring  to  general  security  here  in  1849;  Barstow's  Stat.,  MS., 
3;  Matthewson's  Stat.,  MS.,  1-2;  Crosby's  Events,  MS.,  15;  Staples  Stat.,  MS., 
7.  The  real  estate  on  I  street  was  valued  at  half  a  million,  says  Taylor,  El 
dorado,  i.  225.  Anything  would  sell,  common  flannel  shirts  at  from  $5  to  $8, 
blankets  $12  to  $20,  boots  $20  to  $32;  flour  rose  to  $50  per  barrel  during  the 
autumn,  mutton  $1  a  pound;  labor  $10  and  upward,  carpenters  striking  for 
more  than  the  $12  a  day  offered.  Taylors  Eldorado,  i.  225-6;  Lett's  Cal,  131- 
3;  Wheatons  Stat.,  MS.,  7;  Winans'  Stat.,  MS.,  7-17;  Delano's  Life,  251; 
Placer  Times,  Feb.  16,  1850;  Talbot  vs  Hopper,  76;  Fay's  Facts,  MS.,  7;  Cole- 
man's  Vig.,  MS.,  144-5;  Bu/um's  Six  Mo.,  32,  110;  Placer  Times,  Aug. -Dec. 
1849,  passim;  Crosby's  Stat.,  MS.,  15;  Willey's  Mem.,  94-5;  Grimshaws  Nar., 
MS.,  33-43. 

As  the  influx  by  sea  gave  impulse  to  S.  F.,  so  the  migration  overland  and 
to  the  mines  favored  the  city  of  the  plains,  assisting  to  collect  here  a  popula 
tion,  by  Oct.  1849,  of  about  2,000,  with  a  vote  of  1,300;  by  Dec.  fully  double, 
and  by  the  following  winter  nearly  10,000,  including  travellers,  sustaining 
some  400  stores,  with  several  manufacturing  establishments,  notably  three 
steam-mills.  The  estimate  for  the  end  of  1850  was  7,000  residents,  besides 
perhaps  3,000  transient  persons — a  figure  which  Taylor,  Eldorado,  i.  219-20, 
hastily  assigns  for  1849,  Letts,  Cal.  III.,  131,  giving  even  a  higher  estimate. 
The  calculations  of  the  Sac.  Transcript  for  the  beginning  of  Nov.  1,  1850,  is 


452  CITY  BUILDING 

limited  to  6,000  inhabitants,  including  460  females,  with  403  stores,  89  of 
which  sold  clothing.  There  were  65  blacksmith-shops,  3  steam-mills,  8  cab 
inet-shops,  2  soda  factories,  3  lemon-syrup  factories,  2  breweries,  8  livery- 
stables,  90  physicians,  70  lawyers.  Repeated  in  Col.  Courier  and  S.  F.  Her 
ald,  Nov.  18,  1850;  Culvers  Sac.  Direct.,  78-9;  UpJiam's  Notes,  307.  The  vote 
in  Oct.  1850,  before  the  winter  influx  had  properly  set  in,  numbered  2,219, 
against  3,440  for  S.  F.  Sac.  Transcript,  passim. 

It  was  a  tented  city,  of  young  men,  with  a  sprinkling  of  women,  yet  not 
altogether  of  sturdy  youth;  for  hither  came  inexperienced  miners  with  mal 
adies  brought  on  by  toil  and  exposure,  and  emigrants  reduced  by  the  hard 
ships  of  transit,  until  on  every  hand  suffering  appealed  to  the  sympathies  of 
the  people,  and  not  in  vain,  The  Odd  Fellows  organized  and  set  the  example 
in  deeds  of  charity  and  in  establishing  hospitals,  which  soon  came  to  serve  in 
a  far  worse  strait,  when  in  the  following  autumn  cholera  broke  out,  carrying 
off  fully  500  persons,  and  frightening  away  several  thousand  of  the  inhabitants. 

A  hospital  at  the  fort  charged  $16  a  day  for  the  few  patients  tended  by 
the  city;  the  rest  had  to  depend  upon  private  charity;  and  here  the  resident  Ovid 
Fellows  distinguished  themselves.  This  laudable  object  caused  the  fraternity 
to  meet  informally,  Aug.  20th,  each  member  becoming  a  visiting  committee. 
The  society  spent  large  sums  on  coffins  alone,  which  cost  from  $60  upwards. 
The  Masons  joined  them  in  the  work,  and  in  sharing  hospital  expenses  at  the 
fort.  Placer  Times,  Sept.  29,  Nov.  3,  7,  Dec.  8,  1849,  etc.;  Winans' Stat.,  MS., 
16.  Claims  for  repayment  were  afterward  presented  by  the  city  and  others 
upon  the  state  and  U.  S.  government,  but  in  vain.  Sac.  Transcript,  Feb.  1, 
1851;  Oct.  14,  1850;  U.  S.  Oov.  Doc.,  Cong.  25,  Sess.  1.,  Sen.  Mis.  Doc.,  1,  4, 
i.;  Cal.  Jour.  Ass.,  1855,  451-5.  Two  other  hospitals  were  erected,  Direct. 
Sac.,  1853-4,  14-16;  and  the  city  was  induced  to  build  one,  but  it  was  blown 
down  before  it  was  ready  for  occupation,  and  a  less  commodious  cottage  be 
came  its  receptacle.  Several  minor  private  establishments  existed.  The 
patients  cost  the  city  in  Jan.  1851  $5  each  daily;  $95,000  had  been  expended 
since  May  1850.  Sac.  Transcript,  Feb.  14,  May  15,  1851;  May  29,  1850;  Up- 
ham's  Notes,  301-2.  Official  reports  on  hospitals  at  Sac.,  in  Cal.  Jour.  Ass., 
1852,  330,  400,  857;  Id.,  Sen.,  531-45,  647-9;  Hist.  Sac.  Co.,  49,  87,  with 
account  of  later  county  and  R.  R.  hospitals.  On  Aug.  24th  the  Odd  Fellows 
adopted  by-laws  and  elected  A.  M.  Winn,  president.  List  of  members  in 
Sac.  Direct.,  1856,  p.  ix.  In  1850  the  Hebrews  formed  here  a  benevolent  asso 
ciation,  and  the  Sons  of  Temperance  a  division,  while  the  Masons,  already  in 
formally  active,  organized  the  first  lodge  on  Dec.  4,  1849.  Two  other  lodges 
were  formed  in  1850,  as  well  as  a  grand  lodge,  after  which  rapid  progress  was 
made.  See  the  chapter  on  society,  and  for  later  progress  of  orders  in  Sac.,  Hist. 
Sac.  Co.,  158  et  seq.,  including  Templars,  Druids,  United  Workmen,  Knights 
of  Pythias,  German  Benevolent  Soc.,  and  County  Pioneers. 

The  cholera  began  its  ravages  on  Oct.  20,  and  ended  Nov.  12,  1850.  During 
this  time  the  mortality  was  201  between  Oct.  20th  and  31st,  and  247  between 
Nov.  1st  and  llth,  of  which  cholera  and  filth  claimed  nearly  all.  Sac.  Tran 
script,  Nov.  14,  1850.  The  S.  F.  Herald,  Nov.  1,  12,  1850,  reports  25  deaths  in 
24  hours,  and  20  in  48  hours.  At  Placerville  there  were  700  deaths  between 
Aug.  1st  and  Nov.  12th.  Sixty  were  buried  at  Sac.  on  Nov.  1st,  many  fol- 


SICKNESS  AND  FLOODS.  453 

lowing.  Culvers  Direct.,  79.  One  fifth  of  those  who  remained  ir  Sac.  died, 
says  Winans,  Slot.,  MS.,  21-2;  Pac.  News,  Nov.  1,  4,  1850;  Sac.  Direct , 
1853,  35-7;  Sac.,  lUust.,  18-19;  Crary's  Stat.,  MS.,  1-2;  Col  Courier,  Oct.  23, 
etc.,  1850;  Fay's  Facts,  MS.,  8.  Only  some  2,500  people  remained  in  the 
city.  For  later  health  and  climate  reports,  see  Logans  Medic.  Topog.,  1859,  8; 
Sawyers  Mort.  Tables,  6-7;  A Ita  Col.,  Nov.  12,  1852.  On  Jan.  1,  1851,  there 
were  85  doctors  here,  and  a  Medico-Chirurgical  academy  met  in  May  1850. 
The  two  cemeteries  were  heavily  occupied.  Sutter  gave  in  1849  ten  acres  for 
one.  Rules  for,  Placer  Times,  Dec.  8,  1849;  May  8,  1850.  Henshaw,  Stat.,  MS., 
6,  buried  the  first  body  here.  Stillman  counted  800  burials  here  before  the 
cholera  broke  out.  The  Sac.  Transcript,  Nov.  29,  1850,  states  that  out  of 
1,966  graves  more  than  850  dated  since  the  preceding  rainy  season.  For  later 
cemeteries,  see  Hist.  Sac.  Co.,  208. 

This,  however,  was  but  one  among  the  series  of  ordeals  through  which  the 
city  had  to  pass.  The  first  was  the  flood  of  the  winter  1849-50,  which  had 
early  premonitions  in  rains  soaking  the  frail  tent  buildings  and  making  the 
country  roads  so  bad  as  to  stop  freight  teams  in  many  directions,  and  forcing 
miners  to  seek  the  city  for  food  and  medicine.  The  rainy  season  began  Nov. 
2d,  and  continued,  with  intermissions,  until  the  middle  of  Dec.,  when  a  storm 
wrecked  several  houses.  It  ended  on  March  22,  1850,  with  a  fall  of  over  36 
inches.  Burnetts  Rec.,  MS.,  ii.  202-3;  Placer  Times,  Dec.  15,  22,  1849;  Sac. 
Union,  Jan.  1,  1875.  Floods  had  occurred  in  1846-7,  and  Indian  traditions 
referred  to  1825-6  and  1805  as  severe  seasons  By  Christmas  of  1849,  water 
covered  the  lower  parts  of  the  city,  and  ferries  were  provided  for  several 
streets.  On  Jan.  1st,  the  rains  stopped  and  the  water  receded  somewhat; 
but  on  Jan.  8th  it  began  to  storm,  and  on  the  night  of  the  9th,  four  fifths  of 
the  city  lay  under  water.  The  second  story  of  the  City  hotel  was  entered 
from  boats,  Mcllvaines  Sketches,  MS.,  7,  and  a  steamer  passed  up  the  streets. 
Delano's  Life,  291.  Boats  rented  at  $30  per  hour.  The  city  hospital  was 
abandoned  by  the  attendants,  who  left  the  rescue  of  the  sick  to  citizens.  Sac. 
Direct.,  1853,  20-1;  Placer  Times,  Jan.  19,  etc.,  1850.  The  country  presented 
a  sheet  of  water  for  miles  around,  save  here  and  there  a  knoll  or  ridge,  and 
the  dottings  of  trees  and  houses.  Hundreds  of  animals  were  drowned,  to 
subsequently  taint  the  air;  some  lives  were  lost,  and  an  enormous  amount  of 
property  was  destroyed.  The  average  rise  of  water  within  the  city  was  4 
feet.  Winans'  Stat.,  MS.,  9-14;  AUa  CaL,  and  Cal.  Courier,  Jan.  14,  1850; 
Pac..  News,  Jan.  5-20th.  Gold  flakes  appeared  after  the  water  receded.  Con 
nor's  Stat.,  MS.,  5;  Richardson's  Exper.,  MS.,  23-6.  By  Feb.  2d,  $200,000 
were  promised  for  a  levee,  citizens  and  local  authorities  cooperating.  Placer 
Times,  Feb.  2,  etc.,  1850.  In  March  and  April,  damming  efforts  saved  the 
city  from  another  overflow.  Sac.  Transcript,  Apr.  26,  1850.  On  Apr.  30th, 
people  voted  to  appropriate  $250,000  for  the  work.  Pac.  News,  May  3,  1850. 
It  began  Sept.  10th,  and  progressed,  despite  the  declining  enthusiasm  and 
lack  of  funds,  under  the  management  of  J.  R.  Hardenbergh.  Yet  it  proved 
useless  against  later  floods,  and  vaster  labors  were  required.  The  levee  was 
9  miles  in  length,  beginning  at  the  highlands  near  Brighton  and  running  to 
the  mouth  of  the  American  River,  at  a  height  of  3  feet.  Thence  along  the 
Sacramento,  it  was  raised  to  6  feet,  and  even  20  feet  near  Sutterville.  Over 


454  CITY  BUILDING. 

120,000  cubic  yards  of  earth  were  used  for  the  embankment;  cost,  $175,000. 
Sac.  Illust.,  18;  Culver's  Direct,  80-1;  8.  F.  Picayune,  Sept.  16,  Dec.  31,  1850; 
S.  F.  Herald,  Oct.  16,  1850.  Wages  $75  a  month.  Sac.  Transcript,  Sept.  30, 
1850. 

After  this  came  the  squatter  riot,  long  brewing  under  the  direction  of 
unprincipled  men,  who,  on  the  assumption  of  a  flaw  in  Sutter's  title,  sought 
to  wrest  unoccupied  lots  from  him,  and  more  especially  from  speculators. 
On  the  first  bloody  encounter,  however,  with  the  resolute  citizens,  in  August 
1850,  the  organization  of  squatters  gave  away.  It  had  been  unfortunate  in 
its  association  with  criminals,  as  well  as  with  the  lawless  element,  which 
during  the  autumn  of  1849  had  begun  to  rise,  and  which  in  1851  provoked  a 
purifying  vigilance  movement.  Aside  from  the  disorder  and  bloodshed,  it 
injured  the  city  by  shaking  confidence  in  titles,  and  the  flood  and  increased 
taxation  caused  a  depression  in  real  estate,  which  fell  from  an  inflated  valua 
tion  of  nearly  $8,000,000  in  1850  to  less  than  $5,000,000  in  1852.  The  con 
sequent  lapse  of  mortgages  and  effect  of  over- speculation  precipitated  in 
August  and  September  1850  the  financial  crisis  involving  the  leading  banks 
and  merchants. 

The  revival  of  business  in  the  spring  had  sustained  values  for  a  time,  but 
as  mortgage  foreclosures  followed  one  upon  the  other,  embarrassment  spread, 
till  in  Aug.  and  Sept.  1850  the  chief  bankers  closed  their  doors,  headed  by 
Barton,  Lee,  Baker,  &  Co.,  who  represented  over  a  million,  followed  by 
Henley,  McKnight,  &  Co.,  and  Warbass  &  Co.,  and  by  a  number  of  mer 
chants.  Sac.  Transcript,  May  29,  1850,  names  Hensley,  Merrill,  and  King 
among  the  leading  bankers.  Notwithstanding  the  increasing  expanse  of  the 
city,  with  more  substantial  buildings  and  a  larger  population,  property  assess 
ments  rose  very  slowly  to  somewhat  over  $7,000,000  in  1857,  declining  once 
more  gradually  to  $4,400,000  in  1867,  without  just  cause,  for  in  1872  they 
jumped  to  nearly  $16,000,000. 

The  early  days  soon  passed  away  when  a  man  might  leave  his  bag  of  gold 
anywhere  with  confidence,  as  Little,  Stat.,  MS.,  5-6,  Barston,  8 tat.,  MS.,  3, 
glowingly  relate.  In  the  autumn  of  1849  an  organized  band  of  thieves  was 
raiding  in  the  city,  and  after  this  reports  of  robberies  are  frequent.  Placer 
Times,  Nov.  17,  24,  1849;  Jan.  5,  Feb.  16,  Apr.  13,  May  8,  26,  1850.  A  duel 
is  recorded  in  Id.,  Oct.  13,  1849;  Pac.  News,  May  3,  1850,  etc. 

On  May  8th  a  night-watch  of  10  men  was  ordered  to  be  established.  Sac. 
Transcript,  June  29,  1850.  There  had  been  a  prison  brig  and  a  military  com 
pany  since  Nov.  1849.  Placer  Times,  Nov.  24,  1849;  May  22,  1850;  Sac.  Direct., 
1871,  65.  The  first  trial,  of  C.  E.  Pickett,  for  justifiable  homicide,  took  place 
Jan.  1849;  the  first  criminal  conviction  of  a  thief,  on  the  records,  Nov.  8,  1849. 
The  criminal  court  of  the  first  instance  was  organized  in  Nov.  7,  1849,  with 
W.  E.  Shannon  for  judge.  Sac.  Rec.  Grim.  Court.  His  appointment  is  dated 
Aug.  1st.  The  first  civil  suit  was  tried  by  a  jury  of  six  in  Sept.  1849,  before 
the  first  magistrate,  J.  S.  Thomas,  appointed  on  Sept.  21st.  Sac.  Rec.  Proceed., 
38;  U.  S.  Gov.  Doc.,  Cong.  31,  Sess.  1,  H.  Ex.  Doc.,  17,  p.  832-4  Grand  jury 
reports  in  Placer  Times,  Jan.  19,  May  17,  Nov.  10,  1850.  On  May  6,  1850, 
Thomas  opened  the  district  court.  By  Oct.  there  were  some  450  cases  on  the 
docket.  Sac.  Transcript,  Oct.  14,  1850.  For  the  court  of  sessions  Swift  and 


LAW  AND  GOVERNMENT.  455 

C.  E.  Lockett  were  on  May  18th  elected  associated  justices,  Willis  presiding. 
Placer  Times,  May  20,  1850.  Willis  was  county  judge,  and  had  opened  his 
special  court  May  G,  1850,  tending  also  the  probate  court  of  the  same  date. 
The  charter  of  Feb.  1850  provided  for  a  recorder's  and  police  court  to  the 
exclusion  of  justices  of  the  peace.  These  courts  were  influenced  to  greater 
activity  by  the  vigilance  committee  of  1851,  which  in  August  compelled  the 
hanging  of  two  murderers,  and  itself  lynched  their  respited  partner.  The 
first  lynching  had  been  effected  here  on  Jan.  26th,  of  the  murderer  Roe. 
Criminal  details  for  the  year  with  account  of  prison  brig,  in  Sac.  Transcript, 
Feb.  25,  28,  June  15,  1851;  S.  F.  Picayune,  Feb.  27,  1851;  AUa  Cal,  Feb.  29, 
June  28,  July  11,  1851;  Sac.  Illust.,  20;  S.  F.  Herald,  Sept.  23,  1851;  Cal. 
Courier,  Nov.  3,  1851.  List  of  crimes  and  executions  in  Sac.  Record,  May  30, 
1879;  AUa  Gal,  May  9,  June  17-18,  1852;  Jan.  27-30,  Feb.  22,  Apr.  21,  May 
1,  Aug.  13,  Sept.  1,  1853;  and  1854-86,  passim;  Sac.  Union,  etc.;  Hht.  Sac.  Co., 
124  et  seq.  Sept.  1854  was  marked  by  a  Chinese  war.  Sac.  Illust.,  24.  In 
1856  the  vigilance  committee  stirred  the  courts  anew  to  promptness,  and 
cleared  the  city  of  many  disreputable  characters.  Popular  Tribunals,  this 
series,  passim. 

In  April  1849  the  aspirations  of  Sacramento  soared  above  the  simple 
alcalde  government,  emanating  from  the  fort,  to  that  of  a  code-forming  capital 
for  the  valley.  The  legislators  chosen  .to  realize  the  pretension  declared  with 
laudable  good  sense  that  the  existing  administration  was  sufficient,  yet  the 
gubernatorial  order  for  local  elections  in  August  led  then  to  the  installation  of 
an  ayuntamiento,  with  Stout  and  subsequently  Winn  for  prest,  Thomas  and 
Zabriskie  being  made  1  st  and  2d  magistrates,  and  Crosby  prefect.  Crosby's  Stat. , 
MS.,  55-9;  Placer  Times,  Aug.  11,  1849,  etc.  In  the  autumn  of  1848  Frank 
Bates  and  John  S.  Fowler  had  been  chosen  first  and  second  alcaldes,  at  the 
fort,  to  replace  Sinclair  and  McKinstry.  The  following  spring  Fowler  was 
succeeded  by  H.  A.  Schoolcraft,  lately  a  soldier.  Unbound  Doc.,  44,  81-2.  On 
April  30,  1849,  a  movement  was  made  by  the  district  embraced  between  the 
Sacramento,  the  Sierra  Nevada,  and  the  Cosumnes  to  establish  civil  govern 
ment  after  the  American  form.  A  mass  meeting  held  at  the  embarcadero  was 
followed  by  an  election  of  a  legislature  of  eleven  members,  empowered  to 
enact  laws  for  the  city  and  district.  The  eleven  elected  and  sworn  in  were 
John  McDougal,  Barton  Lee,  John  S.  Fowler,  Peter  Slater,  Henny  Cheever, 
James  King  of  Win,  Samuel  Brannan,  M.  M.  Carver,  Charles  G.  Southard, 
W.  M.  Carpenter,  and  William  Pettit.  Placer  Times,  May  5,  1849.  Their 
declaration  that  no  formal  laws  or  increased  staff  of  officials  were  wanted  in 
that  community  was  approved,  and  Henry  A.  Schoolcraft  and  A.  M.  Turner 
were  chosen  alcalde  and  sheriff  respectively. 

Still,  this  did  not  wholly  conform  to  the  American  idea  of  the  necessity  of  a 
growing  population,  and  so  a  charter  was  adopted  in  October.  The  inestima 
ble  privilege  of  wider  government  thus  conferred  was  promptly  acted  upon  by 
the  creation  of  a  host  of  officials  corresponding  to  the  prospective  greatness  of 
the  city,  and  the  council  duly  impressed  the  acquisition  by  a  heavy  schedule  of 
taxes  to  meet  the  lavish  assignment  of  salaries.  This  application  of  civic  honor 
was  hardly  expected,  and  a  new  charter  was  quickly  draughted  to  check  the  ex 
travagance;  but  the  sweets  of  office  proved  too  tempting.  Instead  of  diminish- 


456  CITY  BUILDING. 

ing  expenses,  the  new  council  increased  salaries  beyond  the  limits  of  the  total 
taxation,  and  helped  to  create  a  debt  of  nearly  $400,000.  The  lesson  was  not 
wasted,  for  a  reincorporation  took  place  in  1851,  with  more  secure  restrictions 
to  promote  economy!  The  exposed  situation  of  Sac.,  and  its  fast  growing  im 
portance,  demanded  extraordinary  expenses  for  street  improvements,  levees, 
public  buildings,  fire  department,  and  so  forth,  which  despite  a  taxation  of 
$5.35  per  $100,  of  which  more  than  half  for  local  purposes  besides  heavy  license 
rates,  increased  the  debt  to  $1,400,000  by  1855,  after  which,  however,  the 
addition  was  slight. 

The  first  charter  had  been  defeated  in  Sept.  by  the  gamblers'  clique,  but 
adopted  with  an  amendment  on  Oct.  13th,  by  809  votes  against  513.  Text  of 
document  in  Unbound  Doc.,  338.  The  council  then  passed  ordinances,  Placer 
Times,  Dec.  15,  1849,  and  created  a  host  of  officials  at  salaries  ranging  from 
$25  a  day  to  $200  per  month,  not  forgetting  to  allow  their  own  members  $100 
per  month,  to  which  end  a  heavy  schedule  of  taxes  and  licenses  was  issued, 
charging  $50  per  month  to  dealers,  auctioneers,  markets,  hotels,  gambling- 
tables,  and  lower  rates  for  certain  other  businesses  and  entertainments.  This 
feature  tended  to  render  the  charter  unpopular,  and  two  others  were  draughted 
from  the  legislature  on  Feb.  27,  1850,  embracing  one  favoring  the  popular 
party,  which  limited  taxation  to  $100,000,  and  the  total  debt  to  the  annual 
revenue.  Yet  the  first  step  of  the  city  fathers,  with  H.  Bigelow  as  first  elected 
mayor,  was  to  assign  for  salaries  alone  $118,000,  of  which  committeemen  re 
ceived  $25  a  day,  councilmen  double  their  former  pay,  the  four  chief  officials 
$5, 000  or  $6, 000  a  year  each.  The  sick-fund,  the  levee,  and  the  squatter  trouble 
each  absorbed  about  $100,000  during  the  year.  Details  of  election  and  acts 
in  Placer  Times,  Feb. -Apr.  1850.  Sac  Transcript,  started  in  April,  came  in 
time  to  record  these  doings.  UpJiams  Notes,  278-99,  is  especially  full  on  the 
subject.  Also  Crary's  Stat.,  MS.,  2.  Text  of  charter  in  Gal.  Statutes,  1850, 
479.  In  March  1851  the  city  was  reincorporated,  Id.,  1851,  554,  under  more 
secure  limitations,  which,  with  amendments  in  1852,  etc. ,  Sac.  Union,  March 
9,  Apr.  10,  1855,  continued  in  force  till  1858,  when  the  consolidation  act  com 
bined  the  city  and  county  governments.  This  failed  to  give  satisfaction,  and 
in  1863  the  city  was  reincorporated  substantially  under  the  former  charter. 
In  1874  the  limits  were  reduced  on  the  north.  List  of  mayors  in  Sac.  Record, 
June  3,  1885;  acts  concerning  city  in  HittelCs  Codes,  ii.  1820;  Alta  Cal.  and  Sac. 
Union,  passim.  The  council  of  1851  found  a  debt  of  some  $379,000,  partly  in 
unpaid  interest  at  from  3  to  20  per  cent  a  month,  which  was  funded  at  one  per 
cent  per  month.  Salaries  were  reduced,  but  notwithstanding  the  tax  rate 
aforesaid,  whereof  2|  for  local  purposes  of  $7,000,000,  the  debt  had  increased 
to  fully  $1,400,000  by  May  1855,  after  which  the  addition  was  chiefly  through 
unpaid  interest.  The  act  of  1872  to  provide  a  sinking  fund  proved  the  best 
remedial  measure  for  the  low  credit  of  the  city,  the  bonds  being  frequently 
rated  below  20  cents  on  the  dollar.  In  1880  the  funded  debt  amounted  to 
$1,560,000,  plus  $854,000  for  accrued  interest,  etc.  The  county  debt  was 
somewhat  over  $600,000  at  6  per  cent.  See  above  journals;  Sac.  Directories, 
1853,  1871,  etc.;  Hist.  Sac.  Co.,  130  et  seq.;  Burnett's  Rec.,  MS.,  ii.  283,  etc. 
Early  critical  reviews  of  finances  in  Sac.  Transcript,  Feb.  1,  28,  June  1,  1851; 
Placer  Times,  March  21,  28,  1852;  Alta  Cal.,  June  1,  1853;  Sac.  Union,  Apr. 
7,  1855;  Jan.  3,  Oct.  7,  1856,  etc. 


FIRE  AND   FLOOD.  457 

So  far  the  city  had  been  spared  the  fire  scourge,  which  devastated  nearly 
every  town  in  early  days;  but  it  came  on  Nov.  2,  1852;  arid  as  if  to  condone 
for  previous  forbearance,  it  swept  away  more  than  two  thirds  of  the  buildings, 
together  with  several  lives,  the  loss  being  estimated  at  fully  $5,000,000. 
California  energy  manifested  itself  as  usual  in  rapid  rebuilding,  and  the 
adoption  of  remedial  measures,  by  giving  prominence  to  brick  walls,  by  erect 
ing  substantial  water-works,  which  moreover  provided  a  handsome  revenue, 
and  by  increasing  the  efficiency  of  the  fire  department.  So  effectual  were 
these  precautions  that  the  only  subsequent  conflagration  of  note,  in  July  1854, 
involved  less  than  half  a  million  of  property.  The  suffering  entailed  by  the 
great  fire  was  augmented  by  a  fresh  inundation  in  Dec.  and  Jan.,  even  more 
extensive  than  the  former  overflow,  though  less  disastrous,  owing  to  timely 
warning,  and  to  the  limited  field  for  ravages  left  by  the  flames.  The  agricul 
tural  districts  this  time  suffered,  from  Shasta  to  San  Diego,  with  the  loss  of 
cattle,  crops,  and  improvements  mounting  into  the  millions.  Sacramento 
hastened  to  fortify  her  levees,  but  not  until  after  the  flood  of  1861-2,  involv 
ing  the  destruction  of  about  $3,000,000  worth  of  property,  was  it  given  a 
height  and  strength  which,  together  with  a  gradual  raising  of  the  street 
grade,  provided  an  effectual  relief. 

The  fire  damage  prior  to  1852  is  scarcely  worth  the  enumeration.  The 
first  was  inflicted  Sept.  13,  1849,  on  a  hay  stack.  Placer  Times,  Sept.  15, 

1849.  On   Apr.  4   and  Nov.    9,   1850,  respectively,  about   half   a   score  of 
houses   were   consumed,    valued   together   at   $100,000.  Id.,    Apr.   6,    1850; 
Pac.  News,  Nov.  13,  1850;    Upham's  Notes,  289-91.     The  Tehama  theatre 
suffered  a  $20,000  loss  on  Aug.   13,   1851.  Alta  Cat,  Aug.    15,  1851.     This 
fortunate  escape,  however,  was  offset  in  the  great  fire  of  Nov.  2,  1852,  when, 
as  before  mentioned,  the  estimated  loss  was  some  $5,000,000.  Democ.  States 
Jour.,  Nov.   loth,  gives  a  list  not  quite  complete  aggregating  this  figure. 
The  fire  originated  in   a  millinery  store  about  11   P.   M.,   and  was  swiftly 
carried  around  by  the  strong  wind  prevailing.     Only  one  church  escaped, 
and   very   few   of    the   noteworthy  edifices.      Fully   six   persons   perished. 
Details  in  Sac.  Union,  Nov.  4,  etc.,  1852;  Alta  Cal,  Herald,  and  Times,  Nov., 
etc.,   1852;  Burnett's  Rec.,  MS.,  ii.  283-4;   Wwawt  Stat.,  MS.,  22-3.     Over 
1,600  buildings  were  destroyed,  Alta  CaL,  Nov.  12th;  and  this  being  at  the 
beginning  of  the  rainy  season,  the  suffering  was  increased,  especially  as  a 
severe  flood  followed,  so  that  provisions  became  scarce.     However,  by  Dec.  3d 
over  760  buildings  were  up.  Sac.  Illust.,  21.    More  attention  was  given  to  brick 
structures,  of  which  the  city  had  in  1854  about  500,  against  2,000  frame 
houses.     Reconstruction  was  promoted  by  the  shipment  of  buildings  from 
S.  F.  Knight's  Stat.,  MS.,  12-13.     An  appropriation  of  $125,000  was  made  for 
water- works,  which  were  completed  on  Apr.  1,  1854.     By  1856  over  8  miles 
of  pipes  had  been  laid.  Sac.  Direct.,   1856,   13-14.     Mistakes  and  improve 
ments  raised  the  expenditure  on  this  branch  by  1880  to  over  half  a  million, 
but  it  gave  revenue  as  well  as  safety.     Appropriations,  and  subsequently 
loans,  were  made  for  the  fire  department,  the  first  company  of  which  had  organ 
ized  on  March  20,  1850,  after  six  weeks  of  agitation.  Placer  Times,  March  23, 

1850.  Its  progress  is  exhibited  in  the  directories.     It  did  good  service  in 
checking  many  a  threatening  disaster,  such  as  the  fire  on  July  13,   1854, 


458  CITY  BUILDING. 

which  reduced  200  buildings,  valued  at  over  $400,000,  Alta  Cal,  July  14-17, 
1854;  and  on  July  3,  1855,  loss  $75,000,  chiefly  among  Chinese.  After  this  no 
extensive  fires  took  place  till  one  in  1874-5,  which  did  not  destroy  over  $100,000. 

Water  here  was  worse  than  fire.  On  March  7,  1852,  after  two  days  of 
heavy  rain,  the  levee  gave  way,  trees,  houses,  and  bridges  were  ingulfed,  and 
the  city  was  once  more  flooded.  But  the  respite  afforded  by  the  levee  gave 
time  for  removing  property,  and  the  rise  was  not  equal  to  that  of  1850,  so 
that  the  damage  during  the  four  days  of  its  duration  proved  comparatively 
small.  Burnett's  Rec.,  MS.,  ii.  283-7;  Alta  Cal,  March  8-14,  1852;  S.  F.  Herald, 
id.  On  Dec.  19th  another  break  occurred,  inundating  the  business  section,  but 
doing  little  injury.  On  Jan.  1,  1853,  however,  the  heaviest  flood  of  all  took 
place.  The  rainfall  for  the  season  exceeded  the  36  inches  of  1850  by  a  frac 
tion  only,  but  the  river  rose  22  feet  above  low-water  mark,  and  the  waters 
stood  2  feet  higher  in  the  city,  but  it  quickly  receded  and  did  far  less  dam 
age,  partly  because  the  recent  conflagration  left  little  to  raid  upon.  Details 
in  Sac.  Illust.,  7,  20-2;  Sac.  Direct.,  of  1853  and  1871;  AUa  Cal,  and  S.  F. 
Herald,  Dec.  11,  1852,  to  Jan.  1853.  Additional  work  was  put  upon  the  levee, 
and  the  necessity  became  apparent  that  the  grade  must  be  raised.  Sac.  Union, 
March  13,  Oct.  27,  1855.  Between  1854-61,  the  city  escaped  aquatic  disasters, 
but  the  rainfall  for  1861—2  came  once  more  within  a  fraction  of  the  dreaded 
36  inches,  and  after  a  slight  precursor  on  March  28th,  the  flood  on  Dec.  9, 
1861,  broke  through  the  levee  with  such  fury  as  to  sacrifice  several  lives,  and 
ravage  the  now  built-up  and  beautified  city  in  a  hitherto  unparalleled  degree. 
Loss  estimated  at  $3,000,000.  On  Jan.  9,  1862,  there  was  a  recurrence,  and 
again  in  Feb.,  with  a  rise  of  waters  fully  equal  to  the  highest;  but  the  curse 
of  waters  proved  of  short  duration  in  the  now  securely  established  capital. 
In  1878  the  city  was  seriously  threatened,  but  escaped  with  slight  damage. 
See  journals  of  the  period.  The  constant  improvement  of  the  levee,  and  with 
a  southern  addition,  left  Sacramento  finally  securely  intrenched  within  a  tri 
angle  12^  miles  long,  28  feet  above  the  zero  low-water  mark,  and  in  part 
above  the  high-water  mark  of  1867.  In  1868  a  canal  changed  the  outlet  of 
the  American  River,  the  most  threatening,  a  mile  northward,  thus  reducing 
the  danger  while  extending  the  city  limits.  Cal  Jour.  Sen.,  1859,  932. 

The  double  misfortune  of  1852-3  shook  the  faith  of  many  in  the  city,  and 
several  influential  traders  cast  about  for  another  site;  but  it  was  not  easy  to 
move  a  commercial  centre  once  established,  and  the  energy  of  the  early  re- 
builders  shamed  the  wavering.  This  perseverance  was  in  1854  rewarded  by 
the  location  here  of  the  capital,  for  which  Sacramento  was  well  fitted  by  her 
central  position  and  prominence.  The  legislature  opened  its  sessions  on 
March  1st,  at  the  court-house,  which  served  the  purpose  until  the  completion 
of  the  capitol  in  1869. 

For  a  long  time  the  cities  bordering  on  the  bay  held  the  advantage  in 
legislative  taste.  The  backward  condition  of  Vallejo  in  1852  brought  the 
chambers  to  the  more  commodious  Sacramento,  Cal  Jour.  Sen.,  1852,  776, 
and  her  hopes  ran  high;  but  Benicia  interposed,  and  only  in  1854  were  her 
offers  of  the  court-house  and  a  block  of  land  accepted.  The  governor  and 
officials  arrived  on  Feb.  28th,  the  legislature  opened  on  March  1st,  and  soon 
after  the  supreme  court  was  obliged  to  acquiesce  and  leave  San  Jose,  for  which 


GROWTH  OF  SACRAMENTO.  459 

it  held  out.  A  part  of  the  extravagant  fund  levies  of  1850  had  gone  toward 
the  court-house,  which  was  completed  in  Dec.  1851.  Burnt  in  July  1854,  it 
was  rebuilt,  with  jail  attached,  for  nearly  $200,000,  and  occupied  by  the  legis 
lature  in  1855-6.  View  in  Sac.  Hlust.,  25.  A  special  capitol  building  was 
agitated  in  1856.  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Dec.  6,  17,  1850,  properly  begun  in  1861,  but 
completed  only  in  1869,  at  a  cost  greatly  exceeding  the  original  estimates,  as 
usual,  and  as  shown  elsewhere. 

The  dignity  of  state  capital  gave  new  life  to  Sacramento,  whose  fortunes 
were  still  further  advanced  the  following  decade  by  the  concentrating  of  the 
railroad  system  at  this  point.  Her  growth  is  instanced  by  the  assessment  on 
real  estate,  which  rose  from  $5,400,000  in  1854,  when  2,500  buildings  were 
counted,  to  over  $13,000,000  twenty  years  later.  By  1880  the  population 
had  risen  to  21,400. 

In  1853  the  business  section  was  ordered  to  be  fully  planked  and  provided 
with  sewers,  a  work  which  cost  $185,000.  Ten  years  later  a  drainage  canal 
was  added,  which  assisted  to  reclaim  much  swamp-land.  Cal.  Jour.  Ass., 
1865-6,  691-2.  A  large  portion  of  the  city  was  gradually  raised  to  high 
grade,  two  feet  above  the  highest  water  mark,  thus  affording  double  protec 
tion  against  floods.  In  1854  a  gas  company  was  formed,  and  the  first  street 
lamps  were  lighted  a  few  days  before  the  Christmas  of  1855.  S.  F.  Bulletin, 
Dec.  15,  1855;  Sac.  Union,  id  ,  etc.  Projects  for  street  railways  began  in  1861, 
and  took  actual  though  scarcely  remunerative  form  in  1870.  An  omnibus  ran 
to  the  fort  in  1850.  Placer  Times,  May  8,  1850.  The  grant  of  swamp-land 
assisted  in  procuring  for  the  city  the  privileges  of  a  railroad  centre  for  the 
state.  In  social  and  industrial  features  lie  further  indications  of  a  progress 
which  by  1854  was  marked  by  the  existence  of  2,500  buildings,  and  which 
in  course  of  years  practically  absorbed  outlying  towns  like  Sutterville,  and 
sites  like  Webster  and  Boston.  The  latter  had  been  founded  on  the  opposite 
American  bank  in  1848  by  J.  Halls,  Lieut  Ringgold,  and  H.  Grimes,  and 
lots  were  offered  in  AUa  Cal.,  Dec.  15,  1849;  Bu/ums  Six  Mo  ,  153;  Colton's 
ThreeYears,  417.  It  no  longer  exists,  says  Sac.  Transcript,  May  29,  Sept.  30, 
1850.  Webster,  near  by,  had  faded  by  May.  Id.,  May  29,  1850. 

The  churches  of  1880  had  grown  from  the  unpretentious  organization  in 
1849  of  five  leading  sects.  Religious  services  were  first  held  in  March  1849 
by  J.  W.  Douglass,  and  shortly  after  by  Williams  and  Woodbridge,  all  pres- 
byterians.  In  May,  Grove  Deal,  and  subsequently  Roberts,  opened  for  the 
methodists,  and  Benton,  in  July,  for  the  congregationalists,  while  Cook  and 
subsequently  0.  C.  Wheeler  appeared  to  baptists.  Denominational  organi 
zation  began  in  the  following  month.  The  methodists  provided  the  first 
regular  service  and  house  of  worship,  and  the  episcopalians  claimed  the  first 
regular  minister  and  church,  the  Grace  dating  from  August,  under  Mines,  the 
congregationalists  following  in  Sept.,  the  methodists  organizing  in  Oct.,  and 
the  baptists  in  Nov.  After  this,  progress  became  substantial,  with  special 
temples  and  an  increase  of  congregations  African  methodists  began  ser 
vices  in  1850,  catholics  the  same  year,  Hebrews  in  1852,  disciples  of  Christ 
and  German  methodists  in  1855,  Lutherans  and  Mormons  in  1865,  Unitarians 
in  1867,  adventists  in  1872,  united  brethren  in  Christ  in  1876  Sunday- 
schools  flourished  early  in  1850  Pac.  News,  Aug.  1,  1850;  see,  further,  the 


460  CITY  BUILDING. 

chapter  on  churches.  Hayes'  Cal  Notes,  i.  47,  60-1;  Sac.  Direct.,  1853,  9, 
1856,  etc.  Culvers  Direct.,  77-82,  differs  on  the  order  of  organization.  Sac. 
Union,  Dec.  16,  1862;  Jan.  1,  1864,  Jan.  29,  1878,  etc.;  Williams'  Rec.,  MS., 
12;  Willeys  TJdrty  Years,  39;  Sac.  Illust.,  30-2;  Placer  Times,  July  25,  1849. 

In  1849  began  likewise  the  teaching  of  children,  but  public  schools  were 
not  opened  until  1854,  after  which,  however,  they  went  rapidly  forward. 
Notwithstanding  state  laws  for  establishing  public  schools,  school  commis 
sioners  were  not  created  here  until  1853,  and  only  on  Feb.  20,  1854,  did  they 
open  the  first  public  school,  with  a  male  and  a  female  teacher,  50  boys  and  40 
girls  attending,  a  number  which  fast  increased  beyond  accommodation,  so 
that  more  schools  had  to  be  opened.  In  July  1854  there  were  261  pupils, 
the  private  schools  claiming  250.  The  board  of  education,  organized  in  Nov., 
made  estimates  for  schools,  $3,860  for  rent,  $9,600  for  salaries,  including 
county  schools  within  the  city.  The  first  common-school  house  was  dedi 
cated  Jan.  20,  1855.  There  were  then  414  pupils,  though  578  had  applied  for 
admission.  In  1856  out  of  970  registered  children  494  attended;  expenses 
$22,962.  Colored  and  night  schools  were  added  in  due  time,  and  a  high 
school  since  1856,  German  being  taught  also  in  the  grammar  school.  The 
private  schools  of  1849  were  begun  by  C.  T.  H.  Palmer  in  July,  who  was 
succeeded  by  Benton  in  Oct.  or  Dec.  in  Shepherd's  building  on  I  street.  In 
1850  several  were  opened.  See  further  my  chapter  on  education;  Hayes'  Cal. 
Notes,  v.  60;  Sac.  Illust.,  27;  Placer  Times,  Oct.  13,  1849;  Hist.  Sac.  Co.,  Ill 
et  seq.;  Sac.  Direct.,  1853,  etc.;  Sac.  Union,  1854  et  seq.,  passim,  at  end  of 
terms. 

Newspapers  date  their  useful  career  from  April  1849,  with  the  Placer 
Times,  and  found  in  this  political  hot-bed  a  field  so  promising  as  to  induce  a 
most  prolific  issue  of  rivals,  in  rapid  succession,  though  short-lived.  The 
Placer  Times  was  issued  April  28,  1849,  by  E.  C.  Kemble  &  Co.,  at  the 
fort,  13  by  18  inches,  printed  with  old  AUa  type.  It  quickly  rose  from  a 
weekly  to  a  daily,  and  in  June  1851  it  consolidated  with  the  Sacramento 
Transcript,  which  dates  from  Apr.  1,  1850.  It  moved  to  S.  F.  in  1852,  and 
was  soon  absorbed  by  the  A  Ita.  On  Oct.  30,  1850,  the  squatters  started  the 
Settlers  and  Miners  Tribune,  and  on  Dec.  23d  appeared  the  Sac.  Index,  as  an 
evening  paper,  both  ephemeral.  The  strongest  of  all,  the  Sac.  Union,  was 
begun  in  March  1851  by  striking  printers,  with  the  well-known  Morse  as 
editor.  It  was  absorbed  in  1875  by  the  Record.  The  Democratic  State  Jour 
nal  of  Feb.  5,  1852,  survived  till  1858.  A  host  of  more  or  less  successful  jour 
nals  appeared  after  this,  including  by  1880  some  40  dailies,  2  dozen  weeklies, 
and  several  others.  See  the  chapter  on  literature;  Sac.  Co.  Hist.,  93  et  seq.; 
Sac.  Directories,  etc.  Of  directories,  the  first  appeared  in  January  1851,  a 
thin  12mo  pamphlet  with  little  more  than  the  names  of  residents.  Collec 
tions  of  books  and  newspapers  are  found  among  several  societies. 

A  cognate  and  conspicuous  feature  is  the  state  library,  with  its  extensive 
collection,  and  the  free  library,  which  in  a  measure  reaches  back  to  1850, 
when  the  Mercantile  Library  Assoc.  was  formed  with  a  nucleus  of  books; 
but  it  perished  with  the  fire  of  1852.  In  1857  it  was  revived  as  the  Sac.  Lib. 
Assoc.,  whose  collection  in  1879  became  the  nucleus  for  a  free  library.  Mean 
while  the  Odd  Fellows  formed  a  library  in  1855,  and  the  state  library  rose  to 
become  a  brilliant  feature. 


COMMERCE  AND  INDUSTRIES.  461 

The  old  rowdy  gambling  spirit  gave  way  before  the  growing  influence  of 
the  home  circle,  and  social  reunions,  with  a  preference  for  musical  and 
athletic  entertainments  rather  than  dramatic,  although  Sacramento  boasts  of 
having  in  Oct.  1879  given  the  first  regular  theatrical  performance  in  the 
state.  The  first  theatre,  the  Eagle,  was  opened  informally  on  Sept.  25,  1849, 
by  the  Stockton  Minstrels,  Placer  Times,  Sept.  29,  1849,  and  by  a  regular 
dramatic  troupe  on  Oct.  18th,  with  the  Bandit  Chief.  Id.,  Oct.  18.  It  did  not 
pay.  The  Tehama  was  inaugurated  in  April  1850,  and  burned  in  Aug.  1851. 
The  contemporary  Pacific  could  seat  1,000  persons.  Rowe's  circus  opened 
here  in  May.  In  Sept.  1850  rose  the  American,  with  Booth,  sr,  as  manager. 
The  fire  of  1852  made  a  sweep  which  left  room  for  the  Sacramento  theatre  of 
March  1853,  the  Edwin  Forrest  of  Oct.  1855,  which  in  1860  became  a 
melodeon,  the  National,  later  Metropolitan,  of  Aug.  1856,  which  in  later  years 
was  the  only  theatre  of  the  city,  the  Academy  of  Music  of  1868  failing.  See 
the  chapter  on  drama  for  references;  also  Massett's  Drifting,  135-6,  which 
claims  his  concert  on  Apr.  22,  1849,  as  the  first  public  entertainment  here. 
Placer  Times,  Apr.  22,  1850;  Sac.  Rec.,  Dec.  1,  1869;  Sac.  Bee,  June  5,  1876; 
Sac.  Direct.,  1856,  pp.  12-13;  Taylor's  Eldorado,  ii.  29-31;  Upliams  Notes, 
291  et  seq.  Of  three  musical  societies  the  first  was  organized  in  1855. 
A  race-track  was  formed  in  1850,  and  a  Jockey  Club,  with  daily  races, 
says  Sac.  Transcript,  Feb.  14,  1851.  The  city  council  of  this  year  forbade 
bull-fights,  Id.,  Oct.  14,  1850,  which  usually  took  place  between  bears  and 
bulls.  Yet  a  bear-fight  is  recorded  in  1856.  Hayes  Gal  Notes,  i.  277.  Rifle 
and  athletic  clubs  won  favor.  Journals  of  July  1-5,  1850,  indicate  elaborate  en 
tertainments  for  the  national  birthday.  The  entries  of  sailing  crafts  numbered 
in  1856  nearly  700,  with  a  gradual  increase,  only  of  small  craft,  however,  for 
sea-going  ships  soon  confined  themselves  to  the  bay.  The  chief  distributing 
agents  in  early  days  were  pack-trains  and  teams,  which  in  1855  numbered 
700,  and  absorbed  about  $3,500,000  in  freights.  The  trade  of  the  city  then 
amounted  to  $6,000,000  a  month.  Railroads  now  began  to  curtail  this  means 
of  transportation,  as  well  as  the  stages,  which  in  1856  covered  24  main  routes 
with  over  200  coaches  and  wagons.  By  1853,  however,  the  steamboats  con 
ducting  the  river  traffic  numbered  25,  with  a  tonnage  of  5,075  tons,  valued  at 
somewhat  over  $1,000,000.  Most  of  them  were  absorbed  by  the  Cal.  S. 
Navig.  Co.,  which  added  boats  of  from  1,000  to  1,600  tons.  In  1867  there 
were  31  steamers.  Their  competition  afforded  comparatively  little  room  for 
sailing  vessels,  and  larger  ones  soon  stopped  within  the  bay,  but  sloops  and 
schooners  kept  a  large  share  of  the  traffic,  their  entries  increasing  from  246  in 
1851  to  681  in  1856  and  953  in  1859.  The  greater  part  of  the  goods  brought 
by  them  were  transmitted  to  the  interior  by  teams,  which  in  1855  numbered 
700,  receiving  $3,500,000  in  freight,  assisted  by  several  stage  lines,  for  which 
Sacramento  was  the  centre.  In  1853  these  lines  consolidated  with  a  capital 
of  $700,000,  embracing  in  1856  over  200  coaches  and  wagons,  with  1,100 
horses,  which  covered  24  main  routes,  traversing  daily  nearly  1,500  miles. 
The  telegraph  opened  here  in  1853.  In  1855  the  monthly  trade  of  the  city 
was  estimated  at  $6,000,000  upon  a  capital  of  $10,000,000,  the  monthly  re 
ceipt  of  gold-dust  being  $3,000,000,  and  the  manufacturing  outturn  $300,000. 
The  financial  crisis  this  year  at  S.  F.  found  here  a  serious  reflection,  although 


462  CITY  BUILDING. 

the  traces  were  soon  effaced.  For  further  and  more  general  account,  see  the 
chapters  on  commerce;  also  Merc.  Gaz.,  yearly  end  review  of  AUa  Cal.,  etc.; 
Id.,  March  31,  1853;  Sac.  Transcript,  Feb.  14,  1851;  Sac.  Union,  Nov.  24,  1855; 
Sac.  Illust.,  27,  etc.;  Wheatons  Stat.,  MS.,  8-9.  As  the  centre  of  distribution 
for  the  valley,  the  city  became  noted  for  its  superior  hotel  accommodation. 

The  manufactaring  resources  of  the  city,  which  in  1855  were  estimated  to 
produce  $300,000  a  month,  gained  in  proportion  to  the  trade,  with  aid  notably 
of  lumber,  flour,  and  woollen  mills,  foundries,  breweries,  and  fish,  pork,  and 
fruit  curing.  Several  industries  were  started  by  Sutter,  as  already  related, 
including  a  pretentious  flour-mill  at  Brighton,  which  was  never  completed. 
In  1850  two  such  mills  were  established  at  Sacramento.  Several  others  fol 
lowed  after  the  fire  of  1852.  In  1855,  there  were  six,  with  a  capacity  of  585 
barrels  a  day.  The  spring  of  1850  saw  here  the  foundry  known  as  the  Cal. 
Steam  Engine  Works.  The  Eureka  was  established  in  Sept.  1851,  which  in 
time  yielded  to  the  Union  of  1857.  The  Sacramento  opened  in  Oct.  1852, 
Anderson's  boiler-shop  in  1853,  and  several  more  after  1857.  P.  Kadell  be 
gan  brewing  in  1850.  Seven  rival  establishments  appeared  during  the  follow 
ing  30  years,  besides  distilleries,  producing  in  1879  over  half  a  million  gallons. 
A  soda  factory  started  in  1849.  A  number  of  brick-yards  succeeded  Zins' 
pioneer  kilns,  and  bricks  were  shipped  in  1851-2.  Wagon-shops,  which  rank 
among  the  earliest  industries,  numbered  in  1858  fourscore.  Fish-curing  be 
gan  in  1851,  and  four  years  later  three  establishments  employed  therein  from 
100  to  200  persons.  Pork-curing  opened  successfully  in  1853,  and  of  late 
years  fruit-curing.  Saw  and  planing  mills  and  sash  factories  were  established 
in  and  after  1852.  A  pickle  factory  started  in  1852,  and  in  1856  soap  was 
made  on  a  large  scale.  A  regular  tannery  early  succeeded  to  Sutter's  primi 
tive  vats,  and  potteries  date  since  1851.  Among  other  later  industries,  the 
woollen  mills  of  1868  take  prominence.  For  additional  information  on  the 
early  condition  of  the  city,  see  notably  Sac.  Transcript,  May  15-June  15,  1851; 
Placer  Times,  Sept.  15,  1851-2;  Bauer's  Stat.,  MS.;  Garniss'  Early  Days,  MS., 
20-1;  Wilson's  Travels,  MS.,  29-31;  Orimshaw's  Nar.,  MS.,  20-3;  Player- 
Frowd's  Cal,  10-14;  Hancock's  Thirteen  Years,  MS  ,  126;  Fay's  Facts,  MS  , 
7-8;  Burnett's  Rec.,  ii,  29  et  seq.;  Robinson's  Port.,  108-42;  Hayes  Gal  Notes, 
v.  61,  etc.;  Sac.  Co.  Hist.,  passim,  which  contain  much  compiled  material  of 
value.  I  have  also  consulted  the  archives  in  the  county  clerk's  office,  the 
courts,  and  state  library.  In  the  Sac.  directories  there  is  much  history.  In 
Culver's  Directory  appears  some  important  information.  John  F.  Morse  gives 
forty  pages  in  the  Sac.  Directory  of  1853-4,  published  by  Samuel  Colville,  the 
only  good  early  sketch  of  the  city,  and  which  has  constituted  the  groundwork 
of  all  the  directory  histories  succeeding  it.  To  the  sketch  of  Morse,  Robert 
E.  Draper  made  important  additions,  which  appeared  in  the  directory  issues 
of  succeeding  years.  In  the  Sac.  Directory  of  1871,  Daniel  J.  Thomas  throws 
together  100  pages  of  'History  of  Sacramento.'  To  a  certain  extent,  direc 
tories,  like  newspapers,  constitute  first-class  historical  material.  After  1852, 
a  directory  was  issued  annually.  Sac.  Illustrated  is  the  title  of  a  paper- 
bound  4to  of  36  pages,  published  at  Sac.  in  1855,  and  which  comprises  an 
elaborate  history  of  Sac. ,  bringing  it  down  from  the  conquest  by  Cortes ' 
Although  depending  mainly  on  Morse's  account,  it  is,  nevertheless,  a  valuable 


MARYSVILLE.  463 

contribution.  Barber  and  Baker  are  the  authors  as  well  as  the  engravers  and 
publishers.  Illustrations  are  given  of  Sutter's  Fort  in  1846;  the  embarcadero, 
summer  of  1849;  Sac.  in  1855;  Sac.,  winter  of  1849;  J  street,  1st  Jan.,  1853; 
Sac.,  winter  1853;  Sutterville,  Washington,  beside  many  views  of  buildings 
and  localities.  Further  Sac.  history  may  be  found  in  Caprons  Cal.,  91-3, 
102;  Player-Frowd's  Six  Months,  10-14;  Taylor's  Eldorado,  i.  219-20,  223-4; 
Lett's  Cal  III,  131-3;  Matthewson's  Cal.  A  fairs,  MS.,  1-2;  Currey's  Incidents, 
MS.,  7;  Moore's  Pion.  Ex.,  MS.,  3,  8;  Barnes'  Or.  and  Cal.,  MS.,  14. 

The  most  prominent  town  north  of  Sacramento,  since  1849-50,  was 
Marysville,  founded  by  C.  Covillaud,  at  the  head  of  steamboat  navigation  on 
the  river.  This  advantage,  together  with  proximity  to  the  rich  mining  dis 
tricts  along  Feather  and  Yuba  rivers,  gave  this  place  the  lead  over  a  host  of 
rival  aspirants,  after  the  eclipse  of  Vernon,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Feather. 
By  Feb.  1851  Marysville  stood  incorporated  as  a  city,  and  faced  unflinchingly 
the  customary  affliction  of  California  river  settlements  in  the  charge  of  fires 
and  floods.  Progress  continued  throughout  the  fifties,  after  which  the  de 
cline  in  mining  had  its  effect,  especially  when  the  railroad  began  to  abstract 
trade.  Agricultural  interests  have,  however,  interposed  a  check,  coupled 
with  bright  promises  of  a  partial  revival. 

On  the  site  of  Marysville  stood  originally  New  Mecklenburg,  a  trading 
post  of  two  adobe  houses  erected  by  Theodore  Cordua,  a  native  of  Mecklen 
burg,  who  had  leased  the  tract  from  Sutter  for  19  years  for  a  stock  rancho.  A 
sloop  maintained  frequent  communication  with  Sutter's  Fort  and  Yerba  Buena. 
In  Oct.  1848  he  sold  half  his  interest  in  the  rancho,  and  in  his  own  grant 
stretching  north  of  it,  to  Charles  Covillaud,  a  Frenchman,  his  overseer,  for 
$12,500,  and  three  months  later  the  remainder,  for  $20,000,  to  M.  C.  Nye 
and  W.  Foster,  his  brothers-in-law.  This  new  firm  opened  stores  at  different 
mining  camps,  Nye  staying  at  New  Mecklenburg,  which  now  became  known 
as  Nye's  rancho.  In  Sept.  Covillaud  bought  the  entire  real  estate,  only  to 
admit  three  other  partners,  J.  M.  Ramirez,  J.  Sampson,  and  T.  Sicard,  under 
the  firm  of  Covillaud  &  Co.  In  the  spring  of  1849  the  town  of  Vernon  had  been 
founded  at  the  mouth  of  Feather  River,  the  supposed  head  of  navigation,  but 
with  the  rise  of  water  toward  the  close  of  the  year,  experiments  proved  that 
the  Yuba  mouth  could  claim  this  advantage.  Encouraged,  moreover,  by  the 
congregation  here  of  miners  during  the  winter,  Brannan,  Reading,  and  Cheever 
had  since  July  sought  to  plant  an  entrepot  opposite  in  Yuba  City.  With  this 
double  incentive  Covillaud  &  Co.  engaged  A.  Le  Plongeon,  later  explorer  of 
Yucatan,  to  lay  out  a  rival  town  under  the  similar  name  of  Yubaville.  Both 
places  were  trumpeted  abroad,  and  lots  freely  sold;  but  the  latter  site,  being 
more  accessible  to  the  rich  Yuba  mines,  soon  took  the  lead,  and  by  the  begin 
ning  of  1850  boasted  a  population  of  300.  Advertisement  in  Placer  Times, 
Jan.  19,  1850.  On  Jan.  18th,  Stephen  J.  Field,  who  had  just  come  up  to  act 
as  agent  for  the  firm,  was  elected  first  alcalde,  assisted  by  J.  B.  Wadleigh,  with 
T.  M.  Twitchell  for  sheriff,  replaced  by  R.  B.  Buchanan,  and  with  a  council. 
All  official  duties  were  left  to  Field,  however,  who  promoted  local  interests  by 
obtaining  a  perfected  title  to  the  land  from  Sutter,  by  taking  prompt  steps  to 
suppress  cattle-stealing,  as  per  notices  in  Id.,  Feb.  2,  1850,  and  by  overcoming 


464  CITY  BUILDING. 

squatter  intrusions.  Col.  Courier,  Aug.  26,  1850.  Stimulant  was  given  by  the 
arrival  at  this  time  of  the  steamboat  Lawrence  with  cargo  and  passengers, 
and  the  establishment  of  regular  communication  with  Sac.,  with  the  help  of  the 
Phoenix,  Linda,  and  other  boats.  Marysville  Directory,  1855,  p.  iv.-v.  Freight 
8  cents  a  pound,  fare  $25.  Hutchings1  Mag. ,  iii.  348.  Thus  assured,  the  name 
of  Yubaville — with  the  suggested  Sicardova  and  Norwich — was  exchanged  for 
Marysville,  in  honor  of  Covillaud's  wife,  Mary  Murphy  of  the  Donner  party. 
Burnett's  Rec.,  MS.,  i.  381;  Quigkys  frisk  Race,  1\\;.Ballous  Adven.,  MS.,  22. 
The  best  accounts  of  the  founding  are  in  Field's  Remin.,  20  et  seq. ;  Yuba  Co. 
Hist.,  33  et  seq.;  Delano's  Life,  286;  Crosbys  Stat.,  MS.,  27-8;  Warrens  Dust 
and  Foam,  146-7;  S.  F.  Herald,  Oct.  16,  1851.  Among  the  pioneers  were 
J.  Crook,  E.  Gillespie,  G.  H.  Beach,  Al.  Kerchner,  D.  C.  Brenham,  Colton, 
Parks,  and  Fisk.  The  first  frame  house  was  brought  up  by  Ayers  and  Colby. 
By  the  middle  of  Feb.  1850  the  inhabitants  were  placed  at  500,  and  the  float 
ing  population  at  1,000.  Over  350  lots  had  been  sold  by  March.  Among 
leading  business  houses  were  Low  &  Bros,  Cook,  Baker,  &  Co.,  J.  C.  Fall 
&  Co.,  Ford  &  Goodwin,  Babb  &  Eaton,  Eaton  &  Green,  Treadwell  &  Co., 
Packard  &  Woodruff,  and  J.  H.  Jewett.  The  first  religious  services  were 
held  by  Washburn,  who  kept  a  store.  Comments  in  Wood's  Pioneer,  89-90; 
Marysville  Dir.,  1855,  p.  viii.  In  April  the  Sac.  Transcript,  Apr.  26,  1850, 
enumerates  150  structures  besides  tents,  with  a  hospital  nearly  completed; 
700  votes  were  then  cast  here  for  county  officers.  The  Marysville  Herald 
began  its  issue  on  Aug.  6,  1850.  In  this  month  there  were  25  vessels  at 
the  levee.  Directory,  p.  x.  The  fall  in  the  water  level  interrupted  navigation, 
with  recourse  to  stages  and  mule  train,  to  the  consternation  of  many  inves 
tors  and  to  encouragement  of  rival  towns  like  Eliza,  Plumas,  Veazie,  Hamilton, 
Linda,  Featherton,  Yaleston,  which  aspired  to  at  least  a  share  of  trade.  But 
in  Nov.  the  Gov.  Dana  reopened  the  river  route,  and  the  lighter  steamers  of 
later  years  overcame  the  difficulty.  Thus  reassured,  a  charter  was  somewhat 
hastily  adopted  Dec.  17th,  with  great  enthusiasm.  On  Feb.  5,  1851,  Field 
assisted  in  the  legislature  to  incorporate  the  city  of  Marysville.  Text  and 
discussion  in  Cal.  Statutes,  1851,  550;  1857,  40,  257;  1860,  78;  Gal  Jour.  Sen., 
1851,  p.  1828,  1851;  later  modifications  in  Id.,  1855,  p.  877;  Cal.  Statutes, 
1855,  321;  HittelVs  Codes,  ii.  1653.  The  first  mayor  was  S.  M.  Miles;  there 
were  8  aldermen.  Officials  in  Marysville  Manual,  85-6.  Miles'  impeachment 
in  Turner's  Impeachment,  45;  Id.,  Stat.  Further  danger  threatened  the  rising 
settlement  in  several  disastrous  conflagrations,  the  first  on  Aug.  31,  1851, 
which  destroyed  buildings  in  the  business  portion,  with  a  loss  of  half  a  mil 
lion  dollars;  the  second  on  Sept.  10th,  loss  $80,000.  Rebuilding  was  prompt, 
however,  and  steps  were  taken  for  a  fire  department,  which  succeeded  in 
checking  subsequent  fires,  till  1854,  when  two  severe  ravages  took  place,  in 
volving  $400,000.  The  next  large  fire  happened  in  1856,  loss  $145,000,  after 
which  only  smaller  raids  occurred.  AtiaCal,  Sept.  2,  11,  1851;  Nov.  9,  1852; 
May  26,  July  29,  1854;  Sept.  7,  1856;  Placer  Times,  Sept.  15,  1851;  Marys 
ville  Herald,  being  their  main  source;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Sept.  8,  1856,  etc. 
Water  and  gas  contracts  in  1855.  Sac.  Union,  Feb.  15,  1855.  Floods  also 
brought  their  effective  lessons.  Traditionary  inundations  were  spoken  of  by 
Indians,  wherein  entire  villages  had  been  swept  away,  and  in  1846-7  an  over- 


STOCKTON.  465 

flow  took  place.  Marysville  suffered  little  in  the  wet  winter  of  1849-50,  but 
in  1852-53  four  freshets  came  between  Nov.  and  March,  causing  great  loss. 
The  city  grade  was  raised,  and  later  a  levee  constructed.  Alta  CaL,  Jan.  5, 
1853;  8.  F.  Herald,  March  31,  Apr.  1,  1853;  Yuba  Co.  Hist.,  67-9;  Marysv. 
Directory,  1858,  p.  x.  The  subsequent  rise  of  waters  therefore  did  no  harm 
except  in  1861-2  and  1866,  and  notably  in  1875.  The  city  nourished  with 
the  mines,  and  the  census  of  1852  assigned  her  a  population  of  4,500,  includ 
ing  no  doubt  a  floating  mass.  U.  S.  Census,  Seventh,  982.  The  proportion  of 
nationalities  is  indicated  by  the  death  list,  embracing  92  Americans,  39  Mexi 
cans,  16  Frenchmen,  and  a  small  scattering  of  others.  The  number  of  brick 
houses  increased  from  two  in  1851  to  49  in  1855.  The  first  directory  appeared 
in  Aug.  1853.  In  1855  the  population  had  reached  nearly  8,000,  with  prop 
erty  assessed  at  $3,320,000,  a  funded  debt  of  $100,000,  besides  $23,000  scrip; 
taxes  $2.05  per  $100.  Marysville  Dir.,  1855,  p.  xiii.;  F.  F.  Low,  Stat.,  MS., 
6-7.  Low,  established  here  since  1850,  opened  a  bank  after  the  great  crisis  of 
1855.  Hemhaws  Events,  MS.,  6;  Bauer's  Stat.,  MS.,  5-6;  Sac.  Union,  July  13» 
Nov.  15,  1855,  etc.;  view  in  Pict.  Union,  Jan.  1855;  Marysville  Appeal,  Jan, 
14,  1865;  July  2,  1870;  Hutcldngs*  Mag.,  iii.  347-8.  Previous  to  1860,  whei* 
counting  1,881  votes,  it  had  attained  to  the  third  place  in  the  state,  but  the 
decline  of  mining  and  the  trade  absorbed  by  the  railroad  caused  it  to  fall  be 
hind,  until  by  1880  the  population  was  little  over  4,300. 

Corresponding  to  Sacramento,  which  forms  the  main  dep6t  for  the  north 
ern  half  of  the  great  valley,  Stockton  taps  the  southern  half,  sustained  by  the 
additional  advantages  of  being  the  head  of  summer  navigation  on  the  San 
Joaquin.  An  appreciation  of  these  features  led  to  its  founding,  by  Charles 
M.  Weber,  as  early  as  1847,  and  the  gold  excitement  gave  so  decisive  an  im 
pulse  that  by  1849  the  isolated  rancho  had  sprung  into  a  tented  town  of  a  thou 
sand  inhabitants,  swelled  by  a  still  larger  floating  population,  and  with  a  trade 
rapidly  increasing  in  response  to  the  unfolding  mining  region;  facilitated  on 
the  one  side  by  regular  sail  and  steam  communication  with  San  Francisco,  and 
on  the  other  by  wagon  and  pack  trains  by  the  hundred.  As  a  winter  station 
for  miners,  it  partook  of  the  stirring  phases  of  life  characterizing  the  metrop 
olis  at  this  period,  with  gambling  and  drinking  houses,  dissolute  and  criminal 
excesses.  In  1850  it  became  the  county  seat  and  an  incorporated  city,  and  in 
the  following  year  the  state  insane  asylum  was  placed  there  about  the  time  of 
a  great  conflagration  which  swept  away  half  the  city.  Since  then  the  agri 
cultural  development  of  the  fertile  valley,  with  the  aid  of  irrigation  canals, 
swamp-land  reclamation,  and  railroad  construction,  have  sustained  the  steady 
prosperity  of  the  place. 

Founded  in  1847,  by  Charles  M.  Weber,  under  the  name  of  Tuleburg,  and 
laid  out  by  J.  O'Farrell,  the  spot  was  also  known  as  New  Albany,  after  the 
birth-place  of  Weber's  partner,  Gulnac.  Stockton  Indep.,  Oct.  13,  1866.  It 
met  with  little  success  till  the  gold  discovery  opened  fresh  prospects.  Aftejr 
a  trip  to  the  mines  with  the  Stockton  Mining  and  Trading  Company  which 
he  had  here  organized,  Weber  returned  in  Sept.  1848  to  open  a  store,  and  to 
establish  the  place  as  an  entrepot  for  the  southern  mines.  Lying  intermediate 
between  these,  and  along  the  accepted  route  through  Livermore  Pasa  to,  them 
HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.  30 


466  CITY  BUILDING. 

and  to  Sacramento,  as  well  as  at  the  head  of  summer  navigation  in  the  San 
Joaquin  River  on  Stockton  or  Mormon  Slough,  its  position  was  assured.  In 
the  following  spring  it  was  laid  out,  resurveyed  by  Major  Hammond,  and 
given  the  more  pretentious  name  of  Stockton,  after  the  commodore.  Settlers 
flocked  in  and  round  the  few  tule  houses,  and  the  one  wooden  building  of  the 
autumn  of  1848 — which  some  call  Bussell's  Tavern — sprang  quickly  a  tented 
town,  with  a  permanent  population  in  the  following  year  of  1,000,  besides  a 
still  larger  floating  mass  of  passengers  for  the  gold  region,  of  visiting  and 
wintering  miners,  and  passing  traders.  This  floating  population  Upham, 
Notes,  237,  estimates  at  2,000.  In  April  1850  some  2,000  or  3,000  people 
landed  here  en  route  for  the  mines.  Among  the  first  settlers  were  W.  Max 
well,  Jos.  Bussell,  for  a  while  the  only  married  man,  Jas  Sirey,  Stockton,  D. 
Whitehouse,  N.  Taylor,  G.  G.  Belt.  Stockton  Indep.,  May  25,  1875;  Stockton 
Herald,  May  25,  1875.  In  Aug.  1849,  Taylor,  Eldorado,  i.  77,  found  25  ves 
sels  in  the  port;  a  firm  doing  business  to  the  extent  of  $100,000  had  just 
bought  a  lot  of  80  feet  for  $6,000,  and  erected  a  $15,000  clapboard  house. 
Buffums  Six  Mo.,  155;  Larkins  Doc.,  MS.,  vii.  92;  Pac.  News,  Jan.  1,  1850. 
Irregular  plan,  says  Hall,  Son.,  MS.,  21-1;  Willey's  Pers.  Mem.,  MS.,  96;  Alta 
Cal,  June  14,  1849;  Miscel.  Stat.,  MS.,  21.  Yet  only  2  or  3  wooden 
houses.  Staple's  Stat.,  MS.,  9;  McCracken's  Portland,  MS.,  1-2.  "Head  of 
navigation."  Buttons  Exper.,  MS.,  1;  Findlay's  Stat.,  MS.,  1-2;  GrimsJmws 
Nar.,  MS.,  38.  The  early  whale-boats  communicating  with  Yerba  Buena  had 
been  replaced  by  schooners,  two  owned  by  Hawley,  Observ.,  MS.,  5,  and  these 
were  soon  supplanted  to  some  extent  by  steamboats,  of  which  the  first  to 
arrive  here,  in  Aug.  1849,  was  the  Merrimac,  San  Joaq.  Co.  Hist.,  23,  followed 
by  the  Capt.  Sutter—the  first  according  to  Tinkham,  Hist.  Stockton,  318— the 
El  Dorado,  Wm  Robinson,  Mariposa,  Mint,  and  Mansel  White.  Several  ocean 
vessels  of  light  draught  were  brought  up  and  abandoned,  from  which  mate 
rial  was  obtained  for  building  a  sloop  as  early  as  May  1850.  In  later  years 
ship-building  was  constant  here.  The  traffic  by  water  in  early  days  was 
mainly  in  the  nature  of  imports,  which  by  1855  had  grown  to  such  an  extent 
that  over  2,800  tons  were  at  times  landed  in  a  single  week,  Sac.  Union,  July 
25,  1855;  while  export  proceeded  chiefly  by  wagon  or  prairie-schooner  trains. 
In  the  autumn  of  1850  were  counted  70  teams  and  over  200  pack-mules  on 
the  road  between  Stockton  and  the  Stanislaus.  S.  F.  Picayune,  Sept.  19,  1850. 
Each  team  carried  from  5,000  to  6,000  Ibs.  In  Dec.  1852  the  freight  to  So- 
nora  was  $20  per  cwt.  Alta  Cal,  Nov.  25,  Dec.  8,  1852;  Dec.  7-8,  1856. 
Stages  had  been  started  in  1849  to  Calaveras  by  Raney.  Taylor's  Eldorado,  i. 
79,  75.  Ferries  were  doing  a  good  business  on  the  San  Joaquin  at  $2  for  a 
mounted  man.  Cal.  Courier,  Sept.  9,  1850;  Sac.  Union,  Sept.  22,  Oct.  12,  17, 
1855.  Seven  stages  leave  daily.  S.  F.  Herald,  June  16,  1851.  In  1856  a 
little  flour  and  some  hides  shared  with  gold  and  passengers  the  return  ship 
ments.  In  1851  steamboat  competitors  offered  free  passage  to  S.  F.  Sac. 
Transcript,  Jan.  14,  1851.  A  new  steam  line  was  proposed  in  the  Stockton 
Item,  Jan.  8,  1855.  As  a  resort  and  winter  station  for  miners  life  displayed 
itself  in  varied  phases,  with  drinkirg  and  gambling  saloons  in  full  blast,  and 
with  a  criminal  admixture  that  gave  the  vigilance  committee  of  1851  no  small 
work.  Two  men  were  hanged  as  early  as  1849.  Tinkham 's  Hist.,  135  et  seq.; 


PLACERVILLE.  467 

Placer  Times,  Apr.  13,  1850;  Nov.  30,  1851;  Wadsworth  (2d  alcalde  in  1849), 
in  Vig.  Com.  Miss.,  MS.,  26;  Unbound  Doc.,  MS.,  49;  Pac.  News,  Nov.  20, 
1850;  Feb.  10,  1851;  Alta  Cal,  Feb.  26,  June  27,  1851;  June  23,  1854;  Oct. 
1,  1855.  In  Feb.  1850  the  town  became  the  county  seat  for  San  Joaquin,  and 
on  July  23d  it  was  incorporated  as  a  city,  Sam.  Purdy  being  chosen  the  first 
mayor.  The  7  aldermen  chosen  were  soon  after  increased  to  11.  HittelCs 
Codes,  ii.  1587;  reincorporation,  in  Cal.  Jour.  Sen.,  1852,  779;  Id.,  Statutes, 
1857,  133,  197;  1859,  72;  18C9-70,  24,  587;  1871-2,  557,  595;  Stockton  Indep., 
June  24-5,  1880.  The  preceding  alcaldes  were  G.  G.  Belt,  the  first,  Reynolds, 
and  Ben.  Williams,  the  latter  first  county  judge,  none  of  them  worthy  men, 
says  Tinkham,  Hist.,  131,  136,  145.  They  had  latterly  been  aided  by  a 
council.  Finances,  in  AUa  Cal.,  Dec.  12,  1852.  This  indication  of  stability 
increased  settlement,  and  the  Pac.  News,  May  17,  1850,  speaks  of  some  200 
houses  going  up  within  a  few  weeks,  brick  buildings  beginning  in  1851; 
yet  the  court-house  was  not  erected  until  1854.  The  channel  was  bridged,  a 
newspaper  appeared  on  March  16,  1850,  in  the  Stockton  Weekly  Times,  followed 
in  June  by  the  Stockton  Journal. 

In  the  same  year  school  and  church  buildings  rose,  the  presbyterian  lead 
ing,  in  May,  although  teaching  and  preaching  had  flourished  since  1848-9. 
Stockton  Herald,  June  28,  1870;  Id.,  Indep.,  Sept.  18,  25,  1875;  Nov.  16, 
1878;  Woods'  Pioneer,  21-8,  91-2.  An  abode  was  also  provided  for  Thalia; 
and  with  1851  the  state  insane  asylum  was  established  here.  Outline  in  Cal. 
Jour.  Sen.,  1877,  ap.  ix.  The  position  exposed  it  to  overflows,  which  dur 
ing  the  first  years  made  the  spot  a  mud-hole,  Soule's  Stat.,  MS.,  2-3;  Me- 
DanieCs  Early  Days,  MS.,  17;  and  in  Dec.  1852,  especially,  did  much  damage, 
the  water  rising  20  inches  higher  than  ever  before,  and  carrying  off  the  bridge 
and  fire-engine  house.  S.  F.  Herald,  Dec.  22,  1852.  Of  fires  it  had  the  usual 
experience,  the  first  notable  one  being  on  Dec.  23-4,  1849,  and  the  heaviest 
on  May  6,  1851,  which  destroyed  half  the  city,  with  a  loss  placed  at  over  a 
million  dollars,  100  firms  suffering.  Pac.  News,  Dec.  27,  1849;  Little's  Fire 
man's  Book,  70;  Sac.  Transcript,  May  15,  1851;  Alta  Cal.,  May  8-9,  1851; 
Sac.  Union,  Aug.  1,  1855;  June  19,  1856.  The  fire  brigade  started  in  1849, 
developed  by  the  following  year  into  a  regular  department,  as  described  in 
San  Joaq.  Co.  Hist.,  9  et  seq.  View  and  description  of  Stockton  in  1854. 
Pict.  Union,  Apr.  1854;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Jan.  27,  1862.  The  Stockton  Directory, 
1856,  places  the  property  value  at  $2,616,000.  By  1877  it  had  risen  to  $17,- 
000,000,  debt  $400,000.  By  1870  the  population  stood  at  10,000,  after  which 
the  increase  was  slow  for  a  time.  Orrs  Stockton,  3-25;  Stockton  Independ., 
1861-79,  passim;  Id.,  Herald,  May  17,  1878. 

Among  mining  towns  Placerville  presents  a  striking  illustration  of  their 
vicissitudes  and  evolution.  It  sprang  into  existence  as  a  rich  camp  in  the 
middle  of  1848,  and  gained  early  in  the  following  year  unenviable  notoriety  as 
the  scene  of  the  first  mob  tribunal  of  flush  times,  together  with  the  significant 
appellation  of  Hangtown,  which  still  clings  to  it.  As  a  '  dry  diggings '  it 
fluctuated  with  the  seasons,  between  winter  flowing  with  water  and  pros 
perity,  and  summer  drought  with  dulness  and  departures.  The  opening  of  a 
canal,  however,  chained  fortune  for  a  time  to  the  spot,  and  raised  it  to  the 


468  CITY  BUILDING. 

rank  of  a  leading  mining  centre  and  incorporated  city.  In  1856  it  began  to 
sink  with  the  declining  gold-fields,  weakened  moreover  by  a  conflagration 
which  then  swept  almost  the  entire  city.  After  being  substantially  rebuilt, 
it  received  temporary  solace  in  becoming  an  entrepot  for  the  Washoe  mines, 
changing  meanwhile  into  a  staid  agricultural  town  with  the  dignity  of  a 
county  seat.  Discovered  in  the  summer  of  1848  by  the  mining  party  of  Day- 
lor,  Sheldon,  and  McCoon,  farmers  of  the  Cosumne,  it  became  shortly  after 
known  as  Old  Dry  Diggings.  The  first  store  is  said  to  have  been  started  by 
Beaner,  and  Mrs  Anna  Cook  claims  to  have  been  the  first  white  woman  on 
the  spot.  During  the  winter  Oregonians  formed  the  leading  American  ele 
ment,  but  Latin  nationalities  were  prominent,  streaked  with  criminals,  and 
outrages  became  so  glaring  as  to  rouse  the  former  to  hold  the  first  popular 
tribunal  of  flush  times.  Several  robbers  were  caught  and  flogged,  and  three 
of  them  hanged  to  the  nearest  tree,  whence  the  unsavory  name  of  Hangtown. 
The  legislature  of  1850  gave  recognition,  however,  to  the  neater  appellation 
of  Placerville,  to  the  exclusion  of  Ravine  City,  suggested  by  the  irregular 
site  and  by  the  Ravine  designation  of  several  parts  of  the  camp.  Another 
cloud  long  obscured  it  in  defective  land  titles.  Concerning  names  and  their 
origin  I  refer  to  my  Popular  Tribunals,  i.  144,  etc.;  Bailouts  Advert.,  MS., 
22;  Colemans  Stat.,  MS.,  10;  Borthunck's  Cal,  103;  Grimshaw's  Nar.,  MS., 
1-2;  Bu/ums  Six  Mo.,  83-4;  Ross'  Nar.,  MS.,  12-13;  Sayward's  Pioneer, 
MS.,  7;  Sac.  Record,  March  6,  27,  1875;  July  7,  1877.  By  the  following 
season  the  rich  surface  was  considered  as  worked  out  by  many  of  the  early 
'  cream-skimmers,'  and  in  the  early  summer  of  1850  the  place  bore  a  subdued 
appearance,  with  the  main  street  almost  abandoned,  says  a  writer  in  El 
Dorado  Co.  Hist.,  209.  Although  this  appears  to  be  an  exaggeration,  it  is 
certain  that  the  great  overland  migration  of  that  year  selected  there  the  chief 
halting  station  and  gave  it  a  sudden  bound,  with  a  population  in  Oct.  of 
2,000.  S.  F.  Picayune,  Oct.  21,  1850;  Cal  Courier,  Aug.  21,  1850;  Sac.  Tran 
script,  Aug.  30,  1850;  Feb.  1,  1851.  During  the  winter  miners  were  again 
making  from  $8  to  more  than  $200  a  day.  Kalloch,  a  baptist,  and  father  of 
•"San  Francisco's  socialistic  mayor,  founded  the  first  church  in  the  spring  of 
.1850.  Again  came  a  spell  of  dulness,  partly  as  a  natural  reaction  upon  the 
.Tate  rush  of  prosperity,  partly  due  to  the  inactivity  enforced  by  the  summer 
irought  at  dry  diggings.  The  South  Fork  canal  was  started,  however,  to  sup 
ply  the  want,  and  this  brought  about  a  greater  run  of  good  fortune  than  ever 
before,  with  the  rank  of  a  leading  mining  town.  The  population  increased 
until  in  1854  it  polled  the  third  highest  vote  in  the  state,  1.944,  following 
S.  F.  and  Sac.,  and  encouraged  the  building  of  two  theatres,  the  first  opened 
in  1852.  Between  1853-5  a  fire  department  was  organized,  and  saw  and  flour 
mills,  brick-yards,  and  foundries  sprang  up.  On  May  13,  1854,  it  was  incor 
porated  as  a  city,  with  six  alderman.  Cal.  Statutes,  1854,  74,  199;  1857,  33, 
244;  1859,  419;  Cal.  Jour.  Sen.,  1854,  597;  HUtelVs  Codes  Cal,  ii.  1431;  Cal 
Jour.  Ass.,  1856,  447-55,  902;  and  for  mayor,  Alex.  Hunter,  who  had  opened 
the  first  banking  and  express  office.  With  1856,  however,  the  weekly  gold 
harvest  of  6,000  or  8,000  ounces  began  to  decline,  and  on  July  6th  came  a 
conflagration  which  swept  nearly  the  entire  town,  with  damages  estimated 
at  a  million.  Three  months  later  upper  Placerville  was  similarly  devastated. 


SONORA.  469 

AUa  CaL,  Apr.  17,  July  7,  11,  1856;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Apr  18,  July  7,  10,  11, 
1856.  The  decline  in  mining,  not  having  yet  become  very  marked,  the  inhab 
itants  resolutely  proceeded  to  rebuild,  and  in  a  substantial  manner,  which 
betokened  strong  faith.  The  Sac.  Union,  July  30,  1855,  indeed  sang  its  peon 
as  the  destined  golden  city  of  the  Sierra.  See  also  Id.,  Jan.  30,  Apr.  11, 
June  J,  July  9,  Sept.  10-11,  Oct.  10,  1855.  Rich  gold  layers  were  found  in 
cellars.  This  enterprising  spirit  was  not  altogether  wasted,  for  in  1857,  after 
many  vain  efforts,  the  county  seat  was  transferred  hither  from  Coloma,  and 
justly  so,  considering  its  greater  importance  and  more  central  position.  A 
period  of  revival  came  with  the  development  of  the  Washoe  mines,  which 
made  Placerville  a  lively  supply  and  way  station  until  the  railroad  from  Sac. 
drew  its  foreign  trade  away,  and  threw  it  back  upon  its  local  resources, 
which  was  viniculture  and  cognate  industries,  to  which  irrigation  has  lent 
stability.  A  branch  railroad  sustains  it  as  the  chief  commercial  town  of  the 
county.  See,  further,  in  Hist.  El  Dorado  Co.,  12;  Hawleys  Lake  Tahoe,  MS., 
2.  The  population  stood  in  1880  at  1,950. 

Sonora  was  remarkable  in  early  days  as  the  centre  of  the  southern  mining 
region,  and  for  its  at  one  thne  preponderating  Hispano-American  element 
by  which  it  was  founded,  the  name  being  given  by  the  Sonoran  diggers  who 
first  camped  here.  Anglo-Americans  quickly  assumed  the  control,  however; 
not  without  an  aggressiveness  which  led  to  many  race  dissensions,  which  re 
duced  the  population  from  5,000  in  1850-1  to  about  3,000.  For  these  the  city 
government  adopted  in  1851  soon  proved  too  heavy,  suffering  as  it  was  from 
the  effect  of  several  disastrous  fires;  and  so  the  administration  was  transferred 
in  1855  to  a  board  of  trustees.  As  elsewhere,  agriculture  has  gradually  in 
creased  to  counteract  the  decline  of  former  resources,  and  even  to  warrant 
reincorporation. 

The  name  Sonora  Camp  was  given  in  the  middle  of  1848,  partly  to  dis 
tinguish  it  from  the  adjoining  Jamestown  and  Wood  Creek,  or  American 
camps.  Among  the  first  settlers  were  C.  F.  and  T.  Dodge,  and  R.  S.  Ham, 
the  latter  chosen  first  alcalde  that  same  autumn,  and  succeeded  by  Jas  Frasier. 
In  Unbound  Doc.,  MS.,  13,  E.  T.  Dummett  is  mentioned  as  alcalde  in  Sept. 
1849.  S.  Jos6  Pioneer,  July  28,  1877.  Its  rich  gold-fields  attracted  miners 
rapidly,  until  it  surpassed  every  other  camp  in  1849,  with  a  population  of 
5,000,  and  attendant  life  and  revelry.  The  enforcement  of  the  foreign  miners' 
tax  in  the  following  year  roused  the  foreigners,  and  although  bloodshed  was 
avoided,  many  of  them  were  driven  out  to  swell  the  robber  hordes  which  sub 
sequently  gave  so  much  trouble  to  the  vigilance  committees  and  authorities. 
Jour.  Com.,  July  29,  1850;  Avila,  Doc.,  225;  Son.  Democ.,  Oct.  9,  23,  1875, 
with  docs;  Placer  Times,  Jan.  15,  1852;  AUa  CaL,  March  16,  June  18,  July  3, 
Sept.  19,  1851;  CaL  Courier,  July  22-9,  Aug.  2,  1850;  S.  F.  Herald,  June  1, 
4,  July  9,  1850.  Concerning  condition  of  town,  Borthwick's  CaL,  316,  329; 
Pac.  News,  May  8,  Sept.  11,  Nov.  2,  1850,  with  allusion  to  a  saw-mill.  One 
effect  of  the  tax  was  to  drive  away  half  the  foreign  miners,  Hayes'  Mining,  i. 
33;  but  the  population  rose  by  the  winter  to  3,000,  at  which  figure  it  long 
remained.  Capron,  California,  100,  estimates  it  at  4,000  in  1854.  Scurvy 
had  committed  great  havoc  during  the  preceding  winter,  especially  among 


470  CITY  BUILDING. 

the  Mexicans.  The  community  accordingly  combined  on  Nov.  7,  1849,  to 
establish  a  hospital,  and  the  appointment  of  trustees  for  this  suggested  the 
desirability  of  extending  the  organization  into  a  town  government,  with  an 
unpaid  council  of  seven,  C.  F.  Dodge,  alcalde  at  the  time,  being  chosen  mayor. 
A  survey  and  plan  of  the  town  formed  one  of  its  tasks.  With  the  formation 
of  the  county  in  the  spring,  this  body  ceded  its  power  to  a  miners'  justice  of 
the  peace,  R.  C.  Barry,  chosen  in  May  1850,  Sonora  being  made  the  county 
seat.  In  the  following  May  it  was  incorporated  as  a  city  with  two  aldermen, 
headed  by  Dodge  as  mayor  for  two  consecutive  terms.  This  system  proving 
expensive,  however,  a  simplified  charter  of  1855  vested  the  government  in  a 
board  of  five  trustees,  with  merely  municipal  power.  CaL  Statutes,  1851,  p. 
375-9;  1854,  p.  208-11;  1855,  p.  35-7;  Gal  Jour.  Sen.,  1851,  p.  1835;  1855, 
p.  879;  Id.,  Ass.,  1856,  p.  952.  Reincorporation  followed  later.  Statutes, 
1862,  228;  1877-8,  23,  596.  The  public  burden  had  been  aggravated  by  three 
devastating  fires,  besides  minor  outbreaks,  the  first  in  the  autumn  of  1849, 
which  swept  away  nearly  the  entire  canvas  and  brush  town;  the  second  on 
June  18,  1852,  which  destroyed  its  most  valuable  sections,  with  a  loss  of 
$700,000;  the  third  on  Oct.  4,  1853,  of  half  this  extent.  AUa  CaL,  June  20-1, 
Aug.  20,  Oct.  6-7,  1883,  places  the  former  loss  at  fully  a  million,  and  hints  at 
incendiarism.  Floods  occurred,  although  doing  little  damage.  Id.,  Jan.  8, 
1853;  8.  F.  Herald,  June  20-1,  1852;  Oct.  6-7,  1853;  Sac.  Union,  Feb.  27, 
1856.  Borthwick,  CaL,  347-52,  refers  to  the  rapid  rebuilding.  The  Sonora 
Herald  was  issued  on  July  4,  1850,  followed  in  1852  and  1854  by  two  other 
journals,  notably  the  Union  Democrat.  In  the  same  year  religious  congrega 
tions  were  formed,  the  catholics  being  here  foremost,  with  the  first  church  of 
adobe.  A  few  manufactures  followed  Charbonielle's  first  saw-mill,  and  grad 
ually  agriculture.  View  and  description  in  Pict.  Union,  Apr.  1854;  S.  Joaq. 
jRepub.,  Sept.  25,  1852;  Sonora  Herald,  Dec.  9,  1854;  Sac.  Union,  Jan.  10,  May 
2,  July  4,  Aug.  6,  Oct.  13,  22,  Nov.  3,  20,  1855;  Jan.  10,  March  11,  Apr.  3, 
June  10,  Oct.  1,  13,  27,  1856;  AUa  CaL,  S.  F.  Bulletin,  about  same  date;  Tu- 
olumne  Independ.,  Jan.  13,  1877,  etc.  The  population  by  1880  stood  at  1,490. 

Of  marvellous  growth  was  Nevada  City,  which  bounded  upward  within 
a  few  months  from  a  mere  camp  to  the  foremost  mining  town  in  1850,  the 
centre  for  some  12,000  miners,  overflowing  with  bustle  and  revelry.  The  in 
sufficient  rains  of  the  following  winter  produced  a  reaction,  but  ditches  being 
constructed,  a  revival  took  place,  attended  by  ground-sluicing  and  drift-dig 
ging  on  an  extensive  scale.  The  discovery  of  quartz  veins  lifted  expectation 
to  such  a  pitch  as  to  call  for  a  city  charter;  but  this  new  form  of  mining  not 
being  understood  here  at  the  time,  the  bubble  burst  and  retrenchment  became 
the  order.  A  steadier  development  followed  improved  methods,  and  in  1856 
the  city  was  able  to  cast  the  third  highest  vote  in  California.  While  con 
tinuing  to  flourish,  sustained  by  good  veins  and  the  dignity  of  the  county 
seat,  it  was-  soon  to  be  surpassed  by  the  contemporary  and  adjoining  settle 
ment  of  Grass  Valley,  the  chief  quartz  mining  locality  in  California.  The 
development  of  the  latter  has  been  less  spasmodic  and  checkered,  from  the 
nature  of  the  main  resource,  and  it  differs  from  most  mining  towns  in  not  be 
ing  defaced  by  unsightly  excavations  and  denudations  pertaining  to  placers. 


NEVADA  AND  GRASS  VALLEY.  471 

The  houses  lie  scattered  over  extensive  undulating  hill  slopes,  in  the  midst  of 
orchards  and  flower-beds,  presenting  a  most  picturesque  appearance. 

The  first  cabin  near  the  site  of  Nevada  is  attributed  to  J.  Pennington, 
T.  Cross,  and  W.  McCaig,  in  Sept.  1849.  In  the  following  month  A.  B.  Cald- 
well  erected  a  log  store,  after  which  the  Deer  Creek  Diggings,  as  they 
were  called  from  the  stream  tributary  to  Yuba  River,  received  the  name 
of  Caldwell's  upper  store.  The  field  proved  rich,  and  rumors  spreading 
of  the  many  fortunes  dug  out,  a  rush  of  gold-seekers  ensued  in  the  spring, 
until  the  number  at  one  time  gathered  within  a  circuit  of  seven  miles  was 
estimated  at  from  15,000  to  35,000,  with  150  stores,  14  hotels,  2  hospitals, 
church  and  school,  and  a  city  population  equalling  that  of  Sac.,  writes  the 
Sac.  Transcript,  Jan.  14,  1851;  Oct.  14,  1850.  Some  4,000  or  5,000  in  the 
vicinity,  says  Gal  Courier,  July  13,  1850.  Over  400  houses.  Id.,  Oct.  14;  S. 
F.  Picayune,  Sept.  14,  1850;  Pac.  News,  Oct.  22,  1850.  With  2,000  inhabi 
tants,  and  a  dozen  camps  around  with  8,000.  Shinns  Mining  Camps,  210. 
Thus  it  sprang  up  the  foremost  mining  town  within  a  few  months;  as  the 
Transcript  expresses  it,  with  2  or  3  saw-mills  and  clapboard-men  busy  pre 
paring  building  material;  with  churches  and  schools;  Sargent,  in  Grass  Val. 
Dir.,  1856,  22-3,  with  bull-ring  and  gambling -houses  far  surpassing  its  head 
town  of  Marysville  in  riches  and  revelry.  The  winter  of  1850-1  proving  dry,  a 
depressing  reaction  set  in,  capped  by  a  disastrous  incendiary  fire  of  March  11, 
1851,  which  reduced  half  the  place  to  ashes,  with  a  loss  of  half  a  million  dollars. 
A  ltd  Gal,  March  14,  1851;  S.  F.  Picayune.  Dane,  Fireman,  71,  places  the 
loss  at  $1,200,000.  But  just  then  began  a  revival,  based  chiefly  on  quartz  dis 
coveries  and  aided  by  the  completion  of  the  first  ditch,  Rock  Creek,  nine  miles 
long,  a  stupendous  enterprise  for  that  time.  The  different  methods  of  washing 
were  extended  by  ground-sluicing,  and  drift-digging  became  a  leading  feature, 
notably  at  the  suburb  Coyoteville,  so  named  from  the  coyote  mining  there 
followed,  where  the  population  centred  for  a  time.  Evidences  of  prosperity 
were  the  appearance,  in  April  1851,  of  The  Journal  newspaper,  and  the  con 
struction  of  a  special  theatre.  Then  came  brick  buildings  and  a  foundry  and 
other  industries.  In  March  1850  an  alcalde  had  been  chosen  in  the  person  of 
Stamps,  the  first  married  settler,  also  a  sheriff,  and  the  name  of  Nevada  ap 
plied  from  the  snowy  range  above.  In  May  this  official  body  gave  place  to 
a  justice  of  the  peace,  the  eccentric  Olney.  With  the  revival  in  1851  an  in 
terested  clique  rushed  for  a  city  charter,  with  ten  aldermen,  and  M.  F.  Hoit 
for  mayor,  Gal.  Statutes,  1851,  339,  but  the  collapse  of  the  quartz  excitement, 
resulting  in  a  large  decrease  of  population,  led  to  an  application  for  the  repeal 
of  the  charter.  The  debt  so  far  incurred,  $8,000,  was  left  unsettled  for  lack 
of  funds.  A  new  and  less  expensive  incorporation  of  1853  being  set  aside  by 
the  courts,  another  city  organization  was  effected  in  1856.  Id.,  1856,  216-19; 
Gal  Jour.  Sen.,  1851,  p.  1829;  1852,  p.  769;  1856,  p.  906.  See  also  Id., 
House  and  Assembly.  Three  heavy  conflagrations,  of  July  19,  1856,  which 
swept  away  the  business  section,  with  a  loss  exceeding  a  million  dollars  and 
ten  lives,  and  of  May  23, 1858,  and  Nov.  8,  1863,  covering  nearly  the  same  dis 
trict,  but  with  a  loss  of  only  $230,000  and  $550,000,  S.  F.  Bulletin,  July  21-3, 
1856,  AUa  Gal,  etc.,  proved  temporary  checks  to  progress.  In  1856  the  city 
cast  the  third  highest  vote  in  California.  The  development  of  quartz  mining, 


472  CITY  BUILDING. 

and  the  prestige  of  the  county  seat,  served  to  sustain  the  city.  In  1861  a 
gas  company  was  formed.  The  chief  trade  was  with  Sac.,  with  which  a  rail 
road  opened  in  1876,  but  this  city  had  meanwhile  absorbed  much  of  Nevada's 
entrepdt  traffic  in  the  country  by  means  of  her  main  line  eastward.  For  fur 
ther  account  of  progress,  I  refer  to  sketches  in  Grass  Vol.  Directory,  1856,  15 
et  seq.;  Nevada  Co.  Directory,  1867,  73  et  seq.;  Nevada  Co.  Hist.,  78  et  seq.; 
Sac.  Union,  Nov.  28,  1854;  July  12,  26,  Sept.  1,  21,  29,  Nov.  22,  1855;  Sept. 
19,  Dec.  10,  1856,  etc.;  Alta  Col.,  Sept.  13,  1856,  etc.;  Nevada  Herald,  Aug. 
28,  1879.  The  census  of  1880  assigns  a  population  of  4,022,  the  township 
standing  fully  1,000  behind  Grass  Valley. 

Oregonians  appear  to  have  begun  mining  in  1848  at  Grass  Valley,  but  the 
first  cabin  is  attributed  early  in  1849  to  Saunders,  Taylor,  and  Broughton, 
and  the  first  store  in  Dec.  to  J.  Rosiere;  yet  Morey  claims  the  first  store  in 
Grass  Valley  proper,  in  the  summer  of  1850.  The  main  pioneer  settlement 
rose  in  Boston  Ravine.  The  quartz  discoveries  of  June,  and  especially  of 
Oct.  1850,  attracted  wide  attention;  and  the  same  year  a  stamp-mill  was 
erected  and  a  ditch  begun,  while  a  justice  of  the  peace  was  chosen  in  the 
person  of  Jas  Walsh,  who  in  the  preceding  summer  had  built  the  saw-mill. 
By  the  following  March  150  buildings  were  counted.  Pac.  News,  Apr.  23, 
1851;  a  church  was  founded,  followed  by  a  school  early  in  1852.  A  year 
later  a  journal  appeared,  then  came  brick  buildings,  which  grew  in  favor 
after  the  bitter  experience  of  Sept.  13,  1855,  when  300  structures  were  swept 
away  by  fire,  involving  a  loss  of  about  $400,000.  Sac.  Union,  Sept.  15,  22,  29, 
1855;  Alta  Gal,  Sept.  15,  1855;  July  21,  1856;  Grass  Vol.  Union,  Sept.  13, 
1873.  The  population  then  numbered  3,500.  After  a  failure  in  1855,  it  was 
in  1861  incorporated  as  a  modest  town,  with  five  trustees  and  some  officials. 
Amendments  followed  in  1866  and  1870.  See  Cal  Statutes,  1861,  153,  1863-4, 
57  In  1862  emphasis  was  given  to  its  progress  by  a  gas  company.  Just 
then  the  mining  excitements  in  the  adjoining  territory  of  Nevada  cast  a  spell 
here  as  in  many  another  place,  but  this  lifted  in  1864,  after  which  the  town 
steadily  increased  in  prosperity  until  it  surpassed  all  others  in  the  county. 
Further  details  in  Beans  Directory  of  Nev.,  185  et  seq.;  Grass  Vol.  Directory, 
1861,  etc.;  Nevada  Co.  Hist.,  63  et  seq  ;  Miscel  Hist.  Pap.,  pt  xxxiv;  Grass 
Val  National,  March  28,  1868,  and  other  numbers;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Apr.  25, 
1868;  Dec.  1,  1855,  etc.;  N.  Y.  Times,  Nov.  10,  1868;  8.  F.  Herald,  Aug. 
21,  1852;  frequent  notices  in  AUa  Cal ,  and  Sac.  Union. 

In  Benicia  is  presented  a  town  which  rose  as  a  rival  to  S.  F.  prior  to  the 
gold  discovery,  on  the  strength  of  its  superior  advantages  in  possessing  a  fine 
harbor  at  the  head  of  ocean  navigation,  and  nearer  to  the  gold-fields,  a  beau 
tiful  and  salubrious  site,  and  a  position  central  and  of  easy  access  to  tributary 
rivers  and  valleys.  Encouraged  subsequently  by  becoming  the  military  and 
naval  headquarters,  and  the  depot  of  the  Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Company, 
the  population  rose  by  1850  to  1,000,  the  place  obtaining  the  dignity  of  city 
and  county  seat.  Aspirations  as  a  metropolis  were  crushed  in  1849,  when 
the  inflowing  fleets  cast  anchor  and  discharged  their  passengers  and  mer 
chandise  at  the  city  near  the  Gate;  but  in  1853  bright  visions  rose  anew, 
when  the  legislature,  then  in  session  there,  formally  declared  it  the  seat  of 


BENICIA  AND  VALLEJO.  473 

government  These  hopes  were  clashed  in  the  following  spring  by  the  removal 
of  that  body  to  Sac. ;  a  blow  followed  by  several  others,  until  the  declining 
community  had  to  renounce  even  the  title  of  city  as  too  burdensome. 

The  founding  and  progress  of  Benicia  up  to  the  gold  excitement  in  1848 
are  fully  related  in  my  preceding  vol.,  Hist.  CaL,  v.  670-4.  The  place  then 
boasted  nearly  a  score  of  buildings,  with  200  lots  sold,  and  a  special  alcalde, 
S.  Cooper  The  gold  fever  carried  away  the  population,  but  restored  it  richly 
laden,  with  hopes  in  the  future  revived  by  the  action  of  Com.  Jones,  who 
early  in  1849  sounded  the  harbor  and  brought  up  his  fleet,  led  by  the 
Southampton,  after  which  the  western  bay  adjoining  was  named.  Soon  after 
ward  Gen.  Smith  selected  a  site  on  the  Suisun  side  for  barracks,  arsenal,  and 
quartermaster's  stores,  and  Benicia  was  recognized  as  the  military  and  naval 
headquarters,  as  Taylor,  Eldorado,  i.  216,  observes.  Sherman's  Mem.,  i.  68; 
Larkins  Doc.,  MS.,  vii.  39  et  seq.  The  P.  M.  S.  Co.  established  its  shops 
and  depot  here  in  1850,  with  wharf  improvements,  and  a  growing  beneficent 
outlay  for  labor  and  supplies.  During  the  preceding  year,  several  early  river 
steamboats  were  put  together  and  launched  here;  the  regular  steam  traffic 
between  Sac.  and  S.  F.  made  this  a  halting-place;  the  old  ferry  across  the 
strait  was  speedily  provided  with  steam  power;  and  in  1850-1  some  three 
score  of  vessels,  mostly  lumber-laden  and  deserted,  gave  a  busy  aspect  to  the 
anchorage.  All  these  promising  features  tended  to  bring  in  settlers,  until  the 
population  in  1850  had  risen  to  1,000,  including  the  garrison,  and  50-vara  lots 
were  selling  at  from  $500  to  $2,000,  says  Buffum,  Six  Mo.,  149-50.  The 
Placer  Times,  Feb.  1850,  allows  only  40  houses  and  230  souls;  but  the  S.  F. 
Picayune,  Nov.  30,  1850,  concedes  over  100  houses,  with  a  presbyterian 
church,  founded  in  Apr.  1849,  a  masonic  hall,  used  partly  for  court-house,  a 
large  hospital,  an  effective  windmill  for  supplying  water.  Tastins  Rec.,  MS., 
written  for  me  by  one  of  the  first  settlers.  During  the  year  $40,000  was 
expended  for  public  works,  yet  leaving  a  debt  of  only  $13,000.  Sac.  Tran 
script,  Feb.  14,  1851.  This  expenditure  was  greatly  promoted  by  the  new 
dignity  of  Benicia  as  an  incorporated  city,  by  act  of  March  27th,  Cal.  Statutes, 
1850,  119,  and  as  county  seat  for  Solano.  The  first  mayor,  Jos.  Kearney,  was 
assisted  by  a  council  of  six  without  pay;  property  taxes  not  to  exceed  one  per 
cent.  Amendments  in  Id.,  1851,  348,  and  later;  Hittell's  Codes,  ii.  1670.  The 
Benicia  Gazette  appeared  in  1851,  and  a  state-house  rose  in  1852,  together  with 
a  young  ladies'  seminary.  Vallejo,  Doc.,  MS.,  xiii.  299.  Such  were  the  mod 
est  yet  not  insignificant  results  of  the  efforts  which  a  few  years  before  sought 
to  wrest  the  metropolis  rank  from  S.  F.  Benicia's  failure  was  due  greatly  to 
the  worse  than  lukewarm  attitude  of  Larkin,  one  of  the  founders,  and  Gwin's 
opposition  in  congress,  which  prevented  Benicia  from  becoming  a  port  of  entry. 
The  Sac.  Transcript,  Sept.  30,  1830,  sneers  at  the  pretension.  The  legislature, 
by  act  of  May  18,  1853,  declared  it  the  seat  of  government.  Cal.  Statutes, 
1853,  320.  For  grants  and  steps  in  connection  therewith,  see  Cal.  Jour.  Sen., 
1853,  630,  655-6,  Apr.  27;  AltaCal,  Feb.  2,  5,  10,  1853,  etc.;  Cal.  Comp. 
Laws,  1850-3,  930.  But  the  high  hopes  were  quickly  dashed  to  the  ground, 
for  on  the  following  March  1st  the  legislature  suddenly  flitted  to  Sac.  This 
blow  was  followed  by  others.  A  railroad  project,  the  Marysville  and  Benicia 
of  1853,  failed.  Five  years  later  the  county  seat  was  transferred  to  Fairfield, 


474  CITY  BUILDING. 

and  later  the  P.  M.  Co.  transferred  its  shops  to  S.  F  In  1859  the  charter 
was  repealed  as  too  expensive,  and  the  government  was  vested  in  a  board  of 
trustees,  with  the  task  to  pay  off  the  debt  of  $100,000,  which  was  slowly  ac 
complished  with  real  estate,  at  a  tenth  of  the  price  once  ruling.  It  became 
later  quite  an  educational  centre,  especially  for  female  colleges.  Fernandez, 
Cat.,  187;  AUa  CaL,  May  14,  June  11,  1855;  June  3,  July  29,  1856;  July  15, 
1871;  Solano  Co.  Hist.,  146  et  seq.;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Nov.  9,  Dec.  3,  17.  1855; 
June  9,  1877;  July  16;  1880;  Woods'  Pioneer,  34-6;  Pict.  Union,  Jan.  1855, 
with  view;  Gal  Jour.  Sen.,  1853,  630;  Bartletfs  Nar.,  ii.  12;  Caprons  CaL, 
94;  Ukiah  Democ.,  Jan.  5,  1878;  Solano  Co.  Atlas,  11;  Vallejo  Chron.,  Dec.  27, 
1877,  etc.;  Willey's  Pers.  Mem.,  97;  Benida  Tribune,  March  21,  1874;  Id., 
New  Era,  Dec.  6,  1879,  etc.  The  census  of  1880  gives  a  population  of  1,794. 

One  cause  for  Benicia's  decline  lay  in  the  proximity  of  Vallejo,  a  town 
founded  in  1850  for  a  state  capital.  This  project  failed,  but  the  establish 
ment  four  years  later,  on  Mare  Island,  of  a  navy-yard  by  the  federal  govern 
ment,  gave  fresh  impulse  to  the  place.  While  possessing  advantages  similar 
to  those  of  Benicia,  it  possessed  a  still  better  harbor,  deeper  and  with  close 
access  to  the  shore,  and  commanded,  moreover,  the  river  outlet  of  the  fertile 
Napa  Valley,  and  later  it  aspired  to  become  the  railroad  centre  for  at  least 
the  northern  side  of  the  bay. 

Vallejo's  sympathy  for  Benicia  cooled;  and  in  the  state  senate  in  1850  he 
was  open  to  plans  for  increasing  the  value  of  his  property  here.  The  selec 
tion  of  a  site  for  a  permanent  seat  of  government  engaged  the  attention  of 
speculators,  and  he  resolved  to  strive  for  the  prize  by  proposing  to  found  the 
town  of  Eureka  at  the  mouth  of  Napa  Creek,  and  offering  the  legislature 
therein  156  acres  for  public  building  sites,  and  $370,000,  within  two  years, 
for  buildings,  $125,000  being  for  a  capitol.  Memorial  of  Apr.  3,  1850,  in 
CaL  Jour.  Legis.,  1850,  498-502.  This  bid,  eclipsing  all  others,  was  accepted 
by  act  of  Feb.  4,  1851.  CaL  Statutes,  1851,  430;  report  of  committee,  CaL 
Jour.  House,  1851,  1423.  Previous  to  this  the  name  of  Vallejo  had  been  sub 
stituted  for  Eureka.  CaL  Pioneers,  pt.  iii.  12.  Pending  the  acceptance,  Sur 
veyor  Whiting  had  laid  out  the  town,  and  its  prospects  induced  several  set 
tlers  to  build.  More  than  one  hotel  rose,  and  Major  Hook  was  chosen  justice 
of  the  peace.  Sac.  Transcript,  Feb.  14,  March  14,  1851,  exaggerates,  saying  that 
some  threescore  houses  were  projected,  and  dozens  of  men  daily  on  the  way 
thither.  Advertisements  in  Pac.  News,  Aug.  22,  1850;  CaL  Courier,  July  31, 
1850.  S.  F.  Picayune,  Dec.  28,  1850,  commends  the  place,  although  'no  town 
exists  there.'  The  fact  was  that  owing  to  the  lukewarmness  of  Vallejo's 
associates,  his  own  lack  of  business  tact,  and  the  machinations  of  his  oppo 
nents,  the  place  had  not  caught  the  public  fancy;  and  when  the  legislature 
opened  the  third  session  here  on  Jan.  5,  1852,  it  presented  a  most  primitive 
and  forlorn  condition.  The  $125,000  capitol  so  far  was  a  rather  insignificant 
two-story  building,  with  a  drinking-saloon  and  skittle-alley  in  the  basement — 
the  third  house,  as  it  was  ironically  called.  Placer  Times,  Jan.  15,  1882.  Dis 
appointed,  the  legistators  hastened  away  the  following  week  to  the'  more 
comfortable  and  attractive  Sac.  Driven  hence  by  a  flood  in  March,  the  con 
sideration  was  brought  home  to  them  that  Vallejo  still  remained  by  popular 
vote  the  capital,  until  the  founder  failed  to  comply  with  his  bond.  Report 


OAKLAND.  475 

of  the  committee  in  Col.  Jour.  Ass.,  1852,  500-2;  Cal  Statutes,  1852,  128. 
The  archives  and  state  officials  having  accordingly  been  ordered  back,  the 
legislature  again  opened  its  session  at  Vallejo  on  Jan.  3,  1853.  The  place 
had  not  improved  meanwhile,  and  the  prospects  appearing  hopeless,  Vallejo 
petitioned  for  release  from  his  bond,  pleading  that  the  former  removal  of 
the  government  had  contributed  to  defeat  his  plans  for  fulfilling  it.  /</., 

1853,  345;  Cal  Jour.  Sen.,  1852,  788,  563;  Id.,   1853,  661,  etc.     This  was 
agreed  to,  and  the  following  month  saw  the  legislature  once  more  on  the 
wing,  to  alight  a  while  at  Benicia,  whither  it  was  followed  by  a  large  propor 
tion  of  the  settlers,  including  stores,  leaving  the  rest  stranded.     Vallejo  then 
sold  the  site  for  $30,000  to  Lt-gov.  Purdy  and  others,  but  owing  to  their  fail 
ure  with  payments  it  was  recoiiveyed  to  Vallejo's  associates.     The  town  had 
still  aspirations,  as  the  natural  port  for  the  fertile  valley  of  Napa,  and  as  a 
site  for  the  U.  S.  navy-yard  and  naval  depot.     The  latter  project  was  enter 
tained  in  1849,  Sherman's  Mem.,  i.  68,  and  in  1852  decided  upon.     Mare  Island, 
lying  in  front  of  Vallejo,  and  so  named  after  a  mare  which  there  swam  ashore 
from  a  wrecked  ferry,  it  is  said,  was  accordingly  purchased  for  the  government 
in  1853  for  $83,000;  the  price  in  1850  being  $7,000.     Possession  was  taken  in 

1854.  Two  years  later  found  a  floating  dock  and  a  basin  in  operation,  with 
numerous  shops  and  magazines,  which,  together  with  the  later  stone  dock, 
costing  over  a  million  dollars,  gave  employment  to  a  large  force  of  men,  all 
depending  on  Vallejo.     The   town  accordingly  began  to  prosper;   wharves 
were  built  to  accommodate  the  growing  traffic,  a  newspaper  appeared  in  1855, 
and  in  1856  the  survey  was  extended  to  one  league;  yet  the  place  prudently 
denied  itself  the  expensive  dignity  of  city  until  1866-7,  when  the  inhabitants 
numbered  some  3,000.  Cal.  Statutes,   1865-6,  147,  431;  1867-8,  618;  1871-2, 
566,  757,  1048;  see  Solano  Advert.,  Dec.  1868-May  1869;  Vallejo  Chron.,  March 
-June  1871;  and  the  special  pamphlets,  Resources  of  Vallejo  and  Prospects  of 
Vallejo,  1871;  also  Solano  Co.  Hist.,  88,  184,  et  seq.;   Willey's  Pers.  Mem.,  96 

-7;  Hittelts  Res.,  411;  Cal.  Pioneers,  MS.,  pt.  iii.;  Alta  Cal.,  Jan.  4,  1853,  etc.; 
HittelCs  Code,  ii.  1603;  Solano,  Future  of  Vallejo. 

Martinez,  opposite  Benicia  on  the  river,  is  a  historic  town  of  growing 
prosperity. 

The  beautiful  plains  and  slopes  of  thp  contra  costa  had  not  failed  to  strike 
favorably  the  many  projectors  of  metropolitan  cities,  but  the  extreme  shal- 
lowness  of  the  water  interposed  a  decisive  objection.  When  the  prospects  of 
S.  F.  stood  assured,  however,  the  advantages  of  this  tract  for  suburban  sites 
at  once  became  apparent,  and  in  1850-3  the  greater  portion  of  the  Peralta 
grant,  from  Point  Isabel  to  San  Leandro  Bay,  was  bought  by  different  specu 
lators,  yet  not  until  the  most  desirable  section  of  Oakland  had  been  occupied 
by  squatters,  who  were  mainly  instrumental  in  giving  a  start  to  the  place  and 
procuring  town  and  city  charters.  With  the  location  here,  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  sixties,  of  the  overland  railroad  terminus,  which  brought  superior  ferry 
facilities,  a  great  impulse  was  given,  followed  by  the  acquisition  of  the  county 
seat,  and  all  the  conveniences  to  be  expected  of  a  city  ranking  next  in  popula 
tion  to  S.  F.,  although  of  subordinate  importance.  The  rush  of  squatters, 
which  in  1850  set  in  for  Oakland,  was  headed  by  the  lawyers  A.  J.  Moon  and 


476  CITY  BUILDING. 

Horace  W.  Carpentier,  and  E.  Adams.  Heedless  of  the  remonstrances  of  the 
Peralta  family,  to  which  the  grant  belonged,  they  seized  even  upon  the  cattle 
and  timber.  Finally,  when  pressed  by  the  sheriff,  Moon  arranged  for  a  lease, 
and  on  the  strength  of  it  was  laid  out  the  town  of  Oakland,  so  named  from 
the  trees  growing  there.  Meanwhile  Carpentier  used  his  official  position  to 
manreuvre  the  passage  of  an  act  of  incorporation  May  1852,  Col.  Jour.  Ass., 
1852,  846,  Id.,  Statutes,  303,  little  suspected  by  the  other  squatters,  and  then  to 
gain  from  his  associates  a  concession  of  the  water-front,  on  condition  of  erect 
ing  a  school-house  and  three  wharves.  This  deed  was  subsequently  hotly 
contested,  especially  when  the  question  came  up  for  means  wherewith  to  gain 
railroad  termini  and  other  progressive  adjuncts.  In  1867-8  a  compromise 
was  effected,  under  which  concessions  were  made  to  the  city,  in  the  San 
Antonio  water  channel,  with  a  frontage  between  Franklin  and  Webster  sts, 
and  grants  to  the  Western  Pacific  R.  R.  Co.  of  500  acres,  a  share  going  to  the 
S.  F.  and  Oakland  R.  R.  Co.,  both  later  merged  in  the  Central  Pacific.  The 
rest  of  the  land,  aside  from  two  reservations  by  Carpentier  and  Merritt,  was 
conveyed  to  the  Oakland  Water  Front  Co.,  half  of  whose  50,000  shares  of 
stock  belonged  to  Carpentier,  with  E.  Adams  as  partner,  20,000  shares  to 
Stanford,  and  5,000  to  Felton.  The  title  of  Peralta  in  the  city  lands  had 
been  settled  by  the  sale  in  March  1852  of  the  squatted  part  for  $10,000  to 
Clar  and  others;  the  Temescal  tract  was  sold  in  Aug.  1853  for  $100,000,  with 
certain  reservations  to  Hammond  and  others,  J.  D.  Peralta  selling  another 
tract  on  the  north  for  $82,000.  The  squatter  cloud,  nevertheless,  hung  over 
the  city  until  1869,  when  a  compromise  was  effected  permitting  outstanding 
claims  to  be  bought  at  nominal  rates.  Notwithstanding  this  drawback  great 
progress  was  made.  Alta  Gal,  1852;  Oakland  Tribune,  Oct.  9,  1875;  Petaluma 
Crescent,  Nov.  18,  1871;  Sta  Rosa  Democ.,  March  13,  1869;  Sac.  Union,  Oct. 
30,  1856.  In  early  times  large  numbers  of  wild  cattle  roamed  here,  which  led 
to  the  establishment  of  tanneries  and  regular  slaughter-yards  for  the  S.  F. 
market.  Matthewsons  Stat.,  MS.,  3.  An  occasional  steamboat  service  was 
soon  replaced  by  a  ferry,  the  Hector,  followed  by  the  E.  Corning,  of  the 
Contra  Costa  Ferry  Co.  Alameda  Gaz.,  May  31,  1873;  Herrick's  Stat.,  MS., 
3-4.  The  first  public  school  was  organized  in  1853,  at  the  corner  of  Market 
and  Seventh  sts,  about  the  same  time  that  H.  Durant  opened  the  Oakland 
College  School,  preparatory  to  the  College  of  Cal.,  which  was  incorporated  in 
1855  and  organized  in  1860,  to  merge  before  the  end  of  the  decade  into  the 
University  of  Cal.  Braytons  Report,  in  Cal.  Jour.  Sen.,  1865-6,  ap.  viii.  395- 
402.  Regular  religious  services  are  claimed  to  have  been  begun  by  S.  B.  Bell, 
presbyterian,  in  March  1853,  at  the  corner  of  Fourth  and  Clay  sts,  yet  preach 
ers  had  visited  the  place  previously.  The  first  church  was  erected  in  the 
same  year  by  catholics,  favored  by  the  large  Mexican  element.  Oakland  Tran 
script,  Jan.  1,  1877.  The  baptists  followed  in  Dec.  1854,  under  E.  G.  Willis. 
A  Sunday-school  had  been  started  in  Apr.  1853  by  the  presbyterians.  0. 
Journal,  Oct.  13,  1867.  In  March  1854  the  belief  in  prospective  greatness 
was  proclaimed  by  the  incorporation  of  the  place  as  a  city.  Cal.  Statutes,  1854, 
46,  52.  Carpentier  managed  to  get  himself  elected  the  first  mayor.  The  re 
ported  votes  numbered  368,  which  seems  excessive  for  the  place  at  that  time, 
as  the  census  of  1860  allows  only  1,543  inhabitants.  His  message,  reproduced 


BROOKLYN  AND  ALAMEDA.  477 

in  0.  Transcript,  Jan.  23,  1876,  refers  to  efforts  for  planting  here  the  state 
capitol.  The  A  lameda  Express  was  by  this  time  issued,  and  in  the  autumn  of 
1854  followed  the  Contra  Costa,  the  issue  of  Jan.  5,  1855,  being  no.  17.  Oak 
land  Herald  began  as  a  weekly  Jan.  4,  1855.  In  1867  came  gas  and  water 
works.  C.  Costa  Water  Co.  Rules,  1-12;  Oakland  and  Alameda  Water  Co.,  1- 
8.  With  the  settlement  of  land  titles  and  the  location  of  the  terminus,  dur 
ing  the  following  two  years,  foreshadowed  already  in  the  mayor's  message  of 
1854,  a  decided  impetus  was  given  to  the  place,  with  a  more  direct  ferry  con 
nection  soon  after,  over  the  west  front,  with  bridge  and  solid  bank,  instead  of 
following  the  creek  route.  By  1870  the  population  had  risen  to  10,500,  strong 
enough  to  begin  the  struggle  in  earnest  for  the  county  seat,  which  was  won  in 
1874.  The  assessed  value  of  property,  rated  in  1866-7  at  $1,434,000,  stood  a 
decade  later  at  $24,000,000,  and  by  1880  the  census  showed  more  than  34,500 
inhabitants,  including  Brooklyn,  with  all  the  appurtenances  of  a  well-regu 
lated  city,  and  with  certain  harbor  advantages,  procured  by  deepening  the 
outlet  of  San  Antonio  Creek  through  the  mud  flats,  and  protecting  it  with 
rubble  walls.  Additional  details  in  Terminus  of  R.  R.  System,  7^6;  Oakland 
Directories,  passim;  Hist.  Alameda,  1876,  443-57;  Id.,  Atlas,  15-22;  Or. 
Sketches,  MS.,  3,  etc.;  Gal.  Jour.  Sen.,  1871-2,  353,  etc.;  Quigley's  Irish  Race, 
484-9;  Oakland  Review,  Dec.  1873,  9-16,  etc.;  Hayes1  Ang.,  i.  456;  8.  J. 
Pioneer,  Aug.  4,  1877,  and  frequent  scattered  accounts  and  items  in  daily 
journals,  as  Alia  Cat.,  Dec.  19,  1854;  Feb.  1,  1855;  Aug.  9,  1863,  etc.;  Sac. 
Union,  Sept.  17,  1855,  etc.;  Oakl.  News,  Feb.  4,  1874,  etc.;  8.  F.  Chron.,  Nov. 
22,  1879;  Oakl  Tribune,  Oct.  9,  1875;  Oakl.  Transcript,  Jan.  2,  1871;  Jan.  13, 
1877. 

The  adjoining  trio  of  towns  were  properly  extensions  of  one  settlement, 
and  Brooklyn,  as  lying  in  the  rear,  sought  in  time  annexation  to  the  leading 
city,  notwithstanding  the  promising  features  of  a  more  rolling  surface  and  its 
esteemed  hotels.  Alameda  gained  an  additional  advantage  as  a  bathing 
resort,  and  with  the  aid  of  an  extra  railroad  and  ferry  accommodation  is 
advancing  rapidly  as  a  rival  of  Oakland.  Berkeley  possesses  a  yet  finer 
position  in  some  respects,  and  a  large  number  of  homestead  builders  gathered 
round  the  nucleus  formed  early  in  the  seventies  by  the  transfer  hither  of  the 
state  university,  and  by  the  establishment  of  factories  in  the  western  section, 
on  the  bay  shore. 

Brooklyn,  which  in  1872  was  annexed  to  Oakland,  as  its  east  suburb,  was 
a  landing  in  1849  for  lumber  cutters  in  the  redwoods  five  miles  inward.  The 
dwelling  of  the  Peralta  brothers  stood  near  by,  and  a  Frenchman  kept  a  dairy 
about  Clinton  point  for  a  time.  Early  in  1850  the  brothers  Patten  secured  a 
lease  of  the  site  for  farming,  covering  at  first  150  acres,  and  extended  shortly 
after  to  about  treble  that  number.  In  1852  C.  B.  Strode  of  the  law  firm  of 
Jones,  Tompkins,  and  Strode,  bought  from  Peralta  the  section  between  Lake 
Merritt  and  Sauzal  Creek,  some  6,000  acres,  extending  to  the  hills,  and  gave 
the  Pattens  a  share,  M.  Chase,  who  had  been  hunting  on  the  site,  joining 
them  to  lay  out  the  town  of  Clinton,  round  the  Patten  cabin  up  Third  av. 
and  Ninth  st.  Washington  plaza  received  a  flag-pole  in  significance  of  its 
new  importance,  and  Washington,  later  East  Twelfth  st,  was  graded  to  the 
ravine  at  Commerce  st  and  planted  with  cottonwood  trees.  In  1853  D.  S.  Lacy 


478  CITY  BUILDING. 

opened  a  store  at  East  Twelfth  st  and  Twelfth  av.,  and  the  following  year 
the  town  associates  erected  a  $60,000  hotel,  which  was  destroyed  by  fire 
within  a  few  weeks.  Meanwhile,  in  1851,  J.  B.  Larue  had  squatted  across 
the  ravine  and  started  a  store  at  the  San  Antonio  landing,  where  he  subse 
quently  constructed  his  wharf,  and  a  settlement  gradually  rose,  which  was 
known  as  San  Antonio,  after  the  channel  and  rancho.  Early  house-builders 
are  named  in  Hist.  Alameda,  1876,  462-3.  In  1856  the  two  places  were  con 
solidated  and  called  Brooklyn,  at  the  instance  of  Eagar,  who  had  arrived  with 
many  pioneers  in  the  ship  of  that  name,  and  thought  that  the  appellation 
corresponded  well  to  the  spot  in  its  relation  to  the  Pacific  metropolis,  which 
was  similar  to  that  of  the  Atlantic  Brooklyn.  In  1860  the  population  of  the 
district  was  placed  at  1,341;  incorporation  was  put  on  in  1870,  including 
the  cluster  of  houses  north-eastward,  known  as  Lynn,  from  the  shoe  factory 
established  there  three  years  before.  Cal  Statutes,  1869-70,  680-93.  Settle 
ment  had  been  favored  for  several  years  by  the  land  troubles  of  Oakland,  with 
which  it  shared  in  the  picnic  excursions  from  S.  F.  since  Larney's  steam  ferry 
began  its  trips  in  1858.  Hopes  were  also  raised  by  the  temporary  location 
here  of  the  county  seat  during  the  four  years'  struggle  for  it,  but  the  more 
conveniently  situated  Oakland  was  advancing  with  such  strides  lately  as  to 
leave  Brooklyn  behind,  and  its  people  voted  in  1872  for  annexation.  Its 
vote  in  1876  barely  exceeded  650.  Brooklyn  Journal,  Sept.  9,  1871,  etc.;  Hist. 
Alam.,  1876,  461-7;  Id.,  Atlas,  22-3. 

Alameda  may  be  regarded  as  a  sister  town  of  Brooklyn  in  their  relation  to 
Oakland,  although  it  gained  several  advantages.  It  was  known  as  Bolsa  de 
Encinal,  or  Encinal  de  San  Antonio,  and  belonged  to  A.  M.  Peralta.  It  was 
held  under  lease  by  Depachier  and  Lemarte  early  in  1850,  when  the  interest 
taken  in  Oakland  called  attention  to  this  adjoining  tract.  W.  W.  Chipman 
and  G.  Auginbaugh,  who  had  subleased  the  section  fronting  on  S.  Leandro 
Bay,  then  stepped  forward  and  bought  the  peninsula  for  $14,000,  selling  half 
to  Minturn,  Foley,  Hays,  Caperton,  McMurty,  and  H.  S.  Fitch.  The  latter 
had  lately,  after  a  failure  to  buy  Oakland,  made  a  semi-contract  for  Alameda, 
only  to  be  forestalled.  As  auctioneer,  he  sold  the  first  lots  of  the  tract 
laid  out  in  old  Alameda  under  his  supervision.  The  first  settlements  were 
made  near  High  st,  and  ferry-boats  began  running  to  Old  Alameda  Point,  the 
first  regular  boats  being  the  Bonita  and  the  Ranger.  Incorporation  was 
effected  in  April  1854,  when  the  peninsula  contained  little  more  than  100  inhab 
itants,  and  it  was  expected  that  the  name  borrowed  from  the  county  would 
influence  settlers.  Cal  Statutes,  1854,  76;  Id.,  Jour.  Ass.,  650;  Alta  Cal,  Dec. 
30,  1854;  Sac.  Union,  Nov.  8,  1854;  Alam.  Encinal,  Sept.  8,  1877.  Soon  after 
Encinal  was  laid  out  in  the  centre  of  the  peninsula,  and  Woodstock  at  the 
point;  yet  progress  was  slow,  with  few  industries.  A  tannery  was  established 
in  1852.  Matthewsons  Stat.,  MS.,  3.  A.  A.  Cohen  bought  lots  in  1858  and  be 
gan  to  foster  the  place,  establishing  a  superior  ferry,  which  yielded  in  1874  to 
a  railroad  via  Oakland,  across  San  Antonio  channel,  supplemented  soon  after 
by  a  special  ferry  and  railroad.  A  wagon  road  was  made  over  the  tongue 
of  land  to  Brooklyn  in  1854,  and  ferries  had  run  from  Hebbard's  wharf  in 
the  channel,  and  from  West  End,  after  1856.  In  1872  the  entire  peninsula 
was  united  under  a  town  charter.  Cal  Statutes,  1871-2,  276-81;  1877-8,  89, 


SOUTH  TO  SAN  DIEGO  479 

etc.;  Hist.  Alameda,  1876,  469-74;  Id.,  Atlas,  23-4;  Oakland  and  Alameda  Water 
Co.  Prospectus,  1-8.  The  advance  of  the  town  was  from  1,560  inhabitants  in 
1870  to  5,700  in  1880.  The  Alameda  Post  appeared  in  1869,  the  first  news 
paper,  and  was  replaced  in  Nov.  1869  by  the  Alameda  Entinal. 

Domingo  Peralta  was  interested  in  that  part  of  his  father's  tract  lying  be 
yond  the  village  of  Temescal,  the  term  for  Indian  baths.  He  sold  it  in  1853  to 
Hall  McAllister,  R.  P.  Hammond,  L.  Herrmann,  and  J.  K.  Irving.  The  con 
ditions  were  somewhat  ambiguous,  and  not  until  more  than  a  score  of  years 
later  was  the  cloud  lifted  from  the  title.  It  remained  a  slighted  farming  re 
gion  until  the  choice  of  a  salubrious  and  attractive  site  for  the  state  univer 
sity  fell  in  1868  upon  the  spot,  which  was  aptly  dedicated  to  the  name  of  the 
prelate  philosopher.  The  construction  of  buildings  and  laying  out  the  200 
acres  of  ground,  as  well  as  work  on  the  adjoining  Deaf,  Dumb,  and  Blind 
Asylum,  with  its  60  acres,  begun  in  1868,  brought  settlers  for  a  town;  yet  pre 
vious  to  1874  not  a  dozen  houses  were  within  half  a  mile  of  the  grounds. 
Among  the  first  occupants  were  Shattack,  Hillegas,  and  G.  M.  Blake.  With  the 
opening  of  the  university  in  the  summer  of  1873,  Univ.  Gal.,  Report  1872-3,  the 
influx  of  residents  increased,  and  by  1877  the  Berkeley  Advocate,  Oct.  13,  1877, 
Dec.  11,  1879,  etc.,  claimed  nearly  2,000  inhabitants,  with  over  200  houses 
round  the  university  in  1879.  In  April  1878  the  town  was  incorporated,  in 
cluding  the  settlement  on  the  bay,  a  mile  and  a  half  away,  known  as  West 
Berkeley,  or  Ocean  View  and  Delaware-st  station,  which  had  sprung  up  under 
railroad  influence  as  a  manufacturing  site,  embracing  the  California  Watch 
factory,  the  Standard  Soap  Co.,  etc.  A  ferry  ran  to  this  point  until  increased 
railroad  facilities  with  both  sections  absorbed  the  passengers.  The  Deaf 
Asylum,  burned  in  1875,  was  rebuilt  in  1877-8.  Scattered  references  in  the 
daily  S.  F.,  Oakland,  and  Berkeley  journals. 

The  mania  for  city  building  extended  from  the  great  bay  and  its  tribu 
taries  throughout  the  state,  in  the  north  guided  by  the  rise  of  mining  districts 
and  the  gradual  expansion  of  lumber  and  farming,  for  which  places  like  Red 
Bluff,  Chico,  Yreka,  and  Petaluma  sought  to  become  centres,  while  parts  like 
Crescent  City  and  Eureka  aimed  to  supply  a  range  beyond  the  county  limits. 
In  the  south,  likewise,  several  old  pueblos  roused  themselves  early  from  their 
colonial  lethargy  to  assume  civic  honors  under  Anglo-Saxon  energy,  and  to  open 
their  ports  or  establish  new  landings  for  the  prospective  world  traffic,  but  the  de 
lay  of  the  agricultural  era,  upon  which  they  depended,  caused  a  relapse.  Rail 
road  enterprise  marks  the  revival  under  which  towns  like  Modesto,  Merced, 
Visalia,  Bakersfield,  Hollister,  and  Salinas  sprang  into  prominence,  often  at 
the  expense  of  older  places,  although  several  of  these  not  only  shared  in  the 
advance,  but  maintained  the  local  supremacy  due  to  a  judicious  selection  of 
site,  as  San  Jose,  San  Luis  Obispo,  Santa  Barbara,  and  San  Buenaventura. 
Among  the  most  pretentious  of  southern  towns  is  Los  Angeles,  whose  history 
has  been  fully  detailed  in  previous  volumes.  San  Diego,  the  oldest  of  Cali 
fornia  settlements,  languished  till  the  close  of  the  sixties,  when  transcontinen 
tal  railroad  projects  gave  it  life  and  hope,  based  on  the  possession  of  an  impor 
tant  terminus,  and  of  the  only  other  fine  harbor  besides  that  of  San  Francisco 
on  the  coast,  and  with  a  constantly  growing  reputation  as  a  health  and  pleas 
ure  resort. 

The  eagerness  to  found  commercial  centres  in  1849-50  roused  the  ambition. 


480  CITY  BUILDING 

of  Old  San  Diego,  and  led  it  to  assume  the  dignity  of  an  incorporated  -city  in 
1850.  Gal  Statutes,  1850,  121.  To  this  it  was  stimulated  by  rival  projects, 
which  in  course  of  time  dotted  the  entire  bay  shore  with  prospective  towns. 
Foreseeing  the  need  for  a  shore  settlement,  the  alcalde  had  in  Sept.  1849  begun 
to  sell  lots  at  La  Playa,  and  here  a  certain  trade  sprang  up.  Hayes'  Misc. ,  44. 
Federal  officers  interfered,  claiming  the  place  for  military  purposes.  Report 
in  S.  Diego,  Kept  Land,  1-5.  Speculators  accordingly  turned  their  attention 
to  the  south  of  the  pueblo,  and  obtaining  a  grant  of  land  in  March  1850,  on 
condition  of  building  a  wharf,  they  laid  out  New  San  Diego.  W.  Davis  lent 
his  fostering  aid  in  1851,  and  three  government  buildings  and  a  few  dwellings 
rose  behind  the  wharf.  Even  a  journal  appeared  for  a  time,  the  Herald,  of 
Judge  Ames;  but  southern  California  fell  into  neglect  and  the  town  stood 
still,  unable  to  count  in  1867  more  than  a  dozen  inhabitants.  Then  appeared 
A.  E.  Horton,  who  purchased  for  $6,700  about  five  quarter-sections  of  the 
present  main  site  of  the  new' city,  on  the  bay  shore,  Savage's  Coll.,  MS.,  iv. 
285,  laid  out  the  addition  named  after  him,  built  a  wharf  to  deep  water,  and 
on  the  refusal  of  the  coast  steamer  to  call,  he  in  1869  placed  the  W.  Taker  on 
the  route  to  S.  F.,  in  opposition,  at  low  rates.  Four  miles  below  on  the  bay 
National  City  was  laid  out  by  the  Kimball  brothers,  and  competition  ran  high. 
Settlers  began  to  come  in,  lots  sold  rapidly,  and  buildings  went  up  in  all  direc 
tions,  the  proprietors  applying  their  gains  to  building  and  other  improvements. 
In  1870  San  Diego  claimed  a  population  of  2,300,  with  over  900  houses.  The 
catholics  had  a  church  since  1858,  tended  by  Padre  J.  Moliner.  In  1868  the 
episcopalians  organized  under  S.  Wilbur,  and  in  1869  methodists,  baptists  with 
the  first  temple,  and  presbyterians  followed  the  example.  In  1870  the  new  city 
procured  a  decree  transferring  the  archives  from  the  old  town,  which  was  effect 
ed  in  1871,  after  a  struggle,  and  the  old  pueblo,  which  had  so  long  reigned  in 
mediocre  triumph  over  its  rival,  fell  into  decay.  The  records  of  its  doings  since 
1848  are  given  in  San  Diego  Arch.;  Hayes1  San  Diego;  Id.,  Misc.,  44  et  seq. 
Its  charter  was  repealed  in  1852,  and  20  years  later  the  new  city  assumed  in 
corporation  garbs.  Gal.  Statutes,  1852,  305;  1871-2,  286-95;  1875-6,  806.  The 
Masonic  order,  dating  here  since  1853,  moved  over  in  1871,  preceded  three 
years  on  the  new  site  by  the  Odd  Fellows.  In  1873  the  place  was  made  a 
port  of  entry,  and  the  Panama  steamers  cheered  it  with  their  calls.  Prof. 
Davidson  assigned  22  feet  to  the  bar  at  the  mean  of  the  lowest  low  water. 
Two  journals  nourished.  The  delay  of  the  promised  railroad,  upon  which 
all  hopes  rested,  interposed  a  check  on  progress,  but  its  completion  gave  fresh 
impulse  to  the  city,  upon  which  the  claims  of  National  City  as  the  real 
terminus  had  little  effect.  In  1882  almost  100  vessels  entered  from  domestic 
ports  and  99  from  foreign  ports,  paying  $263,160  in  duties  on  imports.  A 
chamber  of  commerce  was  organized  in  1870;  water  and  gas  were  introduced; 
and  between  1878  and  1888  real  property  advanced  in  price  in  some  instances 
from  ten  to  twenty  fold.  Details  of  progress  in  Bancroft's  Pers.  Observ.,  MS., 
9,  etc.;  Rusling's  Across,  326-8;  Hayes1  San  Diego,  i.-iv.,  passim;  San  Diego, 
Arch.  H.,  passim;  Id.,  Index;  Savage's  Coll.,  MS.,  233  et  seq.;  South  Trans- 
cont.  If.  R.,  Mem.;  San  Diego  News,  Id.,  Union,  scattered  articles,  notably 
June  26,  1873;  July  20,  1876;  Feb.  22,  1877;  Oct.  17,  1878;  also  S.  F.  journals; 
San  Diego  City  Inform.,  1-50;  Hist.  San  Bern.  Co.,  184-8;  CaL  Agric.  Soc.t 
Trans.,  1878,  272;  1874,  381,  etc.;  San  Diego  Com.  Lands,  1-5. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

CALIFORNIA  IN  COUNTIES. 

1848-1888. 

AFFAIRS  UNDER  THE  HISPANO-CALIFORNIANS — COMING  OF  THE  ANGLO-AMERI 
CANS — EL  DORADO,  PLACER,  SACRAMENTO,  YUBA,  AND  OTHER  COUNTIES 
NORTH  AND  SOUTH — THEIR  ORIGIN,  INDUSTRIES,  WEALTH,  AND  PROG- 


IN  Mexican  times  settlements  were  almost  wholly 
restricted  to  the  coast  valleys  south  of  San  Francisco 
Bay,  with  a  predilection  for  the  orange-perfumed 
regions  of  Santa  Barbara,  Los  Angeles,  and  San  Diego. 
The  Russians  had  obtained  a  footing  on  the  coast 
above  Marin,  as  a  branch  station  for  their  Alaska  fur 
trading;  arid  the  attempt  roused  the  California  au 
thorities  to  place  an  advance  guard  in  the  vicinity,  first 
at  San  Rafael  and  its  branch  mission  of  Solano,  and 
subsequently  at  the  military  post  of  Sonoma,  to  affirm 
their  possessory  rights.  In  the  forties  Anglo-Saxon 
immigrants,  adding  their  number  to  the  Mexican  occu 
pants,  extended  settlement  into  the  valleys  north  of 
the  bay.  With  the  conquest  population  began  to 
gravitate  round  this  sheet  of  water,  as  the  centre  for 
trade,  a  sprinkling  penetrating  into  San  Joaquin  Val 
ley  and  up  the  Sacramento.  The  effect  of  Marshall's 
discovery  was  to  draw  the  male  inhabitants  from  the 
coast  to  the  gold  region.  Many  remained  in  the  great 
California  Valley  and  became  traders  and  town- 
builders;  some  continued  to  roam  along  the  Sierra 
slope  as  gold-diggers. 

HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.    31  481 


482  CALIFORNIA  IN  COUNTIES. 

The  American  South  Fork,  as  nearest  the  point  of  distribution,  at  Sacra 
mento,  and  carrying  with  it  the  prestige  of  the  gold  discovery,  long  attracted 
the  widest  current  of  migration.  A  just  tribute  to  fame  was  awarded  to 
the  saw-mill  site  at  Coloma,  the  first  spot  occupied  in  the  county,  in  1847,  by 
making  it  a  main  station  for  travel  and  the  county  seat  for  El  Dorado,  and 
so  remaining  until  1857,  after  which,  the  mines  failing,  it  declined  into  a 
small  yet  neat  horticultural  town.  The  saw -mill,  transferred  to  other  hands 
by  Marshall  and  Sutter,  supplied  in  1849  the  demand  for  lumber.  The  first 
ferry  on  the  fork  was  conducted  here  by  J.  T.  Little,  a  flourishing  trader. 
Littles  Stat.,  MS.,  3.  And  E.  T.  Rann  constructed  here  the  first  bridge  in  the 
county  early  in  1850,  for  $20,000,  yielding  a  return  of  $250  a  day.  Pac.  News, 
May  29,  1850.  Population  2, 000  in  Oct.  1850.  8.  F.  Picayune,  Oct.  21,  1850; 
Barstow's  Stat.,  MS.,  1-4;  Shermans  Mem.,  i.  64;  Placer  Times,  July  28,  1849; 
Apr.  29,  1850;  Sac.  Transcript,  Feb.,  March  14,  1851.  View  in  Pict.  Union, 
Jan.  1,  Apr.  1854;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Sept.  9,  1857;  Sac.  Union,  Oct.  20,  1856;  Placer 
ville  Hep.,  Feb.  28,  1878.  Incorporation  act  in  Cal.  Statutes,  1858,  207. 
Marshall,  the  gold-finder,  gained  recognition  a  while  in  the  adjacent  petty 
Uniontown,  first  called  after  him.  The  early  drift  of  miners  tended  along 
Webber  Creek  toward  Placerville,  which  became  the  most  prominent  of  El 
Dorado's  towns,  its  final  county  seat  and  centre  of  traffic.  Southward  rose 
Diamond  Springs,  which  strove  for  the  county  seat  in  1854.  It  was  almost 
destroyed  by  fire  in  Aug.  1856.  Loss  $500,000,  says  Alta  Cal,  Aug.  7,  1856. 
Lately  founded,  observes  Sac.  Transcript,  Nov.  29,  1850.  Camps,  etc.,  in 
chapter  on  mines.  Mud  Springs,  later  El  Dorado,  was  incorporated  in  1855, 
Cal.  Statues,  1855,  116;  1857,  7;  with  great  flourish,  and  disincorporated  in 
1857.  Several  small  towns  rose  on  the  divide  southward.  Above  the  South 
Fork  sprang  up  notably  Pilot  Hill,  or  Centre ville,  which  claimed  the  first 
grange  in  the  state.  Then  there  were  Greenwood  and  Georgetown,  both  of 
which  aspired  at  one  time  to  become  the  county  seat.  The  former  was 
named  after  the  famed  mountaineer,  though  first  known  as  Long  Valley, 
Lewisville,  etc.  Georgetown,  begun  by  Geo.  Ehrenhaft,  Ballou's  Adven., 
MS.,  22,  had  in  Dec.  1849  a  tributary  population  of  5,000.  Alta  Cal,  Dec. 
15,  1849;  Cal  Courier,  July  12,  1850.  It  was  nearly  destroyed  by  fire  in 
1856.  8.  F.  Bulletin,  July  7,  10,  1856.  Latrobe  rose  on  the  Placerville  R.  R. 
route. 

In  1857  an  effort  was  made  in  vain  to  form  Eureka  county  from  the  north 
ern  half  of  El  Dorado.  Nearly  every  surviving  town  in  the  county  owes  its 
beginning  to  mining,  although  so  large  a  proportion  now  depends  solely  on 
agriculture  and  trade.  Many  had  early  recourse  to  these  branches  for 
supplying  a  profitable  demand,  potatoes  being  scarce  and  high.  With  the 
decline  of  mining,  however,  involving  the  death  of  so  many  camps,  the  vital 
ity  of  the  larger  places  declined,  and  by  1880  less  than  11,000  remained  of  a 
population  which  during  the  fifties  exceeded  20,000.  But  farming,  and 
notably  horticulture,  stepped  in  to  turn  the  current  into  a  channel  of  slow 
though  steady  revival,  still  assisted  to  some  extent  by  quartz  and  hydraulic 
mining.  The  census  of  1880  assigned  to  the  county  542  farms,  but  an  improved 
acreage  of  only  69,000,  valued  at  $1,181,000,  with  $482,000  worth  of  produce, 
and  §297,000  of  live-stock,  the  total  assessment  being  $2,312,000.  Farming 


EL  DORADO  AND  PLACER.  483 

had  its  beginning  here  in  1849-60,  when  potatoes  were  first  planted  by  the 
Hodges  brothers,  on  Greenwood  Creek,  near  Coloma.  Grain  and  general 
farming  engaged  the  attention,  in  1851,  of  many  about  in  Garden  and  Green 
wood  valleys,  and  around  Centreville.  By  1855  about  8,000  acres  lay  enclosed, 
nearly  half  being  under  cultivation;  there  were  3,000  fruit-trees,  and  as  many 
vines,  3,000  head  of  cattle,  half  as  many  swine,  and  some  1,300  horses  and 
mules.  Forty  saw  and  one  flour  mill  had  been  erected,  and  5  tanneries,  3 
breweries,  15  toil -bridges,  all  attended  by  numerous  teams  for  traffic.  Scott 
had  a  shingle  machine  in  1847  at  Shingle  Springs.  Several  stage  lines  were 
running  since  1849. 

The  adjoining  county  of  Placer,  created  in  1851,  chiefly  out  of  Yuba,  had 
a  section  of  purely  agricultural  land,  which  was  occupied  shortly  before  the 
conquest  by  settlers  who  raised  wheat  and  planted  fruit  before  the  gold  ex 
citement  came  to  interrupt  them.  For  list  of  early  settlers  in  this  and  other 
parts  of  central  and  northern  California,  I  refer  to  the  opening  chapter  of 
this  volume,  and  to  the  preceding  volumes,  for  general  progress  of  settlement 
before  1848.  It  is  said  that  a  crop  of  wheat  was  put  in  on  Bear  River  by 
Johnson  and  Sicard  in  1845,  and  that  Chanon  helped  Sicard  to  plant  fruit-trees 
the  following  season.  Peaches,  almonds,  and  vines  from  San  Jose  followed 
in  1848,  and  later  oranges.  The  peaches  brought  high  prices  at  the  gold-fields. 
Mendenhall  planted  Oregon  fruit  at  Illinoistown  in  1850.  Hist.  Placer  Co., 
239-40.  After  1849  several  imitators  appeared,  and  in  1852,  679  acres  were 
under  cultivation,  yielding  $20,000  in  produce,  chiefly  barley;  there  were 
3,500  head  of  stock;  one  third  consisted  of  hogs.  Yet  only  a  small  fraction 
of  the  population,  10,784  persons,  was  then  engaged  in  farming,  and  of  $2,000,- 
000  invested  capital  over  two  thirds  was  in  mining  and  one  seventh  in  trade. 
Of  the  population,  6,602  were  white  males,  343  females,  3,019  Chinese,  730 
Indians,  the  rest  foreigners.  See  CaL  Census,  1852,  30-1. 

By  1855  there  were  143  improved  ranches,  after  which  a  rapid  increase 
set  in.  Good  markets  were  found  among  the  numerous  mining  camps  along 
the  American  forks  and  intervening  divides,  among  which  Auburn  rose  to 
the  county  seat  and  sustained  itself  as  leading  town.  It  occupied  a  beautiful 
spot,  and  later  it  became  a  health  resort.  Mines  were  opened  there  in  1848, 
and  it  was  one  of  the  best  sustained  of  the  placers.  Population,  Oct.  1850, 
1,500.  S.  F.  Picayune,  Oct.  21,  1850.  Was  county  seat  of  Sutter  before  1851. 
Suffered  severely  from  fire  in  1855,  Sac.  Union,  June  6,  9,  Aug.  4-6,  1855,  and 
in  1859  and  1863.  Placer  Co.  Direc.,  1861,  7.  Incorporated  in  1860,  and  dis 
incorporated  7  years  later.  CaL  Statutes,  1860,  427;  1867-8,  555.  Near  by 
Copeland  established  one  of  the  earliest  ranches.  Dutch  Flat  was  the  trading 
centre  of  1849,  and  in  1860  it  polled  the  largest  vote  in  the  county,  over  500. 
Incorporated  in  1863,  disincorporated  three  years  later.  Id.,  1863,  255;  1865- 
6,  10;  Dutch  Flat  Forum,  March  8,  29,  1877.  Forest  Hill  and  Iowa  Hill  long 
held  the  lead  in  the  eastern  section.  They  sprang  up  like  magic  after  the  gold 
development  of  1853,  Id.,  43,  and  overshadowed  Elizabethtown  and  Wis 
consin  Hill,  as  Forest  Hill  did  Sarahsville  or  Bath,  assisted  by  its  cement  de 
posits.  Illinoistown,  first  called  Alder  Grove  or  Upper  Corral,  and  Yankee 
Jim's  were  prominent  in  early  days,  owing  to  their  rich  diggings.  The  latter 
was  named  after  Jim  Goodland,  says  Ballous  Advent.,  MS.,  22,  though  the. 


484  CALIFORNIA  IN  COUNTIES. 

Placer  Directory,  1861,  12-13,  gives  the  honor  to  the  Sydney ite  Jim  Robinson, 
who  was  hanged  for  horse-stealing  in  1852.  The  place  suffered  severely  from 
fire  in  1852,  AUa  CaL,  June  16,  1852,  yet  quickly  rivalled  again  in  size  any 
town  in  the  county.  Gilbert  brothers  were  among  the  first  settlers.  Ophir 
was  sustained  by  horticulture  and  quartz.  In  1852  this  was  the  largest  place 
in  the  county,  the  vote  being  500.  Gold  Hill,  near  by,  was  of  secondary 
importance.  See,  further,  under  mining;  Sac.  Transcript,  1850-1 ;  Placer  Co. 
Directory,  1861,  9,  200,  et  seq.;  Dutch  Flat  Enquirer,  Oct.  9,  18G2.  Michigan 
Bluffs  and  Todd  Valley  were  long  prominent.  The  railroad  built  up  a  num 
ber  of  stations  between  Cisco  and  Rocklin,  notably  Colfax  and  Lincoln,  the 
former  aided  by  the  narrow-gauge  line  to  Nevada,  and  transferred  from  El 
Dorado  the  transit  business  with  Washoe,  and  the  emigrant  route  so  long 
striven  for  in  vain  by  Placer.  In  1852  a  road  was  constructed  to  Washoe 
Valley,  from  Yankee  Jim's,  for  $13,000,  but  failed  to  secure  traffic.  Placer's 
larger  area  of  tillable  soil  saved  this  county  from  sharing  in  the  decadence  of 
El  Dorado,  and  its  foothills  became  celebrated  for  their  salubrity  of  climate 
and  viticultural  advantages.  The  population  in  1860  was  13,270,  and  in  1880 
14,200,  the  gains  in  the  west  balancing  the  eastern  losses.  Its  total  assess 
ment  ranged  then  at  more  than  $5,774,000,  of  which  $1,885,000  covered  the 
value  of  514  farms,  with  $618,000  in  produce  and  $379,000  in  live-stock. 

Sacramento  county,  which  occupied  the  fertile  bottom  below  these  two 
mining  counties,  benefited  by  their  demand  on  traffic  and  productions.  It 
stood  prepared  for  both  as  the  site  of  the  key  to  the  valley,  the  capital,  which 
remained  throughout  the  great  entrepot  and  the  most  promising  manufactur 
ing  place.  Sutter's  efforts  from  1839  in  planting  fields  and  originating  differ 
ent  industries  encouraged  a  number  of  others  to  follow  his  example,  and  to 
establish  ranchos,  at  least  along  the  great  bay  tributaries.  CaL  Census,  1852, 
8,  31-2.  Of  manufactures  Sutter  nad  before  1848  established  tanneries, 
flour  and  saw  mills,  the  latter  not  completed.  There  was  a  brick-yard  as 
early  as  1847  at  Sutterville,  and  a  grist-mill  on  the  Cosumnes.  The  incipient 
industries  at  Sutter's  Fort  and  on  the  Cosumnes,  checked  by  the  gold  dis 
covery,  took  shortly  after  firmer  roots,  and  in  1850  two  flour-mills  opened  at 
or  near  Sacramento,  brick-making  was  resumed  in  1849,  machine-shops 
started  the  year  after,  and  in  1851  a  number  of  new  and  rival  branches  fol 
lowed. 

On  the  American  main  river  lay  three  notable  grants;  on  the  Cosumnes 
Daylor  and  Sheldon  had  half  a  dozen  assistants  and  neighbors;  and  on  Dry 
Creek  and  the  Mokelumne  were  several  more  settlers,  all  of  them  ready  to 
welcome  those  who  after  1849  prepared  to  retire  from  mining  and  join  in 
agricultural  pursuits  so  favorably  begun.  The  county  was  accordingly  cred 
ited  already  in  1850  with  over  2,000  acres  of  improved  land,  live-stock  valued 
at  $1 15,000,  and  fully  as  much  more  in  produce,  namely,  improved  acres  2,044, 
with  implements  valued  at  $2,250;  about  800  horses  and  mules,  7,000  cattle, 
and  2,000  sheep  and  swine;  over  10,000  bushels  of  wheat  and  barley,  and 
$41,030  worth  of  garden  produce  besides  hay.  U.  S.  Census,  1850,  976-8.  By 
1852  the  live-stock  had  increased  to  a  value  of  $300,000,  and  the  agricultural 
products  to  over  $1,000,000;  of  cereals  there  were  over  180,000  buskels, 


SACRAMENTO.  485 

chiefly  barley.  Invested  capital,  $8,000,000.  For  these  products  the  eastern 
border  of  the  county  provided  early  outlets  in  a  number  of  mining  camps; 
several  shipping  points  for  surrounding  farms  rose,  as  Freeport,  built  up  by 
the  Freeport  R.  R.  Co.,  whicli  proving  a  failure,  reduced  the  town  from  300  or 
400  inhabitants  to  a  mere  handful.  Then  there  were  Courtland,  Isleton,  where 
later  rose  a  beet-sugar  factory,  and  Walnut  Grove,  the  railroad  reviving 
others,  while  adding  to  their  number,  as  Arcade,  Florine,  Elk  Grove,  and 
Gait.  Brighton,  the  site  of  Sutter's  mill,  moved  later  toward  the  railroad; 
Norristown,  or  Hoboken,  a  mile  southward,  the  old  site  having  a  clouded 
title,  Batters  Stat.,  MS.,  9-10,  aspired  after  the  Sac.  disasters  of  1852-3  to 
become  its  successor,  but  faded  away  like  a  dream;  Folsom,  founded  in 
1 855  as  the  terminus  of  the  Sac.  Valley  railroad,  became  a  stage  headquarters, 
and  acquired  a  reputation  for  its  granite  quarries  which  promoted  the  estab 
lishment  here  of  a  branch  prison.  Granite  was  the  first  appropriate  name 
entertained,  but  the  influence  prevailed  of  Capt.  Folsom,  who  manipulated 
the  Leidesdorff  grant  covering  this  point.  This  title  had  so  far  prevented 
earlier  attempts,  since  1852,  to  make  available  the  water-power  of  the  place. 
Folsom  Telegraph,  March  10,  1866;  March  26,  1870,  etc.  This  journal  in  itself 
illustrates  the  progress  of  the  place.  See  also  Sac.  Union,  Jan.  22,  March  13, 
Apr.  4,  9,  Oct.  31,  1856,  etc.;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Aug.  23,  1856;  Alta  Col,  Jan. 
21,  1856. 

The  county  early  demonstrated  the  superiority  of  farming  over  mining  as 
a  wealth-producing  pursuit,  for  within  a  few  years  the  value  of  its  farms 
alone  surpassed  the  combined  total  assessments  of  the  two  adjoining  mining 
counties,  as  did  its  population  in  number.  The  census  of  1880  placed  the 
population  34,390,  with  1,100  farms  valued  at  $12,330,000,  with  $2,488,000  in 
produce,  and  $2,240,000  in  stock;  total  assessment,  $18,416,000.  See  the  sec 
tion  about  Sacramento  city  for  other  information. 

The  rich  bars  of  Yuba  River  filled  the  banks  so  rapidly  with  camps  that 
the  county  of  this  name  had  to  be  further  divided  in  April  1851  to  form 
Nevada,  of  which  Nevada  City  became  the  seat,  as  the  most  central  of  the 
prominent  mining  towns.  Grass  Valley,  to  the  south,  was  then  only  about 
to  open  the  quartz  veins  which  soon  lifted  it  to  the  most  populous  place  in  the 
county,  and  Rough  and  Ready,  which  lay  too  far  westward,  was  already  de 
clining.  This  place  was  founded  in  the  autumn  of  1849  by  the  Rough  and 
Ready  Co.,  so  named  after  Gen.  Taylor,  and  headed  by  Capt.  A.  A.  Townsend. 
The  Randolph  Co.  soon  joined.  In  Jan.  1850  Missionary  J.  Dunleavy 
brought  his  wife  and  opened  a  saloon.  In  Feb.  H.  Q.  Roberts  started  the 
first  regular  store.  By  April  a  populous  town  had  risen,  which  by  Oct.  polled 
nearly  1,000  votes,  and  claimed  the  leading  place  in  the  county.  It  had  3  or 
4  compactly  built  streets,  and  about  4,000  or  6,000  tributary  -inhabitants, 
say  the  Sac.  Transcript,  Oct.  14,  1850,  Cal  Courier,  Dec.  25,  1850,  and  S.  F. 
Picayune,  Oct.  21,  1850.  A  vigilance  committee  was  formed  to  govern  the 
town,  insure  its  safety,  and  promote  the  location  here  of  the  county  seat.  The 
drought  of  the  winter  1850-1  proved  a  serious  blow,  and  the  town  was  almost 
deserted,  but  ditches  being  introduced,  a  decided  revival  took  place.  A  fire  of 
June  1853  destroyed  twoscore  buildings,  valued  at  $60,000,  Alta  Cal.,  June 


486  CALIFORNIA  IN  COUNTIES. 

30,  1853,  and  another  in  1859  reduced  it  to  a  petty  hamlet.  Grass  Valley 
Directory,  1856,  44-5;  Nevada  Co.  Hist.,  89-91;  Id.,  Directory,  1867,  359-61. 
Nevada  and  Grass  Valley  are  described  elsewhere,  and  campa  are  noted  under 
mining. 

Little  Fork  rose  to  prominence  in  1852  on  the  strength  of  a  rich  gravel  de 
posit,  which  long  sustained  it.  It  was  mined  in  1849,  founded  in  1850,  had 
over  600  inhabitants  m  Sept.  1852.  Id.,  367-8;  Nev.  Oaz.,  Dec.  18,  1869. 
Burned  in  1878.  North  Bloomfield  throve  on  similar  resources  in  1855  and 
revived  in  1867.  This  place  was  opened  in  1851  as  Eumbug  City,  after  the 
creek,  had  400  inhabitants  in  1856,  declined  a  while  after  1867,  had  1,200  in 
habitants  in  1880,  together  with  Malakoff.  The  flourishing  Indian  Camp  of 
1850  remains  now  as  Washington.  You  Bet  sprang  up  in  1857,  and  absorbed 
several  surrounding  camps,  such  as  Red  Dog  and  Walloupa.  Its  name  was 
due  to  the  frequent  and  emphatic  '  you  bet '  expression  of  a  pioneer  resident. 
Woods  Pioneer,  97.  North  San  Juan  proved  the  stanchest  town  in  the 
north-west  section,  with  a  tributary  population  of  nearly  1,000  in  1880.  Near 
by  lay  Birchville,  Cherokee — with  400  inhabitants  for  a  long  period— French 
Corral,  and  Sweetland,  which  have  fairly  sustained  themselves,  with  300  or 
400  inhabitants.  At  the  northern  border  is  Moore  Flat,  with  a  population 
of  500  in  1880.  Orleans  Flat,  originally  Concord,  surpassed  it  till  1857. 
Eureka  South  revived  in  1866  with  quartz  developments.  In  the  east  is 
Truckee,  founded  in  1863-4  as  a  railroad  station,  becoming  a  nourishing 
centre  for  lumber  and  ice,  later  aspiring  to  the  dignity  of  seat  for  a  new 
county.  Truckee  River  was  named  after  an  Indian  with  a  corrupt  French 
appellation.  S.  J.  Pioneer,  Oct.  5,  1878;  Reno  Star  Journal,  May  1875;  S.  Raf. 
Herald,  May  20,  1875.  Truckee  was  applied  to  the  strange  gait  of  the  Indian, 
writes  a  pioneer  in  Sta  Cruz  Times,  Aug.  6,  1870.  Called  Coburn  Station,  after 
the  proprietor  of  a  saloon.  Rebuilt  after  the  fire  of  1868,  the  name  preserved 
in  the  creek  was  applied  to  it.  Nevada  Scraps,  386-90. 

The  copper  excitement  of  1865-6  raised  a  crop  of  ephemeral  towns,  of 
which  Spenceville  alone  survived  as  a  little  village.  For  references  to  early 
towns,  see  Gal.  Courier,  Oct.  16,  Dec.  25,  1850;  Larfan's  Doc.,  vii.  174;  Nev. 
Co.  Hist.,  60  et  seq.;  AUa  Cal,  July  11,  1853;  July  15,  Aug.  21,  1854;  Sac. 
Union,  1854  et  seq.;  Grass  Val.  Directory,  1856,  14,  89,  etseq.;  Bailouts  Adven., 
MS.,  26;  Nev.  Co.  Directoi-y,  1867,  396. 

Boca  was  built  up  by  a  brewery  company,  and  several  towns  have  been 
revived  to  some  extent  by  manufacturing  enterprise,  one  source  for  which 
exists  in  the  forests.  Saw-mills  were  started  as  early  as  1849-50  near  and  at 
Grass  Valley,  and  by  1852  $129,000  was  invested  in  this  branch  alone  in  the 
county.  Mining  employed  about  $4,500,000,  chiefly  in  quartz  operations. 
Agriculture  flourished  under  the  general  prosperity,  and  in  1852  some  1,500 
acres  were  in  cultivation,  yielding  nearly  15,000  bushels  of  grain  and  10,000 
bushels  of  potatoes,  the  most  favored  of  esculents  in  early  days.  The  live 
stock  numbered  14,000.  The  farming  capital  was  placed  at  $113,000,  and 
that  employed  in  trade  at  $370,000.  Cal.  Census,  1852,  29-30;  Nev.  Co.  Hist., 
167-70.  In  1855  the  cultivated  acreage  amounted  to  4,300,  and  the  fruit- 
trees  numbered  3,200,  according  to  an  official  report  which  appears  incom 
plete.  The  many  toll  roads  and  bridges  established  since  1850  gave  stimu- 


YUBA  AND  SUTTER.  487 

lus  to  trade.  The  second  newspaper  in  the  mining  districts  was  issued  at 
Nevada  in  1851.  A  branch  railroad,  narrow  gauge,  was  begun  in  1875.  See 
Id.,  123  et  seq.  Quartz  and  other  resources  have  helped  to  sustain  the  popu 
lation  at  the  high  figure  of  20,800  according  to  the  census  of  1860,  with  prop 
erty  assessed  at  $6,926,000,  of  which  $818,000  was  represented  by  356  farms, 
with  $271,000  in  produce  and  $188,000  in  live-stock. 

Yuba  county  presented  a  favorable  combination  of  mining,  forest,  and 
farming  tracts,  the  latter  so  attractive  as  to  invite  since  1841  a  number  of 
settlers  along  the  main  Feather,  Yuba,  and  Bear  rivers,  and  Honcut  Creek. 
T.  Cordua's  rancho,  commanding  the  outlet  of  the  camp-speckled  Yuba,  sug 
gested  the  trade  centre,  which  rose  here  in  1849  under  the  name  of  Marys- 
ville,  as  explained  elsewhere.  For  early  settlers,  see  the  opening  chapter  of 
this  volume.  Good  prospects  led  a  number  of  speculators  to  plant  rival 
towns  to  bid  for  the  trade,  such  as  Yuba  City,  Plumas,  El  Dorado,  Eliza,  and 
Featherton  on  Feather  River,  Kearney  on  Bear  River,  and  Linda  on  the  Yuba, 
besides  Veazie,  Yatestown,  Hamilton,  and  Nicolaus,  most  of  which  places 
faded  away  or  lingered  as  petty  hamlets;  for  Marysville  commanded  the  sit 
uation,  and  despite  her  lateral  position  she  became  seat  of  government,  which 
before  1851  stood  between  Butte  and  El  Dorado,  Placer  and  Nevada  being 
segregated  in  1851,  and  Sierra  in  1852,  partly  owing  to  the  distance  from 
Marysville.  Plumas  was  founded  by  Sutter  and  Beach  some  15  miles  below, 
and  Featherton  by  Covillaud  the  same  distance  above  Marysville;  but  like 
Kearney  and  El  Dorado  they  obtained  no  practical  existence.  Placer  Times, 
March  30,  May  3,  1850;  Sac.  Transcript,  Apr.  26,  1850;  Pac.  News,  May  27, 
1850;  Alta  Gal,  May  27,  1850.  Eliza,  founded  by  the  Kennebec  Co.,  ld.t 
Cal  Courier,  July  11,  1850,  Bauer,  Stat.,  MS.,  5-6,  subsided  gradually,  as  did 
Linda,  named  by  Rose  after  the  pioneer  steamer.  Camp  Far  West  on  Bear 
River  was  a  military  post  abandoned  in  1852.  Fredonia  lay  15  miles  below 
Marysville.  Sac.  Transcript,  Apr.  26,  1850.  Among  mining  camps  Park, 
Rose,  and  Foster  bars  stood  prominent,  together  with  the  adjacent  Timbuctoo 
and  Smarts ville,  and  Frenchtown  to  the  north,  each  of  which  at  some  time 
claimed  a  population  of  over  1,000,  except  Smarts  ville,  which  dates  only 
from  1856,  founded  by  G.  Smart,  and  Frenchtown,  started  by  Vavasseur. 
Origin  of  Timbuctoo,  in  Mary  smile  Appeal,  Jan.  16,  1873.  Brown  Valley 
became  conspicuous  in  1863  for  quartz  resources,  which  failed  to  realize  expec 
tations,  while  Camptonville  sustained  itself  as  the  centre  of  a  rich  gravel 
field.  Brownsville  sprang  up  in  1851  round  a  saw-mill,  and  became  known  as 
an  educational  and  temperance  town,  and  Wheatland  was  laid  out  in  1866  as 
a  railroad  station,  to  become  a  flourishing  shipping  place,  with  a  population 
of  630  by  1880.  References  to  early  settlements  in  Bailouts  Adven.,  MS., 
25-6;  Yuba  Co.  Hist.,  passim;  also  in  Sutter,  Placer,  and  Nevada  histories, 
and  Placer  Times,  Oct.  27,  1849. 

Notwithstanding  the  early  establishment  of  ranches,  live-stock  appears 
alone  to  have  received  attention  previous  to  1850,  when  grain  crops  are  first 
recorded  by  J.  Morriet,  Bryden,  and  Piatt,  the  former  bringing  cattle  in 
1849.  The  census  of  1850  has  no  figures  for  Yuba,  yet  Cal.  Census,  1852,  54- 
6,  shows  so  remarkable  an  advance  as  to  be  doubtful  in  this  respect.  The 


488  CALIFORNIA  IN  COUNTIES. 

melons  raised  are  placed  at  1,000,000,  the  barley  crop  alone  is  estimated  at 
over  312,000  bushels,  and  wheat,  etc.,  add  20,000  bushels.  See  also  Yuba 
Co.  Hist.,  46,  79,  89,  99.  In  1852,  7,000  acres  were  reported  under  cultiva 
tion,  while  the  live-stock  numbered  over  10,000  head.  Invested  capital, 
exclusive  of  real  estate,  amounted  to  $4,500,000,  of  which  2,000,000  was  in 
trade,  and  two  per  cent  in  18  saw-mills  and  one  flouring  mill,  the  first  saw 
mill  dating  from  1849,  at  Moore's  on  Bear  River,  which,  in  1854,  was  changed 
to  a  grist-mill.  Id.,  39,  69-71,  places  the  Buckeye  Mill  at  Marysville,  of  1853, 
as  the  earliest  flour-mill.  A  tannery  and  foundry  are  ascribed  to  this  town 
in  1852.  The  saw-mills  produced  9,000,000  feet  for  the  year.  Marysville 
had  a  newspaper  in  1850.  Under  the  gradual  change  in  leading  resources, 
farms  figure  here  at  a  larger  value  than  in  any  of  the  preceding  counties, 
and  to  them  is  mainly  due  that  the  population  has  so  very  nearly  sustained 
itself  at  the  early  number,  declining  only  to  11,280  in  1880,  from  13,670  in 
1860.  The  farms  in  1880  numbered  515,  valued  at  $2, 197,000,  with  $824,000 
in  produce,  and  $429,000  in  live-stock;  total  assessment,  $4,293,000. 

Sutter  forms  the  only  purely  agricultural  county  on  the  east  side  of  the 
valley.  The  earliest  occupant  was  John  A.  Sutter,  who  here  established 
Hock  Farm  in  1841.  He  was  soon  joined  by  several  settlers,  notably  Nicolaus 
Altgeier,  who,  incited  by  the  rush  for  town  sites,  expanded  his  hut  and  ferry- 
landing  into  a  trading  post,  and  half  a  year  later,  with  the  beginning  of  1850, 
laid  out  Nicolaus.  Lot  advertisement  in  Placer  Times,  Feb.  16,  1850.  In 

1851  the  name  was  applied  to  the  township.  Sutter  Co.  Hist.,  22  et  seq.     It 
had  2  dozen  houses  in  April,  according  to  Sac.  Transcript,  Apr.  26,  Nov.  14, 
1850;  Cal  Courier,  Aug.  7,  Oct.   16,   1850;  Alta  Gal,  May  27,   1850;  Sutter 
Manner,  Apr.  15,  1867.     Tapping  as  it  did  Bear  River,  and  being  accessible 
at  low  stages  of  water  by  steamboats,  it  became  for  a  time  the  county  seat, 
and  managed  to  maintain  a  certain  prominence  as  a  shipping  place.     The 
head  of  navigation  had  at  first  been  limited  to  the  mouth  of  Feather  River, 
and  here  accordingly  the  town  of  Vernon  was  laid  out  as  early  as  the  spring 
of  1849.     It  gave  great  promise  and  obtained  for  a  time  the  county  seat;  but 
declined  through  the  overshadowing  influence  of  other  upper  towns.     It  was 
founded  by  I.  Norris,  F.  Bates,  and  E.  0.  Crosby.     Some  say  G.  Crosby,  and 
substitute  B.  Simons  for  Norris.  Pac.  News,  Dec.  6,  1849;  Bu/ums  Six  Mo., 
153.     Officials  of  1849,  including  Alcalde  Grant,  in  Unbound  Doc.,  MS.,  58-9; 
Colton's  Three   Years,  416;  Field's  Rem.,  19-20;  KirTcpatricTcs  Jour.,  MS.,  34. 
Fremont,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Sacramento,  rivalled  it  for  a  time.  Sac. 
Transcript,  Apr.  26,  1850.     In  the  summer  of  1849  Vernon  had  600  or  700  in 
habitants,  but  the  flood  of  1849-50  frightened  them  away,  says  Crosby,  Stat.t 
MS.,  27,  one  of  the  founders.     The  steamer  service  which  at  this  time  ex 
tended  to  Marysville  gave  the  real  blow.     The  county  seat  was  here  in  1851- 
2.    Yuba  City,  with  similar  pretensions  and  in  anticipation  of  Marysville,  was 
founded  in  August  1849,  by  S.  Brannan,  P.   B.  Reading,  and  H.  Cheever, 
under  a  grant  from  Sutter.     Advertisements  in  Placer  Times,  Aug.  25,  1849, 
Apr.  1850.     But  the  advance  of  Marysville  acted  against  the  place,  and  in 

1852  it  had  a  population  of  only  120,  with  15  to  20  dwellings,  one  hotel,  and 
about  6  shops.  Armstrong's  Exper.,  MS.,  10,  by  one  of  first  residents;  Alta 


SIERRA  AND  BUTTE.  489 

Col.,  Jan.  25,  1850,  etc.  Pac.  News,  Apr.  27,  May  27,  1850,  lauds  her  pros 
pects,  which  were  fostered  by  a  ferry;  80  or  90  houses  and  more  preparing, 
says  Sac.  Transcript,  Apr.  26,  1850.  Further,  in  Sutler  Co  Hint.,  37,  99,  etc.; 
Sac.  Union,  July  21,  1855,  etc.  Yuba  City  was  opposite  the  mouth  of  Feather 
River,  but  the  superior  site  and  progress  of  Marysville  undermined  the  for 
mer,  and  after  1850  the  place  declined.  In  1856,  however,  it  was  made  the 
county  seat  for  Sutter,  and  began  to  recover,  attaining  finally  a  population  of 
about  600.  It  was  incorporated  in  1878.  Previously  the  county  had  among 
other  seats  Auburn,  which  in  1851  was  surrendered  to  Placer,  and  first  Oro, 
which  proved  a  paper  city.  It  was  founded  in  the  winter  of  1849-50,  by  Gen. 
Green,  2  miles  above  Nicolaus.  It  attained  only  to  one  house.  Cal.  Courier, 
Oct.  16,  1850,  etc.  Two  stations  opened  later  along  the  railroad,  and  Merid 
ian  was  among  the  petty  places  started  on  the  banks  of  the  Sacramento.  See 
Sutter  Co.  Hist.,  92-7,  for  settlers  after  1849,  when  town  building  and  traffic 
attracted  a  goodly  number.  For  previous  data,  see  the  opening  chapter 
of  this  vol.  The  county  lay  away  from  the  beaten  paths  of  traffic  that  might 
have  raised  larger  towns,  and  with  hardly  any  resources  to  encourage  manu 
factures.  Half  of  the  few  enterprises  started  were  failures,  like  the  brewery 
opened  in  1850  at  Nicolaus,  the  sorghum  and  castor-oil  mills  of  1863-7,  and 
even  Chanom's  grist-mill  on  Bear  River.  The  county  did  not  possess  a 
newspaper  of  its  own  before  1867.  It  was  purely  a  farming  district,  in  which 
grain  was  raised  as  early  as  1845,  chiefly  on  the  east  side  of  Feather  River, 
to  supply  Sutter's  Russian  contract.  See  Sutter  Co.  Hist.,  83.  Yet  owing 
to  the  gold  excitement,  the  If.  S.  Census  of  1850,  977-9,  reports  only  200  acres 
improved  land,  yielding  chiefly  potatoes,  but  with  implements  valued  at 
$10,000,  and  farms  at  $100,000;  live-stock,  3,500  head.  In  1852  there  were 
1,400  acres  in  cultivation,  yielding  over  50,000  bushels,  mainly  barley.  Live 
stock  about  7,000  head.  Only  $3,600  are  given  as  invested  in  trade.  Cal. 
Census,  1852,  50.  Vines  had  already  been  planted  at  Hock  Farm.  It  depends 
wholly  upon  its  fertile  farms,  placed  by  the  census  of  1880  at  581,  the  value 
being  $5,172,000,  with  $1,526,000  in  produce,  and  $511,000  in  live-stock;  pop 
ulation  5,160. 

It  is  an  appropriate  name,  that  of  Sierra,  for  a  county  occupying  as  it  does 
the  summit  of  the  Nevada  range,  with  too  limited  an  extent  of  soil  in  the 
small,  scattered  valleys,  and  too  severe  a  climate  to  acquire  any  considerable 
prominence  in  agriculture,  or  to  sustain  the  large  influx  of  population 
brought  by  the  early  gold  rushes.  The  Cal.  Census,  1852,  44-5,  records  168 
acres  under  cultivation,  yielding  chiefly  vegetables;  live-stock,  400  head; 
capital  invested,  $475,000,  largely  in  mining.  By  1880,  there  were  156  farms, 
valued  at  $453,000,  with  $252,000  in  produce,  and  $140,000  in  stock,  other 
property  being  assessed  at  $1,000,000.  Of  manufactures  little  beyond  saw 
mills  found  encouragement,  the  first  by  Durgan  being  in  1850,  at  Washing- 
tonville.  Crayford  and  Cheever  started  another  in  1851,  above  Downieville; 
in  1852  two  were  added.  The  population  declined  from  11,390  in  1860  to 
6,620  by  1880.  At  Downieville  was  built  a  foundry  in  1855,  and  two  brew 
eries  in  1854  and  1861.  While  occupied  by  miners  in  1849,  the  Gold  Lake 
excitement  of  the  following  year  furnished  the  main  influx  which  lifted 


490  CALIFORNIA  IN  COUNTIES. 

Sierra  to  a  separate  county  in  1852.  The  seat  at  Downieville  was  founded 
in  February  1850,  and  well  sustained  by  extensive  mining  resources.  Its 
originators  were  W.  H.  Parks,  Mayor  Wm  Downie,  after  whom  it  was  named, 
and  who,  after  discovering  gold  at  Yuba  forks,  and  opening  a  rich  region, 
met  with  reverses  that  changed  only  in  British  Columbia  and  Idaho.  Ballon  s 
Adven.,  MS.,  22;  Miners'  Mag.,  i.  8;  Kane,  in  Miscel.  Stat.,  MS.,  9.  The  place 
grew  rapidly,  claiming  a  tributary  population  in  April  1850  of  5,000,  which 
is  doubtful,  and  polling  1,132  votes  in  1851,  and  possessing  a  journal  in  1852. 
Saratov's  Stat ,  MS.,  2,  7;  Sac.  Transcript,  Aug.  30,  1850.  On  Feb.  21, 

1852,  it  was  nearly  levelled  by  fire,  loss  fully  $500,000.  Alta  Cal,  Feb.  24, 
Dec.  29,  1852;  Placer  Times,  Feb.  29,  1852;  8.  F.  Herald,  id.     The  follow 
ing  winter  brought  destitution  from  interrupted  traffic.  Hayes1  Cal.  Notes, 
iii.  64.     Another  severe  fire  occurred  in  Jan.  1858;  yet  it  recovered  rapidly, 
and  was  incorporated  in  1863.  Cal.  Statutes,  1863,  70-8;  Plumas  Co.  Hist.,  456- 
65,  483;   Yuba  Co.  Hist.,  41;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  May  26,  1860;  Nov.  3,  1879.     The 
census  of  1852  gave  it  a  population  of  810,  which  has  increased  considerably. 
Howland  Flat,  in  the  north,  retained  some  of  its  old  prosperity,  but  the  adja 
cent  St  Louis,  laid  out  in  1852,  declined  a  few  years  later,  as  did  Forest  City, 
in  the  south,  while  Sierra  City,  which  lingered  in  early  years,  acquired  per 
manency  after  1857.     St  Louis  began  in  1850  as  Sears'  Diggings;  its  vote  was 
398  in  1856;  burned  in  Sept.  1854,  and  July  1857,  latter  loss  $200,000.     For 
est  City  prospered  between  1852-6  as  Brownville,  Elizaville,  and  finally  in 
1853-4  as  Forest  City.  8.  F.  Bulletin,  Jan.  3,  1860. 

With  its  large  expanse  of  rich  valley  land,  Butte  county  attracted  settlers 
as  early  as  1844-5,  and  was  largely  parcelled  out  in  grants,  whose  doubtful 
titles  for  a  time  clouded  progress.  The  rise  of  Marysville  gave  the  incentive 
in  1850  for  founding  here,  as  the  higher  prospective  head  of  navigation  or 
points  of  distribution,  a  number  of  towns,  of  which  several  remained  on  paper, 
and  a  few  others  rose  only  to  be  hamlets.  Among  the  latter  were  Yatestown 
and  Fredonia,  facing  each  other  on  Feather  River;  Veazie  below,  and  Troy 
and  Butte  City,  the  latter  surviving  on  the  Sacramento.  The  most  prom 
ising  among  them  was  Hamilton,  which  gained  the  county  seat  from  Bidwell 
Bar  in  Sept.  1850,  and  did  fairly  well  for  three  years,  partly  on  the  strength 
of  gold  discoveries  made  since  1848.  Half  a  dozen  houses,  and  some  shanties, 
says  Cal.  Courier,  of  Oct.  16,  1850;  S.  F.  Picayune,  Dec.  11,  1850.  Its  decline 
is  described  in  S.  Jose  Pioneer,  Nov.  21,  1877,  the  place  being  finally  reduced 
to  a  solitary  house.  Bidwell  Bar,  which  was  also  mined  in  1848,  flourished 
in  a  richer  field  until  1855.  It  claimed  a  tributary  population  of  2,000  in 

1853.  The  population  in  1850  while  county  seat  was  600.     It  was  almost 
totally  burned  in  1854.  Alta  Cal.,  Aug.  3-16,  1854;  Butte  fiecord,  Oct.  24, 
1874;  Delano's  Life,  255.     It  recovered  in  part,  on  the  strength  of  being  the 
county  seat  since  1853.     Presently  became  apparent  the  superior  advantage 
of  the  adjacent  Oroville,  which  assumed  rank  as  the  leading  mining  town  and 
head  of  navigation.     With  a  vote  of  1,000  in  1856,  and  a  tributary  population 
of  4,000,  it  wrested  from  its  rival  the  county  seat,  and  assumed  the  rank  of 
an  incorporated  town.    Two  years  later,  a  disastrous  fire  followed  in  the  wake 
of  diminishing  gold  resources;  but  with  the  extension  hither  of  the  railroad, 


PLUMAS.  491 

by  way  of  Marysville,  the  decline  was  checked.  Mined  in  1849,  Oroville  was 
known  in  1850  as  Ophir,  rising  to  prominence  in  1852,  and  in  1855,  to  avoid 
confusion  with  the  Ophir  of  Placer  co.,  the  name  was  changed  to  Oroville. 
Brock,  in  Armstrongs  Exper.,  MS.,  16;  Pac.  Monthly,  xi.  833-4.  The  fire  of 
July  1858  swept  away  the  business  blocks,  loss  nearly  $400,000.  This  pro 
moted  disincorporation  in  1859.  Cal  Statutes,  1857,  77,  291,  etc.  Yet  pro 
gressive  enterprises,  in  bridges,  water-works,  etc.,  continued,  and  the  railroad, 
which  reached  here  in  1864,  was  aided  by  the  town  with  $200,000  in  bonds. 
Details  in  Butte  Co.  Hist.,  232-45;  Id.,  Illust.,  17.  Notices  in  Sac.  Union, 
Sept.  26,  Nov.  15,  25,  1855;  Jan.  4,  May  8,  June  9,  Sept.  27,  Oct.  1,  23,  Nov. 
11,  22,  1856;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Apr.  30,  Oct.  27,  1856;  AUa  Cal,  Sept.  24,  1856. 
Westward  lay  Thompson  Flat,  which  had  500  inhabitants  in  1854,  but  be 
gan  to  decline  in  1846.  The  still  nearer  Long  Bar  was  before  1852  the  lead 
ing  settlement  for  a  time.  Oroville  Record,  Oct.  21,  1871,  etc.;  Id.,  Mercury, 
Aug.  6,  1880. 

Meanwhile  Bidwell  took  advantage  of  the  turning  flood  to  found  a  town 
in  1860  upon  the  rancho  obtained  by  him  previous  to  the  gold  discovery, 
based  on  growing  agricultural  interests.  The  place  was  called  Chico,  after 
the  creek  on  which  it  was  located.  E.  A.  Farwell  had  selected  this  site  in 
1843  for  a  rancho,  which  was  occupied  a  year  later,  while  W.  Dickey  took 
up  the  north  side  of  the  creek  Chico.  Bidwell  obtained  Farwell's  grant  and 
built  a  house  in  1849.  After  this  it  became  a  mail,  stage,  and  voting  station, 
and  farms  sprang  up  around  it.  In  1864  it  had  a  population  of  500,  and  began 
during  the  following  decade  to  manoauvre  for  the  county  seat,  or  for  the  seat 
of  a  special  county  to  be  called  Alturas.  This  failed;  but  the  construction  of 
the  Oregon  and  Cal.  R.  R.,  which  reached  here  in  1870,  and  long  made  it 
practically  the  terminus,  gave  so  great  activity  that  the  town  was  in  1872 
incorporated  as  a  city.  Cal.  Statutes,  1871-2,  11,248.  Two  flourishing  suburbs 
arose;  gas  was  introduced;  and  several  mills  and  factories  started.  Butte  Co. 
Hist.,  222-32;  Id.,  Illust.,  15-16;  Chico  Enterprise,  Oct.  17,  1873;  Dec.  31,  1875, 
etc.;  Id.,  Record,  July  15,  1876,  etc.  Agriculture  and  stage  and  railroad  traf 
fic  gave  rise  to  several  villages  and  stations,  such  as  Gridley,  Dayton,  Nelson, 
and  Nord.  Then  there  was  Biggs,  which  became  the  third  town  in  the 
county.  Among  mining  camps,  Cherokee,  to  the  north  of  Oroville,  became 
the  centre  of  hydraulic  operations,  Magalia  held  sway  beyond  Bangor  in  the 
south,  and  Forbestown  in  the  east.  As  Mountain  View,  or  Dogtown,  Mag 
nolia  was  in  1855  one  of  the  leading  points  in  Butte;  in' 1880  it  had  only  200 
inhabitants.  Story  of  its  name  in  Northern  Enterprise,  Feb.  7,  1873.  Forbes- 
town  was  settled  in  Sept.  1850  by  B.  F.  Forbes,  and  became  in  1853  second 
only  to  Bidwell,  claiming  1,000  tributary  population;  300  in  1880.  Account 
in  S.  Jose  Pioneer,  Jan.  12,  1878.  Inskip  was  a  lively  place  in  1859,  with  5 
hotels.  Enterprise  revived  with  quartz  mining.  Coal  and  other  resources 
tended  to  advance  the  county,  which  found  good  markets  in  the  mining  re 
gions  of  Idaho  and  Nevada.  While  her  own  mines  were  still  extensive  the 
main  reliance  was  agriculture.  In  1852  more  than  2,000  acres  were  in  culti 
vation,  yielding  some  36,000  bushels  of  grain,  and  the  live-stock  exceeded 
9,000  head.  .  Over  $380,000  were  invested  in  other  branches  than  mining, 
such  as  14  saw-mills.  Cal.  Census,  1852,  13-14.  By  1855  the  live-stock  had 


492  CALIFORNIA  IN  COUNTIES 

nearly  trebled,  and  so  the  acreage  in  grain,  while  vines  and  fruits  were  fast 
increasing.  The  census  of  1880  assigns  it  a  population  of  18,720,  with  999 
farms  valued  at  $8,610,000;  produce,  $2,881,000;  live-stock,  $828,000;  total 
assessment,  $10,743,000.  In  live-stock  it  outranked  all  the  counties  north 
of  Sac. 

The  headwaters  of  Feather  River,  embraced  by  Plumas  county,  owed 
their  occupation  chiefly  to  the  Gold  Lake  excitement  of  1850,  which  found 
an  unexpected  realization  at  the  rich  river  bars.  Among  the  prominent 
camps  were  Onion  Valley,  La  Porte — on  Rabbit  Creek,  by  which  name  it  was 
first  known — Jamison  City,  and  Quincy,  the  last  so  named  after  the  Illinois 
home  of  H.  J.  Bradley,  the  earliest  and  leading  hotel  proprietor  here,  who 
also  secured  the  county  seat  for  it  in  1854,  although  it  had  as  yet  only  a  few 
houses.  This  dignity,  together  with  a  superior  site,  enabled  it  to  wrest  one 
advantage  after  another  from  the  adjoining  Elizabethtown.  It  obtained  a 
journal  in  1855.  A  severe  fire  of  Feb.  28,  1861,  retarded  its  progress,  but 
only  for  a  time;  it  had  already  secured  the  preeminence  which  remained  with 
it.  Elizabethtown,  or  Betsyburg,  sprang  up  in  1852,  but  began  in  1855  to  de 
cline  under  the  overshadowing  influence  of  Quincy.  Northward  were  Taylor- 
ville  and  Greenville,  the  latter  fostered  by  promising  quartz  interests.  But 
while  rich  on  the  surface,  the  extent  of  the  gold  deposits  proved  insufficient 
to  maintain  more  than  a  limited  number  of  settlements,  and  these  only  of 
minor  rank.  This  applies  also  to  agricultural  interests,  which  were  restricted  to 
a  series  of  small  mountain  valleys,  while  saw-mills  figured  as  the  only  other 
conspicuous  industry.  After  a  season  of  whip-sawing,  the  first  mill  was  built 
at  Rich  Bar  in  1851.  A  grist-mill  was  erected  in  American  Valley  in  1854, 
and  another  in  Indian  Valley  in  1856,  thrashing-machines  and  saw-mills  being 
by  this  time  in  both.  P.  Lassen  is  credited  with  the  first  vegetables,  in  1851, 
and  grain  was  first  sown  in  1852,  by  Boynton,  whose  Stat.,  MS.,  2-5,  contains 
much  valuable  information  on  early  days.  Copper  and  coal  promised  to  add 
to  unfolding  wealth.  For  reviews  of  progress  and  resources,  see  surveyors' 
and  assessors'  reports  in  Col.  Jour.  Sen.,  as  1859;  Plumas  National,  Jan.  9,  1868; 
Aug.  3,  1872,  etc  ;  Plumas  Gt  Register.  A.  P.  Chapman  and  Turner  brothers 
figure  among  the  first  actual  settlers  of  Sierra  and  American  valleys,  and 
J.  B.  Gough  of  American  Valley.  A  population  which  in  1860  stood  at 
4,363  had  by  1880  increased  only  to  6,180,  with  assessed  property  valued 
at  $2,100,000,  of  which  $973,000  represented  the  value  of  236  farms,  with 
$424,000  in  produce. 

The  limit  of  settlement  prior  to  the  gold  discovery  lay  within  Shasta 
county,  which  for  a  time  embraced  the  region  north  of  Butte  and  Plumas, 
and  P.  B.  Reading  ranked  as  the  farthest  frontierman.  Upon  his  ranch o 
was  located,  in  1850,  the  county  seat;  but  the  rapid  influx  of  miners,  after  the 
prospecting  parties  of  1849,  called  for  the  formation  of  several  counties,  as 
Tehama,  Siskiyou,  and  in  due  time  Lassen  and  Modoc,  with  new  seats.  That 
of  the  curtailed  Shasta  was  conferred  upon  the  more  central  town  of  the  same 
name,  which  in  the  midst  of  the  richest  mining  field  of  this  region,  supple 
mented  by  a  wide  farming  range,  maintained  the  lead  from  1851,  overshadow- 


SHASTA  AND  LASSEN.  493 

ing  Reading's  rancho,  which,  close  to  the  south  border,  lapsed  into  a  mere  ham 
let.  Reading  himself  started  in  1849  The  Spring's  or  Reading's  Upper  Spring, 
which  soon  after  was  renamed  Shasta.  In  March  1851  it  had  three  hotels,  3 
smithies,  etc.  Sac.  Transcript,  March  14,  1851.  It  was  severely  ravaged  by 
fires  in  Dec.  1852  and  June  1853,  the  latter  involving  a  loss  of  nearly  $250,000. 
AUa  Cal,  Dec.  15,  1852;  June  17-18,  1853;  S.  F.  Herald,  id.  In  1854  it  had 
1,500  inhab.  Caprons  Cal,  98-9;  Butters  Hem.,  MS.,  72,  132;  Lane's  Narr., 
MS.,  101-8;  Reading  Tndep.,  Apr.  17,  24,  1879,  etc.;  Shasta  Courier,  March  17, 
Oct.  20,  1877,  etc.  The  census  of  1880  gives  it  a  popul.  of  448.  The  camps 
Briggsville  and  Horsetown  were  eclipsed  by  the  rise  of  the  later  agricultural 
town  of  Cottonwood.  Even  the  name  of  Reading  was  confounded  by  tho 
adjacent  Fort  Redding,  the  bulwark  against  Indians,  subsequently  reproduced 
in  the  railroad  station  of  Redding.  An  act  in  Cal.  Statutes,  1873-4,  32,  changed 
Redding  to  Reading,  yet  the  maps  retain  the  former  name.  Northward  lie 
only  petty  villages,  way -stations  for  traiismountain  traffic,  farming  centres 
and  mining  camps,  Dogtown  on  the  main  Sacramento  being  one  of  the  most 
northerly  camps  in  Shasta.  Millville  received  its  name  from  the  first  grist 
mill  in  this  county,  of  1854-5.  Population  doubled  from  4,170  in  1870,  to 
9,490  in  1880,  although  with  an  assessed  property  of  barely  $2,000,000.  The 
county  is  too  mountainous  to  compete  with  the  agricultural  districts  of  the 
main  Sac.,  although  it  excels  in  timber  resources,  so  that  its  544  farms  of 
1880  embraced  79,000  improved  acres,  valued  at  $1,343,000,  with  $423,000 
in  produce  and  $386,000  in  stock.  Cal  Jour.  Sen.,  1856,  Apr.  14,  22-3,  61,  etc. ; 
Cal  Statutes,  1852,  307;  Or.  Sketches,  MS.;  Alta  Cal,  Oct.  12,  25,  Nov.  8,  1852; 
Aug.  28,  1854;  March  9,  Aug.  5,  13,  Dec.  7,  1856;  Aug.  13, 1857;  March  3,  10, 
Sept.  13,  1859,  etc.;  Sac.  Union,  May  22,  July  17,  Aug.  1,  28,  Sept.  24,  Oct. 
5,  22-3,  1855;  Apr.  9,  22,  May  6,  Sept.  12,  Dec.  10,  1856;  Overland,  xiii.  342- 
50;  Shasta  Courier,  March  17,  1877;  Dec.  7,  1878,  etc.;  Reading  Indep.,  Apr. 
17,  24,  1879;  Shasta  Co.  Circular,  1-34. 

Eastward  Shasta  extends  beyond  the  curving  Sierra  range  into  the  alkali 
and  sage-brush  plains  of  Lassen.  This  forbidding  feature,  together  with  hos 
tile  Indians,  operated  against  settlement  in  this  county,  and  the  early  immi 
grants  who  skirted  the  western  end  saw  no  inducements  even  in  Shasta. 
Besides  the  trappers,  Fremont,  Greenwood,  and  other  explorers  may  have 
skirted  Lassen  county.  Lassen  passed  through  it  in  opening  the  Pit  River 
route  of  1848.  Prospectors  penetrated  this  region  in  1851,  and  assisted  in 
opening  the  Honey  Lake  route,  and  diverting  immigrants  to  the  upper  Sacra 
mento.  The  first  recorded  land  claim  was  taken  in  1853  by  Isaac  Roop,  of 
Nevada  gubernatorial  fame,  who  in  1854  built  a  cabin  where  Susan ville  rose 
later,  bringing  supplies  for  emigrants  and  miners.  Lassen,  Meyerwitz,  and 
Lynch  were  among  the  early  settlers.  Hist.  Plumas,  Lassen,  340-4.  Miners 
drifted  across  from  the  south,  and  undertook  in  1856  to  proclaim  here  a  new 
territory,  Nataqua,  'woman,'  extending  between  long.  117°-20°  and  lat. 
3S^°-42°,  on  the  ground  that  Honey  Lake  lay  east  by  the  Sierra,  and  conse 
quently  beyond  the  Cal.  border,  Roop  and  Lassen  were  chosen  recorder  and 
surveyor,  the  only  officials.  Alta  Cal,  May 20,  1856.  This  embraced  Carson, 
which,  however,  as  the  most  populous  section,  assumed  the  lead  for  forming 
Nevada  Territory,  the  Honey  Lake  settlers  yielding  in  1857,  and  objecting  to 


494  CALIFORNIA  IN  COUNTIES. 

the  efforts  of  Plumas  to  claim  the  region.  The  act  creating  Nevada  Territory 
in  1861  embraced  Honey  Lake,  and  Susanville  became  the  seat  of  Lake  county, 
renamed  Hoop  in  1862,  after  the  provisional  governor  and  subsequently  rep 
resentative.  By  thus  attaching  themselves  to  Carson,  and  becoming  included 
in  Roop  county  of  Nevada  Territory,  they  roused  the  Plumas  officials  to 
assert  their  claim  to  the  control,  and  long  disputes  followed,  attended  by 
bloodshed  in  1863.  The  result  was  a  survey  which  proved  the  district  to  per 
tain  to  Cal.,  and  in  order  to  prevent  further  dissention  it  was  created  a 
special  county  in  the  following  year.  Cal.  Statutes,  1864,  act  Apr.  1;  Id., 
1865-6,  453;  1871-2,  886;  HitlelVs  Codes,  ii.  1768,  for  boundary  changes;  U.  8. 
Statutes,  Cong.  43,  Sess.  2,  497;  Alta  Cal,  Feb.  8-May  1863,  etc.;  Hist.  Plu 
mas,  360  et  seq.  Susanville  sustained  itself  as  the  seat  and  leading  town,  as 
it  had  been  for  Roop  county.  It  was  called  Rooptown  for  a  while  in  1857. 
Population  of  its  township  in  1880,  the  largest  943;  with  a  journal  from  1865. 
This  was  in  the  richest  part  of  Honey  Lake  district,  which  formed  the  only 
extensive  agricultural  tract.  Though  small,  the  county  contained  a  large 
number  of  farms,  largely  devoted  to  stock-raising,  with  several  villages, 
as  Jamesville  and  Milford,  dating  from  1856-7,  and  Long  Valley.  While 
placer  mining  never  assumed  any  proportion,  quartz  mining  was  promising, 
although  later  restricted  to  Hayden  Hill,  in  the  north-west,  for  which  Bieber, 
near  Pit  River,  was  the  supply  station.  The  population  grew  from  1,327  in 
1870  to  3,340  in  1880,  with  property  assessed  at  $1,230,000,  of  which  $1,132,- 
000  represented  338  farms,  with  $435,000  in  produce,  and  $512,000  in  stock. 
Lassen  Co.  Register,  1880,  etc.;  AUa  Cal.,  June  7,  1856;  Apr.  30,  1857;  Sac. 
Union,  Aug.  25,  1857;  July  27,  Oct.  16,  1872;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Apr.  1885;  Cat. 
Spirit  Times,  Dec.  25,  1877;  8.  F.  Times,  May  16,  June  12,  1868;  Gold  Hill 
News,  Sept.  23,  1880. 

The  northern  regions  of  Shasta  county  were  entered  by  miners  in  1850  by 
way  of  Trinity  and  Klamath  rivers,  and  rich  diggings  were  found,  notably  in 
Scott's  Valley,  named  after  J.  W.  Scott,  who  located  himself  on  Scott  Bar  in 
July  or  Aug.  1850.  Gov.  Lane  of  Oregon  was  probably  the  first  regular  pros 
pector  near  Yreka,  while  Rufus  Johnson's  party,  which  penetrated  from 
Trinity  to  Yreka  Creek  in  Aug.  1850,  following  in  his  tracks,  had  been  pros 
pecting  the  eastern  districts  during  July. 

So  large  an  immigration  set  in  that  winter,  from  the  south  as  well  as  from 
Oregon,  that  the  section  was  in  March  1852  formed  into  a  separate  county 
by  the  name  of  Siskiyou.  The  seat  was  assigned  to  Yreka,  whose  exceedingly 
remunerative  flat  deposits,  opened  in  March  1851,  within  a  few  weeks  trans 
formed  the  first  tents  into  an  important  town,  first  known  as  Thompson  Dry 
Diggings,  then  with  a  slight  change  in  location,  as  Shasta  Butte,  and  this 
clashing  with  the  lower  Shasta,  Yreka  was  adopted,  together  with  the  county 
seat,  the  name  being  a  corruption  of  Wyeka,  whiteness,  the  Indian  term  for 
the  adjacent  snow-crowned  Shasta.  Hearns  Sketches,  MS.,  5;  Yreka  Union, 
June  5,  1869;  Hayes'  Cal.  Notes,  iii.  69;  Beadles  Wilds,  3%.  Rowe  and 
Burgess  brought  the  first  goods.  Lockhart  was  prominent  in  informally  lay 
ing  out  the  town  in  Aug.  1851.  Some  ascribe  the  first  house  to  Boles  and 
Dane.  A  series  of  fires  began  in  June  1852,  and  culminated  in  July  4,  1871, 


SISKIYOU,  KLAMATH,  AND  MODOC.  495 

when  one  third  of  the  town  was  burned,  loss  $250,000.  Alfa  Cal.,  June  22, 
1852;  Jan.  14,  22,  1853;  May  15,  June  1,  1854  (loss  $150,000);  Aug.  10,  Nov. 
9,  1858;  Oct.  26,  1859;  Oct.  24,  1863.  Other  details  are  here  given,  such  as 
the  introduction  of  gas  in  Dec.  1859.  The  place  has  had  a  newspaper  since 
1853.  The  town  was  incorporated  in  1854,  but  not  legally,  and  was  rectified 
by  act  of  1857.  Cal.  Statutes,  1857,  229.  It  declined  after  1857,  with  the 
mines,  but  still  held  the  leading  place  in  the  county.  Antimony's  Hem.  Sisk., 
MS.,  2-6,  11,  25;  Yreka  Journal,  Feb.  17,  1870;  Siskiyou  Co.  Affairs,  MS.,  3-5; 
Yreka  Union,  June  5,  1869;  Briatow 's  Rencounters,  MS.,  9-11;  Sac.  Union,  Aug. 
11,  1855;  Feb.  26,  Apr.  28,  May  30,  June  3,  Dec.  23,  1856;  Feb.  2,  1859,  etc.; 
S.  F.  Bulletin,  Nov.  17,  Dec.  22,  1858;  Bancroft's  Journey,  MS.,  34.  Popul. 
in  1880,  1,059. 

The  fertility  of  Shasta  Valley  has  compensated  for  the  decline  of  diggings. 
In  the  adjoining  Scott  Valley,  Fort  Jones  acquired  the  supremacy.  This  place 
was  founded  in  1851  as  Wheelock's  trading  station,  and  later  called  Scottsburg, 
also  Ottitiewa,  and  in  1860  adopting  the  name*  of  the  military  post  established 
here  in  1852.  It  was  incorporated  in  1872.  In  the  upper  part  of  the  county 
is  Etna,  with  360  inhabitants  in  1880.  It  rose  round  the  flour  and  saw  mills 
erected  in  1853-4,  and  absorbed  Rough  and  Ready.  Most  of  the  early  min 
ing  camps  have  died  or  faded  away,  including  the  once  prominent  Deadwood 
and  Riderville.  Bestville,  in  the  west,  was  according  to  Anthony,  Rem.,  MS., 
3-4,  the  earliest  town.  Muggins ville,  of  1852,  had  quartz  and  other  mills 
with  farming  and  stock  ranges,  the  latter  rising  here  into  prominence.  The 
census  of  1880  credits  the  county  with  341  farms,  valued  at  nearly  $2,000,000, 
with  $548,000  worth  of  produce  and  $617,000  of  stock,  the  total  assessed  prop 
erty  standing  at  $2,651,000,  among  a  population  of  8,610,  as  compared  with 
6,848  in  1870,  and  7,629  in  1860.  Hay  was  cut  in  1851,  and  farming  was 
undertaken  by  several  in  1852,  by  Boles  at  Yreka,  and  by  Heartsrand  and 
White  in  Scott  Valley.  Details  in  Hist.  Siskiyoii  Co.,  192-209.  Several  saw 
mills  were  built  in  1852,  and  flour-mills  followed  in  1853  at  Etna  and  in  Quartz 
Valley 

The  year  1874  was  marked  by  the  annexation  of  a  part  of  Klamath  county 
to  Siskiyou,  and  the  segregation  of  the  valuable  eastern  half  to  form  Modoc 
county.  The  question  was  agitated  after  the  Lassen-Nevada  war  of  1863, 
and  in  1872  a  concession  was  made  by  opening  court  at  Lake  City.  Lassen 
county  objected  to  lose  any  part  of  its  meagre  population,  and  the  Siskiyou 
people  feared  the  predominance  of  the  latter,  if  added.  As  a  compromise, 
Modoc  county  was  created  in  Feb.  1874,  purely  out  of  Siskiyou,  and  the  Pit 
River  people  were  considered  by  placing  the  seat  at  Alturas.  Of  ths  assess 
ment  of  $3,698,000  in  1873,  $1,105,000  was  assigned  to  Modoc,  which  issued 
bonds  for  $14,000  toward  debt  and  delinquent  list.  Concerning  formation 
and  resources  of  both  counties,  see  Cal.  Statutes,  1852,  307,  1873-4,  passim; 
HitteWs  Codes,  ii.  1782,  1830;  Cal  Jour.  Ass.,  1873-4,  439-40,  467;  S.  F. 
Herald,  July  11,  1853;  Yreka  Union,  June  5,  1869,  etc.;  Scott  Valley  News, 
Sept.  18,  Nov.  25,  1879,  etc.;  Sac.  Union,  Dec.  21,  29,  1857;  Nov.  17,  1858; 
Jan.  27,  Feb.  12,  Sept.  2,  Nov.  19,  29,  Dec.  5,  13,  24,  1856;  Apr.  26,  1873;  Aug. 
1,  Dec.  29,  1874,  etc.;  Alta  Cal.,  Aug.  6,  1857;  Oct.  20,  1858;  July  9,  1859; 


496  CALIFORNIA  IN  COUNTIES. 

8.  F.  bulletin,  Oct.  13,  1858;  June  3,  1859;  Aug.  29,  1881;  ColusaSun,  Feb.  26, 
1876.  The  county  had  in  1880  a  population  of  4,400,  with  472  farms,  valued 
at  $1,242,000,  which  also  represents  nearly  the  entire  assessment.  The  pro 
duce  was  estimated  at  $398,000,  and  the  live-stock  at  $568,000.  This  was 
mainly  a  stock-raising  region,  with  a  certain  proportion  of  farming  which 
found  a  market  in  the  mining  districts  eastward.  Alturas,  originally  Dorris' 
Bridge,  dominated  as  county  seat  the  villages  on  Pit  River.  Applegate  held 
a  diminutive  sceptre  in  the  north-west,  and  Fort  Bidwell  rose  at  the  head  of 
the  productive  Surprise  Valley,  commemorative  of  the  harassing  raids  and 
warfare  which  so  long  retarded  progress  throughout  the  north.  The  Modoc 
war  of  1873  was  the  last  serious  outbreak,  and  the  rapid  improvement  follow 
ing  upon  its  conclusion  was  especially  marked  in  these  two  counties.  For 
full  account  of  the  Modoc  war,  see  Hist.  Oregon,  and  Inter  Pocula,  this  series. 
Pit  River  was  so  named  from  the  trapping  pits  of  the  Indians. 

The  southern  part  of  Shasta  was  in  1856  segregated  for  the  formation  of 
Tehama  county.  Although  occupied  by  several  settlers  before  1848,  the 
district  received  for  some  time  little  addition  to  its  occupants,  owing  to  the 
strange  lack  of  gold,  although  bordered  on  three  sides  by  productive  mining 
districts.  It  became  evident,  however,  that  traffic  must  pass  this  way  for 
the  mines  east  and  northward,  and  in  1849  three  towns  were  founded,  two 
on  Deer  Creek,  which  survived  only  on  paper,  Danville  and  Benton.  Cal. 
Courier,  Oct.  16,  1850y  Alta  Cal,  Dec.  15,  1849,  and  founded  by  Sill  and  Las- 
sen  respectively.  At  Lassen's  an  election  was  held  in  1850  of  alcaldes  for 
the  northern  district.  AUa  Cal,  Dec.  15,  1849;  Salinas  Index,  Dec.  3,  1872. 
Thus  Tehama  received  a  decided  impulse  as  the  proclaimed  head  of  naviga 
tion.  It  became  a  lively  stage  town,  and  a  fine  farming  district  sustained  it 
until  the  railroad  came.  Its  prosperity  was  for  a  time  checked  by  the  ascent 
of  a  steamboat  to  Red  Bluff,  which  began  to  rise  in  1850.  The  Jack  Hays 
steamboat  came  in  May  1850  within  6  miles  of  Red  Bluff,  Placer  Times, 
May  22,  1850,  where  Trinidad  City  was  consequently  laid  out,  though  failing 
to  rise.  Red  Bluff  was  first  laid  out  by  S.  Woods  and  named  Leodocia,  it  is 
said.  The  first  settler  was  W.  Myers,  in  Sept.  1850.  Hist.  Tehama,  18-19, 
says  J.  Myers  erected  a  hotel  here  later  in  1849,  but  this  conflicts  with  the 
legal  testimony,  as  recorded  in  the  Red  Bluff  Observer,  Jan.  13,  1866,  etc.; 
Id.,  People's  Cause,  Nov.  23,  1878.  W.  Ide,  who  owned  a  ferry  some  distance 
above,  Myers,  Reed,  and  Red  Bluff  Land  Corp.,  all  made  surveys  in  1852-3. 
There  were  then  two  taverns  and  two  smithies,  and  in  June  1853  about  100 
inhabitants;  yet  the  mam  site  was  shifted  somewhat.  In  1854  it  claimed 
about  1,000  inhabitants,  and  in  1857  a  journal.  Improvement  was  steadily 
promoted  by  unfolding  agricultural  and  lumber  interests,  by  the  Sierra 
Flume  Co.,  and  by  the  railroad  which  reached  here  in  1872.  Incorporation 
act  in  Cal  Statutes,  1875-6,  637.  The  census  of  1880  accords  a  population  of 
2,103.  Sac.  Union,  July  12,  1855;  May  6,  Sept.  1,  1856;  8.  F.  Bulletin,  May 
6,  1856,  etc.  It  had  few  rival  towns  within  the  county  to  compete  in  trade. 
There  were  villages  like  Grove  City,  Arcade,  Paskenta,  and  Gleason,  and  rail 
road  stations  like  Sesma,  detracting  rather  from  Tehama  in  the  south.  The 
name  is  derived  from  a  striking  natural  feature.  Bancroft's  Journey,  MS.,  18. 


TEHAMA  AND  COLUSA  497 

With  a  large  farming  country  around,  with  wool  and  lumber  interests,  and 
as  a  railroad  station  and  county  seat,  Red  Bluff  became  the  leading  town  in 
the  northern  part  of  the  valley.  Agriculture  did  not  properly  start  up  till 
1852,  but  it  advanced  with  rapid  strides  in  later  years,  and  became  the  great 
industry  of  the  county,  with  notable  branches  in  viniculture  and  stock-raising. 
Sheep  were  largely  raised.  Gerke's  vineyard  was  one  of  the  largest  in  Cal. 
Among  early  farmers,  in  1852,  were  Nat.  Merrill  and  A.  Eastman  on  the  Moon 
rancho,  Wilson  and  Kendrick  on  Thomes'  Creek,  A.  Winemiller  on  Elder  Creek. 
Several  flour-mills  rose  in  1854,  on  Mill  and  Antelope  creeks,  and  at  Red 
Bluff.  Payne's  saw-mill  on  Mill  Creek  claimed  to  be  the  earliest  here.  The 
population  of  3,587  in  1870  increased  by  1880  to  9,300,  with  property  assessed 
at  $4,200,000.  Cal.  Statutes,  1856,  p.  257;  1857,  p.  410;  1863,  p.  492;  Hist. 
Tehama  Co.,  passim;  Tustins  Stat.,  MS.,  3;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  May  20,  1872; 
Sac.  Union,  Sept.  1,  Nov.  24,  1856;  Jan.  9,  1857;  March  20,  Dec.  14,  1858; 
Alta  Cal,  Nov.  17,  1857;  Oct.  29,  1858;  8.  F.  Call,  Nov.  30,  1870;  Red  Bluff 
Peoples  Cause,  Sept.  28,  1878,  etc 

The  western  side  of  Sacramento  Valley,  below  Tehama,  early  recom 
mended  its  agricultural  beauties  to  the  ever-moving  current  of  miners,  lying 
as  it  did  so  close  to  their  path.  Tired  of  tramping,  stragglers  dropped  behind 
in  fast-growing  numbers  to  swell  the  list  of  settlers  who  during  the  forties 
had  paved  the  way,  and  its  prospects  were  by  1850  deemed  sufficiently  prom 
ising  to  form  the  section  into  the  three  counties  of  Colusa,  Yolo,  and  Solano. 
According  to  the  census  of  1850,  Yolo  had  a  population  of  1,086,  due  greatly 
to  the  proximity  of  Sac.,  which  Solano,  as  farther  from  the  mines,  claimed 
580;  Colusa  only  115.  By  1852  the  three  had  increased  to  1,307,  2,835,  and 
620,  respectively.  Dr  Semple,  who  was  still  struggling  to  create  a  metropo 
lis  at  Benicia,  saw  jn  the  Feather  and  Yuba  river  mines  an  opening  for  a 
great  entrepot  at  what  he  considered  the  head  of  navigation,  the  result  being 
the  founding  in  1850  of  Colusa,  which  after  a  successful  struggle  with  the 
usurping  Monroeville  for  the  county  seat,  began  three  years  later  to  advance 
to  the  leading  position,  sustained  by  a  rich  district  and  by  way -traffic.  The 
railroad  has  passed  her  by,  however,  and  given  a  share  of  trade  to  several 
villages,  as  Arbuckle,  Williams,  Willows,  and  Orland.  C.  D.  Semple  at  his 
brother's  advice  bought  the  site,  though  at  first  locating  the  town  on  the 
wrong  spot,  7  miles  farther  up  the  river.  It  was  the  site  for  the  Colusi  rancha- 
rias.  Keeps  and  Hale  built  the  first  house,  a  hotel.  Dr  Semple  sent  up  a 
steamboat,  constructed  at  Benicia,  but  it  proved  a  failure.  Cal.  Courier,  Sept. 
13,  1850;  Colusa  Sun,  Nov.  3,  17,  24,  1866;  Jan.  3,  Dec.  5,  1874.  Green,  the 
editor,  and  Hicks  were  among  the  first  occupants.  The  town  languished, 
and  narrowly  escaped  the  sheriff.  Larkins  Doc.,  vii.  384,  But  Monroeville 
being  defeated  in  its  usurpation  of  the  county  seat,  which  was  decided  for 
Colusa  by  vote  in  1853,  the  latter  began  to  advance,  though  checked  by  a 
severe  fire  in  1856,  and  by  a  disputed  title  to  the  site.  The  place  became  in 
time  the  head  of  a  large  navigation,  obtained  a  journal  in  1862,  was  incor 
porated,  Cal.  Statutes,  1869-70,  309,  1875-6,  669,  and  had  in  1884  a  popula 
tion  of  1,700.  Alta  Cal,  May  18,  1852;  S..  F..  Bvrald,  Apr.  14,  1852;  Sac. 
Union.  May  20,  Sept.  6,  1856;  Hist.  Colusa  Co.,  66  et  seq.  Monroe  seized  for 
HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.  32 


498  CALIFORNIA  IK  COUNTIES. 

his  rancho  the  county  seat  in  1850,  and  retained  it  despite  judicial  decis 
ions  until  the  vote  of  1853.  Colusa  Annual  1878,  66-7,  79-80;  Cal  Census, 
1852,  p.  16;  Northern  Enterprise,  Nov.  28,  1870;  Cal.  Agric.  Soc.,  Transac., 
1874,  374-5.  Princeton  and  Jacinto  are  among  the  river  shipping  stations. 
College  City  is  so  named  after  Pierce 's  Christian  college.  The  census  of  1880 
shows  1,073  farms  covering  753,600  acres,  valued  at  $16,440,000,  yielding 
$5,027,000  in  produce,  and  with  $1,411,000  in  live-stock;  population  13,120. 
In  1852  there  were  1,960  acres  under  cultivation,  producing  36,000  bushels 
of  grain.  A  beginning  in  farming  must  have  been  made  before  1848,  although 
stock-raising  was  then  the  aim.  The  Grand  Island  mill  was  built  in  1852  as 
a  combined  saw  and  grist  mill.  Hist.  Colusa  Co.,  178  etc.  The  county  had 
valuable  copper  deposits.  Colusa  Sun,  Jan.  5,  1867;  Jan.  3,  1874;  Colusa  Co. 
Annual,  1878,  4-13,  63,  etc.;  Cal  Agric.  Soc.,  Trans.,  1874,  369-77;  Cal 
Jour.  Sen.,  1852,  748;  Id.,  Ass.,  1853,  698;  8.  F.  Bulletin,  Nov.  23,  1857; 

.Nov.  10,  1858;  Chron.,  Nov.  6-7,  21,  1875;  Jan.  26,  .1880;  March  19,  1883; 
Sac.  Union,  Sept.  26;  Nov.  24,  1856;  Oct.  5,  1858,  Dec.  7,  1872;  Jan.  31, 

.May  22,  1873. 

Wolo  profited  by  its  proximity  to  the  valley  capital,  partly  from  the  ready 
market  found  for  produce,  partly  from  the  additional  inducement  for  settlers 
to  form  tributary  villages,  such  as  Washington,  which  rose  opposite  to  Sac. 
as  a  suburb.  The  name  appears  to  have  been  suggested  by  the  adjacent 
Vernon.  J.  McDowell  built  the  first  hut  in  1847.  He  being  killed  in  1849, 
his  widow  laid  out  the  town  in  Feb.  1850.  Chiles,  who  started  a  ferry  here 
in  1848,  and  several  others  were  then  occupants.  It  figured  as  the  county  seat 
in  1851—7,  and  obtained  a  ship-yard  in  1855.  Early  notices  in  Sac.  Transcript, 
May  29,  Sept.  16,  1850;  Cal.  Courier,  July  26,  1850;  Pac.  News,  Aug.  22, 
1853;  S.  F.  Picayune,  Dec.  4,  1850;  Bauer's  Stat.,  MS.,  13;  view  in  Sac. 
Illmt.,  14;  West  Short  'Gaz.,  24-33,  122-3.  It  aspired  at  one  time  with  a 
more  elevated  site  to  rival  Sac.,  but  sank  into  a  petty  suburb.  Above, 
facing  the  mouth  of  Feather  River,  Fremont  was  founded  in  Aug  1849 
to  supplant  Vernon  as  the  head  of  navigation,  but  faded  fast  away.  It  was 
occupied  by  Jonas  Specht's  tent  store  in  March  1849,  and  surveying  began  July 
31st.  Hardy's  tule  hut  and  Lovell's  saloon  tent  were  then  the  other  habita 
tions.  It  grew  so  rapidly  that  a  council  was  chosen  on  Oct.  1st,  Placer  Times, 
Oct.  6,  1849,  and  a  large  number  of  miners  came  down  to  winter  here.  But  a 
steamboat  passed  by  this  supposed  head  of  navigation  to  Marysville,  and  a 
general  exodus  followed,  which  was  slightly  checked  by  making  Fremont 
the  county  seat.  This  dignity  being  lost  in  1851,  the  town  speedily  disap 
peared  like  the  claims  of  its  namesake.  It  has  35  or  40  buildings,  says  Sac. 
Transcript,  Apr.  26,  May  29,  1850;  60  houses,  Id.,  Sept.  30,  1850.  'A  hard- 
looking  place.'  Cal.  Courier,  Sept.  13,  1850;  Cassin'-s  Stat.,  MS.,  5;  Larkitts 
DQC,,  vii.  305;  Woods'  Sixteen  Mo.,  84;  West  Shore  Gaz.,  19-26.  Then  Cache- 
ville  rose  in  the  interior  to  wrest  the  county  seat  from  both,  to  be  in  its  turn 
vanquished  by  Woodland.  T.  Cochran  settled  in  Cache ville  in  1849,  and 
built  a  hotel  at  the  creek  crossing;  raising  slowly  a  hamlet  known  for  a  while 
as  Button's,  which,  from  its  central  position,  was  in  1857-61  chosen  the  seat, 
and  boasted  in  1857  the  first  journal  in  the  county. 


YOLO  AND  SOLANO.  499 

H.  Wyckoff  opened  a  store  at  Woodland  in  1853,  known  as  Yolo  City. 
In  1859  it  became  a  P.  O.  under  the  name  of  Woodland,  at  the  instance  of 
F.  S.  Freeman,  the  successor  of  Wyckoff.  Railroad  projects  gave  it  impor 
tance  after  1860;  in  1802  it  acquired  the  county  seat,  and  reached  by  1880  a 
population  of  2,257.  Reincorporation  act  in  Cal  Statutes,  1873-1,  551.  The 
fortunes  of  the  county  have,  like  its  capital,  been  the  sport  of  grant  speculators, 
politicians,  and  railroads,  the  latter,  owing  to  the  vast  swamp  borders  of  the 
river  becoming  the  highways  for  traffic,  and  holding  sway  at  a  number  of 
stations  over  this  fertile  farming  district.  Dunnigan  was  settled  in  1852, 
and  laid  out  in  1876;  Black  Station,  Davisville,  Winters,  and  Madison  mark 
the  railway,  the  last  laid  out  in  1877  as  the  terminus  of  a  branch,  absorbing  the 
earlier  Cotton  wood  and  Buckeye.  Langville,  founded  in  1857  as  Munch  ville, 
i.j  the  centre  for  Capay  Valley.  Knight's  Landing,  first  called  Baltimore,  dates 
from  1849  as  a  ferry  station;  laid  out  in  1853,  aspiring  in  vain  for  the  county 
seat.  The  first  grain  crop  is  ascribed  to  W.  Gordon  in  1845.  With  1850 
farming  began  to  grow;  the  farms  then  being  valued  at  $47,000,  with  $0,500 
worth  of  implements,  and  7,000  head  of  stock.  The  Crop  in  1852  embraced 
134,000  bushels  of  grain.  By  1880  there  were  929  farms  of  332,700  acres, 
valued  at  $10,937,000,  yielding  $2,761,000  produce,  and  with  $1,014,000  in 
live-stock,  among  a  population  of  11,772.  Yolo  Mail,  Jan.  2,  23,  1879,  etc.; 
West  Shore  Gaz.,  17,  etc.;  Hist.  Yolo  Co.,  passim;  Sac.  Union,  Apr.  11,  1855; 
June  28,  Oct.  13,  28,  1856;  Oct.  13,  1857;  Sept.  23,  1858;  Nov.  6,  1872; 
June  14,  28,  July  12,  1873;  Feb.  28,  Nov.  28,  1874;  S.  F.  Call,  Bulletin, 
Chron.;  Cal.  Jour.  Ass.,  1862,  257. 

With  greater  independence  and  aspirations,  Solano  continued  in  a  measure 
to  strive  for  the  metropolitan  honors  to  which  it  seemed  entitled  by  a  position 
at  the  head  of  bay  navigation,  and  at  the  outlet  of  the  great  valley.  Benicia, 
as  the  first  point  to  rise  in  opposition  to  S.  F.,  might  have  gained  the  vantage 
but  for  the  sudden  transformations  of  1849.  The  early  prospects  sufficed  to 
start  a  crop  of  town  projects  farther  up  the  bay  and  its  tributaries,  as  shown 
in  the  opening  chapter,  embracing  in  this  county  Montezuma  and  Halo-Che- 
muck,  while  westward  was  founded  Vallejo,  which,  though  failing  to  retain 
the  state  capital,  became  quite  a  town.  It  made  a  vain  effort  for  the  county 
seat,  which,  after  being  secured  by  Benicia,  was  in  1858  transferred  to  the 
more  central  Fairfield,  founded  for  the  purpose  by  R.  H.  Waterman,  who 
named  it  after  his  birthplace  in  Connecticut,  and  gave  ample  lands  for  public 
buildings.  J.  B.  Lemon  erected  the  first  house.  The  plat  was  filed  in  May 
1859.  It  stands  in  close  proximity  to  Suisun,  which  may  be  regarded  as  its 
trading  quarter  and  more  important  half,  and  the  chief  shipping  point  of  the 
county.  Suisun  was  incorporated  in  1868,  has  several  mills  and  warehouses, 
and  in  1880  a  population  of  550.  To  C.  V.  Gillespie,  Vig.  Com.,  MS.,  5,  is 
ascribed  ownership  of  land  here  about  1850;  to  Jos.  Wing  the  first  house  on 
the  spot;  and  to  J.  W.  Owens  and  A.  W.  Hall  the  first  store.  Buffum's  Six  Mo., 
31;  Sac.  Union,  Nov.  3,  1856;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Oct.  28,  1856.  The  name 
comes  from  the  tribe  once  roaming  here.  Suisun  Repub.,  Feb.  1,  1877;  Solano 
Repub.,  Oct.  28,  1875.  The  favorable  hydrographic  features  of  the  county 
afford  prominence  to  a  number  of  minor  landings,  as  Bridgeport,  which  ab- 


500  CALIFORNIA  IN  COUNTIES. 

sorbet!  the  early  Cordelia  of  1853;  Denverton,  the  original  Nurse's  Landing; 
Collinsville,  laid  out  by  C.  J.  Collins,  and  called  a  while  Newport.  A  swin 
dling  project,  according  to  S.  F.  Bulletin,  May  11,  1857.  Near  the  site  of 
Brazoria,  also  called  Sacramento  Brazoria,  and  Halo-Chemuck,  which  Bidwell 
and  Hopps  sought  in  vain  to  found  prior  to  the  gold  excitement,  Californian, 
March  22,  Apr.  5,  1848,  Rio  Vista  was  laid  out  by  N.  H.  Davis  in  1857,  and 
moved  in  1862  to  higher  ground.  Main  Prairie,  on  Cache  Slough,  reaches 
the  very  centre  of  the  county,  but  has  been  overshadowed  by  the  railroad, 
with  such  stations  as  Dixon,  which  absorbed  Silveyville  dating  from  1852. 
Then  there  are  Elmira  and  Vacaville,  the  latter  laid  out  in  1851,  and  named 
after  M.  Baca,  or  Vaca,  who  settled  here  early  in  the  forties. 

In  1850  the  farms  of  the  county  were  valued  at  $130,000,  with  over  1,000 
head  of  stock;  by  1852  the  acreage  had  increased  to  5,950,  covering  5,800 
vines.  In  1880  the  farms  numbered  1,016,  valued  at  $9,717,000,  with 
$2,766,000  worth  of  produce,  and  $900,000  in  live-stock;  population  18,470. 
Solano  Repub.,  Oct.  28,  1875;  Alta  Cal.,  Nov.  27,  1856;  Oct.  31,  1857;  Oct. 
28,  1861;  Jan.  8,  1866;  July  23,  1867;  Sac.  Union,  Aug.  1-3,  Nov.  26,  3D, 
1855;  Nov.  25,  1857;  Dec.  14,  1858;  Aug.  23,  Oct.  9,  Dec.  18,  1869;  Jan.  7, 
1870;  Dec.  10,  1872;  Feb.  8,  15,  Feb.  22,  1873,  etc.;  also  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Call, 
Ckron.,  etc.;  Suisun  Confirm.,  1-15;  Cal.  Statutes,  1852,  308;  1853,  20;  1861, 
12;  Cal.  Jour.  Sen.,  1873-4,  607,  828,  ap.  no.  44,  73-4.  Carquin  means  ser 
pent,  concerning  which  Woodbridge,  Mess.,  Feb.  6,  1869,  gives  a  tradition. 
Benida  Tribune,  Dec.  13,  1873. 

The  northern  interior  of  California  was  first  explored  by  trappers  during 
the  earlier  decades  of  this  century,  while  the  coast  line  had  been  mapped  by 
navigators  of  different  nations  since  the  sixteenth  century,  as  recorded  by 
names  like  Mendocino,  Trinidad,  and  St  George.  The  conquest  by  the 
United  States  called  attention  to  the  resources  indicated  by  them,  and  with 
extension  of  settlements  above  the  bay  of  S.  F.  came  the  project  for  a 
commercial  metropolis  on  the  upper  coast,  probably  at  Trinidad,  as  the  only 
harbor  marked  on  the  chart.  A  meeting  was  held  at  S.  F.  on  March  27,  1848, 
to  make  arrangements  for  the  exploration  of  that  bay.  Cali/ornian,  March  29, 
1848.  See  Hist.  Cal,  i.  242,  and  Hist.  Northwest  Coast,  i.-ii.,  this  series,  for 
early  explorations.  The  all-absorbing  gold  excitement  intervened,  but  when 
Reading  penetrated  to  the  headwaters  of  Trinity  River  and  found  wealth, 
which  in  1849  induced  several  other  parties  to  cross  the  Coast  Range,  the 
agitation  revived  for  an  entrepot  through  which  passengers  and  supplies 
might  be  passed  into  this  region  by  a  nearer  and  easier  sea  route.  Trinity 
River  was  so  called  by  Reading,  in  the  belief  that  it  emptied  into  the  Trini 
dad  bay  marked  by  Spanish  explorers,  and  which  he  supposed  to  be  near  by. 
Indeed,  the  river  placed  here  by  the  same  old  navigators  might  be  this.  See 
this  report  and  allusion  to  the  trip  in  Placer  Times,  Aug. -Sept.  1849,  and  also 
the  chapter  on  mines.  Doubts  have  been  expressed  that  Reading  made  this 
journey  in  1848;  at  all  events,  this  became  the  objective  point  for  miners, 
traders,  and  town  speculators.  Two  parties  started  in  Nov.  1849  from  the 
Trinity  headwaters  to  find  the  mouth  of  the  river,  one  by  way  of  San  Fran 
cisco  and  the  sea,  which  sailed  from  S.  F.  in  the  Cameo,  on  Dec.  9th,  but  came 


TRINITY. 


501 


back  without  news,  and  another  by  land  westward,  under  Josiah  Gregg. 
About  40  miners  who  lacked  supplies  for  the  winter  enlisted,  but  only  8 
started,  including  D.  A.  Buck  and  L.  K.  Wood,  the  latter  recording  the  trip 
in  notes  revised  by  W.  Van  Dyke  in  1856,  and  published  by  him  as  editor  of 
HumMdt  Times  of  that  year,  and  Feb.  7-14,  1863.  Wood  then  resided  in 
Humboldt,  where  he  had  served  some  terms  as  county  clerk.  Testimony  in 
8.  F.  Bulletin,  Feb.  28-March  1872;  La  Moth,  Stat.,  MS.,  2-11,  and  Van 
Dyke  subsequently  wrote  detailed  accounts  for  me,  Stat.,  MS.,  20.  The 
report  was  reproduced  in  the  Eureka  West  Coast  Siynal,  March  20-7,  1872,  in 
Overland,  i.  144,  and  Humboldt  Co.  Hist.,  83  et  seq.  See  also  Crotiise's  Cal.t 
197.  Starting  on  Nov.  5,  1849,  from  Rich  Bar,  they  crossed  the  south  fork 


HUMBOLDT  BAY  REGION. 


at  its  junction  with  the  main  Trinity,  and  by  Indian  advice  struck  westward 
over  the  ridge,  reaching  the  coast  after  much  trouble  at  Little  River,  whence 
0:1  Dec.  7th  they  gained  Trinidad  Head,  called  by  them  Gregg's  Point,  as  per 
inscription  left  there.  Turning  southward  they  named  Mad  River,  in  com 
memoration  of  the  leader's  temper,  and  coming  upon  Humboldt  Bay  on  Dec. 
20,  1849,  they  called  it  Trinity.  This  was  not  the  first  discovery  of  the  bay, 
however,  for  a  Russian  chart  of  1848,  based  on  information  by  the  Russian- 
American  Co.,  points  it  out  as  entered  by  a  U.  S.  fur-trading  vessel  in  1806. 
The  Indian  name  was  Qual-a-waloo.  Davidsons  Directory  Pac.,  73.  Buck, 


502  CALIFORNIA  IN  COUNTIES. 

•who  subsequently  founded  Bucksport,  was  the  first  to  observe  it  on  the  pres 
ent  occasion.  They  camped  on  the  site  of  Arcata,  and  celebrated  Christmas 
on  elk  meat,  after  which  Elk  River  was  named.  Eel  River  was  so  called 
from  the  food  here  enjoyed,  and  Van  Duzen  Fork  after  one  of  the  party. 
The  party  now  dissented  and  separated,  Gregg  with  three  others,  after  vainly 
attempting  to  follow  the  coast,  drifting  into  Sacramento  Valley,  Gregg  perish-' 
ing  from  exposure  and  starvation.  The  others,  following  Eel  River  and  then 
turning  south-east,  reached  Sonoma  on  Feb.  17,  1850,  Woods  being  mutilated 
by  bears. 

The  explorers  by  sea,  after  announcing  the  discovery  at  S.  F.,  returned  by 
land  with  a  party  of  30,  and  in  the  middle  of  April  1850  laid  the  foundation 
for  the  towns  of  Bucksport  and  Union,  or  Arcata.  Buck  was  afterward  drowned 
off  the  Columbia  bar  in  the  Gen.  Warren.  8.  F.  Bulletin,  loc.  cit.  Report  of 
wagon  party  in  Humboldt  Times,  i.  14,  Dec.  2,  1854.  Id.,  Apr.  15,  1876, 
defers  this  location  till  1851,  but  Woods  is  positive.  Union,  founded  on  Apr. 
21st,  was  regarded  by  most  as  the  only  good  site.  Others  hastened  to  gain 
the  bay  by  sea,  and  during  the  spring  a  fleet  set  out,  headed  by  the  Cameo 
and  Laura  Virginia.  The  latter  was  the  first  to  enter  both  Trinidad  and 
Humboldt  bays  early  in  April.  The  Cameo  failed  to  observe  the  latter,  but 
gained  Trinidad  Head  and  landed  the  explorers,  who,  penetrating  up  the 
Klamath,  met  in  due  time  miners  descending  the  Trinity,  and  so  cleared  up 
the  mystery  of  its  course.  Highly  elated,  they  founded  Klamath  City  on 
the  south  bank  of  this  river,  but  its  shifting  sand  bar  proved  insurmountable 
for  vessels,  and  the  city  died.  The  Laura  Virginia,  under  D.  Ottinger  of  the 
U.  S.  revenue  service,  on  furlough,  after  anchoring  at  Trinidad  later  in 
March  entered  Humboldt  Bay  on  April  9th,  and  assuming  it  to  be  his  discovery, 
he  applied  this  name  and  founded  the  town  of  Humboldt.  Lamottes  Stat., 
MS.,  2-11,  by  a  member  of  the  expedition;  Ottinger's  report  of  April  25, 
1850,  to  the  secretary  of  the  U.  S.  treasury,  republished  in  North  Independ., 
1870;  statement  of  E.  Brown,  Ottinger's  partner,  in  8.  F.  Bulletin,  Feb.  28, 
etc.,  1872.  St  Blunt,  U.  S.  N.,  sailed  at  the  same  time  in  the  Arabia,  but 
failed  to  find  the  entrance.  His  boat  was  swamped  near  Trinidad,  and  five 
men  drowned,  including  lieuts  Boche  and  Browning,  U.  S.  N.  J.  M.  Ryer- 
son  arrived  early  in  April  at  Eel  River,  and  joined  a  whale-boat  crew  in 
founding  a  town  three  miles  up,  seeking  afterwards  to  direct  migration  this 
way  by  proclaiming  it  the  main  route  to  the  mines.  Humboldt  Times,  Feb.  7, 
1863.  Shortly  before,  the  Gen.  Morgan,  fitted  out  by  Sam  Brannan  and  his 
brother,  had  sent  in  boat  crews  which  named  the  River  Brannan,  and  then 
crossed  the  divide  to  Humboldt  Bay,  which  was  called  Mendocino.  There 
they  proposed  to  found  a  town  and  connect  it  by  a  canal  with  the  river,  after 
failing  to  agree  with  Parker  of  the  Jos  R.  Whiting,  concerning  a  share  in  the 
town  founded  by  .him  at  Trinidad.  Capt.  Warner  of  the  Isabel  laid  out 
Warners ville  Apr.  10th,  adjoining  Parker's.  The  pilot-boat  Eclipse,  Capt. 
Tomson,  arrived  at  Bucksport  early  in  May  1850,  with  24  persons;  and  a 
party  headed  by  Ryan  on  May  8th  located  Eureka,  the  first  camp  being  made 
on  the  spot  known  as  Ryan's  Garden.  Testimony  of  the  survivor  Young  in 
S.  F.  Bulletin,  May  17,  1878.  Ryan  was  chosen  alcalde.  Humboldt  Times, 
Dec.  25,  18G9,  etc.  Yet  Woods,  Van  Dyke's  Stat.,  MS.,  23,  West  Coast  Signal, 


HUMBOLDT.  503 

March  27,  1872,  Jan.  10,  1877,  mentions  that  Ryan  had'been  here  with  the  Gen. 
Morgan,  and  that  about  this  time  the  Laura  Viryinia  crew  was  encamped  on 
this  point.  In  S.  F.  Call,  May  26,  1878,  Brett's  tent  is  placed  as  the  first  hab 
itation.  Polynesian,  vii.  2.  Among  other  vessels  were  the  California,  which 
hastened  back  on  March  28th  to  announce  the  discovery  of  Trinidad,  as  re 
corded  by  Gregg,  Paragon,  Sierra  Nevada,  Hector,  Patapsco,  Oalinda,  and  Mai- 
leroy,  several  of  which  were  stranded  off  Humboldt  and  Trinidad;  Cameo  being 
declared  lost  owing  to  a  somewhat  prolonged  absence.  As  the  news  came  of 
the  different  foundations,  the  press  fairly  teemed  with  glowing  notices  and 
prospectures  by  the  rival  projectors.  Instance,  Alta  Cal,  Apr.  10,  May  27, 
et  seq.,  1850;  Pac.  News,  id.,  Apr.  26,  May  13-16,  Aug.  22;  Cal  Courier,  July 
1,  Aug.  5,  1850,  etc.  See  also  references  in  preceding  note. 

Tiie  earliest  site  on  this  upper  coast  was  that  of  Trinidad,  selected  during 
the  first  days  of  April  by  Captain  Parker  of  the  James  ft.  Whiting.  It  was 
for  a  moment  overshadowed  by  Klamath  City.  Another  river  city  on  the 
EJ!,  and  a  project  at  the  south  end  of  Humboldt  Bay,  failed  to  assume  tangible 
form,  notwithstanding  the  glowing  notices  lavished  upon  them,  in  common 
with  the  rest.  Trinidad  acquired  the  lead,  soon  counting  30  buildings,  partly 
from  its  proximity  to  the  Trinity  mines,  which,  moreover,  procured  for  it  the 
seat  of  Trinity  county,  which  in  1850  was  created  to  embrace  all  this  newly 
explored  region  west  of  the  Coast  Range.  It  received  further  impulse  from 
the  Gold  Bluff  excitement  during  the  winter  of  1850-1,  which  drew  a  crowd 
of  adventurers  in  search  of  ready-washed  gold  from  the  ocean  bluffs.  Pac. 
News,  May  16,  Feb.  26,  1850;  Alta  Cal.,  May  27,  1850;  March  5,  Apr.  29, 
June  14,  1851;  Sac.  Transcript,  Feb.  28,  1851,  reduces  the  population  to  200, 
but  other  accounts  place  it  much  higher.  Cal.  Courier,  Feb.  19,  1851.  But 
with  the  rise  especially  of  Crescent  City,  and  the  transfer  in  1854  of  the  county 
S3at  from  Klamath  to  this  rival  and  then  to  Orleans  Bar,  Trinidad  declined. 
Population  80,  says  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Jan.  7,  1856;  Alta  Cal.,  Oct.  25,  1855; 
West  Coast  Signal,  Nov.  22,  1871. 

Meanwhile  diggers  had  pushed  their  way  along  the  Trinity  and  northward 
to  Salmon  and  Klamath  rivers,  rendering  this  section  so  important  as  to  call 
in  1S51  for  the  creation  of  Klamath  county.  The  region  round  Humboldt 
Bay  shared  largely  in  the  traffic  with  the  Trinity  mines  and  revealed  such 
promising  agricultural  and  timber  resources  that  in  1853  Humboldt  county 
was  formed  out  of  the  western  half  of  Trinity.  Pac.  News,  Aug.  22,  1850, 
alludes  to  garden  culture  round  Union.  In  1854  fully  2,500  acres  were 
declared  in  cultivation,  while  stock-raising,  notably  for  wool  and  dairy  pur 
poses,  fast  assumed  large  proportions,  especially  after  Indian  depredations 
ceased.  Eureka  became  the  centre  of  the  lumber  trade,  which  began  in  1850 
by  the  export  of  spars.  In  Aug.  1850,  according  to  the  Humboldt  Times,  the 
Francis  Helen  brought  machinery  for  the  Pioneer  or  Papoose  mill  now  erected 
at  Eureka  by  J.  M.  Eddy  and  M.  White.  Yet  another  statement  declares 
that  the  J.  S.  Whiting  carried  away  the  first  cargo  of  piles  in  the  summer  of 
1851.  Ryan  claims  his  mill  of  Feb.  1852  as  the  first;  he  might  say  the  first 
successful  mill,  for  the  former  of  1850  failed  after  two  years'  existence.  For 
progress,  see  Hist.  Humboldt  Co.,  141-3.  Two  flour-mills  rose  in  1854,  on 
Van  Duzeii  Fort  and  at  Eureka.  The  seat  of  Humboldt  county  was  assigned 


504  CALIFORNIA  IN  COUNTIES. 

to  Union,  a  town  prosperously  sustained  by  the  farming  and  timber  resources 
of  Mad  River.  In  1854  it  had  12  or  14  stores,  and  justly  claimed  the  lead. 
In  1880  the  name  was  changed  to  Arcata,  which  soon  figured  as  an  incorpo 
rated  town,  with  700  inhabitants  in  1880,  sustained  by  a  large  trade  with  the 
Trinity  mines,  but  it  ranked  second  to  Eureka.  AUa  Cal.,  Aug.  21,  1854; 
S.  F.  Bulletin,  Jan.  7,  July  26,  1856.  The  success  of  Union  roused  the  jeal 
ousy  of  Eureka  and  Bucksport,  the  latter  claiming  the  most  central  position, 
the  best  site,  and  the  harbor,  which,  indeed,  procured  for  it  the  port  of  entry 
privilege — a  no  small  advantage,  considering  the  large  lumber  trade  of  the 
bay.  For  the  11  months  ending  May  1854  there  arrived  in  the  bay  143  ves 
sels,  with  a  tonnage  of  22,000,  bringing  562  passengers.  Coast  Survey,  1854, 
ap.  35;  U.  S.  Gov.  Doc.,  Cong.  34,  Sess.  1,  H.  Miss.  Doc.  85,  ii.,  Pilot  bill; 
Cal.  Jour.  Sen.,  1851,  1826.  In  1853  came  a  steam  tug.  The  Sea  Gulfw&s 
the  first  steamer  to  enter,  in  Sept.  1850.  Humboldt  Times,  Apr.  15,  1876,  etc. 
The  shallow  bar  does  not  permit  very  large  vessels  to  cross.  After  a  long 
struggle  marked  by  lavish  promises  and  stupendous  voting,  the  legislature 
transferred  the  dignity  in  1856  to  Eureka,  which  thereupon  incorporated, 
wrested  the  trade  from  Bucksport,  and  advanced  to  the  leading  position  in 
the  most  prosperous  county  on  the  northern  coast.  The  population  of 
Eureka  in  1880  was  2,639.  Hookton  and  even  Arcata  became  tributary, 
owing  to  their  shallower  harbors.  During  the  year  ending  Nov.  1,  1877,  329 
vessels  entered,  carrying  away  58,700,000  feet  of  lumber,  besides  spars  and 
farm  produce.  In  the  preceding  year  1,100  vessels  crossed  the  bar.  There 
were  then  7  saw-mills,  a  foundry,  and  two  breweries.  S.  F.  Call,  May  26,  1878; 
S.  F.  Post,  June  14,  1877;  Cal.  Courier,  Aug.  5,  1850;  Cal.  Statutes,  1856,  37, 
103-5;  1859,  192-7;  1873-4,  91-2;  Sac.  Union,  Dec.  2,  1859;  Hawleys  Hum 
boldt,  28-35.  The  population  of  the  county,  2,694  in  1860,  increased  by  1870 
to  6,140,  and  by  1880,  with  addition  of  a  slice  from  Klamath,  to  15,512,  with 
property  assessed  at  $5,481,000,  whereof  $4,120,000  in  1,309  farms,  live-stock, 
and  farm  produce,  each  being  estimated  at  one  million.  Cal.  Statutes,  1853, 
330;  1862,  6-7;  1871-2,  1007-8;  West  Coast  Signal,  June  25,  Oct.  1,  1873; 
Jan.  11,  1878;  Cal.  Spirit  Times,  Dec.  25,  1877;  Hawley's  Humboldt,  1^2; 
S.  F.  Herald,  Jan.  31,  1852.  Scattered  notices  in  Sac.  Umon,  AUa  Cal., 
S.  F.  Bulletin,  S.  F.  Call,  Pacific,  Aug.  6,  1874,  etc.;  Humboldt  Times,  Jan. 
11,  1873;  Apr.  15,  1876;  Jan.  27,  Dec.  29,  1877;  May  11,  1878;  Aug.  28, 
1880,  etc.  This,  the  first  newspaper,  was  started  in  1854.  The  Eel  River 
farming  region  gave  rise  to  Rohnerville,  Hydesville,  and  Ferndale;  Petro- 
lia  being  the  growing  centre  of  Mattole,  with  petroleum  wells,  Garber- 
ville  occupying  the  Eel  south  fork.  Two  military  posts  in  the  interior  point 
to  the  retarding  influence  of  untrustworthy  Indians  in  early  years. 

The  opening  of  mines  along  the  lower  Klamath  and  Smith  river,  and  the 
unapproachability  of  Klamath  City,  led  to  the  foundation  in  1853  of  Crescent 
City,  a  name  considered  in  Pac.  News,  May  2,  1850,  and  due  to  the  crescent 
form  of  the  bay.  The  Paragon  met  with  disaster  here  in  1850,  and  applied 
its  name  to  the  bight  for  a  time.  The  increase  of  prospectors  in  this  vicinity, 
and  the  failure  of  Klamath  City,  which  had  thriven  for  nearly  a  year,  Pac. 
News,  Nov.  1,  1850,  Jan.  3,  1851,  Sac.  Transcript,  Nov.  14,  1850,  opened 


DEL  NORTE.  505 

fine  prospects  for  a  town  at  this  the  only  roadstead  above  Trinidad;  and  a 
company  headed  by  R.  Humphreys  and  J.  F.  Wendell  took  up  land  here  in 
1852,  and  in  Feb.  1853  laid  out  a  town.  A  mill  was  erected.  S.  F.  Herald, 
Apr.  27,  June  10,  1853.  The  title  was  not  confirmed,  but  the  council  subse 
quently  bought  it  from  the  U.  S.  So  rapid  was  the  growth  that  in  1854  it 
claimed  over  200  houses  and  800  inhabitants,  with  a  journal,  and  was  incor 
porated.  Cal  Statutes,  1854,  33,  68;  Cat.  Jour.  Ass.,  1854,  658-9;  Id.,  Sen. 

1855,  877.     View  in  Pict.  Union,  Jan.  1855;  Del  Norte  Record,  June-Nov. 
1880;  Crescent  City  Courier,  Sept.  4,  1878;    Van  Dyke's  Stat.,  MS.,  23;  Alia 
Cal,  Apr.  10,  1854;  Sept.  1,  1855;  Jan.  19,  June  29,  Oct.  17,  1856;  Aug.  20, 
1857;  Feb.  2,  Aug.  20,   1858;  Nov.   19,   1859;  May  27,   1864;  Apr.   1,   1865; 
with  references  to  lighthouse  and  harbor  improvements;  also  Sac.  Union  and 
S.  F.  Bulletin;  U.  S.  Gov.  Doc.,  Cong.  41,  Sess.  2,  H.  Misc.  Doc.  62.     The 
county  seat,  won  from  Trinidad,  being  lost  by  1856,  it  agitated  for  a  separa 
tion  from  Klamath,  and  succeeded  in  obtaining  the  formation  of  Del  Norte 
county,  with  itself  as  seat.     Although  this  promising  period  was  followed  by 
decline,  yet  its  possession  of  the  only  pretence  of  a  harbor  in  this  region,  to 
gether  with  a  few  minor  industries,  manage  to  maintain  it  as  the  leading  sea 
town  north  of  Eureka,  notwithstanding  the  meagre  mining  and  agricultural 
resources  of  the  county,  the  latter  consisting  chiefly  of  live-stock.     The  pop 
ulation  of  the  county  increased  from  1,993  in  1860,  and  2,022  in  1870,  to 
2,584  in  1880,  with  property  assessed  at  $696,000;  the  value  of  77  farms  be 
ing  $399,000,  yielding  $133,530,  while  the  live-stock  was  worth  $743,960. 
Cal.  Statutes,  1857,  35-8,  162;  1858,  378;  Crescent  Courier,  June  11  et  seq., 
1879;  Del  Norte  Record,  July-Oct.    1880,  etc.;  Pac.   Rural  Press,  Sept.   18, 
1875,  etc.;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Dec.   1,  1870;  June  6,  1879;  S.  F.   Call,   May  4, 
1879;  Jan.  6,  1884;  8.  F.  Chron.,  Oct.  10,  1875;  Feb.  28,  1881.     Crops  were 
raised  in  Smith  Valley  in  1854,  and  a  flour-mill  rose  at  Crescent  City  in 

1856,  a  saw-mill  being  there  in  1853,  since  which  time  4  more  have  risen.     A 
salmon  cannery  was  added.     The  first  important  point  in  the  county  was 
Happy  Camp,  of  July  1851,  which  flourished  in  a  small  way  in  1887,  being 
superior  to  the  other  mining  camps.     On  Smith  River  rose  Altaville  and 
other  villages,  which  partly  supply  the  Oregon  mining  field. 

A  still  poorer  section  was  Klamath  county,  which  by  the  segregation  of 
Del  Norte,  and  the  gradual  decline  of  the  Klamath  and  Salmon  River  mines, 
declined  to  so  small  and  barren  a  field  that  the  diminishing  population,  of  less 
than  1,700  in  1870,  began  to  complain  against  the  burden  of  a  separate  admin 
istration  and  a  swelling  debt.  In  1874,  accordingly,  it  was  disorganized  and 
apportioned  between  Siskiyou  and  Humboldt,  both  Orleans  Bar,  the  county 
seat  since  1856,  and  Trinidad  falling  to  the  latter,  with  $273,500  of  the  $601,- 
500  assessed  property,  and  $10,890  of  the  $23,950  debt.  The  population  in 
1860  was  1,800.  Siskiyou 's  objections  were  with  difficulty  overruled,  repub 
licans  suspecting  a  democratic  intrigue  to  obtain  a  majority.  Cal.  Statutes, 
1851,  p.  1827;  1855,  p.  200;  1856,  pp.  32-3;  1871-2,  p.  1010;  1873-4,  pp.  369, 
802,  755-8;  Van  Dyke's  Stat.,  MS.,  5;  Alta  Cal.,  June  9,  1864.  Klamath 
River  has  here  little  farming  land,  and  the  Hoopa  Indian  reservation  absorbs 
the  largest  tract  thereof  in  the  county.  Trinidad  depends  greatly  on  its  saw 
mills.  Trinity,  with  a  population  threefold  larger,  long  depended  on  mining, 


506  CALIFORNIA  IN  COUNTIES. 

for  its  resources  were  limited,  even  for  live-stock,  with  a  poor  outlet  for  tim 
ber.  Lathrop's  water-power  saw-mill  of  1853  heads  the  list;  by  1858  about 
17  other  small  mills  had  been  added,  besides  three  flour-mills.  A  tannery 
existed  in  1856.  Agriculture  had  been  begun  in  1850  by  B.  Steiner,  near  the 
town  bearing  his  name  By  1880  there  were  142  farms  valued  at  $285,000, 
the  produce  and  live-stock  being  estimated  at  about  $115,000  each,  while  the 
assessed  property  of  the  county  stood  at  $868,000,  among  a  population  of 
5,000,  grown  from  3,213  in  1870;  in  1860  it  was  5,125.  Among  the  numer 
ous  early  camps  Ridgeville,  Minersville,  Lewiston,  Canon  City,  Long  and  Big 
bars  continued  to  figure,  partly  owing  to  the  gradually  unfolding  quartz 
interests,  while  Weaverville  retained  the  prominence  as  county  seat  and 
centre  of  trade  which  a  rich  gold-field  procured  for  it  in  1850.  Both  Reading 
and  a  Frenchman  named  Gross  are  said  to  have  mined  there  in  1849,  followed 
by  Weaver,  whose  name  was  applied  to  the  creek  and  consequently  to  the 
town.  By  1851  it  had  acquired  sufficient  prominence  to  rival  the  Humboldt 
Bay  towns  for  the  county  seat,  and  obtain  it  after  some  trouble  in  1852. 
Herein  lay  one  cause  for  the  segregation  of  the  dissatisfied  Humboldt  county, 
leaving  Weaverville  the  seat  in  1853  of  a  much  reduced  section.  It  met  with 
several  disasters  from  fire  in  1853-5.  Alta  CaL,  March  13,  1853;  Dec.  12,  1854; 
Oct.  1,  12,  1855;  Jan.  17,  1856;  Oct.  22,  1859;  Oct.  17,  1860;  S.  F.  Herald, 
March  13,  1853;  Sac.  Union,  Dec.  12,  1854;  March  1,  28,  May  10,  30,  Sept. 
10-14,  Oct.  11,  Dec.  18-19,  27,  1855;  Jan.  24,  Apr.  8,  Aug.  29,  Dec.  10,  1856; 
Sept.  23,  1858;  Aug.  17,  1859.  Yet  it  incorporated  in  1855,  and  continued 
to  prosper,  with  a  newspaper  from  1854.  For  a  time  it  was  rivalled  by 
Ridgeville,  which  in  1856  claimed  700  inhabitants,  but  in  1858  only  one  fifth 
of  that  number.  Canon  City  also  declined  from  400  in  1855.  Yreka  Union, 
Feb.  1,  1879;  Weaverville  Jour.,  Feb.  25,  July  15,  1871,  etc.;  CaL  Statutes, 
1871-2,  766;  Cox's  Annals  of  Trinity,  206  pp.,  the  last  a  rambling  yet  useful 
book. 

The  current  of  settlement  which  penetrated  the  northern  districts  of  Cali 
fornia,  reenforced  by  sea-route  additions,  was  soon  met  by  another,  radiating 
from  Sonoma.  While  slow  to  appreciate  the  commercial  advantages  of  San 
Francisco  Bay,  the  gradual  expansion  of  ranches  directed  attention  to  the 
valleys  along  its  north  line,  and  in  1834  M.  G.  Vallejo  established  a  mili 
tary  outpost  near  the  decaying  mission  of  Solano.  In  this  he  was  prompted 
by  political  aspirations,  and  other  personal  interests,  as  well  as  by  the  advis 
ability  of  checking  the  encroachments  of  the  Russians,  who  for  three  decades 
prior  to  1841  held  the  region  round  Bodega  Bay,  the  first  occupants  north  of 
S.  F.  Under  his  protective  wing  a  number  of  followers  began  to  occupy  the 
fertile  tracts  adjacent,  until  the  sway  of  their  chieftain  in  1848  extended  to 
the  shores  of  Clear  Lake  on  one  side,  and  on  the  other  to  the  ocean,  at  Wal- 
halla  River,  the  word  Walhalla  being  a  corruption  of  Gualula. 

After  the  first  flush  of  gold  excitement,  the  advantages  of  Sonoma  county 
were  quickly  observed  in  its  varied  resources  and  proximity  to  the  metrop 
olis  at  the  Gate.  Farming,  which  had  been  started  by  the  Muscovites  decades 
before,  and  taken  up  at  the  mission  on  a  large  scale,  was  now  resumed  by 
different  settlers,  with  profits  greatly  eclipsing  those  of  the  gold-diggers. 


SONOMA.  507 

Vegetables  were  in  time  supplemented  by  grain  and  cattle,  and  later  vinicul 
ture  blossomed  into  a  leading  industry.  Fruit-trees  and  vines  were  planted 
by  the  Russians  and  early  valley  settlers;  three  grist-mills  rose  before  1849; 
while  the  luxuriant  redwood  forests,  which  had  already  given  rise  to  two 
mills,  yielded  themselves  to  a  fast-developing  lumber  business.  Dawson  had 
opened  a  saw-pit  in  the  thirties,  in  imitation  of  the  Russians,  upon  whose  do 
main  Capt.  Smith  erected  the  first  steam  mill  in.  1843.  A  similar  mill  replaced, 
in  1849,  the  water-power  mill  at  Freestone,  owned  by  Mclntosh.  Calif  or  nian, 
March  8,  1848,  describes  the  saw  and  flour  mills  at  Bodega.  In.  later  years, 
quicksilver  mining  employed  a  large  force.  These  different  industries  fostered 
a  trade  facilitated  by  several  streams  and  inlets,  and  by  two  railroads,  one  of 
them  begun  before  1870,  and  towns  sprang  up  in  profusion  round  mills  and 
stations  and  in  the  different  valleys.  But  the  centre  of  population  shifted 
west  and  northward,  and  Sonoma,  which  in  1848  figured  as  a  town,  and  con 
sequently  became  the  county  seat  in  1850,  declined,  and  the  political  sceptre 
was  in  1854  transferred  to  the  central  Santa  Rosa,  then  only  a  year  old,  but 
rapidly  lifted  by  the  unfolding  agriculture  and  the  traffic  with  Russian  River 
to  the  leading  town  in  the  county.  Col.  Star  and  Californian,  of  Jan. -Feb. 
1848,  refer  to  the  flourishing  condition  of  Sonoma.  Larkins  Doc.,  vii.  200; 
Cal.  Pioneers,  7.  In  1848-9  it  became  an  entrepot  for  the  diggings.  Incor 
porated  in  1850,  proposed  disincorporation  in  1852,  effected  in  the  following 
decade.  Cal.  Statutes,  1850,  150;  1867-8,  576;  Cal.  Jour.  Sen.,  1852,  781,  etc.; 
Alta  Cal,  May  23,  1851;  June  17,  1852;  Sac.  Union,  Dec.  31,  1856,  etc.; 
Montgomery's  Remin.,  MS.,  5.  It  sported  a  journal  in  1850.  Sonoma  Democ., 
Nov.  23,  1878.  The  Carrillos,  who  owned  the  Santa  Rosa  country,  erected 
the  first  house  in  the  vicinity  in  1838-9.  In  1851  Mallagh  and  McDonald 
opened  a  store,  followed  by  A.  Meacham,  and  by  Hakman,  Hoen,  and  Hart- 
man.  The  town  of  Franklin  having  been  laid  out  in  1853,  under  the  agita 
tion  for  a  new  county  seat,  the  latter  traders,  in  conjunction  with  Julio 
Carrillo,  followed  the  example  that  same  year  by  laying  out  Santa  Rosa — so 
named  after  the  creek  and  rancho — a  mile  from  the  site  mentioned,  where 
Carrillo  had  in  1852  built  a  residence,  and  N.  and  J.  Richardson  a  store  in 
1853.  The  third  building  was  a  hall,  and  this  feature  assisted  greatly  the 
judicious  manoeuvres  which  in  Sept.  1854  wrested  the  seat  from  Sonoma. 
The  town  now  grew  rapidly  for  a  time,  was  incorporated  in  1867,  and  with 
the  arrival  of  the  railroad,  early  in  the  seventies,  bounded  forward  at  a  greater 
pace  than  ever,  securing  gas  and  street-cars  by  1877,  and  several  mills  and 
factories,  and  in  1880  a  population  of  3,616.  Son.  Democ.,  Oct.  25,  1872;  May 
16,  1874;  June  10,  July  8,  1876;  8.  F.  Bulletin,  Jan.  23,  Feb.  23,  1880;  Alia 
Cal.,  Sept.  27,  1856,  etc.;  Hist.  Son.  (1877),  20-2;  Id.  (1880),  386-441;  Cal. 
Jour.  Ass.,  1854,  686,  etc.;  Cal.  Statutes,  1871-2,  62. 

Next  stands  Petaluma,  which  still  claims  preeminence  in  trade,  as  the 
head  of  navigation  in  the  valley.  It  was  started  in  1850  as  a  hunting  and 
shipping  point  by  J.  Lockwood,  Linns  &  Wiatt,  Baylis  &  Flogdell,  McReynolds 
&  Hudspeth.  Soon  after  Keller  took  up  a  claim,  and  in  Jan.  1852  laid  out  a 
town  which  was  called  after  the  Indian  name  of  the  creek.  W.  D.  Kent  opened 
the  first  store  and  P.  O.  The  rapid  advance  was  marked  by  a  journal  in 
1855.  Cal.  Statute*,  1858,  148;  1859,  210,  396;  1867-8,  383,  783;  1875-6,  288, 


508  CALIFORNIA  IN   COUNTIES. 

975.  Incorporation  occurred  in  1858,  when  the  population  was  claimed  to 
exceed  1,300;  gas  was  there  in  1863,  and  numerous  manufacturing  industries 
in  1880  assisted  in  sustaining  3,326  inhabitants.  Pet.  Argus,  Feb.  9,  Nov.  16. 
1877;  Montgomery's  Remin.,  MS.,  4;  Sac.  Union,  May  29,  1856;  and  preceding 
gsneral  references.  The  name  is  claimed  by  some  to  be  a  corruption  of  pata 
loma,  durk  hill,  from  early  hunting  incidents;  but  most  assign  it  to  an  Indian 
source. 

In  the  northern  part,  on  Russian  River,  Healdsburg  held  sway  as  the  fore 
most  incorporated  city.  It  was  founded  in  1852  by  H.  G.  Heald,  on  Fitch's 
grant,  as  Heald's  store.  Its  growing  importance  caused  it  to  be  laid  out  in 
1357  as  a  town,  henceforth  known  as  Healdsburg.  It  grew  rapidly,  supported 
a  newspaper  in  18GO,  incorporation  in  1867 — amended  in  Cal.  Statutes,  1873-4, 
665— and  in  1874  nourished  as  a  city.  Population  in  1880,  1,133.  Healdsburg 
Enterprise,  Nov.  22,  1877;  Russ.  R.  Flag,  June  13,  1878.  Healdsburg  was  fol 
lowed  by  Cloverdale,  long  the  terminus  of  the  railroad.  The  place  was  located 
in  1856  by  Markle  &  Miller.  Population  430  in  1880.  Incorporation  act  in 
Cal.  Statutes,  1871-2,  95,  164,  550.  The  railroad  also  fostered  such  towns  as 
Fulton  and  Windsor,  while  Guerneville  long  led  the  numerous  milling  camps, 
including  Forrestville,  Freestone,  and  Duncan's  Mill  and  Bodega,  the  several 
shipping  places  on  the  coast,  as  Fort  Ross,  Salt  Point,  Fisherman's  Bay. 
Sebastopol  is  on  the  road  to  Bodega,  which  is  named  after  the  Spanish  ex 
plorer  who  discovered  it.  See  Hist.  Son.,  of  1877  and  1880,  for  details;  Son. 
Co.  Register;  Cal.  Agric.  Soc.,  Trans.,  1874,  390  et  seq.;  Pet.  Crescent,  Jan.  25, 
March  12,  1872;  8.  Rosa  Times,  Aug.  9,  1877;  Jan.  31,  1878,  etc.;  Pet.  Courier, 
Apr.  5,  1877;  Jan.  31,  1878,  etc.;  Son.  Democ.,  Jan.  6,  Feb.  17,  March  3,  1877; 
Pet.  Argus,  Oct.  25,  1878;  June  27,  1879;  Healdsburg  Enterprise,  June  26, 
1879;  A  ltd  Cal.,  May  24,  1850;  Aug.  1,  1853;  July  25,  1854;  Feb.  16,  Sept.  25, 
1857;  March  11,  Oct.  14,  1858;  Dec.  2,  1862;  Nov.  7,  1863;  Feb.  15,  16,  July 
5,  Nov.  2,  1865;  Apr.  25,  1868;  Oct.  30,  Nov.  4,  1872;  May  3,  13,  1874;  also 
8.  F.  Call,  Bulletin,  Post,  Times,  Sac.  Union,  etc.;  Cal.  Statutes,  1852,  236; 
1855,  150;  Woods'  Pioneer,  214.  The  population  of  the  county  increased  from 
560  in  1850  to  2,208  in  1852,  11,867  in  1860,  and  25,926  in  1880,  with  2,229 
farms  valued  at  $16,950,000,  produce  $2,740,000,  live-stock  $1,578,000.  In 
1852  it  raised  over  11 7, 000  bushels  of  grain,  a  still  larger  quantity  of  potatoes, 
etc.,  and  18,000  head  of  stock. 

The  large  northern  half  of  Sonoma,  to  Humboldt,  was  in  1850  accorded  the 
title  of  Mendocino  county,  although  subject  to  the  former  for  judicial  and 
revenue  purposes,  the  population  being  then  placed  at  55,  and  in  1852  at  384, 
owning  3,300  head  of  stock,  and  raising  barely  10,000  bushels  of  grain.  By 
1859  the  population  had  increased  sufficiently  to  permit  a  separate  organiza 
tion,  one  eighth  of  the  debt,  or  $2,532,  being  debited  to  Mendocino.  The 
boundary  was  modified  in  1860.  Cal.  Statutes,  1859,  407;  1871-2,  714,  766. 
The  county  seat  was  placed  at  Ukiah,  the  centre  of  a  considerable  farming 
district  on  the  Russian  River.  Ukiah  was  first  settled  by  S.  Lowry  in  1856, 
followed  by  A.  T.  Perkins  and  J.  Burton,  who  traded  here.  When  chosen 
county  seat  it  had  a  population  of  100,  which  by  1880  was  937.  A  journal 
appeared  in  1860.  The  name  comes  from  the  Indian  tribes  once  occupying 


MENDOCINO,  LAKE,  AND  NAP  A.  509 

the  spot.  Incorporation  act  in  Cal.  Statutes,  1875-6,  162.  Eel  River  em 
braces  the  other  fertile  section,  which  however  falls  largely  within  the  Indian 
reservation,  the  source  of  much  disturbance  in  this  region.  Numerous  small 
streams  intermediate  along  the  coast  render  accessible  the  immense  forests 
which  form  the  chief  industry  of  the  country.  Saw-mills  and  shipping  points 
dot  the  coast,  from  Gualala  northward,  with  the  small  but  prosperous  Men- 
docino  City  in  the  centre.  It  was  here  that  honest  Harry  Meiggs  started  a 
mill  in  1852.  The  town  was  laid  out  in  1855.  Point  Arenas  and  Little 
River  lie  below,  and  Fort  Bragg  marks  the  site  of  the  reservation  placed 
here  in  early  years.  A  second  mill  was  started  in  1852  by  Richardson,  after 
which  they  increased  rapidly.  See  Hist.  Mendodno  Co.,  141.  Blue  Rock  and 
Cahto  form  centres  in  Eel  River  valley.  Little  Lake,  Porno,  and  Calpetta, 
rise  in  the  middle  of  the  county,  the  last  being  the  only  rival  for  the  county 
seat  in  1859.  Below  Ukiah,  Hopland  is  the  leading  village,  close  to  which 
F.  Feliz  settled  about  1844,  the  first  occupant  of  the  country.  John  Parker 
is  said  to  have  been  the  next  settler,  in  1850,  on  Wilson  Creek,  near  Ukiah. 
Yet  this  year  the  census  credits  the  county  with  200  bushels  of  corn  and 
some  live-stock.  A  flour-mill  was  here  in  1858.  In  1880  there  were  982 
farms,  valued  at  $4,451,000,  produce  and  live-stock  each  standing  for  some 
what  over  a  million,  and  the  total  assessment  at  $5,976,000,  among  a  popu 
lation  of  12,800,  against  7,545  in  1870  and  3,967  in  1860.  Mendoc.  W.  Coast 
Star,  Dec.  25,  30,  1875,  etc.;  Ukiah  Press,  Jan.  21,  1881;  fiuss.  #.  Flag,  Dec. 
30,  1869;  Nov.  22,  1877;  Alia  Cal.,  Aug.  6,  1858;  Apr.  8,  May  19,  July  31, 
Aug.  2,  30,  1859,  etc.;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Dec.  29,  1856;  Feb.  8,  1857;  May  29, 
1858;  June  20,  1862;  March  3,  Apr.  13,  1865;  Nov.  29,  1879;  also  Call,  Chron., 
etc. 

The  adjoining  beautiful  Lake  county,  formed  round  Clear  Lake  between 
two  branches  of  the  Coast  Range,  had  been  used  as  a  grazing  country  since 
about  1840,  and  received  in  1847  its  first  permanent  occupants,  Stone  and 
Kelsey,  who  being  killed  by  Indians  in  1849  for  their  cruelty,  led  to  an 
avenging  military  expedition  in  1850,  under  Lt  Lyons.  W  Anderson,  who 
in  1851  occupied  and  named  Anderson  Valley  in  Mendocino,  is  said  to  have 
located  himself  and  wife  here  in  1848.  Hist.  Lake  Co.,  63;  Napa  Register,  Feb. 
21,  1874.  Remoteness  and  fear  of  Indians  delayed  further  settlement  till 
1853.  After  this  the  influx  was  rapid,  and  in  1861  this  northern  district  of 
Napa  was  formed  into  a  separate  county,  with  the  seat  at  Lakeport,  on  the 
land  of  Win  Forbes,  the  first  business  occupant  being  J.  Parrish.  Cal.  Stat 
utes,  1861,  1865-6,  ap.  69;  1871-2,  305,  903;  HUtelVs  Codes,  ii.  1766  A  news 
paper  was  started  here  in  1866.  Lakeport  became  in  due  time  the  leading 
town,  although  not  until  after  a  close  struggle  with  Lower  Lake,  which  ob 
tained  the  seat  between  1867-70,  and  for  a  time  had  high  aspirations,  based 
on  adjacent  mines  and  expected  factories.  First  house  here  in  1858;  first 
store  in  1860.  In  the  south  Middletown  rose  as  a  thriving  way-station,  and 
throughout  are  scattered  a  number  of  medicinal  springs  with  a  yearly  increas 
ing  attendance,  which  together  with  some  quicksilver  deposits  assist  to 
bring  revenue  to  a  county  otherwise  depending  wholly  upon  agriculture. 
Both  grist  and  saw  mills  are  recorded  in  1858.  The  population  increased 


510  CALIFORNIA  IN  COUNTIES. 

irom  2, 970  in  1870  to  6,600  in  1880,  possessing  512  farms  valued  at  $1,892,000, 
with  produce  worth  $518,000,  and  live-stock  $288,000,  the  total  assessment 
being  $2,177,000.  Cotton  has  been  raised.  Kelseyville  and  Upper  Lake 
became  thriving  villages.  Lakeport  Co.  Rept,  1-77;  Dodsons  Biog.,  MS  ,  1-8; 
Hist.  Lake  Co.,  passim;  Harper's  Mag.,  xlviii.  43-5;  Hayes'  Cat.  Notes,  iii.  143; 
Lower  Lake  Bulletin,  Dec.  1869;  Feb.  5,  1881;  Lakeport  Bee,  June  15,  1876; 
Jan.  4,  May  17,  June  14,  1877;  March  20,  1879;  Sac.  Union,  Oct.  6,  1855; 
June  3,  1856;  8.  F.  Bulletin,  Dec.  26-8,  1863;  Dec.  22,  1869;  June  17,  1870; 
Call,  Nov.  16,  1871;  June  25,  1876;  March  9,  June  24,  1879;  A  Ha,  etc. 

Napa,  the  garden  valley  of  California,  shared  quicidy  in  the  immigration 
drawn  by  the  venture  at  Sonoma,  and  early  in  1848  it  was  found  expedient  to 
lay  out  the  town  of  Napa,  at  the  head  of  navigation.  It  was  done  by  Grigsby 
and  Coombs,  at  what  was  known  as  the  embarcadero,  or  landing,  for  the 
produce  of  the  farms  and  mills  above,  as  pointed  out  in  Gal.  Star,  Feb.  12, 
1848,  when  alluding  to  the  town  survey  lately  made.  The  Califorman  of 
March  8,  1848,  was  puffing  it.  CaL  Pioneers,  10;  Napa  Register,  June  23,  1877; 
July  20,  1878.  In  April,  W.  F.  Swasey  and  C.  C.  Southward  prepared  to 
open  a  store.  Col.  Star,  Apr  1,  1848  Tradition  says  H.  Pierce  erected  the 
first  building  on  the  site,  for  a  saloon,  in  May,  it  is  added,  J.  P.  Thompson 
opening  the  first  store.  After  the  temporary  check  caused  by  the  gold  fever, 
it  gained  strength  and  obtained  a  population  of  300  by  1852,  a  journal  was 
started  in  1856,  incorporation  followed  in  1872,  Cal.  Statutes,  1871-2,  1014, 
1873-4,  140,  with  gas  and  street-cars,  and  by  1880  the  population  had  ad 
vanced  to  3,730,  from  1,880  in  1870.  The  steamboat  which  since  1850  supple 
mented  sloop  traffic  was  greatly  supplanted  by  the  railroad.  The  insane 
asylum  established  here  in  1872  proved  a  source  of  considerable  revenue. 
Thus  as  centre  of  trade  and  the  county  seat,  Napa  became  the  most  pop 
ulous  place  in  the  valley.  Next  ranked  St  Helena,  renowned  for  its  vine 
yards,  founded  on  Bale's  original  grant,  and  named  after  the  adjacent  mountain, 
which  was  christened  after  a  Russian  woman.  Still  and  Walters  built  the 
first  house  and  store  there  about  1851.  Kister  and  Stratton  came  3  or  4  years 
later,  according  to  St  Helena  Star,  Feb.  12,  1876,  after  which  the  agriculture 
interests  increased.  In  1876  St  Helena  was  incorporated,  CaL  Statutes,  1875 
-6,  444,  boasting  its  securing  a  newspaper  in  1874,  Population  in  1880,  1,340. 
Beyond,  Calistoga  figured  as  a  health  resort,  and  later  as  the  terminus  for  the 
railroad,  which  gave  importance  to  several  other  agricultural  villages,  as 
Yountsville,  first  called  Sebastopol,  but  renamed  after  Yount,  the  first  settler 
in  the  valley,  who  built  a  house  in  1836.  Monticello  was  located  in  the  cen 
tre  of  Berreyesa  Valley,  Wardner  in  Pope  Valley,  and  Knoxville  at  the  Red- 
ington  quicksilver  mines,  which  were  at  one  time  a  profitable  industry. 
Calistoga  was  founded,  in  imitation  of  Saratoga,  by  Sam  Brannan,  with  a 
large  expenditure.  The  first  store  rose  in  the  town  proper  in  1866;  in  1871 
appeared  a  journal.  Napa  Register,  March  24,  1877;  Player-Frond's  Six  Mo., 
60.  The  whole  valley  became  more  or  less  interested  in  viniculture,  to  which 
Col  Haraszthy  here  gave  the  decisive  impulse  in  1858.  In  1881  over  11.000 
acres  were  devoted  to  this  industry,  bearing  about  1,000  vines  each,  the  yield 
in  1880  was  2,857,000  gallons.  Hist.  Napa  Co.,  181-227;  Napa  Co.  Illust.,  6- 


MARIN.  511 

15.  The  census  of  1880  enumerates  8D7  farms  valued  at  $7,515,000,  with 
produce  at  $1,581,000,  and  live-stock  at  $531,000.  In  1852,  250,000  bushels  of 
grain  were  raised,  largely  barley,  giving  work  to  many  mills,  of  which  several 
existed  prior  to  the  gold  excitement,  beginning  with  Yount's.  Ship-building 
dates  from  1S41.  By  1880,  the  population  had  increased  to  13,230  against 
7,160  in  1870,  and  2,110  in  1852,  the  latter  including  1,330  Indians.  Napa 
Land  Reg.,  Indep.  Calistofj.,  Aug.  20,  1879;  St  Helena  Star,  Apr.  11,  1879; 
Xapa  Register,  May  2,  1874;  March  24,  1877;  July  13,  Nov.  23,  1878;  Apr. 
17,  1880,  etc.;  Napa  Reporter,  March  17,  1877;  June  27,  1879;  frequent  reports 
in  A  Ua  CaL,  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Call,  Sac.  Union,  etc. 

On  the  other  side  of  Sonoma,  which  before  1850  controlled  all  this  region,  pro 
jects  the  peninsula  of  Marin,  wherein,  at  San  Rafael,  missionaries  formed  the 
Spanish  pioneer  settlement  north  of  the  bay;  while  vessels  and  sailors  resorted 
before  the  thirties  to  Sauzalito,  the  site  of  Read's  cabin.  The  nature  of  the 
soil  and  climate,  and  the  proximity  to  San  Francisco,  fostered  vegetable  gar 
dening  and  pasturing,  so  that  the  county  may.be  classed  as  a  vast  dairy  farm, 
with  centres  at  Tomales,  Olema,  and  other  points,  and  with  two  railroads  to 
assist  a  fleet  of  small  craft  in  taking  its  produce  to  market.  Among  notable 
settlers  in  1849-50  were  members  of  the  Baltimore  and  Frederick  Trading  Co. 
Further  names  in  Hist.  Marin  Co.,  110-27,  384-8;  and  see  my  preceding 
vols.  It  counted  over  8,000  head  of  live-stock  in  1850,  with  a  population  of 
323  white  men,  which  by  1852  had  increased  to  over  800,  besides  218  Indians. 
There  were  then  4  saw-mills  producing  9,000,000  feet  of  lumber,  beginning 
with  Read's  mill  of  1843,  followed  by  Parker's  at  Sauzalitc,  and  the  Baltimore 
Co/s,  both  of  1849.  The  population  grew  to  3,330  by  1860,  and  to  11,320  by 
1880,  with  487  farms,  valued  at  $5,694,000,  yielding  $1,601,000  in  produce, 
and  with  $913,000  in  live-stock,  the  total  assessment  standing  at  $8,413,000. 
Id.;  Alta  CaL,  Oct.  12,  1855;  Apr.  16,  Nov.  10,  1867;  March  3,  1872;  Aug.  2, 
1874;  8.  F.  Bulletin,  Oct.  23,  1858;  S.  F.  Call,  Sept.  20,  1867;  Aug.  11,  1871; 
July  20,  1872;  Chron.,  etc.;  Marin  Co.  Jour.,  Feb.  26,  1880;  Col.  Statutes, 
1850,  34;  1860,  269-70;  1861,  351,  on  boundaries.  Taylorsville  became  noted 
for  its  paper-mill,  the  first  in  Cal.  Tomales  received  its  first  store  in  1852. 
The  state's  prison  at  Pt  Quintin  presents  a  profitable  outlet  in  itself,  as  does 
the  harbor  of  Sauzalito,  which  like  the  more  important  county  seat  of  San 
Rafael  figures  among  the  summer  resorts  and  suburbs  of  the  metropolis.  San 
Rafael  Tocsin,  Jan.  17,  1879,  gives  a  history  of  San  Quintin,  which  is  con 
sidered  elsewhere  in  this  vol.  See  also  Pioneer  Sketches,  iii.  Sauzalito,  from 
sauzal,  willow,  had  in  1849  three  houses.  Subsequent  settlers,  in  Lanceifs 
Cruise,  197-9;  8.  F.  Bulletin,  Feb.  15,  1878;  Cal  Dept.  St.  Pap.,  Ben.,  iii.  40; 
Gift's  CaL,  17.  San  Rafael,  as  a  mission  establishment  and  point  of  promi 
nence,  was  the  seat  of  an  alcalde  when  in  1848  a  town  was  laid  out.  Notice 
in  Cal.  Star,  Apr.  29,  1848;  Gift's  CaL,  13-27.  There  were  then  two  houses 
besides  the  mission,  Alcalde  Murphy's  and  Short's.  In  1850  the  first  store  was 
opened,  and  several  houses  were  added.  The  adjacent  prison  promoted  it 
by  increasing  traffic,  and  its  fine  climate  began  to  draw  a  number  of  residents, 
until  the  population  by  1880  stood  at  2,270.  It  obtained  a  journal  in  1SG1, 
and  gas  and  other  improvements  came  in  time.  Incorporation  act  in  CaL 


512  CALIFORNIA  IN  COUNTIES 

Statutes,  1873-4,  111;  8.  R.  Herald,  Jan.  15,  1875,  etc.;  Hist.  Marin  Co.,  322 
et  seq.;  Sac.  Union,  March  1,  1870;  Leslie's  Cal,  189-90;  8.  F.  Call,  Jan.  16, 
1875;  May  18,  1876.  Ship-building  at  Bolinas,  water-works  at  Sauzalito,  and 
fisheries  add  to  the  resources.  Bolinas  is  a  corruption  of  ballenas,  whales. 

Following  the  track  of  camp -building  miners  from  the  radiating  centres  at 
Sacramento  and  Stockton,  we  find  them  crossing  the  dividing  ridges  of  the 
Cosumnes  to  fill  up  first  Calaveras  county,  especially  along  the  rich  branches 
of  Dry  Creek,  partly  settled  before  the  gold  discovery.     Here  rose  Amador, 
Sutter,  and  Volcano,  which  under  subsequent  quartz  developments  sustained 
themselves  as  nourishing  towns.     Volcano,  though  mined  in  1848,  assumed  a 
settled  appearance  only  in  1850.     In  1855  it  polled  1,110  votes,  and  boasted 
a  journal,  but  declined  after  this.  Amador  Dispatch,  March  30,  1872;  Taylor  3 
Eldorado,  i.,  cap.  23;  Connor  s  Cal.,  MS.,  2.     Sutter  Creek  became  an  incorpo 
rated  town  in  1856,  and  had  mills  and  foundries  in  token  of  prosperity.     Jack 
son,  after  being  for  a  time  county  seat  for  Calaveras,  became  the  seat  for 
Amador  when  this  was  organized  in  1854.     Jackson  was  called  Botellas  by  the 
Mexican  miners  of  1848,  perhaps  in  humorous  commemoration  of  L.  Tellier,  a 
settler.     In  Dec.  1850  it  had  nearly  100  houses.     Two  years  later  it  lost  the 
county  seat,  but  gained  it  again  soon  after,  obtaining  gas-works  and  progress 
ing  well,  though  ravaged  by  fire  in   1882,  and  by  floods  in   1878.     Earlier 
troubles  are  recorded  in  Sac.  Union,  Aug.  25,  Sept.  18,  Oct.  1,  Dec.  22,  1855; 
Feb.  15,  March  19,  Oct.  11,  1556;  8.  F.  Bulletin,  Aug.  26,  1862.     Butte  City 
sought  at  one  time  to  rival  it.     Calaveras  bestowed  the  dignity  upon  Mokel- 
umne  Hill,  whose  gilded  mountain  acquired  for  it  the  preponderating  influ 
ence,  until  in  1866  the  more  central   San  Andreas  gained  the  supremacy. 
Mokelumne  Hill  became  prominent  in  1850,  as  described  in  S.  F.  Picayune, 
Oct.  17,  1850;  suffered  severely  from  fire  in  1854;  Alta  Cal.,  Feb.  20,  Aug. 
21^,  1854;  Sac.  Union,  Sept.  15,  1855,  March  25,  Sept.  2,  Dec.  16,  1856,  and 
began  to  decline  in  the  sixties.  S.  J.  Pioneer,  Feb.  22,  1879.     San  Andreas 
was  laid  in  ashes   in    1856.     The  name  should  properly  read  San  Andres. 
8.  F.  Bulletin,  Feb.  2,  Sept.  26,  1856;  Sac.  Union,  Dec.  24,  1856.     Southward 
Carson  and  Angel  hold  positions  corresponding  to  the  Volcano  quartz  group. 
Copperopolis  sprang  into  prominence  for  a  while  as  a  productive  copper  mine, 
about  the  same  time  that  silver  lodes  called  attention  to  the  higher  ranges 
eastward,  and  prompted  the  organization  in  1864  of  Alpine  county,  with  the 
seat  at  Silver  Mountain,  named  after  the  highest  peak  of  the  county,  and  sub 
sequently  at  Markleeville.     Its  hopes  in  these  deposits  met  with  meagre  reali 
zation,  and  its  lumber  and  dairy  resources  languished  under  the  decadence  of 
Nevada,  as  its  chief  market.     Its  population,  about  700,  in  1800  owned  33 
farms  valued  at  $124,000,  the  total  assessment  being  $540,000.  Monitor  Argus, 
Feb.  1886;  Alpine  Signal,  May  7,  1879;  Gold  Hill  News,  Aug.  9,  1875;  8.  F. 
Times,  July  9,  1868;  Cal.  Statutes,  1863-4,  441,  563,  with  incorporation  act  of 
Markleeville.     The  first  settlement  is  placed  at  Woodford's,  in  1855,  on  the 
immigrant   route   from  Carson,  where  the  first   saw-mill  also  rose.    Alpine 
Chron.,  Apr. -May  1864;  8.  F.  Bulletin,  May  9,  1884.     Although  most  of  the 
mining  camps  of  Calaveras  and  Amador  declined  after  a  brilliant  career,  agri 
culture  flourished  in  many  sections,  particularly  in  the  fertile  western  parts, 


CALAVERAS  AND  SAN  JOAQUIN.  513 

round  towns  like  lone  City  and  Milton.     Among  prominent  ancient  mining 
towns  were  Yeomet,  which  had  a  promising  position  at  the  junction  of  the 
Cosumnes  north  and  south  forks;  Muletown,  which  was  kept  up  a  while  by 
hydraulic  mining;  Drytown,  which  received  its  final  blow  from  a  conflagra 
tion  in  1857.     Fiddletown  grew  till  1863;  Plymouth  began  to  gain  by  1873; 
Lancha  Plana,  supported   by  bluff  mining,  boasted   a  journal  and  claimed 
nearly  1,000  inhabitants  in  1860;  and  Murphy  flourished  in  1855.     Carson's 
Flat  was  the  great  camp  of  1851.   Taylors  Eldorado,  i.  229-31.     Copperopolis 
rose  in  1861,  and  shipped  in  1863-4  over  $1,600,000  net  via  Stockton.     In 
1850  Calaveras  stands  credited  with  farms  worth  $76,800,  con  taming  $172, 800 
worth  of  live-stock,  and  $14,700  in  implements.     The  census  of  1880  gives  it 
467  farms  valued  at  $756,000,  with  live-stock  $262,000,  and  produce  $308,000, 
the  total  assessment  standing  at  $1,871,000,  yet  the  population  fell  from 
16,299  in  1860  mining  days  to  9,090.     Amador  did  better,  for  her  larger  farm 
ing  area  embraces  531  farms,  valued  at  $1,481,000,  stock  $296,000,  produce 
$453,000,  total  assessment  $2,468,000,  population  11,384.  Placer  Times,  Feb. 
29,  1852;  Calaveras  Chron.,  Sept.  1873;  Feb.  1877;  Stockton  Indep.,  March  7, 
1877;  Calaveras  Citizen,  July  21,  Nov.  10,  Dec.  29,  1877;  Mokel  Chron.,  Jan. 
25,  1879;  Amador  Times,  March  22,  1879,  etc.;  S.  J.  Pioneer,  Aug.  11,  1877; 
Hist.  Amador  Co.,  passim;  frequent  notices  in  Sac.  Union,  S.  F.  Call,  Bulletin, 
Chron.,  nn&Alta  Cal;  Cal.  Statutes,  1854,  156;  1855,  315;  1857,  251;  1863,  231; 
HitteWs  Codes,  ii.  1661.     Lumber  was  cut  in  1846  for  a  ferry-boat,  and  lone 
had  a  saw-mill  in  1851.     Farming  was  carried  on  before  the  gold  discovery, 
and  continued  more  extensively  in  1851-2. 

The  trade  centre  for  these  as  well  as  the  more  southern  counties  lay  at 
Stockton,  to  which  the  traffic  of  the  early  gold  excitement  had  given  growth. 
Its  success  brought  several  rivals  to  the  front  within  San  Joaquin  county,  as 
Castoria  on  the  adjoining  slough,  San  Joaquin  and  Stanislaus  cities  which 
faced  each  other  at  the  southern  extreme,  and  Mokelumne  City  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Cosumnes,  but  their  aspirations  failed  even  for  becoming  sub 
ordinate  points  of  river  distribution.     San  Joaquin  was  started  in  1849.  Pac, 
News,  May  2,  Aug.  28,  1850.     Castoria  was  laid  out  in  1850.   Cal.   Courier, 
Oct.  12,  Nov.  1,  1850;  Pac.  News,  Oct.  1,  1850;  A Ua  Cal,  Jan.  17,  1851.     It 
struggled  till  1853.     Mokelumne  City  was  opened  as  an  entrepot  in  1856,  and 
sloops  built  here  ran  direct  to  S.  F.     It  rose  to  poll  172  votes,  but  the  flood 
of  1862  so  ravaged  the  place  that  it  never  recovered.     Stanislaus,  which  dates 
from  the  Mormon  settlement  of  1846,  was  transferred  to  a  railroad  station. 
Bu/umsSix  Mo.,  156;  Hawley's  Observ.,  MS.,  6;  S.  Joaq.  Agric.  Soc.,  Transac., 
1831,  1 15.     Lockeford  and  Woodbridge  absorbed  the  river  trade  of  the  Mokel 
umne,  but  most  other  districts  became  tributary  to  railroad  stations  like  Lodi, 
Lathrop,  Farmington,  and  other  places  thickly  sprinkled  in  this  agricultural 
region.     Woodbridge,  long  known  as  Wood's  ferry,  was  laid  out  in  1859. 
Lockeford,  settled  by  Locke  in  1855,  was  laid  out  in  1862,  when  the  steam 
boat  Pert  reached  this  point.    Tinkhams  Stockton,  14-16.    Farmington  was  the 
Oregon  rancho  of  Theyer  and  Wells;  Lodi,  with  flour  and  saw  mill,  started  in 
1869.     Crops  were  raised  at  Farmington  in  1846-7,  near  Stockton,  and  on  the 
Stanislaus.     In  1850  farming  was  resumed,  and  by  1852  about  4,000  acres 
HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.    33 


514  CALIFORNIA  IN  COUNTIES. 

were  cultivated,  yielding  120,000  bushels  of  grain,  besides  vegetables.  Tn 
1880,  the  farms  numbered  1,100,  valued  at  $18,553,000,  produce  $4,420,000, 
live-stock  1,300,000;  population  24,349  against  5,029  in  1852.  Swamp-land 
was  widely  reclaimed.  Ship-building  and  wagon-making  date  from  1850-1. 
Timber  was  lacking.  Douglas  was  named  after  Gen.  Douglas,  and  Dent  after 
Gen.  Grant's  brother-in-law.  McCollums  Cat.,  38;  S.  Joaq.  Director)/,  1878, 
174-251;  Hist.  S.  Joaq.  Co.,  passim.;  S.  J.  Pioneer,  Aug.  18,  1877,  etc.;  Stock 
ton  Indep.,  March  17,  July  14,  1877;  June  22,  1878;  Sept.  11,  Dec.  23,  1879; 
Feb.  27,  1880,  etc.;  Tuoloume  Indep.,  Feb.  1,  1879;  S.  J.  Mercury,  Nov.  27, 
1879;  Alta  Cal,  March  21,  1851;  Aug.  11,  Jan.  10,  19,  July  9,  Aug.  11,  Sept. 
22,  1853;  May  21,  Dec.  2,  1854;  with  frequent  scattered  letters  in  Id.,  Sac. 
Union,  S.  F.  Bulletin,  since  1854;  Cal.  Jour.  Sen.,  1859,  Apr.  3,  40-3;  Id., 
Ass.,  1860,  350,  376-80. 

The  similar  adjoining  county  of  Stanislaus,  which  was  formed  in  1854  and 
rose  to  become  a  leading  wheat-producing  district,  was  scoured  by  miners 
along  the  eastern  border,  since  1848,  where  a  few  began  to  settle  as  ferry-men 
and  traders.  Among  them  were  G.  W.  Branch  and  J.  Dickinson,  with  fer 
ries,  Dr  Strentgel,  H.  Davis,  C.  Dallas,  C.  W.  Cook,  J.  W.  Laird,  Jesse  Hill, 
and  others.  On  the  Stanislaus  rose  Knight's  Ferry,  laid  out  as  a  town  in 
1855,  and  becoming  the  county  seat  for  a  time,  a  dignity  held  prior  to  1802 
successively  by  three  towns  on  the  Tuolumne,  the  ephemeral  Adamsville  and 
Empire  City,  and  by  the  more  substantial  La  Grange,  which  rose  to  promi 
nence  under  a  mining  excitement  in  1854-5.  Knight's  Ferry  was  supported 
later  by  farming  interests.  Knight,  trapper  and  exploring  guide,  opened  the 
ferry  in  1848-9.  After  his  death  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  brothers 
Dent,  who  laid  out  the  town  known  for  a  time  as  Dentville.  It  was  the  county 
seat  between  1862-7.  Alta  Cal.,  March  22,  1857;  Aug.  17,  1859;  Sta  Cruz  Times, 
March  5,  1870;  Sclent.  Press,  Oct.  14,  1871.  Adamsville  was  founded  in  1849 
by  Dr  Adams,  and  Empire  City  in  1850.  Pac.  News,  May  2,  1850.  Empire 
ranked  in  1851  as  the  army  depot  and  head  of  Tuolumne  navigation.  La 
Grange  was  first  known  as  French  Camp,  from  French  miners  of  1852,  though 
worked  since  1849,  and  became  a  flourishing  way -station.  It  declined  greatly 
after  losing  the  seat.  The  first  settler  on  the  spot  was  Elam  Dye.  Hayes1 
Mining,  i.  43;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Dec.  31,  1855;  Sac.  Union,  Nov.  3,  1855.  All 
of  these  towns  were  surpassed  by  the  more  central  Modesto,  laid  out  in  1870 
under  railroad  auspices,  and  made  the  county  seat  in  1872,  with  gas,  several 
mills,  and  two  journals.  Stockton  Indep.,  Dec.  30,  1870;  S.  F.  Chron.,  Aug.  3, 
1884.  Turlock  and  Oakdale  became  prosperous  stations,  the  latter  the  ter 
minus  for  many  years  of  the  Visalia  road,  with  plough  factory,  etc. ;  population 
376  in  1880.  Tuolumne  City  was  founded  in  1849  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Tuolumne  River,  in  the  vain  hope  of  becoming  the  entrepot  for  this  stream. 
It  was  laid  out  by  P.  McDowell,  but  collapsed  at  the  first  low  water.  Placer 
Times,  May  20,  1850;  8.  F.  Herald,  June  5,  1850.  The  adjacent  Grayson. 
and  Hill's  Ferry,  the  latter  a  claimant  to  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  San, 
Joaquin,  tended  to  undermine  it.  Grayson  was  laid  out  early  in  1850  by 
A.  J.  Grayson,  a  pioneer  of  1846,  and  flourished  with  the  aid  of  a  ferry.  Alta 
Cal.,  May  24,  185Q.  Two  lines  of  steamboats  touched  here.  In  1852,  Tuol- 


STANISLAUS  AND  MARIPOSA.  515 

umne,  of  which  Stanislaus  was  the  leading  agricultural  section,  stood  cred 
ited  with  1,870  acres  in  cultivation,  and  7,700  head  of  stock.  In  1880  the 
census  gave  Stanislaus  092  farms,  valued  at  $7,654,000,  produce  $2,142,000, 
live-stock  $997,000,  population  8,751  against  2,245  in  1860.  Modesto  Herald, 
Feb.  1880;  Hist.  Stanislaus  Co.,  passim;  Alta  Cat.,  Feb.  28,  1856;  Feb.  18, 
1880;  Sac.  Union,  Dec.  31,  1856;  Oct.  28,  1858;  ,9.  F.  Call,  Jan.  10,  Feb. 

9,  Aug.   4,   1873;  Post,   Chron.;  Cat.  Statutes,    1854,  21-4,   148-9;  1855,  245. 
A  flour  and  saw  mill  started  up  at  Knight's  Ferry  in  1853-4. 

The  greater  part  of  Stanislaus  pertained  during  its  first  years  as  a  little 
esteemed  section  to  the  nugget  region  of  Tuolumne,  centring  round  Sonora, 
headquarters  for  the  southern  mines,  and  chief  battle-ground  of  the  antago 
nistic  Latin  race  and  the  Anglo-Saxons.  This  race-feeling  was  one  of  the 
grounds  for  the  futile  struggle  of  Jamestown  to  gain  the  county  seat  from 
Sonora.  Jamestown  was  one  of  the  earliest  camps;  vote  299  in  1855,  when 
a  fire  ravaged  it.  Sac.  Union,  Oct.  4-5,  1855;  Hayes*  Mining,  i.  34.  The  ex 
treme  richness  of  this  district  gave  rise  to  a  larger  number  of  prominent 
camps  than  could  be  found  on  a  similar  area  elsewhere,  many  of  which  main 
tained  respectable  proportions  for  a  long  time,  notably  Columbia,  so  named 
by  Maj.  Sullivan,  the  first  alcalde,  and  others,  in  April  1850,  one  month  after 
the  opening  of  this  mining  ground  by  J.  Walker  and  party.  It  was  laid  out 
in  1852,  when  its  first  newspaper  was  started.  It  was  nearly  destroyed  by 
fire,  July  1854,  yet  incorporated  in  1856.  AUa  Cal,  July  11-12,  1854;  July 

10,  1852;  Tuolumne  fndep.,  March   1879;  S.  F.  Herald,  July  11,  1854;  Oct. 
29,  1851;  population  in  1850  from  2, 000  to  5,000.    Warren's  Dust,  149;  Placer 
Times,   May  17,    1850;  S.  J.  Pioneer,   Sept.  8,    1877.     View  in  Pict.    Union, 
Apr.  1854.  Incorporation  act  and  repeal,  in  Cal.  Statutes,  1857,  188;  1869-70, 
438.     Jacksonville,  started  in  1849,  was  named  after  Col  Jackson,  the  first 
storekeeper.    Woods'  Sixteen  Mo.,  121,  125;  Hayes'  Mining,  i.  42;  McCollums 
Cal.,  38;  Pac.  News,  Dec.  29,  1849.     Among  others  were  Chinese  Camp,  once 
polling  300  votes,  Springfield,  Shaw  Flat,  which  in  1855  claimed  a  tributary 
population  of  2,000,  Yankee  Hill,  a  nugget  ground,  Saw  Mill  Flat,  where  the 
bandit  Murietta  held  forth.     Southward  lay  Big  Oak  Flat  and  Garotte,  the 
former  settled  in   1850  by  J.    Savage.  Hayes'  Mining,   i.  38.     A  gradually 
supplanting  agriculture  came  to  relieve  others,  and  to  infuse  a  more  sedate 
tone  into  the  elements  so  deeply  tinged  by  the  gambling  spirit,  rowdyism, 
and  race-antipathy  of  early  digger  times.     The  first  orchard  is  ascribed  to 
W.  S.  Smart  at  Spring  Garden.     The  first  mill  was  Charbonelle's  at  Sonora; 
by  1854  there  were  24  in  the  county.     In  1880  Tuolumne  had  721   farms, 
valued  modestly  at  $1,054,000,  with  produce  $393,000,  live-stock  $332,000; 
total  assessment  $1,596,000,  and  a  population  of  7,848  against  16,229  in  1860. 
Tuolumne  Co.  Direct.,  33  et  seq. ;  Son.  Union  Democ.,  March  17,  Apr.,  May, 
July  28,  Sept. -Oct.  1877;  Tuol  Indep.,  Feb.    10,  Dec.   17,    1877,   etc.;  Sac. 
Union,  Oct.  18,  1855;  Sept.  25-7,  Oct.  27,  Dec.  30,  1856,  etc.;  Alta  Cal.,  July 
26,  1854;  Aug.  7,  1856;  Oct.  9,  1857;  May  21,  1859;  Aug.  6,  1860;  May  26, 
1867;  S.  F.  bulletin,  Aug.  6,  1856;  May  29,  1880. 

The  region  beyond  Tuolumne  was  opened  only  in  1849,  J.  D.  Savage  being 
one  of  the  first  to  enter  and  to  establish  a  trading  post,  while  Col  Fremont 


516  CALIFORNIA  IN  COUNTIES. 

took  the  earliest  steps  toward  quartz  mining  upon  his  famous  grant,  named, 
like  the  county,  after  the  Rio  de  las  Mariposas.  Its  comparatively  meagre 
placers  gave  support  to  but  few  camps,  and  those  that  rose  in  early  days  owed 
their  existence  chiefly  to  quartz.  Their  fading  hopes  revived  with  the  disap 
pearance  of  the  cloud  of  litigation  so  long  hanging  over  the  land.  The  only 
town  of  note  besides  Mariposa,  the  county  seat,  with  about  500  inhabitants 
and  2  journals,  was  Coulterville,  with  its  orchards  and  vineyards.  The  scenic 
wonders  of  the  Yosemite  Valley  drew  a  profitable  traffic.  In  1855  the  valley 
section  was  segregated  to  form  Merced  county,  with  the  county  seat  for  some 
years  at  Snelling,  first  started  as  a  mining  camp  and  way-station,  and  named 
after  the  Snelling  family,  which  in  1851  bought  the  land  and  hotel,  the  first 
in  Merced,  of  Dr  Lewis.  The  disadvantages  of  the  county  seat  first  chosen 
on  Turner  and  Osborne's  rancho,  on  the  Mariposa,  8  miles  from  Merced, 
caused  Snelling  to  be  selected  the  same  year.  It  was  laid  out  in  1856, 
grew  rapidly,  and  obtained  a  journal  in  1862,  but  was  almost  destroyed  by 
flood  and  flame  in  1861-2.  In  1872  it  lost  the  county  seat,  and  declined 
into  a  quiet  town.  S.  Joaq.  Argus,  June  18,  1870,  etc.;  Merced  Reporter, 
Nov.  1874.  Merced  was  laid  out  for  the  county  seat  under  railroad  au 
spices,  and  soon  acquired  the  leading  position.  It  was  surveyed  Feb.  1872. 
Minturn,  Plainsburg,  and  Cressey  were  minor  stations.  Merced  Falls  once 
looked  to  its  water-power  for  a  future.  Hopeton,  below  on  the  Merced, 
and  Dambert,  Los  Bafios,  and  Central  Point,  were  leading  villages  on  the 
other  side  of  the  San  Joaquin.  Hornitos  gained  incorporation  privileges  in 
1861.  Gal.  Statutes,  118.  The  rich  valley  land  was  not  subdivided  so  as  to 
receive  proper  cultivation  and  development.  The  388  farms  mentioned  in  the 
census  of  1880  embraced  656,700  acres,  valued  at  $4,820,000,  produced  $881,- 
000,  live-stock  $824,000,  population  5,650  against  1,141  in  1860.  The  popu 
lation  of  Mariposa  decreased  like  that  of  most  mining  districts,  numbering 
4,340  in  1880  against  6,240  in  1860,  its  small  valleys  containing  176  farms, 
valued  at  $331,000,  with  produce  at  $181,000,  and  live-stock  $168,000,  the 
total  assessment  rising,  however,  to  $1,295,000.  8.  F.  Herald,  Nov.  12,  1852; 
Alta  Cal,  Nov.  12,  1852;  Apr.  12,  1855;  Sept.  26,  1857;  Oct.  1,  16,  1858; 
July  15,  1864;  June  6,  1867;  Sac.  Union,  Feb.  1,  Apr.  10-11,  Oct.  5,  1855; 
Jan.  23,  Feb.  22,  March  14,  Apr.  17,  May  13,  27-8,  Oct.  21,  Nov.  26-9,  Dec. 
13,  26-7,  1856;  Sept.  23,  1858.  Also  S.  F.  Times,  Bulletin,  Call,  Feb.  2, 
June  17,  Dec.  25,  1877;  Mariposa  Co.  Register,  Mariposa  Gaz.,  May  3,  1879; 
Stockton  Indep.,  Sept.  19,  1870;  Cal.  Statutes,  1855,  125-8;  Hindi's  Codes,  ii. 
1778.  The  first  orchard  and  vineyard  in  Merced  is  ascribed  to  H.  J.  Ostran- 
der,  and  the  first  alfalfa  and  well,  while  J.  Griffith  in  1851  sowed  the  first 
field  of  wheat,  and  erected  the  first  grist-mill;  the  next  was  the  Nelson  mill, 
at  Merced  Falls. 

Fresno  county  in  1856  was  segregated  chiefly  from  Mariposa.  With  only 
a  narrow  fringe  of  mining  country,  and  with  a  vast  expanse  of  arid-looking 
plains  in  the  centre  and  west,  and  an  equally  uninviting  ruggedness  along  the 
Sierra  slopes,  it  seemed  to  have  few  attractions  for  settlers;  and  indeed,  dur 
ing  the  first  years  Indian  troubles  tended  to  repel  them,  so  that  occupation 
was  restricted  to  the  placers  of  the  north-east,  with  a  sprinkling  elsewhere  of 


TULARE  AND  KERN.  517 

stock -raisers.  In  time,  however,  it  was  found  that  with  irrigation,  for  which 
advantages  were  numerous,  the  soil  could  be  made  exceedingly  productive, 
and  this  of  the  most  assured  character.  Yet  the  application  was  hardly  pos 
sible'  for  the  ordinary  farmers,  except  in  combination,  and  this  was  effectively 
achieved  by  colonies.  The  first  to  be  started  on  a  successful  basis  was  the 
Central  California,  opened  in  1875,  round  Fresno,  which  encouraged  others. 
Land  was  taken  mostly  in  20-acre  lots  for  viniculture,  until  this  hitherto  re 
pulsive  section  promised  to  become  one  of  the  most  flourishing  in  the  country. 
The  first  colony,  the  Alabama,  of  1868-9,  failed,  and  was  almost  abandoned 
by  .1874,  because  it  had  not  been  started  right.  The  Hist.  Fresno  Co.,  111-20, 
describes  the  progress  of  9  colonies  prior  to  1882.  The  San  Joaquin  and 
Kings  River  canal,  the  first  enterprise  on  an  extensive  speculative  plan,  takes 
its  source  at  the  junction  of  Kings  River  and  Fresno  Slough.  While  not  a 
financial  success,  owing  to  its  experimental  difficulties,  it  encouraged  other 
canals  which  benefited  by  its  experiences.  M.  J.  Church  of  Fresno  has 
done  much  for  irrigation,  while  B.  Marks  ranks  as  founder  of  the  first  suc 
cessful  colony.  Fresno  City,  laid  out  in  1872,  by  the  railroad,  and  becoming 
the  county  seat  two  years  later,  owed  its  rapid  growth  greatly  to  these  colo 
nies.  It  was  surveyed  in  May;  the  first  store  was  opened  in  July- Aug.,  by 
D.  Frolich;  journal  in  1874;  several  industries  started.  Riverdale  and  Wash 
ington  became  also  thriving.  Fresno  Expositor,  Jan.  1,  10,  1879;  Id.,  Repub., 
March  1880;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  March  10,  1880.  It  reduced  to  a  mere  shadow 
Millerton,  the  first  seat  of  justice,  which  had  risen  upon  the  mining  camp  of 
Rootville,  and  was  partly  sustained  by  the  adjoining  Fort  Miller,  established 
Apr.  1851  and  abandoned  in  1863.  Rootville  rose  under  its  wing  to  be  re 
named  Millerton,  obtained  a  journal  in  1856,  and  had  113  school  children  in 
1870.  After  1872  the  leading  people  moved  to  Fresno.  The  first  saw-mill 
rose  here  in  1854.  Madera,  Selma,  and  Kingsburg  figure  among  the  stations 
which  absorb  the  trade  of  the  county,  partly  at  the  expense  of  earlier  towns 
like  Kingston,  which  had  its  beginning  as  Whitmore's  ferry.  Yet  Centreville 
holds  its  own  as  a  nourishing  way-station,  and  Coarse  Gold  is  still  a  mining 
camp  in  the  north-east,  with  a  fine  sheep  region  adjoining,  while  in  the  ex 
treme  west  New  Idria  is  sustained  by  important  quicksilver  mines,  worked 
chiefly  by  Cornish  and  Mexican  miners.  Panoche  Valley  northward  is  a  val 
uable  section.  Coal  and  petroleum  promised  to  swell  the  resources,  and 
quartz-mills  were  put  in  operation.  Fresno  Flat  was  sustained  by  several 
camps.  Buchanan  rose  on  the  Chowchilla,  on  the  strength  of  copper  deposits, 
which  proved  unprofitable.  Although  Fresno  has  advanced  greatly  since 
1880,  it  is  well  for  comparison  to  state  that  the  census  then  gave  it  926  farms, 
value  $4,400,000,  produce  $978,000,  live-stock  $1,570,000,  total  assessment 
$6,354,000,  population  9,480. 

Tulare  corresponds  in  its  agricultural  features  to  the  preceding  county, 
while  the  absence  of  mineral  deposits  is  compensated  for  by  a  large  propor 
tion  of  forest  land,  provided  especially  with  oak.  Irrigation  has  been  widely 
extended  from  a  primitive  beginning  anterior  to  the  sixties,  one  of  the  canals, 
the  76,  having  a  width  of  100  feet,  with  a  carrying  depth  of  four  feet.  Num 
bers  of  artesian  wells  insure  crops,  while  the  vast  area  of  marsh-land  presents 


518  CALIFORNIA  IN  COUNTIES 

a  fine  range  for  hogs  and  other  stock.  These  advantages  attracted  an  immi 
gration  before  which  the  Indians  of  the  reservation  faded,  and  the  silent 
plains  were  transformed  into  smiling  farms  and  vineyards,  clustering  round 
towns  like  Visalia,  the  county  seat,  which  from  a  pretty  hamlet  of  1859  rose 
to  an  important  place,  and  the  rapidly  developing  Tulare.  The  white  people 
numbered  only  174  out  of  8,582,  according  to  the  census  of  1852.  By  1870 
the  population  increased  to  4,533,  and  by  1880  to  11,281,  with  little  over  100 
Indians.  The  farms  numbered  1,125,  value  $3,525,000,  produce  $712,000, 
live-stock  $875,000,  total  assessment  $5,204,000;  but  the  increase  since  then 
has  been  rapid.  The  first  settlement  in  the  county  is  ascribed  to  Campbell, 
Pool,  &  Co.,  who  opened  a  ferry  on  Kings  River  in  the  spring  of  1852.  Alto, 
Cal,  Oct.  17,  1852;  Bartons  Hist.  Tulare,  MS.,  3  et  seq.  N.  Vice,  the  Texan 
bear-hunter,  settled  here,  and  aided  by  O'Neil  laid  out  the  town  early  in  Nov. 
1852,  naming  it  after  himself.  A  month  later  it  claimed  over  60  inhabitants, 
and  gained  the  seat  of  government  in  1854  from  the  adjacent  Woodville, 
which  in  consequence  was  completely  overshadowed.  A  mill  was  rising  in 
Dec.  1852,  a  journal  was  started  in  1864,  and  by  1880  it  had  over  1,400  inhab 
itants,  with  gas  and  water  works.  AUa  CaL,  Dec.  11,  1852;  Hayes'  Angeles, 
viii.,  169;  Visalia  Delia,  Feb.  14,  1866;  Oct.  12,  1876,  etc.  Incorporation  act 
in  Cal.  Statutes,  1873-4,  191.  Goshen,  Tipton,  Hanford,  and  Lemoore  fast 
gained  ground.  The  first  saw -mill  was  started  in  1856  on  Old  Mill  Creek. 

The  Kern  River  mining  excitement  of  1854-5  did  much  for  this  region, 
promoting  traffic  and  settlement,  and  by  opening  a  field  of  industry  in  the 
extreme  south  of  the  valley,  which  in  1866  caused  the  formation  of  Kern 
county.  The  county  seat  was  at  first  assigned  to  Havilah,  which  sprang  into 
prominence  as  a  quartz  centre,  surpassing  the  hitherto  leading  Kernville,  but 
with  the  expansion  of  agriculture,  under  irrigation  and  railroad  outlet,  the 
fertile  delta  country  westward  acquired  a  supremacy,  and  the  seat  of  govern 
ment  was  transferred  to  Bakersfield,  which,  sustained  by  the  railroad,  made 
rapid  progress.  Havilah  was  named  after  the  place  in  Genesis,  where  the 
first  allusion  is  made  to  a  land  of  gold.  Bakersfield  was  founded  on  the  tract 
of  T.  Baker,  and  formed  a  thriving  village,  with  a  newspaper,  when  in  1870 
some  speculators  sought  to  gain  possession  of  the  land  on  technical  grounds, 
though  in  vain.  The  county  seat  was  transferred  in  1874.  Mojave,  Tehachapi, 
and  Pumpa  were  soon  among  the  rising  stations.  Cal.  Jour.  Sen.,  1871-2,  531. 
Although  a  number  of  small  inviting  valleys  exist,  the  richer  level  tracts  are 
less  adapted  for  small  farmers,  so  that  this  section  did  not  receive  the  same 
early  impulse  as  the  districts  to  the  north.  It  had  282  farms  according  to 
the  census  of  1880,  valued  at  $1,927,000,  produce  $543,000,  live-stock,  $851,- 
000,  total  assessment  $6,000,000;  population  5,600.  Farming  early  assumed 
considerable  proportions  in  the  rich  delta  region,  where  settlers  began  to  re 
claim  land  and  open  roads.  Cotton  culture  has  been  undertaken  since  1871. 

Beyond  the  Sierra  stretches  a  narrow  belt  of  silver -bearing  country,  bor 
dered  on  one  side  by  snow-capped  peaks,  towering  15,000  feet  into  the  clouds; 
on  the  other  by  forbidding  alkali  flats,  arid  wastes,  and  volcanic  tracts  marked 
by  strange  contortions,  acrid  waters,  and  steaming  geysers.  The  discovery 


MONO,  SAN  BERNARDINO,  AND  SAN  DIEGO  519 

of  a  limited  placer  round  Monoville  brought  a  population  which  in  1861  led 
to  the  creation  of  Mono  county,  with  the  seat  of  government  at  first  at  Au 
rora — but  this  town,  described  in  Wassons  Bodie,  49-51,  was  soon  after  sur 
rendered  to  Nevada — and  then  at  Bridgeport.  But  Monoville  faded  away, 
and  Bridgeport  yielded  the  supremacy  to  Bodie,  famed  for  many  rich  quartz 
mines,  and  the  terminus  of  a  railroad,  which  skirts  the  lake  and  approaches 
Benton,  the  next  town  of  importance,  and  described  in  Benton  Messenger,  Feb. 
8,  1879.  Leavitt's  lies  to  the  left  of  the  northerly  Patterson  mining  district. 
The  rise  of  Bodie  is  narrated  in  Wassons  Bodie,  220-5;  Bodie  Standard,  May 
1,  Sept.  23,  1878.  The  region  southward,  early  traversed  by  emigrants,  who 
reported  silver  in  1850,  and  entered  by  stockmen  in  the  beginning  of  the  six 
ties,  revealed  similar  lodes,  which  on  trial,  proved  disappointing,  and  led  to 
the  failure  of  many  costly  mills,  and  the  decline  of  towns  like  Owensville  and 
San  Carlos.  They  served,  however,  to  attract  an  immigration  sufficient  to 
give  by  1865  a  decisive  check  to  the  hostile  Indians,  and  to  bring  about  the 
organization  of  Inyo  county  with  the  seat  of  government  at  Independence. 
The  mining  interest,  centring  in  the  Kearsage  district,  was  soon  surpassed 
by  the  agricultural  resources,  although  these  were  practically  restricted  to 
the  narrow  valley  of  Owen  River,  while  the  more  sterile  Mono  was  content 
with  a  supplemental  stock-raising.  Inyo  was  by  the  census  of  1880  given 
242  farms,  valued  at  $717,000,  produce  $295,000,  live-stock  $233,000,  popu 
lation  2,930.  Mono  counted  only  64  farms,  value  $389,000,  produce  $181,- 
000,  live-stock  $103,000,  yet  possessed  a  population  of  7,500,  although  with 
an  assessment  of  only  $969,000  against  $1,353,000  for  Inyo.  The  Carson  and 
Colorado  R.  R.  helped  to  develop  this  county.  The  report  of  silver  by  emi 
grants  passing  through  Inyo  in  1850  led  to  several  futile  expeditions,  and 
only  with  the  opening  of  such  mines  in  Nevada  did  real  prospecting  begin  in 
this  region.  For  accounts  of  early  expeditions,  settlement,  and  progress  in 
the  preceding  counties  of  Fresno,  Tulare,  Kern,  Mono,  and  Inyo,  see  Inyo 
Independ.,  July  8,  1876;  AUa  Gal,  June  2,  Oct.  3,  17,  1852;  July  23,  Aug.  8- 
10,  Dec.  4,  1854;  May  29,  Oct.  2,  22,  Dec.  12,  1859;  S.  F.  Herald,  Dec.  10, 
1852;  Aug.  8,  Oct.  12,  1853;  Sac.  Union,  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Bodie  Standard, 
March  1,  1879;  Benton  Mess.,  March  22,  1879;  Independence  Indep.,  July  12, 
Sept.  1,  1879;  Fresno  Expos.,  Nov.  27,  1878;  Jan.  1,  July  30,  Oct.  8,  1879; 
Fresno  Repub.,  Nov. -Dec.  1879;  Bakersfield  Cat.,  June  8,  1876;  June  22,  1878; 
Kern  Co.  Register,  1880;  Fresno  Co.  Circular,  1882;  Hist.  Fresno  Co.,  Id.,  Kern, 
passim;  McDaniefs  Early  Days,  MS.,  26;  Bartons  Hist.  Tulare,  MS.,  3  etseq.; 
Cal  Statutes,  1852,  312;  1855,  203;  1856,  183;  1858,  36;  1861,  235,  566;  1863- 
4,  528-6;  1865,  355,  796,' 863;  1871-2,  891,  1005-8;  HittelVs  Codes,  ii.  1739, 
1756,  1765,  1782,  1851 

The  forbidding  features  of  these  transmountain  counties  extend  to  the 
Lower  California  frontier,  over  the  greater  part  of  San  Bernardino  and  San 
Diego  counties,  marked  especially  by  sinks  and  deserts.  The  moisture-laden 
winds  of  the  ocean  are  cut  off  by  the  intervening  ranges  to  enrich  the  western 
slopes,  and  to  assist  in  making  them  a  semi-tropic  paradise,  the  home  of  the 
orange,  the  olive,  and  the  vine,  with  the  balmiest  of  climes.  Here  the  first 
settlements  were  made  by  the  Mexican  in  wanderers  of  a  century  ago,  who 


520  CALIFORNIA  IN  COUNTIES. 

huddled  round  the  coast-line  missions,  which  strove  for  the  submission  rather 
than  the  elevation  of  the  aborigines.  The  neglect  and  usurpation  of  these 
establishments  was  followed  by  the  entry  of  the  Anglo-Saxons,  who,  while 
absorbing  most  of  the  land  and  holdings,  applied  a  more  energetic  spirit 
toward  the  unfolding  of  hitherto  slumbering  resources,  in  agriculture,  mines, 
and  manufacture.  The  Hispano-Californians  had  been  indolently  content  to 
yield  all  this  beautiful  region  to  browsing  herds,  roaming  and  increasing  at 
will;  but  the  new-comers  gradually  drove  the  sheep  and  cattle  to  the  hills,  and 
extended  the  petty  beginnings  in  horticulture,  farming,  and  irrigation  to 
waving  fields,  lustrous  orchards,  and  vineyards,  with  widely  radiating  canals. 
They  studded  with  oases  the  unpromising  deserts  toward  the  Colorado,  and 
held  forth  the  prospect  of  reclaiming  large  tracts.  This  reclamation  was  ini 
tiated  in  one  direction  by  the  railroad  and  other  lines  of  traffic,  whose  sta 
tions,  with  attendant  wells  and  garden  patches,  demonstrated  the  transform- 
ability  of  these  solitudes.  Mining  aided  somewhat  in  the  same  direction, 
by  calling  attention,  for  instance,  to  the  north-eastern  part  of  San  Bernardino, 
and  by  opening  several  valleys  and  districts  in  the  ranges,  as  Julian  and 
Banner  in  San  Diego,  both  with  villages,  and  Stonewall  south  of  them,  which 
produced  nearly  $400,000.  San  Bernardino  revealed  tin  at  Temescal,  and  a 
little  gold  in  Holcombe  and  Bear  valleys.  Then  there  is  Silverado  in  Loa 
Angeles  county,  with  several  silver  mines,  besides  the  gold,  silver,  copper, 
and  coal  deposits  in  different  valleys  and  on  Sta  Catalina  Island,  and  the  oil 
wells  of  Newhall. 

Great  changes  also  took  place  in  the  urban  settlements.  Increased 
wealth,  population,  and  traffic  have  called  up  a  number  of  stations  along  the 
highways  and  railroads,  and  shipping  places  along  the  coast,  supplemented 
by  bathing  and  wintering  resorts,  while  effecting  many  changes  in  the  old 
towns,  wherein  the  low  and  oblong,  though  dazzling  white  and  solid,  adobe 
dwellings  of  Mexican  days  and  occupants  stand  eclipsed  by  the  more  elegant 
and  airy  frame  buildings  of  the  new  era.  Old  San  Diego,  the  first  of  Cali 
fornia  foundations,  declined  into  a  dismal  hamlet,  presently  to  smile  again 
under  the  overshadowing  influence  of  New  San  Diego,  which  from  among 
the  numerous  town  projects  dotting  the  bay  sprang  into  prominence  after 
1867,  to  become  the  county  seat  and  port  ot  entry,  with  brilliant  prospects 
based  on  a  wonderful  climate  for  health  and  pleasure,  on  the  development  of 
field  products  from  lands  long  dormant  and  deemed  worthless,  and  on  the 
command  of  the  only  good  harbor  of  southern  California.  In  the  north,  San 
Luis  Rey,  the  former  mission,  with  a  station  at  Pala,  continued  a  tributary 
trading  post,  with  flour  mill.  Temecula  became  the  prominent  station  be 
yond.  Oceanside  was  established  as  a  resort.  San  Diego  county  in 
creased  in  population  from  2,900  in  1852,  whereof  three  fourths  were  Indians, 
to  over  8,600  in  1880,  with  696  farms;  acreage  69,000,  value  $2,876,000, 
produce  $395,00),  live-stock  $685,000,  some  of  which  items  may  be  increased 
tenfold  for  1888.  San  Bernardino,  founded  in  1851  by  industrious  Mor 
mons  as  the  earliest  of  modern  California  colonies,  rose  as  the  seat  of  the 
largest  among  the  counties,  and  as  the  centre  of  its  limited  share  in  the  nar 
row  garden  region  on  the  coast.  About  300  Mormons  arrived  here  in  June 
1851,  under  the  leadership  of  Lyman  and  Rich,  intent  partly  ou  founding  a 


SAN  DIEGO,  SAN  BERNARDINO,  AND   LOS   ANGELES.       521 

"way-station  for  emigrants  to  Utah,  by  way  of  the  Pacific.  They  bought  the 
tract  of  Lugo,  the  owner  of  the  abandoned  mission,  and  paid  for  it  within 
six  years.  The  town  laid  out  as  their  centre  in  1851  prospered  so  well  that 
it  was  chosen  as  the  seat  of  government  when  the  county  was  organized  in 
1853.  Incorporation  followed  in  1854.  The  recall  of  the  brethren  in  1857-8 
to  Utah  proved  a  blow,  resulting  in  disincorporation  in  1861,  followed  by  a 
fresh  charter  in  1864.  Then  it  revived,  and  the  population  of  1,670  in  1880 
grew  rapidly.  Alia  CaL,  Oct.  31,  1851;  June  15,  July  29,  Sept.  19,  Oct.  25, 
1852;  Millennial  Star,  xiv.  491;  Frazers  S.  Bern.,  MS.,  25-6;  8.  Bern.  Times, 
July  8,  1876;  Hist.  S.  Bern.  Co.,  84-5,  122-3;  Mormon  Politics,  1-8;  Hayes' 
Indians,  i.  68;  Id.,  S.  Bern.,  i.  passim;  Deans  Stat.,  MS.,  12;  Vischers 
CaL,  73-^;  Pralt's  A utobiog.,  457-65;  CaL  Statutes,  1854,  61;  1861,  508;  18G3, 
36;  1863^,  68-70;  Codmans  Trip,  56-8.  The  mission,  five  miles  away,  was 
converted  into  an  orange  grove.  Agua  Mansa  is  the  relic  of  a  New  Mexican 
colony  of  1842,  and  Riverside,  one  of  the  flourishing  efforts  of  Anglo-Saxon 
colonization,  soon  became  famed  for  its  fruit.  The  latter  was  founded  in 
1870;  name  changed  from  Jurupa.  Etivanda,  Redlands,  and  Ontario  are 
among  the  newer  colonies  which  have  helped  to  increase  the  population  of 
the  county  from  3,990  in  1870  to  7,790  in  1880,  with  over  700  farms,  limited 
to  an  acreage  of  53,000,  but  valued  at  $3,346,000,  produce  $430,000,  live 
stock  $397,000.  Its  earliest  resources  are  included  under  Los  Angeles,  from 
which  it  was  segregated.  Agua  Manse  was  devastated  by  a  flood  in  1862. 
Bell's  fiemin.,  MS.,  14.  Colton,  as  a  railroad  junction,  marks  the  promising 
entrepot. 

The  radiating  point  for  southern  California  since  Spanish  times  is  Los 
Angeles,  whose  prominence  stood  assured  from  the  first  by  the  fertile  lands 
around,  presently  covered  by  orange  groves  and  gardens,  and  whose  not 
very  laudable  ambition  has  long  been  to  become  the  seat  of  a  new  state. 
The  removal  of  the  capital  in  1847  to  Monterey,  the  original  seat  of  govern 
ment,  was  a  check  to  these  pretensions,  which  seemed  to  have  left  its  spell 
for  some  years.  Nevertheless  the  city  was  incorporated  in  1850,  and  claimed 
in  1851  a  population  of  2,500.  The  increase  during  the  following  two  decades 
was  little  more  than  double,  but  later  the  influx  of  Americans  assumed  large 
proportions,  promoted  by  the  expanding  fruit  culture  of  the  south,  and  the 
attendant  railroad  discrimination,  until  the  census  figure  of  11,180  for  1880 
has  been  greatly  surpassed.  CaL  Statutes,  1850,  155;  1856,  31;  Cassins  Stat., 
MS.,  18;  Los  Aug.  Directories;  Id.,  Arch.,  iii.  391,  etc.;  Id.,  Hist.,  passim; 
Id.,  Co.,  106-29;  McPhersons  Los  Aug.,  42-7,  71;  Hawley's  Los  Ang.,  97 
et  seq.;  Los  Ang.  Ordin.,  1-39;  Hayes*  Angeles,  i.-xviii.,  passim;  Id.,  So.  CaL 
Polit.,  i.-ii.;  scattered  notices  in  local  journals,  News,  Exchange,  Repub.,  Star, 
Herald,  and  Express. 

Two  roadsteads,  both  connected  by  railroads,  present  outlets  for  its 
traffic,  one  at  Santa  Monica,  known  chiefly  as  a  bathing  resort,  the  other 
at  ancient  San  Pedro,  supplanted  by  the  modern  Wilmington,  which,  with 
breakwaters  and  other  improvements,  endeavors  to  supply  nature's  omissions. 
A  good  wharf  was  constructed,  and  a  town  laid  out  by  Gen.  Banning  in 
1858.  Alta  CaL,  Oct.  8,  1858.  It  boasted  a  newspaper  in  1864,  and  was 
incorporated  in  1872.  CaL  Statutes,  1871-2,  87,  108-16,  1049;  Banning 's 


522  CALIFORNIA  IN  COUNTIES. 

SettlofWilm.,  MS.,  5  etseq.;  Hayes'  Wilmington,  1-184;  Id.,  Ang.,  v.  313 
et  seq.  Santa  Monica,  established  in  1855,  properly  adjoins  the  younger  trad 
ing  town  of  Santa  Monica,  founded  in  1875  by  Senator  Jones,  with  a  nourishing 
start.  Sta  Monica,  The  Coming  City,  1-12;  Hintons  Ariz.,  19-22.  The  de 
struction  of  the  wharf  and  railroad  intrigues  reduced  the  population  fully 
one  half  by  1880,  but  again  it  lifted  its  head. 

Below  lies  Anaheim  landing,  the  shipping  place  for  Anaheim,  a  leading 
town  in  the  county,  which  forms  a  signal  illustration  of  successful  colonizing 
on  cooperative  principles,  the  forerunner  of  many  similar  projects,  suggested 
no  doubt  by  San  Bernardino.  A  company  of  Germans,  chiefly  mechanics  of 
S.  F.,  subscribed  in  1857  to  lay  out  a  tract  of  1,263  acres  in  vineyards,  with 
irrigation,  fencing,  and  town  lots.  The  name  is  a  compound  of  heim,  home, 
and  Ana,  taken  from  the  adjoining  river.  At  the  end  of  three  years  most  of 
the  founders  came  down  to  take  possession,  and  with  mutual  aid  a  village 
sprang  into  existence.  Hardly  one  of  them  had  any  experience  in  viniculture, 
yet  the  colony  prospered,  and  within  a  few  years  each  20-acre  lot,  with  town 
site,  costing  the  owner  on  an  average  less  than  $1,500,  had  risen  in  value  to 
$5,000  and  $10,000.  Nordhoff  gives  an  interesting  account  of  the  colony  in 
his  Commun.  Soc.,  361-6;  Anaheim  Hist.;  Alta  Cal,  Oct.  23,  Dec.  14,  1859 
The  first  house  was  built  by  B.  Dreyfus  in  1857.  The  town  was  incorporated 
in  1870  with  a  population  of  880,  Cal  Statutes,  1869-70,  66,  1871-2,  273-4, 
and  disincorporated  in  1872.  Anaheim  Gaz.,  1879;  and  preceding  general 
references.  Other  villages  are  Downey  City,  formerly  Los  Nietos,  which 
absorbed  Gallatin  and  College  Settlement,  and  centre  of  the  oil  business,  the 
ancient  San  Gabriel  mission,  the  Pasadena  colony  of  1873,  the  Pomona  of  1875, 
Artesia  of  1869,  Westminster  of  1871,  Tustin,  and  Compton.  Santa  Ana, 
another  rising  settlement,  was  laid  out  by  W.  H.  Spurgeon  in  1869;  claimed 
in  1880  a  population  of  over  1,000,  and  sustained  two  journals.  The  old  mis 
sion  of  San  Juan  Capistrano  revived.  The  large  islands  supplement  the 
ranges  for  sheep  pastures.  The  prominence  of  stock-raising  in  early  days  is 
shown  in  my  preceding  vols.  The  census  of  1850  gives  Los  Angeles  county 
100,000  head,  and  an  improved  acreage  of  only  2,650.  That  of  1880  places 
the  stock  at  about  the  same  value,  but  the  farms  numbered  1,940,  valued  at 
$12,099,000,  with  $1,835,000  in  produce,  population  33, 380.  The  mountainous 
Santa  Barbara  encloses  several  small  but  alluring  valleys,  with  a  climate 
that,  attracts  large  numbers  of  health  as  well  as  home  seekers,  and  has  raised 
ancient  Santa  Barbara  city  to  the  foremost  rank  of  resorts.  It  was  incor 
porated  in  1850,  etc.,  Cal.  Statutes,  1850,  172,  1861,  502,  1873-4,  330,  though 
termed  a  ciudad  long  before.  Sta  B.  Arch.,  viii.  200;  Vischers  Pict.  Cal,  41-2, 
with  view;  StaB.  Index,  Id.,  Press,  1876,  etc.;  Hayes*  Mont.,  et  seq.  Its  first 
journal  dates  from  1854.  Improvements  of  the  harbor  occupy  much  atten 
tion.  Population  3,460  by  1880.  The  adjoining  mission  is  sustained  as  a 
college,  and  Montecito  to  the  east  is  famed  for  its  large  grape  vines  and  al 
monds.  In  Santa  Inez  valley  the  Lompoc  colony  flourishes  as  a  champion  of 
temperance.  This  place  was  laid  out  in  1874  and  obtained  a  journal  in  1875. 
The  colony  projects  of  the  Lompoc  Company  proved  a  failure,  but  the  original 
owners  pushed  them,  and  the  place  claimed  a  population  in  1885  of  200  fami 
lies  in  the  colony.  Lompoc  Record,  June  5-19,  Sept.  11,  1880;  Sta  B.  Press, 


SOUTHERN  COAST.  523 

Apr.  1,  1876.  In  Santa  Maria  the  towns  of  Guadalupe  and  Central  City 
strove  for  the  supremacy.  They  were  founded  in  1872  and  1875,  respect 
ively.  The  obliteration  of  La  Graciosa,  dating  from  18G8,  nourished  in 
1877;  but  the  land  title  being  confirmed  to  H.  M.  Newhall,  it  faded  away.  It 
points  out  one  phase  of  the  land-grant  troubles,  which  have  retarded  settle 
ment  and  caused  much  crime  and  bloodshed — instance  the  robber  bands 
under  Sol.  Pico  and  Powers,  and  the  Vidal  fight.  The  drought  of  1863-4  in 
flicted  a  severe  blow  by  destroying  nearly  all  the  cattle  while  directing  atten 
tion  to  horticulture  and  irrigation.  In  1872  the  eastern  section  separated  to 
form  Ventura  county,  with  tne  seat  of  government  at  the  mission  of  San 
Buenaventura,  which  was  laid  out  as  a  town.  J.  Arnay  sought  in  1848  to 
found  a  city  near  the  mission,  but  it  languished  till  Waterman,  Vassault,  & 
Co.,  who  then  controlled  the  land,  made  a  survey  in  1862,  and  gave  so  success 
ful  an  impulse  that  incorporation  followed  soon  after.  Cal.  Statutes,  1865-6, 
216;  1873-4,  54;  875-6,  534;  Ventura  Siynal,  July  8,  1876,  a  journal  started 
in  1871.  The  destruction  of  the  wharf  in  1877  proved  a  check  on  progress. 
Population  1,370  in  1880.  A  promising  shipping  point  at  Hueneme  was 
established  in  1870  by  T.  R.  Bard,  and  marked  by  wharf  and  lighthouse. 
Population  166  in  1880.  The  name  is  Indian.  A  rising  valley  town  was 
Santa  Paula,  where  a  flour-mill  was  founded  in  1870  by  Blanchard  and  Brad 
ley,  and  the  town  in  1875.  Nordhoff  is  a  health  resort  in  the  Ojai  Valley.  Near 
by  are  promising  oil  deposits.  The  census  of  1880  assigns  the  county  a 
population  of  5,070,  with  573  farms,  value  $2,734,000,  produce  $649,000,  live 
stock  $535,000,  while  Sta  Barbara  retained  a  population  of  9,500,  with  713 
farms  of  double  area,  though  valued  at  only  $3,471,000,  produce  $746,000, 
live-stock  $759,000. 

In  San  Luis  Obispo,  whose  rocky  barriers  turned  the  main  route  of  land 
traffic,  the  early  mission  influence  lingers  in  many  of  the  settlements,  by  vir 
tue  of  restricted  choice  of  sites,  and  in  the  later  county,  San  Luis  Obispo  town 
blossomed  into  its  administration  seat.  Although  existing  as  a  village,  it  was 
surveyed  for  a  town  site  in  1850,  incorporated  in  1856,  and  disincorporated. 
Cal.  Statutes,  1856,  30;  1858,  396;  1863,  293;  1871-2,  220,  434;  1875-6,  361, 
382;  18S3,  390;  Cooper's  S.  L.  Ob.,  12-36;  Avila,  Doc.,  25  et  seq.;  S.  L.  Ob. 
Arch.,  2,  etc.  Population  2,240  in  1880.  Port  Harford  is  its  landing  for  the 
petty  settlements  to  which  this  hilly  district  is  so  far  restricted,  with  dairy 
and  stock-raising  as  the  predominating  industries.  In  rank  second  to  S.  L. 
Obispo  stands  Cambria,  which  originated  during  the  copper  excitement  of  1863, 
assisted  by  quicksilver  in  1871,  and  by  saw-mills.  San  Simeon,  a  whaling 
station,  shares  with  Leffingwell's  wharf  in  its  shipments.  Cayucos  and  Arroyo 
Grande  are  other  landing-places.  San  Miguel  mission  lingers  a  mere  hamlet; 
El  Paso  de  Robles  is  famed  for  its  medicinal  springs.  The  county  has  in 
creased  in  population  from  500  in  1852  to  1,780  in  1860,  and  9,150  in  1880, 
with  832  farms,  value  $4,430,000,  produce  $925,000,  live-stock  $1,139,000. 

Monterey  has  undergone  greater  changes.  The  fertile  valley  of  Salinas 
became  a  prominent  wheat-producing  section,  centring  in  the  town  of  Salinas, 
which  sprang  up  to  take  in  1872  the  county  seat  from  the  Mexican  capital  on 


524  CALIFORNIA  IN  COUNTIES. 

the  bay,  leaving  it  to  decline  into  a  mere  seaside  resort  and  petty  shipping- 
point. 

A  wayside  hotel  was  opened  at  Salinas  in  1856  by  E.  Howe,  a  hamlet 
sprang  up,  and  in  1867  Ricker,  Jackson,  and  Sherwood  laid  it  out  as  a  central 
town,  which  was  incorporated  in  1874.  Cal.  Statutes,  1873-4,  242,  820;  1875- 
6,  94,  545;  Salinas  Index,  May  1872  et  seq.;  Butlers  Mont.,  24.  As  the 
county  seat  prior  to  1872,  Monterey  held  its  own  for  a  long  time,  with  incor 
porated  title.  Cal.  Statutes,  1850,  131;  1851,  367;  1853,  159.  Its  history  is 
minutely  recorded  in  Hayes'  Monterey,  passim;  also  Walton  s  Monterey;  Roach's 
Stat.,  MS.;  Mont.  Arch.,  v.-xii. ;  Ashley's  Doc.;  Avila,  Doc. 

The  railroads  have  revived  a  number  of  stations,  such  as  Pajaro  and  Cas- 
troville  in  the  north,  the  latter  founded  in  1864  by  J.  B.  Castro,  and  securing 
a  journal  and  large  tributary  population.  Moss'  Landing  assists  as  a  near 
shipping-point  to  sustain  it.  Pajaro  is  derived  from  Rio  Pajaro,  bird  river. 
Then  there  are  Gonzales  and  Soledad,  the  ancient  mission,  to  the  south. 
Gonzales'  Stat.,  MS.,  5-7,  named  after  this  writer's  family.  Beyond  the  Gavi- 
lan  range  lay  another  fine  valley,  whose  rapid  development  led  in  1872  to  the 
formation  of  San  Benito  county,  with  the  seat  of  government  at  the  recently 
founded  Hollister,  which  quickly  overshadowed  San  Juan  Bautista,  supreme 
since  Mexican  times.  Hollister  was  named  after  the  prominent  pioneer  of 
the  valley,  who  had  built  the  first  house  on  this  site  in  1862.  It  was  laid  out 
in  1868  by  the  S.  Justo  Homestead  Assoc.,  and  stimulated  by  the  railway. 
Population  1,030  by  1880;  J.  Watson  was  the  first  settler  near  the  site,  in  1854. 
Cal.  Statutes,  1873-4,  675,  840,  refers  to  its  incorporation.  San  Juan  Bautista 
changed  from  mission  to  pueblo  during  Mexican  rule.  Yet  it  still  figured 
with  a  population  of  480  in  1880.  Tres  Pinos  is  one  of  the  stations.  The 
population  of  the  county  was  5,580  according  to  the  census  of  1880,  with  593 
farms,  acreage  365,000,  value  $3,346,000,  produce  $430,000,  live-stock  $397,- 
000.  Monterey  stood  assigned  a  population  of  11,300,  with  834  farms  of  less 
extent,  value  $6,863,000,  produce  $1,784,000,  stock  $1,031,000.  In  1850  its 
improved  acreage  stood  at  13,700. 

Still  richer  was  the  valley  of  Santa  Clara,  which  ranked  next  to  Los  An 
geles  in  early  days  for  density  of  settlements.  Its  centre  has  remained  at 
San  Jose,  for  a  while  the  capital  of  the  state,  and  now  a  busy  yet  homelike 
garden  city  of  centennial  dignity.  It  was  incorporated  in  1850,  and  reincor- 
porated.  Cal.  Statutes,  1850,  479;  1857,  113;  1871-2,  333;  1873-4,  345,  727, 
764.  Comments  on  its  selection  for  the  capital  city,  in  S.  F.  Herald,  Feb.  4, 
1851;  AUa  Cal.,  Dec.  24,  1850;  S.  F.  Picayune,  Sept.  28,  1850;  Cal.  Courier. 
The  loss  of  this  preeminence  checked  progress,  yet  its  centennial  was  cele 
brated  under  glorious  auspices  in  1877.  For  special  and  full  descriptions,  I 
refer  to  S.  Jose  Arch.,  L.  Pap.,  passim;  Hall's  Hist.  S.  Jost,  Stat.,  MS.,  by 
Belden,  the  first  mayor;  Fernandez,  Doc.,  MS.,  6  et  seq.;  and  S.  J.  Pioneer, 
as  the  most  historic  among  its  journals.  The  former  Mexican  predomination 
here  has  declined  to  a  small  section.  Population  12,570  by  1880.  The  mis 
sion  by  its  side  has  nobly  maintained  its  course,  now  as  the  college  town  of 
Santa  Clara  and  suburb  of  San  Jose,  with  a  share  in  its  trade,  and  with  incor 
poration  honors.  Cal.  Statutes,  1871-2,  251;  1856,  79;  population  over  2,400 


MONTEREY  AND  SANTA  CRUZ.          525 

in  1880.  Gilroy  ranks  next  at  the  head  of  the  valley,  assisted  by  its  springs, 
by  railroad  traffic,  and  by  tobacco  manufacture  and  mills.  The  first  hamlet 
here  was  San  Isidro,  named  after  the  rancho  of  Ortega,  into  which  family 
that  early  Scotch  pioneer  Gilroy,  or  Cameron,  married.  It  gradually  came 
to  be  known  after  this  settler,  but  in  time  settlement  shifted  over  round  the 
inn  established  two  miles  off  by  J.  Houck  in  1850.  This  was  formally  laid 
out  in  1868  by  Huber,  and  incorporated  in  1870.  Cal  Statutes,  1869-70,  263; 
1871-2,  1006.  Gas  followed  in  1871;  population  1,620  in  1880.  Gilroy  Advo 
cate,  Sept. -Oct.  1879.  The  S.  F.  Times  of  Nov.  11,  1867,  speaks  of  its  pros 
pects.  Where  the  water-power  of  the  creek  led  J.  A.  Forbes  in  1850  to  build 
a  flour-mill,  Los  Gatos  was  established.  In  1863  a  lumber-yard  was  added. 
The  arrival  of  the  railroad  in  1877  gave  it  an  impulse  which  viniculture  has 
affirmed.  Near  by  lie  the  Saratoga  paper-mills  and  springs.  Alviso,  once 
an  important  shipping-point  for  the  valley,  was  pushed  aside  by  the  railroads. 
It  was  laid  out  in  1849,  with  a  great  flourish,  having  projects  for  docks,  etc., 
by  J.  D.  Hoppe,  P.  Burnett,  and  C.  Marvin,  and  named  after  the  Mexican 
land-owner  there.  BnffumsSix  Mo.,  154;  Coltoris  Three  Years,  418;  AltaCal, 
Dec.  15,  1849;  Pac.  News,  Dec.  25,  1849.  Wharves  and  warehouses  appeared, 
and  incorporation  in  1852.  Cal.  Statutes,  1852,  222.  Swamp-land  titles  gave 
trouble.  It  retained  sufficient  trade  to  figure  as  a  village.  On  either  side 
are  the  stations  Mayfield,  Mountain  View,  and  Milpitas.  The  quicksilver 
mines  of  New  Almaden,  the  most  productive  in  the  world,  sustain  a  large 
village.  For  1865  the  yield  rose  to  47,194  flasks.  Later  it  was  little  over 
20,000.  The  county  ranks  among  the  leading  agricultural  districts,  with 
1,492  farms,  according  to  the  census  of  1880,  covering  257,000  acres,  value 
$15,320,000,  produce  $2,157,000,  live-stock  $968,000;  population  35,000, 
against  11,900  in  1860.  In  1852  it  raised  570,000  bushels  of  grain,  and 
656,000  bushels  of  potatoes. 

The  adjoining  Santa  Cruz  presents  a  contrast  in  resources,  with  its  vast 
forests  of  redwood  and  water-power  along  different  streams,  which  fostered 
mills  and  factories,  and  for  a  long  time  placed  the  county  next  to  San  Francisco 
as  a  manufacturing  field.  Saw-mills,  tanneries,  ship-yards,  foundries,  existed 
on  a  certain  scale  prior  to  1849,  and  powder-works  and  lime-kilns  were  added, 
together  with  some  mining.  The  census  of  1850  assigned  it  an  improved  acreage 
of  2,045.  By  1880  the  population  had  increased  from  1,220  to  12,800,  with  584 
smaller  farms,  value  $3,848,000,  produce  $726,000,  live-stock  $264,000.  A 
commodious  position  at  the  mouth  of  San  Lorenzo  Creek  assisted  Santa  Cruz, 
the  city  of  terraces,  to  remain  the  leading  town  and  seat,  sustained  greatly 
as  the  nearest  seaside  resort  for  the  bay  dwellers.  Branciforte,  the  earlier 
real  town,  was  merged  in  Sta  Cruz,  the  mission  settlement  before  the  conquest, 
although  the  legislature  of  1850  considered  this  same  point.  Cal.  Jour.  Ho., 
1850,  1336.  Population  3,900  by  1880.  A  similar  control  of  water-power 
and  resources  made  Soquel  a  prosperous  manufacturing  place,  while  the  valley 
of  Pajaro  lifted  Watsonville  to  the  second  rank.  It  was  laid  out  in  1852  by 
J.  H.  Watson  and  D.  S.  Gregory.  Clouded  title  for  a  time  checked  progress, 
but  this  being  settled,  it  advanced,  was  incorporated  in  1868,  Cal.  Statutes, 
1S67-8,  688,  obtained  gas  and  water  works,  and  by  1880  a  population  of  1,800. 
Watsonville  Direct.,  1873,  5-24,  and  later.  Felton  has  saw-mills  and  lime-kilns. 


626  CALIFORNIA  IN  COUNTIES. 

The  development  of  San  Mateo  county  is  greatly  due  to  its  proximity  to 
the  metropolis,  to  which  it  once  pertained,  as  the  source  for  supplies  and  site 
for  country  residences  and  resorts.  Upon  its  segregation  in  1856,  the  seat  of 
government  was  assigned  to  Belmont — where  Angelo's  hotel  formed  the  initial 
settlement  in  1850-1,  and  speedily  made  it  the  resort  for  which  it  is  now  chiefly 
famed — but  was  transferred  the  same  year  to  Redwood  City,  whose  valuable 
timber  land  and  water  route  to  the  bay  obtained  for  it  a  predominance  which 
the  rival  town  of  San  Mateo  sought  in  vain  to  overcome,  like  the  still  less 
unsuccessful  Menlo  Park  and  Ravenswood.  On  the  coast  is  a  farming  district 
supporting  two  small  towns.  Capt.  A.  Smith  built  the  first  house  at  Redwood 
City;  ship-building  began  the  same  year,  and  a  squatter  raid  upon  Las  Pulgas 
rancho  in  1852  brought  population,  for  which  W.  Shaw  opened  the  first  store. 
Road  traffic  started  wagon-making;  mills  and  tanneries  followed.  In  1854  it 
was  laid  out  by  J.  M.  Mezes  and  named  after  him,  but  the  familiar  appellation 
Redwood  prevailed,  and  was  affirmed  by  the  charter  of  1867.  CaL  Statutes, 
1867-8,  411;  1873-4,  946;  Redwood  Times,  Jan. -March  1879,  etc.  Population 
1,380  in  1880.  San  Mateo  was  founded  properly  in  1863  as  a  railroad  station 
for  the  many  residents  who  had  their  villas  there,  and  was  of  steady  growth, 
partly  as  a  way-station  for  Pescadero.  In  1874  it  was  chosen  as  county  seat, 
but  by  arbitration  the  dignity  was  retained  for  Redwood.  Menlo  Park  was 
incorporated  in  1874.  Ravenswood  was  founded  in  1853  as  a  shipping-point, 
but  dropped  down  to  a  brick-yard.  Pescadero,  a  popular  resort,  signifies 
fishing-place;  Spanishtown  was  of  gradual  growth.  The  population  of  the 
county  increased  from  3,200  in  1860  to  8,670  in  1880;  possessing  669  farms, 
valued  at  $7,916,000:  produce  $716,000;  live-stock  $511,000.  The  saw-mill 
industry  was  started  by  C.  Brown  just  prior  to  the  gold  excitement. 

Alameda  ranked  in  the  last  census  as  the  most  productive  agricultural 
county  on  the  coast,  yet  it  owes  much  to  its  position  on  the  bay,  and  Oak 
land,  the  official  head,  is  practically  a  residence  suburb  of  San  Francisco, 
fitly  the  consort  with  balmier  air  and  beauty,  and  with  thriving  educational 
establishments.  When  the  county  was  organized  in  1853,  Alvarado  became 
the  seat  of  government  as  the  most  central  among  available  settlements,  and 
with  a  good  shipping-place,  to  which  San  Jose  mission  and  other  points  were 
tributary.  CaL  Statutes,  1853,  319;  Id.,  Jour.  Ass.,  1853,  692,  699.  But  polit 
ical  influence  gained  the  privilege  soon  after  for  San  Leandro,  a  town  with 
similar  advantages,  but  more  attractive  in  site  and  appearance,  which  had  to 
surrender  it  20  years  later  to  its  powerful  neighbor.  It  was  laid  out  in  1851 
as  New  Haven,  by  H.  C.  Smith,  who  as  assemblyman  manoeuvred  the  crea 
tion  of  the  county  and  the  seat,  allowing  the  lieutenant-governor  to  rename 
the  place  in  honor  of  the  Mexican  ex-governor.  It  grew,  embraced  Union 
City,  and  became  the  chief  town  of  the  southern  section,  with  several  facto 
ries.  Wash.  Indep.y  Jan.  5,  1878.  In  1850  San  Leandro  contained  only  the 
residence  of  J.  J.  Estudillo,  the  owner  of  the  tract,  and  a  school-house,  but 
agriculture  and  river  traffic  gave  it  impulse.  It  gained  the  seat  in  1854,  but 
did  not  actually  obtain  it  till  1856.  It  assumed  incorporation  honors  in  1872, 
partly  to  strengthen  itself  against  Oakland's  struggle  for  the  county  seat. 
This  dignity  was  lost,  yet  the  town  continues  to  prosper.  CaL  Statutes,  1856, 


ABOUT  THE  BAY.  527 

26;  1871-2,  458;  1873-4,  63.  Population  1,370  by  1880.  Contra  Costa,  i.  17. 
A  number  of  squatters  on  Estudillo's  rancho  gathered  at  San  Lorenzo  in 
1852-3,  forming  the  so-called  Squatterville  of  the  census  report  of  1852,  and 
the  manufacture  of  farming  implements  was  started,  with  a  few  adjuncts  in 
the  shape  of  hotels  and  shops.  W.  Hayward  settled  at  the  place  of  that 
name  in  1851,  and  soon  engaged  in  store  and  hotel  keeping.  G.  Castro, 
owner  of  S.  Lorenzo  grant,  laid  out  the  town  in  1854,  applying  the  name  of 
his  tract,  which  did  not  long  prevail.  The  railroad  gave  it  new  life,  and  in 
1876  it  received  a  charter.  It  has  two  breweries.  Population  1,230  in  1880. 
See  Orogan  vs  Hay  wards.  The  adjoining  San  Lorenzo  failed  to  grow,  but 
Haywards,  with  its  fine  situation,  rivals  it,  and  in  the  south  the  railroads 
have  lifted  several  stations  to  share  the  trade  with  earlier  villages,  as  Niles, 
Sufiol,  Pleasanton,  first  called  Alisal,  and  Washington  Corners,  the  last  the 
supply-place  for  San  Jose  mission.  Newark  overshadows  Centreville.  In 
the  east  Livermore  holds  the  advantage.  A.  Ladd  settled  there  in  18G5,  and 
built  a  hotel,  which  became  the  nucleus  for  L'addville;  but  the  approach  of 
the  railroad  caused  W.  Mendenhall  to  lay  out  Livermore  half  a  mile  west 
ward,  and  this  gained  the  supremacy  and  was  incorporated  in  1876.  It  was 
named  after  R.  Livermore,  owner  of  the  grant,  whose  adobe  dwelling  stood 
a  mile  and  a  half  northward.  Cal.  Statutes,  1875-6,  913.  Population  850  by 
1880.  The  population  of  the  county  increased  from  8,930  in  I860  to  62,980 
in  1880,  with  property  assessed  at  $42,822,000,  of  which  $19,527,000  repre 
sents  the  value  of  1,520  farms,  produce  $2,385,000,  live-stock  $940,000.  Salt 
works,  jute  and  cotton  mills,  and  a  sugar  factory  figure  among  the  industries. 
Beyond  the  range  northward  a  number  of  small  towns  nestle  in  the  valleys 
tributary  to  the  bays  of  San  Pablo  and  Suisun,  beginning  with  Lafayette,  of 
ante-aurum  quietude,  founded  in  1847  by  E.  Brown,  with  the  first  grist-mill 
in  the  county,  in  1853,  followed  by  Walnut  Creek,  Danville,  Concord,  and 
other  towns,  and  culminating  in  Martinez,  which,  disappointed  in  its  aspira 
tions  like  the  opposite  Benicia,  had  to  rest  content  with  the  position  of  peace 
ful  county  seat  for  Contra  Costa.  It  was  laid  out  in  1849  by  W.  M.  Smith, 
as  agent  for  the  Martinez  family  owning  the  grant.  Larkins  Doc.,  vii.  134; 
Sac.  Transcript,  Nov.  14,  1850.  N.  Hunsaker  erected  the  first  building,  and 
T.  A.  Brown  the  first  store.  In  1850-1  the  owner  of  the  Welch  rancho  laid 
out  a  large  addition  to  the  prospective  metropolis.  After  an  attempt  at  in 
corporation  in  1851  a  charter  was  obtained  in  1876.  Cal.  Statutes,  1875-6,  822. 
Warehouses  and  salmon  canneries  helped  to  sustain  it.  The  entrepot  trade  of 
the  valleys  was  largely  absorbed  by  different  shipping  points,  as  Point  Pinole 
and  Port  Costa,  a  wheat-shipping  place  and  ferry  station  for  the  railroad. 
Depth  of  shore  water  caused  it  to  be  selected.  The  ferry  slip  was  completed 
in  1879,  shipments  beginning  soon  after.  At  Pinole  and  round  the  point  are 
powder- works.  The  inland  Pacheco,  on  Walnut  Creek,  with  warehouses  and 
flour-mill,  was  laid  out  in  I860  on  the  strength  of  existing  warehouses  and 
trade,  and  named  after  S.  Pacheco.  Antioch,  the  second  town  of  the  county, 
was  the  centre  for  the  fertile  San  Joaquin  district.  It  was  first  known  as 
Smith's  Landing,  after  J.  H.  and  W.  W.  Smith,  who  settled  there  in  1849, 
and  christened  Antioch  in  1851.  In  1852-3  came  brick-making  and  a  store. 
It  grew  slowly  till  the  coal  developments  gave  it  energy,  and  enabled  it  to 


528  CALIFORNIA  IN  COUNTIES. 

incorporate  in  1872.  Population  620  in  1880.  Antioch  had  a  share  in  the 
traffic  of  the  coal-mining  villages  of  Nortonville,  Somersville,  and  Judson- 
ville.  The  chief  delivery  stations  for  these  important  mines  are,  however,  at 
Pittsburg  and  at  New  York,  which  was  started  with  great  nourish  early  in 
1849  as  a  rival  of  San  Francisco,  but  failed  to  rise  above  a  hamlet.  It  has  an 
interest  in  the  fish  canneries,  which,  with  powder-works,  figure  among  the 
supplementary  industries  of  this  coal  and  farming  county.  The  census  of 
1852  ascribes  to  it  317,000  bushels  of  grain,  85,000  bushels  of  potatoes,  and 
51,000  head  of  stock'.  By  1880  the  population  had  increased  from  2,780  to 
12,520,  with  885  farms  valued  at  $6,713,000,  produce  $1,377,000,  stock 
$597,000.  Pittsburg  has  been  referred  to  as  Black  Diamond,  which  properly 
adjoins  it.  New  York  of  the> Pacific  was  laid  out  by  Col  Stevenson  and  W. 
C.  Parker,  and  surveyed  by  Gen.  Sherman.  See  his  Mem.,  i.  73-4;  Coltons 
Three  Years,  417;  Buffurns  Six  Mo.,  150;  Taylors  Eldorado,  i.  217;  ii.  48; 
McCollum's  Cal.  The  latter  two  scout  at  its  aspirations,  yet  CaL  Courier, 
Nov.  2,  1850,  still  assumes  that  it  will  become  a  port  for  S.  Joaquin  Valley. 
Members  of  the  Kennebec  Trading  Co.  settled  here.  Boyntons  Stat.,  MS.,  1; 
Hayes1  Orig.  Doc.,  3-4;  Friend,  1849,  ii.;  Pico,  Doc.,  i.  207.  The  Smith 
brothers  built  the  first  house,  and  a  few  more  rose  upon  the  numerous  lots 
disposed  of  during  the  excitement  started  by  the  projectors.  After  1850  it 
was  recognized  as  a  failure.  Two  canneries  were  established  there. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

MEXICAN  LAND  TITLES. 
1851-1887. 

THE  COLONIZATION  SYSTEM — LAND  GRANTS  BY  SPAIN  AND  MEXICO — INFOR 
MALITIES  OF  TITLE — TREATY  OBLIGATIONS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES — EF 
FECT  OF  THE  GOLD  DISCOVERY — THE  SQUATTERS — REPORTS  OF  JONES  AND 
HALLECK — DISCUSSIONS  IN  CONGRESS — FREMONT,  BENTON,  AND  GWIN — 
THE  ACT  OF  1851 — THE  LAND  COMMISSION — PROGRESS  AND  STATISTICS 
OF  LITIGATION — PRINCIPLES — FLOATING  GRANTS — SURVEYS — FRAUDU 
LENT  CLAIMS — SPECIMEN  CASES — CASTILLERO — FREMONT — GOMEZ — Li- 
MANTOUR —  PERALTA — SANTILLAN — SUTTER — VALLEJO — MISSION  LANDS 
—  FRIARS,  NEOPHYTES,  AND  CHURCH  —  Pico's  SALES  —  ARCHBISHOP'S 
CLAIM— PUEBLO  LANDS — THE  CASE  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO — STATISTICS  OF 
1880 — MORE  OF  SQUATTERISM — BLACK  AND  JONES — ATTEMPTS  TO  REOPEN 
LITIGATION — GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS — THE  ACT  o^  1851  OPPRESSIVE  AND 
RUINOUS — WHAT  SHOULD  HAVE  BEEN  DONE. 

THE  subject  of  Mexican  land  titles  in  California  is 
one  that  with  concise  treatment  might  fill  a  volume. 
Any  one  of  its  dozen  leading  phases  would  require 
much  more  space  than  this  chapter  affords.  Yet  I 
give  it  all  the  space  permitted  by  a  symmetrical  plan, 
taking  into  consideration  its  historical  importance  in 
comparison  with  other  matters ;  and  I  try  to  present 
a  comprehensive  and  satisfactory  view. 

The  annals  of  colonization  in  California  under  Span 
ish  and  Mexican  rule,  with  sufficient  explanation  of 
the  land-grant  system  at  successive  periods,  are  given 
in  earlier  volumes.1  At  no  time  before  1846  had  it 

lFor  instmc.  to  Com.  Rivera  y  Moncada  in  1773  on  distribution  of  lands, 
see  i.  216,  Hist.  CaL,  this  series;  on  pueblo  founding,  progress,  and  regulations 
down  to  1800,  i.  311-14,  336-8,  343-50,  388-9,  503-4,  564-72,  600-6;  general 
remarks  on  tenure  of  lands,  with  names  of  early  grants  to  1800,  i.  607-18,  661-3, 
717;  on  ranches  of  1801-10,  ii.  111-12,  146,  153,  170-3;  on  grants  of  1811-20, 
HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.  34  (  529  ) 


530  MEXICAN  LAND  TITLES. 

been  so  difficult  for  citizens  to  obtain  farms  as  for  the 
government  to  find  settlers  for  its  lands.  The  original 
Spanish  occupation  of  1769  was  a  colonization  scheme, 
the  presidio  being  a  temporary  device  to  protect  set 
tlements  during  the  process  of  development,  and  the 
mission  another  expedient  to  fit  the  natives  for  settlers 
and  citizens  ;  ultimately,  and  soon  as  was  vainly  hoped, 
California  was  to  be  a  country  of  towns  and  farms 
occupied  by  descendants  of  the  soldiers,  civilized  In 
dians,  and  settlers  of  various  races  from  abroad,  the 
whole  a  community  of  tribute-paying,  God-fearing, 
Spanish  citizens.  Three  pueblos  were  founded  as 
nuclei,  and  naturally  for  many  years  the  only  distribu 
tion  of  lands  was  in  the  form  of  town  lots;  but  after 
1786,  if  not  before,  the  governor  could  grant  ranchos. 
No  such  grants  were  made  before  1800,  though  fifteen 
or  twenty  farms  were  occupied  under  provisional 
licenses.  About  a  dozen  more  were  occupied  before 
1822,  the  end  of  Spanish  rule,  some  of  them  under 
formal  grants;  and  in  the  first  decade  of  Mexican 
independence  the  number  was  increased  to  about  fifty 
in  1832.  From  the  advent  of  Governor  Figueroa  in 
1833,  under  the  Mexican  colonization  law  of  1824  and 
the  reglamento  of  1828,  land  grants  numbered  on  an 
average  fifty-three  each  year  to  1846,  when  the  total 
number  was  nearly  800.2  It  is  to  be  noted  also  that 
most  of  the  Spanish  grants  were  renewed  under  Mex 
ican  forms,  being  in  some  instances  conferred  on  the 
heirs  of  the  original  occupants. 

ii.  353^,  375,  383,  414-15,  including  decree  of  '13  on  reduction  of  lands  to 
private  ownership;  grants  of  '21-30,  ii.  546-7,  5(35-6,  592-4,  612-16;  gen. 
account  to  '30,  with  list  of  50  ranchos,  ii.  661-5;  colonization  law  of  '24  and 
reglamento  of  '28,  ii.  515-16;  iii.  34-5;  grants  of  '31-40  in  the  5  districts, 
iii.  611-12,  633-4,  655-6,  676-8,  711-13;  grants  of  '41-5;  iv.  620-1,  634-5, 
642-3,  655-6,  670^;  grants  of  '46,  v.  619,  627-8,  632,  637-8,  659-60,  665, 
669,  675;  also  local  annals  of  the  3  pueblos,  passim.  The  references  to  i.  607 
-18  and  ii.  661-5  are  of  chief  importance  for  present  purposes. 

2  These  figures,  taken  after  '22  from  the  Land  Com.  record  in  Hoffman's 
Reports  of  '62,  are  only  approximately  correct,  as  some  of  the  larger  ranchos 
were  presented  to  the  com.  in  several  subdivisions.  According  to  this  list, 
the  number  of  grants  to  1800  was  13,  and  to  '22  was  27,  which  figures  amount 
to  nothing,  as  most  of  the  Spanish  grants  were  renewed  in  Mex.  times,  and 
presented  under  the  regrant,  while  others  were  subdivided;  no.  for  '23-32,  11; 
*33,  25;  '34,  33;  '35,  31;  '36,  37;  '37,  27;  '38,  43;  '39,59;  '40,  37;  '41,61;  '42, 
51,  '43,  64;  '44,  122;  '45,  68;  '46,  87;  no  date,  20. 


PROCEDURE.  531 

Under  the  Mexican  law  and  reglamento  any  citizen, 
native  or  naturalized,  might  select  a  tract  of  unoccu 
pied  land  and  apply  to  the  governor  for  a  grant.  His 
petition  was  generally  accompanied  by  a  rude  map, 
or  diseno,  and  was  usually  submitted  by  the  governor 
to  the  alcalde  or  other  local  authority  for  investiga 
tion.  The  alcalde,  after  consulting  other  persons  in 
case  his  own  knowledge  did  not  suffice,  if  he  found 
the  land  vacant  and  no  objection  to  the  grant,  re 
turned  a  favorable  informe,  or  report,  on  which  the 
governor,  if  satisfied  with  the  petitioner's  qualifications 
—including  citizenship,  character,  and  ability  to  utilize 
the  land — wrote  on  the  margin,  "Let  the  title  issue," 
passing  the  papers  to  his  secretary  of  state.  The 
latter  wrote  a  formal  grant,  with  a  borrador,  or  blot 
ter  copy,  the  former  of  which,  when  it  had  been 
signed  by  the  governor  and  recorded  in  the  toma  de 
razon,  or  record  book — sometimes  by  literal  copy, 
sometimes  by  mere  mention — was  delivered  to  the 
grantee,  who  if  he  had  not  done  so  before  took  pos 
session  of  his  land.  Meanwhile  the  petition,  diseno, 
informes,  and  borrador  were  united  into  an  expediente 
and  deposited  in  the  archives;  and  it  was  the  duty  of 
the  governor  to  submit  the  grant  to  the  assembly  for 
approval,  failing  to  receive  which  it  must  be  referred 
to  the  government  in  Mexico.  After  approval  the 
grantee  presented  his  tttulo  to  the  alcalde,  who  pro 
ceeded  to  put  him  in  juridical  possession,  the  ceremony 
properly  including  a  kind  of  survey  and  fixing  of 
bounds.  Only  eleven  square  leagues  could  be  granted 
to  one  man  or  one  family,3  most  of  the  grants  being 

3  Provision  was  also  made  for  grants  of  larger  tracts  to  empresarios,  or  per 
sons  contracting  t'o  establish  a  colony;  which  grants  if  for  foreign  colonies 
must  be  10  1.  from  the  coast  and  20  1.  from  the  frontier;  but  there  were  no 
such  grants  in  Cal. ,  except  that  to  McNamara  in  '46.  At  times  the  petition 
for  lands  was  made  through  the  prefect  or  subprefect,  and  not  directly  to 
the  gov.  By  a  special  order  of  '45  grants  to  foreigners — not  empresarios — 
or  the  ports,  like  that  to  Smith  at  Bodega,  must  not  be  made  without  auth. 
from  the  Mex.  govt.  As  the  restriction  of  coast  grants  to  colonies  was  not 

Suite  clear  in  the  law,  as  the  granting  of  mission  lands  was  apparently  for- 
idden,  and  as  most  of  the  Cal.  grants  were  of  coast  or  mission  lands,  the 
assembly  in  '40  by  advice  of  the  gov.  voted  to  consult  the  sup.  govt  on  these 
points,  sending  a  list  of  grants  already  made.  Leg.  Rec.,  iii.  90-2.     But  the 


532  MEXICAN  LAND  TITLES. 

from  one  to  five  leagues;  and  the  conditions  of  occupa 
tion  with  a  certain  amount  of  live-stock  and  of  build 
ing  on  the  land  within  a  year  were  generally  added 
to  the  grant. 

In  few  if  any  cases  were  all  these  formalities  com 
plied  with,  for  lands  were  plentiful  and  cheap,  and  the 
people  and  authorities  indolent  and  careless  of  details. 
The  main  point  was  to  get  a  titulo  and  to  settle  on 
the  rancho.  Quarrels  and  litigation  were  confined  to  a 
few  boundary  disputes  with  the  missionaries  or  other 
neighbors,  generally  settled  by  arbitration.  Some 
times  there  was  no  diseno,  no  informe  of  local  officials, 
no  approval  by  the  assembly.  Few  cases  were  sub 
mitted  to  the  national  government.  There  was  usually 
no  formal  act  of  juridical  possession,  often  no  survey, 
and  never  a  careful  or  accurate  one.  Boundaries  were 
very  vaguely  described,  if  at  all.  The  grant  was  for 
so  many  leagues  a-t  a  place  indicated  by  name;  or  a 
certain  area  'more  or  less'  between  defined  natural 
bounds;  or  a  fixed  extent  to  be  located  within  certain 
larger  bounds,  the  surplus  being  reserved.  There 
was  no  definitely  prescribed  form  for  grants,  nor  was 
there  any  uniformity  of  conditions,  which  were  some 
times  omitted.4  Notwithstanding  the  apparent  irregu- 

govt  never  disapproved  the  grants,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  foreign  or 
empresario  grants  and  mission  lands  needed  or  occupied  by  Ind.  or  church 
were  alone  referred  to  in  the  restrictions. 

4  Besides  the  condition  of  occupation  there  was  attached  to  many  grants 
one  forbidding  sale  or  mortgage  of  the  lands.  This  was  sometimes  insisted 
on  by  the  Cal.  govt  in  circular  orders  to  local  authorities;  and  in  certain 
cases  individual  grantees  were  forbidden  to  sell;  but  while  the  authorities 
might  interfere  to  protect  family  rights  against  the  acts  of  an  improvident 
grantee,  there  seems  to  have  been  no  general  idea  that  a  grant  with  such  con 
ditions  was  invalidated  by  a  sale.  And  failure  to  comply  with  the  usual  con 
ditions  of  occupation,  building,  etc.,  seems  practically  to  have  invalidated  the 
grant  only  in  cases  where  abandoned  lands  were  denounced  and  regranted  to 
another  party. 

Sites  needed  by  the  government  for  fortifications  or  other  public  uses 
were  reserved;  and  the  territorial  govt  had  originally  no  authority  to  grant 
coast  islands,  though  such  authority  was  given  in  '38.  The  gov.  had 
no  special  authority  to  recompense  public  services  with  land  grants  or  to 
sell  public  lands,  though  he  did  so;  and  indeed,  the  services  might  naturally 
serve  as  grounds  of  preference  in  making  regular  grants.  The  question 
whether  he  could  thus  exceed  the  111.  limit  in  payment  for  service  or  money 
for  the  government  was  never  brought  up  during  Mex.  rule;  Ind.  were  on 
the  same  footing  as  others,  except  that  for  lack  of  qualifications  they  like 


ATTITUDE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  533 

larities  and  imperfections  of  land  tenure,  sometimes 
mentioned  and  deplored  in  official  communications 
even  to  the  extent  of  declaring  the  titles  technically 
illegal,  it  seems  clear  that  under  Mexican  law  and 
usage  the  grants  were  practically  held  as  valid;  that 
is,  that  under  continued  Mexican  rule  the  governor's 
written  concessions  duly  recorded  in  the  archives,  not 
invalidated  by  regrant  after  abandonment  or  by  direct 
act  of  the  supreme  government,  would  always  have 
been  respected  as  perfect  titles  of  ownership;  and  it 
may  be  added  that  when  by  increase  of  population 
accurate  surveys  should  have  become  necessary,  such 
survey,  notwithstanding  the  vagueness  of  original 
bounds,  would  have  presented  practically  but  slight 
difficulties.  To  the  last,  even  when  war  with  the 
United  States  was  imminent,  there  was  no  discrim 
ination  against  citizens  of  American  birth;  and  there 
were  no  fraudulent  grants,  the  only  probable  irregu 
larities  being  the  use  of  money  in  the  last  years  to 
oil  the  machinery  of  government  and  overcome  the 
Mexican  tendency  to  delay,  and  the  informal 
methods  of  Governor  Micheltorena  in  purchasing 
support  from  Sutter  and  his  men. 

When  the  United  States  took  possession  in  1846, 
large  portions  of  the  best  lands  were  found  thus  occu 
pied  by  Mexican  grantees.  They  were  bound  by  the 
laws  of  civilization  to  say  nothing  of  promises  made 
by  Larkin,  Sloat,  and  other  officials  to  protect  all 
existing  property  rights;  and  the  obligation  was 
formally  renewed  by  the  treaty  of  1848.  That  the 
obligation  would  be  fulfilled  in  good  faith,  constant 
assurance  was  given  during  the  interregnum  of  mili 
tary  rule  by  the  governors  in  command,  who,  while 
permitting  the  distribution  of  town  lots  to.  go  on  as 
before  under  the  municipal  authorities,  suspended  all 

others  in  like  circumstances  could  get  but  small  lots,  and  on  account  of  their 
peculiar  disposition  they  were  usually  debarred  from  selling.  According  to 
Larkin 's  corresp.  and  other  authorities  of  '46,  $1,000  per  league  was  the 
maximum  price  obtained  for  land  sold  by  private  owners  down  to  date. 


534  MEXICAN  LAND  TITLES. 

granting  of  new  ranches,  and  wisely  directed  their 
efforts  to  a  maintenance  of  the  status  quo  and  the 
temporary  protection  of  prima  facie  land  rights,  with 
out  prejudice  to  any  claimant,  pending  action  by  the 
national  government.5  For  it  was  clear  to  all  that 
such  action  was  required.  Under  ordinary  circum 
stances  the  treaty,  so  far  as  it  related  to  property 
rights,  would  have  executed  itself;  that  is,  the  Mexi 
can  land  titles  if  perfect  would  have  been  protected 
by  the  courts  like  other  rights  by  ordinary  methods. 
But  it  was  known  that  the  surveys  at  least  were  at 
loose  ends,  and  believed  that  the  titles  were  in  other 
respects  by  American  standards  imperfect.  To  leave 
them  to  their  fate  before  the  tribunals  would  result  in 
confiscation,  not  to  be  honorably  countenanced  by  the 
government.  Yet  as  to  the  nature  of  the  action  to 
be  expected  from  congress  there  was  much  uncer 
tainty  in  official  circles,  amounting  to  anxiety  in  the 
popular  mind.  The  Californians  tried  to  hope  that 
their  rights  would  be  protected  in  a  liberal  spirit  of 
equity,  though  what  they  knew  or  thought  they  knew 
of  American  methods  was  not  reassuring.  Newly 
arrived  settlers  hoped  that  some  way,  technically  just, 
would  be  found  to  keep  a  large  portion  of  the  Cali- 
forman  acres  from  being  monopolized  under  Mexican 
grants,  real  and  pretended ;  for  it  was  felt  that  oppor 
tunities  for  fraud  were  abundant. 

The  discovery  of  gold  diverted  attention  for  a  time 
to  other  channels,  but  it  brought  to  California  a  horde 
of  treasure-seekers,  whose  presence  in  1849-50  re 
newed  and  intensified  a  thousand-fold  the  interest  in 
lands.  In  another  respect  the  gold  craze  had  a  pecu 
liar  effect.  The  gold-hunters'  ideas  of  land  values 
rested  for  the  most  part  on  what  they  knew  of  lands 
at  Sacramento  and  San  Francisco ;  and  for  a  time  they 
were  inclined  to  picture  the  whole  extent  of  California 
as  a  succession  of  gold  mines  and  great  towns  with 

5  See  annals  of  this  period  in  the  last  chapter  of  vol.  v.,  Hist.  CaL,  this 
series. 


SQUATTER  RIOTS.  535 

here  and  there  a  patch  of  farming  land  worth  $1,000 
per  acre.  Had  it  been  realized  that  for  many  years 
agricultural  land  must  be  dear  at  government  prices, 
the  prevalent  idea  of  Mexican  grants  would  have  been 
materially  modified  both  at  home  and  abroad.  Well 
might  it  have  been  also  in  many  respects,  had  the 
gold  been  found  elsewhere,  that  in  the  absence  of 
'Sutterism'  squatterism  should  have  had  no  raison 
d'etre  at  the  start.  Among  the  new-comers,  besides 
the  element  utterly  destitute  of  honorable  principle, 
there  was  another  and  strong  element,  mainly  from 
the  western  states  and  Oregon,  of  those  strong  in  the 
faith  that  by  the  'higher  law'  they  were  entitled  to 
lands  as  free  American  citizens,  to  whom  all  that  was 
Mexican  was  suspicious  and  mysterious,  not  to  say 
diabolic ;  whose  limit  of  generous  equity  would  have 
been  to  permit  the  preemption  by  a  Mexican  grantee 
of  160  acres  adjoining  his  rancho  buildings.  Yet  these 
elements  could  not  of  themselves  control  the  masses ; 
besides  attacking  the  validity  of  Mexican  law  and 
Mexican  titles  in  general,  they  had  to  rely  or  affect 
reliance  on  the  plea  that  particular  titles  were  fraudu 
lent,  or  did  not  cover  the  land  claimed;  and  even 
then,  in  the  great  test  arising  in  connection  with  the 
squatter  riots  of  1850  at  Sacramento,  they  were  prac 
tically  defeated  in  their  extreme  views  by  the  good 
sense  of  the  community.8  This  riot  and  other  similar 

6  Nowhere  has  the  spirit  of  the  time,  with  the  views  actuating  land-hungry 
American  settlers,  been  so  admirably  presented  as  in  Dr  Royce's  Squatter 
Riot  of  "50  in  the  Overland  of  Sept.  '85,  and  in  the  same  author's  California, 
where  is  clearly  set  forth  the  narrow  and  lucky  escape  of  Cal.  from  the  Scylla 
of  a  '  universal  squatters'  conspiracy '  against  Mex.  titles,  if  only  to  fall  into 
the  Charybdis  of  '  legalized  meanness '  by  which  the  titles  were  eventually 
*  settled. '  '  The  squatter  wants  to  make  out  that  Mex.  land  grants,  or  at  the 
very  least  all  in  any  wise  imperfect  or  informal  grants,  have  in  some  fashion 
lapsed  with  the  conquest;  and  that  in  a  proper  legal  sense  the  owners  of  these 
grants  are  no  better  than  squatters  themselves,  unless  congress  shall  do  what 
they  hope,  and  shall  pass  some  act  to  give  them  back  the  land  that  they  used 
to  own  before  the  conquest.  The  big  Mex.  grant  was  to  them  (the  squatters) 
obviously  an  un-American  institution,  a  creation  of  a  benighted  people.  What 
was  the  good  of  the  conquest  if  it  did  not  make  our  enlightened  Amer.  ideas 
paramount  in  the  country  ?  Unless,  then,  congress,  by  some  freak,  should 
restore  to  these  rapacious  speculators  their  old  benighted  legal  status,  they 
would  have  no  land.  Meanwhile,  of  course,  the  settlers  were  to  be  as  well  off 
as  the  others.  So  their  thoughts  ran. ' 


536  MEXICAN  LAND  TITLES. 

developments  receive  attention  elsewhere  as  part  of 
the  country's  annals ;  here  I  but  briefly  outline  the 
prevailing  sentiment  and  uncertainty.  It  should  be 
noted,  however,  that  this  spirit  of  squatterism  by 
no  means  ended  with  the  failure  of  its  more  radical 
methods,  and  the  action  of  congress;  but  it  extended 
throughout  the  whole  period  of  litigation,  having  a 
most  potent  influence  at  the  ballot-box,  in  juries,  and 
through  the  press.  Meanwhile  speculators,  and  espe 
cially  lawyers,  looked  with  much  complacency  on  the 
general  prospect. 

Before  action  was  taken  by  the  national  govern 
ment,  and  as  a  guide  to  such  action,  two  important 
reports  on  Mexican  land  titles  in  California  were 
obtained,  which  gave  on  the  whole  a  clear  idea  of  the 
subject,  both  containing  in  appendices  translations  of 
the  most  important  laws.  The  first  was  that  of  Cap 
tain  Halleck, dated  March  1, 1849,  a  report  which,  while 
accurate  and  comprehensive  in  a  general  way,  may  be 
said  to  have  magnified  somewhat  prospective  difficul 
ties,  suggesting,  whether  intentionally  or  not,  imper 
fections  in  most  of  the  grants  which  might  enable 
the  government  to  defend  itself  by  a  cautious  policy 
against  a  fraudulent  monopoly  of  all  the  most  valuable 
lands.7  The  second  report  was  that  of  William  Carey 
Jones,  dated  March  9,  1850,  at  Washington.  Jones 
was  sent  by  the  secretary  of  the  interior  as  a  confiden 
tial  agent  to  investigate  the  subject,  and  his  stay  in 
California  was  from  September  to  December  1849. 
Being  familiar  with  the  Spanish  language  and  legal 
usages,  aided  by  the  authorities,  and  having  the  bene- 

7  Halleclcs  Report  on  Land  Titles  in  Cal,  in  U.  S.  Govt  Doc.,  31st  Cong., 
1st  Seas. ,  H.  Ex.  17,  p.  1 18-82.  Sent  by  Gov.  Mason  to  the  adj. -gen.  at  Wash. 
April  13th.  The  report  was  devoted  by  instruc.  to  3  topics:  1st,  laws  and 
regulations  for  granting  public  lands;  2d,  the  mission  lands;  and  3d,  lands 
likely  to  be  needed  by  the  U.  S.  govt  for  fortifications,  etc.  The  author's 
conclusions  were,  among  others,  that  no  grant  within  10  1.  of  the  coast  was 
valid;  that  none  was  valid  without  approval  of  the  assembly  or  sup.  govt; 
that  many  antedated  grants  were  believed  to  exist;  that  remaining  mission 
lands  not  legally  sold  belonged  to  the  govt;  that  grants  to  lands  needed  by 
govt  at  S.  F.  were  probably  spurious  or  invalid;  and  that  Mex.  ordera  to  grant 
coast  islands  did  not  include  '  bay '  islands. 


ACTION  OF  CONGRESS.  537 

fit  of  Halleck's  work,  he  prepared  a  report  which  was 
remarkably  clear  and  complete  as  a  general  view. 
But  his  conclusions  were  much  more  reassuring  than 
the  purport  of  Halleck's — somewhat  too  reassuring 
for  credence,  or  at  least  favor,  in  either  Washington 
or  California.  While  admitting  the  current  belief  and 

Jrobability  that  fraudulent  titles  had  been  made  since 
uly  1846,  he  did  not  believe  such  to  be  many,  exten 
sive,  or  difficult  to  detect.  He  regarded  the  titles  as 
for  the  most  part  perfect  or  equitable,  that  is,  such 
as  would  have  been  fully  respected  under  continued 
Mexican  rule;  and  he  advised  that  for  the  best  inter 
ests  of  the  United  States  and  all  classes  of  Califor- 
nians,  an  authorized  survey  of  the  grants  would  be 
sufficient,  the  government  reserving  the  right  to  take 
legal  steps  against  suspicious  titles.8 

In  July  1848  a  bill  was  reported  to  the  United  States 
senate  from  the  committee  on  public  lands,  coming  up 
again  for  discussion  at  the  next  session  in  January 
1849.  To  ascertain  the  claims  and  titles  to  lands  in 
California  and  New  Mexico  this  bill  provided  for  the 
appointment  of  a  surveyor-general,  register  of  lands, 
and  receiver,  to  act  as  a  board  of  land  commissioners, 
and  to  present  for  congress  in  1851  a  detailed  report 
on  all  titles.  Opposing  this  bill,  Senator  Benton 
offered  a  substitute  providing  for  a  recorder  of  land 

8  Jones'  Report  on  the  Subject  of  Land  Titles  in  Cal,  Wash.  (1850),  8vo, 
60  p. ;  also  in  U.  S.  Govt  Doc.  The  latter  contained  a  list  of  all  the  grants 
of  which  Jones  found  record  in  the  archives.  31st  Cong.,  2d  Sess.,  Sen.  no. 
18.  Preliminary  corresp.  of  July  '49  in  Cal.  Mess,  and  Doc.,  '50,  p.  112-18. 
The  instruc.  of  the  com.  of  the  land-office  required  Jones  to  make  minute 
investigations,  including  every  title,  etc.,  extending  his  research  to  N.  Mex. 
and  Mex.;  but  those  of  Sec.  Ewing  noted  the  probable  impossibility  of 
doing  so  much.  Jones  went  overland  to  Mex.  from  Cal.,  and  made  some 
slight  research  there.  He  was  later  prominent  as  an  attorney  in  many  of 
the  Cal.  land  cases.  J.  included  in  his  report  a  mention  of  the  archive  rec 
ords  affecting  land  titles,  a  more  complete  statement  appearing  in  1  Wallace, 
230,  as  follows:  Expedientes  numbered  1-579;  many  incomplete  exped.,  maps, 
borradores,  etc.;  book  of  copied  titles,  '33-5;  tomade  razon,  or  record-book, ,2 
vols,  '43-5;  Jimeno  Index  (semi-official),  '33^44;  Hartnell  Index  (of  titles  in 
'47);  book  of  marks  and  brands  '28-9,  containing  mention  of  20  or  more 
early  grants;  journals  of  the  assembly,  '29-46;  and  miscel.  doc.  in  official 
correspondence,  etc. 


538  MEXICAN  LAND  TITLES. 

titles  and  authorizing  action  by  the  district  court — - 
final  for  values  of  less  than  $5,000 — against  grants 
believed  to  be  invalid.  These  bills  being  recommitted 
and  put  to  rest,, the  matter  did  not  come  up  again  till 
September  1850,  when  the  reports  of  Halleck  and 
Jones  had  been  received,  and  California  had  become 
a  state.  Then  Senator  Fremont  introduced  a  bill — 
supported  by  nobody,  opposed  by  Benton,  and  finally 
tabled — providing  for  a  board  of  commissioners,  with 
appeal,  for  the  claimant  only,  to  the  district  and  supreme 
courts.  Next  in  December  1850  Senator  Gwin  intro 
duced  a  substitute  for  the  Fremont  bill,  omitting  the 
provision  that  the  decision  of  commission  and  district 
court  was  to  be  final  against  the  United  States,  and 
being  in  substance  nearly  identical  with  the  bill  finally 
passed;  and  in  January  1851,  after  a  discussion,  dur 
ing  which  Benton  renewed  his  original  substitute  in 
amplified  form,  the  bills  were  referred  to  the  judiciary 
committee,  which  reported  a  new  bill;  and  this  with 
more  or  less  amendment,  after  an  earnest  discussion, 
was  finally  passed  on  February  6th,  by  a  large  major 
ity.  There  was  no  discussion  in  the  house,  where 
the  bill  was  passed  on  March  3d  and  became  a  law.9 
It  is  of  course  impossible  to  analyze  here  the  bulky 
debates  of  the  senate.  Fremont,  during  his  brief 
term,  was  in  a  sense  the  representative  of  the  Mexi 
can  grantees;  but  Benton  made  himself  their  great 
champion,  urging  a  speedy  and  liberal,  not  to  say 
careless,  confirmation  of  the  claims.  Most  earnestly 
and  even  violently  he  protested  from  first  to  last 
against  the  plan  of  a  commission  as  a  violation  of 
the  spirit  of  the  treaty,  declaring  repeatedly  that  to 
oblige  the  Californians  to  defend  their  titles  before 
three  tribunals  would  amount  to  confiscation  instead 
of  the  promised  protection.  Doubtless,  however, 
there  was  a  feeling  among  senators  that  this  Benton- 

9 See  Cong.  Globe,  1848-51,  through  index  under  'California.'  There  are 
many  references  to  this  subject  in  these  years  in  various  govt  reports  and 
doc.,  but  they  simply  show  that  all  recognized  the  importance  of  some  action, 
and  that  all  favor  a  spirit  of  cautious  justice  in  treating  the  Mex.  titles. 


POLITICAL  AND  CIVIL  SENTIMENT.  539 

Fremont-Jones  combination  might  not  be  acting  from 
disinterested  motives.  On  the  other  hand,  Gwin, 
mindful  of  the  votes  that  had  elected  him,  and  might 
again  be  useful,  represented  the  squatter  element,  the 
horde  of  landless  new-comers,  whose  interests  and 
rights  must  not  be  lost  sight  of.  He  argued  plausi 
bly  and  ably  that  the  proposed  plan  was  not  an  injus 
tice  to  the  Californians,  because  their  titles,  if  legal, 
valid,  and  equitable,  even  if  inchoate,  were  to  be 
fully  confirmed;  that  it  could  not  be  unconstitutional, 
because  it  had  been  the  method  adopted  before,  as  in 
the  Louisiana  claims;  that  it  was  not  a  violation  of  the 
treaty,  since  it  was  adopted  expressly  to  carry  out 
the  treaty;  that  protection  by  the  courts  was  all  that 
any  American  citizen  could  desire  for  his  property, 
but  that  this  plan  provided  a  special  tribunal  and 
special  rules  of  action  for  others,  so  that  strict  law 
might  be  tempered  by  equity  in  favor  of  these  new 
citizens.  He  and  all  agreed  that  the  treaty  must  be 
fulfilled  in  a  spirit  of  liberal  justice;  but  in  so  novel 
and  complicated  a  case  only  the  highest  courts  could 
determine  what  was  just.  Nothing  was  said  by  him 
or  others  in  reply  to  the  practical  part  of  Benton's 
argument,  that  the  claimants  would  lose  their  land  in 
the  process  of  defence;  but  it  was  perhaps  thought 
that  the  same  argument  might  apply  to  all  systems  of 
legal  protection,  or  that  if  Californian  estates  were 
reduced  in  litigation  from  their  magnificent  propor 
tions  of  some  50,000  acres  each  no  great  harm  would 
be  done. 

I  think  it  evident  that  in  the  minds  of  senators 
there  was  a  strong  undercurrent  of  feeling  strikingly 
similar  to  that  noted  in  California.  The  fever  was 
raging  in  Washington  as  well  as  Sacramento.  It  was 
not  of  500  or  1,000  rancheros,  living  on  stock-farms 
owned  by  themselves  and  their  fathers,  and  of  little 
value  by  American  standards,  that  the  senate  was 
thinking,  but  of  a  marvellous  land  of  gold-mines,  great 
towns,  and  limitless  prospects;  not  of  a  quiet,  pastoral 


540  MEXICAN  LAND  TITLES. 

people,  but  of  a  horde  of  speculators,  hungry  for  gold 
and  power  and  land;  not  so  much  of  the  valid  claims, 
as  of  the  fraudulent  ones;  of  the  unknown,  more  than 
the   known.     All  was   mysterious;    the    McNamara 
bugaboo  was  buzzing  in  the  senatorial  ear;  the  Roman 
church  might  present  a  plausible  claim  for  vast  mis 
sion  tracts;  spider-like  speculators  had  probably  woven 
their  webs  over  the  spots  where  forts  must  be  built; 
the  mining  region  might  be  covered  by  diabolically 
contrived  titulos;  Fremont,  S utter,  Vallejo,  and  Larkin 
might  seize  all  that  McNamara  had  left;  British  sub 
jects  might  have  the  wires  laid  to  secure  as  individuals 
what  their  nation  had  lost;  American   settlers  and 
miners  might  find  themselves  without  homes,  the  con 
quest  practically  annulled.     The  courts  would  decide 
wisely  and  fairly;  nothing  below  the  supreme  court 
could  be  implicitly  trusted  in  such  an  emergency ;  it 
was  best  to  make  haste  slowly.     All  agreed  that  jus 
tice  must  be  done ;  it  would  be  time  for  generous  lib 
erality  when  the  exact  state  of  things  should  be  known. 
Meanwhile,  it  was  well  to  act  with  caution,  reserving 
the  various  informalities  of  Mexican  titles  as  weapons 
of  defence  that  might  be  needed.     The  feeling  was  for 
the  most  part  an  honest  one,  and  the  resulting  action 
consistent;  of  its  other  merits  and  its  results  I  shall 
speak  later. 

The  act  of  1851,  omitting  details,  provided  for  a 
board  of  three  commissioners,  with  a  secretary  and 
law  agent  skilled  in  Spanish,  to  be  appointed  by  the 
president  for  three  years,  and  to  hold  sessions  at  places 
named  by  the  president.  To  this  board,  duly  author 
ized  to  administer  oaths  and  take  testimony,  each 
claimant  under  a  Spanish  or  Mexican  title  must, 
within  two  years,  present  his  claim,  with  the  docu 
mentary  and  other  evidence  on  which  he  relied,  it  be 
ing  the  duty  of  the  board  to  decide  promptly  on  the 
validity  of  the  claim,  and  to  certify  its  decision  to  the 
district  attorney.  Either  party  might  appeal  to  the  dis- 


COMMISSIONERS.  541 

trict  court,  which  might  take  additional  testimony, 
and  from  its  decision  to  the  supreme  court.  All  the 
tribunals  were  to  be  governed  in  their  decisions  "by 
the  treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo,  the  law  of  nations, 
the  laws,  usages,  and  customs  of  the  government  from 
which  the  claim  is  derived,  the  principles  of  equity, 
and  the  decisions  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  United 
States,  so  far  as  they  are  applicable."  All  lands  for 
which  the  claims  were  rejected  or  not  presented  were 
to  be  regarded  as  part  of  the  public  domain ;  confirmed 
claims  were  to  be  surveyed  by  the  surveyor-general, 
and  on  the  presentment  of  his  certificate  and  plat,  a 
patent — conclusive  only  as  against  the  United  States, 
and  not  affecting  the  rights  of  third  parties — would 
be  issued  from  the  general  land-office ;  but  the  district 
judge  might,  on  petition  of  a  contesting  claimant, 
grant  an  injunction  to  prevent  the  obtaining  of  a  pat 
ent  until  there  had  passed  sufficient  time  for  deciding 
the  controversy.10  In  the  case  of  towns  to  which 
grants  had  been  made,  or  standing  on  lands  granted 
to  an  individual,  the  claim  was  to  be  presented,  not  by 
the  lot-owner,  but  by  the  municipal  authorities  or  the 
original  grantee.11  The  provision  on  its  face,  in  respect 
of  both  spirit  and  methods,  was  an  excellent  one. 

The  board  was  appointed  from  May  to  September 
1851,  organized  at  San  Francisco  in  December,  and 
opened  its  sessions  for  the  presentment  of  claims  in 
January  1852,  two  claims  being  presented  the  first 
day,  but  the  first  decision  not  being  reached  till 
August.  With  the  exception  of  one  brief  term  at 
Los  Angeles  in  the  autumn  of  1852,  the  sessions  were 
held  at  San  Francisco  until  the  final  adjournment,  on 
March  1,  1856,  the  time  having  been  twice  extended 

19  Later  the  survey  itself  might  be  brought  into  the  district  court,  and  its 
decision  appealed  to  the  supreme  court. 

11  In  U.  S.  Stat.  at  Large,  iv.  631;  Dwineltfs  Col  Hist.,  add.  203-6;  also 
printed  with  extracts  from  the  the  treaty,  instructions  to  the  com.,  and  regu 
lations  adopted  in  a  separate  pamphlet.  Cat.  Com.  for  Settling  Private  Land 
Claims,  S.  F.,  1852.  The  salary  of  each  com.  was  $6,000,  of  the  sec.  $4,000, 
and  of  each  of  five  clerks  $1,500.  The  sec.  was  allowed  no  fees,  except  for 
furnishing  certified  copies. 


542  MEXICAN  LAND  TITLES. 

by  congress.  The  commissioners,  seven  in  number 
including  all  changes,  were  able  and  honest  men, 
though  knowing  nothing  of  the  Spanish  language, 
and  very  little  of  Mexican  law  and  customs.12 

In  September  1855  only  three  claims  had  been 
finally  decided.  Some  general  statistics  for  the  first 
ten  years,  or  down  to  1862,  are  appended,  by  which  it 
appears  that  of  the  813  claims  presented,  591  were 
finally  confirmed  and  203  rejected,  264  being  finally 
settled  by  the  board,  450  by  the  district  court,  and  99 
by  the  supreme  court.13  So  far  as  figures  tell  the 

12  The  original  board  appointed  by  Pres.  Fillmore  was  composed  of  Harry 
I.  Thornton,   James  Wilson,   and  Hiland  Hall.     Wilson's  appointment  not 
being  approved  by  the  senate,  he  retired  in  Oct.  '52.     G.  A.  Henry  was  ap 
pointed  in  his  place,  but  did  not  act.     In  March  '53  Pres.  Pierce  appointed  as 
a  new  board  Alpheus  Felch,  Thompson  Campbell,  and  R.  A.  Thompson,  who 
took  their  seats  in  April.     Campbell  resigned  in  June  '54  and  was  succeeded 
by  S.  B.  Farwell.     The  secretary  was  J.  B.   Carr  at  first,  but  Geo.  Fisher 
from  Jan.  '52  to  the  end.     The  U.  S.  law  agent  was  Geo.  W.  Cooley  to  March 
'53,  V.  E.  Howard  to  Jan.  '54,  and  later  John  H.  McKune.     The  asst  law 
agent  was  Robt  Greenhow  from  Aug.  '52,  and  Lewis  Blanding  after  G.  's  death 
from  June  '54.     The  instruc.  to  the  board  issued  Sept.  11,  '51,  by  the  com. 
of  the  gen.  land-office  contain  nothing  requiring  special  notice,  unless  it  be 
that  to  require  of  the  claimant  a  survey  and  map  to  accompany  his  claim, 
which  was  not,  I  think,  in  most  cases  insisted  on.    The  original  order  had  been 
to  hold  sessions  also  at  Sta  B.  and  Mont.,  but  this  was  revoked;  and  an  at 
tempt  in  '54  to  obtain  another  session  at  Los  Ang.,  though  backed  by  the 
Cal.  legislature,  was  unsuccessful.     Several  men  appointed  as  commissioners 
declined  to  serve  on  account  of  the  low  salary.     The  leading  law  firms  em 
ployed  by  the  claimants  before  the  land  com.  in  '52  were  Halleck,  Peachy, 
and  Billings,  about  80  cases;  Clarke,  Taylor,  and  Beckh,  40  cases;  and  Jones, 
Tompkins,  and  Strode,  25  cases. 

13  See,  however,  note  45;  258  cl.  were  presented  by  the  end  of  May  '52; 
505  by  the  end  of  '52;  812  at  the  expiration  of  the  two  years  March  '53;  and 
one  by  permission  of  congress  in  '54;  total  813.     Conf.  by  1.  c.  521,  rej.  273, 
discontinued  19;  finally  settled  by  1.  c.  264,  conf.  104,  rej.  141.     Claims  ap 
pealed  to  d.  c.  549,  conf.  510,  rej.  39;  finally  decided  486  (that  is,  in  '62,  but 
36  cl.  at  least  seem  later  to  have  been  appealed  of  the  115  that  in  '62  had 
not  been  dismissed,  hence  the  450  of  my  text),  conf.  452,  rej.  39;  no.  of  the 
1.  c.'s  decisions  sustained  by  d.  c.  446 — or  412  conf.  and  34  rej.;  no.  of  ditto 
overruled  103 — or   5   conf.,  98  rej.     Claims  appealed   to  s.  c.,  63  (or  99  as 
above  explained),  of  which  35  conf.  and  28  rej.;  no.  of  d.  c.'s  decisions  sus 
tained  by  s.  c.,  38 — or  24  conf.  and  4  rej.;  overruled,  25 — or  24  conf.  and  1 
rej.     These  figures  are  from  the  Table  of  Land  Cases  published  as  an  appendix 
to  Hoffman  s  Reports  in  '62.     There  are  many  errors  in  that  list,  and  it  does 
not  of  course  show  the  later  record  of  36  claims  (that  is,  the  no.  I  have  found 
in  my  incidental  search  of  the  decisions,  but  there  were  probably  more)  that 
came  before  the  s.  c.,  18  of  them  being  confirmed  and  18  rejected. 

The  decisions  of  the  land  com.  have  never  been  printed,  except  a  few  in 
cidentally  in  pamphlets  and  newspapers;  and  the  same  is  true  of  the  southern 
district  court  existing  only  in  '55-66.  The  decisions  of  the  northern  d.  c.  in 
'53-8  by  Judge  Ogden  Hoffman  were  published  at  S.  F.  '62  as  Hoffman  s 
Reports,  i.  Some  later  decisions  in  land  cases  are  found  in  McAllister's  Re 
ports  and  Sawyer's  Reports;  and  those  of  the  s.  c.  in  U.  S.  Sup.  Court  Reports, 


CONFIRMATIONS  AND  REJECTIONS.  543 

story,  the  district  court  seems  to  have  been  more  favor 
able  to  claimants  than  the  board,  overruling  many 
more  rejections  than  confirmations;  but  it  should  be 
noted  that  the  court  often  heard  new  testimony  by 
which  the  claimants  strengthened  their  weak  points. 
It  is  known  that  a  few  fraudulent  claims  were  finally 
confirmed,  and  that  a  few  good  ones  were  rejected; 
yet  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  three  tribunals 
performed  their  duties  honestly  and  ably,  whatever 
may  be  said  of  the  system  under  which  they  had  to 
work.  In  the  matter  of  appeals  and  other  details  of 
legal  method,  slightly  modified  from  time  to  time, 
there  was  some  complaint  of  injustice;  one  of  the 
southern,  judges  and  one  or  two  representatives  of  the 
United  States  did  not  escape  plausible  charges  of  un 
worthy  motives  and  conduct;  and  often  there  appears 
as  in  most  litigation  what  seems  to  the  unprofessional 
mind  a  strange  preference  for  legal  quibble  where  com 
mon  sense  would  better  serve  the  purpose;  but  re 
specting  these  points  I  have  no  space  for  discussion, 
nor  am  I  perhaps  a  competent  critic.  The  chief  ap 
parent  injustice  was  in  these  respects:  in  obliging 
claimants  to  come  with  their  witnesses  at  great  expense 
from  the  extreme  south  to  San  Francisco ;  in  the  policy 
of  the  attorneys  for  the  government  who  fought  the 
claims  over  and  over  on  petty  technicalities  which 
ought  never  to  have  figured  except  in  a  few  test  cases ; 
in  the  frequent  espousing  by  the  United  States  of  one 
weak  claimant's  cause  to  defeat  a  stronger  one;  and 
especially  in  the  appealing  of  many  cases  as  a  mere 
formality  to  a  higher  tribunal.14 

especially  those  of  Howard  and  Wallace.  A  complete  register  of  all  the 
claims,  somewhat  on  the  plan  of  the  Hoffman  appendix,  but  more  extensive, 
tracing  each  case  through  the  board,  both  courts,  and  the  final  survey,  would 
be  a  most  desirable  work. 

14  In  Hoffman  s  Reports  maybe  noticed  many  cases  in  which  the  judge 
says  in  substance:  'This  case  was  conf.  by  the  1.  c. ;  no  opposition  is  made 
here  by  the  U.  S. ;  it  seems  all  right  and  is  confirmed. '  Meanwhile  the  poor 
ranchero  was  perhaps  addressed  by  his  lawyer  somewhat  like  this:  'Your  claim 
has  been  appealed;  the  U.  S.  are  bent  on  defeating  it;  only  by  the  most 
superhuman  efforts  can  it  be  saved;  yet  give  me  more  land  and  more  cattle, 
and  I  will  do  my  best '! 


544  MEXICAN  LAND  TITLES. 

Obviously  no  annals  of  litigation  nor  even  digest  of 
principles  adopted  can  find  place  here,  but  of  the  lat 
ter  some  of  the  more  important  and  interesting  may 
be  noted.  It  took  the  commission  and  courts  a  long 
time  to  reduce  the  original  system  of  grants  to  the 
simple  basis  presented  earlier  in  this  chapter,  though 
Jones  had  embodied  the  correct  idea  in  his  report. 
Every  petty  irregularity  was  repeatedly  insisted  on 
by  the  government's  attorneys,  and  generally  had  to 
be  overruled  more  than  once  by  each  tribunal;  but 
strict  and  technical  ruling  ultimately  gave  way  for  the 
most  part  to  liberal  and  equitable  principles,  though 
not  without  dissent  in  high  places.15  A  perfect  title 
did  not  require  presentment  to  the  board,  but  if  so 
presented  must  abide  by  the  result.  Inchoate  titles, 
on  the  other  hand,  were  forfeited  by  non-presentment.16 
July  7,  1846,  was  the  date  assigned  as  the  end  of 
Mexican  rule,  though  the  territorial  authorities  had 
not  been  overthrown  or  the  capital  taken  till  over  a 
month  later,  and  grants  of  later  date  were  held  to  be 
invalid.17  The  board  and  United  States  courts  re- 

15  Justice  Daniels  dissented  from  many  of  the  early  decisions  of  the  s.  c., 
favoring  a  strict  ruling.     He  held  that  irregularities  springing  from  the  dis 
orderly  and  revolutionary  state  of  the  country,  and  supported  by  doubtful 
testimony  of  a  degraded  and  ignorant  people,  should  not  be  countenanced  by 
a  mistaken  idea  of  liberality,  when  a  strict  ruling  would  transfer  the  land 
from  a  few  ignorant  Mex.  and  unscrupulous  monopolists  to  numerous  intel 
ligent  settlers.   18  Howard,  550.     Even  the  U.  S.  attorney  proclaimed   '  the 
constant  policy  of  the  U.  S.  not  to  interpose  far-fetched  or  capricious  objec 
tions  against  claims  which  seemed  to  be  made  in  good  faith  for  small  quantities 
of  land. '  1  Black,  267.     Still,  a  license  to  occupy  land  followed  by  long  occu 
pation  was  not  recog.  by  the  U.  S.  as  giving  some  an  equitable  title.     The 
10  1.  coast  limit  and  the  lack  of  approval  by  the  assemb.  were  favorite  ob 
jections  at  first;  also  the  lack  of  authority  for  granting  lands,  until  over 
thrown  by  the  decision  that  the  acts  of  an  official  must  be  presumed  to  be 
legitimate,  if  not  disputed  by  his  own  govt.   19  Howard,  343.     Some  points 
for  which  I  have  no  room  here  may  be  found  in  the  later  list  of  specimen  case. 

16  A  perfect  title  was  one  fortified  by  juridical  possession  and  survey.     In 
one  instance  the  grantee  of  2  1.  got  formal  possession  of  61.;  but  after  his 
claim  to  2  1.  was  confirmed  he  tried  to  hold  the  whole  on  the  ground  of  a 
perfect  title.     He  was  held  to  be  bound  by  the  decision  of  the  court  and  the 
patent.  2  Sawyer,  527.     Sometimes  part  of  a  grant  was  conf.,  while  the  rest 
became  public  land  through  non-presentment.   1  Id.  207. 

17  Two  grants  of  later  date  were  confirmed  by  the  d.  c.,  in  one  of  which 
the  issuance  of  the  grant  had  been  ordered  before  July  7th;  and  it  was  held 
that  delay  in  the  purely  ministerial  act  of  drawing  up  the  title  ought  not  to 
invalidate  the  claimant's  rights.   1  Hoff.  279;  but  this  was  reversed  by  s.  c. 
The  declaration  of  the  Mex.  treaty  com.  that  no  grants  had  been  made  since 


FLOATING  GRANTS.  545 

quired  the  claimant  to  show  a  prima  facie  title;  but 
their  decision  was  on  the  validity  of  the  original 
grant,  confirmation  and  title  being  final  only  as  against 
the  government,  and  the  rights  of  third  parties  being 
left  unprejudiced  to  be  settled  by  the  California 
courts.18 

The  district  court  often  took  new  evidence,  but  the 
supreme  court  never;  nor  would  the  latter  consider 
alleged  frauds  or  irregularities  in  the  acts  of  the  former> 
of  the  commission,  or  of  the  surveyors.  No  phase  of 
the  whole  matter  gave  rise  to  more  complications  than 
that  of  'floating'  grants,  that  is,  grants  of  a  given  area 
within  bounds  including  a  greater  area;  and  when 
there  were  two  or  more  of  these  grants  within  the 
same  greater  bounds,  the  difficulties  were  not  dimin 
ished.  The  grantee  was  entitled  to  locate  his  land  as 
he  pleased,  and  to  hold  the  whole  tract  until  final  sur 
vey,  except  as  against  other  grantees.  But  in  the 
final  survey  he  must  select  his  land  in  compact  form, 
and  in  the  case  of  two  grants  the  patent  was  final  even 
if  the  later  grant  chanced  to  be  the  first  patented. 
These  floating  grants  afforded  the  strongest  tempta 
tions  for  fraudulent  surveys,  and  gave  rise  to  the  most 

May  13th  was  often  urged  by  the  U.  S.,  but  was  held  not  to  affect  grants 
actually  made  between  that  date  and  July  7th.  1  Wallace,  412.  It  was  also 
argued  that  grants  made  after  the  war  of  conquest  was  begun  were  invalid;  but 
it  was  held  that  the  war  was  not  avowedly  waged  for  conquest,  and  if  it  had 
been  there  was  no  authority  for  the  position  that  the  title  acquired  by  con 
quest  '  relates  back  to  the  date  of  its  inception. '  1  Hoff,  249. 

18  Cases  before  the  Cal.  s.  c — about  60  of  which  have  been  examined  for 
my  purpose — were  chiefly  disputes  between  such  parties  respecting  parts  of 
Mex.  grants.  This  court  took  no  action  on  the  validity  of  original  grants  or  of 
acts  of  the  1.  c.,  d.  c.,  and  s.  c.,  but  dealt  with  boundary  disputes,  conflicting 
claims,  or  temporary  rights  under  inchoate  titles.  Cal.  Repwts.  Sometimes 
two  claims  were  presented  for  the  same  land  under  the  same  grant;  but  it 
was  the  duty  of  the  1.  c.  to  consolidate  each  cl. ;  and  the  courts  refused  to 
consider  any  2d  cl.  except  for  new  and  decisive  evidence  in  the  case  of  a 
rejected  claim.  There  were  several  such  cases  in  connection  with  the  Sutter 
grants,  but  individual  claims  had  to  abide  by  the  general  decision.  1  Blick, 
339;  2  Id.  610.  The  existence  of  rival  claims  enabled  the  U.  S.,  as  else 
where  remarked,  to  work  against  one  title  by  espousing  another.  Pend 
ing  the  great  litigation,  rights  under  Mex.  grants  were  (in  theory  at  least) 
protected  under  Mex.  law  and  equity;  a  prima  facie  title  presented  to  the 
1.  c.  was  good  against  all  3d  parties  till  final  rejection,  and  the  title  if  finally 
confirmed  related  back  to  the  date  of  filing  the  petition.  33  Cal.  448;  10 
Cal  88;  34  Gal  253;  35  Cal.  85. 
HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.  35 


646  MEXICAN  LAND  TITLES. 

serious  troubles  with  squatters.19  The  board  rejected 
many  claims  for  lack  of  definite  location,  but  new 
testimony  in  the  district  court  generally  overcame  this 
objection.  Both  the  lower  tribunals  were  disposed  at 
first  to  require  strict  compliance  with  the  condition  of 
building  and  occupation  within  a  year,  but  the  supreme 
court  took  a  liberal  view  of  this  matter,  accepting  as 
excuses  Indian  hostilities,  political  disturbances,  and 
other  obstacles;  and  no  delay  was  fatal  unless  so  un 
reasonable  as  to  create  a  presumption  that  the  grantee 
had  abandoned  his  claim,  and  later  tried  to  resume  it 
on  account  of  the  increased  value  of  land.20  As  to 

19  The  theory  seems  to  have  been  that  just  as  the  Mex.  govt  could  go  on 
making  new  grants  so  long  as  enough  was  left  to  satisfy  the  first  grantee,  he 
having  the  right  to  protest  or  to  protect  himself  by  selecting  his  land  at  any 
time,  so  the  U.  S.  govt  could  go  on  surveying  and  patenting  the  later  grants, 
especially  as  the  courts  had  presumably  considered  the  first  grantee's  claim, 
and  as  he  had  had  the  right  to  contest  the  survey.  Prior  occupation  under  a 
provisional  license  was  deemed  also  to  give  the  junior  grantee  the  preference 
in  selection.  A  grantee  might,  however,  so  definitely  select  his  land  by  occu 
pation  as  to  estop  his  claim  to  any  other  location.  The  permission  to  select 
the  location  was  deemed  not  an  obligation  but  a  concession  on  the  part  of  the 
U.  S.  govt.  The  first  grantee  often  got  a  later  grant  of  the  sohrante,  or  sur 
plus,  of  the  whole  tract;  and  in  such  cases  the  courts  did  not  require  the  same 
formalities  as  in  an  original  grant.  Dividing  lines  often  settled  by  the 
grantees  by  arbitration  or  litigation  were  conf .  by  the  courts.  On  floating 
grants,  see  5  Wallace,  445;  13  Cal.  373,  478;  18  Cal.  535;  21  Cal  552;  33  Cal. 
102;  1  Sawyer,  553;  1  Hof.  184,  204.  The  surplus  was  generally  reserved  for 
the  govt  in  the  grant.  Another  class  of  grants  was  those  for  a  certain  area, 
'  more  or  less, '  within  fixed  bounds,  the  meaning  being  simply  that  the  area 
was  an  estimate,  though  all  was  granted;  and  so  it  was  confirmed  by  the 
courts  where  the  estimate  was  within  a  fraction  of  a  league;  thus  2  1.  'poco 
mas  6  menos  '  was  good  for  anything  up  to  3  1.  Sometimes,  however,  by 
clerical  error,  both  the  '  more  or  less '  and  the  reserve  of  the  surplus  clauses 
were  attached;  but  the  latter  was  properly  disregarded  when  the  bounds  were 
clear  and  the  estimate  tolerably  accurate,  otherwise  the  former. 

29  The  failure  to  perform  conditions  in  fact  merely  rendered  the  land  sub 
ject  to  denouncement  and  regrant;  it  could  be  argued  only  by  the  granting 
power,  not  by  adverse  claimants;  indeed  it  was  a  question  whether  any  right 
of  defeasance  or  forfeiture  passed  from  Mex.  to  the  U.  S.  The  d.  c.  finally 
took  so  liberal  a  view  on  performance  of  conditions  that  some  of  its  decisions 
were  overruled.  The  condition  forbidding  alienation  of  a  grant  had  no  force 
under  U.  S.  laws.  1  Wallace,  423;  1  Ho/.  145,  191;  5  Cal.  108;  10  Cal  589; 
13  Cal.  458. 

Ignorance  of  the  Span,  language  caused  much  confusion  and  many  ludi 
crous  blunders  in  the  litigation,  as  did  ignorance  of  Mex.  customs.  Halleck, 
Land  Titles,  160,  140,  says  that  not  one  in  ten  docs  was  correctly  translated, 
only  one  judge  and  none  of  the  com.  understanding  the  language  or  laws;  and 
he  notes  that  one  claim  was  registered  by  the  1.  c.,  because  the  grantee  lived 
with  his  family  in  the  pueblo,  though  this  was  encouraged  and  almost  required 
by  the  Span.  laws.  As  late  as  '62  plantar  biertes  raices  is  trans.  '  plant  trees. ' 
2  Black,  597.  Throughout  the  Fossat  case  in  the  1.  c.,  vn  sitio  de  ganado 
.mayor  is  trans,  'a  league  of  the  larger  size.'  A  decision  of  the  Cal.  s.  c.  was 


ARCHIVE  EVIDENCE.  547 

evidence  in  support  of  a  grant,  the  expediente  and 
record  from  the  archives  were  properly  given  chief 
importance;  next  coming  the  original  grant  and  proof 
of  occupation.  It  was  not  enough  to  prove  the  loss  of 
archives  that  might  have  contained  the  record ;  but  it 
must  be  shown  that  the  record  had  existed.  In  the 
absence  of  archive  evidence,  other  proofs  must  be  ex 
ceptionally  full  and  conclusive;  and  in  resisting  fraudu 
lent  claims  the  courts  had  to  decide  that  "documentary 
evidence,  no  matter  how  formal  and  complete,  or  how 
well  supported  by  the  testimony  of  witnesses,  will  not 
suffice  if  it  is  obtained  from  private  hands."21  The 
most  numerous  and  dangerous  fraudulent  claims  were 
those  resting  on  grants  and  other  documents  written 
after  1846,  bearing  the  genuine  signatures  of  governor 
and  other  officials,  but  antedated.  It  was  not  difficult 
to  obtain  parol  testimony  in  support  of  such  titles,  but 
archive  evidence  was  not  easily  forged.  The  methods 
in  vogue  with  the  courts  under  technical  rules  of  evi 
dence  seem  not  to  have  been  very  well  adapted  to  the 
detection  of  such  frauds.  Some  of  the  cases  are  noted 
elsewhere.22  The  matter  of  surveys  was  one  of  the 

reversed  by  itself  because  it  had  rested  on  a  trans,  of  vista  la  petition,  etc.,  as 
'  having  seen  the  petition. '  And  many  amusing  instances  might  be  given. 

21 3  Wallace,  434;  1  Black,  227,  298;  1  Hoff.  170. 

22  In  the  '  crooked '  cases,  as  in  some  of  the  straight  ones,  it  is  surprising 
how  few  witnesses  were  called,  the  most  important  not  appearing.  For 
instance,  Pio  Pico  and  his  secretaries  were  but  rarely  called  to  prove  their 
signatures,  the  testimony  of  some  obscure  countryman  who  had  seen  them 
write  being  deemed  sufficient.  Before  the  1.  c.  the  claim  was  offered  with  a 
witness  or  two  to  prove  occupation  and  signatures,  the  evidence  being  some 
times  left  intentionally  weak  on  some  point,  as  perhaps  location,  so  that  if 
possible  the  cl.  might  be  rejected  on  that  point  alone,  and  not  much  attention 
be  paid  to  others.  Then  before  the  1.  c.  new  testimony  was  introd.  to 
strengthen  the  weak  point;  one  or  two  unimpeached  witnesses  were  found  in 
possession;  and  a  confirmation  sometimes  obtained  against  the  suspicions  of 
the  court.  Finally  on  appeal  to  the  s.  c.  the  presumption  that  the  gov.  had 
properly  attended  to  all  preliminaries,  etc.,  and  the  impossibility  of  consider 
ing  objections  not  urged  in  the  lower  court  were  relied  on.  But  this  pro 
gramme  often  failed,  for  the  s.  c.  had  a  way,  in  suspicious  cases,  which  it 
could  not  reject,  of  remanding  them  for  a  new  trial;  and  few  frauds  could 
pass  a  second  ordeal  in  the  d.  c.  See  1  Hoff.  190;  1  Wallace,  326,  352,  400. 

The  title  to  minerals  was  not  included  in  a  Mex.  grant;  and  as  such  a  title 
on  private  land  was  unknown  to  the  U.  S.  system,  it  became  a  puzzle  what 
became  of  the  title.  It  was  finally  held  to  belong  practically  to  the  grantee; 
for  if  it  belonged  to  another  there  was  no  license  for  that  other  to  enter  pri 
vate  land  to  dig  for  gold.  This  was  an  important  question  settled  in  the 
Fremont  case. 


548  MEXICAN  LAND  TITLES. 

most  complicated  phases  of  the  land  litigation,  one  that 
lasted  longest,  that  offered  the  greatest  opportunities 
for  fraud,  and  that  presents  the  greatest  difficulties  to 
the  investigator.  At  first,  after  final  confirmation  of 
a  grant,  a  survey  was  made  by  the  surveyor-general, 
or  rather  by  one  of  his  deputies,  who  had  no  instruc 
tions  except  to  follow  the  calls  of  the  grant,  and  whose 
judgment  was  often  more  or  less  influenced  by  the 
guidance  of  interested  parties.  On  this  survey  the 
commissioner  of  the  land-office  at  Washington,  if  he 
could  see  or  be  made  to  see  no  serious  objection,  issued 
the  final  patent.  After  1860  the  survey  itself  was 
submitted  to  the  district  court,  whose  decision  could 
be  appealed  to  the  supreme  court;  but  the  courts  con 
fined  themselves  mainly  to  the  approval  or  rejection 
of  the  survey  as  a  whole,  or  to  the  correction  of  radical 
errors,  still  leaving  much  to  the  surveyor's  discretion, 
and  not  closely  criticising  his  use  of  that  discretion. 
The  change  was  necessary,  but  led  to  endless  litigation, 
and  to  the  ruin  of  such  grantees  as  had  saved  a  part 
of  their  lands  in  the  earlier  ordeals.23 

With  a  view  to  illustrate  as  fully  as  possible  the 
general  course  of  the  great  litigation  on  Mexican 
titles,  detailed  annals  of  which  cannot  be  presented 
in  the  space  at  my  disposal,  I  have  thought  it  best  to 
append  in  fine  type  a  list  of  specimen  cases.24  It  in- 

23  Inaccurate  surveys  rej.  by  govt  or  refused  by  claimants;  modifications 
or  new  surveys  ordered  and  again  rejected;  technical  blunders  of  officials 
allowing  the  reopening  of  cases;  misunderstandings  between  the  surv.-gen. 
and  the  land-office;  successive  acts  of  congress  settling  old  difficulties  and 
opening  the  door  to  new  ones — it  is  beyond  my  province  to  go  into  details  of 
this  confusion.     The  survey  was  the  only  question  in  most  of  the  later  s.  c. 
cases,  and  the  court  only  decided  whether  the  survey  was  in  accord  with  the 
decree  of  the  d.  c.  5  Wallace,  827.     The  Rodriguez  case  presented  perhaps  as 
many  difficulties  as  any.   1  Id.  582;  see  also  1  Id.  658;  also  a  case  in  U.  S. 
circuit  court,  2  Sawyer,  493. 

24  Specimen  cases  alphabetically  arranged  by  names  of  claimants.     The 
numbers  are  those  of  the  land  commission,  abbreviated  1.  c.,  the  U.  S.  dis 
trict  court  being  abbrev.  d.  c.,  and  supreme  court,  s.  c. 

Alviso,  Canada  Verde,  Sta  Cruz,  359,  conf.  in  all  the  courts  on  a  permis 
sion  to  occupy  of  '38;  favorable  reports  of  local  officials,  with  occupation  and 
undisputed  ownership  from  '40,  though  there  was  no  grant.  23  Howard,  318. 

Alviso,  Bincon  de  los  Esteros,  Sta  Clara,  278,  conf.  to  children  of 
grantee  by  a  former  wife.  The  widow's  claim  to  \  was  not  sustained  by  the 


SPECIMEN   CASES.  549 

eludes  examples  of  most  classes  of  claims  that  were 
presented  to  the  land  commission  and  courts,  showing 

C?.l.  s.  c.,  on  the  ground  that  a  Mex.  grant  was  a  donation,  and  not  part  of 
the  common  property.   13  Cal  458.     There  were  other  similar  decisions. 

Argiiello,  Pulgas,  S.  Mateo,  2,  conf.  by  all  3  courts.  This  claim  was  on 
the  grant  of  '35,  not  on  that  of  about  '24;  but  on  the  earlier  grant  and  occu 
pation  the  cl.  sought  to  include  the  Canada  de  Raimundo  on  the  w.  It  was 
held,  however,  that  the  later  grant  was  decisive  on  boundary,  especially  as 
the  canada  had  been  granted  to  Coppinger  in  '40.  (Greer — Canada  de  R. — 21 , 
conf.)  It  was  in  thu  case  that  the  1.  c.  adopted  the  regulation  permitting 
a  1  verse  claimants  to  contest  before  the  board  the  conf.  of  interfering  claims, 
the  decision  being  pub.  as  Land  Com.  Organiz.,  Acts.,  etc.,  S.  F.,  1852.  There 
was  also  pub.  Jones'  Argument  for  the  cl.  in  this  case,  S.  F.,  '53.  In  this 
early  case  was  overruled  by  the  U.  S.  s.  c.  the  objection  urged  by  the  U.  S. 
that  a  grant  within  10  1.  of  the  coast  was  illegal.  18  Howard,  539.  In  the  sur 
vey  the  w.  line  of  Pulgas  was  fixed  at  the  w.  base  of  the  range  of  hills  sepa 
rating  it  from  the  canada  instead  of  the  summit  where  it  should  have  been; 
but  the  owners  of  the  canada  found  no  remedy  (26  Cal.  615),  as  the  patent  of 
Pulgas  was  held  to  be  final.  In  78  a  bill  was  defeated  in  congress  to  allow 
the  courts  to  investigate  the  surveyor's  alleged  fraud;  but  in  '85  the  efforts 
had  not  been  abandoned. 

Armijo,  Tolenas,  Solano,  26,  conf.  d.  c.  This  was  a  floating  grant  of  3  1. 
in  '40,  conflicting  in  boundary  with  another  of  '42  (Ritchie,  Suisun,  3).  The 
later  grant  was  first  surveyed,  and  in  the  Cal.  s.  c.  (13  Cal.  373)  A.'s  claim  to 
certain  land  within  the  survey  on  the  ground  of  prior  grant  and  actual  occupa 
tion  was  not  sustained,  the  patent  being  final  as  held  in  many  like  cases.  In 
the  U.  S.  s.  c.  in  '66  (5  Wallace,  444)  A.'s  claim  as  earlier  grantee  to  locate 
his  grant  first  was  not  allowed,  but  apparently  on  the  ground  of  earlier  pos 
session  by  the  later  grantee  under  a  provisional  concession,  and  of  a  former 
settlement  by  arbitration. 

Bernal,  Rincon  de  las  Salinas  y  Potrero  Viejo,  S.  F.,  30,  conf.  d.  c.  Against 
this  claim  there  was  made  in  behalf  of  the  U.  S.  an  earnest  and  unsuccessful 
effort  by  a  mass  of  conflicting  oral  testimony  to  prove  forgery  or  changes  in 
some  of  the  papers.  1  Hoffman,  50.  My  Library  stands  near  the  site  of  the 
old  Bernal  rancho  house. 

Berreyesa,  Milpitas,  Sta  Clara,  757.  This  claim  was  founded  on  a  permit 
by  the  alcalde  of  S.  Jose  in  '34,  and  a  diseiio  of  '35  regarded  as  spurious  by  the 
1.  c.  which  rejected  the  claim.  In  '65-77  the  case  was  before  the  d.  c.  and  s.  c., 
and  the  claim  was  defeated,  the  victory  of  the  settlers  being  celebrated  in 
77  by  a  barbecue.  The  real  merits  of  this  case  are  wrapped  in  mystery.  In 
his  Relation,  Antonio  Berreyesa  gives  a  sad  account  of  how  his  father  and 
brothers  lost  their  land  and  were  driven  mad. 

Berreyesa,  Putas,  Napa,  236,  conf.  on  a  grant  of  '43  to  two  brothers,  by 
whom  with  parents  and  other  brothers  the  rancho  was  occupied  from  '39. 
Heirs  of  the  other  brothers  set  up  a  claim  on  the  ground  that  the  grant 
was  made  with  a  view  to  common  occupancy  by  the  whole  family,  but  were 
defeated.  21  Cal.  514.  This  may  very  likely  have  been  one  of  the  cases 
where  a  decision  on  legal  technicalities  is  popularly  regarded  as  oppressive, 
yet  the  justice  of  the  decision  is  clear  even  to  the  unprofessional  mind. 

Bidwell,  Arroyo  Chico,  Butte,  143,  conf.  by  all  the  courts.  Dickey,  the 
grantee  of  '44,  had  a  'Sutter  general  title,'  q.  v.,  which  was  finally  rejected; 
but  he  had  also  what  was  deemed  a  regiilar  grant  on  which  the  cl.  was 
conf.  This  gave  rise  to  some  criticism,  as  it  was  the  only  one  of  the  general 
title  grants  conf.,  and  on  account  of  B.'s  wealth  and  official  standing;  but  the 
decision  seems  to  have  been  a  just  one. 

Bissell,  Mare  Is!.,  Solano,  307,  conf.  on  a  grant  of  '40-1  to  Victor  Castro. 
The  U.  S.  later  bought  the  isl.  for  a  navy-yard,  their  title  resting  on  a  deed 
of  '50  from  Castro  to  Bissell.  In  77  cl.  under  an  earlier  deed  of  C.  to  Bryant 


550  MEXICAN  LAND  TITLES. 

the  general  principles  on  which  decisions  were  based, 
and  covering  a  variety  of  minor  points  not  specified  in 

were  trying  in  the  d.  c.  to  establish  title;  and  even  C.  is  said  still  to  have 
regarded  himself  as  owner. 

Bolcof,  Refugio,  Sta  Cruz,  214,  conf.  to  sons  of  the  grantee  on  a  grant  of 
'41  and  patented.  Majors'  cl.  to  a  part  (no.  207)  being  rejected.  But  later 
it  was  proved  that  the  grant  had  been  to  the  Castro  sisters,  whose  names  had 
been  erased  fraudulently  and  B.  's  substituted.  Thereupon  in  '66-70  the  claim 
of  Majors,  who  had  married  one  of  the  sisters,  to  £  of  the  rancho  was  sustained 
in  d.  c.  and  s.  c.  (11  Wallace,  442).  It  was  held  that  while  former  proceedings 
were  final  against  the.U.  S.,  wrongs  to  3d  parties  might  be  relieved  by  a 
court  of  equity. 

Brown,  Laguna  de  Santos  Calle,  Yolo,  70,  rejected  by  I.e.  and  d.  c.  in  '60. 
The  grant  of  111.  by  Pico,  '45,  to  Prudon  and  Vaca  was  declared  a  forgery, 
like  other  papers;  a  permission  to  occupy  by  Vallejo,  '45,  invalid  and  prob. 
antedated,  and  the  oral  testimony  perjury  in  part  and  suspicious  throughout. 
This  was  a  typical  spurious  claim  in  behalf  of  men  who  never  occupied  the 
land. 

Cambuston,  11  1.,  in  Butte,  511,  conf.  by  1.  c.  on  a  grant  of  '46,  depos.  in 
the  arch.,  '50,  without  other  doc.  proof,  though  there  was  some  testimony 
of  occupation  in  '47;  conf.  by  d.  c.  somewhat  doubtfully  because  the  U.  S. 
made  no  argument  against  it  and  because  of  the  judge's  unwillingness  to 
disregard  uncontradicted  evidence  (1  Hoff.  86).  This  was  the  first  of  the 
spurious  claims  before  the  s.  c.,  where  the  chief  argument  in  its  support 
was  the  '  presumption '  that  Gov.  Pico  attended  to  all  preliminaries,  had  full 
authority,  and  acted  honestly.  This  was  held  invalid;  a  grant  supported 
by  no  archive  evid.  must  be  strictly  investigated.  It  was  sent  back  that  the 
cl.  might  have  a  chance  to  meet  objections;  since  they  might  have  been  misled 
by  the  actions  of  the  U.  S.  agent  (20  Howard,  59);  and  was  rej.  in  '59  by 
the  d.  c. 

Carrillo,  Sespe,  Ventura,  '49,  conf.  by  1.  c.  for  61.  on  a  grant  of  '33,  but 
by  the  d.  c.  reduced  to  2  1.,  'seis'  having  been  fraudulently  substituted  for 
'  dos  '  in  the  original  papers.  More,  the  owner,  claiming  to  have  bought  6  1. 
in  good  faith,  tried  by  every  means,  fair  and  foul,  as  is  alleged — including  one 
or  more  '  crooked '  surveys — to  retain  all  or  part  of  his  rancho,  and  there  was 
much  litigation  with  settlers  on  the  surplus  govt  lands.  His  final  claim,  that 
of  being  allowed  to  purchase  the  land  excluded  by  his  patent  under  the  act 
of  '66  was  decided  adversely  in  '77.  More's  murder  is  supposed  to  have  been 
an  outgrowth  of  this  land  affair. 

Carpenter,  Sta  Gertrudis,  Los  Ang.,  339,  conf.  on  a  grant  of  '34  to  Josefa 
Cota  de  Nieto,  as  were  all  the  divisions  of  the  old  Nieto  tract,  on  grants  of 
'34  (no.  351,  400,  402,  404,  459).  The  cl.  of  the  Nietos,  children  of  the 
grantee,  resting  on  the  original  grant  or  concession  of  1784,  was  rejected  (no. 
423).  Manuel  Nieto  and  his  heirs,  under  Fages'  permit,  occupied  the  whole 
tract  till  '34,  when  it  was  divided  among  2  sons  and  the  widows  of  2  others, 
the  4  getting  grants  from  Gov.  Figueroa,  which  were  conf.  as  above.  In  '43, 
Josefa  Cota,  one  of  the  widows,  with  auth.  from  the  gov.,  sold  Sta  Gertrudis 
to  Carpenter.  Her  children,  failing  before  the  1.  c.,  applied  later  to  the  Cal. 
courts,  claiming  as  heirs  of  Manuel,  since,  if  Manuel  had  a  title,  their  mother's 
sale  was  invalid.  But  the  Cal.  s.  c.  in  '57-62  (7  Cal.  527,  21  Cal  455),  after 
several  changes  of  opinion  resulting  from  inaccurate  translations,  decided 
that  Manuel  had  no  grant,  only  a  permit  to  occupy,  and  that  Josefa,  as  gran 
tee  and  owner,  had  made  a  legal  sale. 

Castillero,  Sta  Cruz  Isl.  (or  Sta  Catalina?),  Sta  B.,  176,  conf.  by  all  the 
courts.  This  differed  from  the  isl.  grants  to  Osio  and  others  finally  rejected 
in  being  made  under  a  special  order  of  the  Mex.  govt  in  behalf  of  C.,  not  re 
quiring  concurrence  of  the  assemb.,  being  duly  recorded,  and  bearing  all  the 
indications  of  genuineness.  23  Jf  allace,  464. 


LIST  OF  CLAIMS.  651 

the  preceding  pages  of  this  chapter.     The  genuine 
claims,  the  validity  of  which  was  never  questioned 

Castillero,  New  Almaden,  Sta  Clara,  366;  Fossat,  Los  Capitancillos,  340; 
Berreyesa,  S.  Vicente,  503.  The  2  adjoining  ranchos  of  Larios  (Fossat  cl.) 
and  Berreyesa,  in  a  caflada  about  15  m.  s.  of  S.  Jose",  were  occupied  from 
about  '34,  and  granted  in  '42.  In  a  range  of  low  hills  in  the  southern  part  of 
the  Canada  (the  bound  of  the  ranchos  being  the  main  Sierra  farther  s. ),  on 
one  of  the  ranchos  and  near  the  partition  line,  was  a  mineral  deposit  known 
from  early  times,  and  in  '45  denounced  as  a  quicksilver  mine  by  Castillero, 
who  formed  a  comp.  to  work  the  mine,  obtaining  from  the  Mex.  govt  approval 
of  his  acts  and  an  order  for  a  grant  of  2  1.  of  laud.  Forbes  &  Co.  of  Tepic, 
became  chief  owners,  and  before  '52  the  property  had  become  of  great  value, 
and  had  already  been  the  subject  of  much  litigation.  Before  the  1.  c.,  d.  c., 
and  s.  c.  from  '52,  private  litigation  continuing  unabated,  was  waged  a  great 
triangular  fight — with  the  U.  S.  masquerading  as  one  of  the  three  contending 
interests — for  the  mine  as  a  prize.  The  cl.  of  Fossat  and  Berreyesa,  being  of 
unquestionable  genuineness,  were  finally  conf.  by  '58,  though  restricted  by 
strict  rulings  to  narrower  limits  than  ordinarily  would  have  been  accorded, 
and  though  a  desperate  effort  was  made  to  exclude  the  mine  by  identifying 
the  low  range  of  hills  with  the  Sierra  as  the  s.  bound.  Castillero 's  land  cl. 
was  rejected  from  the  first,  as  there  had  been  no  grant,  and  as  the  land  was 
already  private  property;  but  the  mining  cl.  was  conf.  by  1.  c.  and  d.  c.  in 
'61.  Of  the  equity  of  this  cl.  there  could  be  no  real  question,  and  the  d.  c. 
disregarded  the  wholesale  and  absurd  charges  of  forgery  and  perjury  that 
were  made;  but  the  s.  c.  was  so  far  influenced  by  these  charges  that — while 
not  basing  its  decision  on  this  ground — it  felt  justified  in  a  strict  ruling,  and 
rejected  the  cl.  on  the  ground  that  the  alcalde  had  no  jurisdiction  in  the  de 
nouncement  of  mines,  and  that  other  formalities  had  not  been  exactly  com 
plied  with,  etc.  Three  of  the  judges  dissented  from  what  was  doubtless  an 
unjust  decision.  This  was  in  '62.  Meanwhile,  by  official  survey  of  '60, 
agreeing  with  the  grants,  the  line  between  the  ranchos  had  been  so  located 
as  to  leave  the  mine  on  the  Fossat  land,  now  the  property  of  Laurencel  & 
Edgerton.  Now,  the  mining  comp.,  having  lost  its  claim,  but  controlling  the 
B^rreyesa  rancho,  made  a  final  effort  to  overthrow  the  survey,  and  move  the 
line  westward  sufficiently  to  include  the  mine.  By  what  seems  hardly  more 
than  plausible  and  ingenious  special  pleading,  they  succeeded  before  the  d.  c. ; 
but  the  new  survey  was  finally  rejected,  and  the  original  conf.  by  the  s.  c.  in 
'63,  thus  ending  this  famous  case,  of  which  but  a  faint  idea  has  been  given  in 
this  outline.  Being  defeated,  the  comp.  in  '64  sold  the  mine  for  §1,750,000 
to  a  new  comp.  of  N.  Y.  and  Pa,  which  bought  in  the  opposing  interests,  and 
down  to  '80  took  out  over  $12,000,000  in  quicksilver.  Before  the  Amer.  and 
Brit,  claim  com.  at  Geneva,  73-4,  Barren,  Forbes,  &  Co.,  as  Brit,  subjects, 
presented  a  cl.  for  $16,000,000  and  interest,  alleging  that,  by  an  unjust  decis 
ion  of  the  courts,  under  threats  of  eviction  by  a  U.  S.  marshal,  in  time  of 
war,  when  no  help  could  be  obtained  from  the  home  govt,  they  had  been 
forced  to  sell  their  property  for  a  nominal  price.  The  cl.  was  unanimously 
disallowed.  U.  S.  Govt  Doc.,  1st  Sess.,  43d  Cong.,  For.  ReL,  iii.  164-8. 

Castro,  Canada  de  los  Osos,  Mont.,  703,  rejected  by  1.  c.  and  not  appealed, 
was  a  fraudulent  grant  of  '44,  by  Micheltorena.  It  bore  the  forged  seal  of 
the  Liinantour  papers,  and  L.  was  a  witness  to  prove  signatures. 

Castro,  S.  Pablo,  Contra  Costa,  390,  conf.  to  heirs  of  Fran.  M.  Castro  on 
grants  of  '34,  though  the  rancho  had  been  occupied  by  the  family  long  before. 
Litigation  on  this  land  still  in  progress  in  '85,  has  been  one  of  the  famous 
cases;  but  has  resulted  from  complications  subsequent  to  the  conf.  of  '58,  and 
not  belonging  here.  See  also  life  of  C.  in  Pion.  Reg. 

Castro,  Sobrante,  Alam.  and  Contra  Costa,  96,  conf.  for  11  1.  on  a  grant 
of  '41.  The  excitement  of  '78  et  seq.  about  this  rancho  grew  out  of  the  fact 
that  the  grant  was  a  '  surplus  '  of  several  others,  and  when  the  lines  of  these 


552  MEXICAN  LAND  TITLES. 

except  by  interested  attorneys,  and  which  were  finally 
confirmed,  yet  in  connection  with  which,  through  the 

others  were  fixed  by  final  survey.  Either  the  sobrante  was  much  larger  than 
supposed  in  '41  or  '57,  or  else  there  was  a  ring  of  U.  S.  land  surrounding  it 
open  to  settlers. 

Cervantes,  Rosa  Morada,  Mont. ,  56,  conf .  by  1.  c. ,  the  decision  being  pub. 
in  a  separate  pamphlet  of  '52.  It  was  Hoffman's  first  case  in  the  N.  d.  c.,  and 
was  rejected  because  the  grant  of  '36  had  not  been  approved  by  the  assembly, 
and  because  the  grantee  had  not  complied  with  the  conditions  of  building 
within  one  year;  but  the  overruling  of  this  decision  by  the  s.  c. — its  first  case 
— produced  a  less  strict  ruling  on  these  points  in  later  cases.  It  was  sent,  to 
the  S.  d.  c.,  conf.,  and  judgment  affirmed  by  s.  c.  '55.  1  Hoff  9;  16  Howard, 
619;  18  Id.  553.  Jones'  briefs  before  1.  c.  and  s.  c.  were  separately  printed. 

Cota,  Rio  de  Sta  Clara,  Sta  B.,  225,  rej.  1.  c.  conf.  d.  c.  '57  on  grant  of 
'36.  A  survey  of  '67  was  rejected,  and  a  new  one  made  in  '70.  In  72  an 
attempt  was  made  to  overthrow  the  survey  on  a  diseno  from  private  hands, 
so  as  to  include  17,000  acres  held  by  settlers.  This  appears  from  an  argu 
ment  of  J.  F.  Stuart  in  behalf  of  the  settlers,  Wash.,  '72.  S.,  as  was  his  cus 
tom,  argued  that  the  original  conf.  was  wrong. 

Dominguez,  Prietos  y  Najalayegua,  Sta  B.  This  cl.  was  never  presented 
to  the  1.  c.,  though  a  genuine  grant  was  made  in  '45;  but  it  was  confirmed  by 
a  special  act  of  congress  in  '66,  this  action  being  procured  largely  by  misrep 
resentation,  and  through  sympathy  for  an  old  family  owning  the  site  of  the 
famous  'big  grape-vine.'  The  great  struggle  which  made  this  one  of  the 
causes  celebres  was  over  the  location,  for  which  the  only  guide  was  the  origi 
nal  diseno  and  oral  testimony.  The  grant  was  apparently  for  a  tract  of  little 
comparative  value  on  the  Sta  Ines,  north  of  the  mountain  range;  but  the 
scheme  of  the  real  claimants  was  to  locate  it  south  of  the  range  so  as  to  cover 
valuable  lands  adjoining  or  including  the  Sta  B.  pueblo  lands.  The  plan  was 
not  finally  successful,  out  for  several  years  intense  excitement  prevailed 
among  the  Barbarenos  arrayed  in  two  hostile  parties.  A  good  account  is 
given  in  the  Sta.  B.  Co.  Hist.,  195-209,  with  copy  of  the  diseno. 

Enright,  Sta  Clara  Co.,  514,  conf.  by  all  the  courts,'  though  there  was  no 
grant,  on  a  marginal  decree  of  '  granted '  on  a  favorable  report  of  '45,  supple 
mented  with  juridical  possession  and  occupation. 

Estudillo  et  al.,  S.  Jacinto,  115-16,  263,  conf.  There  were  2  ranches  and 
a  sobrante  of  5  1.,  'more  or  less.'  The  latter  was  conf.  for  the  full  extent  of 
111.  1  Wallace,  311.  Hayes,  Em.  Notes,  448-52,  an  attorney  in  the  case,  ex 
plains  how,  in  '66  et  seq.,  the  owners,  by  crooked  surveys  of  the  3  ranchos, 
succeeded  in  stretching  the  sobrante  across  12  miles  of  intervening  space  so 
as  to  include  the  tin  mines  of  Temescal! 

Fremont,  Mariposas,  March  1st,  conf.  by  1.  c.  and  s.  c.  on  a  grant  of  10  1. 
to  J.  B.  Alvarado  in  '44.  The  d.  c.  rejected  the  cl.  for  non-fulfilment  of  the 
conditions  of  occupation,  building,  etc.,  as  the  grantee  never  saw  the  land, 
and  it  was  not  occupied  till  after  the  U.  S.  got  Cal.  True,  the  Ind.  made 
occup.  unsafe,  but  that  was  known  when  the  conditions  were  inserted  in  the 
grant.  The  overruling  of  this  decision  by  the  s.  c.  established  a  very  liberal 
rule  for  later  cases  in  the  matter  of  conditions;  and  in  this  case — the  3d 
decided  by  the  s.  c. — was  definitely  conceded  the  validity  of  inchoate  equitable 
titles  and  of  floating  grants.  17  Howard,  542;  18  Id.  30;  1  Hoff.  20.  In 
finally  locating  his  floating  grant,  F.  included  several  mines;  and  in  the 
ensuing  troubles  some  lives  were  lost;  but  it  was  decided  in  '59  that  the  min 
eral  title  could  belong  to  no  other  than  the  owner  of  the  land.  14  Cal.  279,  380. 

Fuentes,  Potrero,  Sta  Clara,  496,  rej.  by  all  the  courts.  This  was  one  of 
the  most  impudent  claims  that  ever  went  beyond  the  1.  c.  It  rested  on  a 
grant  of  '43,  certif.  of  record  by  Jimeno  (J.  not  being  called  to  prove  it),  tes 
timony  of  Man.  Castro  and  Abrego  that  the  sign,  seemed  genuine,  and  testi 
mony  that  records  had  been  lost  which  might  have  contained  something 
about  this  grant !  22  Howard,  443. 


RIGHT  OR  WRONG.  553 

costs  of   a  protracted  litigation,  the    greatest  wrong 
was  done,  figure  somewhat  less  conspicuously  in  this 

Galbraith,  Bolsa  de  Tomales,  Marin,  205,  conf.  by  1.  c.  and  d.  c.,  because 
evidence  making  a  priina  facie  cl.  was  not  rebutted,  though  it  was  weak,  and 
a  date  had  been  changed  in  the  grant.  It  was  sent  back  by  the  s.  c.,  but 
finally  conf.  on  new  evidence.  22  Howard,  89. 

Garcia,  9  1.  in  Mendocino,  113,  rej.  on  a  passport  of  '44  to  go  and  select 
and  occupy  the  land,  which  was  done.  A  grant  was  asked  for  in  '46,  but 
never  issued,  though  alcalde's  reports  were  favorable.  1  Hoff.  157;  22  Howard, 
274. 

Garcia,  Nogales,  S  Bern.,  383,  conf.  but  no  formal  decree  on  survey  en 
tered  in  '59;  therefore  a  rehearing  was  granted  in  '70.  1  Sawyer,  383.  G.'s 
possession  had  not,  however,  been  disturbed. 

Gomez,  Panocha  Grande,  Fresno,  569,  rej.  by  1.  c.  on  a  petition,  diseno, 
etc.  of  '44,  with  testimony  on  a  grant  that  had  been  lost.  From  '51  the  N. 
Idria  Quicksilver  Min.  Co.  was  in  possession  of  what  was  cl.  to  be  part  of 
Panocha.  G.'s  cl.  was  conf.  in  the  d.  c.  '59,  by  consent  of  the  U.  S.  district 
attorney,  Pacificas  Ord,  who  was  owner  of  half  the  cl.  Then  Wm  McGarra- 
han  bought  the  other  half  from  Gomez,  and  a  survey  of  '62  was  made  to  in 
clude  the  N.  Idria  mine.  But  the  cl.  was  brought  before  the  s.  c.  and  rejected 
in  '65  as  invalid  if  not  fraudulent;  for  there  were  two  theories,  one  that  G. 
really  took  the  first  steps  to  secure  a  grant  from  Gov.  Micheltorena,  his 
friend,  and  the  other  that  all  the  papers  were  forgeries  supported  by  perjury. 
McG.,  however,  claiming  to  have  bought  in  good  faith  after  a  supposed  con 
firmation,  claimed  under  the  act  of  '66  a  right  to  purchase  the  land,  but  was 
successfully  opposed  by  the  N.  Idria  comp.  He  got  from  a  Wash,  court  an 
order,  directing  the  sec.  of  the  interior  to  issue  a  patent,  but  this  was  reversed 
by  the  s.  c.  in  '69.  All  phases  of  this  famous  '  McGarrahan  claim '  are  in 
volved  in  a  mysterious  and  hopelessly  entangled  maze  of  legal  technicalities 
and  legerdemain.  I  cannot  attempt  to  follow  the  case  here,  nor  have  I  any 
opinion  to  express  as  to  its  merits.  23  Howard,  326;  1  Wallace,  690;  3  /(/. 
752;  9  Id.,  298;  Gomez,  Lo  Que  Sabe,  MS.,  226-43;  Harte's  Story  of  a  Mine; 
and  no  end  of  special  pamphlets,  some  of  which  are, collected  in  McGarrahan, 
Memorial,  S.  F.,  1870.  The  case  bids  fair  never  to  reach  an  end,  McG.  and 
the  Panocha  Grande  Quicksilver  Min.  Co.  being  indefatigable  in  seeking  re 
lief  from  the  courts  and  congress. 

Gonzalez,  S.  Antonio,  Sta  Cruz,  336,  conf.  by  all  the  courts  on  a  grant  of 
'33.  22  Howard,  161.  This  was  a  case  in  which  the  grantee  of  about  4  1., 
between  well-defined  boundaries,  seems  to  have  got  only  f  1.,  by  an  error  in 
the  grant  following  a  blundering  estimate  of  width  in  the  original  diseno. 
Possibly  this  was  remedied  in  the  final  survey. 

Haro,  Potrero,  S.  F.,  101,  613,  conf.  by  1.  c.  on  grants  of  '44,  but  rej.  by 
d.  c.  on  proof  that  the  grants  were  fraudulent.  There  was,  however,  a  gen 
uine  license  to  occupy — the  regular  grant  being  withheld  because  the  mission 
ejidos  might  include  this  land — followed  by  occupation;  and  on  this  as  an 
equitable  title  7  able  attorneys  before  the  s.  c.  in  '66  strove  to  have  the  cl. 
conf.;  but  it  was  rej.,  the  previous  frauds  doubtless  having  an  influence,  on 
the  purely  legal  ground  that  the  license  was  not  a  grant.  5  Wallace,  599. 
After  this  decision  lessees  under  the  Haro  title  refused  to  pay  rent,  and 
claimed  ownership  as  squatters  or  settlers  on  govt  land,  or  city  lands  by  the 
Van  Ness  ordinance  and  acts  of  congress.  Owners  under  the  Haro  title 
claimed  the  land  on  the  same  grounds  as  their  opponents,  having  been  them 
selves  the  occupants,  squatters,  or  settlers  through  their  lessees;  but  after  a 
series  of  suits  they  were  defeated  in  '78. 

Hartnell,  Todos  Santos,  Sta  B.,  and  Cosumnes,  Sac.,  228,  conf.  by  all  the 
courts,  1  Hoff.  207;  22  Howard,  286;  but  the  Cosumnes  cl.  was  cut  down  from 
11  to  6  1.  because  the  others  was  for  5  1.  and  only  11  1.  in  all  could  be  granted 
to  one  man.  H.'s  rancho  of  Alisal,  £  1.,  was  not  deducted  because  it  was  pur 
chased,  not  granted. 


554  MEXICAN  LAND  TITLES. 

list  than  the  various  classes  of  fraudulent  claims.      Of 
the  famous  cases  the  claim  of  Andres  Castillero  for 

Iturbide,  400  1.,  281,  rej.  by  1.  c.,  and  as  notice  of  appeal  was  not  filed  in 
time,  the  merits  of  the  case  were  never  considered  by  the  d.  c.  and  s.  c.,  though 
it  was  implied  that  it  might  have  merits.  1  Hoff.  273;  22  Howard,  290. 
Land  was  1st  granted  to  I.  in  Texas  '22;  in  '35  his  heirs  were  allowed  to  locate 
the  grant  in  R.  Mex.  or  Cal. ;  in  '41  it  was  decreed  that  it  should  be  in 
Cal. ;  and  in  '45  the  gov.  was  ordered  to  grant  the  land  as  selected  by  Salva 
dor  I.  The  latter,  however,  was  not  able  to  come  to  Cal.  till  '51.  Probably 
all  this  imposed  no  obligations  whatever  on  the  U.  S. 

Larkin,  Boga,  Butte,  129,  conf.,  as  was  the  adjoining  cl.  of  Fernandez  (no. 
109).  In  a  boundary  dispute  between  these  2  conf.  and  patented  grants  the 
earlier  grant  with  junior  patent  prevailed  against  the  later  grant  and  senior 
patent;  but  on  the  ground  that  the  former  was  not  purely  a  floating  grant. 
Otherwise,  in  the  case  of  2  floating  grants,  the  date  of  the  patent  was  decisive. 
18  Wallace,  255. 

Larkin,  Jimeno  rancho,  Colusa  and  Yuba,  131,  conf.  by  all  the  courts  on 
grant  of  '44  to  Jimeno.  This  case  settled  several  minor  points;  that  area  not 
in  grant  maybe  learned  from  other  doc.  of  the  expediente;  that  evid.  of  fraud 
not  offered  in  d.  c.  will  not  be  received  in  s.  c. ;  that  grants  to  civil  and  mil. 
employes  are  valid;  and  that  absence  of  the  usual  conditions  do  not  invali 
date  the  grant.  Justice  Campbell  dissented  from  the  final  conf.,  believing 
that  this  cl.  was  a  'put-up  job  of  Larkin,  Jimeno,  and  Micheltorena  in  '46  or 
later.  18  Howard,  557;  1  Hoff.  41,  49,  68,  72. 

Limantour,  4  sq.  1.  in  S.  F.  (all  south  of  Cal.  st),  also  Alcatraz  and  Yerba 
Buena  isl.,  the  Farallones,  and  Pt  Tiburon,  548-9,  cl.  filed  in  Feb.  '53;  conf. 
by  1.  c.  in  '56  on  grants  of  Feb.  and  Dec.  '43,  approval  of  the  Mex.  govt  in 
'43-4,  an  expediente  found'  in  the  Mont,  archives  in  '53  by  Vicente  P.  Gomez, 
other  corresp.  and  doc.  evidence,  and  parol  testimony  of  many  individuals. 
L.  claimed  to  have  received  the  land  in  return  for  aid  furnished  to  the  gov., 
and  the  fact  that  he  did  furnish  such  aid  gave  plausibility  to  his  claim, 
except  in  respect  of  its  extent;  but  this  extent,  and  especially  the  fact  that 
L.'s  cl.  to  5  other  grants  aggregating  nearly  a  million  acres  (no.  715,  780-1, 
783^4),  being  rej.  by  the  1.  c.  had  been  abandoned,  were  sufficient  to  excite 
more  than  suspicion.  The  conf.  caused  great  excitement  in  S.  F.  '56-8,  on 
account  of  the  immense  interests  involved.  Though  many  able  lawyers  pro 
nounced  the  claim  fraudulent  or  illegal,  many  lot-owners  bought  the  title  for 
security;  an  opposing  organization  suspended  its  efforts  on  receiving  quit 
claim  deeds  from  L.,  and  John  S.  Hittell  published  a  pamphlet  in  '57,  in 
which,  giving  an  excellent  account  of  the  case,  he  concluded  that  the  cl.  was 
genuine,  and  that  its  conf.  would  be  best  for  the  citizens.  Before  Judge 
Hoffman  in  the  d.  c.  the  cl.  was  fully  investigated  in  '58  and  finally  rejected 
on  the  ground  that  the  grants,  expedientes,  and  most  of  the  doc.  were  for 
geries  or  antedated,  and  much  of  the  other  testimony  perjury.  1  Hoff. 
389-451.  The  exposure  was  so  complete  that  L.  abandoned  the  cl.  and 
deemed  himself  lucky  to  escape  from  the  country.  Some  of  his  accomplices 
and  tools  had  turned  against  him.  The  decisive  point  was  the  discovery 
that  the  seals  on  all  the  L.  grants  were  counterfeit;  but  without  this  and 
other  positive  proof,  I  think  the  fraud  would  have  been  fully  established 
and  the  claim  rejected  on  the  clear  circumstantial  evidence  to  be  drawn  from 
numerous  irregularities,  inconsistencies,  improbabilities,  and  falsehoods  con 
nected  with  the  proceedings  and  evidence.  William  C.  Jones  always  main 
tained  that  no  competent  lawyer  ever  did  or  could  question  the  fraudulent 
nature  of  the  claim;  and  H.  W.  Halleck,  that  the  grant  if  genuine  would  be 
held  illegal,  since  the  gov.  could  not  thus  grant  to  a  single  individual  nearly 
all  the  pueblo  lands  without  the  consent  or  knowledge  of  the  municipal  au 
thorities.  It  is  probable  that  L.  really  got  a  grant  of  a  small  tract  at  S.  F., 
which  has  no  practical  bearing  on  the  case,  except  that  it  may  in  a  few  in- 


NEW  ALMADEN.  555 

the  New  Almaden  quicksilver  mine  was  probably  the 
most  important  and  complicated.  In  magnitude  of 

stances  mitigate  the  charge  of  perjury  against  some  individuals.  Of  course 
but  the  barest  outline  of  this  cause  celebra  can  be  given  here,  and  I  cannot 
even  present  its  bibliography. 

Limantour,  Cieuega  del  Gavilan,  Mont.,  782,  rej.  by  1.  c.  but  conf.  by 
d.  c.  011  a  grant  of  '43  to  Antonio  Chaves;  and  I  think  the  conf.  was  final. 
This  was  the  only  one  of  the  Limantour  cl.  that  became  valid,  but  it  was 
doubtless  fraudulent  like  the  rest,  bearing  the  forged  seal,  and  it  is  uuder- 
stood  that  the  U.  S.  officials  knew  this  fact  before  it  was  too  late.  The 
holder  under  L.  claiming  to  have  bought  in  good  faith,  and  adopting  a  liberal 
policy  with  squatters,  was  enabled  to  obtain  his  patent. 

Little,  5  1.  in  Yolo,  807,  rej.  by  d.  c.  on  Sutter  gen.  title,  q.  v.  Most  of 
these  cl.  were  conf.  by  the  d.  c.,  though  finally  rej.  by  s.  c.;  but  in  this  case 
the  grant  was  fraudulently  antedated  by  Sutter  in  '50. 

Luco,  Ulpinos,  Solano,  813;  rej.  in  all  the  courts  on  a  grant  of  a  sobrante, 
some  50  1.,  to  Jose  de  la  Rosa  in  '45.  This  was  the  last  case  presented  to  the 
1.  c.,  in  '54,  after  the  term  had  expired,  by  a  special  act  of  congress.  It  rested 
on  doc.  deposited  in  the  arch,  in  '53  and  on  oral  testimony.  It  was  one  of 
the  most  carefully  prepared  of  the  crooked  cases,  and  did  space  permit  might 
be  profitably  reviewed  somewhat  at  length.  The  claim  was  rej.  as  fraudulent 
throughout,  Pio  Pico's  signature  and  the  govt  seal  being  forgeries,  most  of 
the  doc.  spurious,  and  testimony  in  support  of  Rosa's  claim  and  occupancy 
for  the  most  part  perjury.  1  Hoff.  345;  23  Howard,  515. 

Marchina,  1  1.  in  S.  F.,  granted  in  '44  to  Fernando  M.  in  payment  for  ser 
vices  to  the  army.  Not  presented  to  1.  c.  or  courts;  but  pub.  in  a  pamphlet 
at  S.  F.  '65,  perhaps  for  the  discipline  of  lot-owners. 

Morehead,  Carmel,  Sac.,  89,  rej.  in  1.  c.,  conf.  d.  c.,  and  finally  rej.  in 
s.  c.,  the  court  refusing  to  reopen  the  case  for  new  evidence  in  '61.  1  Blacky 
227;  Id.  488.  Wm  Knight,  the  grantee,  had  a  Sutter  gen.  title;  but  he 
had  also  a  grant  from  Gov.  Pico  of  '46.  The  absence  of  proper  *  record  evi 
dence  '  was  deemed  to  justify  strict  ruling  and  close  scrutiny  of  secondary 
evid.  which  was  largely  of  a  suspicious  nature,  tending  to  show  the  doc.  to 
be  fraudulent.  J.  Wayne  dissented  from  the  decision,  deeming  it  '  a  severer 
exclusion  of  a  right  of  prop,  in  land  secured  by  treaty  than  has  hitherto  been 
adjudged  by  this  court  in  any  case  from  Cal.' 

Murphy,  Pastoria  de  las  Borregas,  Sta  Clara,  90,  conf.  on  grant  of  '42  to 
Estrada;  as  was  another  part  of  the  rancho  to  Castro  on  the  same  grant 
(no.  257).  M.  held  under  a  deed  from  C. ;  and  a  claim  of  the  Estradas,  who 
disputed  the  validity  of  C.'s  deed,  was  lost  in  Cal.  s.  c.  (19  Cal.  278),  because 
it  had  not  been  presented  to  the  1.  c.,  the  merits  not  being  considered.  This 
ruling  is  not  clear  to  me  on  the  theory  that  the  U.  S.  patent  was  a  quitclaim 
without  prejudice  to  the  rights  of  3d  parties. 

Noe,  Isl.  in  Sac.,  294,  rej.  by  1.  c.,  conf.  d.  c.,  and  rej.  s.  c.  1  Hoff.  162; 
23  Howard,  312.  This  was  a  grant  to  Elwell  for  services  in  '41,  and  was  the 
1st  cl.  rejected  for  non-fulfilment  of  conditions  of  occupation,  etc.,  amounting 
as  was  held  to  a  virtual  abandonment  until  the  change  of  govt  made  the  cl. 
valuable.  The  distinction  between  this  and  other  cases  decided  the  other 
way  is  vague,  but  of  course  the  line  must  be  drawn  somewhere. 

Olvera,  Cuyamaca,  S.  Diego,  375;  rej.  1.  c.,  conf.  d.  c.  '58.  Not  surveyed 
till  '70,  and  the  survey  rejected  in  '73,  and  a  new  one  ordered  which  was  to 
exclude  the  Julian  mines  on  the  N. 

Osio,  Angel  Isl.,  S.  F.,  18,  conf.  by  1.  c.  and  d.  c.  on  a  grant  of  '39  under 
an  order  from  Mex.  of  '38.  It  was  rej.  by  the  s.  c.,  because  the  grant  had 
not  been  made  as  ordered  '  with  concurrence  of  the  diputacion. '  The  grant 
and  testimony  were  regarded  as  suspicious,  and  not  less  so  because  of  the 
desirability  of  the  isl.  to  the  U.  S. ;  therefore  strict  compliance  with  formali 
ties  was  insisted  on.  23  Howard,  293;  1  Hoff.  100. 


556  MEXICAN  LAND  TITLES. 

interests  involved,  and  bulk  of  record,  this  case  before 
the  district  court  was  deemed  second  to  none  decided 

Pacheco,  Arroyo  de  las  Nueces,  Contra  Costa,  168,  conf.  by  all  the  courts. 
In  this  case  as  in  that  of  Gonzalez  (336)  there  was  a  blunder  of  '  2  sq.  1. '  for 
'  2  1.  sq. '  in  the  grant;  but  in  this  case  the  error  was  corrected  in  d.  c.  and 
s.  c.  22  Howard,  225. 

Pacheco,  Bolsa  de  S.  Felipe,  Mont.,  65,  conf.  by  all  the  courts  as  one  of 
the  few  perfect  titles,  juridical  possession  under  a  grant  of  '40.  The  d.  c. 
reduced  the  cl.  to  1  1.  because  '  dos  '  had  been  written  over  an  erasure  of 
*  uno; '  but  the  s.  c.  raised  it  to  2  1.  because  the  change  had  been  made  at  the 
time  of  the  grant,  or  before  possession.  1  Wallace,  282. 

Palmer,  Pt  Lobos,  S.  F.,  515,  rej.  by  all  the  courts  as  fraudulent  or  ante 
dated,  on  a  grant  of  '46.  The  fact  that  Gov.  Pico  was  not  at  Los  Ang.  on  the 
date  the  grant  purported  to  be  signed  there  seems  to  have  been  the  entering 
wedge  to  show  the  fraud.  These  late  grants  were  naturally  regarded  with 
much  suspicion,  and  though  there  was  some  doc.  and  oral  testimony  in  favor 
of  the  Diaz  grant,  yet  suspicious  circumstances  were  abundant.  1  Hoff.  249; 
24  Howard,  125. '  There  seems  to  have  been  another  cl.  to  this  land,  not  pre 
sented  to  the  1.  c.,  on  a  grant  of  '45  to  Joaq.  Piiia. 

Pastor,  Milpitas,  Mont.,  305,  conf.  by  1.  c.  '53  and  by  d.  c.  '60  on  a  grant 
of  '38  to  an  Ind.  There  were  many  and  complicated  legal  proceedings  be 
sides.  Apparently  the  grant  was  fraudulent,  purporting  to  be  signed  by 
Alvarado  at  S.  Antonio  when  he  was  really  far  away  in  the  south,  and  as 
constitutional  gov.,  which  he  was  not  till  the  next  year;  and  worse  yet,  the 
survey  was  located  without  reference  to  the  original  bounds,  and  the  area  in 
creased  from  12,000  to  30,000  acres  to  include  the  lands  of  some  ICO  settlers. 
Luco,  of  Ulpinos  grant  fame,  was  the  owner.  In  76-7  J.  F.  Stuart  in  behalf 
of  the  settlers  was  engaged  in  desperate  efforts  to  have  this  fraud  exposed 
and  the  wrong  redressed,  but  without  final  success,  so  far  as  is  shown  by  the 
incomplete  records  within  my  reach. 

Peralta,  S.  Antonio,  Alameda,  4,  273-4,  conf.  by  all  the  courts,  on  grant 
of  '20  to  Luis  P.,  to  sons  of  the  grantee.  19  Howard,  343.  This  grant  covered 
the  sites  of  Berkeley,  Oakland,  and  Alameda,  representing  in  later  years  many 
millions  in  value.  Don  Luis  in  '42  divided  the  land  among  his  four  sons,  and 
in  his  will  of  '51  confirmed  the  division.  His  four  daughters  were  ignored, 
and  this  caused  much  litigation  in  later  times  on  the  famous  '  sisters'  title. ' 
If  the  grant  of  '20  gave  a  '  perfect '  title,  all  the  heirs  of  Luis  had  a  valid 
claim;  but  it  was  held  by  the  s.  c.  (13  Wallace,  480)  in  71  that  the  title  of  '20 
was  not  perfect,  since  the  eastern  boundary  was  not  definitely  fixed,  and 
therefore  the  patent  to  the  sons  was  final.  It  was  implied,  however,  that 
holders  under  the  sisters  might  have  some  claim  that  would  be  recognized  by 
a  court  of  equity  if  properly  presented;  and  there  were  other  ramifications  of 
the  matter  that  I  cannot  follow  here;  so  that  in  '85  the  title  to  certain  tracts 
is  not  regarded  as  altogether  quieted. 

Pico,  Calaveras,  602,  rej.  by  1.  c.,  conf.  d.  c.,  and  rej.  s.  c.  on  a  grant  of 
July  20,  '46.  There  was  an  expediente  of  date  prior  to  July  7th,  but  as  there 
was  some  doubt  about  the  grant  itself,  occupation,  etc.,  the  equities  of  such  a 
cl.,  if  genuine,  were  not  decide  I. 

Pico,  Jamul,  S.  Diego,  407,  rej.  by  1.  c.  and  d.  c.  '58  on  a  grant,  or  license 
to  occupy,  of  '31.  In  some  way  not  clear  to  me  the  cl.  came  before  the  d.  c. 
in  70,  on  a  grant  by  Gov.  Pico  to  himself,  after  a  petition  from  himself  to 
himself,  in  '45.  It  was  conf.,  but  chiefly  as  an  equitable  cl.  resting  on  the 
license  of  '31,  long  occupation,  etc.  1  Sawyer,  347. 

Pico,  Moquelumne,  357,  rej.  1.  c.,  conf.  d.  c. — mainly  because  the  court 
was  not  at  liberty  'to  substitute  its  own  suspicions  for  proofs ' — but  rej.  by 
the  s.  c.  on  grant  of  June  '46,  there  being  no  archive  expediente,  with  but 
slight  evid.  of  occupation.  This  Mex.  grant,  however,  seems  to  have  pre 
vented  the  land  from  being  gobbled  up  by  the  R.  R.,  and  in  76  the  settlers 
celebrated  by  a  barbecue  a  final  decision  in  their  favor. 


A  BALKY  CASE.  557 

previously  by  any  tribunal.     The  transcript  of  record 
filled  3,584  printed  pages;  125  witnesses  were  exam- 

Polack,  Yerba  Buena  Isl.,  11,  conf.  by  1.  c.,  but  rej.  by  d.  c.  on  grant  of 
'38.  1  Hoff.  284.  There  was  no  original  grant  or  expediente,  only  a  copy 
recorded  in  '49;  but  there  was  much  and  contradictory  testimony  about  the 
existence  of  the  grant  before  '46  and  the  occupation  by  Castro,  grantee;  and 
some  direct  evid.  that  Alvarado  antedated  the  grant  in  '48.  The  court  favored 
this  view;  but  rejected  the  cl.  on  the  ground  that  in  the  absence  of  record 
proof  other  evidence  must  be  of  the  best  and  free  from  suspicion. 

Reading,  S.  Buenaventura,  Sac.,  28,  conf.  by  all  the  courts.  1  Hoff.  18; 
18  Howard,  1.  In  this  case  the  point  was  urged  that  R.  forfeited  his  rights  as 
a  Mex.  citizen  by  joining  Fremont  and  the  Bears  against  Mex.;  and  J.  Daniel 
dissented  on  this  ground,  holding  that  Mex.  never  would  have  conf.  a  grant 
to  sucli  a  man,  and  the  U.  S.  were  bound  to  do  nothing  that  Mex.  woukl  not 
have  done.  But  the  court  held  that  R.'s  act  was  justifiable  (!),  not  treachery, 
and  if  it  were  the  U.  S.  could  not  urge  an  act  in  their  own  favor  as  a  ground 
of  forfeiture. 

Rico,  Rancheria  del  Rio  Estanislao,  S.  Joaq.,  767,  conf.  by  1.  c.  and  d.  c., 
and  appeal  dismissed,  on  grant  of  11  1.  in  '43.  Judge  Hoffman  confirmed  this 
cl.  on  the  conf.  of  the  1.  c.  and  the  absence  of  argument  or  new  testimony 
against  it  in  the  d.  c.,  because  his  suspicions  were  not  sufficient  to  authorize 
him  to  pronounce  it  a  forgery.  But  later  in  the  Limantour  case  the  Rico 
grant  was  found  to  bear  the  spurious  seal,  and  was  doubtless  entirely  fraudu 
lent.  I  have  seen  no  record  of  later  proceedings  if  there  were  any. 

Ritchie,  Suisun,  Solano  Co.,  3,  conf.  by  all  the  courts,  on  a  grant  to  the 
Ind.  chief  Solano  in  '42,  being  the  second  case  before  the  s.  c.  17  Howard, 
525.  This  case  established  the  right  of  the  Ind.  to  receive  and  sell  lands; 
also  that  mission  lands  were  subject  to  colonization  grants.  Caleb  Gushing 
in  an  argument  of  80  p.  claimed  that  this  was  a  '  job  '  of  Vallejo  to  use  Solano 
to  get  land  in  addition  to  his  regular  grants. 

Rocha,  La  Brea,  Los  Aug.,  487,  rej.  1.  c.,  conf.  d.  c.  and  s.  c.  on  munici 
pal  grant  of  '28,  and  provisional  grant  of  '40  until  the  pueblo  ejidos  should  be 
settled.  9  Wallace,  639. 

Rodriguez,  Butano,  Sta  Cruz,  627.  This  was  a  case  where  one  conf.  ancl 
patented  cl.  left  no  room  for  another  also  conf.  a  little  later.  By  a  possible 
error  in  the  bound  of  the  pat.  cl.  the  court  found  room  for  |  1.  of  the  other, 
and  for  the  rest  stretched  it  over  worthless  mountains  as  the  best  that  could 
be  done.  1  Wallace,  582. 

Rodriguez,  S.  Francisquito,  Sta  Clara,  642,  conf.  on  grant  of  '39,  but  a 
portion  overlapped  by  a  later  grant  1st  surveyed  was  lost.  29  Cal.  104. 

Roland,  Los  Huecos,  Sta  Clara,  282,  rej.  by  1.  c.  for  lack  of  approval  by 
assemb.,  of  juridical  possession,  and  of  occupation;  rej.  by  d.  c.  because  the 
grant  was  made  by  the  gov.  in  '46  without  investigation;  but  conf.  by  s.  c. 
on  the  ground  that  in  case  of  a  genuine  expediente  from  the  archives,  even 
lacking  a  diseno,  the  objections  urged  were  not  valid.  10  Wallace,  224.  Ro 
land's  cl.  in  S.  Joaq.  co.  (no.  232)  was  rej.  by  all  the  courts  as  antedated, 
though  a  suspicious  expediente  was  produced  from  the  archives. 

Romero,  Sob  ran  te  de  S.  Ramon,  Contra  Costa,  654,  rej.  by  all  the  courts, 
because  with  petition,  favorable  reports,  etc.,  and  actual  occupation  with 
boundary  agreed  upon  by  neighbors,  no  formal  grant  couLl  be  shown.  1  Hoff. 
226;  1  Wallace,  721.  The  owners  of  the  adjoining  rancho  (no.  179,  301,  of 
which  this  was  the  sobrante)  had  their  cl.  conf.  at  1st  for  the  whole  extent  of 
both,  but  the  survey  was  later  restricted  to  2  1.  Meanwhile,  congress  passed 
an  act  allowing  the  Romero  holders  to  contest  Carpentier's  survey  of  S.  Ra 
mon,  and  C.  made  his  survey  in  a  most  extraordinary  shape  so  as  to  cover  all 
the  good  land  on  both  ranchos.  This  was  before  the  courts  in  '64,  and  I  do 
not  know  the  result;  but  there  has  been  much  troubls  in  the  matter  since. 
This  Carpentier  seems  to  have  beer  a  shrewd  land  fiend  interested  in  many 
of  the  crooked  cases. 


558  MEXICAN  LAND  TITLES. 

ined,  18  of  them  prominent  men  from  Mexico;  lawyers 
like    Reverdy   Johnson,   Judah    P.    Benjamin,    Hall 

Santillan,  Mission  Dolores,  S.  F.,  '81,  cl.  of  Bolton  on  a  grant  of  '46,  conf. 
by  1.  c.  '55,  and  pro  forma,  by  d.  c.  '57,  but  rej.  by  s.  c.  in  '59.  This  was  one 
of  the  famous  cases  covering  3  1.  of  S.  F.  lands.  S.,  parish  priest  at  S.  F.  in 
'46,  made  known  his  cl.  in  '50,  selling  it  to  J.  R.  Bolton,  and  before  the  1.  c.  's 
conf.  it  passed  into  the  possession  of  a  Philadelphia  association.  The  gen 
uineness  of  the  original  grant,  signed  by  Gov.  Pico  and  Sec.  Covarrubias  on 
Feb.  10,  '46,  was  proved  by  the  testimony  of  C.  and  his  clerk  Arenas;  no  ex- 
pediente  or  other  doc.  from  the  archives  was  produced;  record  and  approval 
by  the  assemb.  were  proved  by  parol  evidence;  there  was  testimony — rather 
doubtful,  except  in  that  the  witnesses  had  not  yet  been  impeached — that  the 
grant  had  existed  in  '46;  and  evidence  direct  and  indirect,  though  of  no  great 
weight,  that  the  grant  had  been  antedated  in  '49-50.  That  a  poverty-stricken 
Ind.  priest  should  have  got  a  grant  of  3  1.  on  condition  of  paying  the  mission 
debt,  that  he  could  have  obtained  so  large  a  tract  of  pueblo  lands  without  in 
vestigation  leaving  traces  in  the  archives,  and  that  he  could  or  would  have 
kept  his  grant  a  secret  from  interested  residents  at  the  mission  and  from 
others  for  years — all  this  creates  against  the  cl.  a  presumption  of  fraud  that 
could  be  overcome  only  by  the  most  complete  and  satisfactory  evidence,  and 
the  evidence  offered  was  on  the  contrary  weak  and  suspicious  at  every  point. 
The  cl.  should  have  been  rejected  on  its  merits  by  the  1.  c.  at  the  start.  The 
company  owning  the  claim  has  since  '59  made  many  efforts  to  obtain  satisfac 
tion  from  congress,  and  in  78  got  a  favorable-  report  from  the  house  com.  on 
private  land  claims,  recommending  a  rehearing  of  the  case  by  the  courts  with 
a  view  to  later  compensation  by  the  govt  if  the  cl.  should  be  held  valid. 
This  report  contains  nothing  new  in  support  of  the  cl.  more  important  than 
the  promise  of  the  testimony  of  Santillan  and  Pico,  except  that  the  discovery 
of  a  record-book  is  mentioned.  Perhaps  this  is  the  Sta.  B.  Arch.,  on  p.  63  of 
my  copy  of  which  is  the  record  of  a  deed  of  '46  from  Santillan  to  Carrillo 
of  part  of  the  mission  land,  and  with  it  an  undated  record  of  the  deposit  by 
S.  of  his  title  and  other  doc.  in  the  archives  of  the  juzgado.  This,  if  genuine, 
would  be  of  course  more  important  in  support  of  the  claim  than  anything 
presented  to  the  courts.  The  case  has  many  complications  to  which  I  can 
not  even  allude. 

Sepulveda,  Sta  Monica,  Los  Ang.,  457;  also  Reyes,  Boca  de  Sta  M.,  445; 
both  conf.,  but  no  survey  or  patent  as  late  as  '73.  At  this  date  there  was  a 
quarrel  between  the  claimants  as  there  had  been  almost  continuously  since 
'23-7  when  they  occupied  the  land  under  a  provisional  license.  There  had 
been  several  grants  and  revocations  with  frequent  litigation  down  to  '48,  and 
the  case  was  a  complicated  one;  but  it  was  decided  that  Reyes  could  hold 
the  area  within  which  his  1^1.  were  to  be  located  until  the  final  survey 
should  be  made.  45  Cal.  379. 

Serrano,  Temescal,  S.  Diego,  414,  rej.  by  1.  c.,  conf.  d.  c.,  and  rej.  s.  c.,  on  a 
license  of  '19,  under  which  S.  occupied  the  land  from  '19  to  '52,  his  right  never 
being  questioned.  It  was  held  that  his  written  permission  to  occupy  consti 
tuted  no  equitable  cl. ;  indeed,  he  would  have  been  better  off  without  it, 
since  long  possession  with  his  belief  in  ownership  might  have  been  an  equi 
table  title  but  for  the  paper  showing  his  right  to  be  temporary!  The  Calif or- 
nians  did  not  exactly  appreciate  this  reasoning.  5  Wallace,  451. 

Sherreback,  800  v.  sq.  in  S.  F.,  795,  rej.  by  1.  c.,  conf.  by  d.  c.,  but  decree 
vacated  in  '60.  It  was  a  grant  by  the  prefect  in  '45,  and  without  much  doubt 
fraudulent.  In  '85  this  claim  comes  up  again  to  terrify  lot-owners,  resting 
apparently  at  this  stage  on  some  informality  in  the  final  decree  of  rejection. 

Stearns,  600  v.  sq.  in  S.  F.,  94,  rej.  by  all  the  courts  on  a  grant  of  '46  to 
Andrade,  including  the  tract  known  as  the  Willows.  The  grant  was  held  to 
have  been  made  after  July  7th  and  antedated.  6  Wallace,  589. 

Suflol,   Coches,  Sta  Clara,   167,  conf.  '56  on  a  grant  of  '44  to  an  Ind., 


LIST  OF  CLAIMS.  559 

McAllister,  and   Edmund  Randolph  on  one  side   or 
the  other  gave  utterance  to  100  to  400  pages  each 

Roberto;'  yet  in  '50  S.  failed  to  eject  an  intruder,  the  Cal.  s.  c.  holding  that 
an  Ind.  could  not  make  a  valid  conveyance  of  land.   1  Hoff.  110;  1  Cal.  255. 

Sutherland,  Cajon,  S.  Diego,  262,  conf.  by  all  the  courts  on  grant  of  '45 
to  Pedrorena.  Held  not  to  be  void  because  no  bounds  or  quantity  were  speci 
fied,  so  long  as  there  was  a  tract  of  the  name — and  only  one — in  the  region. 
19  Hmoard,  363. 

Sutter,  N.  Helvetia,  Sac.  Val.,  92,  conf.  by  all  the  courts  on  grant  of  '41 
for  111.  The  original  grant  had  been  burned  in  '51;  archive  evidence  was 
very  slight;  and  the  location  was  vague  in  many  respects;  yet  the  evidence 
was  deemed  conclusive  that  Sutter  had  in  '41  rec'd  a  valid  grant  of  111.  in 
the  Sac.  Val.  21  Howard,  170.  As  to  location  the  case  was  sent  back  to 
d.  c.  for  further  action.  As  S.  had  sold  lands  almost  anywhere  in  the  val. 
where  desired,  to  many  persons,  the  location  of  his  grant  became  a  matter 
of  great  importance  and  difficulty  since  it  was  hard  to  cover  with  a  11  1. 
survey  claims  scattered  over  100  1.  Originally  by  a  blunder  in  lines  of  lati 
tude  the  southern  bound  had  been  placed  many  miles  north  of  the  fort,  and 
the  squatters  of  Sac.  city  struggled  to  have  it  appear  that  S.  owned  nothing 
south  of  the  Sac.  and  Feather  junction,  S.  himself  being  willing  to  take  that 
view  at  times;  but  the  location  of  the  fort  and  the  mention  of  the  3  buttes 
as  a  northern  bound  were  very  properly  deemed  conclusive.  The  survey  of 
'59-60  located  the  land  in  2  tracts,  one  of  2  1.  including  the  fort  and  city,  the 
other  of  9  1.  on  the  Feather  Riv.,  including  Marysville.  The  d.  c.  set  aside 
this  survey,  and  in  '63  approved  a  new  one  locating  the  land  in  a  long  line 
of  13  tracts  between  the  same  limits  as  before,  the  theory  being  to  follow 
S.'s  own  successive  selections  as  shown  by  settlements,  deeds,  etc.,  as  the 
nearest  approximation  to  justice.  The  s.  c.,  however,  set  aside  the  last  sur 
vey  and  restored  that  of  '60;  that  is,  confirmed  the  grant  as  originally  made, 
not  attempting  the  impossible  by  trying  to  remedy  Sutter 's  blunders  and 
frauds.  2  Wallace,  562.  See  also  vol.  iv.,  pp.  229-32,  of  this  work,  for  map 
and  some  details. 

Sutter,  Sobrante,  92,  conf.  by  1.  c.  and  d.  c.,  but  rej.  by  s.  c.  on  a  grant  of 
Feb.  25,  '45,  for  the  surplus  of  N.  Helv.  to  the  extent  of  22  1.,  signed  by  Gov. 
Micheltorena  at  Sta  B.  This  grant  also  was  burned  in  '51,  and  the  evidence 
in  support  of  its  authenticity  seems  weak  and  wholly  insufficient,  though  I 
have  little  doubt  that  S.  did  get  from  the  gov.  such  a  paper  in  return  for  his 
services;  but  the  cl.  was  rejected  on  the  ground  that  such  a  grant,  even  if 
genuine — made  by  Gov.  M.  out  of  his  capital,  engaged  in  civil  war,  on  the 
verge  of  defeat,  made  to  a  band  of  foreigners  on  whom  his  success  depended, 
without  due  formalities  of  law,  not  recognized  by  his  successors,  kept  secret 
till  the  U.  S.  were  in  power,  etc. — constituted  no  equitable  claim  which  the 
U.  S.  were  bound  to  confirm.  21  Howard,  170  et  seq. 

Sutter,  'general  title,'  226,  235,  303,  605,  626,  658,  et  al.,  conf.  by  1.  c. 
and  d.  c. ;  but  rej.  by  the  s.  c.  This  gen.  title  was  a  doc.  signed  Dec.  22, 
'44,  by  which  Gov.  M.  conferred  on  each  person  who  had  asked  for  lands  and 
got  a  favorable  report  from  S.  a  title  to  the  lands  solicited,  a  copy  of  this 
order  issued  and  certified  by  S.  to  serve  as  such  title.  The  ostensible  motive 
was  to  save  the  time  and  trouble  of  making  so  many  individual  grants;  the 
real  motive  was  to  bribe  S.  and  his  settlers  to  aid  M.  against  his  foes,  the  or 
der  being  sent  up  to  the  fort  before  the  volunteers  started.  The  certificates 
were  given  out  by  S.  within  the  next  year,  except  some  fraudulently  ante 
dated  in  later  years;  but  none  of  the  claimants  had  really  applied  in  good 
faith  for  lands  before  the  general  order  was  signed.  The  1.  c.  and  d.  c.  conf. 
such  of  these  cl.  as  seemed  genuine  on  the  ground  that  the  title  with  actual 
occupation  by  settlers  constituted  an  equitable  cl.  on  the  U.  S. ;  but  the  s.  c. 
held  that  the  general  title,  not  depending  in  any  way  on  the  colonization 
laws,  was  at  the  best  but  a  promise  to  distribute  lands,  if  successful,  among 


560  MEXICAN  LAND  TITLES. 

of  legal  lore,  eloquence,  wit,  and  sarcasm;  dozens  of 
special  pamphlets  on  the  subject  were  published,  be 
sides  the  regular  briefs  and  court  records;  and  outside 
of  the  main  struggle  between  the  claimants  and  the 
United  States,  there  was  always  a  complicated  litiga 
tion  in  progress  between  quarrelling  claimants.  The 
great  battle  had  to  be  fought  again  before  the  supreme 
court,  where  by  an  unjust  decision  the  mining  claim 
was  finally  rejected;  and  after  another  struggle  in 
behalf  of  a  survey  that  should  locate  the  mine  on  pri- 

his  supporters,  and  his  defeat  abrogated  whatever  power  had  been  conferred 
on  S.  No  exception  was  made  in  cases  where  the  cl.  had  been  put  provisionally 
in  possession  by  Gov.  M.  until  he  could  decide.  21  Howard,  408,  412;  23  Id. 
255,  262,  476. 

Swartz,  N.  Flandria,  655,  787,  rej.  on  a  grant  of  '44  by  all  the  courts. 
1  Hoff.  230;  1  Wallace,  721.  This  cl.  was  presented  to  1.  c.  without  evidence, 
which  was  1st  iiitrod.  in  d.  c.  The  court  was  in  doubt  about  the  legality  of  this 
course,  though  inclined  to  permit  it;  but  the  cl.  was  rejected  as  a  forgery. 

Teschemacher,  Lupyomi,  Sonoma,  507,  rej.  by  1.  c.,  conf.  by  d.  c.,  but 
remanded  by  s.  c.  and  finally  rejected.  22  Howard,  392.  This  was  a  cl.  not 
supported  by  archive  record,  with  slight  evid.  of  occupation  and  genuineness 
of  signatures.  The  court  evidently  regarded  it  as  antedated  or  forged,  and 
required  such  testimony  in  such  cases  as  *  to  make  the  antedating  irreconcil 
able  with  the  weight  of  proof.' 

Vallejo,  Agua  Caliente,  Sonoma,  741,  rej.  by  1.  c.,  but  conf.  by  d.  c.  and 
s.  c.  1  Black,  283;  11  Wallace,  566.  The  opposition  was  based  on  the  sale  of 
the  land  by  the  grantee  to  V.  before  the  final  grant  was  made,  thus  enabling 
V.  to  evade  the  restriction  to  11  1. 

Vallejo,  Petaluma,  Sonoma,  250,  conf.  on  grant  of  '43,  10  1.,  and  purchase 
of  '44,  5  1.  Though  the  cl.  is  recorded  as  conf.  and  appeal  dismissed  in  '57, 
Gen.  V.,  Hist.  Col.,  iv.  385-6,  says  that  final  confirmation  was  not  secured 
till  '75,  after  he,  tired  of  fighting  squatters  and  lawyers,  had  given  up  his 
rights  to  the  land. 

Vallejo,  Soscol,  Solano,  291,  conf.  by  1.  c.  and  d.  c.,  but  rej.  by  s.  c.  on  a 
grant  and  sale  by  Gov.  Michel toreiia  in  '43-^4.  There  is  no  doubt  of  the  legiti 
macy  and  good  faith  of  the  transaction;  the  genuineness  of  the  doc.  was  not 
questioned  in  the  lower  courts,  and  in  the  s.  c.  only  in  a  general,  quibbling, 
absurd  way;  but  the  cl.  was  rej.  on  the  ground  that  the  gov.  had  no  power 
to  sell  govt  lands.  1  Black,  541.  He  could  give  it  away  for  nothing,  but 
could  not  exchange  it  for  food  to  support  his  soldiers !  Two  of  the  judges 
dissented  from  this  most  unjust  ruling,  and  in  '63  congress  by  a  special  act 
provided  that  actual  purchasers  under  the  Vallejo  title  should  have  the  pref 
erence  to  enter  the  land  at  $1.25  per  acre.  The  grant  covered  the  towns  of 
Benicia  and  Vallejo;  and  there  was  much  litigation  later  between  different 
interests. 

Vasquez,  Soulajule,  Marin,  245,  conf.  d.  c.  '56.  In  74  Mesa,  holding  a 
part  of  the  same  grant  that  had  not  been  presented  for  conf.  to  the  1.  c.,  in 
sisted  that  the  conf.  of  V.'s  part  was  a  conf.  also  of  his  part;  but  he  was  de 
feated  in  all  the  courts.  21  Wallace,  387. 

West,  S.  Miguel,  Sonoma,  251;  rej.  by  1.  c.,  but  conf.  by  d.  c.  and  s.'c.,  22 
Howard,  315.  The  grant  of  '44  was  for  1^1.,  but  after  '46  the  quantity  was 
fraudulently  changed  to  6  1.  The  s.  c.  heLl,  however,  that  this  did  not 
invalidate  the  genuine  cl.  for  1^1. 


NOTABLE  CASES.  561 

vate  lands  controlled  by  the  company,  the  latter  was 
forced  to  yield  and  part  with  its  property  at  a  nominal 
price    of    $1,750,000.      The    Fremont   claim    to    the 
Mariposas  was   another  cause  celebre  involving  im 
mense  interests,  the  grant  being  almost  the  only  one 
affecting  the  gold  region,  and  its  early  confirmation 
settling  several  important  legal  questions.     The  Pano- 
cha  Grande  claim  of  Vicente  Gomez  assumed  great 
importance  on  account  of  the  New  Idria  quicksilver 
mines,  which  the  grant  assumed  to  cover;  and  in  its 
development  it  became  the  famous  McGarrahan  case, 
the  basis  of  Harte's  Story  of  a  Mine,  a  case  apparently 
destined  to  eternal  life  before  congress  and  the  courts, 
though  by  the  land  tribunals  the  claim  was  rejected 
as  fraudulent.     The  grant  by  which  the  Frenchman 
Limantour  attempted  to  grasp  the  most  valuable  parts 
of  San  Francisco  was  a  fraudulently  antedated  docu 
ment  supported  by  other  forgeries  and  by  perjury  of 
many  witnesses.     The  confirmation  of  the  claim  by 
the  commissioners  naturally  caused  intense  excitement 
in  the  city,  and  large   sums  of  money  were  extorted 
from  frightened  property  holders;  but  happily  the  fraud 
was  brought  to  light    before  the  district  court,  the 
judge  pronouncing  the  case  in  several  respects  "with 
out  parallel  in  the  judicial  history  of  the  country." 
The  Peralta  grant,  covering  the  sites  of  Berkeley,  Oak 
land,  and  Alameda,  though  important  on  account  of 
the  great  value  of  the  lands,  was  genuine  and  valid, 
giving  comparatively  little  trouble  to  the  land  tribu 
nals  ;  but  an  almost  endless  litigation  in  the  California 
courts  sprang  from  Peralta's  division  of  the  estate 
among  his  sons  while  ignoring  the  daughters.     The 
Bolton,  or  Santillan,  claim  to  a  large  tract  at  San 
Francisco  mission,  resting  on  a  pretended   grant   to 
the   parish    priest   in    1846,  caused  almost  as  much 
excitement  as  that  of  Limantour ;    and  not  even  in 
1886  had  the  eastern   association  owning  the  claim 
abandoned  all  idea  of  obtaining  from  congress  some 
compensation   for   their   alleged    losses    and  wrongs. 

HIST,  CAJ...  VOL,  VI.    36 


562  MEXICAN  LAND  TITLES. 

Suiter's  claim  at  New  Helvetia  rested  on  a  valid 
grant  that  was  finally  confirmed;  but  in  this  case 
many  complications  arose  from  the  discovery  of  gold 
in  this  region,  from  the  building  of  Sacramento  city 
on  the  land,  from  a  series  of  blunders  in  the  original 
survey,  and  from  Sutter's  peculiar  methods  of  selling 
land  almost  anywhere  with  but  slight  reference  to  his 
boundary  lines.  Vallejo's  claim  for  Soscol,  on  which 
stood  the  towns  of  Benicia  and  Vallejo,  was  finally 
rejected  as  resting  on  a  sale,  and  not  on  a  colonization 
grant;  but  the  injustice  was  to  some  extent  remedied, 
so  far  as  the  settlers  were  concerned,  by  a  subsequent 
act  of  congress. 

The  mission  lands  demand  separate  notice  in  this 
connection,  though  in  a  strict  or  legal  sense  there 
never  were  any  such  lands.  Neither  to  the  neophyte 
communities,  to  the  friars,  nor  to  the  church  were  the 
so-called  mission  lands — that  is,  the  lands  adjoining 
the  missions,  and  utilized  at  one  time  or  another  by 
those  establishments — ever  granted  by  the  Spanish  or 
Mexican  government.  The  system  has  been  fully  ex 
plained  in  the  mission  annals  of  preceding  volumes. 
The  friars  were  simply  hired  agents  of  the  government, 
never  had  any  property  rights  whatever,  and  never 
claimed  any,  except  as  guardians  of  the  Indians.  The 
neophytes  had  simply  the  right,  on  becoming  chris 
tianized  and  civilized,  to  obtain  land  grants  like  other 
citizens;  a  few  of  them  did  so,  arid  the  government 
merely  withheld  from  colonization  such  constantly 
diminishing  portions  of  the  public  lands  as  were  pros- 
pectively  needed  for  the  neophytes;  the  governors 
granted  lands  not  thus  needed  from  time  to  time  to 
private  ownership,  their  right  to  do  so  never  being 
questioned  under  Mexican  rule,  and  being  eventually 
admitted  by  the  United  States;  and  in  this  matter 
the  friars  had  no  other  right- — though  they  were 
always  consulted,  sometimes  consenting,  sometimes 
making  objections— than  that  of  protesting  before 


MISSION  ESTATES.  503 

the  supreme  government  that  in  a  particular  grant 
the  neophytes'  prospective  needs  had  been  ignored. 
Finally,  the  church  had  an  equitable  and  always  rec 
ognized  right,  becoming  in  a  large  sense  legal  with 
the  progress  of  secularization,  to  the  possession  of  the 
church  buildings,  priests'  houses,  cemeteries,  and  cer 
tain  small  tracts  at  each  establishment  utilized  by  the 
priests  as  gardens  and  orchards  for  their  own  support. 
In  1845-6,  the  governor  leased,  and  finally  granted 
or  sold,  to  private  parties  the  remnants  of  the  mission 
estates — that  is,  all  the  public  lands  adjoining  the 
missions  not  previously  disposed  of — the  purchasers 
being  required  to  pay  the  mission  debts,  to  support 
the  parish  priest,  to  pay  the  expenses  of  public  wor 
ship,  to  recognize  the  title  to  church  property  proper, 
and  not  to  disturb  the  ex-neophytes  in  the  possession 
of  the  lots  actually  cultivated  by  them.25 

During  the  military  rule  of  1846-8,  on  account  of 
the  conflicting  claims  of  lessees,  purchasers,  and  priests, 
the  mission  estates  as  related  elsewhere  gave  the 
authorities  somewhat  more  trouble  than  other  classes 
of  landed  property;  but  attention  was  directed  only 
to  the  protection  of  the  estates  from  damage  and  to 
the  maintenance  of  individual  rights  in  statu  quo,  the 
question  of  title  being  left  to  later  tribunals.  After 
California  became  a  state,  the  legislature  in  1850  at 
tempted  without  results  some  steps  of  investigation ; 
and  for  the  rest  the  courts  continued  to  protect  all 
rights  pending  a  final  decision.28  Finally  the  mission 
claims  were  presented  to  the  commission  in  three 
classes.  First  were  the  claims  under  Pico's  salus  of 
1845-6,  seventeen  in  number.  These  sales  .differed 
in  several  respects  from  the  colonization  grants  which 

25  For  full  details  of  Gov.  Pico's  leases  and  sales  of  the  mission  estates  in 
'45-6,  with  information  on  the  final  disposition  of  each  title,  see  iv.  546-53; 
v.  558-C5;  and  also  local  annals  of  the  different  missions  '45-8,  in  the  same 
volumes.  Hist.  Cat.,  this  series. 

26  Cal,  Journals,  '50,  through  index  p.  1302,  1342.     The  plan  proposed  was 
to  pay  Halleck  and  Hartnell  $15,000  for  a  detailed  report  on  mission  titles. 
In  Nobili  vs  Redman,  6  Cal.  325,  the  priest  at  Sta  Clara  failed  to  establish 
the  claim  of  the  church  to  the  Sta  Clara  orchard. 


564  MEXICAN  LAND  TITLES. 

the  governor  had  an  undoubted  right  to  make;  there 
was  the  Montesdeoca  order  of  November  1845,  re 
ceived  in  April  1846,  suspending  all  proceedings  in 
the  sale  of  mission  estates ;  the  Tornel  order  of  March 
giving  Pico  and  Castro  'ample  powers'  to  defend  the 
country,  if  a  valid  revocation  of  the  preceding,  was 
probably  not  received  before  most  or  all  of  the  sales 
had  been  made;  and  moreover,  the  sales  themselves 
were  irregular  in  not  having  been  made  by  auction  as 
provided,  the  claimants  offered  little  proof  of  having 
complied  with  conditions,  archive  evidence  was  for  the 
most  part  lacking,  and  the  belief  was  general  that 
Pico  had  granted  the  estates  to  English  friends  after 
July  7,  1846.  The  lower  tribunals,  however,  virtually 
admitted  the  governor's  right  to  make  the  sales, 
though  they  rejected  seven  of  the  claims — notably 
the  Santillan  claim  to  San  Francisco — for  various 
frauds  and  irregularities,  or  because  the  claim  was  for 
churcli  property;  and  w^hen  finally  in  1863  the  su 
preme  court  decided  in  the  cases  of  San  Gabriel  and 
San  Luis  Rey  that  the  governor  had  no  right  at  any 
time  to  sell  the  mission  estates,  eight  of  the  claims 
had  been  finally  confirmed.27 

Second  was  the  archbishop's  claim,  in  behalf  of  the 
church,  for  one  square  league  at  each  mission,  with 
additional  lands  at  San  Miguel,  Santa  Clara,  and 
Santa  Ines,  to  be  held  in  trust  for  the  Indians.  For 
the  21  leagues  no  grant  was  alleged,  and  for  the  addi 
tional  lands  reliance  was  placed  only  in  certain  orders 
of  1844  for  the  distribution  of  lots  among  the  neophytes 
as  a  part  of  the  process  of  secularization.  As  there 
had  been  no  grants  or  even  occupation,  there  was  no 
valid  claim  before  the  courts,  which  could  only  protect 
rights,  not  distribute  lands  to  any  class,  however 

«  Land  com.  nos  81,  110,  175,  224,  295,  348,  378,  410  and  808,  476,  479, 
526,  538,  621-2,  697  and  574,  742  and  754,  752.  Those  confirmed  were  S. 
Diego,  S.  Juan  Cap.,  S.  Fernando,  S.  Buenaventura,  Purisima,  S.  Luis  Obispo, 
Soledad,  S.  Juan  Bautista;  rejected  S.  Luis  Reyr  S.  Gabriel,  Sta  Barbara, 
Sta  IneX  S.  Miguel,  S.  Jose,  Sta  Clara,  S.  Francisco,  and  S.  Rafael;  while 
S.  Carlos,  S.  Antonio,  Sta  Cruz,  and  Solano  did  not  conie  before  the  L  c.  in 
this  form. 


PUEBLO  LANDS.  5C5 

deserving,  except  by  act  of  congress.  Therefore  these 
claims  were  rejected  by  the  board  and  discontinued.28 
It  is  unfortunate  that  the  Mexican  government,  or 
that  of  the  United  States,  did  not  make  provision  for 
the  Indians  by  granting  lands  to  be  held  in  trust  by 
ecclesiastical  or  other  authorities,  though  of  course  the 
courts  could  afford  no  relief.  Third  and  finally  was 
the  claim  of  the  archbishop  for  the  church  property 
at  each  mission,  including  a  few  acres  of  garden, 
orchard,  and  vineyard;  also  the  Santa  Ines  college 
rancho,  and  La  Laguna  in  San  Luis  Obispo,  which 
rested  on  formal  grants.29  This  claim,  being  a  perfectly 
valid  and  equitable  one,  was  confirmed  by  the  board  in 
1855,  appeal  being  dismissed  in  the  district  courts  in 
1857-8. 

Under  Spanish,  and  Mexican  rule  a  pueblo,  or 
legally  organized  settlement,  whatever  its  origin,  was 
entitled  to  a  tract  of  land  for  the  various  uses  of  the 
community  and  its  members.  The  land  was  rarely,  if 
ever,  formally  granted  by  the  government  at  the 
founding,  but  the  pueblo  might  at  any  time  take  steps 
to  have  the  bounds  fixed  by  a  survey,  which  amounted 
to  a  grant,  though  even  this  in  California  was  often 
long  delayed,  or  sometimes  omitted  altogether.  It 
seems  to  have  been  generally  understood  that  by  law 
and  usage  a  pueblo  was  entitled  to  at  least  four  leagues 
of  land,  though  there  was  a  question — not  yet  entirely 
cleared  up,  I  think — whether  the  area  was  four  square 
leagues  or  four  leagues  square.  Pueblo  lots  were  sold 
or  distributed  to  residents  by  the  municipal  authorities 
instead  of  being  granted  like  ranchos  by  the  governor. 
The  system  is  sufficiently  explained  elsewhere,  espe 
cially  in  connection  with  the  local  history  of  the  dif 
ferent  towns.30 

The  act  of  1851  provided  that  the  existence  of  a 

28  No.  663  of  the  1.  e.     The  decision  of  the  board  in  a  newspaper  clipping 
I  find  in  Hayes'  Mi**.  B.,  404. 

29  No.  609  of  the  1.  c. 

30  See  also  references  in  note  1  of  this  chap. 


5G6  MEXICAN  LAND  TITLES. 

town  on  July  7,  1846,  should  be  regarded  as  prima 
facie  evidence  of  a  land  grant,  and  thus  the  claim 
should  be  presented  in  the  name  of  the  town,  and  not 
of  the  lot-owners.  Of  course  the  claims  of  such 
owners  to  lots  bought  and  occupied  before  1846  were 
sure  to  be  confirmed;  but  the  sale  of  lots  by  the 
municipal  authorities  had  continued  since  1846,  and 
on  these  lands  as  on  others  not  sold  adjoining  the 
larger  towns  squatters  had  settled,  acquiring  a  valid 
title  if  the  lands  belonged  to  the  United  States ;  hence 
the  chief  importance  of  determining  the  validity, 
extent,  and  nature  of  the  general  pueblo  titles.  The 
general  conclusions  reached  in  the  United  States 
tribunals  were  that  each  town  was  entitled  to  the  lands 
granted  or  assigned  by  survey,  or  to  four  square 
leagues  if  no  area  or  bounds  had  been  fixed;  that  the 
United  States  government  was  bound  to  acknowledge 
and  perfect  the  equitable  and  inchoate  title  of  a  pueblo 
as  of  an  individual;  that  sales  by  the  alcaldes  since 
1846  were  valid;  but  that  the  pueblo  title  was  not  of 
such  a  nature  as  to  permit  sale  under  execution  for 
claims  against  the  town,  the  lands  being  held  in  trust 
for  certain  uses;  and  that  the  authority  of  the  alcalde 
was  not  so  absolute  as  to  invalidate  grants  regularly 
made  by  the  governor  within  pueblo  limits.  Most  of 
these  claims  were  decided  by  the  board  and  court* 
before  1860;  about  1870  the  surveys  in  their  main 
features  had  been  made  and  confirmed;  but  not  till 
1884  was  the  last  patent  issued. 

The  modern  towns  of  Sonora  and  Sacramento  pre 
sented  claims  for  land,  which  of  course,  resting  on 
nothing,  were  promptly  rejected  by  the  board,  and 
discontinued.31  The  Indian  pueblos  of  the  south,  Las 
F lores,  San  Dieguito,  and  San  Pascual,  presented  no 
claims,  their  lands  being  included  in  private  ranchos, 
though  in  the  case  of  Las  Flores,  and  possibly  of  the 
others,  the  owners  had  acquired  the  Indian  title.32  Of 

31Nos639,  792  of  the  1.  c. 

32Nos  345,  441,  700,  of  the  L  c.     The  validity  of  Pico's  purchase  of  Las 


PUEBLO  LANDS.  567 

the  pueblos  that  had  been  more  or  less  fully  established 
on  the  sites  of  the  secularized  missions,  Sonoma's  claim 
for  four  leagues  was  confirmed  and  patented  in  1880; 
that  of  San  Luis  Obispo  was  rejected;33  while  those 
of  San  Juan  de  Argiiello  and  San  Juan  de  Castro, 
the  latter  of  which  might  perhaps  have  been  success 
ful,  were  never  presented.  Of  the  three  original 
pueblos  of  Spanish  times  Branciforte  presented  no 
claim;34  to  Los  Angeles  claiming  sixteen  leagues  was 
confirmed  a  tract  of  about  four,  patented  in  1875; 
while  to  San  Jose,  though  the  commission  restricted 
its  claim  to  four  leagues,  the  final  confirmation  and 
survey  of  1866  were  for  a  tract  within  bounds  fixed  in 
1838  or  earlier,  eleven  and  a  half  leagues  long  by  two 
and  a  half  wide,  which,  several  ranchos  being  excepted, 
gave  the  pueblo  less  than  two  leagues  in  five  tracts.35 
Of  the  four  presidios  on  the  sites  of  which  pueblos 
were  duly  organized  in  1835  or  earlier,  San  Diego  ob 
tained  confirmation  for  the  tract  covered  by  Captain 
Fitch's  official  map  of  1845,  quantity  not  specified; 
and  after  the  usual  protests  and  controversy  the  sur 
vey  seems  to  have  been  approved  in  its  main  features 
in  1870,  a  patent  being  issued  in  1874.36  Santa  Bar 
bara's  claim  was  confirmed  in  1861  and  patented  in 
1872  for  an  area  within  certain  bounds  amounting  to 
four  leagues.  The  pueblo  lands  of  Monterey  had 
been  definitely  assigned  by  a  survey  of  1830,  and 
were  confirmed  to  the  town  by  the  board  in  1856,  ap- 

Flores  with  approval  of  local  authorities  is  affirmed  in  5  Wallace,  536,  the 
pueblo  title  being  virtually  confirmed. 

33Nos237,  738,  of  the  1.  c. 

34  The  alcalde  at  Sta  Cruz  sold  lands  in  '49-50;  but  in  '60-8  the  title  to 
these  lands  was  held  to  have  been  forfeited  by  the  failure  of  the  pueblo,  if 
there  was  one,  to  present  the  claim.  Stevenson  vs  Bennett,  35  Cal.  424. 
Respecting  the  Los  Angeles  lands  I  have  found  nothing  beyond  the  brief 
record  in  the  Hoffman  list,  no.  422,  and  the  record  of  patent. 

30  Nos  286-7  of  the  1.  c.  There  were  many  complications  in  this  case,  which 
is  presented  in  detail  most  satisfactorily  by  Hall  in  his  Hist.  S.  Jose,  333-^49, 
with  map.  In  '80  no  final  patent  had  been  given. 

36  No.  589.  Scraps  and  pamphlets  in  Hayes  Legal  Hist.  S.  Diego,  i.  48  et 
seq.,  are  the  best  source  of  information  that  I  have  found.  The  Sta  B.  claim 
was  no.  543;  see  also  Sta  B.  County  Hist.,  199.  The  claim  for  8|  1.  was  rej.  by 
the  1.  c.  in  '54,  but  conf.  with  reduced  limits  by  the  d.  c.  in  '61.  The  Mont. 
cl.  is  no.  714. 


568  MEXICAN  LAND  TITLES. 

peal  being  dismissed  in  1858,  though  in  1880  no  pat 
ent  had  been  obtained.  The  fourth  presidial  pueblo 
demands  more  extended  notice. 

The  pueblo  land  question  at  San  Francisco,  where 
the  great  legal  battle  was  fought,  is  far  too  compli 
cated  for  any  but  the  most  summary  treatment  here. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  San  Francisco  was  a  pueblo  in 
1835-46  exactly  like  those  of  San  Diego  and  Mon 
terey;  but  my  views  on  this  subject  have  been  ex 
pressed  elsewhere.87  Able  lawyers,  however,  denied 
the  existence  of  any  pueblo,  or  if  it  existed,  its  title  to 
any  lands  not  distributed  before  1846,  adopting  some 
very  ingenious  theories  to  explain  the  existence  of  an 
ayuntamiento.  Meanwhile  General  Kearny  in  1847, 
probably  without  any  power  to  do  so,  had  granted 
or  relinquished  to  the  town  the  claim  of  the  United 
States,  not  only  to  the  pueblo  lots,  but  to  the  beach 
and  water  lots  not  belonging  to  the  town  under  Mexi 
can  law.  The  alcaldes  and  ayuntamiento  continued 
to  sell  lots  of  both  kinds  in  large  numbers,  unwisely 
removing  the  old  restrictions,  and  granting  many  lots 
to  one  purchaser;  there  were  many  irregularities  and 
even  frauds  committed  in  connection  with  the  alcalde 
sales ;  and  the  Col  ton  grants  were  made  by  a  justice 
of  the  peace  acting  by  authority  of  the  prefect  in 
opposition  to  the  town  council.  While  official  reports, 
notably  those  of  Peachy  and  Wheeler,38  supported  the 
pueblo  title,  and  while  the  legislature  in  1851  ceded 
to  the  city  the  water  lots,  yet  so  high  an  authority  as 
the  supreme  court  of  California  in  its  decisions  of 
1850-1  held  the  pueblo  title  invalid,  reversing  that 
opinion  in  decisions  of  1853-7.39  Meanwhile  in  1851-2, 
Peter  Smith,  obtaining  judgments  against  the  city, 

37  See  vol.  iii.,  p.  702-8,  for  the  pueblo  organization.     See  also  local  annals 
of  S.  F.  in  this  and  earlier  vols. 

38  Peachy 's  report  of  '50  to  council  in  8.  F.  Minutes  qf  Assembly,  154-9; 
Wheeler's  Land  Titles  in  S.  F.y  a  report  of  '51  pub.  in  '52. 

39  Woodioorth  vs  FuU&n,  1  Cal  295,  and  several  later  cases;  1st  reversed  in 
Cohas  vs  Raisin,  3  Id.  443,  also  in  other  cases,  including  Welch  vs  Sullivan,  8 
Id.  165,  in  which  Nathaniel  Bennett — the  judge  who  had  made  the  decisions 
of  '50 — as  attorney  presented  an  elaborate  brief  against  the  pueblo  title. 


POSITION  OF   SAN  FRANCISCO.  509 

proceeded  to  have  large  portions  of  the  town  property 
sold  by  the  sheriff,  for  nominal  prices,  in  satisfaction  of 
his  debt.40  When  we  consider  also  the  pending  Liman- 
tour  and  Santillan  claims  for  the  most  valuable  parts 
of  the  peninsula,  it  is  not  strange  that  the  people  be 
came  confused  and  excited  in  their  ideas  of  land  tenure, 
or  that  they  came  to  believe  one  title  to  be  as  good  as 
another,  possession  being  best  of  all. 

The  San  Francisco  claim  was  presented  to  the  land 
commission  in  1852,  and  by  that  board  confirmed  in 
1854,  but  only  for  the  region  north  of  the  Vallejo  line 
of  1834,  regarded  erroneously  as  the  pueblo  boun 
dary.41  In  1855  the  city  by  the  Van  Ness  ordinance 
granted  its  title  to  lands  within  its  limits  under  the 
incorporation  of  1851  to  the  persons  holding  bona  fide 
possession  at  that  time.42  In  1858-9,  as  elsewhere 
recorded,  the  Limantour  and  Santillan  claims  were 
rejected,  other  rancho  claims  on  the  peninsula  having 
meantime  been  finally  confirmed  or  rejected;  and  in 
1860  the  great  test  case  of  Hart  versus  Burnett  was 
decided  by  the  California  supreme  court  in  favor  of 
the  pueblo  title.43  The  claim  of  San  Francisco,  having 

40  See  a  good  account  of  the  Smith  affair  in  Annals  of  S.  F.,  370-7. 

41  This  line  extended  from  5th  and  Brannan  sts  to  Lone  Mountain  and 
thence  to  the  ocean.     The  Zamorano  doc.  by  which  the  gov.  accepted  this  as 
the  pueblo  line  was  proved  to  be  spurious,  iii.  703-4.     See  also  Dwindle,  add. 
116-19. 

42  Ratified  by  the  legislature  in  '58  and  in  '64  by  an  act  of  congress  ceding 
the  U.  S.  title  for  purposes  of  the  ordinance. 

43  15  Cal.  530;  also  separate  pamphlet  with  comments  by  H.  W.  Halleck, 
pub.  at  S.  F.  '60.     Edmund  Randolph's  argument  against  the  pueblo  title  was 
also  published.     Wm  C.  Jones'  Pueblo  Question  Solved  was  a  pamphlet  on  the 
same   side,  largely  in  reply  to   Halleck's  notes.     Both  R.   and  J.   argued 
against  the  existence  of  a  pueblo  at  S.  F. ,  and  they  put  a  weak  cause  in  its 
best  light.    This  decision  included  the  validity  of  the  governor's  grants  within 
pueblo  limits,  and  also  the  invalidity  of   sales  under  execution  for  debts 
against  the  city  (conf.  by  U.  S.  s.  c.  in  '66.  5  Wallace,  326).     After  this  decis 
ion  the  title  to  lots  granted  by  the  gov.,  conf,  and  patented  by  the  U.  S., 
was  attacked  on  the  ground  that  the  1.  c.  had  no  jurisdiction  by  the  act  of 
'51,  and  the  patents  were  void;   but  this  view  was   overruled  in  Leece  vs 
Clarke,  18  Cal.  535.     Then  it  was  claimed  that  a  gov.  s  grant  of  a  pueblo  lot 
gave  a  perfect  title  not  needing  presentation  to  the  1.  c.  at  all^  and  this  point 
was  not  decided,  the  party  taking  this  view  being  defeated  on  the  ground 
that  in  his  case  the  lack  of  boundaries  made  the  title  inchoate    30  Cal.  498. 
Holders  of  lots  on  the  gov.'s  grants  conf.  and  patented,  but  within  the  city 
limits  tried  desperately  to  maintain  their  claims  under  the  Van  Ness  ordi 
nance,  but  the  s.  c.  held  that  the  town  by  that  ord.  had  given  only  its  own 


570  MEXICAN  LAND  TITLES. 

been  appealed  to  the  district  court  in  1856,  was  trans 
ferred  in  1864  to  the  United  States  circuit,  and  was 
confirmed  in  1 8  6  5 . 44  By  an  act  of  congress  in  1 8  6  6  the 
United  States  ceded  the  government  title  to  the  city ; 
the  appeal  was  accordingly  dismissed  in  the  supreme 
court;  and  in  1867  the  final  decree  of  confirmation 
was  given  by  the  circuit  court.  The  confirmation 
was  for  four  square  leagues  bounded  on  three  sides 
by  the  ordinary  high- water  mark  as  it  was  in  1846, 
excepting  the  military  reservations  and  private  claims 
confirmed;  arid  the  survey  was  made  by  Stratton  in 
1867—8.  Ten  years  later  a  controversy  was  in  pro 
gress,  it  being  claimed  by  different  parties  that  the 
Stratton  survey  had  not  correctly  located  the  high- 
water  mark.  The  survey  was  rejected,  a  new  one 
made  in  1883,  and  the  patent  was  finally  issued  in 
1884;  but  a  controversy  about  the  survey  was  still  in 
progress  two  years  later. 

In  1880,  or  twenty-nine  years  after  the  land  act 
became  a  law,  there  were  four  claims  still  pending  in 
the  courts  on  a  question  of  title;  in  the  case  of  ten 
others,  no  survey  had  been  made;  48  surveys  had  not 
been  fully  settled;  27  were  in  the  hands  of  the  general 
land-office,  presumably  ready  for  patent;  and  527  had 
been  patented  in  1856-80.  The  rate  of  final  settle 
ment  from  year  to  year  is  shown  in  the  annexed  fig 
ures.45  In  the  annals  of  this  long  litigation,  which 

title  with  which  that  of  the  Van  Ness  holders  must  stand  or  fall.  9  Wallace, 
315.  A  similar  decision  was  rendered  in  a  controversy  between  a  Van  Ness 
holder  and  a  U.  S.  officer  holding  a  military  reservation,  since  pending  the 
question  between  S.  F.  and  the  U.  S.  the  govt  could  make  reservations  for 
public  purposes.  6  Id.  363. 

44  City  of  S.  F.  vs  U.  S.,  Opinion  and  Decrees,  a  pamphlet  pub.  at  S.  F. 
1885.  John  W.  Dwindle  was  the  city's  attorney  before  the  district  and 
circuit  courts,  and  his  brief  published  in  4  ed.  from  '63  to  '67,  with  in 
crease  of  comments  and  appendices,  forms  his  Colonial  History  of  S.  F.,  a  stan 
dard  work,  which  not  only  treats  exhaustively  of  the  pueblo  question,  but  in 
other  respects  justifies  its  title. 

40  Stratton 's  Report  of  Span,  and  Hex.  Grants  in  Cal.,  1880,  in  Cal.  Jour. 
Sen.  and  Assemb.,  24th  Sess.,  appen.  The  4  cl.  still  in  court  were  Las  Ciene- 
guitas,  Carrillo,  1.  c.,  328;  S.  Francisco  lands,  Sherreback,  1.  c.,  795;  S.  Jose" 
y  Sur  Chiquito,  Castro,  1.  c.,  546;  and  S.  Pedro,  Chapman,  1.  c.,  512.  It  will 
be  noticed  that  my  figures  of  note  13,  this  chap.,  as  based  on  the  Hoffman 
list  of  1862,  are  somewhat  modified  by  this  official  report;  612  cl.  were  conf., 
178  rejected,  19  discontinued,  and  4  still  pending  in  '80  of  the  total  of  813. 


HARVEST  OF  THE  ROBBERS.  571 

may  be  said  to  have  lasted  in  its  most  oppressive 
phases  about  fifteen  years,  there  is  much  interesting 
and  important  matter,  particularly  bearing  on  the 
squatter  controversies,  that  cannot  be  presented  here 
for  lack  of  space ;  while  other  topics,  notably  details 
of  the  process  by  which  Californian  claimants  were 
plundered  by  speculating  lawyers,  must  be  passed  over 
as  well  for  lack  of  accurate  data,  though  the  general 
results  are  well  known,  and  illustrative  cases  might  be 
found.  An  unfortunate  accompaniment  of  the  struggle 
was  the  occasional  resort  of  ignorant  and  unsophisti 
cated  natives,  under  the  guidance  of  ignorant  or  ras 
cally  advisers,  to  clumsy  frauds  in  support  of  good 
titles,  a  plausible  foundation  being  thus  afforded  for 
the  sweeping  accusations  of  their  enemies,  and  for  the 
wide-spread  belief,  not  yet  extinct  among  even  intelli 
gent  men,  that  most  of  the  Mexican  claims  were 
fraudulent. 

Throughout  the  period  of  litigation  the  squatter 
influence  was  potent  in  a  hundred  ways,  direct  and 
indirect,  though,  as  we  have  seen,  it  failed  at  the  start 
in  bringing  about  a  general  revolt  against  law,  equity, 
and  treaty  obligations.  The  squatters  settled  on 
Mexican  grants,  fenced  in  springs,  raised  crops,  and 
killed  cattle,  devoting  their  gains  to  the  costs  of  legal 
warfare  against  the  owners.  For  years  they  had  a 
secret  league,  with  the  moral  support  of  thousands 
who  were  not  members;  and  instances  of  armed  resist 
ance  to  legal  ejectment,  involving  sometimes  loss  of 
life,  were  by  no  means  rare.  In  too  many  cases  the 
squatter  interest,  masquerading  in  the  name  of  the 
United  States,  was  the  real  opponent  to  the  confirma 
tion  of  equitable  titles;  in  some  instances  it  is  sup 
posed  to  have  influenced  the  appointment  of  law  agents 
representing  the  government;  and  it  virtually  con 
trolled  legislatures,  juries,  and  the  policy  of  congress- 


'79,  17;  '80,  10. 


572  MEXICAN  LAND  TITLES. 

men,  so  that  the  Californians  had  small  chance  for 
justice.  In  1852,  Senator  Gwin,  under  this  influence, 
had  the  assurance  to  introduce  a  bill,  which  happily 
did  not  pass,  to  give  squatters  a  valid  donation  title  to 
80  acres  on  Mexican  grants,  charitably  permitting  the 
owner  to  select  the  same  area  elsewhere  on  public 
land.48  By  an  act  of  the  legislature  in  the  same  year, 
school  warrants  might  be  located  on  any  land  not  yet 
confirmed  to  the  claimant,  and  on  such  confirmation 
they  might  be  moved  elsewhere.47  And  again,  an  act 
of  1856  provided  that  all  lands  should  be  deemed  pub 
lic  till  the  legal  title  was  shown  to  have  passed  to 
private  parties ;  that  possession  should  be  prima  facie 
evidence -of  a  right  to  such  possession ;  that  title  under 
patent  should  begin  with  the  date  of  the  patent,  and 
the  owner  could  claim  nothing  for  the  use  of  the  land 
before  such  date ;  and  that  a  successful  plaintiff  in  an 
ejectment  suit  must  pay  for  improvements  and  grow 
ing  crops  or  sell  the  land,  the  value  in  either  case  to 
be  appraised  by  the  juryl  There  were  other  oppress 
ive  features  of  this  squatter  law,  but  the  act  was  the 
next  year  declared  unconstitutional  by  the  supreme 
court.48  This  shows  the  spirit  of  legislation,  which  I 
do  not  attempt  to  follow  in  detail. 

It  should  not  be  forgotten,  however,  that  the  set 
tlers  as  well  as  the  grant-owners  had  their  real  griev 
ances;  and  that  while  they  included  a  lawless  and 
unprincipled  element,  many,  perhaps  most,  of  them 
acted  in  accordance  with  their  honest  convictions. 
They  could  buy  no  good  Mexican  title,  they  could  not 
find  what  was  surely  government  land  on  which  to 
settle.  Educated  to  look  with  suspicion  on  all  that 

*6Text  of  the  bill  in  S.  F.  Alta,  Dec.  12,  '56.  Gwin,  in  his  Memoirs,  MS., 
thinks  this  would  have  been  an  excellent  measure! 

47  Cal.  Statutes,  1852,  p.  41-3. 

^CaL  Stat.,  '56,  p.  54;  7  Cal.  1.  There  were  also  wise  congressional 
enactments,  general  and  special,  in  favor  of  the  settlers,  and  not  against  the 
grantees,  providing  that  purchasers  under  Mex.  title  finally  rejected  should 
have  the  preference  in  purchasing  from  the  U.  S. ;  and  that  an  ejected  squatter 
might  recover  his  land  if  not  included  in  the  final  survey,  though  this,  in  cer 
tain  phases  of  the  floating  grants,  was  overruled  by  the  courts.  14  U.  S.  Stat. 
at  Large,  220;  33  Cal.  102;  9  Wallace,  299. 


ATTORNEY-GENERAL'S  REPORT.  573 

was  Mexican,  regarding  many  league  grants  as  un- 
American  and  therefore  wrong,  naturally  imbibing  the 
current  feeling  that  most  of  the  grants  were  fraudulent 
and  would  be  finally  rejected,  advised  by  their  lawyers 
to  become  squatters  and  trust  to  the  future,  what  won 
der  that  they  came  to  regard  themselves  as  victims 
rather  than  workers  of  iniquity  !  And  moreover,  in 
many  instances  the  land  sharks  deliberately  set  up 
false  claims  in  the  name  of  native  grant-owners,  and 
extended  their  surveys  over  the  honest  possessions  of 
settlers  with  a  view  only  to  the  levying  of  blackmail  ; 
and  by  their  crafty  misinterpretations  of  court  decrees, 
laws,  and  alleged  threats  to  owners  ignorant  of  the 
English  language  and  American  ways,  they  stirred  up 
various  causeless  dissensions.  The  evils  of  the  time, 
except  so  far  as  they  sprang  from  common  defects 
of  human  nature,  should  be  attributed  mainly,  not  to 
the  squatters  or  to  any  other  particular  class,  but  to 
the  fundamental  error  of  the  United  States  govern 
ment,  of  which  more  presently. 

In  1860  Attorney-general  Black  made  a  report  to 
the  president  on  the  California  claims,  a  report  devoted 
mainly  to  denunciation  of  the  native  Californians  as 
forgers  and  perjurers,  and  of  Mexican  officials  as  worse 
if  possible;  to  exaggerated  allusions  to  the  "  organized 
system  of  fabricating  land  titles  carried  on  for  a  long 
time  by  Mexican  officials  in  California,"  when  the 
making  of  false  grants,  with  the  subornation  of  false 
witnesses  to  prove  them,  had  become  a  trade  and  a 
business;  and  to  extravagant  self-praise  for  his  fore 
thought  in  sending  E.  M.  Stanton  to  California  in 
1858,  and  for  the  skill  with  which  the  documentary 
results  of  that  mission  had  been  utilized  to  defeat  in 
Washington  the  gigantic  frauds  that  had  passed  or 
were  likely  to  pass  unchallenged  through  the  lower 
tribunals.49  In  reply,  William  Carey  Jones  wrote  a 


Report  of  the  Attorney  -gen.  on  Cat.  Land  Claims,  Wash.,  1861, 
8vo,  14  p.  B.  notes  an  act  of  congress  on  May  18,  '58,  providing  for  crim 
inal  prosecution  and  punishment  of  any  person  prosecuting  a  Cal.  land  claim 
upon  a  false  title. 


574  MEXICAN  LAND  TITLES. 

series  of  letters  in  which  he  severely  criticised  the 
attorney-general's  statements  and  theories,  exposing 
with  skill  and  fairness  some  of  Black's  blunders  and 
false  pretensions.50 

In  the  later  years  there  have  been  many  attempts 
before  the  courts  and  congress  to  reopen  some  of  the 
cases  where  fraudulent  claims  are  alleged — and  some 
times  truthfully — to  have  been  confirmed  and  patented. 
Such  attempts  have  not  been  successful  because,  what 
ever  the  merits  of  the  cases,  not  only  the  right  of  the 
government  to  reverse  the  decisions  of  long  ago,  but 
the  policy  of  reopening  the  doors  of  land  litigation,  has 
been  questioned.  In  1876  the  United  States  attorney, 
aided  by  able  counsel,  brought  a  suit  in  equity  to  re 
open  two  of  the  cases  before  the  circuit  court;  and 
judges  Field,  Hoffman,  and  Sawyer  in  concurring 
adverse  decisions,  besides  considering  the  strictly  legal 
aspects  of  the  matter,  dwelt  most  forcibly  on  the 
manifold  and  manifest  evils  that  must  result  if  the 
work  of  the  old  and  extinct  tribunals  could  be  unset 
tled  on  allegations  of  fraud  in  transactions  which  these 
tribunals  had  investigated  with  special  power  and  ad 
vantages.  It  was  implied  that  congress  might  prop 
erly  invest  the  courts  with  powers  not  now  possessed 
to  reexamine  fraudulent  cases  of  a  certain  nature ;  but 
it  was  held  that  the  frauds  now  alleged  were  not  of  a 
kind  to  justify  the  court,  even  if  it  had  the  power,  in 
opening  the  way  to  endless  litigation  and  a  new  un 
settling  of  the  California  titles.  That  this  was  a  cor 
rect  view  of  the  matter  can  hardly  be  questioned.51 


50  Letters  of  William  Carey  Jones  in  Review  of  A  tt. -gen.  Blades  Report,  S.  F., 
1860,  8vo,  31  p.  Says  J. :  'If  the  matter  shall  ever  be  strictly  examined,  it 
will  be  found  that  the  various  acts  of  congress  in  relation  to  the  claims  to 
land  in  Cal.,  and  the  way  that  those  acts  have  been  administered,  have  had 
the  effect  in  a  large  degree  to  substantiate  what  is  false  and  discredit  what  is 
true.  Ten  years  ago  it  would  have  been  as  feasible  for  a  lawyer  who  was 
instructed  in  the  subject-matter  to  detect  a  simulated  grant  here,  as  for  a 
cashier  of  a  bank  to  detect  a  false  note,  or  a  chemist  a  false  coin;  and  this  fact 
I  have  constantly  stated  from  1849  upward  to  the  chief  authorities  concerned.' 

61  Mexican  and  Spanish  Grants,  decision  of  the  court  published  in  pam 
phlet  form,  S.  F.,  76,  8vo,  63  p.  The  claims  involved  were  nos  421  and  96  of 
the  1.  c. 


GOVERNMENT  POLICY.  575 

In  conclusion,  some  general  comment  on  the  system 
adopted  by  the  government  and  on  its  results  is  called 
for.  All  that  can  be  truthfully  said  in  commenda 
tion — possibly  somewhat  more  in  certain  phases — has 
been  presented  directly  or  indirectly  in  the  preceding 
pages  of  this  chapter.  We  have  seen  that  congress, 
though  led  to  adopt  exaggerated  and  inaccurate  views 
of  Californian  affairs,  acted  for  the  most  part  honestly 
in  its  efforts  to  avert  great  dangers  believed  to  be  im 
minent  in  connection  with  fraudulent  land  grants; 
that  senators  were  to  a  considerable  extent  justified 
in  their  feeling,  not  only  that  the  supreme  court  would 
decide  the  claims  equitably  and  justly,  but  that  only 
the  highest  tribunals  could  be  trusted  with  the  dispo 
sition  of  such  gigantic  interests  as  were  understood 
to  be  at  stake;  that  the  act  of  1851  was  well  enough 
adapted  for  the  settlement  of  the  claims  that  the 
government  seems  to  have  had  chiefly  in  view ;  that 
a  liberal  and  equitable  interpretation  of  law  and  treaty 
obligations  was  enjoined  in  the  act  and  supplementary 
instructions;  that  the  commission  and  courts  did  their 
work  faithfully,  with  a  commendable  subordination  in 
most  cases  of  legal  technicalities  to  justice;  and  that 
the  final  decisions,  once  reached,  were  in  the  aggre 
gate  as  near  an  approximation  to  the  right  as  could 
be  expected  under  any  system  of  legal  machinery. 
It  may  be  said,  moreover,  that  when  once  the  system 
had  been  put  in  operation  the  courts  could  do  almost 
nothing,  the  government  very  little,  to  prevent  the 
evils  that  appeared;  and  also  that  no  system  under 
the  circumstances  could  have  produced  results  entirely 
satisfactory,  or  prevented  oppressive  and  ruinous  liti 
gation. 

All  this,  however,  though  it  reads  like  approval,  is, 
so  far  as  the  government  is  concerned,  only  a  some 
what  overdrawn  excuse  for  a  system  that  in  its  appli 
cation  and  practical  results  merits  only  condemnation. 
It  was  thoroughly  bad  in  almost  every  respect.  So  uni 
form  and  overwhelming  is  the  testimony  to  this  effect 


576  MEXICAN  LAND  TITLES, 

that  citation  of  individual  opinions  is  not  required, 
Writers  on  subjects  connected  with  Californian  annals, 
journalists,  judges  of  the  different  courts,  lawyers 
who  took  part  in  the  long  litigation,  public  officials 
and  private  citizens,  successful  speculators  like  im- 
povershed  victims,  squatters  as  well  as  grant-owners, 
residents  and  visitors,  American  pioneers  no  less  than 
native  Californians  and  Mexicans,  all — as  their  testi 
mony  lies  before  me  in  print  and  manuscript — agree 
with  remarkable  unanimity  that  the  practical  work 
ing  of  the  law  was  oppressive  and  ruinous;  and  I 
heartily  indorse  the  general  disapproval.  True,  there 
is  some  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  relative  im 
portance  of  the  various  resulting  evils ;  some  of  the 
judges  deem  themselves  under  obligation  to  suggest 
that  most  of  the  evils  were  "perhaps  unavoidable;" 
and  a  few  writers  holding  the  original  system  of  Mex 
ican  grants  responsible  for  all  blame,  the  United  States 
chiefly,  for  not  having  rejected  all  the  claims.52 

It  was  to  the  Californians  owning  lands  under  gen 
uine  and  valid  titles,  seven  eighths  of  all  the  claimants 
before  the  commission,  that  the  great  wrong  was  done. 
They  were  virtually  robbed  by  the  government  that 
was  bound  to  protect  them.  As  a  rule,  they  lost  nearly 
all  their  possessions  in  the  struggle  before  the  success 
ive  tribunals  to  escape  from  real  and  imaginary  dan 
gers  of  total  loss.  The  lawyers  took  immense  fees  in 
land  and  cattle,  often  for  slight  services  or  none  at  all. 
The  United  States  promised  full  protection  of  all 
property  rights,  and  in  theory  they  admitted  the  obli 
gation  to  confirm  not  only  legal  but  inchoate  equitable 
titles;  practically,  by  the  system  adopted  they  declared 
that  every  title  should  be  deemed  invalid  until  the 
holder  had  defended  it  at  his  own  expense  through 

62 1  looked  in  Gwins  Memoirs,  MS.,  expecting  to  find  a  defence  of  the  act 
of  1851,  and  I  found  indeed  a  brief  statement  to  the  effect  that  the  measure 
proved  satisfactory,  its  wisdom  being  shown  by  the  fact  that  under  its  work 
ings  land  titles  in  Cal.  were  quieted  in  one  third  the  time  required  in  Louisiana 
and  Texas;  but  space  was  precious  and  the  champion  of  the  squatters  had 
only  30  or  40  pages  to  devote  to  long  quotations  from  his  speeches  of  '51  as 
quoted  from  the  Cong.  Globe! 


EVIL  EFFECTS  OF  THE  SYSTEM.  577 

from  two  to  six  fiery  ordeals  against  a  powerful  oppo 
nent  who  had  no  costs  to  pay  and  no  real  interest 
at  stake.  Not  only  did  they  adopt  a  system  which 
permitted  this  oppression,  but  their  agents  took  advan 
tage  of  the  powers  granted,  and  in  a  majority  of  cases 
continued  the  contest  when  all  proper  motives  had 
ceased  to  exist.  It  was  in  no  sense  the  protection  prom 
ised  by  the  treaty  to  finally  confirm  a  title  after  a  strug 
gle  of  eight  to  twenty-five  years  when  half  or  all  the 
estate  had  passed  from  the  possession  of  the  original 
claimant;  it  was  simply  confiscation,  and  that  not  in  the 
real  interests  of  the  United  States,  or  of  American  set 
tlers,  but  of  speculating  land  sharpers.  Senator  Ben- 
ton's  denunciations  of  1851  were  justified  by  results; 
the  senate  was  duly  warned,  though  paying  no  heed, 
respecting  the  effects  of  its  measure,  with  specifications 
of  how  they  were  to  be  produced,  and  illustrative 
references  to  experience  with  Spanish  land  claims  in 
other  states.  If  senators  believed,  as  they  apparently 
did,  that  nine  tenths  of  the  Californian  claims  were 
fraudulent,  there  was  still  culpable  negligence  and  in 
justice  in  the  failure  to  provide  for  a  prompt  and  real 
confirmation  of  the  remaining  tenth. 

The  spoliation  of  the  grant-holders  was,  however, 
but  a  small  part  of  the  injury  done  to  Californian 
interests  by  the  measure  in  question.  The  deplorable 
effects  of  unsettled  land  titles  and  ceaseless  litigation, 
prolonged  for  over  twenty  years,  would  be  apparent 
in  advance  to  any  thinker,  and  in  California  have  been 
fully  realized  from  actual  observation  and  experience 
by  men  of  all  classes.  In  a  sense  there  was  no  govern 
ment  land  to  be  purchased;  every  occupant  felt  that 
his  possession  was  threatened  by  squatters  on  the  one 
hand  or  by  grant-owners  on  the  other;  neither  squat 
ters  nor  grant-owners  could  sell,  or  dared  to  invest  in 
extensive  improvements;  thus  population  was  driven 
away,  industry  and  development  were  stifled,  and  Cali 
fornia  was  prevented  for  many  years  from  utilizing 
her  natural  resources.  We  must  also  in  this  connection 

HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.    37 


578  MEXICAN  LAND  TITLES. 

consider  the  loss  of  life  and  property  caused  by  the  land 
controversies;  the  general  demoralization  and  spirit 
of  lawlessness,  resting  to  no  small  degree  on  the  un 
certainties  of  land  tenure,  which  gave  our  state  so  bad 
a  reputation;  the  race  hostilities  that  were  fomented; 
the  opportunities  offered  for  wide-spread  rascality  and 
illegitimate  speculation;  and  all  the  train  of  evils, 
moral  and  economic,  that  sprang  largely  from  this 
source,  and  for  which  the  government  may  be  held  in 
greater  or  less  degree  responsible.  And  we  should 
not  fail  to  note  that  besides  the  direct  evils  following 
this  unfortunate  legislation,  there  was  a  complete  fail 
ure  to  effect  the  particular  benefits  in  view.  These 
benefits,  as  they  existed  in  the  imagination  of  the 
senate  in  1851,  were  chiefly  a  diminution,  or  dividing- 
up,  of  the  immense  Californian  estates,  a  corresponding 
providing  of  homes  and  small  farms  for  American  set 
tlers,  and  the  defeat  of  fraudulent  claims.  In  no 
respect  were  these  objects  accomplished.  Had  the 
700  and  more  genuine  claims  been  promptly  confirmed 
and  patented,  so  that  a  good  title  could  have  been 
secured,  large  tracts  of  the  state's  best  lands  would 
naturally  have  been  sold  in  small  divisions  to  settlers 
at  prices  very  low  in  the  eyes  of  the  latter,  but  high 
in  the  view  of  owners  who  had  known  no  higher  rate 

O 

than  $1,000  per  league  for  the  choicest  ranchos.  As 
it  was,  the  estates  passed  for  the  most  part  into  the 
hands  of  speculators  who  were  shrewd  enough  and 
rich  enough  to  keep  them.  Land  monopoly  in  Cali 
fornia  is  due  less  to  the  original  extent  of  the  Mexican 
grants  than  to  the  iniquitous  methods  adopted  by  our 
government ;  and  as  to  the  fraudulent  claims  it  is  be 
lieved  that  the  worst  ones  were  concocted,  or  at  least, 
mainly  fortified  with  supports  of  forgery  and  perjury 
after  the  commission  and  courts  were  fairly  at  work, 
and  after  the  concocters  had  learned  by  experience 
what  supports  were  likely  to  prove  most  effective. 
Not  all  would  even  have  been  submitted  at  first  to  a 
proper  test,  and  few  would  have  escaped  detection 


COULD  NOT  HAVE  BEEN  WORSE.  579 

under  practical   as  compared  with  legal   methods  of 
investigation. 

I  am  well  aware  that  it  is  much  easier,  especially 
with  experience  as  a  guide  after  the  harm  has  been 
done,  to  criticise  the  system  than  to  devise  another  to 
take  its  place  and  remedy  its  defects.  It  is  no  part 
of  my  duty  to  draught  the  bill  that  should  have  been 
passed  by  congress;  but  if  it  had  to  be  done,  my  diffi 
culties  would  be  vastly  lessened  by  the  fact  that  so  far 
as  can  be  learned  from  my  investigations,  and  the 
suggestions  of  others,  there  would  be  little  danger  of 
devising  a  worse  plan  than  the  one  adopted.  But  for 
the  national  disgrace  involved  it  would  have  been 
better  to  disregard  treaty  obligations  and  reject  all 
the  claims;  for  then  the  grantees  might  have  pre 
empted  a  small  tract  adjoining  their  buildings,  or 
have  migrated  to  Mexico,  or  revolted  and  been 
promptly  killed.  As  has  often  been  remarked,  it 
would  have  been  infinitely  better  to  promptly  confirm 
all  the  claims,  both  valid  and  fraudulent.  The  first 
method  proposed  to  congress  in  1848-9,  that  of  a  com 
mission  to  investigate  and  present  a  detailed  report  in 
1851,  might  have  had  its  advantages,  if  followed  by 
the  prompt  confirmation  en  masse  of  all  but  suspicious 
and  apparently  unfounded  claims.  Fremont's  bill, 
insomuch  as  it  made  the  decision  of  each  tribunal 
final  as  against  the  United  States,  was  better  than  its 
successor.  Benton's  bill,  in  general  accord  with  Jones' 
report,  providing  for  an  authorized  record  and  survey, 
the  government  reserving  the  right  to  contest  claims 
of  certain  classes,  was  founded  on  a  just  appreciation 
of  the  situation.  Hittell  says  the  Californians  "were 
entitled  to  the  confirmation  of  their  titles,  after  an 
examination  as  brief  and  simple  as  the  circumstances 
would  permit,  and  with  as  little  expense  as  possible. 
The  government  should  have  made  a  list  of  all 
ranches,  the  possession  of  which  was  matter  of  com 
mon  notoriety,  and  mentioned  in  the  archives ;  should 
have  confirmed  them  summarily,  then  surveyed  them 


580  MEXICAN  LAND  TITLES. 

and  issued  patents.  The  claims  which  were  not  men 
tioned  in  the  archives,  or  had  not  been  reduced  to 
possession,  might  properly  have  been  subjected  to 
judicial  inquiry."53  Crosby,  a  lawyer  who  took  part 
in  many  of  the  land  cases,  recommended  to  Senator 
Gwin  the  adoption  of  a  plan  providing  for  a  board  of 
registration  to  record  claims,  take  evidence,  and  turn 
over  each  case  as  soon  as  completed  to  the  surveyor- 
general  for  prompt  survey,  disputed  boundaries  to  be 
settled  by  arbitration,  the  survey  to  be  final,  and  a 
patent  to  be  issued  after  one  year  had  been  allowed  for 
interested  parties  to  present  their  claims  or  charges  of 
fraud  in  the  district  court.54  Henry  George,  the  op 
ponent  of  land  monopoly,  suggests  that  the  United 
States  might  well  have  confirmed  to  the  grant-holders 
a  certain  area  around  their  improvements,  "and  com 
pounded  for  the  rest  the  grants  called  for  by  the 
payment  of  a  certain  sum  per  acre,  turning  it  into 
the  public  domain."55  R.  C.  Hopkins,  keeper  of  the 
archives  throughout  the  period  of  litigation,  believes, 
like  Jones,  that  neither  the  distinguishing  between 
genuine  and  fraudulent  claims,  nor  the  fixing  of  the 
bounds  of  the  former,  would  have  presented  any  great 
difficulties  to  a  practical  man ;  and  he  thinks  that  the 
employment  of  such  men,  familiar  with  the  people, 
customs,  and  language  of  the  country — men  like 
Spence,  Hartnell,  Stearns,  or  Pablo  de  la  Guerra,  for 
instance — in  some  capacity  should  have  been  a  feature 
of  the  best  plan. 

™  HittelTs  Hist.  S.  F.,  sec.  89;  see  also  the  same  author's  Resources  of  Cal, 
article  in  Hesperian,  iv.  147-55;  and  many  articles  in  the  S.  F.  Alta  and 
other  papers.  H.  has  always  persistently  and  consistently  denounced  the 
land  law  as  opposed  to  the  true  interests  of  Cal.,  and  his  services  in  this 
respect  are  gracefully  acknowledged  by  Dr  Royce,  Squatter  Riot  at  Sac.,  who 
with  equal  earnestness  and  more  philosophy  has  taken  similar  views  of  the 
matter,  which  is  treated  by  him  more  ably  than  by  any  other  writer,  not  only 
in  the  article  cited,  but  in  his  California.  Did  space  permit  I  might  give 
many  and  long  quotations  of  different  authors  in  this  connection. 

54  Crosby's  Events  in  Cal,  MS.,  67-78.     This  writer  gives  a  clear  account 
of  the  whole  matter,  showing  in  clear  light  the  evils  resulting  .from  the  act 
of  '51 

55  George's  Our  Land  and  Land  Policy,  14-17.     This  author  gives  a  very 
fair  view  of  the  general  subject,  though  dwelling  particularly  on  the  bogus 
grants  and  swindling  operations. 


A  BETTER  WAY.  581 

Clearly  a  prompt  settlement  was  the  great  thing  to 
be  desired  for  all  interests,  much  more  important  than 
the  detection  of  a  few  petty  frauds;  and  the  whole 
matter  should  and  could  have  been  ended  in  five 
years  at  the  utmost;  most  of  the  claims  should  have 
been  confirmed,  surveyed,  and  patented  in  less  than 
three  years.  Litigation  should  have  been  confined  to 
a  few  test  cases;  seven  eighths  of  the  claims  should 
have  been  included  in  a  sweeping  confirmation  on 
general  principles;  and  the  expense  should  have  been 
borne  by  the  government.  Let  us  hope  that  the  time 
may  come  when  the  united  wisdom  of  the  nation  in 
congress  assembled  shall  equal  the  practical  common 
sense  of  the  average  business  firm,  and  the  honesty 
and  efficiency  of  officials  shall  equal  the  honesty  and 
efficiency  of  average  business  clerks;  then  shall  we 
have  four  times  the  justice  that  we  now  receive,  for 
one  fourth  of  the  cost. 


CHAPTER  XXL 

FILIBUSTERING. 
1850-1860. 

ATTRACTIONS  or  SPANISH  AMERICA  TO  UNPRINCIPLED  MEN  OF  THE  UNITED 
STATES — FILIBUSTERING  IN  TEXAS — THE  MOREHEAD  EXPEDITION  FROM 
CALIFORNIA  TO  MEXICO— FAILURE — CHARLES  DE  PINDRAY'S  EFFORTS 
AND  DEATH — RAOULX  DE  RAOUSSET-BOULBON'S  ATTEMPTS  AT  DESTRUC 
TION — CAPTURE  OF  HERMOSILLO  AND  RETURN  TO  SAN  FRANCISCO — 
TRIAL  OF  DEL  VALLE — RAOUSSET'S  DEATH  AT  GUAYMAS — WALKER'S 
OPERATIONS — REPUBLIC  OF  LOWER  CALIFORNIA — WALKER  IN  SONORA — 
WALKER  IN  NICARAGUA — His  EXECUTION  IN  HONDURAS — CRABB,  THE 
STOCKTON  LAWYER. 

THE  metallic  wealth  of  southern  and  central  Amer 
ica  was  the  magnet  which  drew  the  Spaniards  on  to 
seizure  and  spoliation.  This  was  conquest;  and  so 
rapidly  was  it  accomplished  that  their  Gallic  and 
Anglo-Saxon  neighbors  found  left  for  them  only  the 
meagre  remainder  in  the  outskirts.  Yet  resolved  to 
have  a  share  of  the  treasure,  they,  in  turn,  levied  on 
the  Iberians.  The  circumstances  under  which  this 
partition  was  effected  gave  rise  to  the  term  filibuster 
ing,  interpreted  as  piracy  by  the  sufferers,  and  soft 
ened  by  the  aggressors  into  freebooting  under  shadow 
of  prevailing  war.  With  the  march  of  progress  and 
settlement  the  chronic  yearning  for  Spanish  America 
on  the  part  of  the  United  States  increased ;  but  ris 
ing  above  the  vulgar  pillage  of  the  privateer,  it  cov 
eted  more  especially  the  land  with  its  resources  in  soil 
and  mineral  veins.  Austin  had  sampled  the  quality 
of  their  goodness  in  Texas,  and  pronouncing  it  delec 
table  ;  Houston  slipped  the  booty  into  the  union.  So 
rich  a  morsel  whetted  the  appetite  for  more.  Mexico 

(582) 


LAND  AND  GOLD.  583 

ventured  to  remonstrate,  and  was  mulcted  for  her 
temerity  in  the  map-revision  which  placed  California, 
New  Mexico,  and  the  intermediate  country  north  of  the 
boundary  line.  "Filibuster!"  cried  the  losers,  in  im 
potent  rage ;  and  flattered  by  the  revival  of  an  antique 
epithet  gilded  by  daring  achievements,  the  Gringo 
nodded  approval.1 

The  weakness  of  Mexico,  as  shown  by  the  United 
States  invasion  of  1846-7,  and  by  her  subsequent  an 
archic  succession  of  rulers  and  frequent  local  and  gen 
eral  revolutions,  served  to  call  attention  to  .a  condition 
favorable  to  a  further  adjustment  of  boundary.  This 
view  was  gaining  such  wide  recognition  as  to  enter 
into  party  speculation,  the  embryo  confederacy  adopt 
ing  it  as  a  compensating  means  for  the  failure  to  plant 
slavery  in  California.  Herein  lay  no  robbery  to  them. 
It  was  manifest  destiny  that  the  stars  and  stripes 
should  advance  with  culture  to  the  natural  limits  of 
the  Isthmus,  perchance  to  Tierra  del  Fuego. 

With  the  example  and  fame  of  Houston  before 
them,  prophets  rose  plentifully  to  enunciate  this  gos 
pel;  and  in  California  especially  these  expectant 
founders  of  states  met  with  eager  listeners.  It  was  a 
land  of  adventurers,  drawn  by  the  thirst  for  gold  and 
excitement,  and  stirred  by  a  reckless  gambling  spirit. 
The  cream  of  the  gold-field  had  apparently  been 
secured  by  the  first  comers,  for  the  following  hordes 
found,  instead  of  mere  skimming,  harder  work  than  had 
entered  into  their  calculation  or  mood.  A  large  pro 
portion  preferred  to  dream  of  virgin  sources  beyond 
the  usual  haunts,  to  distant  fields  enshrined  in  mystery. 
Their  eyes  turned  readily  to  Mexico,  the  mother 
country  of  California,  and  for  centuries  renowned  for 
her  mines.  Rumor  had  long  since  planted  gold  and 
silver  mountains  in  Sonora,  and  scattered  nuggets 
below  the  Gila  in  such  profusion  that  the  dreaded 
Apaches  moulded  from  them  their  bullets.  It  was  a 

1  See  Hist.  Cent.  Amer.,  ii.,  this  series,  for  origin  and  doings  of  the  fili 
busters. 


584  FILIBUSTERING. 

thirst  for  easy  and  sudden  acquisition  akin  to  the  rest 
lessness  inherited  from  the  western  backwoodsmen, 
who  were  ever  moving  onward  to  new  settlements. 

The  agitation  took  shape  in  1851.  After  various 
conflicting  reports,  which  at  one  time  fixed  upon  the 
Hawaiian  Islands  as  the  victim,2  then  fitted  out  a 
pirate  vessel  at  Sydney  to  intercept  the  gold  shipments 
by  way  of  Panama,3  attention  settled  upon  the  south 
ern  border,  where  constant  strife  held  out  the  tempta 
tion  to  daring  spirits  for  siding  with  some  faction,  and 
so  acquire  booty  if  not  foothold.  J.  C.  Morehead, 
during  the  preceding  year,  had  risen  into  notice  as  the 
leader  of  an  expedition  against  the  Yumas  under 
gubernatorial  appointment;  but  the  cloud  dispelled 
before  he  reached  the  scene.4  Still  thirsting  for  blood 
and  glory,  he  received  one  of  those  invitations  which 
rebel  leaders  in  Mexico  were  not  backward  in  extend 
ing,  though  slow  to  fulfil.  The  military  promenade 
to  Colorado,  having  served  to  point  out  to  his  follow 
ers  an  easier  and  more  alluring  method  of  earning 
money  than  by  hard  digging,  an  organization  was 
quickly  effected.  One  small  division  marched  by  way 
of  Los  Angeles  to  Sonora;  another  appeared  subse 
quently  at  La  Paz;  and  Morehead  himself  sailed  in 
May  with  a  company  for  Mazatlan.  A  proclamation 
issued  by  the  United  States  government  against  such 
movements  served  to  interfere  with  a  complete  enlist 
ment,  and  on  reaching  Mexico  the  broken  bands  found 
the  aspect  so  changed  or  unpromising  that  they  were 
glad  to  slink  away  under  the  guise  of  disappointed 
miners.5 

2  Sam  Brannan,  Estill,  and  others  had  made  suspicious  movements,  and 
the  king  of  the  Islands  gave  vent  to  his  alarm  in  a  speech  before  his  parlia 
ment,  in  appeals  to  the  U.  S.  commissioner,  and  in  taking  steps  for  defence. 
Alia  CaL,  May  15,  1852.     In  1854  two  persons  came  to  S.  F.  to  organize  an 
expedition,  to  which  the  attention  of  the  authorities  was  called,  but  nothing 
resulted.  U.  8.  Gov.  Doc.,  Cong.  33,  Sess.  2,  Sen.  Doc.  16,  vi.  101-2. 

3  White's  Stat.,  MS. 

*  As  mentioned  in  the  chapter  on  Indians. 

5  For  references  and  details,  see  Hist.  North  Mex.  States,  ii.,  under  Son.  and 
L.  Cal.  Morehead  narrowly  escaped  arrest  at  San  Diego.  Alto,  CaL,  May  17, 
1851.  The  Jefferson  Davis  clique  had  not  then  acquired  control  at  Washing 
ton. 


TOWARD  THE  SOUTH.  585 

Mexican  rebels  were  evidently  too  capricious  to  be 
relied  upon;  but  the  superior  government  itself  was 
at  this  time  presenting  inducements  for  seekers  after 
glory.  It  had  struggled  since  1848  to  establish  mili 
tary  colonies  for  guarding  the  frontier  against  Indians, 
as  well  as  the  neighboring  republic ;  yet  the  good  pay 
and  grants  of  land  failed  to  tempt  its  indolent  citizens 
from  congenial  home  surroundings  to  irksome  border 
duty.  Others  there  were,  however,  who  saw  herein 
a  stepping-stone  to  higher  levels.  Race  prejudice  ran 
wild  in  those  days  in  California,  and  Frenchmen  re 
ceived  a  share  of  the  ill  feeling  directed  against  His- 
pano- Americans,  or  greasers,6  so  that  hundreds  of 
them  were  driven  from  the  mines  to  earn  a  precarious 
subsistence  in  the  towns.7  Common  persecution  at 
tracted  them  toward  those  of  the  Latin  race,  and  to 
the  gilded  tales  of  the  border  region,  and  the  Mexi 
can  government  felt  encouraged  by  their  dislike  of 
the  United  States  to  accept  their  services  as  frontier 
colonists,  with  permission  to  open  mines.  Some  seven- 
score  accordingly  departed  at  the  close  of  1851  for 
Cocospera  Valley,  in  Sonora,  under  the  guidance  of 
Charles  de  Pindray,  a  reduced  French  nobleman.8 
As  might  have  been  expected,  the  sorely  harassed 
authorities  failed  to  keep  their  engagements,  and  the 
consequent  distress  produced  desertion,  accelerated 
by  the  sudden  and  suspicious  death  of  Pindray. 

The  dissatisfaction  among  the  French  with  their 
condition  in  California  was  too  great  to  be  eradicated 
by  one  check,  and  it  required  only  a  renewal  of  offers 
to  revive  the  Sonora  gold-fever  under  another  leader. 
This  personage  was  at  hand  in  Count  Gaston  Raoulx 
de  Raousset-Boulbon,  a  figure  of  somewhat  Lilliputian 
stature  and  reputation  as  compared  with  the  Apollo- 
Herculean  proportions  of  his  defunct  predecessor,  yet 
big  with  the  soaring  spirit  of  chivalry  infused  by  fam- 

e  Causes  and  outbreaks  related  in  the  chapter  on  mining  for  1849-56. 

7  Partly  from  ignorance  of  English,  and  of  any  useful  trade. 

8  An  Apollo-Hercules,  who  had  hunted  game  for  the  S.  F.  markets.     De 
tails  in  Id. 


586  FILIBUSTERING 

ily  tradition,9  and  with  an  ever-smouldering  enthusiasm 
to  carry  into  effect  the  glowing  fancies  of  his  day 
dreams,  which  pictured  him  another  Bayard  or  La 
fayette  on  the  path  to  military  achievements.  And 
it  must  be  confessed  that  nature  had  not  altogether 
neglected  him  for  the  r61e  at  least  of  figure-head  for 
some  romantic  enterprise. 

Although  rather*  petit  and  slender,  his  figure  was 
graceful,  with  a  handsome  oval  face  and  strongly 
marked  features  set  off  by  the  characteristic  French 
mustache  and  imperial,  of  blond  hue.  His  eyes,  bent 
in  dreamy  reverie  or  sunk  in  pessimist  gloom,  turned 
readily  into  fiery  resolution  or  flashed  in  accord  with 
an  imperious  gesture.  The  voice,  unaffectedly  com 
manding  or  animated  to  eloquence,  could  thrill  with 
encouragement  or  sway  with  charm  of  song  or  conver 
sation.  Skilled  with  pen  and  pencil,  his  verse  or  sketch 
shone  beside  the  sword  and  rifle,  and  he  managed  the 
bridle  with  grace  and  dash.  Although  sustained  by 
such  talents,  his  ambition  had  declined  under  the  prac 
tical  unfoldment  of  Europe  to  a  visionary  colonist 
undertaking  in  Algiers,  relieved  by  occasional  hunting 
tours  and  military  incursions.  It  was  an  existence 
forced  upon  him  by  a  season  of  extravagance  in  the 
giddy  whirls  of  Paris,  to  which  he  returned  only  to 
meet  another  worse  rebuff  in  the  political  turmoils  of 
1848,  as  editor  and  republican  candidate.  Crushed 
both  in  aspirations  and  fortune,  he  availed  himself  of 
the  gold  excitement  to  join  the  hegira  to  California, 
and  here  penniless  he  sank  from  hunter  and  miner  to 
laborer,  yet  clinging  to  the  hope  of  some  higher  destiny. 

The  undertaking  of  Pindray  had  not  failed  to  kindle 
his  imagination.  With  the  advice  of  the  French  con 
sul  he  repaired  to  Mexico,  where  similar  colonizing 
schemes  had  been  long  agitated.  He  assisted  in  giving 
shape  to  the  Restauradora  Mining  Company,  under 
patronage  of  President  Arista,  for  opening  neglected 
fields  in  northern  Sonora,  and  arranged  to  bring  a 

9  He  was  born  at  Avignon  in  1817,  of  a  decayed  province  family. 


RAOUSSET'S  EXPEDITION.  587 

body  of  French  to  protect  the  operations  of  Mexican 
colonists  against  the  Apaches,  in  consideration  of  re 
ceiving  ammunition  and  supplies,  half  of  all  land  and 
mines  and  trading  profits.  So  alluring  an  offer  quickly 
brought  a  host  of  recruits  at  San  Francisco.  He 

o 

selected  260  men,  and  with  them  arrived  at  Guaymas 
in  June  1852.10 

The  prospect  held  forth  in  the  project  had  mean 
while  brought  another  mining  company  into  the  field, 
whose  intrigues  roused  the  jealousy  of  the  Mexican 
officials  and  army  men  against  the  entry  of  an  indepen 
dent  foreign  command.  Denounced  as  an  intruder, 
Raousset  found  every  possible  obstacle  thrown  in  his 
way,  notwithstanding  the  ostensible  sanction  of  his 
contract  by  the  federal  authorities.  He  nevertheless 
forced  his  way  toward  the  frontier,  but  with  supplies 
cut  off  and  rear  threatened,  he  saw  that  his  party 
would  soon  melt  away.  The  colonization  plan  mat 
tered  little  to  him,  save  as  a  means  to  obtain  for  him 
self  the  proud  distinction  of  a  commander  ;  and  finding 
himself  at  the  head  of  so  large  a  body,  composed  to  a 
large  extent  of  old  soldiers,  the  half-curbed  ambition 
of  the  little  count  began  to  assert  itself  for  feats  more 
in  accord  with  his  dreams  than  garrison  duty  among 
red-skins.  What  might  have  been  his  course  if  the 
authorities  had  kept  faith  with  him  can  only  be  con 
jectured.  The  lack  of  faith  on  the  part  of  the  Mexicans 
justified  almost  any  step;  and  his  desire  was  fanned 
into  a  flame  by  the  vague  promise  of  support  from 
some  of  the  frontier  settlers,  who  were  disaffected  on 
account  of  the  neglect  of  the  authorities  to  protect 
them  against  savage  raids. 

He  despatched  agents  to  San  Francisco  and  Maza- 
tlan  for  stores  and  reinforcements,  and  marched  south 
with  his  now  ragged  brigade  of  250  men,  intending  to 
surprise  Hermosillo,  the  most  important  town  of  So- 

10  In  the  Archibakl  Grade,  the  Mexican  consul  assisted  to  overrule  the  ob 
jections  of  the  U.  S.  officials.  Americans  were  as  a  rule  excluded  to  humor 
Mexican  prejudices. 


588  FILIBUSTERING. 

nora,  and  there  dictate  demands  for  justice,  though 
really  to  prepare  for  the  independence  of  the  state, 
sustained  by  the  expected  immigration  and  revolu 
tionary  factions.  A  love  affair  delayed  him,  and 
enabled  General  Blanco  to  occupy  Hermosillo  with 
1,000  men.  Nothing  daunted,  the  fiery  Frenchman 
led  his  followers  to  the  assault,  and  with  the  aid  of 
four  guns  carried  the  place,  on  October  14th.11  The 
triumph  proved  fruitless,  however.  The  Mexicans 
were  not  prepared  to  yield  their  place  to  foreigners. 
The  proposed  allies  held  aloof,  and  an  outcry  concern 
ing  foreign  annexation  served  to  unite  hitherto  hostile 
factions  against  him.  The  only  hope  of  the  French 
lay  in  reinforcements ;  and  while  awaiting  them  it 
became  necessary  to  retire  from  the  midst  of  the 
gathering  Mexicans  to  the  safer  shelter  of  Port  Guay- 
mas.  Then  Raousset  fell  sick  with  climatic  fever, 
and  discord  broke  out  among  his  followers,  of  which 
the  authorities  took  advantage  to  persuade  them  to 
deliver  up  their  arms  for  a  small  consideration  and 
depart. 

Raousset,  who  had  been  no  real  party  to  the  sur 
render,  returned  to  San  Francisco  to  receive  the  most 
flattering  recognition  as  the  victor  of  Hermosillo. 
The  speed  with  which  he  had  wrested  the  chief  town 
from  the  military  forces  of  the  state  confirmed  the 
belief  that  an  invasion  could  be  easily  effected,  and  the 
enthusiasm  roused  by  his  feats  gave  promise  of  ready 
material  for  a  repetition  of  the  enterprise,  while  the 
custom-house  at  Guaymas  was  expected  to  provide 
ample  means.  On  repairing  to  Mexico  in  the  middle 
of  1853  to  claim  indemnity  on  the  broken  contract, 
though  more  properly  to  seek  aid  and  pretexts  for 
fresh  plans,  he  found  his  old  patrons  favorably  dis 
posed,  and  the  French  minister  seemed  prepared  to 
foster  a  project  that  might  lead  to  great  ends.  France 
was  then  striving  for  a  revival  of  Napoleonic  glories, 
with  a  predilection  for  colonial  conquests  as  exhibited 

11  At  a  cost  to  himself  of  17  killed  and  25  wounded. 


DIVERSE  AMBITIONS.  589 

in  the  subsequent  expedition  to  Mexico.  Dictator 
Santa  Anna  failed,  however,  to  grant  any  concessions, 
while  delaying  the  count  with  idle  promises,  until 
Rousset  in  exasperation  formed  a  league  with  the 
federalist  rebels,  and  hastened  away  thirsting  for  ven 
geance.12 

At  San  Francisco,  also,  he  found  himself  checked 
by  the  American  rival  scheme  under  Walker,  whose 
influential  supporters  at  Washington  induced  the 
authorities  to  exert  a  watchful  interference  upon  any 
disturbing  French  movements.  Startled  by  the  dou 
ble  design,  and  especially  by  Walker's  projects,  Santa 
Anna  sought  to  counteract  both  by  instructing  the 
Mexican  consul  at  San  Francisco  to  step  in  and  en 
gage  for  Mexican  service  the  most  likely  filibuster 
material,  except  American,  with  a  view  to  scatter  it 
in  small  and  readily  controllable  groups  in  the  coast 
states.13  Not  aware  of  the  latter  intention,  Raousset 
was  elated  at  the  unexpected  aid  extended  to  his 
plans  by  the  Mexican  government  itself,  in  offering 
passage  and  support  to  his  followers.  About  600  were 
quickly  enrolled,  and  packed  on  board  the  Challenge 
in  one  body,  by  the  blundering  consul.  Regarding 
this  manoeuvre  as  directed  mainly  against  themselves, 
the  Walker  party  stirred  the  authorities  that  they 
might  realize  the  enormity  of  so  flagrant  a  violation 
of  the  neutrality  laws,  and  the  Challenge  was  seized 
in  March  1854. 

For  some  reason  the  vessel  was  released  and  allowed 
to  proceed  early  in  April,  although  with  her  passen 
gers  reduced  in  accordance  with  the  tonnage  act  to 
not  quite  400,  mostly  French,  of  a  motley  descrip 
tion,  with  some  Irish  and  Germans.14  The  oppor- 

12  He  obtained  at  S.  F.  offers  of  substantial  aid,  which  were  withdrawn 
when  news  came  of  the  Gadsden  purchase,  with  rumors  affecting  the  cession 
of  Sonora. 

13  The  terms  were  $1  a  day,  with  rations,  arms,  election  of  their  own  officers, 
and  aid  to  settle  as  colonists  after  expiration  of  the  year's  service. 

14  A  ltd  Cal,  Mar.  22-3,  Apr.  1-2.    The  reason  for  the  release  may  be  sought 
in  the  glaring  discrimination  exhibited  shortly  before  in  favor  of  Walker's 
enlistments,  and  in  the  harmless  character  of  the  party. 


590  FILIBUSTERING. 

tunity  herein  presented,  however,  of  teaching  the 
Mexicans  a  lesson,  was  too  good  to  be  lost.  Their 
government  had  lately  complained  with  justice  against 
the  United  States  for  countenancing  filibuster  enrol 
ments.  All  responsibility  could  now  be  thrown  off 
by  arraigning  their  consul,  Del  Valle,  for  a  similar 
infringement  of  the  neutrality  laws.  He  was  accord 
ingly  arrested  and  pronounced  guilty.  During  the 
trial  both  sides  demanded  the  testimony  of  P.  Dillon, 
the  French  consul.  A  recent  convention  with  France 
forbidding  any  compulsory  citation,  a  mere  polite  re 
quest  was  made  for  his  attendance,  yet,  on  refusing, 
he  was  forcibly  brought  into  court,15  whereupon  he 
indignantly  struck  his  flag.  He  was  soon  after 
arrested  as  an  abettor  of  Del  Yalle's  enlistment; 
but  as  the  defence  showed  the  expedition  to  be  the 
very  opposite  of  a  filibustering  affair,  one  aiming  to 
check  such  movements,  the  jury  disagreed.16  The 
difficulty  and  danger  of  convicting  the  French  consul 
naturally 'affected  his  confrere,  and  so  the  better  course 
was  taken  to  impress  upon  the  Mexicans  the  magna 
nimity  of  the  United  States  by  dismissing  the  case 
against  both.  Due  apology  being  tendered,  the  tri 
color  was  once  more  floated  on  the  breeze. 

Raousset  had  arranged  with  the  Challenge  party  to 
follow  them  with  more  men;  but  the  discomfiture  just 
then  of  Walker  dampened  the  ardor  of  his  adherents. 
Yet  his  only  hope  lay  in  Sonora,  and  so  he  slipped 
away  in  a  pilot-boat,17  reaching  Guaymas  July  1st, 
after  a  severe  voyage.  The  sweets  of  power  and 
profitable  idleness  had  by  this  time  imbued  the  com- 

15  The  judge  decided  that  compulsion  was  not  permissible. 

16  May  26th,  all  but  two  stood  for  conviction  on  the  ground  that  any  en 
listment  for  military  purposes  was  against  the  law.     Full  report  of  proceed 
ings  in  U.  S.  Govt  Doc.,  Cong.  35,  Sess.  1,  H.  Ex.  Doc.  88,  x.  134-51;  Alta 
Cal,  April  to  May,  June  1,  July  14,  1854;  Dec.  3,  1855;  S.  F.  Herald,  April 
1  et  seq.,  June  1,  1854;  Gal.  Chronicle,  June  1,   1854;  Annals  S.  F.,  531-5; 
S.  F.  Post,  Sept.  7,  1878.     Dillon  was  in  1856  promoted  to  consul-general  and 
charge  d'affaires  at  Santo  Domingo,  and  died  there  soon  after.  S.  F.  Bulletin, 
May  7,  1856. 

17  The  Belle,  with  six  men  and  nearly  200  rifles.     The  prospect  of  being 
involved  in  the  consular  trial  hastened  his  departure. 


DEFEAT  AND  DEATH.  691 

manders  of  the  party  with  a  distaste  for  hazardous 
enterprise,  and  rather  than  surrender  their  office  to 
another  they  would  play  into  the  hands  of  General 
Yanez,  the  new  military  chief  of  Sonora.  Aware, 
on  the  other  hand,  that  in  unity  lay  their  only  safety 
and  means  for  enforcing  the  favorable  contract  with 
the  government,  they  had  sturdily  resisted  the  efforts 
to  separate  them,  especially  after  Walker's  failure 
diminished  the  filibuster  scare.  Raousset  was  led  to 
believe  that  Yanez  stood  prepared  to  break  with  Santa 
Anna,  and  would  be  glad  to  form  an  advantageous 
alliance.  The  general  certainly  desired  to  strengthen 
his  position  for  the  prospective  political  changes,  and 
seeing  in  the  French  complication  a  justifiable  reason 
for  doing  so,  he  entered  into  the  negotiation  to  gain 
time  for  the  reenforcements.  And  so  the  count  allowed 
himself  to  be  outwitted  by  both  parties,  and  lose  the 
favorable  opportunity  of  securing  at  least  Guaymas, 
with  its  valuable  custom-house  and  vessels.  The 
gathering  troops  at  length  opened  his  eyes.  The 
French  battalion  also  perceived  their  error,  and  that 
in  resolute  action  alone  lay  the  remedy.  Confident 
in  his  strength,  Yanez  cast  aside  the  mask,  and  refused 
to  entertain  any  proposals,  whereupon  the  French 
inarched  against  his  barracks  in  three  columns.18 

With  harmonious  cooperation,  under  the  inspiring 
guidance  of  Raousset,  the  attack  had  many  prospects 
for  success ;  but  he  committed  the  mistake  of  declining 
the  command  in  order  to  allay  the  jealousy  of  the 
existing  leader's  clique.  The  result  was,  that  the  main 
column  was  demoralized  by  the  first  sweeping  fire  of 
the  Mexicans.  The  disorder  spread,  leaving  Raousset 
with  only  a  handful  of  supporters,  whose  heroic  efforts 
were  wasted.  A  portion  had  fled  to  a  vessel,  which 
overtaken  by  a  storm  buried  their  shame  beneath  the 
waters  of  the  gulf.  The  rest  fell  back  to  the  consulate 
before  the  now  advancing  garrison,  there  to  surrender 

18  In  four  companies,  of  about  75  men  each,  swelled  by  French  residents 
to  about  350  in  all. 


592  FILIBUSTERING. 

with  the  concession  barely  of  life.  With  the  excep 
tion  of  a  few,  who  were  allowed  to  depart  or  join  the 
army,  they  were  thereupon  sent  into  the  interior  to 
endure  great  suffering  ere  the  French  minister  ob 
tained  their  release.19 

The  vague  terms  of  the  capitulation  were  ignored 
as  regards  Raousset,  and  he  was  condemned  by  court- 
martial,  and  shot  on  August  12th,  a  month  after  the 
battle.  He  lacked  clearness  of  head,  tact  and  prudence 
for  carrying  out  the  projects  conceived  by  an  exalted 
ambition.  Dash  and  fervor,  name  and  personal  attrac 
tions,  were  not  sufficient  to  sustain  them.  His  pur 
poses  were  thwarted  by  a  fitful,  misdirected  energy ; 
personal  indulgence  was  permitted  to  imperil  the  vic 
tory  at  Hermosillo,  and  lack  of  firmness  and  prompt 
action  lost  to  him  the  advantage  gained  thereby,  as 
it  did  the  ready  triumph  at  Guaymas.  The  petty 
schemes  to  which  his  high  dreams  dwindled  demanded 
for  success  the  same  unscrupulous  keenness  used  by 
intriguing  rivals  and  opponents,  rather  than  his  some 
what  rigid  principles  of  honor.  They  appeared  out  of 
place  in  this  ferment,  save  to  impart  a  redeeming  lustre 
to  his  character.20  Discouraged  by  repeated  failures, 
he  rather  courted  death,  and  met  it  with  the  proud 
fortitude  of  one  whose  vanity  was  flattered  by  the 
sympathetic  admiration,  especially  of  the  Mexican 
women,  and  whose  erratic  imagination  sought  through 
the  bullets  consecration  as  the  martyr  of  a  great  cause, 
as  an  heroic  if  unsuccessful  liberator. 

The  possession  of  some  of  the  qualities  lacking  in 
the  French  count  enabled  a  contemporary  American 
filibuster  to  attain  to  far  greater  achievements  and 
distinction.  We  instinctively  connect  the  leadership 
of  a  great  enterprise  or  party  with  a  man  of  com- 

19  For  details  concerning  the  expedition,  I  refer  to  Hist.  North  Mex.,  ii.,  this 
series,  with  references  to  the  authorities. 

20  He  could  have  saved  himself  had  he  chosen  to  desert  his  companion;  and 
he  might  have  secured  many  advantages  at  Mexico  by  considering  only  him 
self. 


WILLIAM  WALKER.  593 

manding  presence  to  supplement  that  personal  mag 
netism  which  commands  followers.  But  Raousset 
was  diminutive,  and  in  the  Tennessee  lawyer,  William 
Walker,  the  ideal  is  marred  by  a  still  more  puny  stat 
ure,  and  an  unprepossessing  exterior,  marked  by  light 
towy  hair,  and  a  heavy  freckled  face,  surmounted  for 
a  long  time  by  a  huge  white  fur  hat  with  a  wavy  nap, 
well  in  accord  with  the  strapless  pantaloons,  ill-fitting 
coat,  and  stalking  gait.21  A  relieving  feature  was  the 
seemingly  pupilless  gray  eyes,  their  large  orbits,  half 
concealed  by  white  eyebrows  and  lashes,  at  once 
repelling  and  fascinating  with  their  strong,  steady 
penetration.22  While  reflecting  none  of  the  emotions 
working  within  the  little  man,  their  icy  stare  indicated 
only  too  plainly  the  unscrupulous  nature  to  which 
everything  was  subordinated.  His  reserve  melted 
not  even  in  genial  company  from  the  stolid  indiffer 
ence  which  deepened  into  absolute  heartlessness. 
Slow  of  speech,  swift  in  energy,  with  a  sharp  pen 
ever  ready  for  attack ;  brave  and  resolute  to  obstinacy ; 
a  slumbering  volcano,  repellant  save  in  its  snow- 
fringed  deception,  and  burning  with  ambition  for  a 
fame  of  wide  range — herein  lies  an  explanation  why 
he  abandoned  the  sedate  medical  path  staked  out  for 
him,  to  enter  the  more  seductive  mazes  of  the  law, 
and  failing,  to  seek  as  editor  a  vent  for  his  pent-up 
aggressiveness. 23 

The  French  operations  in  Sonora  had  served  to  rouse 
the  similar  slumbering  projects  among  the  Americans, 
even  in  distant  Washington,  where  it  took  shape  in 
the  Gadsden's  purchase  of  the  Gila  region.  And 
many  men,  with  nothing  to  lose  save  life,  stood 
ready  to  risk  it  for  a  possible  fortune  and  the  attendant 
excitement.  Walker  saw  an  opportunity ;  and  follow- 

21  Warren  believed  that  he  could  not  have  turned  the  scales  at  100  Ibs. 
His  unprepossessing  *  appearance  was  that  of  anything  else  than*  a  military 
chieftain.'  Dust  and  Foam,  211-12. 

22  'The  keen,  sharp  flash  of  broken  steel  in  the  sun,'  says  the  poet  Miller. 
23 Birth  and  early  career  have  been  touched  in  Hist.  Cent.  Am.,  iii.,  and 

Hist.  North.  Mex.,  ii.,  this  series;  also  Field's  Remin.,  93;  Bowmans  News 
paper  Matter,  MS.,  33. 

HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.    38 


594  FILIBUSTERING. 

ing  the  cue  already  given,  he  sought  at  Guayrnas,  in 
the  summer  of  1853,  a  grant  for  a  military  frontier 
colony  against  the  Indians;  but  the  government 
shrank  in  distrust  before  an  offer  so  singularly  dis 
interested.  The  sheep-clothing  could  not  hide  the 
wolf.  Unabashed  by  the  termination  of  his  farce,  he 
returned  to  San  Francisco,  determined  that  the  state 
should  have  his  protection  whether  it  willed  or  not. 
If  Mexico  could  not  shield  Sonora  from  cruel  savages, 
then  must  humanity  step  in.  The  United  States  had 
neglected  its  pledge  to  restrain  the  red-skins,  and 
Walker  felt  bound  to  interpose  in  behalf  of  his  coun 
try's  honor.  Raousset's  renewed  efforts  gave  spur 
to  his  own.  Eager  to  forestall  him,  and  profit  by  the 
enthusiasm  which  his  contracts  and  victories  had 
tended  to  rouse,  he  opened  a  recruiting  office,  baited 
with  prospective  plunder,  and  the  offer  of  a  square 
league  of  land  for  each  man.  A  large  number  took 
the  bait,  and  still  another  host  of  passive  participants 
nibbled  at  the  scrip,  which,  representing  land  in  the 
prospective  republic,  was  freely  tendered  at  a  liberal 
discount.  Money  was  plentiful  in  those  days,  and 
the  investment  appeared  as  an  attractive  lottery,  with 
perchance  some  prize  to  be  drawn  from  out  the  bat 
tles.  It  was  argued  that  the  uprising  in  one  section 
might  induce  neighboring  states  to  join  for  eventual 
absorption  in  the  union ;  the  war  in  itself  to  prove  a 
strong  appeal  for  United  States  interference,  if  only 
to  stop  bloodshed.24 

The  brig  Arrow  was  now  chartered  for  the  proposed 
colonists,  and  provided  with  stores  and  a  generous 
quantity  of  rifles  and  six-shooters  wherewith  to  de 
velop  the  resources  of  the  country.  The  military 
commander  in  California  at  this  period  was  General 
Hitchcock,  a  man  so  blind  to  the  weather-vane  of 
political  exigencies  as  not  to  understand  the  value  of 

24 '  They  intend  to  arm  the  Apaches  against  us,' cries  one  journal.  Sono- 
rense,  March  28,  1851.  For  additional  details  on  this  expedition,  I  refer  to  my 
Hist.  North  Mex.,  ii.,  this  series. 


SAILING  FROM  SAN  FRANCISCO.  595 

Walker's  implements  for  industrial  unfoldment,  nor  to 
perceive  his  right  to  distribute  the  lands  of  a  friendly 
neighbor.  He  accordingly  undertook  to  seize  the 
vessel,  only  to  discover  his  mistake  when  other  wiser 
officials  caused  it  to  be  released,  and  when  General 
Wool  was  sent  to  replace  him,  with  headquarters 
planted  at  Bcnicia  in  order  to  allow  freer  play  to  the 
champions  of  enterprise.  It  is  sufficient  to  point  out 
that  Jefferson  Davis  was  secretary  of  war  at  the  time, 
and  that  the  Gadsden  purchase  was  then  under  con 
sideration,  in  order  to  guess  at  the  complications  apt 
to  arise  from  a  successful  revolution  in  the  border 
states.25 

Meanwhile  Walker  slipped  away  in  another  vessel, 
the  Caroline,  during  the  night  of  October  16th,  with 
four  dozen  followers,  leaving  reinforcements  to  follow. 
Guaymas  was  the  announced  destination,  perhaps  to 
mislead  the  enemy,  which,  indeed,  made  formidable 
preparations  in  Sonora.  The  smallness  of  the  party 
precluded  hope  in  this  direction;  and  as  future  enlist 
ments  and  credit  depended  on  early  successes,  the 
isolated  and  weaker  Lower  California  was  selected  for 
the  initial  point.  On  November  3d  the  vessel  crept 
into  La  Paz  under  cover  of  a  Mexican  flag,  and  find 
ing  all  unsuspiciously  quiet,  Walker  pounced  upon  it, 
seized  the  governor,  and  gained  possession  without 
firing  a  gun.20  No  less  mighty  with  the  pen  than  the 
sword,  he  thereupon  proclaimed  the  Republic  of  Lower 
California,  distributing  official  honors  among  his  band 
with  lavish  generosity.  After  thus  conferring  sover 
eign  independence  upon  the  people,  he  further  sought 
to  please  them  by  abolishing  the  heavy  duties  under 
which  they  had  so  long  been  groaning,  a  double  bait 
to  cover  the  barb  contained  in  the  adoption  of  the  code 

25  Mexican  officials  protested  as  late  as  Jan.  1854,  and  were  assured  by 
Hitchcock  that  the  government  was  seeking  to  check  the  Walker  movement; 
but  as  it  failed,  Mexico  undertook  to  do  so,  with  the  result  that  their  consul 
was  arrested,  as  explained.  As  late  as  Aug.  1854  Wool  was  instructed  not 
to  anticipate  OK  interfere  with  the  civil  authorities  in  cases  of  unlawful  ex 
peditions.  U.  S.  Gov.  Doc.,  Cong.  33,  Sess.  2,  Sen.  Doc.  16,  vi.  102. 

a6  A  new  rjovernor  arriving  just  then  wad  also  secured. 


596  FILIBUSTERING. 

of  Louisiana  for  a  constitution.  The  publication  of 
the  text  was  wisely  deferred,  lest  the  Mexicans,  with 
their  democratic  instincts  and  admixture  of  negro 
blood,  should  shrink  before  its  revolting  slavery 
clauses.  Although  little  concerned  at  the  nature  of 
his  measures,  so  that  they  served  his  purpose,  Walker 
based  his  advocacy  of  slavery  on  lofty  grounds,  as  a 
missionary  scheme  for  civilizing  the  blacks,  while  as 
sisting  to  liberate  the  whites  from  degrading  manual 
labor. 

The  prestige  acquired  at  La  Paz  had  to  be  pre 
served;  and  as  it  might  at  any  moment  be  dimmed 
by  a  detachment  from  the  other  side  the  bay,  the  fili 
busters  resolved  to  seek  a  still  safer  base  for  opera 
tions.  Their  preparations  for  departure  so  fired  the 
patriotism  of  the  Mexicans  that  the  entire  town  rose 
in  lively  chase  of  some  stragglers.  Walker  promptly 
turned  his  guns  upon  them  and  landed  to  the  rescue, 
whereupon  the  natives  retired,  with  some  casualties, 
it  is  claimed.  Thus  was  the  liberator's  expedition  bap 
tized  in  blood,  in  the  glorious  battle  of  La  Paz.27 

A  few  days  later  the  party  appeared  at  Todos 
Santos  Bay,  the  new  headquarters,  whose  desert  sur 
roundings  and  paucity  of  inhabitants  promised  to  be 
safeguards  against  molestation,  while  the  proximity 
to  the  United  States  frontier  must  serve  to  inspire 
greater  confidence  for  the  invasion  of  Soriora.  Un 
fortunately  the  scanty  population  centred  in  a  mili 
tary  colony  whose  destitution  had  infused  a  desperate 
courage  into  an  otherwise  harmless  soldiery,  and  find 
ing  the  rancho  stock  to  be  rapidly  disappearing  under 
the  appetite  of  American  foragers,  their  stomachs 
filed  a  stimulating  protest.  The  result  was  a  series  of 
harassing  attacks,  abetted  by  the  rancheros,  whose 
stolid  comprehension  could  not  grasp  the  advantage 
of  exchanging  insecure,  elusive  property  like  roaming 
cattle  for  the  title  deeds  to  fixed  landed  estates  offered 

27  The  Mexicans  also  claimed  the  victory,  pointing  in  proof  to  the  hurried 
departure  of  the  invaders. 


WALKER'S  EXPEDITION. 


597 


r  wfi 

m    *     Cv 

l*,.S..,,,,T,iA  "S.JoseVJy 

X     Purisiinao    ,   <   \ 


LOWER  CALIFORNIA. 


598  FILIBUSTERIKG. 

by  Walker's   band.28     But   reinforcements   were   at 
hand. 

The  victory  at  La  Paz  had  roused  wide  enthusiasm 
at  San  Francisco.  Her  editors  extended  their  wel 
come  to  the  new  republic  into  the  sisterhood  of  states,29 
and  her  vagabond  population  offered  their  aid  to  build 
its  fortunes.  Indeed,  H.  P.  Watkins,30  vice-president 
of  Walker's  republic,  quickly  enrolled  some  300  of  the 
claimants  for  glory  and  plunder  in  Colorado  desert,31 
and  despatched  them  in  the  middle  of  December  to 
Todos  Santos,  greatly  to  the  relief  of  the  criminal 
calendar.  Walker  now  began  to  drill  and  forage  for 
the  march  into  Sonora,  to  which  the  peninsula  was 
formally  united  under  the  title  of  Republic  of  Sonora. 
But  discontent  was  already  spreading.  To  the  new 
comers  had  been  pictured  rich  churches  and  well- 
stocked  haciendas,  inviting  to  pillage  and  plenty. 
They  found  instead  only  arid  ranges  with  a  few  mud 
huts,  and  with  scant  rations  of  corn  and  jerked  beef, 
which  were  not  calculated  to  cheer  the  flagging  spirit 
for  a  tramp  through  the  wilderness  to  face  the  lines 
of  bayonets  beyond.  Lash  and  even  executions  availed 
not,  and  when,  after  a  suicidal  delay  of  three  months, 
the  start  was  made,  in  the  latter  half  of  March,  barely 
100  men  fell  into  line.  A  week's  journey  through  the 
desert,  while  at  their  heels  hovered  the  Cocopas,  who 
sniffed  their  beeves,  served  to  dispel  among  the  rest 
all  lust  for  the  spoils  of  Sonora.  On  reaching  the 
Colorado  River  only  35  ragged  liberators  remained, 
chiefly  ministers  and  other  high  officials  who  were 
loath  to  relinquish  the  glittering  titles  that  placed  them 
above  common  men.  Before  such  a  series  of  reverses 
the  ardor  of  Walker  himself  had  to  yield,  and  he 

28  The  captive  governors  availed  themselves  of  the  turmoil  to  bribe  the 
captain  of  the  vessel  to  slip  away  with  them. 

"AUaCal,  Dec.  8,  1853. 

39  Walker's  law  partner  at  Marysville,  dubbed  colonel. 

31  Later  enlistment  notices  in  Alta  CaL,  Jan.  3,  Feb.  1,  1854.  At  Sonora 
the  hot-bed  for  rowdies,  an  enthusiastic  meeting  was  held  on  Jan.  17th,  Baird, 
Walker's  quartermaster,  and  others  making  stirring  speeches  in  behalf  of 
liberty  and  humanity  in  the  namesake  state.  The  bark  A  nita  left  Dec.  13, 
1853,  with  230.  Others  took  the  steamer  to  San  Diego. 


DOWNFALL  OF  THE  REPUBLICS.  599 

turned  to  rejoin  the  handful  left  behind  to  hold  the 
country.  Encouraged  by  the  waning  strength  of  the 
foe,  soldiers  and  settlers  gathered  with  fresh  zeal  for 
the  fray,  and  gave  impulse  to  the  retreating  steps  of 
the  filibusters.  At  the  frontier  the  harassed  strag- 

flers  were  met  by  United  States  army  men,  who,  on 
lay  8,   1854,  took  their  parole  as  prisoners  of  war 
with  unwonted  consideration,  and  provided  them  with 
free  passage  to  San  Francisco.     Walker  was  arraigned 
for  infringing  the  neutrality  laws,  and  acquitted.32 

Although  the  verdict  was  manifested  by  a  defeat  of 
justice,  the  public  as  a  rule  approved  it.  The  expedi 
tion,  once  so  lauded,  was  already  branded  as  a  piratical 
raid,  and  the  cause  of  humanity  had  passed  into  a  joke ; 
yet  a  flattering  conceit  hovered  round  the  grandeur  of 
the  plan  and  the  daring  of  the  enterprise,  which  served 
to  wreathe  the  leaders  at  least  with  a  halo  of  romance. 

Walker  passed  out  of  sight  for  a  time  within  an 
editorial  sanctum;33  but  his  fame  had  gone  abroad,  and 
his  busy  pen  propped  it  assiduously  in  correspondence 
with  Spanish  America.  His  reputation  as  an  able  and 
brave  leader,  with  influence  for  rallying  adherents, 
perchance  with  official  backing,  had  floated  on  swelling 
rumor  to  distant  Nicaragua,  where  the  Granada  and 
Leonese  factions  were  then  busily  squandering  blood 
and  treasure  in  the  strife  for  power.  The  Leonese, 
being  defeated,  looked  around  for  aid,  and  bethought 
themselves  of  the  little  California  editor.  The  longed- 
for  opportunity  had  come.  Casting  aside  the  quill, 
he  hastily  enrolled  threescore  choice  comrades,  and 
stole  away  in  the  Vesta  on  May  3,  1855.3*  His  career 

32  Assisted  by  the  well-calculated  failure  of  the  consular  trial  just  ended. 
Watkins  and  Emory  had  been  arrested  shortly  before  for  enlisting  men,  and 
fined  $1,500  each,  but  the  sentence  was  never  enforced.     Watkins,  pioneer  of 
Marys ville,  represented  Yuba  in  the  state  senate  in  1858,  and  died  at  Oak 
land,  Dec.  28,  1872,  age  53.  Marysville  Appeal,  Jan.  4,  1873;  Alameda  Gaz., 
Dec.  27,  1873;  Cohua  Sun,  Apr.  11,  1874;  Alta  CaL,  June  3,  16,  Oct.  13-20, 
1854. 

33  Alta  CaL,  June  16,  1854. 

34  The  sheriff  had  laid  an  embargo  for  a  heavy  grocer  bill,  but  his  deputy 
was  made  captive  till  the  vessel  reached  the  high  seas.     Others  followed  in 


600  FILIBUSTERING. 

after  this  is  better  known  to  the  world  than  the  fiasco 
in  Lower  California.  His  skill  and  energy  turned  the 
scale  in  favor  of  his  allies,  who  rewarded  him  with 
the  position  of  generalissimo.  Success  brought  more 
personal  adherents  to  his  banners,  and  fired  with  am 
bition,  he  vaulted  into  the  presidential  chair,  changing 
religion  to  court  the  masses.  Casting  prudence  to  the 
winds,  he  perpetrated  one  outrage  after  another,  till 
the  exasperated  natives  rose  to  expel  him  in  1857. 
During  the  subsequent  futile  efforts  to  regain  a  foot 
hold,  he  visited  California  to  cast  his  nets  for  means,35 
but  failed  to  gain  any  sympathy,  and  his  execution  in 
Honduras  in  1860  evoked  not  a  ripple  of  regret.36 

In  Lower  California  circumstances  were  against  him, 
although  the  long  delay  at  Todos  Santos  detracts  from 
his  otherwise  resolute  promptness.  In  Nicaragua  his 
own  heedlessness,  as  in  rousing  the  enmity  of  the  in 
fluential  navigation  company,  and  in  forcing  a  needless 
and  repelling  slavery  act  upon  the  people,  served  to 
cut  short  a  career  which  might  otherwise  have  borne 
him  to  the  summit  of  his  ambition.  His  skill  as  a 
projector  and  commander  were  shackled  by  unreason 
able  obstinacy,  tinged  with  a  fatalistic  belief  in  his 
high  destiny  as  a  liberator  and  standard-bearer  for  the 
United  States.  His  cold  unscrupulousness  withheld 
admiration,  and  divested  him  of  the  romantic  glamour 
which  infolds  the  less  important  achievements  of  the 
gallant  Raousset-Boulbon.  And  so  the  brilliant  ef 
forts  which  might  have  taken  rank  with  those  of  a 
Houston  sank  under  the  aspect  of  indifference  to 
freebooting  schemes,  and  the  gray-eyed  man  of  destiny 
dwells  in  memory  as  a  pirate. 

the  steamer,  under  the  guise  of  through  passengers  for  the  eastern  states. 
They  entered  under  a  contract  for  men  and  arms  transferred  to  Walker  by 
an  American  of  Nic. 

36  His  silence  while  at  S.  F.  in  March  1859  augured  new  schemes,  and  a 
Vessel  in  the  harbor  attracted  suspicion.  His  old  partner,  Henningsen,  was 
then  enlisting  men  in  the  east  for  Arizona.  S.  F.  Bulletin,  March  31,  1859;  8. 
F.  Post,  Jan.  11,  1879. 

36 Full  account  of  his  career  during  1855-60,  in  Hist.  Cent.  Am.,  iii.,  this 
series. 


CRABB'S  EXPEDITION.  601 

To  the  ordinary  observer,  the  failure  of  Raousset 
and  Walker  in  Mexico  appeared  mainly  due  to  a  lack 
of  prompt  and  harmonious  action ;  and  this  being  re 
mediable,  their  projects,  so  fraught  with  flattering  suc 
cess  and  notoriety,  continued  to  find  advocates.  The 
acquisition  of  the  Gadsden  tract  served  to  open  a  part 
of  the  desired  field  to  gold-seekers,  and  to  renew  the 
belief  in  a  further  extension  of  United  States  domin 
ion  ;  while  the  approximation  of  its  borders  to  the  other 
delectable  portion  of  Sonora  held  out  the  allurement 
of  readier  access  by  land,  with  a  near  refuge  in  case 
of  defeat.  The  continued  struggle  of  factions  in  the 
state  added  to  the  opportunity ;  and  fired  by  the  bril 
liant  progress  of  Walker  in  Nicaragua,  the  lingering 
filibuster  leaped  forth  once  more.  The  leader  on  this 
occasion  was  Henry  A.  Crabb,  a  lawyer  of  Stockton, 
and  a  prominent  whig  in  the  state  senate,  with  de 
cided  southern  proclivities.  The  old  story  of  patriot 
ism  and  farms  was  by  him  flavored  with  the  authorized 
colony  plan  of  his  wife's  Sonoran  relatives  and  the 
assumed  alliance  with  some  revolutionary  party,  pref 
erably  the  strongest.  Crabb,  as  proclaimed  general, 
set  out  early  in  1857  with  an  advance  body  of  barely 
fivescore  men,37  by  way  of  Yuma,  the  main  body  to 
follow  by  sea  to  Libertad.  At  the  end  of  March  he 
presented  himself  at  Sonoita. 

By  this  time  the  political  aspect  had  changed  in 
Sonora.  The  Guandarists  had  been  crushed  by  Pes- 
queira,  who,  victorious,  with  ample  troops  to  control 
the  state,  was  not  likely  to  imperil  his  reputation  as  a 
patriot  and  his  position  as  a  ruler  by  connivance  with 
any  filibuster  scheme,  especially  an  American  one, 
even  if  willing  to  do  so  under  adverse  circumstance. 
He  accordingly  took  prompt  steps  to  drive  them  out. 
Crabb,  on  the  other  hand,  advanced  to  Caborca  to  meet 
the  large  reinforcements  by  sea,  but  which  had  not 
been  permitted  by  the  authorities  to  leave  California. 
While  thus  waiting  he  was  surrounded  by  overwhelm 
ing  forces,  with  artillery,  which  compelled  him  after  a 

37  Including  McCoun  and  Oxley,  who  had  both  been  in  the  legislature. 


602  FILIBUSTERING. 

fierce  struggle  to  surrender.  The  prisoners,  59  in 
number,  were  shot  in  batches,  a  small  rear  body  was 
overtaken  and  cut  to  pieces,  and  a  relief  from  Tucson 
narrowly  escaped  the  same  fate,38 

This  slaughter  of  capitulated  men  was  for  a  time 
hotly  denounced  in  the  United  States;  but  it  must  be 
admitted  that  the  Mexicans  were  to  some  extent  jus 
tified  in  seeking  by  a  severe  lesson  to  suppress  filibuster 
expeditions  which  previous  leniency  seemed  to  en 
courage.  The  cry  for  vengeance  was  invoked  chiefly 
by  interested  speculators  arid  politicians  to  provoke 
the  authorities  to"  some  action,  of  which  they  stood 
ready  to  take  advantage  by  preliminary  incursions. 
But  the  attempt  failed,  and  the  lesson  proved  effective 
in  discouraging  unsupported  movements.  The  only 
approach  to  such  operations  was  made  on  the  Lower 
California  frontier  by  local  rebels,  who  sought  alter 
nately  adherents  and  refuge  on  the  American  side.39 
The  French  invasion  of  Mexico  led  to  some  volun 
teer  enrolments  in  behalf  of  both  sides,  and  shipment 
of  arms,  with  certain  discrimination  in  favor  of  the 
Juarists,40  and  the  struggle  of  the  Cubans  received 
active  sympathy  on  the  Atlantic  side.  Such  acts  have, 
however,  been  neutralized  by  the  recurrence  in  recent 
times  of  a  certain  agitation  in  favor  of  further  annex 
ations,  with  a  consequent  revival  among  Hispano- 
Americans  of  odious  memories,  and  of  hostility 
toward  Anglo-Saxon. 

The  filibustering  spirit  is  not  dead,  as  instanced  by 
Soto's  recent  expedition  to  Honduras;  and  it  will 
linger  so  long  as  discord  reigns.  The  California  gold 
excitement  was  peculiarly  favorable  to  it,  in  opening 
new  fields,  in  stirring  the  lust  for  roaming  and  adven- 

38  Details  in  Hist.  North  Mex.,  ii.,  this  series,  with  ample  reference  to 
authorities. 

39  Id.     In  1855  false  gold  reports  caused  a  rush  of  miners  to  Peru,  to  startle 
the  South  Americans  for  a  moment. 

40  Whose  agent,  Gen.  Vega,  figured  conspicuously  at  S.  F.  about  1864. 
Id.;  Vega,  Doc.,  i.-iii. ;  Vallejo,  Doc.,  xxxvi.,  260.    Vega  subsequently  rebelled, 
and  in  May  1870  he  sent  a  steamer  to  raid  Guaymas,  levying  some  $150,000 
in  goods  and  funds,  besides  arms.     A  U.  S.  vessel  later  pursued  and  burned 
the  steamer.     S.  F.  Call,  March  1,  1870,  alludes  to  a  mysterious  expedition  at 
this  time. 


A  BAD  BUSINESS.  603 

ture,  and  in  massing  a  horde  of  reckless  brawlers 
and  shiftless  unfortunates.  The  political  attitude  and 
neglect  of  the  government  gave  them  cue  and  en 
couragement,  and  the  anarchic  condition  of  Mexico 
presented  an  opportunity,  while  the  public  tendered 
approving  sympathy  and  aid,  moved  by  race  prejudice, 
by  political  tendencies,  and  by  thoughtless  admiration 
for  the  daring  nature  of  the  enterprise  and  the  noto 
riety  attending  its  achievements,  both  flattering  to 
national  pride.41  The  separation  of  Texas,  so  widely 
held  up  as  an  example,  had  the  justifying  stamp  of  a 
liberation  from  oppression ;  but  the  proclaimed  motives 
of  the  subsequent  imitators  were  arrant  deceptions. 
The  constant  disorder  and  bloodshed  in  the  south,  and 
distance  from  the  scene,  made  abettors  oblivious  to 
the  abhorrent  crimes  involved  in  these  undertakings. 
They  were  foul  robberies,  covered  by  the  flimsiest  of 
political  and  social  pretences,  gilded  by  false  aphorisms 
and  profane  distortion  of  sacred  formulas.  Liberty 
dragged  in  the  mud  for  purposes  of  theft  and  human 
enslavement;  the  cause  of  humanity  bandied  in  filthy 
mouths  to  promote  atrocious  butcheries;  peaceful, 
blooming  valleys  given  over  to  devastation  and  ruin; 
happy  families  torn  asunder,  and  widows  and  orphans 
cast  adrift  to  nurse  affliction ;  and  finally,  the  peace  of 
nations  imperilled,  and  the  morality  of  right  insulted.42 
The  thought  of  such  results  should  obliterate  all  ro 
mance,  and  turn  pride  to  shame.  They  remain  an 
ineffaceable  stain  upon  the  government  of  the  most 
progressive  of  nations,  and  veil  in  dismal  irony  the 
dream  of  manifest  destiny. 

41  For  mere  handfuls  to  declare  war  against  a  republic  of  8,000,000  people 
almost  surpasses  in  wild  recklessness  the  advance  of  a  Cortes  against  the 
Aztec  empire,  for  he  dealt  with  semi-barbarians  unused  to  steel,  fire-arms,  and 
horses,  while  they  moved  against  equals.     Like  him,  however,  they  counted 
on  local  dissensions  and  alliances,  and  more  on  the  attitude  of  a  powerful 
neighbor. 

42  In  the  very  paucity  of  the  filibuster  forces  lay  a  germ  of  crime,  as  it 
compelled  them  to  resort  to  pillage  and  intimidation.     International  law 
points  to  warfare  as  wasteful  and  uncivilizing  when  invaders  are  unable  to 
leave  behind  them  a  track  of  conquered  and  secured  country.     The  U.  S. 
stands  charged  with  connivance  in  piratical  acts  by  reason  alone  of  its  indif 
ference  and  neglect  to  impede  or  punish  them.     The  chief  officials  especially 
have  this  additional  sin  to  answer  for. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

FINANCES. 

1849-1869. 

AN  EMPTY  TREASURY — TEMPORARY  STATE  LOAN  ACT — STATE  DEBT — LI 
CENSES  AND  TAXATION — EXTRAVAGANCE  AND  PECULATION — ALARMING 
INCREASE  OF  DEBT — BONDS — STATE  INDEBTEDNESS  ILLEGAL — REPUDIA 
TION  REJECTED — THIEVING  OFFICIALS — ENORMOUS  PAYMENTS  TO  STEAM 
SHIP  COMPANIES — FEDERAL  APPROPRIATIONS — INDIAN  AGENTS — MINT — 
NAVY- YARD — FORTIFICATIONS  —  COAST  SURVEY — LAND  COMMISSION  — 
PUBLIC  LANDS — HOMESTEAD  ACT — EDUCATIONAL  INTERESTS — THE  PEO 
PLE  ABOVE  ALL. 

THE  legislature  which  convened  January  6,  1851, 
at  San  Jose,  found  itself  confronted  with  an  empty 
treasury.  The  Temporary  State  Loan  Act  of  1850 
had  not  fulfilled  the  expectations  of  its  authors,  if  in 
deed  they  had  looked  beyond  the  present  moment  in 
passing  it.  The  bonds,  although  drawing  three  per 
cent  per  month,  before  the  close  of  the  first  fractional 
fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1850,  had  depreciated  to 
one  fourth  of  their  par  value.  It  was  urged,  to  ac 
count  for  this  condition  of  government  credit,  that  the 
state  had  no  means  of  liquidation  except  by  taxation, 
no  improvements  to  afford  a  revenue,  and  could  not 
command  her  resources  in  public  lands.  The  popula 
tion  and  wealth  of  the  country  were  of  such  a  nature 
that  they  could  not  be  reached  by  taxation,  or  the 
tax  gatherer.1  The  foreign  miners'  tax  and  the  capi 
tation  tax  were  fixed  too  high;  in  consequence  of 
which  they  were  evaded  or  resisted,  and  often  no 

1  The  failure  to  collect  taxes  was  the  fault  of  the  collector,  Richardson. 
The  governor  had  been  advised  to  appoint  M.  McCorkle,  or  some  other  effi 
cient  person. 

(604) 


IN  THE  BEGINNING.  605 

property  could  be  found  to  attach.  The  law  made 
state  bonds  and  warrants  payable  for  taxes,  which  the 
treasurer  was  compelled  to  receive  at  their  depreciated 
value.  Indeed,  the  tax-payers  purchased  them  for 
that  purpose,  thereby  reducing  their  burdens  to  the 
amount  of  the  discount  on  them;  and  even  the  tax 
collectors  when  paid  in  money  converted  it  into  bonds 
which  they  paid  into  the  treasury,  pocketing  the  dif 
ference.  The  issue,  being  restricted  to  $300,000,  was 
soon  expended,  after  which  time  the  state  government 
was  kept  up  without  a  dollar  in  the  treasury,  at  a 
ruinous  sacrifice  of  the  interests  of  those  who  devoted 
their  time  to  the  public  service.  The  state  debt  at 
the  end  of  June  1850  was  $371,573.11.  After  the 
admission  of  the  state,  bonds  and  warrants  advanced, 
the  former  selling  at  auction  at  from  91  to  95,  arid 
the  latter  at  80,  but  having  a  fluctuating  value 

By  the  15th  of  December  the  state  debt  amounted 
to  $485,460.28.  The  excess  of  expenditures  over  re 
ceipts  was  $122,179. 85. 2  The  governor  in  his  annual 
message  to  the  legislature  referred  to  the  pressure 
brought  to  bear  upon  him  to  convene  an  extra  session 
in  order  to  pass  an  act  to  procure  another  state  loan, 
and  took  the  occasion  to  deliver  a  sermon  upon  the 
injustice  of  laying  burdens  upon  posterity  merely  to 
defray  the  present  expenses  of  government,  and  with 
out  creating  with  it  any  public  improvements  which 
might  help  in  time  to  relieve  the  state  of  debt,  and 
insisted  strongly  upon  the  wisdom  of  checking  the 
extravagance  which  the  condition  of  the  country  in 
the  beginning  had  fostered.  "It  occurs  to  me,"  said 
he,  "that  the  most  rational,  just,  and  certain  means 
of  getting  out  of  debt  is  to  make  more,  expend  less, 
and  borrow  none."  But  when  he  undertook  to  point 
out  a  method,  nothing  new  was  evolved.  There  was 
indeed  nothing  to  resort  to  but  taxation.  As  to  pub- 

2  Crosby's  Early  Events,  MS.,  49;  Comptroller's  Kept,  in  Cal.  Jour.  Sen., 
1851,  519,  532;  Sac.  Transcript,  Feb.  28,  1851;  Thomas,  in  Sac.  Directo/y, 
1871,  87-8;  Cal.  Jour.  Sen.,  1851,  753-4;  Governor's  Mess.,  in  Cal.  Jour.  Sen., 
1851,  32-3. 


606  FINANCES. 

lie  property  there  was  absolutely  nothing  to  produce 
a  revenue.  The  surveyor-general  declared  that  he 
could  hear  of  no  land  belonging  to  the  state,  except 
that  which  a  recent  act  of  congress  granted  to  all  the 
states,  namely,  the  swamp  and  overflowed  lands,8  which 
would  not  become  available  property  until  surveyed 
by  the  general  government 4  Thus  while  the  mines 
were  yielding  millions  every  month,  the  state  was  in 
a  condition  of  deplorable  poverty 

To  correct  this,  the  mode  of  assessing  and  collecting- 
public  revenue  was  changed  somewhat  A  poll-tax 
of  three  dollars  was  levied  on  every  male  inhabitant, 
Indians  excepted,  between  the  ages  of  twenty -one  and 
fifty  years,  all  property  was  liable  to  a  tax  of  fifty 
cents  on  each  $100  for  state  purposes,  and  an  equal 
amount  for  county  purposes.  Lands  sold  by  the 
state,  though  not  granted  or  conveyed,  were  made 
assessable.  All  funds  collected  under  the  provisions 
of  the  act  were  to  be  in  the  legal  currency  of  the 
United  States,  in  foreign  coin  at  its  value  fixed  by 
law,  in  gold-dust  at  sixteen  dollars  per  ounce,  troy- 
weight,  or  in  bonds  of  the  state  authorized  by  the  legis 
lature  of  1850,  with  the  interest  due  thereon.  License 
taxes  were  required  of  billiard-tables  and  tenpin- 

3  As  a  curiosity  of  legislation,  Gwin  relates  that  this  act  resulted  from  his 
consenting  to  allow  a  bill  giving  to  the  state  of  Arkansas  its  swamp  and  over 
flowed  lands,  which  had  been  passed  in  the  lower  house,  to  be  brought  up  in 
the  senate  on  one  of  the  three  days  allowed  for  Cal.  business  before  the  end 
of  the  session.     In  a  conversation  with  the  Arkansas  senator,  Gwin  agreed  to 
give  way  if  the  act  should  be  made  general  instead  of  special,  and  applicable 
to  all  the  states  and  territories.     The  amendment  was  made,  and  the  act 
passed  and  was  approved,  thus  unexpectedly  endowing  Cal.  with  a  consider 
able  addition  to  state  lands.  Memoirs,  MS.,  45. 

4  Charles  T.  Whiting,  sur.-gen.,  seems  to  have  been  a  humorous  character, 
though  his  humor  appears  rather  grim.     No  reports  having  been  received 
from  assessors,  he  was  unable  to  give  any  information  concerning  agricultural 
affairs.     The  grasshoppers  had  been  destructive  in  some  localities,  and  as  a 
preventive  he  '  recommended  the  extensive  introduction  of  turkeys.'     He  had 
no  means  of  ascertaining  the  quantity  of  mineral  lands  in  the  state.     The 
reports  of  the  county  surveyors  were  useless  to  him,  being  chiefly  on  old 
Spanish  grants,  and  detached.     The  great  drawback  to  agriculture  was  the 
uncertainty  of  land  titles;  otherwise  Cal.  would  be  the  equal  of  any  of  the 
states,  etc.     No  suggestions;  no  information;  all  negative.      'I  know  of  but 
one  method  of  planting  and  preserving  forests  of  trees;  viz.,  put  the  seeds  in 
the  ground  and  protect  the  shoots  by  a  fence  or  ditch.'  Cal.  Jour.  Sen.,  1851, 
576-7. 


WAYS  AND  MEANS.  607 

alleys,  for  the  state;  and  upon  itinerant  venders  of 
merchandise,  liquor-sellers,  caravans,  and  shows  of  all 
kinds,  for  county  purposes.  A  special  act  was  passed 
to  license  gambling,  which  placed  the  impost  on  tables, 
every  house  in  the  limits  of  San  Francisco,  Sacramento, 
and  Marysville  containing  over  three  gaming-tables 
to  pay  $1,500  quarterly,  and  every  house  having  three 
or  less  tables  $1,000  quarterly;  but  in  smaller  towns 
the  license  should  be  thirty-five  dollars  a  month, 
three  fourths  of  all  the  money  so  collected  to  be  paid 
into  the  state  treasury,  and  the  remainder  into  the 
treasury  of  the  county  granting  the  license. 

Notwithstanding  the  admonitions  of  the  governor, 
an  act  was  passed  authorizing  a  loan  of  $500,000  at 
twelve  per  cent  per  annum,  for  the  purpose  of  defray 
ing  the  expenses  of  Indian  hostilities;5  and  this  debt 
it  was  expected  the  general  government  would  pay. 
Lastly  a  funding  act  was  passed,  requiring  the  state 
treasurer  to  prepare  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $700,000, 
in  sums  of  $500,  bearing  interest  at  the  rate  of  seven 
per  cent  per  annum;  $350,000  to  be  made  payable  in 
New  York  on  March  1,  1855,  and  the  remaining  half 
payable  at  the  same  place  in  March  1861,  the  interest 
to  be  paid  half-yearly,  either  in  New  York  or  at  the 
office  of  the  treasurer.  The  creditors  of  the  state,  on 
presenting  either  the  bonds  of  the  temporary  loan  or 
state  warrants,  could  have  them  exchanged,  when  not 
less  than  $500  in  amount,  for  the  new  bonds ;  and  from 
and  after  the  1st  of  May,  1851,  all  revenue  of  the 
state  should  be  collected  in  the  legal  currency  of  the 
United  States,  or  in  gold-dust  at  $16  an  ounce;  except 
that  in  payment  of  the  ordinary  state  tax  the  old 
bonds  might  be  presented  as  before.  A  tax  of  fifteen 
cents  on  each  $100  of  taxable  property  in  the  state,  to 
be  paid  in  currency  or  gold-dust,  was  levied  to  pay  the 
interest  on  this  debt.  It  was  made  the  duty  of  the 

5  The  accounts  of  Adjt-gen.  McKinstry  make  the  expenses  of  the  El  Dorado 
and  Gila  expeditions  amount  to  $149,199.82.  Col.  Jour.  Sen.,  1851,  735.  By 
June  1851,  £225,000  had  been  drawn  in  warrants  from  the  war-loan  fund. 


608  FINANCES. 

treasurer  to  set  apart  a  sinking  fund,  to  consist  of  all 
surplus  interest,  all  money  received  from  the  general 
government  on  account  of  the  civil  fund,  and  all  pro 
ceeds  of  sales  of  state  lands,  except  those  reserved 
for  school  purposes,  with  whatever  surplus  should  be 
remaining  in  the  general  treasury  on  the  1st  of  May, 
1852,  and  every  year  thereafter,  when  not  otherwise 
appropriated,  until  the  fund  should  be  sufficient  for  the 
payment  of  principal  and  interest  of  the  bonds. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  civil  fund  of  military  gov 
ernment  days  was  still  regarded  as  belonging  right 
fully  to  the  state  of  California,  and  that  its  repayment 
was  confidently  expected.  An  effort  toward  creating 
a  revenue  was  made  by  granting  to  the  city  of  San 
Francisco  all  the  beach  and  water  lots  belonging  to 
the  state  under  the  recent  act  of  congress,  upon  con 
dition  that  twenty-five  per  cent  of  the  receipts  arising 
from  the  disposition  of  these  lots  should  be  paid  into 
the  treasury  of  the  state.  Also,  a  section  of  over 
flowed  land,  on  an  island  in  the  Sacramento  River, 
was  conveyed  to  John  F.  Booth  and  David  Galloway, 
upon  condition  that  drains  and  levees  should  be  con 
structed  to  test  the  cultivable  qualities  of  the  land 
under  improvement,  and  that  the  grantees  should  pay 
into  the  state  treasury  $1.25  per  acre  for  the  benefit 
of  the  school  fund  of  the  district.  But  as  even  this 
moiety  of  an  income  had  to  wait  for  the  government 
survey,  and  might  take  three  years  thereafter  for  pay 
ment  to  be  made,  it  could  not  be  regarded  as  a  very 
present  help.  The  study  of  the  legislative  proceedings 
and  comptroller's  reports  of  California  might  reason 
ably  deter  any  future  chance  community  like  that  of 
1849-50  from  assuming  the  responsibilities  of  state 
hood. 

The  civil  debt  of  the  state,  December  31,  1851, 
was  $796,963.95,  and  the  war  debt  $1,445,375.79,  or  a 
total  of  $2,242,339.74.  There  had  been  paid  into  the 
treasury  by  the  several  counties  $22,570.31  for  1850, 
and  $245,359.97  for  1851,  or  a  total  of  $267,930.28, 


DEBT.  609 

an  amount  not  equal  to  the  temporary  state  loan  of 
1850,  without  the  interest.    Some  counties,  it  was  true, 
were    delinquent;    and    the    whole    amount    charged 
against  the  state  was  $333,138.79.     To  correct  this 
condition   of  the    public  finances,   the  legislature   of 
1852  authorized  the  issuance  of  state  bonds  for  $600,- 
000  more,  at  seven  per  cent,  payable  in  1870,  the  ac 
cruing  interest  to  be  paid  semiannually,  in  January  and 
July.     This  act,  like  the  former,  permitted  the  holders 
of  state  warrants  to  exchange  them  for  the  new  bonds, 
in  sums  not  less  than  $100,  and  to  the  extent  of  $1,000. 
A  special  tax  of  ten  cents  was  levied  on  every  $100 
of  taxable    property  in  the  state,  which  was  to  be 
applied  to  the  payment  of  the  interest  accruing  upon 
the  bonds  of  1852,  any  excess  to  be  turned  over  to  a 
sinking  fund  provided  for  the  payment  of  interest  and 
principal.      This  sinking  fund  consisted,  besides  this 
surplus,  of  all  moneys  received  by  the  state  from  the 
United  States  on  account  of  the  civil  fund  after  the 
redemption  of  the  bonds  of  1851,  to  which  this  fund 
had  already  been  appropriated,  with  a  reservation  of 
$50,000  for  the  payment  of  claims  against  it.     Next, 
the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  all  lands  thereafter  to  be 
acquired  by  the  state,  except  those  reserved  for  school 
purposes,  and  the  swarnp-lands,  the  moneys  from  which, 
after  the  redemption  of  the  bonds  of  1851,  should  be 
applied  to  the  liquidation  of  the  indebtedness  of  1852. 
The  legislature  of  1852  also  repealed  all  the  former 
revenue  acts,  and  made  the  law  for  levying,  assessing 
and  collecting  revenue  much  more  complete  and  strin 
gent  than  formerly.     Much  complaint  had  been  made 
by  the  people  of  the  southern  counties,  devoted  prin 
cipally  to    grazing,    because   they   paid    more    taxes, 
having  more  real  estate,  cattle,  and  other  property 
which  an  assessor  could  find,  than  the  much   more 
numerous  population  of  the  northern  counties;  and 
hence  that  they  were  compelled  to  bear  an  undue  pro 
portion    of  the   burdens   of  government.     This    wras 
what  was  feared  when  the  Spanish  delegates  had  sat 

HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI     39 


610  FINANCES. 

in  the  const! tut  1  on r.l  convention,  and  what  the  native 
land-owners  had  always  protested  against.  This  pro 
test  became  in  1851  a  movement  for  a  division  of  the 
state,6  and  warned  legislators  to  take  measures  to  avoid 
a  disaffection  which  might  at  any  moment  be  taken 
advantage  of  by  a  political  faction  to  cut  off  the  best 
agricultural  portion  of  the  state.  Some,  indeed,  were 
not  warned,  but  carried  the  matter  into  the  legislature, 
where  they  discussed  the  question  of  how  to  divide 
the  state,  instead  of  how  to  reconcile  the  disaffected 
portion.7  It  was  even  put  forward  as  a  motive  that 
each  part  would  get  500,000  acres  of  school  land. 

The  per  cent  was  not  increased  under  the  law  of 
1852.  For  every  $100,  thirty  cents  was  exacted 
from  all  property,  except  public  and  United  States 
holdings,  and  charitable  institutions  for  state  pur- 

6  Meetings  were  held  in  San  Diego  and  Los  Angeles  to  consider  the  subject 
of  a  division  of  the  state,  and  a  convention  appointed  to  meet  at  Santa  Bar 
bara  in  Oct.     Accordingly,  on  the  20th  of  that  month  delegates  were  present 
at  Santa  Barbara  as  follows:  from  San  Diego,  W.  C.  Ferrell,  A.  Haraszthy, 
Tibbets,  C.  I.  Cants,  T.  W.  Sutherland,  Joaquin  Artego,  Pedro  Camillo;  from 
Los  Angeles,  B.  D.  Wilson,  J.  L.  Brent,  J.  K.  S.  Ogier,  Ignacio  Valle,  Cor- 
nall,  J.  'A.   Carrillo,  L.  Hoover,  J.  Hunt,  J.  M.  Sanchez,   Hugo  Reid,  and 
others;  from  Santa  Barbara,  H.  S.  Carnes,  S.  Barnes,  S.  Hern,  C.  V.  R.  Lee, 
A.  M.  de  la  Guerra,  Joaquin  Carrillo,  Detarviaria  Gotherez,   S.  Anderson, 
Marsh,   Anastacia  Carrillo;  from  Monterey,  Frederick  Russell,  the  3  other 
delegates  elected  not  being  in  attendance.     Delegates  from  counties  north  of 
Monterey  declined  to  participate,  although  admitted  to  seats  in  the  conven 
tion.     The  whole  number  present  were  31.     Carrillo  was  chosen  pres.,  Brent 
chairman  of  the  com.  on  resolutions,  and  Ferrell  chairman  of  the  com.  to  pre 
pare  an  address.     Ihe  resolutions  set  forth,  among  other  things,  that  laws 
coull  not  be  framed  to  bear  equally  upon  sections  so  diversified.     A  central 
committee  of  5  was  appointed  to  supervise  a  continued  movement  to  effect 
the  result  aimed  at  after  the  adjournment  of  the  convention.     The  boundary 
line  was  much  discussed.     A  motion  to  fix  the  northern  boundary  *  along  the 
northern  line  of  Monterey  county,  south-east  to  a  point  opposite  the  head  of 
Tulare  Lake,  thence  east,'  was  voted  down.    The  convention  held  for  3  days. 
The  desire  was  to  be  remanded  to  the  condition  of  a  territory.  S.  F.  Alta, 
Sept.  12  and  28,  and  Oct.  6,  13,  and  26,  1851;  Hayes'  Scraps,  Angeles,  ii.  11; 
Hayes'  Constit.  Law,  i.  1-37;  Taylor,  Cal.  Notes,  4. 

7  The  S.  F.  Alta  attacked  the  '  clique  in  legislature  to  divide  the  state  at 
all  hazards  '  without  gloves,  showing  the  felly  of  the  proposition,  and  that  it 
would  lead  to  the  expense  of  a  convention  costing  $100,000  or  &15J,000,  and 
finally  to  the  old  quarrel  over  slavery,  could  congress  be  brought  to  consider 
the  project  of  a  territory  being  made  out  of  a  state.     Those  who  favored  it, 
excepting  the  native  population  who  did  not  understand  the  drift  of  their 
American    supporters,   were    southern   pro-slavery  men,   and   had   no  other 
object  than  this,  to  open  the  country  to  slavery.   Cal.  Political  Scraps,  51-3. 
They  might  have  gone  a  step  further  and  asked  the  question  if  congress  had 
the  power  to  transform  a  state  into  a  territory. 


TAXATION  611 

poses,  and  fifty  cents  for  county  purposes.  The  for 
eign  owners  of  consigned  goods  were  taxed  eighty 
cents  on  every  $100.  The  poll-tax  was  reduced  to 
$3,  and  was  required  of  every  adult  male  inhabitant 
not  exempted  by  law.  Payment  was  received  in  pure 
gold-dust  at  $17.50  per  ounce,  in  foreign  gold  coin  of 
fixed  value,  and  United  States  legal  currency,  or  in 
the  three  per  cent  state  bonds  of  1850.  One  object 
of  the  funding  acts  of  1851  and  1852  was  to  cancel 
the  bonds  of  1850,  bearing  the  enormous  interest  of 
36  per  cent;  but  the  holders,  as  they  gradually  appre 
ciated  in  value,  were  in  no  haste  to  exchange  them 
for  seven  per  cent  bonds,  and  there  were  still  $241,- 
291.11  outstanding  at  the  close  of  1851,  while  of 
the  second  issue  only  about  half  had  been  taken.  At 
the  close  of  1852,  however,  the  former  class  of  bonds 
outstanding  had  been  reduced  $63,750,  on  which  there 
remained  to  be  paid  an  equal  amount  of  interest,  and 
the  legislature  of  1853  passed  an  act  levying  an  addi 
tional  tax  of  ten  cents  on  each  $100  of  real  or  personal 
property  for  the  purpose  of  cancelling  the  remainder 
of  these  bonds,  paying  the  interest  on  the  funded 
debt  of  1852,  and  providing  a  sinking  fund  for  the 
same. 

With  regard  to  the  beach  and  water  lots  granted 
to  San  Francisco,  from  which  considerable  returns 
were  expected,  only  $1,000  had  reached  the  treasury 
from  that  source,  owing  to  a  neglect  of  the  conditions 
of  the  grant,  and  to  litigation  in  which  the  property 
had  become  involved.8  The  tax  imposed  on  con 
signed  goods  had  also  met  with  much  resistance  in 
San  Francisco,  and  had  been  found  unproductive.9 

These  measures  failing,  the  legislature  of  1852  had 

*CaI.  Statutes,  1853,  197;  Governors  Mess.,  inCal.  Jour.  Assem.,  1853,  20-1. 
See  chapters  on  birth  of  towns  and  history  S.  F.,  this  vol. 

9  The  dist  atty  of  S.  F.  co.  submitted  to  the  grand  jury  200  indictments 
against  persons  violating  the  act,  which  were  ignored,  and  the  '  evident  hos 
tility  '  to  the  act  manifested  by  that  body  made  it  advisable  to  refrain  from 
instituting  civil  proceedings  before  the  matter  should  be  brought  to  the  at 
tention  of  the  legislature.  Governor's  Mess.,  in  Cal.  Jour.,  1853,  21;  S.  F. 
AUa,  Jan.  4  and  Feb.  14,  1853;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  April  4,  1856. 


612  FINANCES. 

resort  to  the  500,000  acres  belonging  to  the  state, 
and  which  the  constitution  devoted  to  the  support  of 
common  schools,  authorizing  the  governor  to  issue 
land  warrants  for  quarter  and  half  sections,  at  $2  an 
acre,  to  the  full  amount  of  the  grant.  The  state 
treasurer  was  authorized  to  sell  these  warrants,  either 
for  money,  state  scrip,  or  three  per  cent  bonds,  the 
revenue  received  under  this  act  to  constitute  the 
school  fund  of  the  state.10  The  revenue  derived  from 
the  sale  of  these  lands  was  set  aside  for  a  general 
fund  to  meet  the  liabilities  of  the  state,  the  interest 
on  which  was  to  be  appropriated  to  the  support  of 
schools. 

At  the  close  of  1852,  the  civil  debt  of  the  state 
amounted  to  $1,388,213.78,  and  the  war  debt  to 
$771,190.05,  or  a  total  of  $2,159,403.83,  besides  a 
debt  to  the  school  fund  of  $190,080.  During  all  this 
tinkering  with  the  state  finances,  no  member  of  the 
legislature  seemed  to  think  of  retrenchment  as  one 
means  of  reducing  indebtedness.  Such  a  sentiment 
was  not  in  accord  with  the  temper  of  the  times.  The 
public  journals  sometimes  hinted  at  it,  and  John  Big- 
ler,  governor  in  1853,  attempted  to  point  out  how 
half  a  million  annually  might  be  saved,11  by  a  reduc 
tion  in  salaries  and  the  abolishment  of  unnecessary 
offices.  The  legislatures  had  all  passed  salary  acts, 
but  it  was  only  to  redistribute  or  increase  the  amount.12 

10  CaL  Statutes,  1852,  41-3.     The  state  supreme  court  having  declared  such 
locations  and  entries  legal,  a  very  large  amount  of  such  lands  was  then  pur 
chased  and  paid  for.     The  sec.  of  the  interior  having  declared  all  such  sales 
and  entries  nullities,  and  the  sup.    court   in  a  subsequent  decision  having 
overruled  the  former  decision,  much  difficulty  arose  as  to  title,  and  many 
conflicts  ensued.     In  order  as  far  as  practicable  to  relieve  the  state,  as  well 
as  the  purchasers  of  such  lands,  from  the  difficulty  thus  produced,  congress 
passed  the  act  entitled  'an  act  to  quiet  land  titles  in  Cal.,  approved  July  23, 
1866.     All  such  lands  as  had  been  thus  sold  by  the  state,  and  which  had  not 
been  settled  upon,  occupied,  and  improved   by  preemptors  and  homestead 
applicants,  were  subject  to  the  operation  of  the  law  of  1852.  Zabriskie,  Land 
Laws,  560,  567-72. 

11  Cal.  Jour.  Assem.,  1853,  20.     In  1866,  when  Gov.  Bigler  had  become 
more  or  less  corrupted  by  custom,  he  made  a  '  favorable '  comparison  of  Cal. 
with  the  states  of  Ind.  and  111.,  which  had  large  debts — contracted  for  quite 
other  purposes  than  paying  salaries,  or  unnecessary  appropriations.   CaL  Jour. 
Sen.,  1856,  22. 

^Compare  the  acts  of  1860,  1851,  and  1852.     In  the  year  last  named  the 


SALARIES.  613 

The  legislature  of  1853  raised  the  property  tax  for 
tho  support  of  the  state  government  to  sixty  cents  on 
each  $100,  levied  a  tax  of  fifteen  cents  on  the  same 
amount  for  the  payment  of  the  interest  on  the  debt  of 
1851,  twenty  cents  for  the  payment  cf  the  interest  on 
the  debt  of  1852  and  the  school  bonds,  and  four  cents 
to  pay  interest  on  state  prison  bonds,  authorized  by  a 
law  enacted  at  the  same  session.  For  county  pur 
poses,  fifty  cents  might  be  levied  on  property,  besides 
the  special  taxes  upon  trades,  professions,  occupations, 
bankers,  merchants,  tavern-keepers,  liquor-dealers, 
auctioneers,  consigned  goods,  gaming,  and  every  form 
of  business  except  mining,  agriculture,  and  day  labor. 
The  poll-tax  remained  at  $3. 

At  the  end  of  1853,  the  three  per  cent  bonds  had 
been  so  far  redeemed  that  only  about  $10,000  of  prin 
cipal  and  interest13  remained  to  be  paid;  but  the  state 
indebtedness,  exclusive  of  the  school  fund,  had  in 
creased  to  $3,001,455.70.  Nearly  $1,000,000  was  a 

aggregate  amount  was  considerably  increased,  although  some  important 
changes  were  made.  The  governor's  salary  in  1850  was  $10,  COO,  in  1851  $3,- 
Oi)0,  in  1852  $10,000.  Sup.  judges  received  in  1850  $10,CGO,  in  1851  $7,000, 
in  1852  $8,000.  A  public  translator  received  $8,000.  The  salary  of  state 
treasurer  was  first  $9,000,  then  $5,000,  then  £4,000;  of  comptroller,  first  $8,- 
COO,  then  $5,000,  then  $4,500,  and  other  offices  in  proportion.  Of  the  11 
district  judges  in  1852,  8  received  $5,COO,  2  received  $3,000,  and  1  $4,000. 
District  attorneys  received  $1,800.  The  supt  of  pub.  instruction  was  paid 
£4,000  for  not  very  arduous  services.  The  atty-gen.  was  cut  down  from 
$7,000  to  $1,000,  and  advanced  again  to  $2,000.  A  supt  of  public  building 
received  $4,000,  though  he  was  not  needed;  a  prison  inspector  $6,030,  and 
large  appropriations  were  made  to  hospital  and  other  purposes,  far  beyond 
the  ability  of  the  state  to  pay.  The  pay  of  legislators  the  first  and  second 
sessions  was  $16  per  diem.  This  was  reduced  to  $10  and  then  to  $8,  and 
mileage  to  $8  per  every  20  miles.  Gov.  Bigler  advised  doing  away  for  a  year 
or  two  with  several  of  the  high-salaried  supernumeraries,  reducing  per  diem 
and  mileage,  making  sessions  biennial,  and  limiting  them  to  90  days,  placing 
the  salaries  of  governor  and  supreme  judges  at  $7,000,  and  reducing  the 
number  of  district  judges  to  8.  Gal.  Statutes,  1850,  83;  1851,  444-5;  and  1852, 
49;  Hayes'  Constit.  Law,  i.  41. 

13  The  state  credit  became  seriously  endangered  through  the  state  treasurer 
having  placed  in  the  hands  of  Palmer,  Cook,  &  Co.,  bankers,  the  interest 
money  due  at  the  American  Exchange  Bank  in  New  York,  in  Jan.  1854, 
amounting  to  $01,750,  who  failed  to  pay  the  coupons  as  demanded.  At  this 
juncture,  the  banking  firm  of  Duncan,  Sherman,  &  Co.,  of  that  city,  volun 
tarily  paid  the  interest  from  their  own  funds,  thus  saving  the  credit  of  the 
state  from  ruin.  Palmer,  Cook,  &  Co.  claimed  to  have  the  money  in  the  New 
York  bank  to  meet  the  interest  when  due,  which  the  latter  denied.  The  debt 
to  Duncan,  Sherman,  &  Co.  remained  unpaid  for  several  months.  Cal  Jour. 
Assem.,  1855,  629-30;  S.  F.  Alta,  March  19,  1854. 


614  FINANCES. 

war  debt,  which  it  was  expected  the  general  govern 
ment  would  some  time  assume,  but  the  interest  on 
which  the  state  was  compelled  to  discharge  until  it 
was  finally  ascertained  that  congress  would  come  to 
its  relief.  The  school  warrants  sold  at  this  time 
aggregated  $463,360,  which  had  been  converted  into 
bonds  at  seven  per  cent.  Property  in  the  state  was 
increasing  rapidly,  having  reached  nearly  $100,000,000, 
the  tax  on  which,  at  sixty  cents,  would  bring  in 
$600,000,  while  the  other  special14  and  poll  taxes,  it 
was  estimated,  deducting  the  expenses  of  collection 
and  delinquencies,  would  furnish  a  sum  total  of 
$780,000,  the  estimated  expenditures  for  the  same 
period  amounting  to  $960,000. 

Again  the  governor  urged  retrenchment  as  neces 
sary.  "The  enormous  sum  of  $182,427.43  has  been 
paid  for  clerk  hire,  and  to  the  officers  of  the  two 
nouses  during  the  sessions  of  1852  and  1853.  The 
amount  paid  last  session,"  he  said,  "to  officers  and 
clerks  alone,  was  $106,093.70."  An  attempt  had  been 
made,  he  added,  to  hold  the  executive  responsible  for 
every  expenditure  of  public  money;  hence  he  might 
be  permitted  to  direct  attention  to  the  subject,  and 
invite  cooperation  in  reform,  and  a  revision  of  the 
revenue  laws,  of  which  complaint  was  made  on  account 
of  inequality  and  excess. 

The  legislature  of  1854  followed  the  example  of  its 
predecessors.  It  made  the  revenue  bill  a  subject  of 
much  painstaking,  but  it  succeeded  in  reducing  the 
property  tax  only  six  cents.  It  found  in  the  treasury 
sufficient  funds  to  liquidate  the  principal  and  interest 

14  The  revenue  law  of  1853,  taxing  consigned  goods,  met  with  disapproval. 
A  large  meeting  convened  in  S.  F.  in  Jan.  1854  to  remonstrate  against  the 
law  as  not  only  unjust,  but  in  conflict  with  the  U.  S.  constitution;  being  in 
fact  a  duty  upon  imports  from  other  states.  It  was  estimated  that  the  tax, 
if  collected,  would  amount  to  $274,122,  at  60  cents  on  the  $100,  which  the 
law  called  for  'a  sum  equal  to  the  ordinary  revenue  of  perhaps  a  majority  of 
the  states  of  the  union.'  It  was  contested  in  the  courts,  and  pronounced 
right  and  constitutional  by  the  sup.  bench.  The  trades  also  remonstrated 
against  being  taxed  upon  their  means  of  getting  bread.  S.  F.  Alta,  Jan.  10, 
1854.  No  change  was  effected  in  the  law.  Gal.  Revenue  and  Taxation  Scraps, 
10-12. 


LEGISLATION.  615 

of  the  three  per  cent  bonds  of  1850,  and  a  surplus  of 
nearly  $40,000,  after  paying  the  half-yearly  interest 
of  the  bonds  of  1851,  which  could  be  applied  to  can 
celling  the  principal  still  outstanding  of  $360,500  due 
in  March  1855.  To  meet  any  deficit,  calculations  were 
made  upon  the  income  from  the  sale  of  the  state's 
interest  in  the  beach  and  water  lots  of  San  Francisco. 
Of  the  bonds  issued  under  the  act  of  1852  there  still 
remained  $1,394,500,  exclusive  of  the  interest,  which 
could  be  met  only  by  appropriating  the  fund  set  apart 
for  the  redemption  of  the  state  prison  bonds.  The 
total  liabilities  of  the  state,  notwithstanding  the  partial 
payment  of  the  funded  debt,  was  at  the  end  of  1854 
$3,394,928.84. 

Again  the  legislature  resorted  to  funding  the  comp 
troller's  warrants,  drawn  between  June  1853  and  July 
1855,  and  authorized  the  issuance  of  $700,000  in 
bonds,  in  denominations  of  $100,  $500,  and  $1,000, 
bearing  interest  at  seven  per  cent,  to  run  until  1870, 
the  interest  made  payable  annually,  January.  A  tax 
of  six  cents  on  each  $100  of  all  the  taxable  property 
in  the  state  was  levied  to  pay  the  interest  on  these 
bonds.  By  the  end  of  this  year  the  civil  and  war 
debt  together  amounted  to  $4,461,716.38,  while  the 
city  and  county  indebtedness  in  the  state  footed  up  as 
much  more.  The  same  body  passed  an  act  providing 
for  the  sale  of  all  swamp  and  overflowed  lands  at  one 
dollar  an  acre,  so  eager  were  they  to  rid  the  state  of 
its  dower.  They  paid  $10,000  to  pages  to  add  to 
their  dignity,  and  neglected  to  appropriate  a  dollar  for 
the  surveyor-general's  office,  rendering  it  practically 
nugatory.  The  receipts  into  the  state  treasury  down 
to  June  30,  1855,  amounted  to  $3,333,947.66;  the 
expenditures  by  the  government,  not  including  ap 
propriations  for  public  buildings,  but  paid  out  chiefly  in 
salaries,  was  $5,670,966.38.  It  is  true  that  this  had  not 
been  in  cash,  and  that  state  scrip  was  never  at  par;  nor 
was  it  possible  it  ever  should  be  under  the  system 
pursued  by  the  legislatures.  Jobs  and  crookedness 


616  FINANCES. 

naturally  grew  out  of  the  abundance  of  state  war 
rants.  Speculative  bankers,  like  Palmer,  Cook,  &  Co., 
contrived  by  becoming  the  bondsmen  of  state  officers 
to  obtain  the  handling  of  the  money  which  should 
have  been  in  the  state  treasury.  Crime  became 
easy  and  natural  on  both  sides.  Palmer,  Cook,  & 
Co.,  who  had  nearly  ruined  the  state's  credit  in  1854 
by  withholding  the  interest  due  on  its  bonds  in  order 
to  depreciate  them  for  speculative  purposes,  the  money 
being  in  their  possession,  in  1856,  through  the  com 
plicity  of  officials,  had  both  the  state  and  the  city  of 
San  Francisco  in  their  power.  The  press  and  the 
people  remonstrated;  and  such  journals  as  could  not 
be  purchased  courageously  exposed  the  iniquity  in 
their  midst. 

The  legislature  of  1856  made  an  effort  by  funding 
the  indebtedness  which  should  remain  after  the  close 
of  that  year,  to  convert  all  outstanding  warrants  into 
bonds  at  seven  per  cent,  and  accordingly  issued 
$1,000,500  worth  of  new  bonds  payable  in  1875,  with 
interest  half-yearly,  receivable  in  California  or  New 
York.  To  meet  the  interest,  a  tax  of  ten  cents  was 
levied  on  each  $100  of  taxable  property  in  the  state, 
the  surplus,  if  any,  to  be  used  from  time  to  time  in  re 
deeming  these  bonds  at  the  lowest  rates  at  which  they 
could  be  purchased  of  the  holders.  It  was  also  made 
the  duty  of  a  board  of  examiners,  consisting  of  the 
governor,  secretary  of  state,  and  attorney-general  to 
examine  the  books  of  the  controller  and  treasurer,  and 
count  the  money  in  the  treasury  as  often  as  once  a 
month.  But  the  previous  mode  of  legislating,  like 
virtue,  was  bringing  its  own  reward,  making  reforms 
difficult.  Finances  all  over  the  state  were  in  a  deplor 
able  condition.  Millions  had  been  wrung  out  of  the 

O 

people  to  support  extravagant  county  and  municipal 
governments.15  The  laws  regarding  collection  of  taxes 

15  For  the  condition  of  affairs  in  S.  F.,  see  a  communication  from  Sam 
Brannan  in  S.  F.  Bulletin  of  Oct.  29,  1856.  Brannan  tendered  his  taxes  for 
1855-0  in  city  scrip,  which  the  officials  were  bound  to  receive.  He  endeav 
ored  to  get  them  to  bring  the  case  before  the  courts,  which  they  would  not 


DISHONEST   OFFICIALS.  617 

were  imperfect,  and  delinquencies  not  uncommon. 
Suits  at  law  were  instituted  to  bring  these  defects  to 
the  notice  of  the  law-makers,  and  to  prevent  payment 
of  taxes  in  state  and  county  scrip,  the  supreme  court 
deciding  adversely  to  Attorney-general  William  T. 
Wallace,  that  state  controller's  warrants  could  not,  in 
the  face  of  the  funding  acts  of  1855  and  185G,  be  re 
ceived  for  taxes.  This  was  a  check  upon  the  practice 
of  collector's  going  into  the  market  to  buy  up  state 
warrants  at  seventy  or  seventy-five  cents  on  the  dollar, 
and  substituting  them  for  the  coin  or  gold  bullion  re 
ceived  from  tax -payers,  and  was  a  "step  in  the  right 
direction. 

The  reform  however  began,  as  I  have  said,  too  late 
for  the  catastrophe  to  be  averted.  A  deficit  had  been 
discovered  in  the  accounts  of  State  Treasurer  S.  A. 
McMeans.16  His  successor,  Henry  Bates,  improved 

do,  and  after  months  of  waiting,  rather  than  appear  delinquent  he  paid  the 
money.  His  object  in  resisting,  he  states,  was  to  keep  money  out  of  tli3 
hands  of  the  officers.  In  185G-7  he  again  withheld  his  taxes.  'It  is  well 
known,'  he  says,  'that  the  present  sheriff  (or  party  assuming  to  act  as  such) 
has  failed  to  qualify  as  the  law  directs,  and  it  is  notorious  that  the  tax  col- 
loctor  is  insolvent. '  Again:  '  I  have  not  only  not  paid  the  present  year's  taxes, 
but  I  have  also  advised  my  friends  to  withhold  theirs  until  after  the  approach 
ing  election,  and  I  have  no  doubt  future  events  will  justify  the  wbdorn  of 
my  course.'  With  regard  to  public  affairs  he  says:  '  The  present  indebtedness 
of  the  state  of  Cal.,  represented  by  bonds,  audited  accounts,  etc.,  is  about 
$5,000,000.  Some  of  the  bonds  bear  an  interest  as  high  as  12  per  cent  per 
annum.  (These  were  the  Ind.  war  bonds  of  1SG1.)  So  I  think  I  may  safely 
estimate  the  yearly  accruing  interest  upon  this  debt  at  §350,000,  or  an  aver 
age  of  7  per  cent.  Now,  add  to  this  the  amount  necessary  to  carry  on  tlie 
govt,  and  we  at  once  see  the  startling  amount  it  is  necessary  to  raise  every 
year  by  taxation.  Think  for  a  moment  how  the  above  §5,000,000,  and  the 
$8,000,000  or  $10,000,000  besides,  what  have  been  drawu  from  the  people  by 
taxation,  have  been  squandered.  Look  at  the  present  extravagant  system 
of  conducting  the  state  govt,  and  decide  if  the  expenses  of  the  state  may  net- 
be  reduced  by  an  honest  effort.  But  turning  from  state  affairs,  consider  for 
a  moment  how  the  people  of  this  city  have  been  oppressed  and  robbed. 
Think  for  a  moment  of  the  vast  amounts  that  have  been  drawn  from  the 
people  in  taxes — the  large  sums  received  from  the  sales  of  real  estate,  and  the 
present  heavy  indebtedness  of  the  city.  What  have  we  got  to  show  for  all 
this  ?  The  $0,000,000  or  $8,000,000  received  from  taxes,  and  the  $4,030,000 
or  $5,000,000  indebtedness,  together  with  the  large  sums  received  from  the 
sales  of  real  estate,  have  all  been  squandered.  Much  less  oppression  and  dis 
honesty,  in  1770,  caused  the  American  revolution  in  which  our  fathers  took 
part,  and  I  say  it  is  not  remarkable  that  their  sous,  in  1850,  should  follow 
their  example  and  fall  back  upon  their  reserved  rights  for  their  own  protec 
tion.  ' 

16  Dr  S.  A.  McMeans,  born  in  Dandridge,  Tenn.,  1808,  was  engaged  i:i 
the  war  with  Mexico,  and  came  thence  to  Cal.  in  1849.  He  died  in  Virginia 
City,  Nev.,  in  1870.  Sac.  Leader,  Aug.  5,  1870. 


618  FINANCES. 

upon  such  a  mere  peccadillo  as  a  discrepancy  in  ac 
counts,  and  launched  wholesale  into  a  violation  of  all 
law  and  all  trust,  by  purchasing  and  assisting  others 
to  purchase  state  warrants,  controller's  warrants,  and 
state  scrip  of  every  kind,  with  the  coin  and  bullion  of 
the  state.  His  own  profits  from  this  mode  of  unlaw 
ful  speculation  aggregated  for  1856  about  $15,000. 
The  law  requiring  the  public  moneys  to  be  kept  in  the 
fire-proof  vault  of  the  capital,  and  forbidding  its  de 
posit  with  any  individual  or  firm,  was  disregarded,  and 
Palmer,  Cook,  &  Co.  again  became  the  holders  without 
security  of  $88,520,  interest  money  due  in  New  York 
on  the  state's  bonds,  but  which  they  retained  for  their 
own  use,  the  firm  failing,  and  most  of  its  members  and 
agents  absconding.  Great  was  the  outcry  against  the 
defaulting  bankers,  where  the  state  was  thus  dis 
honored,  and  the  guilty  treasurer  hastily  gathered  up 
what  money  remained  in  the  treasury,  which  fell 
$15,000  short  of  the  amount  due,  and  placed  it  in  the 
hands  of  Wells,  Fargo,  &  Co.,  to  be  transmitted  to 
New  York.  This  company  then  entered  into  arrange 
ments  to  assist  Bates  in  his  nefarious  transactions,  who 
permitted  E.  A.  Howe,  president  of  the  Pacific  Ex 
press,  and  others,  to  speculate  with  the  state's  money 
deposited  with  them,  by  reason  of  which  $124,000  was 
lost  to  the  treasury. 

In  order  to  cover  up  the  deficiency  in  the  state's 
funds  on  the  meeting  of  the  legislature  of  1857, 
Bates  bargained  with  the  agent  of  Wells,  Fargo,  & 
Co.  at  Sacramento  for  a  temporary  loan  of  $20,000  to 
make  a  showing,  should  a  committee  of  the  assembly 
proceed  to  count  the  money  in  the  treasury,  as  was 
threatened.  The  sum  borrowed  was  placed  in  the 
state  vaults,  partly  in  United  States  money  and 
partly  in  California  ten-dollar  pieces,  worth  twenty- 
five  cents  less  each  than  United  States  ten-dollar 
coins;  and  when  the  money  was  returned  to  Wells, 
Fargo,  &  Co.  it  was  in  coin  of  the  United  States  mint. 
In  order  to  obtain  this  temporary  loan  the  treasurer 


MEN  WHO   SHOULD  HAVE  BEEN   HANGED.  619 

drew  his  official  draft  in  favor  of  the  firm,  in  the  sum 
of  $20,000.  In  order  to  meet  the  interest  falling  due 
in  January  1857,  Bates  took  from  the  general  fund  to 
apply  upon  the  interest  fund  the  sum  of  $G  0,0  00. 

These  things  did  not  happen  because  the  people 
were  dishonest,  or  had  not  furnished  the  means  to 
maintain  honorable  financial  standing,  but  because 
the  men  who  forced  themselves  into  places  of  public 
trust  were  corrupt  professional  politicians.  On  the 
heels  of  these  losses,  amounting  to  no  one  knew  how 
much,  but  evidently  to  $272,521,  came  the  decision 
by  the  supreme  court  that  the  state  bonds  to  the 
amount  of  over  $3,000,000  had  been  unconstitution 
ally  issued.  The  wonder  is  that  no  one  had  put  forth 
this  opinion  before;  the  language  of  the  constitution 
being  plain  on  the  subject  of  creating  any  debt  or 
liabilities,  which  singly  or  in  the  aggregate  should 
exceed,  with  any  previous  liabilities,  the  sum  of 
$300,000,  except  in  case  of  war,  or  for  a  special  ob 
ject,  the  means  of  paying  the  interest  and  principal 
being  provided  for;  and  not  then  until  it  should  have 
been  submitted  to  the  people,  and  consented  to  by 
the  vote  of  the  majority,  with  other  precautions  and 
restrictions.  It  seemed  to  come  upon  the  public  as  a 
surprise.  " Disguise  it  as  we  may,"  cried  the  Sacra 
mento  Union,  "the  world  of  civilization  will  pronounce 
the  verdict  of  judicial  repudiation  against  the  state  of 
California.  Let  but  a  single  failure  to  pay  our  inter 
est  promptly  occur,  after  the  decision  of  our  court  is 
read  on  the  Atlantic  side  and  in  Europe,  and  the  name 
of  California  will  become  the  scorn  of  all  states,  as 
well  as  of  all  men  who  prize  public  faith  and  individual 
honor."  After  leaving  the  constitutional  question 
untouched  for  five  years,  to  bring  it  up  now,  and 
decide  against  the  validity  of  a  debt  of  more  than 
$3,000,000,  would  look  like  a  deliberately  planned  and 
executed  act  of  dishonesty.  In  that  light,  the  decis 
ion  was  regarded  as  a  public  calamity. 

But  the  masses  were  not  dishonest,  and  when  it 


620  FINANCES. 

was  pointed  out  by  the  judge  that  the  question  could 
still  be  submitted  to  the  people,  of  adopting  the 
indebtedness  of  the  state,  with  the  addition  of  appro 
priations  for  necessary  future  expenses,  they  con 
sented  ;  and  a  bill  of  submission  being  passed  by  the 
legislature  of  1857,  voted  to  pay  $4,000,000  rather 
than  endure  the  ignominy  of  repudiation.  Civil  bonds 
continued  to  be  issued  from  time  to  time,  as  the 
expenses  of  the  state  demanded. 

There  were  still  two  sources  from  which  relief  was 
expected.  One  was  the  Indian  war  debt  appropria 
tion  by  congress,  of  $924,259.65,  which  would,  if  paid 
into  the  treasury  of  California,  have  gone  far  toward 
lifting  the  present  burden.  But  Jefferson  Davis,  sec 
retary  of  war,  refused  to  pay  the  accounts  transmitted 
to  him  until  he  should  be  placed  in  possession  of  the 
vouchers  upon  which  the  warrants  were  issued.  Many 
of  these  were  lost;  besides,  the  governor  demurred  to 
sending  any  portion  of  the  archives  of  the  state  to 
Washington.17  Settlement  was  made  on  about  half 
the  amount,  interest  accumulated  on  the  remainder, 
and  after  vainly  endeavoring  to  secure  a  further  ap 
propriation,  the  holders  of  war  bonds  were  forced  to 
take  what  they  could  get  out  of  the  first.18 

The  other  fund  looked  to  for  relief  was  that  col 
lected  during  the  military  government,  after  the  treaty 
of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo — the  civil  fund.  But  after  sev 
eral  memorials,  resolutions,  and  efforts  by  California 
senators  to  have  the  claim  acknowledged,  it  was  for 
ever  put  to  rest  by  a  decision  of  the  supreme  court  of 
the  United  States,  that  the  action  of  the  federal  offi 
cers  in  collecting  customs  after  the  cession  and  before 

O 

a  government  was  established,  was  warrantable  and 

11  Sac.  Union,  Sept.  20,  1856;  S.  F.  AUa,  Aug.  7  and  Sept.  21,  185C;  S.  F. 
Bulletin,  Sept.  23,  1856;  Cal  Jour.  Sen.,  1857,  app.  no.  8,  16,  18-19;  Id., 
1859,  312-13,  475-6;  Cal.  Reports,  6,  499;  Tuthill,  Hist.  Cal.,  528-9;  Governor's 
Message,  in  Cal.  Jour.  Sen.,  1856,  27-8. 

18  Tuthill,  Hist.  Cal.,  530.  A  few  of  these  bonds  were  found  and  paid  as 
late  as  1873^t.  U.  S.  House  Com.  Rept,  669,  iv.,  43d  Cong.,  1st  Sess. 


STAMP  ACT.  621 

proper.  After  this  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  go 
on  levying  enormous  taxes,  and  cutting  down  expendi 
tures.  To  a  California  legislature  it  was  much  easier 
to  continue  the  taxing  than  to  discontinue  extrava 
gance. 

In  1857  it  was  found  necessary  to  levy  a  tax  on  the 
export  of  gold,  on  insurance,  and  on  divers  branches 
of  commerce,  in  the  shape  of  a  stamp  act,  providing 
that  after  the  first  day  of  July  no  court  should  take 
cognizance  of  any  complaint  founded  on  any  promissory 
note,  foreign  or  inland  bill  of  exchange,  certificate  of 
deposit,  policy  of  insurance,  bill  of  lading,  bond,  mort 
gage,  deed,  lease,  or  receipt,  unless  it  should  be  writ 
ten  on  paper  stamped  for  the  sum,  and  in  the  manner 
required  by  the  act. 

In  18G1  the  indebtedness  of  cities  and  counties 
amounted  to  about  $10,000,000.  In  1863  the  state 
debt  was  still  about  $5,000,000.  The  direct  tax  levied 
by  the  federal  government  during  the  war  of  the  re 
bellion,  soldiers'  relief,  and  soldiers  bounty  funds,  as 
well  as  public  institutions  taxes,  kept  the  people's  ex 
penses  up,  even  after  a  system  of  retrenchment  had 
been  begun.  In  1867  the  state  tax  was  99  cents 
and  the  state  debt  a  little  more  than  two  years 
previous;  and  it  was  not  until  1875  that  the  debt  was 
reduced  to  a  little  less  than  $3,000,000  and  the  state 
tax  to  64  cents.  The  property  valuation  of  the  state 
at  this  period  was  $611,500,000;  the  amount  charged 
tax  collectors  for  state  and  county  purposes  was 
$20,141,568.39,  of  which  nearly  seven  millions  went 
to  the  state  treasury.  The  population  of  1870  was 
560,247  persons,  divided  amongst  whom  the  assess 
ment  amounted  to  $35  for  every  man,  woman,  and 
child  in  the  state.19  No  wonder  the  collectors  de 
ducted  nearly  fourteen  per  cent  for  delinquencies  in 

19  Controller's  Kept,  1873-1875,  22-3.  For  county  indebtedness  of  Los  An 
geles  co.,  see  Hayes1  Scraps,  Angeles,  v.  496;  of  Yuba  co.,  Yuba  Co.  Hist.,  43-4; 
of  Alarm  co.,  Marin  Co.  Hist.,  129-30.  El  Dorado  co.,  as  early  as  1852,  owed 
$30,000,  which  it  had  no  means  of  paying.  Placer  Times  and  Transcript,  Jan. 
15,  1852. 


622  FINANCES. 

making  up  their  estimates.  And  yet  California  had 
a  greater  amount  of  wealth  to  the  individual  than  any 
of  the  older  states.  Her  troubles  had  never  come 
from  any  real  lack  of  means,  but  from  the  improper 
use  of  them.20 

23  As  to  the  use  made  of  such  money  as  had  been  appropriated,  I  will  make 
some  mention  here;  and  also  of  all  public  institutions  charged  with  public 
moneys.  The  first  public  building  ordered  by  the  legislature  to  be  erected, 
for  which  a  fund  was  provided,  was  the  state  marine  hospital  at  S.  F.  In 
April  1850,  an  act  was  passed  authorizing  the  same  *  upon  grounds  containing 
not  less  than  20  acres,  and  which  at  the  time  of  such  erection  shall  belong  to 
the  state,  and  shall  be  situated  upon  the  bay  of  S.  F.,  and  not  less  than  2  nor 
more  than  12  miles  distant  from  that  part  of  the  town  of  S.  F.  known  as 
Clark's  Point.'  The  building  was  to  cost,  with  improvements  of  grounds,  not 
more  than  $50,000.  The  money  to  carry  out  this  purpose  was  to  be  derived 
from  fees  to  the  health  officer,  elected  by  the  legislature.  These  fees  were 
for  visiting  and  examining  each  vessel  from  a  foreign  port,  $20;  each  vessel 
from  any  U.  S.  port,  not  on  the  Pacific  coast,  of  above  100  tons,  $16,  not  over 
100  tons  $12;  under  ICO  tons  $8;  coastwise  vessels  to  pay  the  sum  of  $8. 
Fines  imposed  for  obstructing  the  visit  of  the  health  officer  to  go  into  the 
fund.  The  receipts  for  the  first  quarter  were  $34,083.16,  'which  sum  was 
required  to  pay  the  ordinary  expenses  of  the  establishment  (which  was  then 
in  a  temporary  building)  during  that  period.'  Cal.  Jour.  Sen.,  1851,  app.  541. 
For  the  2d  quarter  the  receipts  were  $30,830.93,  which  sum  was  also  neces 
sary  to  pay  current  expenses,  except  $167.43,  found  among  the  unclaimed 
effects  of  deceased  persons.  This  sum  was  the  first  paid  into  the  state  treas 
ury  to  form  a  state  hospital  fund.  Meantime  congress  appropriated  $50,000 
for  the  erection  of  a  marine  hospital  at  S.  F.,  which  should  have  rendered  the 
state  hospital  unnecessary.  But  not  so  thought  the  legislature  of  1851,  which 
passed  an  act  to  provide  a  revenue,  compelling  the  master  or  owner  of  a  ves 
sel  arriving  from  a  foreign  port  to  give  a  severed  bond,  in  a  penalty  of  $200, 
for  each  passenger,  conditioned  to  indemnify  and  save  harmless  the  state 
marine  hospital  at  S.  F.,  and  every  city,  township,  and  county  in  the  state, 
from  any  cost  or  charge  for  the  relief,  support,  or  medical  treatment  of  the 
persons  named  in  the  bonds,  which  were  required  to  be  secured  by  2  or  more 
sureties,  provided  that  the  master  or  owner  might  commute  for  the  required 
bonds  by  payment  of  £5  in  money  for  each  cabin  passenger,  and  for  each  deck 
passenger  $3.  Any  refusal  or  neglect  caused  a  forfeiture  of  not  less  than 
$500,  nor  more  than  $2,000,  which  inured  to  the  benefit  of  the  hospital  fund, 
and  all  vessels  were  required  to  carry  a  charity-box  for  the  collection  of  money 
for  the  state  marine  hospital.  The  act  also  made  this  institution  a  city  hos 
pital,  by  authorizing  the  city  to  send  there  its  sick,  upon  terms  agreed  upon 
between  the  city  and  the  trustees  of  the  marine  hospital,  but  not  to  exceed 
$50,000  annually.  Cal  Statutes,  1851,  384-6.  A  certain  proportion  of  the 
revenue  derived  from  gaming  licenses  and  auction  tax  was  also  diverted  to 
the  hospital  fund.  It  would  seem  from  remarks  in  the  A  ltd  that  the  state 
marine  hospital  was  regarded  as  'infamous.'  'Maledictions,1  says  the  editor, 
'  upon  the  heads  of  those  who  enacted  the  illegal,  cruel,  and  villanous  pro 
vision,  by  which  the  poor  mariner  was  plundered,  not  succored,  and  the  com 
mercial  interests  of  the  state  jeopardized  for  the  purpose  of  gratifying  a  few 
craven  satellites.'  Other  hospitals,  at  Sac.  and  Stockton,  authorized  in  1851, 
received  a  part  of  these  taxes.  Sac.  was  granted  $30,000  and  Stockton 
$20,000.  These  other  state  hospitals  received  an  appropriation  annually  out 
of  the  general  fund.  In  1852  an  act  was  passed  authorizing  the  trustees  of 
the  Stockton  state  hospital  to  erect  a  building  for  the  insane  of  the  state,  and 
to  provide  for  their  support,  the  building  not  to  cost  over  $10,000,  this  sum 
to  be  paid  out  of  the  state  treasury,  with  $7,500  for  the  support  of  the  insane. 


EXPENDITURES.  G23 

It  could  not  be  said  that  at  this  period  California 
had  any  system  of  political  economy.  From  1849 

These  institutions  annually  required  more  money.  The  next  device  for  their 
support  was  the  'passenger  act,'  similar  to  the  act  before  described,  but  call 
ing  for  not  less  than  $5  nor  more  than  $10  for  each  passenger  landed  in  Cal., 
from  foreign  countries,  or  the  other  states  of  the  union;  and  exacting  heavy 
bonds  for  landing  a  lunatic,  cripple,  pauper,  or  infirm  person,  not  a  member 
of  a  family.  By  an  act  of  1853  a  com.  of  immigrants  for  the  port  of  S.  F. 
was  authorized,  to  be  appointed  by  the  gov.,  to  hold  office  for  two  years,  and 
to  approve  all  bonds  and  administer  all  oaths  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties 
connected  with  the  passenger  act.  His  pay  was  ten  per  cent  of  the  receipts, 
the  remainder,  after  payment  of  costs,  to  go  into  the  state  treasury.  Two 
fifths  of  this  fund  was  then  appropriated  to  the  support  of  the  insane  asylum 
established  at  Stockton  in  1853,  in  place  of  the  Stockton  state  hospital,  and 
for  which  a  draft  on  the  treasury  of  $50,000  was  authorized.  The  state  marine 
hospital  was  discontinued  in  1855,  and  the  property  belonging  thereto  was 
conveyed  to  the  county  of  S.  F.  for  the  use  of  the  indigent  sick,  and  all 
moneys  received  in  commutation  of  bonds  under  the  passenger  act  was  set 
apart  to  constitute  the  hospital  fund  of  the  state  of  Cal.,  to  be  apportioned 
among  the  counties  of  the  state  in  proportion  to  their  population.  To  dis 
courage  the  immigration  of  persons  who,  under  the  laws  of  Cal.  and  the  U.  S., 
could  not  become  citizens,  a  law  was  passed  in  1855  requiring  a  tax  of  £50  to 
be  paid  for  every  such  person  brought  to  any  port  in  Cal.  Suit  could  be 
brought  against  the  master,  owner,  or  consignee,  in  the  event  of  a  refusal  to 
pay  the  amount  due  to  constitute  a  lien  on  the  vessel.  All  moneys  collected 
under  this  act  were  to  be  paid  into  the  treasury  for  the  hospital  fund,  except 
five  per  cent  to  go  to  the  commissioner  of  immigration.  In  1852,  the  sum  of 
$25,000  was  appropriated  for  the  relief  of  the  overland  immigration,  and  $2,000 
for  the  use  of  the  indigent  sick  at  San  Diego.  In  1855  §10,000  was  appro 
priated  to  be  divided  between  the  two  orphan  asylums  of  S.  F.  In  1856 
$40,000  was  appropriated  for  the  completion  of  the  state  insane  asylum  at 
Stockton.  The  city  of  Sac.  brought  a  claim  of  $144,295.50  against  the  state, 
which  was  said  to  have  been  expended  by  that  city  between  Dec.  6,  1849,  and 
May  3,  1851,  on  account  of  the  sick  and  destitute,  not  residents  of  the  city 
or  county,  and  for  the  proper  interment  of  those  of  this  class  who  died  within 
that  period.  During  the  heavy  overland  immigration,  a  large  number  of  im 
migrants  were  relieved  annually,  as  well  as  many  sick  miners. 

To  provide  a  fund  for  the  state  library,  a  tax  of  $5  was  levied  upon  the 
commission  of  every  state  officer  and  every  member  of  the  legislature.  A 
board  consisting  of  the  governor,  treasurer,  comptroller,  president  of  the 
senate,  and  speaker  of  the  assembly,  had  power  to  draw  this  money,  and  to 
purchase  books,  maps,  and  furniture  for  the  library.  A  supplemental  act 
made  all  fees,  of  whatever  nature,  collected  in  the  office  of  the  secretary  of 
state,  a  portion  of  the  library  fund.  By  an  act  of  1856  so  much  of  the  above 
laws  as  conflicted  with  a  provision  of  the  militia  law  setting  aside  the  $5  tax 
on.  military  commissions,  to  constitute  a  military  fund,  was  repealed.  la 
this  manner  were  special  taxes  made  to  meet  most  of  the  expenses. 

Both  before  and  after  the  admission  of  the  state,  convicts  wr re  confined 
on  'prison  brigs '  at  S.  F.  and  Sac.,  and  in  such  insecure  jails  as  were  to  be 
found  in  some  counties.  But  in  1851  the  legislature  passed  an  act  making 
M.  G.  Vallejo  and  James  M.  Estill  lessees  of  state  prison  convicts,  and  upon 
them  devolved  the  obligation  for  ten  years  to  guard  and  provide  for  this  class 
of  persons,  three  inspectors,  with  a  salary  of  $1,500  each,  being  appointed  to 
make  rules,  and  report  to  the  legislature.  During  the  year  1851,  according 
to  the  inspectors,  the  jail  in  S.  F.  was  used  for  a  portion  of  the  state  convicts, 
and  one  prison  brig  had  been  fitted  up  and  moored  near  Angel  Island,  en 
which  35  prisoners  were  confined.  The  law  of  1851  implied  the  erection  by 
the  state  of  a  penitentiary,  but  leased  the  state  prisoners,  without  requiring 


624  FINANCES. 

to  1857,  268,713  persons  had  arrived  at  San  Fran 
cisco  by  sea,  and  144,100  had  departed  in  the  same 

any  returns  from  their  labor,  while  paying  inspectors,  in  addition  to  the  costs 
of  arrest  and  prosecution.  This,  as  the  inspectors  remarked,  had  the  look  of 
'affording  rare  facilities  for  private  advantage.'  The  number  of  convicts 
turned  over  to  the  lessees  in  Jan.  1851  was  60;  and  Cal.  convicts  were  among 
the  worst  in  the  world,  being  the  scum  of  the  criminal  professions  from  every 
part  of  the  inhabited  globe.  Others  were  added  to  the  60  during  the  year. 
From  the  prison  brig  17  escaped  by  overpowering  their  keepers,  and  three 
escaped  in  S.  F.  Out  of  the  20  thus  let  loose  upon  society,  7  were  recaptured. 
Upon  this  report  the  legislature  of  1852  passed  an  act  constituting  the  in 
spectors  and  the  supt  of  public  buildings,  a  board  to  examine  bids  for  a  con 
tract  and  select  a  site  for  a  state  prison;  purchase  to  be  made  of  20  acres  for 
that  purpose  at  not  more  than  $10,000,  to  be  paid  out  of  the  general  fund. 
No  limitation  as  to  price  was  mentioned  in  the  bill,  but  all  the  proceeds 
from  the  sale  of  swamp  and  overflowed  lands,  after  draining  and  levying  the 
same,  was  pledged  to  be  held  inviolate  for  the  payment  and  redemption  of 
bonds  of  the  state,  issued  and  made  payable  in  10  years,  with  7  per  cent 
interest,  payable  semiannually,  for  the  purpose  of  discharging  the  debt  to 
the  contractor.  The  board  were  to  settle  upon  a  plan  suitable  for  the  pur 
pose,  and  did  so.  Two  bids  were  received,  one  from  Isaac  Saffraiis,  and  one 
from  F.  Vassault,  either  of  which  would  have  footed  up  nearly  $1,000,000. 
The  plans  and  proposals  were  approved  by  Bigler.  Land  was  purchased 
at  San  Quentin  point,  and  excavations  begun,  when  the  legislature  of  1853 
made  an  investigation  of  the  subject.  The  gov.  had  not  pointed  out  the 
nncoiistitutionality  of  the  act,  nor  expressed  any  doubts  of  its  expediency. 
The  investigation  showed  that  several  members  of  the  senate  had  proposed 
limitations,  the  majority  being  in  favor  of  $100,000,  and  that  when  it  was 
voted  upon  these  senators  had  believed  that  $100,000  was  incorporated  in 
the  bill  by  amendment.  Yet  when  the  original  bill  was  examined,  no  evi 
dence  could  be  found  of  mutilation  or  erasures.  By  what  legerdemain  the 
bill  passed  through  both  houses  was  not  discovered.  That  the  same  craft 
was  shown  in  the  bids  was  proven.  Several  were  presented  and  withdrawn, 
leaving  only  the  two  mentioned.  These  were  copies  of  one  another  in 
every  respect,  except  '  slight  difference  in  the  estimates, '  showing  that  they 
emanated  from  the  same  source.  The  sureties  offered  in  one  case  were  J.  M. 
Estill,  Jos.  Daniels,  and  R.  H.  Allen,  and  in  the  other  John  Middleton  and 
T.  Butler  King.  There  seemed  to  have  been  many  persons  interested  in  the 
job,  but  the  responsibility  was  not  fixed  upon  any.  The  legislature  of  1853 
passed  an  act  declaring  void  the  contract  with  Vassault,  and  authorizing  the 
expenditure  of  $135,000  in  the  construction  of  a  state  prison  on  the  ground 
at  San  Quentin,  to  be  paid,  as  before  proposed,  in  state  bonds  maturing  in 
ten  years,  with  interest  at  7  per  cent;  and  $18,315  was  paid  out  of  the  gen 
eral  fund  for  the  work  and  material  already  done  and  furnished.  No  second 
offer  of  the  state's  swamp-lands  was  made  to  unprincipled  speculators;  but  a 
tax  was  levied  of  4  cents  on  each  $100  of  taxable  property,  to  constitute  a 
fund  to  redeem  the  bonds  until  the  debt  should  be  paid.  Thomas  D.  Johns 
was  the  contractor  under  the  new  arrangement.  The  prison  was  completed 
in  Jan.  1854,  and  the  convicts,  242  in  number,  were  removed  thither  at  a  cost 
of  $25,000.  The  appropriations  of  1852  and  1853,  '  for  special  objects,  having 
no  necessary  connection  with  the  administration  of  the  state  govt, '  amounted 
to  $436,350.78.  The  legislative,  executive,  and  judiciary  departments  had 
cost  in  the  period  $1,107,927.80.  In  1855  the  legislature  created  a  board  of 
three  state  prison  directors,  who  were  intrusted  with  the  management  of 
prison  affairs,  nomination  of  subordinate  officers,  etc.  The  first  board  was 
appointed  by  the  legislature,  and  expended  in  7  months,  including  the  erec 
tion  of  a  wall  about  the  prison,  the  sum  of  $382,226.84,  or  a  monthly  average 
of  over  $54,000.  The  second  board  was  elected  by  the  people,  and  expended 


DRAIN  FOR  TRANSPORTATION.  626 

manner.  At  the  low  average  of  $175  each  for  these 
412,813  passengers,  the  amount  of  passage  money  paid 
to  New  York  steamship  companies  was  $72,242,275. 
The  freight  earned  by  these  companies  on  the  specie 
shipped  since  1849,  at  one  and  a  half  per  cent, 
amounted  to  $4,835,907.  Other  freights  had  yielded 
at  a  low  estimate  $11,000,000,  making  a  sum  total 
of  $88,078,183,  from  these  three  sources  alone,  paid 
out  of  California  pockets  to  New  York  steamship 
companies.  Yet  nobody  thought  of  organizing  a 
California  steamship  company.  Fire  and  marine  in 
surance  companies  in  England  and  New  York  drew 

i:i  11  months  $475,413.23.  The  salary  of  each  of  these  directors  was  $3,500. 
Their  term  of  office  was  3  years,  but  so  classified  that  a  new  director  was 
chosen  at  each  annual  election  to  fill  the  place  of  one  going  out.  The  alarm 
ing  expenditures  of  these  directors  caused  the  legislature  of  1856  to  authorize 
a  contract  for  the  care  of  the  prisoners,  and  the  erection  of  such  buildings  as 
should  be  required,  at  a  cost  of  not  over  £15,000  per  month,  and  appointed  the 
lieut-gov.,  state  comp.,  and  treas.  a  board  of  coins,  to  make  rules  for  the  gov 
ernment  of  the  prison.  An  appropriation  of  $500  for  the  travelling  expenses 
of  each  was  their  only  pay.  They  let  the  contract  to  Estill  for  §10,000  per 
month,  who  had  the  lease  also  of  the  prisoners'  labor.  The  directors  were 
made  simply  a  police  by  being  required  '  to  give  their  daily  attention  to  the 
enforcement  of  such  rules  '  as  were  provided  by  the  commissioners.  The  pay 
ment  of  §10,500  annually  for  these  superfluous  officers  was  discontinued,  when 
the  legislature  of  1857  abolished  the  office.  Through  such  abuses  of  trust  as 
the  state  prison  legislation  exhibited  during  a  period  of  several  years,  the  peo 
ple  became  stirred  up  finally  to  take  reprisal. 

No  action  was  taken  providing  for  the  erection  of  the  state  capitol  before 

1856,  when  the  legislature  passed  an  act  providing  for  its  construction.     Pre 
viously  that  body,  after  it  ceased  its  peripatetic  practices,  had  occupied  a 
building  erected  by  the  county  at  a  great  cost,  and  which  being  paid  for  in 
county  bonds  drawing  §20,000  interest  per  annum,  rented  only  for  §12,000 
yearly,  leaving  the  county  to  pay  §8,000  for  the  glory  of  possessing  the  cap 
ital;  but  the  rents  paid  by  the  state  amounted  to  §29,000  annually.     Tne 
commissioners  appointed  to  contract  for  Slid  superintend  the  work  were  D. 
F.  Douglas,  G.  W.  Whitman,  and  Gilbert  Griswold,  and  the  sum  of  §300,000 
was  appropriated.     The  warrants  drawn  from  time  to  time  on  the  treasury 
were  made  redeemable  in  bonds  of  the  state  bearing  7  psr  cent  interest,  in 
sums  of  §500  and  §1,000.     To  meet  the  indebtedness,  the  proceeds  of  the  sales 
or  leases  of  lands  donated  to  the  state  by  the  United  States,  or  which  might 
ba  thereafter  donated  for  public  buildings,  was  set  apart  as  a  fund  from  which 
to  pay  the  interest  and  principal,  the  lirst  payment  to  be  made  in  January 

1857.  Should  not  the  fund  equal  by  Nov.  of  that  year,  and  every  year,  the 
sum  of  §10,000  over  the  interest,  enough  was  to  be  added  from  the  general  fund 
to  make  it  §10,000,  which  was  to  constitute  a  sinking  fund  for  the  gradual 
redemption  of  the  bonds.     In  1854  the  city  of  Sac.  had  donated  a  site  for  the 
capital,  and  upon  that  the  structure  was  being  erected  by  Joseph  Nougues 
when  the  decision  of  the  sup.  court,  that  the  debts  contracted  by  the  state 
above  §300,000  were  unconstitutional,  arrested  proceedings.     The  erection  of 
the  capitol  building  therefore  belongs  to  another  period.  Roadi's  Slot.,  MS., 
11;  An.  Mess.  Gov.,  1858,  13;  Cnl.  Statute*,  1850-6,  passim;  Sac.  Union,  March 
31,   1856;  S.  F.  daily  journals,  1850-6,  passim. 

HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.    40 


626  FINANCES. 

annually  $2,000,000;  yet  not  one  of  these  corpora 
tions,  owned  anything  in  California  which  could  be 
taxed.  Their  capital,  derived  largely  from  California, 
returned  California  nothing,  and  secured  no  claims 
against  them.  The  state  greatly  needed  water  com 
panies  for  mining  and  agricultural  purposes,  but  there 
were  few  canals,  and  entirely  inadequate  to  the  exist 
ing  want,  not  to  mention  the  wants  that  could  have 
been  created. 

The  constitution  of  the  state  was  not  favorable  to 
corporations,  special  legislation  being  prohibited. 
Under  the  indebtedness  in  which  the  state  had  become 
involved,  and  considering  the  time  required  to  call  a 
convention  to  amend  that  instrument,  men  hesitated 
to  make  the  movement.  Had  legislation  been  all 
that  was  desired,  labor  was  too  high  in  California  to 
make  manufactures  profitable,  even  where  the  mate 
rial  was  present;  therefore  merchants  continued  to 
order  from  the  east  cargoes  of  costly  merchandise — 
they  could  not  afford  to  order  cheap  articles  and  pay 
high  freight — for  which  the  laboring  as  well  as  the 
wealthy  class  were  forced  to  pay.  This  was  another 
drain  on  the  money  of  the  country.  All  the  world 
sent  of  its  productions  to  this  young  and  undisciplined 
commonwealth;  and  like  a  boy  at  a  fair,  the  common 
wealth  would  buy  anything  offered. 

It  is  time  I  should  mention  the  gifts,  not  few  in 
deed,  nor  small,  which  the  state  received  from  the 
general  government,  in  return  for  this  river  of  wealth 
which  she  was  pouring  forth  so  lavishly  to  enrich 
the  people  of  the  earth.  The  short  time  left  after  the 
California  delegation  obtained  their  seats,  before  the 
first  session  of  the  thirty-first  congress  expired,  pro 
hibited  much  discussion  of  the  merits  of  the  several 
bills  introduced.  Those  that  were  passed  in  the  three 
weeks  before  congress  adjourned  were  four;  namely, 
an  act  changing  the  collection  districts  already  exist 
ing,  and  creating  six  additional  ones ;  an  act  extending 
the  judicial  system  of  the  United  States  to  the  state 


GENERAL  GOVERNMENT.  627 

of  California,  which  was  divided  into  two  judicial  dis 
tricts;21  an  act  to  authorize  the  appointment  of  Indian 
agents  in  California;22  and  an  act  making  appropriations 
for  light-houses.23  Neither  of  these  brought  much 

21  California  was  divided  into  northern  and  southern  districts.     The  salary 
of  the  judges,  being  fixed  at  $3,500  and   $2,800,  was  inadequate  to  their 
expenses.     Gwin  gave  notice  that  he  should  ask  for  an  increase  of  pay  at  the 
next  session,  Cong.  Globe,  1849-50,  20-68,  and  the  legislature  of  1852  passed 
a  joint  resolution  instructing  their  senators  to  obtain  an  increase  of  salary 
for  the  U.  S.  district  judges.   Cal.  Statutes,  1852,  282. 

22  Said  McCorkle,  democratic  congressman  in  1852:  'An  appropriation  was 
made,  and  the  president  authorized  to  appoint  3  commissioners,  with  full 
powers  to  treat  with  them,  and  to  make  such  other  arrangements  as  the  cir 
cumstances  might  require.     As  in  other  cases,  in  pursuance  of  the  fixed  policy 
toward  Cal.  adopted  by  the  present  administration  [whig],  3  gentlemen,  en 
tirely  ignorant,  not  only  of  the  country,  but  especially  of  the  nature  and  habits 
of  our  Indians,  were  sent  out  from  the  Atlantic  to  protect  the  people  of  the 
Pacific  from  the  savages  who  inhabit  our  state.     These  men,  as  might  have 
been  expected  under  the  circumstances,  have  committed  the  most  egregious 
blunders,  and  find  opposed  to  them  and  the  policy  they  adopted,  not  only  the 
entire  population  of  Cal.,  but  the  senate  of  the  U.  S.,  which  has  rejected 
every  treaty  made  by  them  with  the  Indians  unanimously.     The  enormous 
debts,  amounting  in  all  to  nearly  $1,000,000,  have  been  repudiated,  and  un 
fortunately,  while  depriving  these  imported  officers  of  their  portion  of  the 
profits  and  speculation,  many  innocent  third  parties,  who  from  their  ranches 
and  stores  have,  in  good  faith,  furnished  them  supplies,  are  also  compelled  to 
suffer  losses.'     McCorkle  spoke  as  a  partisan,  but  in  the  main  correctly,  al 
though  he  knew  that  one  at  least  of  the  commissioners,  O.  M.  Wozencraft, 
was  a  pioneer  of  Cal.,  and  a  man  of  affairs  in  the  state,  who  therefore  should 
bear  one  third  of  the  blame  of  the  rejected  treaties.     The  other  commissioners 
were  George  W.  Barbour  and  Redick  McKee.     The  people  of  Cal.  did  com 
plain  of  the  treaties  because  they  reserved  to  the  Indians,  according  to  the 
miners,  'every  acre  really  rich  in  minerals,  or  really  adapted  to  agricultural 
pursuits,'  S.  F.  Alta,  July  26,  1851,  in  all  the  valleys  along  the  base  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada,  from  the  Stanislaus  to  Kern  River.     The  miners  were  ordered 
off,  also  the  farmers,  ferries  removed,  and  the  Indians  placed  between  the 
mines  and  the  commercial  points  of  supply.     At  the  same  time,  the  tract 
reserved  to  each  tribe,  except  in  one  instance,  was  too  small  for  Indian  modes 
of  life,  and  too  large  for  farming  purposes,  could  they  be  brought  to  learn 
agriculture.  Rept  of  special  committee  on  public  lands,  in  the  senate  of  Cal., 
in  Cal.  Jour.  Sen.,  1852,  575-92.     The  amount  first  appropriated  for  the  ex 
penses  of  the  commission  was  $25,000.     The  Indians  were  in  a  hostile  atti 
tude,  caused  by  their  frequent  depredations  and  the  retaliatory  acts  of  the 
miners.     The  commissioners  therefore  travelled  with  a  military  escort,  and 
incurred  heavy  expenses,  accomplishing  nothing  more  than  to  secure  a  tem 
porary  peace  by  yielding  the  point,  and  making  presents  and  promises  to  the 
Indians,  quite  transcending  their  powers  in  making  and  executing  treaties. 
For  this  they  were  dismissed,  and  the  32d  congress  established  the  office  of 
superintendent  of  Indian  affairs,  and  appropriated  $100,000. 

23  An  appropriation  of  $90,000  was  made  in  1850  for  the  erection  of  light 
houses  on  the  coast  of  Cal.  and  Oregon,  and  to  this  was  added  $15,000  in  1851. 
The  appropriation,  however,  remained  untouched  in  the  treasury  for  a  year 
and  a  half,  and  then  all  the  material,  workmen,  and  mechanics  needed  were 
shipped  from  the  east,  depriving  Cal.  of  any  participation  in  the  benefits  of 
the  expenditure  of  this  money.     So  the  hungry  politicians  complained,  with 
out  reflecting  that  men  and  material  were  not  to  be  obtained  so  easily  in  this 
country.     There  were  8  lights  to  be  established,  the  contract  given  to  Gibbons 
and  Kelly,  who  sent  out  their  men  and  material  in  the  bark  Oriole,  Cong. 


628  FINANCES. 

money  to  California.  The  prevailing  impression  of 
the  expense  of  building  in  this  state  made  congress 
men  careful  of  voting  appropriations.  At  the  second 
session  something  more  tangible  was  secured,  though 
by  no  means  as  much  as  had  been  looked  for,  since  it 
was  firmly  believed  the  civil  fund,  then  amounting  to 
$1,500,000,  would  be  restored  to  the  people  from  whom 
it  was  collected,  as  they  maintained  illegally,  in  addi 
tion  to  appropriations  which  they  had  a  right  to  ex 
pect;  whereas  the  whole  amount  obtained  from  the 
thirty-first  congress  aggregated  not  much  over  a  mil 
lion.  This  amount,  too,  had  been  lessened  by  the  mis 
management  of  agents  appointed  by  the  government 
to  take  charge  of  disbursements.24 

One  of  the  things  most  desired  in  California  was  a 
mint.  The  subject  was  discussed  during  the  short 
time  that  remained  of  the  first  session  of  the  thirty- 
first  congress,  but  not  finally.  A  short  time  previous 
to  the  admission  of  California,  Senator  Dickinson  of 
New  York  had  brought  up  a  bill  for  the  establishment 

Globe,  1849-50,  app.  1083,  which  was  finally  wrecked  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia. 

24  An  appropriation  of  $50,000  was  made  in  1850  for  the  erection  of  a  marine 
hospital  at  S.  F.,  and  $100,000  for  a  new  custom-house,  with  the  promise  of 
$300,000  more  to  complete  it,  under  certain  conditions,  among  which  were 
these  two — that  S.  F.  should  donate  an  eligible  site  on  the  plaza,  and  that 
neither  state  nor  other  taxes  should  be  levied  on  the  property.  Allen  A. 
Hall  was  appointed  supt  of  public  buildings  in  S.  F.,  with  a  salary  of  $16  per 
diein.  He  spent  six  months  in  Cal.  and  did  nothing.  Whether  it  was  alto 
gether  his  fault,  or  whether  it  was  not  partly  because  the  S.  F.  people  were 
undetermined  as  to  the  proper  sites,  the  whig  administration  was  made 
chargeable  with  the  delay.  On  the  10th  of  Dec.,  1852,  the  common  council 
and  mayor  of  S.  F.  conveyed  to  the  U.  S.  govt  six  fifty -vara  lots  on  Rincon 
Point,  where  the  U.  S.  marine  hospital  was  erected,  the  total  cost  of  which 
was  about  $250,000.  It  was  completed  in  Dec.  1853.  In  May  1852  congress 
appropriated  $40,000  to  improve  a  site  selected  on  the  corner  of  Washington 
and  Battery  sts,  where  the  custom-house  and  post-office  building  was  finally 
erected  in  1854.  In  the  mean  time  the  govt  purchased  the  '  custom-house 
block '  on  the  corner  of  Sansome  and  Sacramento  sts,  at  a  cost  of  $150,000, 
where  a  building  costing  $140,000  was  erected,  and  where  the  offices  of  the 
customs  and  naval  departments  of  the  govt  were  kept.  T.  Butler  King  suc 
ceeded  Collier  as  collector  in  Jan.  1851.  C.  K.  Greene  was  deputy  collector. 
The  ports  of  entry  established  were  at  Sac.,  Benicia,  Stockton,  Monterey, 
San  Diego,  and  Humboldt.  'It  was  an  experiment,'  saysGwin,  'to  ascertain 
where  commerce  would  most  develop  itself. '  Jesse  B.  Hambleton  was  col 
lector  at  Sac. ,  and  W.  G.  Gallaher  at  Benicia,  and  Robert  A.  Parker  inspector  of 
customs  at  Trinidad.  All  the  ports  of  entry  were  finally  abolished  and  made 
ports  of  delivery,  except  S.  F. 


BRANCH  MINT.  629 

of  a  branch  mint  at  New  York  city.  Benton  pro 
posed  to  amend  by  establishing  a  branch  mint  and 
assay  office  at  San  Francisco,  in  which  form  the  bill 
passed  the  senate,  but  failed  in  the  lower  house  in 
consequence  of  the  opposition  of  the  Pennsylvania 
delegation  to  the  New  York  branch  mint.  At  the  next 
session,  the  bill  being  before  the  committee  of  the 
whole,  and  not  likely  to  pass,  a  substitute  was  offered 
for  the  whole  bill,  proposing  to  make  coins  issued  by 
the  assay  office  of  Moffat  &  Co.25  a  legal  tender,  and 
to  enlarge  and  improve  that  institution.  The  Cali 
fornia  delegation  affected  to  oppose  the  substitute  bill, 
and  to  be  still  hopeful  of  securing  a  mint.  Want  of 
time,  however,  in  the  short  session  was  given  as  a 
reason  for  abandoning  their  object,  and  it  was  left  to 
be  prosecuted  by  their  successors.  A  bill  was  finally 
passed  July  1852,  authorizing  the  erection  of  a  branch 
mint  at  San  Francisco,  and  appropriating  $300,000  for 
that  purpose;  but  the  money  was  expended  in  pur 
chasing  and  extending  the  United  States  assay  office. 
A  mint  finally  went  into  operation  in  April  1854,  with 
machinery  capable  of  coining  $30,000,000  annually. 

Among  the  first  appropriations  was  $100,000,  for 
commencing  the  construction  of  a  dry -dock  on  the 
coast  of  California.  Gwin  being  appointed  on  the 
committee  of  naval  affairs,  of  which  he  was  chairman 
from  1851  to  1855,  was  in  a  position  to  report  and  to 
push  bills  connected  with  naval  and  marine  interests, 
and  did  so  with  commendable  energy  and  persever 
ance.  The  final  cost  of  the  dry-dock,  and  removal  to 
Mare  Island,  was  about  $1,000,000,  all  but  the  first 
$100,000  being  appropriated  by  the  thirty-second 

25  Moffatt  &  Co.  were  U.  S.  assay  contractors  under  an  act  passed  during 
the  pendency  of  the  mint  bill.  Augustus  Humbert  was  the  assayer  appointed 
to  affix  the  U.  S.  stamp  to  the  gold  assayed  at  this  office.  At  the  suggestion 
of  Gwin,  $50,  $100,  and  $200  gold  pieces  were  permitted  to  be  manufactured 
at  this  establishment.  Gwins  Memoirs,  MS.,  115.  Previous  to  the  establish 
ment  of  the  U.  S.  assay  office,  private  companies  had  issued  coins,  which  now 
began  to  be  repudiated,  making  a  panic  in  the  money  market,  while  at  the 
same  time  nothing  was  substituted  for  the  small  coins  rejected.  After  the 
establishment  of  the  mint  in  1854,  Gwin  reported  a  bill  for  the  coinage  of  $50 
and  $100  pieces,  which  failed  in  the  house. 


630  FINANCES. 

congress.26  Gwin  was  also  on  the  finance  committee, 
which  gave  him  opportunities  which  he  improved. 
California  having  but  one  representative  in  the  senate 
for  two  sessions,  Gwin  may  be  credited  with  having 
secured  most  of  the  large  sums  appropriated  by  this 
congress.  He  reported  a  bill  in  January  1852,  pro 
viding  for  the  establishment  of  a  navy-yard  on  a  large 
scale.  Some  trouble  was  experienced  after  the  pas 
sage  of  the  bill  in  selecting  a  location  for  the  work, 
Mare  Island  being  the  site  at  length  fixed  upon.  It 
cost  the  government  $50,000  to  secure  a  title  to  the 
land.27  The  first  appropriation  for  general  purposes 

26 S.  F.  Pac.  News,  Dec.  2,  1850;  U.  S.  Acts  and  Res.,  158-9,  31st  Cong., 
1st  Sess.;  U.  S.  Laws,  4;  U.  S.  H.  Ex.  Doc.,  37,  vol.  v.,  33d  Cong.,  2d  Sess. ; 
Cal.  Reg.,  1857,  135;  Cong.  Globe,  1849-50,  1920,  2020,  2061;  1851-2, 
1499-1504;  Gwin,  Memoirs,  MS.,  105;  U.  S.  H.  Ex.  Doc.,  31,  v.,  31st  Cong.,  2d 
Sess.;  Solano  Co.  Hist.,  247-62;  Savage,  Coll,  MS.,  iii.,  p.  140;  Gwin's  Spe.ech, 
in  U.  S.  Sen.,  March  23,  1852;  S.  F.  AUa,  April  12,  1852;  Id.,  March  19, 
1852;  Cal.  Mil  Affairs,  Scraps,  12;  Kept  of  com.,  in  U.  S.  Sen.  Rept,  14,  vol. 
i.,  32d  Cong.,  1st  Sess. 

27  Victor  Castro,  who  owned  Mare  Island  and  property  on  the  mainland, 
being  troubled  by  the  Indians  stealing  horses,  conveyed  a  band  of  brood  rnares 
to  the  island  for  security;  hence  its  name  of  Isla  de  la  Yegua,  or  Mare  Icland. 
Its  advantages  for  a  naval  station  began  early  to  be  observed,  and  J.  B.  Frisbie, 
a  capt.  in  the  U.  S.  army,  purchased  it  from  Castro  in  1849.  In  1850  he  sold 
an  interest  in  the  island  to  Capt.  Bezer  Simmons;  and  subsequently  an  in 
terest  was  sold  to  W.  Aspinwall,  of  the  tirm  of  Howland  &  Aspinwall,  who 
later  purchased  the  whole  island.  Capt.  Blunt,  commissioner  U.  S.  N.,  had 
recommended  this  location  to  the  govt  in  1850,  for  a  navy -yard.  In  1851, 
Com.  McCauley,  who  was  instructed  by  the  dept  to  report  upon  the  most 
eligible  site  for  the  naval  arsenal  of  the  Pacific  coast,  decidedly  favored  Sauza- 
lito;  but  the  dept,  not  being  satisfied,  instructed  Com.  Sloat  to  make  an  exam 
ination  of  the  most  eligible  points  on  the  bay,  and  he  recommended  Mare 
Island,  which  the  govt  finally  purchased  in  1852  of  Aspinwall  for  $50,000. 
In  Sept.  1852  the  dry-dock,  built  in  New  York  in  sections,  began  to  arrive, 
a  portion  on  the  merchant  ship  Empire  reaching  the  island  Sept.  llth,  having 
grounded  near  the  present  site  of  the  magazine,  and  remained  3  days  before 
she  was  floated  again  by  lightering.  She  was  followed  by  the  packet  Queen  of 
the  East,  and  later  in  the  year  by  the  Defiance  with  the  remainder  of  the  dock. 
Under  the  superintendence  of  Theodore  C.  Deane,  agent  of  the  contractors, 
and  Darius  Peckham,  foreman,  the  vessels  were  moored,  and  the  ships  dis 
charged  by  means  of  booms  and  scows.  By  Christmas  3  sections  were  framed, 
and  in  the  autumn  of  1853  6  sections  were  complete.  The  first  vessel  taken 
on  for  repairs  was  the  steamer  Pacific  in  1853.  In  1854  admiral  (then  captain) 
Farragut  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  island,  with  instructions  to 
carry  on  the  work  of  completing  a  naval  station.  Isaiah  Hanscom  had  been 
sent  out  to  superintend  the  construction  of  the  marine  railway  and  basin,  and 
was  appointed  subsequently  naval  constructor.  The  frigate  Independence  was 
the  first  U.  S.  ship  which  tested  the  dry-dock.  She  was  taken  upon  8  sec 
tions,  with  her  batteries,  spars,  stores,  and  crew  of  500  men  on  board.  Dec. 
11  and  12,  1855.  The  trial  was  superintended  by  P.  Burgess,  of  the  N.  Y.  Co. 
which  built  the  dock.  Sac.  Rescue,  Feb.  2,  1871;  Vallejo  Chronicle,  Feb.  16, 
1878;  S.  F.  Alta,  June  6,  1854.  The  state  ceded  its  interest  in  Mare  Island 


NAVY-YARD.  631 

was  $100,000,  and  the  second  $100,000  for  a  black 
smith-shop.28  Then  there  was  $150,000  for  a  floating 
wharf  and  basin  in  1853,  besides  about  $30,000  for 
other  objects  in  connection  with  it.  The  thirty-third 
congress  appropriated  about  $1,000,000  for  completing 
blacksmith-shop,  storehouses,  basin,  and  railway  at 
Mare  Island,  and  in  1856  the  appropriations  for  con 
struction  reached29  $441,000  for  that  year. 

Large  sums  were  appropriated  for  fortifications30  on 
Alcatraz  Island  and  Fort  Point,  and  for  an  arsenal  at 
Benicia,  at  least  $1,933,000  being  expended  on  the  two 
first-mentioned  works  from  1854  to  1856.31  Besides 

to  the  U.  S.  in  1854.  Cat.  Stat.,  1854,  1G1-2;  Cal.  Jour.  Sen.,  1854,  218,  284-6, 
505;  App.,  no.  4.  It  is  stated  in  the  S.  F.  Herald,  Jan.  22,  1853,  that  $85,000 
was  paid  for  the  island;  but  Gwin  says  £50,000.  He  also  states  that  after  25 
years,  and  the  most  thorough  investigation  of  all  clainis,  parties  were  found 
setting  up  claims  to  this  property.  '  The  law  officers  of  the  govt  must  have 
strangely  neglected  their  duty  if  these  claims  have  any  validity. '  Memoirs, 
MS.,  82. 

™Cong.  Globe,  1851-2,  pt.  iii.,  Laws  xxi.  Gwin  says  he  meant  to  correct 
the  policy  in  regard  to  navy -yards  on  the  Atlantic  coast;  to  have  only  one  on 
the  Pacific  coast,  and  that  one  equal  to  the  necessities  of  the  govt.  As  this 
was  to  be  on  a  grand  scale,  and  the  workshops  were  to  exist  for  all  time,  he 
thought  it  right  that  their  construction  should  be  equal  to  the  demands  of  the 
service.  The  blacksmith-shop  was  to  contain  106  furnaces,  and  cover  acres 
of  ground;  and  at  the  high  prices  then  ruling  in  Cal.  would  cost  $100,000. 
He  endeavored  to  smuggle  the  appropriation  into  the  finance  committee's 
budget,  but  the  sharp  eyes  of  Mason  of  Va  detected  it,  and  with  much  solem 
nity,  stated  to  the  senate  that  Gwin  had  put  down  $100, 000  for  a  blacksmith- 
shop,  whereas  he  had  never  seen  one  in  Va  which  cost  more  than  $100.  The 
appropriation  was  stricken  out,  but  Gwin  got  it  at  the  next  session.  Memoirs, 
MS.,  82.  It  will  require  $15,000,000  or  ^20,000,000  to  complete  the  navy- 
yard  as  designed.  Cal  Register,  1857,  135-6. 

29  A  man  named  Vance  had  a  fat  contract  with  Mare  Island  in  1856,  when 
'  he  furnished  thousands  of  millions  of  lumber  at  $40  per  M. '  Eureka  West 
Coast  Signal,  Nov.  5,  1873. 

30  Defences  were  earnestly  desired  by  the  Cal.  people.     An  attack  was 
feared  from  the  French.    U.  S.  Sen.  Doc.,  16,  57,  58-9,  61,  vol.  vi.,  33d  Cong., 
2d  Sess.     And  there  appears  to  have  been  some  foundation  for  their  apprehen 
sions,  for  on  the  13th  of  June,  1855,  a  French  corvette  and  Russian  frigate 
fought  a  battle  off  the  harbor  of  San  Diego.     The  Russian  poured  a  broadside 
into  the  Frenchman,  which  blew  up  at  half -past  11  o'clock.     The  Russian 
then  entered  the  harbor  for  repairs.     She  had  68  killed  and  150  wounded. 
The  vessel  carried  83  guns  and  900  men.     The  French  vessel  was  the  Ejalitt, 
carried  23  and  320  men.     It  was  said  her  captain,  Duchene,  fired  the  maga 
zine  rather  than  strike  his  flag.  Hayes1  Coll.,  San  Diego  Co.  Local  Hist.,  i. 

31  The  subject  of  fortifying  the  harbor  of  S.  F.  engaged  the  attention  of  the 
govt  soon  after  the  treaty  with  Mexico  in  1848.     A  commission  was  appointed 
consisting  of  majors  Ogden,  Smith,  and  Leadbetter  of  the  army,  captains 
Goldborough,  Van  Brunt,  and  Blunt  of  the  navy,  and  R.  P.  Hammond,  J. 
M.  Williams,  and  James  Blair,  who  jointly  were  to  select  sites  for  fortifica 
tions  and  navy-yards.     They  selected  for  the  navy-yard  Mare  Island,  as  I 
have  stated.     They  also  selected  Benicia  for  the  storehouses  and  arsenals  of 


632  FINANCES. 

the  direct  appropriations  to  California,  congress,  on  the 
representations  of  the  California  delegation,  voted  extra 

the  army,  helping,  with  the  P.  M.  S.  S.  Co.,  which  had  its  depot  at  Benicia, 
to  establish  a  rivalry  between  that  point  and  S.  F.  Shermans  Mem.,  67-8; 
Vinton,  Qr-rnaster's  Kept,  U.  S.  A.,  1850,  248-52,  274-80;  Pac.  News,  Jan..  10, 
1850.  Gen.  Persifer  Smith  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  S.  F.  was  'in  no  way 
fitted  for  military  or  commercial  purposes.'  SmiLh's  rept,  in  Frost's  Hist.  Cal., 
448-9.  Says  G win:  ' Every  important  site  in  Cal.  was  covered  by  a  private 
claim — Fort  Point,  Alcatraz,  Goat  Island,  Angel  Island,  and  Mare  Island.  I 
at  first  thought  it  best  to  settle  those  claims  without  inquiring  into  their 
validity,  in  order  to  proceed  with  the  public  work.3  that  were  so  much  in  de 
mand  on  the  Pacific  coast.  It  was  by  my  advice  and  counsel  that  the  sum  of 
$50,000  was  paid  to  claimants  to  Mare  Island,  in  order  that  the  work  on  the 
navy -yard  should  be  promptly  commenced.  But  it  was  soon  perceived  that 
there  would  be  no  limit  to  these  demands.'  Memoirs,  MS.,  178.  Castro 
claimed  Yerba  Buena  or  Goat  Island,  so  called  from  being  a  pasture  for  goats 
from  1841  to  1849.  Nathan  Spear  bought  off  Castro,  and  with  Jack  Fuller, 
kept  goats  and  cattle  upon  it  from  1847  to  Feb.  1849,  when  Spear  sold  to  Ed 
ward  A.  King,  harbor-master  of  S.  F.,  hi.3  interest  for  the  consideration  of  100 
cents.  Spear,  Papers,  MS.,  3,  S.  F.  Alta,  June  12,  18G8.  King  erected  a 
cabin  with  posts,  sods,  and  a  thatched  roof,  for  the  use  of  a  herder.  The 
icland  appears  to  have  been  claimed  by  a  Dr  Jones  in  Feb.  1849,  who  employed 
John  Hall  to  survey  it  and  make  a  plat.  In  1850  Jones  had  it  resurvcycd 
by  A.  R.  Flint.  Or.  Sketches,  MS.,  2.  His  intention  was  to  lay  out  a  town 
on:  the  island.  But  in  May  1851  Jones  sold  to  James  Brady,  S.  Black,  Selim 
Franklin,  and  E.  Franklin.  Subsequently,  in  May,  Brady  sold  a  one-fourth 
interest  to  Joel  S.  Polack.  King,  whose  rights  do  not  appear  to  have  been 
considered,  went  to  Utah,  after  vainly  endeavoring  to  sell  his  claim.  Trans 
fers  were  made,  by  Polack  and  Franklin,  to  Morrison  and  Tennent;  and  fur 
ther  transfers  to  Carptentier,  and  to  Frank  M.  Pixley,  in  1855;  and  from 
Pixley  to  Eliza  J.  Hall  in  1857.  John  Hall  also  had  a  deed  from  King  in 
1858.  In  that  year  Eliza  J.  Hall  brought  suit  against  Thomas  J.  Bowling, 
who  occupied  the  island  with  John  G.  Jennings.  The  plaintiff  was  nonsuited 
on  account  of  a  suit  pending  between  the  govt  and  Polack,  the  U.  S.  claim 
ing  the  island.  Bowling  and  Jennings  claimed  to  have  settled  upon  the  island 
in  1849,  and  to  have  occupied  it  in  person  or  by  tenant  until  1867,  when  the 
U.  S.  dispossessed  them  with  troops.  As  late  as  1878  a  petition  was  pre 
sented  in  the  U.  S.  senate,  from  the  atty  of  Benjamin  Brooks,  Egbert  John 
son,  and  John  Turner,  alleging  that  they  had  purchased  the  island  from 
Bowling  and  Jennings.  They  asserted  that  the  title  was  derived  from  a  city 
ordinance  of  1855,  a  state  law  of  1855,  and  a  congressional  act  of  1864;  but 
the  govt  retained  possession. 

The  history  of  Alcatraz,  White,  or  Bird  Island  is  more  simple.  It  was 
granted  by  Pio  Pico,  governor  of  Cal.,  to  Julian  Workman,  in  1846.  Work 
man  granted  it  to  his  son-in-law,  Temple,  who  in  March  1849  conveyed  it  to 
Fremont,  governor  of  Cal.,  for  $5,000,  'as  the  legal  representative  of  the  U.  S.' 
Fremont  subsequently  conveyed  it  to  Palmer,  Cook,  &  Co.,  without  paying 
the  $5,000  to  Temple,  for  which  Temple  sued  him.  Palmer,  Cook,  &  Co. 
sued  the  govt;  but  as  the  island  was  purchased  in  the  name  of  the  U.  S.  they 
had  no  claim.  Sac.  Union,  Feb.  14,  1856.  This  island  is  a  rock  about  one 
lourth  of  a  mile  long,  525  feet  wide,  140  feet  high,  and  lies  a  mile  from  the 
wharf  at  North  Beach.  Fortifications  were  commenced  on  the  island  in  1854, 
the  cost  of  which  was  estimated  by  Maj.  J.  G.  Barnard  at  $600,000,  but 
$850,000  was  appropriated.  Three  batteries,  mounting  43  guns,  68,  42,  and 
28  pounders.  Magazines  were  cut  in  the  rock,  and  the  works  were  strong 
and  complete.  A  Fresnal  light  was  erected,  160  feet  above  sea-level.  S.  F. 
Alta,  Aug.  2,  1855;  Sac.  Union,  Nov.  14,  1855;  Engineer  Itepts,  in  U.  S.  Ex. 
J)oc.y  33,  i.,  no.  82,  1-6.  Fort  Point,  which  was  fortified  at  the  same  time, 


COAST   SURVEY.  633 

pay  to  the  officers32  and  men  of  the  army  and  navy 
who  served  in  California  in  the  high-priced  times  of 
the  first  gold  period.  A  settlement  was  made  also 
with  the  military  collectors  of  the  civil  fund,  who  were 
allowed  a  percentage;  and  payment  was  made  to  the 
California  battalion  of  mounted  riflemen,  which,  under 
Fremont,  joined  in  the  conquest  of  California.33 

An  important  object  was  helped  forward  by  Gwin 
while  chairman  of  the  naval  committee,  namely,  the 
coast  survey  on  the  Pacific,  important  not  only  to  the 
shipping  interest,  but  necessary  before  light-houses 
and  fortifications  could  be  erected.  The  work  of  sur 
veying  the  coast  had  been  commenced  in  1849,  and 
was  much  interrupted  by  the  disturbed  condition  of 
the  population,  and  the  extraordinary  expenses  attend 
ing  it  during  that  and  the  succeeding  two  years.  Con 
gress,  as  not  infrequently  happens,  made  an  injudicious 
selection  of  objects  on  which  to  practise  a  spasmodic 
economy,  and  the  ways  and  means  committee  and  the 
committee  on  finance  would  have  appropriated  no 
more  than  $40,000;  but  the  California  senator  brought 
to  bear  proper  arguments  on  the  chairman  of  the  corn- 
cost  $1,038,000.  Granite  was  brought  from  Folsom  to  be  used  in  its  con 
struction.  S.  F.  Alta,  Dec.  22,  23,  1853;  June  12,  1854;  and  May  5,  1856; 
U.  S.  Sen.  Doc.,  24,  vi.,  33d  Cong.,  2d  Sess.;  U.  S.  Sen.  Misc.,  15,  vol.  i.,  33d 
Cong.,  2d  Sess.;  U.  S.  Sen.  Doc.,  50,  vol.  viii.,  33d  Cong.,  1st  Sess.;  U.  S.  H. 
Ex.  Doc.,  82,  vol.  x.,  33d  Cong.,  1st  Sess.;  Id.,  Doc.,  i.,  pp.  109-10,  vol.  i.,  pt. 
ii.,  33d  Cong.,  2d  Sess. ;  Cal.  Mil.  Scraps,  82-3;  Cal.  Reg.,  1857,  1 34.  The  other 
places  fortified  about  the  harbor  at  a  somewhat  later  period  were  Lime  Point, 
50  guns;  Angel  Island,  50;  Point  San  Jose  and  Presidio  Hill,  50  each;  Fort 
Point,  164;  Alcatraz,  47.  I  have  spoken  elsewhere  of  Lime  Point.  Angel 
Island  was  ceded  to  the  U.  S.  by  the  state  as  early  as  1852  or  1853.  Cal  Jour. 
Assem.,  1852,  840.  It  was  claimed  in  1855  by  Antoine  Maria  Osio;  but  the 
claim  was  adjusted. 

32  Mrs  Major  Canby  copied  papers  for  the  convention  at  Monterey  to  gain 
much-needed  means  of  living;  and  Mrs  Colonel  Casey  lived  on  board  of  an  old 
ship;  and  Mrs  Captain  Westcott,  when  her  husband  entertained  his  friends 
at  dinner,  served,  with  her  mother,  at  table.     These  things  were  because 
officers  could  not  afford  servants,  a  cook  costing  all  a  colonel's  salary;  and 
the  chivalrous  Gwin  was  much  shocked  at  the  impropriety  of  women  being 
engaged  in  menial  services,  or  even  copying  papers  for  money.  Memoirs,  MS., 
47-8. 

33  The  battalion  received  $130,000.     Fremont  had,  besides,  a  claim  for  beef 
furnished,  amounting  to  $235,000,  which  was  paid.     The  extra  pay  of  the 
army  amounted  to  $30,000  annually,  from  1848  to  1852,  and  was  continued 
at  a  lessened  rate  still  longer.  Cony.  Globe,  1851-2,  pt.  i.  Ixxx.   U.  S.  H.  Ex. 
Doc.,  11,  vol.  x.,  33d  Cong.,  1st  Sess. 


634  FINANCES. 

mittee  on  commerce  in  both  houses,  who  added  an 
appropriation  of  $250,000  to  their  list  for  coast  survey- 
purposes,  and  so  brought  the  sum  up  to  a  working 
figure.  The  result  of  this  more  liberal  policy  was  to 
so  hasten  the  progress  of  the  surveys  that  as  much 
was  accomplished  in  ten  years  on  the  Pacific  as  had 
been  done  in  thirty  on  the  Atlantic  coast.34 

A  measure  in  which  Californians  were  interested 
almost  more  than  any  other  was  the  settlement  of 
private  land  claims,  and  the  survey  of  the  remaining 
public  lands.  Until  this  was  done,  no  man  could  be 
sure  when  he  settled  upon  a  piece  of  land  that  he 
would  be  allowed  to  remain  there.  It  was  obvious 
that  such  a  state  of  landed  affairs  must  be  prejudicial 
to  the  permanency  of  society,  as  well  as  to  its  morals 
and  its  financial  standing.  I  have  already  pointed 
out  how  it  affected  legislation.  Among  the  first  bills 
presented  by  the  California  delegation  was  one  "to 
provide  for  the  ascertainment  of  private  land  claims 
in  California,  and  for  the  adjudication  and  settlement 
of  the  same." 

The  bill  as  presented  by  Gwin  was  opposed  strongly 
by  Benton  on  the  ground  of  injustice  to  Mexican 
claimants,  in  putting  their  claims  to  the  proof  in  courts 
of  law,  and  allowing  them  to  be  appealed,  even  to  the 
United  States  supreme  court,  thereby  exhausting 
their  means,  and  practically  robbing  many  of  the 
greater  portion  of  their  lands,35  which  went  to  enrich 
lawyers.  His  view  of  the  working  of  the  law  proved 

34  Its  success  was  also  due  to  the  ability  and  energy  of  the  officers  detailed 
by  the  superintendent  to  carry  out  the  work.  The  first  corps  for  the  land 
portion  of  the  survey  consisted  of  Asst  Supt  James  S.  Williams,  Capt.  D.  P. 
Hammond,  and  Joseph  S.  Ruth;  the  naval  survey  being  conducted  by  Lieut 
W.  P.  McArthur  in  the  schooner  Ewiny,  commanded  by  Lieut  Washington 
Bartlett.  At  a  late  period,  Prof.  George  Davidson  became  the  head  of  the 
coast  survey  on  land,  which  work  he  carried  on  for  many  years  with  distin 
guished  success. 

3aSaid  Benton:  '  Such  a  principle  applied  to  Cal.  or  New  Mex.  would  be 
perfectly  equivalent  to  a  general  confiscation  of  landed  property  in  the  coun 
try,  and  that  of  the  two,  it  would  be  more  merciful  at  once  to  pass  an  act  of 
general  confiscation,  so  as  to  permit  the  people  to  go  to  work  in  some  other 
way  to  obtain  land,  and  to  save  the  expenses,  anxieties,  and  I  believe  I  may 
say  the  horrors  of  going  through  three  lawsuits  for  their  property,  and  one 
of  these  lawsuits  3,000  miles  from  where  they  live.'  Cong.  Globe,  1850-1,  158. 


LAND  COMMISSION.  635 

to  be  the  correct  one,  as  I  have  shown,  although 
the  author  of  it  afterward  claimed  that  by  its  means 
the  land  titles  had  been  settled  in  California  in 
one  third  of  the  time  occupied  in  litigating  those  of 
Louisiana  and  Florida,  some  of  which  were  still  un 
settled.  Other  persons  in  California  believed  two  or 
three  years  a  sufficient  time  in  which  to  adjudicate 
the  Hispano-California  titles,  by  simply  creating  a 
commission  of  registration  to  sit  in  the  northern  and 
southern  districts,  to  receive  from  claimants  such  writ 
ten  evidence  of  title  and  rights  of  possession  as  they 
might  have  received,  or  chose  to  present,  together 
with  whatever  other  evidence  they  had  to  offer  in 
support  of  their  claim,  all  of  which  should*  be  regis 
tered,  and  furnished  to  the  surveyor-general  of  the 
state,  who  should  proceed  to  segregate  these  claims 
as  fast  as  their  examinations  were  completed;36  and 
where  disputes  as  to  boundaries  occurred,  which  could 
not  be  adjusted  by  the  claimants,  arbitrators  should 
be  called  in,  and  their  decisions  should  be  final,  the 
United  States  issuing  a  patent  for  the  land  as  thus 
bounded.  Had  this  been  done,  most  of  the  lands  in 

36  Crosby  says  he  knew  many  instances  where  the  claimants  would  have 
been  glad  to  sell  their  land  at  a  merely  nominal  price — 25  or  50  cents  per 
acre — but  could  not  because  their  titles  were  not  confirmed,  or  were  in  litiga 
tion.  Other  persons  supposed  that,  under  the  rigorous  application  of  the 
equity  powers  conferred  on  the  commissioners  and  the  U.  S.  courts,  many 
claims  would  be  set  aside,  and  the  lands  revert  to  the  govt,  when  they  could 
take  them  by  preemption,  which  they  thought  the  safer  course;  and  still 
others  feared  that  if  they  bought  of  the  original  claimants  they  might  have 
to  buy  again  of  the  U.  S.;  and  altogether  a  condition  of  uncertainty  was 
created  which  greatly  retarded  settlement.  Many  were  forced  to  retain 
their  lands  waiting  for  their  titles  to  be  perfected,  struggling  along  as  best 
they  could,  until  the  final  confirmation,  and  until  the  growth  of  the  state 
had  made  them  enormously  valuable,  when  finding  themselves  in  possession 
of  incomes  sufficient  to  enable  them  to  hold  them,  they  would  not  part  with 
their  acres  to  those  who  desired  to  cultivate  them,  which  was  another  form 
of  the  evils  resulting  from  dragging  a  claimant  through  the  land  commission, 
after  which  by  the  operation  of  the  law  all  confirmations  stood  appealed  to 
the  U.  S.  dist  court,  and  again  to  the  U.  S.  sup.  court,  a  process  which  in  a 
majority  of  cases  made  bankrupt  the  original  claimant.  Speculators  bought 
up  their  claims  for  nominal  prices,  and  prosecuted  them  in  the  courts,  finally 
getting  possession,  so  that  the  native  Calif  or  nians  were  practically  despoiled. 
'  I  think  the  political  influence,  by  pandering  to  the  squatter  vote,  had  more 
or  less  to  do  with  the  enacting  of  the  law  creating  the  land  commission,  and 
the  continuance  of  cases  by  appeal  through  the  different  courts. '  Early  Events 
in  Cal,  MS.,  72-4.  Often  during  the  period  a  lawless  squatter  population 
held  possession* 


636  FINANCES. 

California  covered  by  Mexican  grants  would  have 
been  disposed  of  to  settlers  at  a  low  price;  whereas, 
by  the  working  of  the  act  of  congress  passed  in  Feb 
ruary  1851,  by  keeping  claims  in  the  courts  for  eight, 
ten,  or  twelve  years,  not  only  ruined  the  holders,  but 
prevented  the  occupation  and  improvement  of  the 
lands  by  others  who  desired  to  purchase  them. 
Whether  this  was  a  mistake  in  judgment  on  the  part 
of  Gwin,  who  labored  hard  to  convince  the  senate 
that  he  was  simply  making  it  impossible  for  a  fraudu 
lent  claim  to  be  confirmed,  or  whether  other  consider 
ations  influenced  him,  would  be  hard  to  determine; 
but  certain  it  is  that  the  effect  of  the  law  was  pointed 
out  to  hito  by  advisers  in  California,  as  well  as  by  the 
Missouri  senator.  On  the  passage  of  the  act,  com 
missioners  were  immediately  appointed,  who  proceeded 
to  California  to  assume  their  duties  about  the  last  of 
December  185 1.37 

The  first  annual  appropriation  for  this  commission, 
with  the  surveys,  was  $106, OOO.38  The  following  year 
it  was  larger,  and  under  the  administration  of  Presi 
dent  Buchanan  it  had  grown  to  be  $114,000  for  the 
commission  alone.  The  appropriation  for  surveys  and 
subdivision  of  the  public  lands  in  California,  and  for 
subdividing  the  islands  on  the  southern  coast,  amounted 
in  1852  to  $115,000;  in  1853  to  $160,200;  in  1854  to 
$360, OOO.33  In  1854  California  received  in  direct  ap- 

37  The  commissioners  appointed  by  Prest  Fillmore  were:  Harry  L.  Thorn 
ton,  Augustus  Thompson,  and  Alpheus  L.  Felch.    The  succeeding  administra 
tion  thrust  them  out,  and  appointed  others.  Tuthill,  Hist.  CaL,  535.    'I  will  say 
this,'  Crosby  observes,  '  in  justice  to  the  first  land  commission  appointed  under 
that  law:  they  evinced  a  disposition  to  administer  it  upon  a  broad  and  liberal 
basis  of  equity  and  justice  to  the  claimant,  and  if  the  U.  S.  had  stopped 
there,  and  considered  as  confirmed  and  patented  those  claims  which    had 
been  confirmed  by  the  first  commission,  a  vast  amount  of  injustice  would 
have  been  avoided.'  Early  Events  in  CaL,  MS.,  74. 

38  For  the  expenses  of  the  commission  $50,000;  for  the  cost  of  surveying 
private  claims  $150,000;  and  $6,000  for  a  law  agent.     In  1852  an  appropria 
tion  was  made  for  two  law  agents,  '  skilled  in  the  Spanish  and  English  lan 
guages,'  $5,000  each,  and  $2,000  each  for  a  secretary  and  3  clerks.     Cong. 
Globe,  1850-1,  821. 

39  As  an  example  of  the  ease  with  which  money  was  obtained  by  appropri 
ation,  here  is  the  list  of  grants  in  1854,  when  Gwin  and  Weller  were  together 
in  the  senate:  Ind.  war  debt,  $950,000;  survey  of  public  lands,  $360,000;  for 
tifications,  $330,000;  beef  furnished  by  Fremont,  $235,000;  removing  and  sub- 


FEDERAL  APPROPRIATIONS.  637 

propriations  about  four  millions,  and  in  appropriations 
in  which  the  state  was  concerned,  three  millions  more. 
Large  amounts  continued  to  be  appropriated40  so  long 

sistence  of  Indians,  $225,000;  navy-yard  at  Mare  Island,  $200,000;  coast  and 
island  survey,  $160,000;  exploration  of  Pacific  railroad,  £150,000;  Cal.  land 
com.,  $105,000;  erection  of  appraiser's  store,  $100,000;  light-houses,  $75,000; 
purchase  of  custom-house  block,  $150,000;  survey  of  Mexican  boundary, 
$250,000;  mint,  $100,000;  Fremont  battalion  claim,  $130,000;  grading  U.  S. 
marine  hospital  lot,  $44,000;  expenses  of  land  com.,  $43,000;  miscellaneous  ap 
propriations  in  deficiency  bill,  $300,000.  But  at  this  time  California  was 
emptying  millions  a  month  into  a  lap  of  the  east. 

*°£ac.  Union,  May  5  and  Sept.  19,  1856;  8.  F.  AUa,  April  25,  1856.  The 
S.  F.  Chronicle's  Washington  correspondent  in  a  letter  of  July  5,  1886,  copies 
the  list  of  appropriations  received  by  Cal.  from  a  recent  treasury  report  made 
by  the  direction  of  congress,  classifying  the  expenditures  of  the  govt  from  1789 
to  1882.  As  a  good  bit  of  history,  California's  portion  is  here  condensed, 
and  need  not  be  again  referred  to:  total  amount  for  the  custom-house, 
$793,522.39;  marine  hospital,  $298,933.52;  first  appraiser's  stores,  $100,000; 
new  appraiser's  stores,  $840,000;  subtreasury,  $107,000;  post-office  at  Sac., 
$100,000;  mint  appropriations,  $2,629,192.37;  whole  amount  for  public  build 
ings  down  to  1882,  $4,868,684.28. 

The  first  river  and  harbor  improvement  work  authorized  by  congress  to  be 
done  in  Cal.  was  in  1852,  the  building  of  a  levee  across  the  mouth  of  San  Diego 
River,  to  turn  it  into  its  former  channel  into  False  Bay,  for  which  $30,000 
was  appropriated.  Cong.  Globe,  1851-2;  U.  S.  Laws,  App.,  p.  xxviii.  Since 
that  time  $2,638,600  has  been  expended  on  rivers  and  harbors  as  follows: 
S.  F.  harbor,  $75,000;  Humboldt  harbor,  $142,500;  Oakland  harbor,  $874,600; 
Petaluma  Creek,  $30,000;  Redwood  harbor,  $3,000;  Sac.  River,  $390,000;  Sac. 
and  Feather  Rivers,  $45,000;  San  Diego  River,  $75,000;  Mokelumne  River, 
$8,500;  San  Joaquin  River,  $80,000;  San  Joaquin  River  and  Stockton  and 
Mormon  sloughs,  $60,000;  Wilmington  harbor,  $705,000;  harbor  of  refuge  be 
tween  S.  F.  and  the  Straits  of  Fuca,  $150,000. 

For  light-houses,  beacons,  buoys,  etc.,  $1,273,272  have  been  expended  as 
follows:  Angel  Island  fog-signal,  $4,500;  Ano  Nuevo  Point  light  station, 
$100,000;  beacons  and  buoys,  $17,283;  Cape  Mendocino  light  station,  $120,000; 
Crescent  City  light  station,  $15,000;  East  Brother  Island  light  station,  $50,000; 
Humboldt  light  station,  $40,000;  Mare  Island  light  station,  $29,989;  North 
west  Seal  Rock  light  station,  $170,000;  Oakland  light  station,  $5,000;  Pieclras 
Blancas  light  station,  $92,000;  Pigeon  Point  light  station,  $90,000;  Point 
Bonita  light  station,  $60,000;  Point  Concepcion  light  station,  $53,000;  Point 
Firmin  light  station,  $30,000;  Point  Hueneme  light  station,  $32,000;  Point 
Pinos  light  station,  $6,000;  Point  Reyes  light  station,  $140,000;  Point  Arenas 
light  station,  $93,000;  Santa  Barbara  light  station,  $52,000;  Santa  Cruz  light 
station,  $40,000;  Trinidad  head-light  station,  $20,000;  Yerba  Buena  light 
station,  $15,000. 

For  defences  $6,617,257  have  been  appropriated  and  expended  as  follows: 
Arsenal  at  Benicia,  $825,757;  defences  at  S.  F.,  $1,027,000;  Fort  Alcatraz, 
$1,697,500;  Fort  Point  fortifications,  $2,517,500;  Lime  Point  fortifications, 
$500,000;  San  Diego  fortifications,  $50,000.  The  sum  total  of  appropriations 
here  mentioned  amounted  to  $15,397,813.  Concerning  the  project  to  estab 
lish  a  permanent  arsenal  at  Benicia,  see  report  in  U.  S.  Sen.  Doc.,  47,  viii., 
32d  Cong.,  2d  Sess.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  list  of  the  Chronicle  corre 
spondent  leaves  out  the  millions  appropriated  for  the  Mare  Island  navy- 
yard,  the  payment  of  the  Indian  war  debt,  the  com.  on  private  land  claims, 
the  appropriations  for  surveys  of  public  and  private  lands,  the  expenses  of  the 
post-office  department  over  its  income  in  carrying  the  mails  by  steamer  from 
Panama  to  S.  F.;  the  appropriations  to  keep  peace  with  the  Indians;  the  ex 
pense  of  supporting  an  armed  force  ashore  and  afloat,  with  other  govt  matters 
pertaining  to  CaL 


638  FINANCES. 

as  Gwin's  great  measures  remained  incomplete,  or  could 
be  made  to  serve  for  political  capital;  and  few  could 
be  found  so  mean-spirited  as  to  wish  to  withhold  a 
few  millions  annually  from  the  busy  young  state  which 
sent  forth  from  forty  to  fifty  millions  every  year  in 
treasure.  If  they  had,  the  California  delegation  un 
derstood  perfectly  how  to  smuggle  through  an  appro 
priation  for  a  single  object  in  separate  bills,  and  how 
to  make  presents  to  their  friends  among  the  deficiency 
appropriations;  indeed,  our  people  and  their  servants 
have  never  lacked  skill  in  that  first  of  political  fine 
arts — bribery.  A  kind  of  moral  intoxication,  a  gold- 
drunkenness,  had  debased  the  public  mind  and  distorted 
the  spiritual  vision,  until  men  esteemed  it  a  distinction 
to  become  noted  for  procuring  or  handling,  even  for 
stealing,  large  sums  of  money;  and  it  was  only  when 
their  own  fortunes,  or  their  lives,  were  in  danger,  that 
their  fellows  plucked  up  courage  to  rebuke  them. 

Coordinate  with  the  desire  to  have  private  land 
titles  settled  in  California  was  the  wish  to  secure  large 
amounts  of  public  lands  for  state  purposes  and  pre 
emptions.  In  order  to  provide  for  the  failure  of  some, 
a  number  of  bills  were  introduced  together,  which  I 
have  mentioned  by  their  titles  elsewhere.  By  an  ac 
cident  of  legislation  the  state  received  5,000,000  acres 
of  swamp  and  overflowed  lands,  which  by  reclamation 
became  the  most  valuable  of  any  of  its  lands.  By  the 
act  of  September  4,  1841,  it  was  entitled  to  500,000 
acres  for  internal  improvements,  which  the  framers  of 
the  constitution  devoted,  instead,  to  the  common-school 
fund.  On  the  opening  of  the  thirty-second  congress, 
Senator  Gwin,  in  a  bill  providing  for  the  survey  of 
the  public  lands  in  California,  included  the  granting 
of  donation  privileges  similar  to  those  which  were 
enjoyed  by  Oregon;  but  congress  was  no  longer  under 
the  necessity  to  offer  compensation  to  emigrants  to  the 
Pacific  coast,  and  this  bill  failed.  He  also,  being 
mindful  of  the  squatter  proclivities  in  the  voting  popu- 


CONGRESSIONAL  LEGISLATION.  639 

lation  of  his  state,  addressed  the  senate  in  favor  of 
allowing  preemptors  on  Mexican  claims  to  prove  up 
their  preemptions,  and  give  the  Mexican  owners,  should 
their  titles  be  confirmed,  a  floating  claim  for  the  same 
amount  of  land,  which  could  be  located  on  any  public 
lands  in  the  state;  in  other  words,  making  the  whole 
state  public  land,  and  letting  the  native  Californians 
take  their  chances  with  the  Americans  in  securing 
claims.  The  proposition  on  its  face  had  a  piratical 
look,  which  caused  it  to  be  rejected  with  some  severe 
criticism;  yet  the  results  of  such  a  course  could  hardly 
have  been  more  melancholy  for  the  natives  than  the 
operations  of  the  private  claims  commission. 

At  this  session  also  the  land  question  came  up  in 
the  house  in  the  form  of  a  homestead  bill,  which 
received  little  encouragement  in  the  senate,  from  a 
fear  entertained  by  a  majority  that  the  government 
was  overstepping  the  bounds  of  its  authority  in  grant 
ing  lands  belonging  to  all  the  states,  for  the  benefit  of 
one  or  more  states.  This  feeling  was  engendered  by 
the  grant  of  a  large  amount  of  public  land  to  the  state 
of  Illinois  to  build  a  railroad,  and  was  entertained 
alike  by  senators  from  Maine  to  Louisiana,  although, 
as  a  section,  it  was  the  south  that  was  opposed  to 
bestowing  the  public  lands  on  railroad  companies. 
The  homestead  bill  therefore  failed  to  pass  at  that  or 
any  session  until  1862,  when  a  republican  congress 
enacted  a  homestead  law. 

It  was  not  until  March  3,  1853,  that  the  public 
lands  in  California  were  admitted  to  preemption 
rights.  The  same  act  which  conferred  this  privilege 
made  a  grant  to  the  state  of  two  entire  townships  for 
the  use  of  a  seminary  of  learning,  to  be  selected  by 
the  governor  of  the  state  from  the  public  domain, 
mineral  land  being  excepted;  and  also  ten  sections, 
selected  in  the  same  manner,  to  aid  in  erecting  the 
public  buildings.  No  other  grants  were  made  to  the 
state  until  nine  years  afterward,  when  congress  do 
nated  to  the  several  states  and  territories  land  for  an 


640  FINANCES. 

agricultural  college,  to  be  apportioned  at  the  rate  of 
30,000  acres  for  each  senator  and  representative  to 
which  they  were  entitled  in  1860,  according  to  which 
distribution  California  received  150,000  acres.  The 
16th  and  36th  sections  were  granted  for  public  school 
purposes  by  the  act  of  March  3,  1853,  the  irregular 
manner  of  her  admission  having  deprived  congress  of 
the  opportunity  of  granting  at  that  time  the  custom 
ary  dowry  of  a  new  state  in  school  lands.  Lieu  lands 
were  allowed  to  be  taken  in  the  place  of  the  reserved 
sections,  where  those  were  absorbed  by  private  grants. 
In  relation  to  these  several  grants  of  land,  in  1869, 
all  of  the  500,000-acre  grant  had  been  sold,  excepting 
10,000  acres,  represented  by  outstanding  school  war 
rants.  All  of  the  seventy-two  sections,  and  ten  sec 
tions,  had  been  sold.  Very  little  swamp-land  remained, 
and  only  the  least  desirable  of  the  surveyed  common- 
school  lands.  The  agricultural-college  grant  was  con 
verted  to  the  use  of  the  state  university  by  an  act  of 
the  legislature  of  1868.  By  an  act  of  the  same  body, 
provision  was  made  for  the  sale  of  all  the  lands  of 
every  kind  owned  by  the  state,  or  in  which  she  had 
any  interest,  the  maximum  price  being  fixed  at  $1.25 


an  acre.41 


Thus  in  eighteen  years  the  state  had  disposed  of 
her  vast  landed  possessions,  making  no  attempt  to 
increase  their  value  by  improvements,  nor  leaving  any 
to  rise  in  value  along  with  the  development  of  the 
country  about  them.  The  money  realized  was  appro 
priated  in  the  manner  heretofore  shown,  a  large  part 
of  it  having  been  dissipated  by  the  extravagance  of 
the  early  legislatures,  or  fraudulently  disposed  of  by 
political  tricksters  in  collusion  with  dishonest  offi 
cials.42  The  funds  created  have  been  borrowed  by 
the  state,  the  interest  on  the  money  obtained  by  sac- 

41  In  1864  congress  granted  to  the  state  of  Cal.  the  Yosemite  Valley,  and 
Mariposa  big  tree  grove,  not  to  sell,  but  to  retain  as  a  public  resort,  for  rec 
reation,  to  be  'inalienable  for  all  time.'  Gov.  Mess.,  1873,  p.  33-4. 

42  Rept  of  Joint  Committees  on  Sivamp  and  Overflowed  Linds,  and  Land 
Monopoly,  presented  at  the  20th  session,  of  the  legislature  of  CaL 


LAND  FRAUDS.  641 

rificing  the  state's  lands,  taking  the  place  of  the 
income  which  should  have  been  derived  from  a  judi 
cious  care  for  them. 

Among  all  this  waste,  one  idea  has  not  been  lost 
sight  of,  that  the  educational  interests  of  the  state 
must  receive  such  aids  as  were  possible;  and  accord 
ingly  much  has  been  converted  to  education  which 
was  not  intended  by  congress  for  the  use  of  schools; 
namely,  the  internal  improvement,  seminary,  and  pub 
lic  buildings  appropriations;  and  the  state  has  drawn 
from  the  people  to  supply  the  deficiency  created  in  its 
resources  for  public  improvements.  From  the  sale  of 
tide-lands  in  the  city  and  county  of  San  Francisco, 
$200,000  was  appropriated  to  the  benefit  of  the  state 
university  in  1869.  Subsequently,  the  legislature  do 
nated  to  the  university  a  sufficient  sum  from  the  pro 
ceeds  of  the  sale  of  salt  marsh  and  tide  lands  to 
produce  an  annual  revenue  of  $50,000,  which  sum 
was  invested  in  the  state  bonds.43 

It  might  reasonably  be  expected  that,  being  involved 
in  practices  such  as  here  are  briefly  touched  upon,  the 
history  of  land  frauds,  for  example,  being  of  sufficient 
bulk  to  fill  a  volume,  the  credit  of  the  state  would  be 
destroyed.  On  the  contrary,  such  is  the  vitality  and 
such  the  resources  of  the  people  and  country,  that  in 
defiance  of  oppressive  taxation,  and  despite  of  waste, 
the  upward  tendency  has  been  steady,  and  not  slower 
than  in  other  new  states.  No  institution  of  public 
benefit  customarily  supported  by  the  commonwealths 
but  has  been  liberally  provided  for  in  California.  The 
solid  character  of  the  people,  underneath  the  political 
scum,  has  saved  the  reputation  and  the  fortunes 

43 1  have  made  no  mention  of  mineral  lands,  because  they  have  remained 
the  property  of  the  gen.  govt.  After  much  discussion  in  congress,  ;t  was  de 
cided  to  leave  them  free  and  open  to  exploration  and  occupation,  by  and  to 
all  citizens  of  the  U.  S.,  and  those  who  had  declared  their  intention  to 
become  such,  and  to  leave  the  govt  of  the  mining  districts  to  the  local 
regulations  of  the  miners,  where  they  did  not  conflict  with  U.  S.  laws.  Act 
of  July  26,  1866,  in  Zabriskie,  Land  Laws,  199-207.  At  a  subsequent  period 
patents  were  allowed  to  a  certain  amount  of  mineral  land;  since  which  time 
a  large  quantity  of  this  class  of  lands  have  been  sold. 
HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.  41 


642  FINANCES. 

of  the  country,  as  in  time  it  will  rid  the  state  offices 
of  unfit  incumbencies,  and  check  the  jobbery  of  its 
legislatures.44 

4*  The  California  Register  for  1857  contains  '  the  first  attempt  to  present  a 
tabular  view  of  the  finances  of  the  several  counties  of  the  state,'  and  from  it 
I  extract  the  following  totals:  The  total  debt  of  the  state  in  Jan.  1857 
was  $12,163,090,  $8,592,994  of  which  was  funded,  and  $4,068,589  was  floating 
indebtedness.  Total  assets,  consisting  of  cash,  indebtedness  from  counties 
recently  organized,  and  delinquent  taxes,  amounted  to  $498,493.  Dividing 
the  whole  indebtedness  between  the  state,  the  counties,  and  the  cities,  8  in 
number,  the  state  owed  $4,128,927,  the  counties  $2,365,260,  the  cities  $5,668,- 
903,  S.  F.  debt  being  $3,661,730,  and  Sac.  $1,507,154.  The  rate  of  interest 
ranged  from  7  to  12  per  cent,  though  a  part  of  the  debt  of  S.  F.  drew  but  6 
per  cent,  and  a  part  of  San  Josh's  drew  30  per  cent  interest.  The  assessed 
value  of  the  occupied  lands  was  $28,924,174.15;  of  the  improvements  thereon 
$17,319,470.  The  valuation  of  town  and  city  lots  was  $6,494,008,  and  the 
improvements  thereon  $5,927,414.  The  personal  property  of  the  state  was 
$29,877,679.95.  Total  value  of  property,  real  and  personal,  $95,007,440.97. 
The  state  tax  of  70  c.  on  each  $100  produced  $665,315.45.  The  whole  amount 
received  into  the  state  treasury,  down  to  June  30,  1856,  from  every  kind  of 
tax,  was  $4,057,237.49,  while  the  expenses  of  the  state  departments  had  been 
$7,039,651.19.  There  was  a  similar  discrepancy  in  county  and  city  incomes 
and  expenses.  The  total  shipments  of  gold  out  of  the  state  in  the  same 
period  were  $322,393,856.  The  total  duties  collected  on  imports  at  S.  F., 
$13,333,165.  Total  value  of  imports,  free  and  otherwise,  from  1853  to  1856 
inclusive,  $27,447,550. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

POLITICAL   HISTORY. 
1850-1854. 

QUALITY  OP  OTJR  EARLY  RULERS — GOVERNOR  BURNETT — GOVERNOR  McDou- 
GAL — SENATORIAL  ELECTION — SOWING  DRAGON'S  TEETH — DEMOCRATIC 
CONVENTION — SENATOR  GWIN,  THE  ALMIGHTY  PROVIDENCE  OF  CALIFOR 
NIA — PARTY  ISSUES — GOVERNOR  BIGLER — BRODERICK — WHITE  vs  BLACK 
— SLAVERY  OR  DEATH  ! — LEGISLATIVE  PROCEEDINGS — TALK  OF  A  NEW 
CONSTITUTION— WHIGS,  DEMOCRATS,  AND  INDEPENDENTS  —  ANOTHER 
LEGISLATURE. 

THE  composition  of  Governor  Burnett's  character 
was  such  that  he  could  without  friction  accommodate 
himself  to  circumstances,  and  make  friends,  or  at  least 
avoid  making  enemies,  on  either  side  of  a  question. 
He  was  suave,  correct,  with  enough  of  a  judicial  air 
to  give  his  opinions  weight  in  ordinary  affairs,  with 
enough  lightness  and  elasticity  of  intellect  to  enable 
him  to  float  safely  upon  the  surface  of  public  opinion, 
and  from  extraordinary  issues  to  escape  scathless. 
Whatever  in  the  heat  of  conflict  we  may  say  of  such 
men,  they  are  of  a  recognized  value  in  society,  hold 
ing  the  balance  even  when  anarchy  would  result  from 
more  able  management.  His  life,  though  crowned 
by  no  great  or  noble  achievement,  has  not  been  marred 
by  a  single  conspicuous  error.  As  superior  judge, 
under  Eiley's  administration,  he  occupied  the  highest 
position  to  which  he  could  be  chosen  under  the  gov 
ernment  de  facto;  and  as  first  governor  of  California 
he  again  stood  approved  by  the  voters  of  1850.  But 
he  was  a  little  too  slow  in  action  and  too  wordy  in 
speech  for  quick-witted  men  of  deeds ;  a  little  too  con- 

(643) 


644  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

servative  for  the  men  of  1851,  so  rapidly  did  things 
change  at  this  period;  arid  had  some  prejudices  which 
he  did  not  care  to  render  prominent,  had  changed  his 
religion  from  protestant  to  catholic — a  matter  which 
he  thought  greatly  concerned  him,  but  did  not  in  the 
least  other  people;  besides  which,  he  wished  to  attend 
to  private  affairs ; l  so  he  resigned  the  executive  office 
on  the  9th  of  January  of  that  year,?  just  after  the  sec- 

1  Burnett,  Rec.,  MS.,  passim;  Sac.  Transcript,  Jan.  14  and  Feb.  1,  1851; 
Cal  Jour.  Sen.,  1851,  43,  44,  45,  46.  Peter  H.  Burnett  was  born  in  Nash 
ville,  Tenn.,  Nov.  15,  1807,  of  Va  parentage,  to  which  may  be  attributed  his 
ineradicable  dislike  of  the  free  negro.  When  10  years  of  age  he  removed 
with  his  father  to  Howard  co.,  Mo.,  and  a  few  years  later  to  Clay  co.,  where 
he  attained  the  age  of  19  years,  in  contact  with  a  rude  border  society.  In 
1826  he  returned  to  Tenn.,  where  he  became  clerk  in  a  store  at  $100  a  year, 
and  later  at  $200.  He  married,  before  he  was  quite  21,  Harriet  W.  Rogers, 
started  in  business,  studied  law,  and  became  editor  of  a  weekly  newspaper  at 
Liberty,  Mo.,  The  Far  West.  His  first  law  business  was  in  prosecuting  some 
Mormons  for  debt,  and  afterward  was  employed  as  counsel  by  the  Mormon 
leaders  whom  Judge  King  had  committed  to  jail  in  Liberty,  they  being 
charged  with  arson,  robbery,  and  treason.  In  1843  he  emigrated  to  Or.,  where 
he  became  a  farmer,  lawyer,  legislator,  and  judge.  In  1848  he  came  to  Cal. 
in  the  first  company  of  gold-seekers,  and  was  unpronounced  enough  never 
to  have  made  any  conspicuous  failures  either  in  business  or  politics.  In 
1857  he  was  appointed  a  justice  of  the  sup.  court  of  California,  which  position 
he  held  until  Oct.  1858.  He  afterward  became  president  of  the  Pacific  Bank 
of  S.  F.,  in  which  he  held  a  large  interest.  He  retired  from  business  about 
1880.  A  lengthy  dictation  which  I  took  from  him  he  had  copied  and  printed 
as  Personal  Recollections. 

2  The  senate  consisted  in  1851,  in  addition  to  the  members  holding  over,  of 
W.  Adams  of  Butte  and  Shasta  districts,  whose  seat  was  contested,  and  who 
resigned  April  28,  1851;  E.  0.  Crosby,  of  Yuba  and  Sutter  districts;  P.  de  la 
Guerra,  of  Sta  Barbara  and  San  Luis  Obispo  districts;  D.  F.  Douglas,  of  Cala- 
veras;  S.  C.  Foster,  of  Los  Angeles,  elected  to  fill  vacancy;  T.  J.  Green,  of 
Sac.;  B.  S.  Lippincott,  of  Tuolumne;  S.  E.  Woodworth,  of  Monterey;  M.  E. 
Cooke,  Sonoma;  E.  Heydenfeldt  and  D.  C.  Broderick,  S.  F.;  A.  W.  Hope, 
Los  Angeles;  who  resigned  Jan.  llth;  T.  B.  VanBuren,  San  Joaquin;  J.  War 
ner,  San  Diego.  The  assembly  consisted  by  D.  P.  Baldwin  and  B.  F.  Moore, 
Tuolumne,  F.  C.  Bennett,  I.  N.  Thome,  J.  D.  Carr,  J.  S.  Wethered,  W.  W. 
Wilkins,  W.  C.  Hoff,  S.  F.;  J.  Bigler,  D.  J.  Lisle,  C.  Robinson,  Sac.;  T.  Bod- 
ley,  A.  C.  Campbell,  Sta  Clara;  J.  S.  Bradford,  A.  Stearns,  Sonoma;  E.  Brown, 
Contra  Costa;  H.  Carnes,  Sta  Barbara;  J.  Cook,  San  Diego;  J.  S.  Field,  Yuba; 
C.  J.  Freeman,  San  Luis  Obispo;  G.  D.  Hall,  J.  J.  Kendrick,  El  Dorado; 
E.  B.  Kellogg,  Sta  Cruz;  J.  Y.  Lind,  D.  W.  Murphy,  Calaveras;  A.  G.  Mc- 
Candless,  Shasta;  J.  W.  McCorkle,  Sutter;  W.  C.  McDougall,  F.  Yeiser,  San 
Joaquin;  A.  Pico,  Los  Angeles;  S.  A.  Merritt,  H.  S.  Richardson,  Mariposa; 
A.  Randall,  Monterey;  R.  F.  Saunders,  Butte.  Cal  Reg.,  1857,  192-6.  Of 
that  body  of  men  I  find  here  and  there  mention  of  one  who  has  gone  over  to 
the  silent  majority.  Thomas  Bodley,  born  in  Lexington,  Ky,  in  1821,  came 
to  Cal.  in  1849,  via  N.  O.,  and  engaged  in  merchandising  at  San  Jose  with 
Thomas  Campbell.  He  was  also  in  the  grain  business,  and  at  one  time  col 
lector  at  Alviso.  He  served  as  under-sheriff  during  the  term  of  Wm  Mc- 
Cutchen.  During  this  period  he  completed  the  study  of  the  law,  begun  some 
years  previous,  and  at  the  expiration  of  his  service  as  sheriff  began  a  success- 
lul  practice.  He  sustained  a  character  for  integrity  and  liberality  in  his 


FIRST  GOVERNORS.  645 

ond  legislature  met  in  session,3  and  was  succeeded  by 
the  lieutenant-governor,  John  McDougal,  a  gentle 
manly  drunkard,  and  democratic  politician  of  the  order 
for  which  California  was  destined  to  become  somewhat 
unpleasantly  notorious.4 

adopted  city.  San  Jos6  Pioneer,  Sept.  21,  1878;  Santa  Cruz  Co.  Times,  Feb. 
23,  1867.  John  S.  Bradford  came  to  Cal.  from  EL  in  1848  or  1849.  In  the 
latter  year  he  had  a  pack-train  carrying  goods  from  Sac.  to  Auburn.  Later 
he  used  wagons,  and  had  a  store  at  Stony  Bar,  on  a  fork  of  the  American 
river,  where  he  built  the  first  house  of  logs.  Moore,  Pioneer  Express,  MS.,  2-7. 
He  was  in  partnership  with  Semple  at  Benicia,  as  one  of  the  firm  of  Semple, 
Robinson,  &  Co.,  for  the  transaction  of  general  business.  This  firm  pur 
chased  the  Chilian  bark  Conferadon,  with  an  assorted  cargo  of  East  Indian 
goods,  which  was  dismantled  and  used  as  a  wharf.  Solano  Co.  Hist.,  154-5. 
He  was  the  first  assemblyman  from  Sonoma  dist.  In  1853  he  returned  to 
Springfield,  111.,  where  he  was  several  times  elected  mayor.  Benicia  Tribune, 
Feb.  7,  1874. 

3 The  prest  of  the  senate  was  D.  C.  Broderick;  prest  pro  tern.,  E.  Heyden- 
feldt;  secretary,  J.  F.  Howe;  asst  sec.,  W.  B.  Olds;  enrolling  clerk,  H.  W. 
Carpenter;  engrossing  clerk,  E.  Covington;  sergt-at-arms,  C.  Burnham;  door 
keeper,  W.  B.  Stockton.  Broderick  was  elected  clerk  of  the  supreme  court 
Feb.  21st,  and  John  Nugent  filled  the  vacancy.  Cal.  Rey.,  1857,  191.  W.  E. 
P.  Hartnell  was  awarded  the  contract  for  translating  the  laws  into  Spanish. 
His  pay  was  limited  by  law  to  $1.50  per  folio.  He  was  required  to  give  bonds 
in  the  sum  of  $30,000  for  the  correct  and  entire  translation  of  the  statutes. 
Cal.  Stat.,  1851,  p.  404-5;  Vol.,  Doc.,  MS.,  35,  296,  307,  317.  John  Bigler 
was  speaker  of  the  assembly. 

4  John  McDougal  was  born  in  Ohio  in  1818,  and  in  boyhood  removed  to 
the  vicinity  of  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  where  he  was  supt  of  the  state  prison  in 
1846.     He  was  a  captain  in  the  Mexican  war,  in  which  he  distinguished  him 
self.     The  Black  Hawk  war  breaking  out  about  the  time  he  arrived  at  his 
majority,  he  became  captain  of  a  company  of  volunteers,  and  served  the  coun 
try  faithfully.     In  1849  he  came  to  Cal.  with  his  brother  George,  and  served 
in  the  const,  convention.     He  was  fine-looking,  and  adhered  to  the  old  style 
of  ruffled  shirt  front,  buff  vest  and  pantaloons,  and  blue  coat  with  brass 
buttons.     He  used  to  say  that  there  were  two  beings  of  whom  he  stood  in 
awe — God  almighty  and  Mrs  McDougal.     The  latter  always  treated  him  with 
patient  kindness,  although  often  compelled  to  bring  him  home  from  a  mid 
night  debauch.     When  he  was  afterward  in  the  U.  S.  senate  he  made  but  one 
speech,  in  preparation  for  which  he  was  three  weeks  in  sobering  off.     On  several 
occasions  he  attempted  suicide.     Although  not  at  that  stage  of  his  ruinous 
career  when  elected  lieut-governor,  he  was  seldom  fit  for  the  discharge  of  his 
duties.     Yet  such  was  the  influence  of  his  naturally  genial  and  generous  de 
portment,  cultivated  mind,  and  brilliant  social  talents,  that  only  his  political 
enemies,  and  not  always  those,  could  bring  themselves  to  treat  him  with  the 
contempt  another  man  in  his  position  would  have  received.     He  owned  prop 
erty  in  Sutterville.     He  died  March  30,  1866,  in  S.  F.  Monitor,  April  7,  1866; 
Buffalo  Express,  in  Hayes1  Cal.  Notes,  v.  86;  Buffum,  Six  Montlis  in  Cal.,  153; 
Placer  Times,  Nov.  10,  1849;  Hayes  Cal.  Notes,  iii.  46;  S.  F.  Alta,  March  31, 
1866;  Crosby's  Early  Events,  MS.,  37-8;  Gwins  Memoirs,  MS.,  13;  S.  F.  Call, 
Sept.  6,   1868;  Overland  Monthly,  xiv.  329;  Sac.  Transcript,  March  14,   1851. 
His  brother  George,  a  man  of  herculean  proportions,  engaged  in  cattle-dealing 
in  Utah,  and  among  the  Navajos,  was  at  Bent's  Fort  on  the  Arkansas  River 
for  some  time.     He  absented  himself  so  long  from  Cal.  that  he  was  supposed 
to  be  dead,  and  his  estate  was  administered  upon.     Again  he  disappeared  and 
was  recognized  in  Patagonia,  but  could  not  be  at  that  time  induced  to  leave 
that  barbarous  coast.     He  returned,  however,  to  Washington  to  prosecute  a 


646  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

Previous  to  this  session  of  the  legislature,  although 
some  political  flourishes  had  been  put  forth,  particu 
larly  by  the  democrats,  there  had  been  little  attention 
given  to  party  marshalling  in  California.  Naturally, 
after  the  admission  of  the  state,  it  became  for  the 
interest  of  office-seekers  to  consider  whether  they 
would  support  the  administration  or  oppose  it.  The 
composition  of  the  legislative  body  of  1851,  chosen  in 
the  autumn  of  1850,  was,  democrats,  27;  whigs,  18, 
and  independents,  5.5 

The  election  of  a  senator  to  succeed  Fremont, 
who,  hoping  and  expecting  to  be  reflected,  and  hav 
ing  left  Gwin  to  harvest  all  the  honors  at  the  second 
session6  of  the  thirty-first  congress,  as  I  have  already 
shown,  and  who  was  present  at  the  opening,  was  the 
signal  to  the  dominant  party  in  the  legislature  to  put 
forth  its  anti-administration  and  anti-freesoil  strength. 
In  order  to  have  time  for  a  satisfactory  canvass,  the 
joint  convention  of  both  houses  was  put  off  until 
the  18th  of  February,  when  the  balloting  began.  The 
nominees  were  Fremont,  Solomon  Heydenfeldt,  T. 
Butler  King,  John  W.  Geary,  John  B.  Weller,  and 
James  A.  Collier.7  The  whole  number  of  votes  was 
49,  and  25  were  necessary  to  a  choice.  Fremont 
received  but  8  on  the  first  ballot,  which  was  increased 
to  16  once  or  twice  during  the  sitting  of  the  conven 
tion,  which  balloted  142  times  and  sat  ten  days 
without  being  able  to  elect.  Times  were  changed 
since  1850,  when  bear-flag  memories  and  bear-flag 
men  elected  Fremont.  King,  being  an  administration 
man,  and  a  southerner  by  adoption,  was  thus  furnished 

claim  against  the  govt;  but  becoming  disheartened  by  the  tediousness  of  his 
suit,  he  killed  himself. 

5  Sac.  Transcript,  Feb.  28,  1851.     The  whole  number  elected  was  52;  assem 
blymen  36,  senators  16.   Cal  Reg.,  1857,  190. 

6  Fremont  abandoned  his  duty  for  a  whole  session  to  electioneer  for  a 
reelection,   only  to  be  defeated.  Morn.   Globe,  Aug.  19,  1856.     Thus  it  was 
throughout  his  entire  career — himself  first  and  always. 

7  Nathaniel  Bennett,  P.  de  la  Guerra,  George  W.  Crane,  D.  C.  Broderick, 
P.  B.  Reading,  Alfred  Morgan,  J.  Neely  Johnson,  George  B.  Tingley,  Win 
D.  M   Howard,  T.  H.  Green,  A.  Pico,  and  S.  A.  Merritt  received  some  scat 
tering  votes.   Cal.  Jour.  Sen.,  1851,  155-274;  8.  F.  Alia,  March  1  and  5,  1851. 


ELECTION  OF  SENATOR.  647 

with  two  strings  to  his  bow,  so  that  he  ran  ahead  of 
his  competitors  on  a  majority  of  the  ballotings  Hey- 
donfeldt,  being  the  first  choice  of  the  democrats,  ran 
next  best  after  King,  who  was  beaten  by  the  opposi 
tion  of  the  whig  political  journal  at  San  Francisco,8 
the  whig  members  of  the  legislature  holding  a  caucus 
to  denounce  its  editor,  and  repudiating  it  thencefor 
ward  as  a  party  organ.  After  a  session  of  1 1 6  days, 
the  legislature  adjourned,  having  passed  a  large  num 
ber  of  laws,  and  made  a  few  appointments.9  It  had, 
however,  not  done  any  great  amount  of  good  for  the 
state.10 

If  the  fable  of  the  dragon's  teeth  had  been  intended 
to  apply  to  California,  it  would  have  shown  a  remark 
able  crop  of  scoundrels  from  the  sowing.11  In  two 

8  That  is  to  say,  the  Courier,  edited  by  G.  W.  Crane.     The  independent 
press  of  Cal.  at  this  time  was  composed  of  the  Herald  and  Alta  of  S.  F. ;  the 
Hertiil  of  San  Diego;   the  Herald  of  Sonora;   the  Journal  of  Nevada  City; 
the  Gazette  of  Benicia;  and  the  Visitor  of  San  Jose.     The  whig  press  consisted 
of  the  Morning  Post,  Evening  Picayune,  and  Courier  of  S.  F. ;  the  Journal  of 
Stockton;  the  Union  of  Sacramento;  and  the  Herald  of  Marys  ville.     There 
was  but  one  democratic  newspaper  in  S.  F.  in  1851,  the  Pacijic  Star;  one  in 
Stockton,  the  Republican;  the  Times  and  Transcript  united  was  the  democratic 
organ  in  Sac. 

9  Atty-gen.  E.  C.  Kewen  resigned  in  1850.    James  A.  McDougall  was  elected 
to  fill  the  vacancy,  Q.-m.-gen.  J.  C.  Moorehead  was  removed,  and  William 
H.  Richardson  appointed  to  his  place,  April  26,  1851.     Adj. -gen.  J.  R.  Perlee 
resigned  Sept  24,   1850,  and  E.  W.  McKinstry  was  appointed  in  his  stead. 
State  printer  H.  H.  Robinson  resigned  in  May  1850,  when  J.  Winchester  was 
appointed,  who  resigned  in  March  1851.     Eugene  Casserly  was  elected  by 
the  legislature  May  1,  1851,  and  continued  in  office  till  the  contract  system 
of  1852  was  carried  into  effect.     The  first  contract  was  awarded  to  G.  K. 
Fitch  and  V.  E.  Geiger,  in  June  1852,  who  transferred  it,  with  the  consent  of 
the  legislature,  to  George  Kerr  &  Co.,  in  Feb.  1853.     The  contract  system 
was  repealed  in  May  1854,  and  B.  B.  Redding  elected  state  printer,  who  was 
succeeded  in  1S56  by  James  Allen.  Cal  Reg.,  1857,  189. 

10 S.  F.  Alta,  Jan.  9,  1851;  Hartnell,  Convention,  MS.,  pt.  17;  Sac.  Tran 
script,  June  1,  1851;  Field's  Reminiscences,  73-81,  85-90;  Hayes'  Scraps,  An 
geles,  i.  41. 

11  Alonzo  W.  Adams,  elected  to  the  senate  from  the  district  of  Butte  and 
Shasta,  had  been  appointed  poll-tax  collector  by  the  previous  legislature. 
On  the  settlement  of  his  accounts,  after  he  took  his  seat,  it  was  ascertained 
that  they  did  not  balance.  A  large  number  of  written  receipts  were  for 
warded  to  one  of  the  senate  committees,  showing  that  he  had  given  these  in 
stead  of  the  receipts  furnished  by  the  controller,  and  had  diverted  this 
portion  of  the  public  revenue  to  himself.  He  was  examined  before  a  com 
mittee,  which  recommended  his  expulsion  from  the  senate;  but  through  the 
influence  of  personal  friends,  he  was  permitted  to  remain  to  the  close  of  the 
session  upon  his  promise  to  resign  and  leave  the  state  immediately  after.  This 
he  did,  and  took  a  steamer  at  a  southern  port  for  a  destination  unknown.  W. 
T.  Sexton,  in  Oroville  Mercury,  Dec.  31,  1865;  Cal.  Stal.,  1851,  537.  'At  the 


648  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

particular  features  of  their  characters  the  ordinary 
criminal  and  the  corrupt  politician  are  identical — both 
intend  to  obtain  money  without  honestly  laboring  for 
it  with  head  or  hands,  and  both  are  ambitious  to  be 
chief  of  their  fraternity.  A  community  of  interests 
may  unite  them,  when  they  become,  indeed,  the  most 
dangerous  of  the  dangerous  classes.  Such  a  combina 
tion  was  rapidly  forming  in  California  in  the  spring  of 
1851;  but  for  greater  convenience  and  economy  of 
space,  I  prefer  to  call  attention  first  to  the  politicians. 

Soon  after  the  adjournment  of  the  legislature,  par 
ties  began  to  form  under  their  respective  leaders,  and 
while  bearing  the  national  names  of  whig  and  demo 
crat,  were  organized  merely  with  reference  to  state 
and  local  questions,  and  divided  among  themselves. 
A  third  undivided  party  consisted  of  independents, 
who  could  not  accept  the  platforms  or  the  candidates 
of  the  whigs  and  democrats. 

The  first  state  convention  of  the  democratic  party 
assembled  at  Benicia,  May  19,  1851,  there  being 
present  176  delegates  from  the  several  counties,12  and 
there  formed  their  state  and  congressional  ticket,13  and 
their  state  central  committee.14  Corresponding  corn- 
first  legislature,  says  Crosby,  'I  think  there  was  not  much  bribery;  there  was 
a  different  class  of  men  in  the  first  from  what  there  was  in  the  second.  I 
think  there  was  some  jobbery  in  the  second  legislature.  We  had  not  revenue 
in  the  first  legislature;  the  state  had  not  been  admitted,  and  there  was  no 
money  to  cover  jobs.'  Early  Events  in  CaL,  MS.,  64.  A  different  set  of  men 
and  more  money  made  a  difference.  Says  Frink:  '  The  northerners  went  into 
business  on  their  arrival  in  Cal.,  the  southerners  into  politics.  Most  of  them 
had  held  office  in  their  own  states,  and  so  were  adapted  to  a  political  life. ' 
Vig.  Cora.,  MS.,  10.  He  might  have  added  that  many  had  left  their  country 
for  their  country's  good. 

12  There  were  now  30  counties,  the  boundaries  of  the  original  ones  being 
readjusted,  and  Nevada,  Placer,  and  Klamath  counties  created  out  of  the 
surplus  territory.  CaL  Stat.,  1851,  172-80. 

iaThe  state  ticket  put  up  the  names  of  John  Bigler  of  Sac.  for  governor; 
Samuel  Purdy  of  San  Joaquin,  lieut-gov. ;  Richard  Roman  of  Santa  Clara, 
treasurer;  W.  S.  Pierce  of  Yuba,  controller;  S.  C.  Hastings  of  Solano,  atty- 
gen. ;  W.  M.  Eddy  of  S.  F.,  surv.-gen.  For  representatives  to  congress,  J. 
W.  McCorkle  of  Sutter,  and  E.  C.  Marshall  of  Tuolumne.  Hayes1  Cal.  Pol, 
i.  1. 

14  I  think  it  important  to  bear  in  mind  the  names  of  party  leaders,  there 
fore  set  down  the  names  of  the  central  committees  also.  It  consisted  of  Rob 
ert  Semple  of  Benicia;  Charles  Lindley  of  Marysville;  R.  P.  Hammond  and 
S.  A.  Booker  of  Stockton;  J.  R.  Harclenburg,  M.  S.  Latham,  and  John  S. 
Fowler  of  Sac.;  D.  C.  Broderick,  John  W.  Geary,  F.  Tilford,  and  F.  P. 


DEMOCRATIC  CONVENTION.  649 

mittees  for  the  several  counties  were  appointed;  a 
committee  chosen  to  report  the  views  and  resolutions 
of  the  convention,15  and  a  Jefferson-Madison-Jackson 
lauding  speech  made  by  Anderson  of  Tuolumne  in  the 
manner  of  the  regular  democracy,  interlarded  by  as 
sertions  that  the  present  whig  administration  was  in 
tentionally  neglecting  California  because  she  had  sent 
a  democratic  delegation  to  congress;  as  if  it  were  the 
custom  of  congress  to  send  democratic  states  to  Cov 
entry  through  their  representatives.  California  had 
been  admitted  eight  months,  and  had  not  yet  a  mint ! 
"  This,"  said  the  address,  "is  what  we  call  the  proscrip 
tion  of  the  people  of  California — the  proscription  of 
the  great  producing  masses  of  California — of  the  man 
who  toils  in  the  mines.  It  keeps  back  from  him  that 
which  he  has  earned  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow.  When 
he  weighed  that  ounce  of  gold,  which  he  obtained  by 
the  hard  blows  of  the  pick,  it  was  worth  only  $16. 
That  proscription  made  it  so.  A  more  liberal  and 
enlightened  policy — the  passage  of  the  measure  to 
which  we  refer — would  have  made  it  worth  $18.  Of 
the  $50,000,000  dug  from  the  earth  by  the  miners, 
they  lose  at  that  rate  of  per  cent  $6,000,000  per  an 
num.  Is  not  this  enough  to  justify  us  in  calling  the 
policy  of  the  federal  party,  who  are  now  in  power,  the 
proscription  of  the  laboring  masses  of  California? 
Are  we  not  justified  in  warning  you  against  the  spirit 
and  conduct  of  our  rulers?"  Thus  the  democrats.16 

When  Senator  Gwin  returned  from  Washington, 
after  the  adjournment  of  congress  in  the  spring  of 

Tracy  of  S.  F.  The  president  of  the  convention  was  William  Smith  of  S.  F. 
The  vice-presidents  were  J.  C.  Potter  of  El  Dorado;  Juan  B.  Alvarado  of 
Contra  Costa;  T.  W.  Sutherland  of  San  Diego;  Josh.  Holden  of  Tuolumne; 
Judge  Bright  of  Yuba;  J.  H.  Ralston  of  Sac.;  James  S.  Law  of  Butte.  The 
secretaries  were  J.  F.  Howe  of  S.  F. ;  G.  N.  Sweazy  of  Yuba;  J.  G.  Marvin 
of  Tuolumne;  and  A.  C.  Bradford  of  San  Joaquin. 

15  Anderson  of  Tuolumne,  J.  S.  Keenly  of  Sac.,  T.  W.  Sutherland  of  San 
Diego,  John  H.  Watson  of  Santa  Clara,  and  J.  G.  Wilbur  of  Butte  were 
chosen. 

i6Pickett's  Paris  Exposition,  13-14;  Cal  Pol  Scraps,  3-4;  Pac.  Star,  i.  66, 
Aug.  6,  1851,  in  Taylor's  Spec.  Press,  566;  Sac.  Transcript,  May  15  to  June 
15,  1851;  Placer  Times  and  Trans.,  Sept.  15,  Dec.  12,  1851;  Jan.  4,  Feb.  4 
and  29,  March  21,  1852;  Biglers  Scrap-Book,  1851-3. 


650  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

1851,  he  issued  an  address  to  the  people  of  California, 
in  which  he  told  them  that  congress  was  loath  to  do 
anything  for  California,  and  that  he  was  forced  to  work 
hard  to  extort  such  favors  as  he  had  been  able  to  ob 
tain  ;  for  which  he  was  thanked  by  the  legislature  in  a 
resolution  which  omitted  the  other  members  of  the 
delegation.  He  planned  the  organization  of  the  demo 
cratic  party,  and  canvassed  the  state  for  the  nominees 
put  forward  at  the  convention.  The  resolutions  of  the 
convention  gave  evidence  of  having  been  suggested 
by  the  author  of  certain  bills  introduced  in  the  sen 
ate,17  and  his  hand  was  everywhere  visible.18  Patron 
age  was  sought  of  the  great  man,  and  the  great  man 
did  not  despise  the  help  of  the  meanest. 

On  the  26th  of  May  the  whigs  met  in  convention, 
in  the  Powell  Street  methodist  church  in  San  Fran 
cisco,  100  delegates  being  present  from  twenty  coun 
ties,  seven  sending  no  representatives.19  Officers  were 
chosen,  and  nominations  made,20  with  the  usual  par- 

17 S.  F.  Alia,  May  2,  1851;  Gwin's  Memoirs,  MS.,  73.  The  AUa  accused 
Gwin,  not  without  good  grounds,  of  claiming  to  have  accomplished  all  the 
good  that  was  done  for  Cal.  There  certainly  was  a  scheme  to  appropriate  all 
the  glory.  Fremont,  after  his  first  three  weeks,  in  which  he  was  allowed  to 
introduce  a  few  bills,  was  induced  to  absent  himself  to  attend  to  his  reelec 
tion.  The  congressmen  Gilbert  and  Wright  were  persuaded  that  the  senate, 
being  a  smaller  body,  would  be  sooner  acted  upon,  and  therefore  that  the 
Cal.  business  was  more  likely  to  be  carried  if  presented  there  in  the  first 
place.  Thus  the  members  of  the  lower  house  were  kept  out  of  sight  through 
their  desire,  to  forward  the  interests  of  Cal. 

18  It  was  resolved  by  the  convention  to  maintain  the  doctrines  of  the  demo 
cratic  party  as  transmitted  by  Jefferson,  Madison,  and  Jackson;   that  the 
mineral  lands  of  Cal.  ought  not  to  be  sold  by  the  govt,  but  granted  to  Ameri 
can  miners  and  immigrants*;  that  all  the  public  lands  of  Cal.  should  be  re 
served  from  sale,  and  granted  to  actual  settlers  who  were  citizens;  that  Cal. 
was  entitled  to  the  civil  fund;  that  California  would  give  a  faithfiil  support 
to  the  constitution  and  the  union;  that  the  administration  of  the  general  govt 
had  been  guilty  of  the  most  culpable  neglect  of  the  interests  of  Cal.,  had  sent 
citizens  of  the  older  states  to  fill  her  state  offices,  failed  to  protect  her  border 
from  savage  aggression,  utterly  disregarded  the  demands  of  the  people  for 
better  postal   arrangements,  and   failed  to  carry  into  effect   laws   actually 
passed  for  the  good  of  the  state.  Hayes'  Cal.  Pol.,  i.  1. 

19  These  were  Colusa,  Klamath,  Los  Angeles,  Monterey,  Mendocino,  Sta 
Barbara,  and  San  Luis  Obispo.  S.  F.  AUa,  May  27,  1851. 

20  John  Wilson  of  S.   F.  was  chosen  president  of  the  convention;  G.  R. 
Griffin  of  El  Dorado,  Rush  of  Sta  Clara,  J.  M.  Burt  of  Butte,  Alfred  Morgan 
of  Calaveras,  James  Fitton  of  San  Diego  vice-presidents;  and  James  B.  De- 
voe  of  Sta  Clara,  P.  L.  Sanderson  of  El  Dorado,  and  J.  S.  Robb  of  San  Joa- 
quin   secretaries.      The   committee   on   rules,    and   basis   of   representation, 
consisted  of  A.  J.  Ellis,  S.  F.;  Horace  Smith,  Sac.;  J.  Fitton,  S.  D.;  Thos 


WHIG  CONVENTION.  651 

tiality  to  certain  districts,  and  the  usual  resulting  dis 
affection  of  the  neglected  portions  of  the  state.  The 
resolutions  adopted21  had  in  them  a  little  more  meat 
than  those  of  the  democratic  convention,  albeit  they 
corresponded  in  a  portion  of  their  demands,  opposing 
the  sale  or  lease  of  mineral  lands,  but  being  in  favor 
of  the  general  government  holding  them  for  the  bene 
fit  of  the  miners,  to  be  worked  by  them  free  of  taxes ; 
favoring  the  adjustment  of  disputed  land  titles  in  the 
state  by  commissioners  under  the  authority  of  con 
gress,  with  the  right  of  appeal  to  the  United  States 
courts;  desiring  the  immediate  extension  of  the  pre 
emption  laws  over  the  public  domain  not  embraced  in 
the  mineral  lands,  and  the  adoption  of  laws  which 
should  secure  to  actual  settlers  a  donation  of  not  more 
than  100  acres  to  each  head  of  a  family,  and  grants  of 
the  same  amount  to  settlers  on  private  lands,  where 
valuable  improvements  had  been  made,  under  the  be 
lief  that  they  were  open  to  settlement;  asking  generous 
grants  of  land  for  educational  purposes ;  liberal  appro 
priations  for  works  of  a  public  character,  and  the 
improvement  of  rivers  and  harbors;  aid  to  the  con 
struction  of  a  railroad  to  the  Mississippi  Valley,  the 
establishment  of  a  line  of  steamers  between  California, 
the  Hawaiian  Islands,  and  China;  complaining  of  the 

Bodley,  Sta  Clara;  Painter,  Shasta;  H.  Critcher,  Yolo;  H.  T.  Boarem,  San 
Joaquin;  H.  P.  Watkins,  Yuba;  Geo.  0.  McMullin,  Trinity;  Judge  Brooks 
and  W.  S.  Mesick,  Sutter;  J.  H.  Long,  Solano;  Charles  Justis,  Placer;  Dr 
McLean,  Santa  Cruz;  H.  H.  Lawrence,  Napa;  E.  Stone,  Mariposa;  J.  C. 
Boazann,  Contra  Costa;  John  A.  Collins,  Nevada;  John  Minge.  Jr,  Marin; 
Bo  wen,  Calaveras;  W.  D.  Ferazee,  Tuolumne;  Perkiam,  Butte;  Martin  of 
Tuolumne;  E.  J.  C.  Kewen  of  Sac.;  J.  C.  Fall  of  Yuba;  B.  F.  Moore  of 
Tuolumne;  J.  O.  Goodwin,  Wm  Waldo,  and  D.  P.  Baldwin.  The  state 
central  com.  consisted  of  John  Wilson,  R.  Hampton,  P.  W.  Tompkins,  Jesse 
D.  Carr,  E.  L.  Sullivan,  D.  H.  Haskell,  R.  N.  Wood,  Wm  Robinson,  and 
Chambers.  The  candidates  chosen  by  the  convention  were  Pearson  B.  Read 
ing  for  gov. ;  Drury  P.  Baldwin,  lieut-gov. ;  E.  J.  C.  Kewen  and  B.  F.  Moore 
for  congressmen;  Tod  Robinson,  judge  of  the  sup.  court;  W.  D.  Fair,  atty- 
gen.;  J.  M.  Burt,  state  treas.;  Alex.  G.  Abell,  controller;  Walter  Herron, 
surveyor-gen.  Reading  came  to  Cal.  in  1842,  crossing  the  mountains  by  the 
northern  route,  and  presenting  himself  at  Slitter's  Fort,  engaged  in  business 
with  Sutter.  He  obtained  his  title  by  leading  parties  in  the  Micheltorena 
war,  and  in  the  operations  of  the  battalion  of  mounted  riflemen  in  1846.  It 
was  said  he  was  born  and  educated  in  Phila,  and  possessed  a  polished  address. 
21  J.  Neely  Johnson  was  chairman  of  the  committee  on  resolutions. 


652  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

failure  of  congress  to  make  provision  for  a  mint  in 
California;  demanding  the  return  of  the  civil  fund, 
and  the  payment  of  the  Indian  war  expenses;  cordially 
approving  the  compromise  measures  in  congress;  prom 
ising  to  maintain  the  supremacy  of  the  state  laws,  and 
to  administer  the  same  with  economy,  that  the  people 
might  not  suffer  from  oppressive  taxation. 

I  cannot  help  being  struck  with  the  almost  total 
ignoring  by  both  parties  of  the  condition  of  the  state 
resulting  from  imperfect  legislation,  official  corruption, 
and  excessive  taxation.  The  whigs  did,  indeed,  prom 
ise  economy,  and  to  lighten  the  burdens  of  the  people; 
but  in  a  manner  to  show  a  tirnorousness  about  touch 
ing  the  subject  which  amounted  to  a  promise  of  failure. 
They  feared  to  lose  votes;  but  had  they  been  honest, 
they  would  have  preferred  losing  in  a  good  cause  to 
winning  in  a  bad  one. 

In  the  mean  time,  in  San  Francisco  and  elsewhere, 
the  people,  that  is  to  say,  the  commercial  and  pro 
ducing  classes,  were  struggling  hand  to  hand  with  a 
criminal  element  whose  practices,  while  brutalized  by 
ignorance  and  evil  associations,  were  not  more  dis 
honorable,  in  proportion  to  the  comparative  intelli 
gence  and  social  conditions  of  the  two  classes,  than 
those  of  men  who  followed  politics  as  a  profession, 
and  fattened  on  the  spoils  of  office.  Yet,  owing  to 
the  fact  that  they  were  more  brutal,  that  they  com 
mitted  murder  in  order  to  make  robbery  safe,  it  was 
found  necessary  for  an  outraged  people  to  turn  aven- 

fers,  and  kill  and  banish  in  return.     Of  this  necessity 
have  spoken  freely  in  other  places.     I  mention  it 
here  only  to  point  out  the   apathy  or*  the  criminal 
truckling  to  vice  of  the  political  parties. 

As  for  the  independents,  "the  true  California  party," 
as  it  was  denominated  by  the  Alta,  though  numerous 
they  made  no  nominations,  as  they  lacked  organiza 
tion  and  cohesion.  It  had  little  or  no  concern  for  old 
political  issues,  cared  nothing  for  administration  or 


INDEPENDENT   PARTY.  653 

anti-administration;  but  while  loyal  to  the  union,  it 
was  solely  interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  state.  It 
mio'ht  throw  its  weight  on  one  side  or  the  other,  ac- 

^  O  ' 

cording  to  local  interests  or  former  prejudices.  In 
San  Francisco,  in  April,  it  had  helped  to  elect  the 
whig  municipal  ticket,22  and  some  reforms  had  been 
effected  by  the  change.  But  no  such  unanimity  of 
action  could  be  secured  for  the  general  election,  and 
the  chief  use  of  the  independent  newspapers  was  to 
exercise  a  censorship  over  the  doings  of  the  two  par 
ties  which  had  put  forth  candidates  and  principles. 

It  was  not  long  before  trouble  arose  in  both  parties 
on  account  of  an  unfairness  toward  the  southern  por 
tion  of  the  state  in  regard  to  the  distribution  of  offices 
by  the  conventions,  all  of  the  state  nominees  and 
congressmen  being  chosen  from  the  northern  half,23 
which  contained  three  fourths  of  the  population,  and 
was  fairly  entitled  to  but  three  fourths  of  the  offices. 
Why  the  whigs  should  have  so  blundered  is  not  ac 
counted  for,  except  by  the  greater  greed  of  office  of 
the  northern  men,  or  by  competition  with  the  demo 
crats  who  had  made  their  nominations.  But  the 
motive  of  the  democrats  was  not  so  well  concealed 
that  it  could  not  be  fathomed. 

Senator  Gwin,  under  whose  lead  they  were,  had  a 
distinct  idea  with  regard  to  righting  the  wrongs  of 
the  southern  states  in  the  matter  of  slave  territory; 
and  that  was  to  divide  California,  attach  to  the  south 
ern  division  a  portion  of  the  Mexican  territory,24  and 

22  A  strong  appeal  for  reform  was  made  in  the  independent  address,  signed 
by  Joseph  S.  Wallis,  John  E.  Bell,  and  J.   R.  Robinson.  S.  F.  Alta,  March 
29,  1851. 

23  The  democrats  claimed  that  their  candidate  for  state  treasurer  was  put 
forward  by  the  delegations  from  Sta  Clara,  Monterey,  and  San  Diego,  as  the 
representative  of  the  southern  half  of  the  state.     The  idea  of  making  a  Sta 
Clara  man  a  representative  of  San  Diego  was  scoffed  at  by  the  independents, 
who  made  a  shrewd  guess  at  the  policy  of  the  convention. 

24 Says  the  Alta  of  Sept.  2,  1851:  '  The  mysterious  givings  out  that  efforts 
are  to  be  made  to  drag  into  the  coming  contest  the  proposition  to  acquire 
more  territory  from  our  neighbors,  either  by  conquest  or  purchase,  is  not  a 
matter  of  moonshine,  in  our  opinion.  There  is  no  doubt,  we  opine,  that  great 
efforts  are  afoot  to  bring  the  suspicious  and  obstreperous  south  into  the  cheer 
ful  support  of  the  party  candidates  [national],  through  the  expectations  and 
inducements  of  a  further  acquisition  of  territory.  What  that  territory  will 


654  POLITICAL  HISTORY 

in  time  annex  the  Hawaiian  Islands,25  all  of  which 
was  to  become  slave-holding.  With  this  in  view,  he 
surprised  the  constitutional  convention  in  1849  by  his 
complacency  with  regard  to  the  boundary  of  the  state 
and  the  exclusion  of  slavery.  It  was  in  his  thought 
to  change  it  in  the  not  distant  future,  and  to  leave 
the  second  Pacific  state  open  to  southern  institutions. 
It  was,  therefore,  of  no  consequence  that  the  counties 
adjoining  the  Mexican  boundary,26  and  the  southern 

be,  it  is  not  so  easy  to  tell ;  but  the  recently  authenticated  insurrectionary  de 
monstrations  in  Cuba  point  significantly  to  the  possibility  that  that  fair  and 
fertile  isle  may  yet  be  the  gem  whose  annexation  is  to  restore  the  balance  of 

Eower  to  an  equipoise  between  the  north  and  south.  If  this  scheme  should 
iil,  through  the  suppression  of  the  insurrection,  as  no  doubt  it  will,  it  seems 
plausible  that  the  northern  provinces  of  Mexico  will  be  the  bait  next  held 
out.'  The  Alta  also  saw  some  good  reasons  for  the  purchase  of  these  prov 
inces,  one  of  which  was  that  the  U.  S.  was  bound  by  treaty  to  protect  them 
from  the  inroads  of  the  Indians,  and  for  failing  to  do  so  heavy  damages  had 
already  accrued  against  the  U.  S. 

<25Says  Gwin  in  his  Memoirs,  speaking  of  himself  in  the  third  person:  'Mr 
Gwin  was  an  earnest  advocate  of  the  annexation  of  the  Sandwich  Islands  and 
the  extension  of  our  territory  south.  The  Gadsden  treaty,  as  it  was  called, 
at  a  later  period  came  before  the  senate  for  ratification.  He  proposed  that 
the  boundary,  instead  of  the  one  adopted  in  the  treaty,  should  begin  30  miles 
south  of  Mazatlan,  and  run  across  the  continent  to  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  strik 
ing  the  gulf  30  miles  south  of  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Grande  (there  are  certain 
lakes  there  that  make  a  fine  harbor),  and  to  pay  Mexico  $25,000,000  for  ac 
cepting  this  line  of  boundary  instead  of  $10,000,000,  as  was  proposed  in  the 
Gadsden  treaty,  for  the  present  boundary.  This  was  in  a  secret  session  of 
the  senate,  and  the  debate  therefore  is  not  of  record. . . .  Mr  Gwin  was  so  much 
dissatisfied  with  the  boundary  adopted  by  the  senate,  that  he  would  not  vote 
in  favor  of  the  treaty.  In  1851  a  proposition  was  made  by  the  Hawaiian 
authorities,  probably  under  the  influence  of  an  agent,  but  was  not  accepted. 
To  have  accepted  would  have  opened  afresh  the  question  of  free  territory. 

26  The  Mexican  boundary  commission,  appointed  in  1849,  consisting  of  J. 
B.  Weller  and  Surveyor  Andrew  B.  Gray,  resigned  their  unfinished  work  in 
1850  to  Capt.  E.  L.  F.  Hardcastle  of  the  top.  engineers,  who  with  a  captain 
of  Mexican  engineers  completed  the  survey  in  1851.  The  marble  monument 
near  San  Diego  was  placed  in  situ  in  June  of  that  year.  On  the  south  side 
is  a  shield  bearing  the  inscription,  '  Republica  Mexicana, '  with  an  arrow  above 
pointing  eastward,  over  which  is  '  direccion  de  la  linea. '  On  the  reverse  side 
is  '  United  States  of  America,'  *  direction  of  the  line,'  shield  and  arrow  as  on 
the  first.  On  the  east  side  is  '  North  latitude  23-31-58-59.  Longitude  7-48, 
20-1,  west  of  Greenwich,  as  determined  by  Wm  H.  Emory  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States,  and  Jose  Salazar  Ylarrequi,  on  the  part  of  Mexico.''  On  the 
west  side,  facing  the  Pacific,  is  '  Initial  point  of  boundary  between  the  United 
States  and  Mexico,  established  by  the  joint  commission  10th  of  October,  1849, 
agreeably  to  the  treaty  dated  at  the  city  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo,  February  2, 
A.  D.  1848.  John  B.  Weller,  U.  S.  commissioner,  Andrew  B.  Gray,  U.  S. 
surveyor. '  The  same  inscription  in  Spanish,  in  another  column  on  the  same 
side,  gives  the  names  of  Pedro  Garcia  commissioner,  and  Jose  Salazar  Ylar 
requi  surveyor.  A  plain  square  shaft,  about  three  feet  at  the  base,  rises  above 
the  pedestal  11  feet,  terminating  in  an  appropriate  cap.  The  whole  is  16  feet 
3  in.  above  the  surface.  The  inscriptions  are  upon  the  pedestal,  which  is 
about  5  feet  high.  The  boundary  line  is  straight  from  a  point  of  the  Pacific 


DYNASTY  OF  DEMOCRACY.  655 

coast,  should  be  offended;  it  was  indeed  a  part  of  the 
scheme  to  make  them  more  discontented  than  they 
already  were,  that  they  might  be  driven  to  seek  a 
division  from  the  northern  counties. 

Meanwhile  the  independent  press  labored  to  awaken 
in  citizens  a  sense  of  their  obligations  as  guardians  of 
the  public  weal  to  turn  their  attention  to  election 
matters;  and  charged  that  the  reason  why  public  af 
fairs  were  in  so  unpromising  a  condition  was  on  account 
of  the  neglect  of  good  men  to  look  into  them,  being 
interested  in  business,  and  still  looking  upon  the  older 
states  as  their  homes.  From  this  apathetic  condition 
they  were  entreated  to  arouse  themselves  and  save 
the  credit  of  California.  They  had  started  the  ma 
chinery  of  government,  and  left  it  in  reckless  and 
incompetent  hands.  The  law-makers  had  not  suffi 
ciently  felt  that  they  were  laying  the  foundations  of  a 
stable  community;  and  the  officials  who  executed  them 
acted  as  if  the  present,  with  its  spoils,  was  all  that 
California  ever  would  be,  and  these  could  not  too  soon 
be  safely  stowed  in  their  pockets. 

The  independents,  as  third  parties  usually  do, 
helped  the  election  of  one  party  by  dividing  the 
other,  and  the  democrats  carried  the  state  by  a  major 
ity  of  44 1.27  From  this  time  until  the  commencement 
of  the  war  of  the  rebellion  there  was  no  change  of 
importance  in  the  comparative  strength  of  parties, 
California  remaining  democratic. 

The  congressmen  McCorkle  and  Marshall  had  been 
elected  'at  large/  the  legislature  having  neglected  to 
divide  the  state  into  congressional  districts — another 
way  of  slighting  the  southern  counties.  Owing  to  a 
defect  in  the  election  laws,  the  congressional  term  hav 
ing  expired  March  4th,  California  had  no  representa 
tives  in  the  lower  house  until  the  following  December ; 

a  marine  league  south  of  the  bay  of  San  Diego,  to  the  junction  of  the  Gila — 
150  miles;  seven  monuments  were  erected,  six  being  of  iron. 

^Bigler  received  23,174  votes,  and  Reading  22,733.  S.  F.  gave  a  whig 
majority,  every  other  co.  going  democratic.  Cat.  Reg.,  1857,  164.  See  cam 
paign  doggerel  in  Taylor's  Spec.  Prcas,  C32. 


656  POLITICAL  HISTORY 

and  having  failed  in  the  election  of  a  senator  to  succeed 
Fremont,  for  a  period  of  eight  months  the  only  dele 
gate  to  congress  from  the  golden  commonwealth  was 
Gwin.2s  It  is  not  strange  that  he  came  to  regard 
California  as  his  particular  preserve. 

The  third  legislature  convened  at  Vallejo,  under  the 
protest    of  Governor  McDougal,  January  5,   1852,29 

28  The  legislature  of  1852  remedied  this  defect  by  a  special  act,  making  the 
congressional  election  fall  on  the  general  election  preceding  the  expiration  of 
a  term — in  1852,  and  each  second  year  thereafter.   CaL  Stat.,  1852,  146. 

29  Placer  Times  and  Transcript,  Jan.   15,  1852.     The  senate  consisted  on 
this  occasion  of  A.  Anderson,  who  resigned  Apr.  3d,  having  been  appointed 
judge  of  sup.  court;  D.  C.  Broderick;  A.  M.  de  la  Guerra;  John  H.  Baird, 
who  resigned  in  March,  when  J.  W.  Denver  was  elected  to  fill  his  place; 
James  M.  Estill,  J.  Frye  of  Placer;  Paul  K.  Hubbs,  B.  F.  Keeiie  of  El  Do 
rado;  P.  W.  Keyser  of  Sutter;  J.  E.  N.  Lewis;  J.  Y.  Lind  of  Calaveras;  0. 

F.  Latt  of  Butte;  J.   C.  McKibben  of  Yuba;   J.   Miller;  L.  B.  Van  Buren; 

G.  B.  Tingley;  J.  Warner,  J.  Walsh  of  Nevada;  J.  Walton  of  El  Dorado; 
M.  M.  Wombaugh  of  Yolo  and  Colusa;   J.  N.  Ralston  of   Sac.;  Philip  A. 
Roach;    H.  G.  Robinson;  J.  R.  Snyder,  S.  F.;  Frank  Soule,  S.  F.;   R.  T. 
Sprague  of  Shasta.     The  officers  of  the  senate  were:  S.  Purdy,  prest;  B.  F. 
Keene,  prest  pro  tern. ;  A.  G.  Bradford,  sec. ;  A.  G.  Stebbins,  asst  sec. ;  W.  F. 
McLean,  P.  K.  Woodside,  clerks;  C.  Burnham,  sergt-at-arms;  G.  W.  Harris, 
door-keeper.  Placer  Times  and  Transcript,  Feb.  1  and  8,  1852. 

Baird,  of  Sta  Clara,  was  born  in  Ky  in  1822,  and  educated  at  the  Pilot 
Knob  Academy.  Going  to  N.  O.  he  was  employed  in  a  large  mercantile  house 
for  several  years.  He  came  to  S.  F.  on  the  Niantic,  and  was  deputy  sheriff 
under  John  Pownes,  the  first  sheriff  of  S.  F.  He  was  interested  in  the  S.  F. 
Powder  Works  in  1870,  with  J.  A.  Peck,  the  company  having  been  incorpo 
rated  in  1861,  when  Baird  was  one  of  the  trustees,  Peck,  Moses  Ellis,  C.  A. 
Eastman,  Edward  Flint,  and  H.  R.  Jones  being  his  associates.  Politics  had 
no  charms  for  Baird,  who  kept  closely  to  his  business  after  his  half-term  in 
the  state  senate.  Rep.  Mem.  ofS.  F.,  967. 

J.  M.  Estill  was  also  a  native  of  Ky,  and  came  to  Cal.  in  1849.  He  was 
fond  of  politics,  and  took  a  10-year  contract  in  1851  to  keep  the  state's  pris 
oners,  as  I  have  related,  abuses  compelling  the  legislature  to  declare  the  lease 
forfeited.  In  1856  the  state  again  leased  the  prison  to  Estill,  paying  him 
$10,000  per  annum.  He  soon  sublet  his  contract  for  half  the  amount,  and 
the  legislature  again  declared  the  lease  forfeited,  and  the  gov.  took  forcible 
possession  of  the  keys.  The  matter  came  up  in  the  courts,  which  decided 
against  the  gov.  The  affair  was  compromised  by  paying  a  bonus  to  the 
assignee,  in  1860,  and  thereafter  the  prison  management  improved.  Hayes' 
Coll.,  Cal.  Notes,  ii.  304;  Sac.  Union,  March  6,  1857. 

Paul  K.  Hubbs,  of  Tuolumne,  was  born  in  N.  J.  In  1833  he  was  sent  by 
the  prest  of  U.  S.  to  France  as  a  representative  of  the  govt,  where  he  resided 
5  years,  returning  and  entering  into  commercial  pursuits  in  N.  Y.  and  Phila. 
In  1840  he  was  commissioned  col  in  3d  regt,  Penn.  vols.  In  1846  he  was 
elected  controller  of  the  public  schools  of  Phil,  co.,  resigning  in  1849  to 
come  to  Cal.,  where  he  arrived,  on  the  Susan  O.  Owens,  in  Oct.  He  was 
chairman  pro  tern,  of  the  senate  in  1852,  and  gave  the  casting  vote  on  the 
S.  F.  bulkhead  bill  in  the  interest  of  the  city.  In  1853  he  was  chosen  state 
supt  of  public  instruction.  In  1859  he  removed  to  Wash.  Ter.,  where  he 
practised  law,  and  was  several  times  elected  to  the  presidency  of  the  ter. 
council;  but  in  1865  he  returned  to  Vallejo,  Cal.,  where  he  died,  Nov.  17, 


GOVERNOR  BIGLER.  657 

and  three  days  afterward  Governor  Bigler  was  inau 
gurated.  He  was  in  many  ways  a  strong  contrast  to 

1874,  of  heart  disease,  at  the  age  of  74  years.  He  was  an  active  politician 
and  good  lawyer.  Los  Angeles  Express,  Nov.  26,  1874;  Oakland  Transcript, 
Nov.  19,  1874;  Solano  Stdvtn  Republican,  Nov.  19,  1874;  Solano  Co,  JJist., 
337-64;  Vallejo  Chronicle,  Nov.  21  and  Jan.  23,  1875;  VaUejo  Independent* 
Nov.  18,  1874;  Oakland  Alameda  Co.  Gazette,  Nov.  21,  1874. 

Joseph  E.  N.  Lewis,  of  Butte  and  Shasta,  was  born  in  Jefferson  co.,  Va, 
in  1826,  and  educated  at  William  and  Mary  college.  He  studied  law  with 
B.  F.  Washington,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Va,  In  1849  he  came  to 
Cal.,  settling  in  Butte  co.  which  he  helped  to  organize,  and  being  its  first 
senator.  He  was  an  able  lawyer,  but  reserved  in  disposition,  unmarried,  and 
not  a  member  of  any  of  the  pioneer  societies  of  the  state.  He  died  suddenly 
of  heart  disease,  in  July  1 809,  generally  lamented  by  the  members  of  the  bar 
in  his  county.  Sta  Cruz  Sentinel,  July  3,  18G9;  Carson  Appeal,  Nov.  20,  1874. 

Philip  A.  Roach  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1820,  and  came  to  N.  Y.  in  1822, 
and  to  Cal.  in  1849,  arriving  at  Monterey  July  15th,  after  a  journey  across 
the  Isthmus  midst  cholera  and  fever.  He  erected  two  houses  at  Monterey 
and  entered  upon  business  there.  He  was  of  much  use  to  the  administration 
of  Gen.  Riley,  and  held  the  office  of  judge  of  the  First  Instance.  Under  the 
state  organization  he  became  1st  mayor  of  Monterey,  was  elected  in  1851  to 
the  senate  for  two  years.  He  was  the  author  of  the  law  authorizing  married 
women  to  transact  business  in  their  own  names  as  sole  traders.  In  1853  he 
was  appointed  U.  S.  appraiser  for  the  dist  of  S.  F.,  which  office  he  held  until 
1861,  when  he  resigned,  and  in  1867  was  editing  the  Examiner.  In  1873  he 
was  elected  state  senator  for  four  years,  and  was  sent  a  com.  to  Washington 
to  secure  restriction  of  Chinese  immigration.  Among  the  democratic  leaders 
of  Cal.  he  has  maintained  a  prominent  position  from  the  organization  of  the 
party  to  a  late  period.  See  Quit/ley's  Irish  Race,  337-48;  Roach,  Statement, 
MS.,  1-8;  Larlcin,  Doc.,  MS.,  vi'i.  187;  N.  Y.  Graphic,  in  Sta  Cruz  Sentinel, 
July  15,  1876;  Limantour,  Opin..  U.  S.  Judge,  9;  Upham  Notes,  497-503;  Sac. 
Record,  Dec.  1,  1873;  West  Coast  Signal,  May  25,  1875;  Monterey  Herald, 
July  11,  1874;  Lakeport  Avalanche,  June  17,  1871;  Val.,  Doc.,  MS.,  55,  195. 

H.  C.  Robinson,  of  Sac.,  was  a  native  of  Conn.,  but  removed  at  an  early 
age  to  La,  and  was  educated  to  the  profession  of  law.  He  came  to  Cal.  in 
18i9,  on  the  first  passage  of  the  steamer  California.  Anaheim  Gazette,  Oct.  16, 
1857. 

The  assembly  consisted  of  D.  L.  Blanchard,  J.  Brush,  J.  W.  Coffroth, 
\V.  B.  Dameron,  and  T.  J.  Ingersoll,  Tuolumne;  L.  W.  Boggs  and 
J.  M.  Hudspeth,  Sonoma;  P.  Cannay  and  J.  H.  Gibson,  Placer;  A.  G.  Cald- 
well,  Sutter;  D.  M.  Chauncey,  A.  C.  Peachy,  A.  J.  Ellis,  Bauj.  Orrick,  G. 
W.  Ten  Broeck,  Herman  Wohler,  and  R.  N.  Wood,  S.  F.;  T.  H.  Coats, 
Klamath;  G.  W.  Colby,  A.  Kipp,  G.  N.  McConaha,  and  J.  C.  Tucker,  Sac. ; 
J.  Cook,  J.  H.  Paxtan,  and  James  H.  Gardiner,  Yuba;  H.  A.  Crabb,  R.  P. 
Hammond,  Fred  Yeiser,  San  Joaquin;  A.  P.  Crittenden  and  J.  T.  Thomp 
son,  Santa  Clara;  C.  B.  Stevenson,  Sta  Cruz;  John  Cutler,  W.  R.  Hopkins, 
S.  A.  McMeans,  and  A.  Wing,  El  Dorado;  Ygnacio  Del  Valle,  Andreas  Pico, 
Los  Angeles;  E.  F.  W.  Ellis,  W.  H.  Lyons,  and  J.  N.  Turner,  Nevada;  S. 
Fleming,  E.  D.  Pearse,  Shasta;  H.  L.  Ford,  Colusa;  C.  B.  Fowler,  J.  L.  Law, 
and  Nelson  D.  Morse,  Butte;  James  S.  Graham,  Solano;  A.  Haraszthy,  San 
Diego;  P.  T.  Herbert,  S.  A.  Merritt,  and  T.  E.  Ridley,  Mariposa;  A.  Hinch- 
man,  J.  M.  Covarrubias,  Santa  Barbara;  Wr.  P.  Joaes,  W.  L.  Kim,  and  G. 
E.  Young,  Calaveras;  F.  S.  McKenzie,  G.  0.  McMullin,  Trinity;  M.-Pacheco, 
San  Luis  Obispo;  J.  G.  Parrish,  Yolo;  Napolean  B.  Smith,  Contra  Costa;  J. 
S.  Stark,  Napa;  A.  W.  Taliaferro,  Marin  and  Mendocino;  Isaac  B.  Wall, 
Monterey. 

Officers  of  the  assembly  were:  R.  P.  Hammond,  speaker;  Blanton  McAlpin, 
chief  clerk;  Albert  Alden,  asst  clerk;  J.  C.  Potter,  engrossing  clerk;  W.  C. 
HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.    42 


658  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

McDougal.  Honest  and  easy,"  the  squatters  called 
him,  to  whom  he  was  indeed  a  father.  He  was  an 
approachable,  good-natured,  neighborly  man,  who  had 
not  scorned  to  labor  with  his  hands  when  it  seemed 
necessary,  to  unload  steamboats  at  two  dollars  an 
hour,  cut  wood,  take  a  contract  for  making  cotton 
comfortables  when  bedding  was  in  demand,50  or  sell 
goods  by  the  hammer  in  an  auction  store.  There 
were  those  who  said  his  election  had  been  secured  by 
ballot-box  stuffing;  but  it  seems  more  rational  to  be- 
lieve  that  the  squatters,  who  were  a  power  in  1851, 
joined  themselves  to  the  southern  democracy  and 
carried  the  election.  Gwin  had  not  despised  the 
squatter  influence,  as  his  land  bills  and  land  commis 
sion  testified;  and  why  should  Bigler?  As  far  as 
manners  went,  Reading  would  have  pleased  the  chiv 
alry  much  better;  but  his  politics  were  not  of  their 
complexion,  and  Reading  had  the  disadvantage  be 
sides  of  having  been  associated  in  business  with  Sutter, 
to  whom  the  squatters  were  as  a  party  hostile.  But 
a  better  reason  than  any  other  for  Bigler's  victory 
was  the  fact  that,  as  I  have  said,  California  was 

Kibbe,  enrolling  clerk;  C.  C.  Hornsby,  sergt-at-arms.  J.  H.  Warrington, 
door-keeper;  Richard  Zambert,  page;  C.  H.  Hubbs,  asst  page.  Thomas  J. 
Ingersoll  was  born  at  Tolland,  Conn.,  1806,  of  early  colonial  stock.  He  pos 
sessed  an  academic  education,  and  studied  medicine  at  Worthington  college, 
Ohio,  where  he  graduated  in  1836,  going  aferward  to  Louisville  and  St  Louis. 
In  1838  he  settled  in  La,  practising  his  profession  until  1849,  when  he  came  to 
Cal.  via  N.  M.,  and  located  himself  in  Tuolumne  co.,  where  he  engaged  in 
mining  and  medicine.  In  1852  he  removed  to  San  Jose,  where  he  married  in 
1859  Mary  Gorman,  a  native  of  St  Louis,  Mo.  He  died  April  30,  1880;  S.  J. 
Pioneer,  May  8,  1880;  S.  F.  Chronicle,  May  1,  1880;  8.  F.  Bulletin,  May  1, 
1880. 

A.  W.  Taliaferro  was  one  of  the  Virginia  company,  which  was  organized 
in  Richmond  in  April  1849.  It  was  composed  of  75  members,  who  disbanded 
soon  after  arrival.  The  vessel  which  brought  the  company  arrived  in  Oct., 
and  was  soon  sold  for  a  third  of  its  value,  the  cargo,  chiefly  tobacco,  being 
left  to  rot  in  the  streets.  An  association  formed  out  of  the  dissolved  Virginia 
co.,  Taliaferro  being  one,  leased  the  mission  lands  of  San  Rafael  from  Don 
Timoteo  Murphy,  for  farming  purposes,  but  did  not  long  continue  in  this 
peaceful  occupation.  Of  all  these  adventurers,  Taliaferro  alone  remained  a 
permanent  resident  of  Marin  co.,  which  several  times  elected  him  to  the 
assembly  and  senate.  Marin  Co.  Hist.,  121-2. 

wplnmas  National,  Dec.  9,  1871;  Sac.  Reporter,  Nov.  30,  1871;  Curry, 
Incidents,  MS.,  11-12;  Solano  Press,  1865,  in  Hayes  Cal  Notes,  ii.  289;  Gov.'s 
Inaugural  Message,  in  Cal.  Jour.  Assem.,  28-9-  Sac.  Transcript,  Feb.  14  and 
June  1,  1851. 


DAVID  COLBERT  BRODERICK.  659 

democratic.  Had  the  governor  been  able  to  with 
stand  the  influence  of  his  associations,  or  to  control 
legislation,  his  after- fame  might  have  been  brighter ; 
few  men  realize,  however,  when  they  are  in  the  smoke 
of  battle,  that  they  are  making  history,  and  must  be 
tried  by  its  searching  light.  He  talked  honestly,  but 
alack!  of  how  many  degrees  is  political  honor!  The 
apportionment  having  been  increased,31  as  well  as  the 
counties,  there  were  G2  members  in  the  assembly,  and 
27  in  the  senate,82  Frank  Soule  in  the  latter  body 
enjoying  the  distinction  of  being  the  only  whig  elected 
to  it  in  1851. 

On  the  28th  of  January  the  two  branches  of  the 
legislature  met  in  convention  to  elect  a  United  States 
senator  to  succeed  Fremont,  the  term  having  still  five 
years  to  run  from  the  4th  of  March.  On  the  eighth 
ballot  John  B.  Weller  was  elected.  In  this  election 
the  opposing  candidate33  was  David  Colbert  Broder- 
ick.  He  was  an  Irishman,  born  in  Kilkenny,  in  1820, 
his  father,  a  skilful  stone-cutter,  being,  with  others, 
selected  by  an  agent  of  the  American  government 
to  perform  the  decorative  work  in  the  interior  of  the 
national  capitol  at  Washington.  Here,  as  a  lad,  Brod- 
erick  began  learning  the  trade  of  his  father,  who 
afterward  removed  to  New  York,  where  he  soon  died, 
leaving  the  mother  of  David  and  a  younger  brother 
to  the  care  of  the  eldest  son,  who  was  apprenticed  to 
a  stone-cutter  of  the  city.  It  is  recorded  of  him  that 
he  discharged  his  duty  faithfully,  even  fondly.  But 
the  mother  soon  died,  and  young  Broderick  was  left 
without  parental  guidance  in  the  metropolis,  where 
his  condition  in  life  brought  him  in  contact  with  the 

31  The  third  legislature  created  3  additional  counties;  namely  ,Tulare,  with 
the  county  seat  at  Woods ville;  Siskiyou,  county  seat  at  Shasta  Butte  (Yreka); 
Sierra,  county  seat  at  Downieville.  Gal  Stat.,  1852,  pp.  240-1,  233-5,  230-3. 

**  Soule,  Statement,  MS.,  4.  In  the  assembly  from  his  district  there  were  4 
whigs,  Orrick,  Ellis,  Wood,  and  Thome.  S.  F.  A  Ita,  Sept.  7,  1851. 

M  There  were  several  nominees,  but  none  with  any  chance  against  Weller 
and  Broderick.  George  B.  Tingley,  A.  Anderson,  William  Smith,  R.  M.  Mc- 
Lane,  J.  H.  Ralston,  Tod  Robinson,  T.  B.  King,  and  others  were  nominated. 
CaL  Jour.  Sen.,  1852,  63-82. 


6GO  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

rude  and  muscular  element.  He  became  a  chief  among" 
firemen,  an  athlete,  a  gladiator,  the  champion  of  weaker 
men  who  were  his  friends.  Feeling  within  him  the 
forces  of  a  strong  nature  ever  striving  upward,  he  grew 
fond  of  exercising  these  faculties,  and  being  desirous  of 
educating  himself,  abandoned  his  laborious  trade  to 
keep  a  dram-shop,  which  occupation  brought  him  more 
in  contact  with  men,  and  gave  hi  in  better  opportunities 
for  reading.  Before  he  reached  his  majority  he  was 
a  thorough  politician,  was  called  to  preside  in  conven 
tions,  and  gave  advice  in  the  management  of  political 
campaigns.  He  preserved  a  high  tone  and  correct 
demeanor;  and  although  his  origin  was  lowly,  and  his 
associations  more  or  less  debased,  he  seemed  not  to 
be  sensibly  bound  down  by  them,  but  to  rise  year  by 
year  on  the  shoulders  of  the  electors  of  the  ninth 
ward  of  New  York  City  to  higher  and  yet  higher 
places,  obtaining  at  length  a  position  in  the  New  York 
custom-house,  where  he  dispensed  patronage. 

In  1845  Broderick  was  chosen  by  his  district  to 
preside  in  convention  for  forming  a  new  charter  for 
the  city,  and  was  applauded  for  his  liberal  views,  and 
for  the  firmness  with  which  he  adhered  to  them.  In 
this  same  year  he  lost  his  young  brother,  which  left 
him  alone  in  the  world,  his  serious  nature  becoming 
from  this  time  sad  in  a  marked  degree.  During  these 
early  years  he  attracted  the  attention  and  secured  the 
friendship  of  George  Wilkes,  editor  of  the  National 
Police  Gazette,  who  for  the  remainder  of  his  life  was 
the  Jonathan  to  this  David,  loving  him  with  a  devo 
tion  passing  the  love  of  woman. 

In  1846  he  was  nominated  for  congressman,  but 
defeated  by  a  small  majority,  by  a  split  in  his  party, 
he  refusing  to  coalesce  with  the  *  barn-burners/  He 
was  renominated  in  1848,  but  declined  to  run,  for  pe 
cuniary  reasons.  He  came  to  California  in  the  spring 
of  1849,  penniless  and  sick;  for  among  the  character 
istics  of  this  man  of  brawn  and  stature  was  a  feminine 
sensibility,  which  had  received  many  a  jar  in  his  polit- 


THE  SENATORIAL  GOAL.  661 

ical  strife  and  failures,  and  pecuniary  losses.  Here  lie 
met  some  former  friends,  and  as  there  was  a  lack  of 
coin  on  the  coast,  and  several  months  being  required 
to  procure  it  from  the  east,  it  was  proposed  to  form  a 
company  to  assay  and  coin  gold.  Frederick  D.  Kohler 
was  selected  for  the  assayer,  and  Broderick  became 
his  associate,  performing  the  severe  manual  labor 
required.  They  coined  so-called  five  and  ten  dollar 
pieces;  and  the  profit  upon  these  coins,  which  con 
tained  only  four  and  eight  dollars  respectively,  and 
upon  the  gold  purchased  at  $14  per  ounce,  soon  placed 
Broderick  in  good  circumstances,  and  laid  the  foun 
dation  of  a  fortune,  large  for  those  times.  In  the 
autumn  of  1849  the  firm  sold  the  business,  and  Brod 
erick  began-  to  think  of  returning  to  politics.  The 
New  York  democracy,  with  whose  ways  he  was  famil 
iar,  was  largely  represented  in  California,  and  particu 
larly  in  San  Francisco,  at  this  period.  What  more 
natural  or  likely  than  that  the  habit  of  managing 
politics  should  return  with  the  opportunity? 

Nathaniel  Bennett  having  resigned  from  the  senate 
of  the  first  state  legislature  to  accept  a  place  on  the 
supreme  bench,  Broderick  was  elected  to  fill  the  va 
cancy,  as  I  have  stated  in  another  place.  In  1851 
he  was  elected  president  of  the  senate,  and  ruled  with 
extreme  propriety,  not  one  of  his  decisions  being  re 
versed.34  He  studied  law,  history,  and  literature  with 
the  same  ardor  with  which  he  pursued  any  object;  in 
due  time  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  became  clerk 
of  the  supreme  court.  In  these  successive  steps, 
Broderick  was  constantly  encouraged  by  the  letters 

3*On  one  occasion  he  assaulted  a  reporter  of  the  Alia,  who  he  fancied  had 
impugned  his  motives  and  conduct  in  reference  to  the  military  appropriation 
bills,  calling  him  into  a  committee-room  and  treating  him  with  violence,  the 
reporter  being  rescued  by  other  senators.  S.  F.  Alto,  March  27,  1851.  He 
fought  a  duel  with  J.  Caleb  Smith  of  S.  F.,  in  1852,  in  which  his  life  was 
saved  by  his  watch.  Sac.  State  Journal,  March  10,  1852.  The  quarrel  grew 
out  of  remarks  by  Broderick  upon  the  habits  of  Ex-gov.  William  Smith  of  Va, 
who  had  provoked  a  scoring  by  his  offensive  deportment  during  the  previous 
senatorial  election.  The  eldest  son  of  Smith  took  up  the  matter,  which  re 
sulted  in  a  duel  following  upon  a  card  by  Judge  Smith,  Broderick  being  the 
challenger.  S.  F.  Pott,  Sept.  12,  1878. 


662  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

of  his  devoted  friend  Wilkes,  who  as  early  as  1850, 
seeing*  that  California  was  about  to  become  a  state, 
urged  him  "to  fix  his  eye  boldly  and  steadily  upon 
the  position  of  United  States  senator  for  California  ;"35 
to  which  Broderick  had  replied,  like  the  great  evan 
gelist,  "  Come  over  and  help  us,"  and  took  the  proffered 
advice. 

Broderick  was  now  thirty -five  years  of  age;  was 
thoroughly  trained  in  party  politics,  and  was  an  un 
compromising,  if  not  a  pro-slavery,  democrat.  There 
had  begun  to  be  a  distinction  made  between  northern 
and  southern  men  of  the  same  party,  and  Senator 
Gwin,  a  southern  democrat,  was  the  leader  of  the  pro- 
slavery  faction  in  California.  To  divide  the  party,  on 
any  pretence,  had  always  been  regarded  as  a  crime  by 
democrats.  The  immediate  adherents  of  Gwin  looked 
with  disfavor  upon  the  presumptuous  northerner,  of 
plebeian  origin,  who  aspired  to  sit  among  the  patricians 
of  southern  birth  in  the  nation's  highest  council. 

John  B.  Weller,  from  Ohio,  was  not  at  all  the  equal 
of  Broderick  as  a  politician,  but  he  had  occupied  places 
of  honor  in  his  state,  had  commanded  a  regiment  in 

36  There  was  a  story  current  that  on  leaving  New  York  Broderick  swore 
he  would  never  return  except  as  a  U.  S.  senator.  If  this  is  true,  he  did  not 
know  what  he  was  swearing  about.  At  that  period — the  spring  of  1849— 
little  was  known  of  Cal. ;  certainly  not  that  it  would  so  soon  become  a  state 
of  the  union.  Men  went  there,  then,  for  gold,  and  thought  of  politics  after 
ward.  In  the  sworn  statement  of  George  Wilkes,  fftnn  which  I  have  just 
quoted,  he  avers  that  Broderick  replied  to  his  suggestion,  that  the  mark  set 
was  too  high  for  him;  but  if  he,  Wilkes,  would  come  to  Cal.,  and  unite  his 
efforts  with  his  own,  'there  was  nothing  in  the  way  of  political  ambition 
which  he,  Broderick,  would  not  then  venture  to  undertake.'  Affidavit  of 
George  Wilkes,  this  being  a  sworn  statement  of  the  relations  between  Broder 
ick  and  himself,  made  in  1862,  on  the  contest  of  Broderick 's  will.  Concern 
ing  Broderick,  and  the  circmnstances  of  his  life,  the  evidence  is  now  abundant, 
and  it  is  time  to  present  him  in  his  true  character,  which  has  been  distorted 
by  both  enemies  and  friends  into  something  abnormal.  I  find  nothing  in  it 
not  easily  accounted  for  by  his  circumstances  and  evident  traits  of  constitu 
tion.  Among  his  biographers  are:  Quigley,  Irish  Race  in  Cal.,  295-302;  Shuck, 
Representative  Men,  385-93;  Fields'  Reminiscences,  79-84;  Ryckman,  MS.,  3; 
S.  F.  Bulletin,  Oct.  16,  17,  18,  1855,  and  Sept.  16,  1859;  Sac.  Union,  Sept.  17, 
1859;  Id.,  Apr.  27,  1872;  S.  F.  Herald,  Sept.  18,  1859;  S.  F.  Alia,  Dec.  8, 
1856,  a,nd  Sept.  17,  18,  1859;  S.  F.  Argonaut,  Apr.  28,  1878;  Monrow,  MS.,  3; 
Hayes'  Coll,  Gal  Pol,  ii.  82;  McGowan,  in  S.  F.  Post,  Feb.  22  and  March  8, 
1879;  Pajnro  Times,  Dec.  31,  1864;  Crosby's  Early  Events,  MS.,  66-7;  Hittell's 
Hist.  S.  F.,  307-19;  Merrill,  Statement,  MS.,  10;  J.  W.  Forney,  in  S.  F. 
Post,  March  8,  1879. 


JOHN  B.  WELLER.  663 

the  Mexican  war,  and  when  his  former  general  became 
president,  was  appointed  commissioner  to  settle  the 
Mexican  boundary,  and  was,  besides,  a  southern  pro- 
slavery  democrat.  Only  to  such  would  the  Gwin 
management  permit  the  prize  to  fall.  Like  Gwin  and 
Fremont,  he  fixed  upon  California  as  the  field  where 
he  was  to  achieve  the  triumph  of  an  election  to  the 
national  senate,  and  when  the  state  was  admitted, 
resigned  -his  place  on  the  boundary  commission  to 
engage  in  law  and  politics.  Care  for  the  best  inter 
ests  of  California  was  no  motive.  To  do  what  would 
strengthen  party  and  make  votes  was  the  aim.  Every 
$100,000,  or  land  grant,  or  other  gift  to  the  state,  was 
as  a  bribe  to  reelection.  A  more  effectual  bribe  was 
personal  patronage.  During  Fillmore's  administra 
tion  Gwin  managed  this  matter  with  much  adroitness. 
Being  a  democrat  in  a  democratic  senate,  he  had  the 
power  to  cause  the  rejection  of  the  whig  president's 
appointments,  in  other  states  as  well  as  California; 
yet  during  the  whole  of  Fillmore's  term,  with  a  single 
exception,  the  harmony  between  the  president  and 
the  California  senator  was  disturbed  but  once.36  While 
maintaining  amicable  relations  with  the  executive  he 
controlled  the  federal  appointments  by  finesse,  as  he 
governed  affairs  in  California  by  the  inflexible  demo- 

36  This  was  in  relation  to  the  appointment  of  a  district  judge  for  the  north- 
era  district  of  Cal.  J.  P.  Benjamin,  of  La,  a  typical  southern,  pro-slavery 
democrat,  who  was  afterward  secretary  of  the  southern  confederacy,  was 
nominated  to  the  southern  and  Currey  to  the  northern.  But  Gwin  objected 
to  Currey  because  he  was  not  known  to  him.  Finally  neither  of  the  nominees 
accepted,  on  account  of  the  small  pay,  only  $3,500.  'Pet  Halstead,'  whom  I 
have  before  mentioned,  a  whig,  but  an  enemy  of  Currey's,  also  opposed  this 
nomination,  '  and  he  made  this  opposition  so  formidable, '  says  Gwin,  '  that 
there  was  no  remedy  left  for  me  but  to  oppose  his  confirmation.'  Currey  was 
a  personal  friend  of  the  prest,  who  persisted  in  the  nomination;  but  Gwin 
again  rejected  him,  when  the  prest  became  angry,  and  threatened  to  leave 
Cal.  without  U.  S.  courts.  In  this  dilemma  Gwin  besought  the  good  offices 
of  Webster,  sec.  of  state,  who  recommended  Ogden  Hoffman,  of  N.  Y.,  son  of 
O.  Hoffman,  Sr,  the  lawyer,  orator,  and  statesman.  Seward  unexpectedly 
opposed  this  nomination — Hoffman  being  a  leader  of  that  wing  of  the  whig 
party  called  the  '  silver  grays ' — on  account  of  the  youth  of  the  nominee, 
whom  he  described  as  '  only  a  boy. '  He  proved  to  be  29  years  old,  and  a 
thorough  jurist.  He  was  confirmed,  and  Cal.  received  an  able  judge,  while 
Fillmore  was  placated.  Both  Hoffman  and  Jones,  the  first  U.  S.  judges, 
were  under  30  when  appointed. 


664  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

cratic  discipline.  A  southern  whig,  like  T.  B.  King, 
might  hold  an  office,  but  a  northern  anti- slavery 
democrat  found  no  favor  and  no  mercy. 

The  legislation  of  1852  was  remarkable  chiefly  for 
the  distinction  sought  to  be  made  between  the  white 
and  colored  races.  There  was  a  color  even  to  crime, 
black  wickedness  being  more  horrible  than  white.37 
Of  nineteen  pardons  to  criminals  granted  during  Mc- 
Dougal's  term,  four  were  to  Mexicans  and  the  remain 
ing  fifteen  to  white  men  bearing  English  names,  to  all 
of  whom,  including  the  Mexicans,  citizenship  might 
be  granted  under  the  laws;  while  another  man,  who 
has  not  yet  appeared  on  the  criminal  list,  "on  account 
of  color,"  should  be  legislated  against,  and  doomed 
forever  to  live  under  laws  which  "  patent  his  inferior 
ity,"  and  rouse  in  him,  justly,  a  hatred  of  his  oppres 
sors.  Senator  Broderick  vigorously  opposed  these 
sentiments,  but  was  almost  alone  in  his  party  in  con 
demning  them.  It  made  him  an  object  of  distrust  on 
the  part  of  the  chivalry,  who  thenceforward  sought 
occasions  of  hostility  toward  the  advocate  of  free 
labor  and  human  rights. 

37  The  annual  report  of  the  board  of  state  prison  inspectors,  with  Gov. 
McDougal  at  its  head,  had  this  significant  paragraph:  'The  board  of  state 
prison  inspectors  beg  leave,  in  conclusion,  to  call  attention,  simply  with  ref 
erence  to  its  bearing  upon  crime,  to  the  expediency  of  prohibiting,  by  strin 
gent  law,  the  importation  into  this  state  of  foreign  convicts,  or  of  those  other 
persons  belonging  to  alien  and  servile  races,  who,  on  account  of  color  or  from 
other  causes,  are  excluded  by  the  spirit  of  our  laws  from  participating  in  the 
privileges  and  rights  of  citizenship.  This,  though  a  matter  of  less  immediate 
than  eventful  importance,  is  nevertheless  worthy  of  present  attention.  For 
a  while,  no  doubt,  they  may  continue  peaceable  and  obedient,  but  we  submit 
whether  jealousies  and  hatred  will  not  inevitably  spring  up;  whether  they 
will  not  learn  to  detest  and  violate  laws  that  patent  their  inferiority  until 
our  jails  shall  be  filled  with  their  numbers,  and  the  ingenuity  of  legislation 
be  exhausted  in  devising  coercive  laws.  We  submit  whether  danger  is  not 
to  be  apprehended  from  the  presence  amongst  us,  in  great  numbers,  of  an 
ignorant  and  dependent  caste,  excluded  from  rights  to  the  enjoyment  of 
which  all  others  may  freely  aspire,  and  yet,  at  the  same  time,  exempt  from 
that  complete  subjection  to  the  will  of  another  which  can  only  result  from 
the  formidable  relation  of  master  and  slave.  From  the  Pelagian  races  in 
Greece  to  the  free  negroes  of  the  United  States,  and  the  peace  of  neighbor 
ing  republics,  the  degraded  race  have  always  needed  the  jailer  and  execu 
tioner,  and  been  conspicuous  for  drunkenness,  improvidence,  and  crime.' 
Thus  lucidly  the  pro-slavery  democracy  reasoned. 


THE  BAD  BLACK  MAN.  665 

In  consonance  with  the  suggestions  offered  in  the 
report  herein  quoted,  an  act  was  passed  "  respecting 
fugitives  from  labor,  and  slaves  brought  to  this  state 

O  O 

prior  to  her  admission  to  the  union,"  which  provided 
for  the  arrest  of  fugitive  slaves,  and  their  return  to 
servitude  in  the  state  or  territory  from  which  they 
had  escaped.  Under  this  law  a  colored  man  or  woman 
could  be  brought  before  a  magistrate,  claimed  as  a 
slave,  and  the  person  so  seized  not  being  permitted  to 
testify,  the  judge  had  no  alternative  but  to  issue  a 
certificate  to  the  claimant,  which  certificate  was  "  con 
clusive  of  the  right  of  the  person  or  persons  in  whose 
favor  granted,"  and  prevented  "  all  molestation  of  such 
person  or  persons,  by  any  process  issued  by  any  court, 
judge,  justice,  or  magistrate,  or  other  person  whomso 
ever."  Any  assistance  rendered  the  fugitive,  against 
his  arrest,  made  the  person  so  aiding  him  liable  to  a 
fine  of  $500  dollars  or  imprisonment  for  two  months. 
All  slaves  who  had  escaped  into  or  were  brought  to 
California  previous  to  the  admission  of  the  state  to 
the  union  were  held  to  be  fugitives,  and  were  liable 
to  arrest  under  the  law,  although  many  of  them  had 
been  free  for  several  years,  and  had  by  industry  accu 
mulated  a  competency.  Illustrative  instances  have 
been  given  in  a  previous  chapter.  The  law  of  1852 
confined  the  operation  of  the  last-named  section  to 
one  year  from  date,  but  the  legislature  of  1853,  see 
ing  that  there  were  still  free  negroes  in  the  state, 
extended  this  provision  to  1854.  The  legislature  of 
1854  also  extended  it  another  year. 

Under  the  constitution  of  California  slavery  could 
not  exist;  but  this  legislative  body  attempted  to  in 
troduce  the  coolie  system  by  an  act  providing  for  the 
enforcement  of  contracts  for  foreign  labor,  made  under 
it,  for  a  term  not  exceeding  five  years.  The  bill  origi 
nated  in  the  senate  with  G.  B.  Tingley,  a  whig,  and 
was  referred  to  a  select  committee  composed  of  Ting- 
ley,  Anderson,  Walsh,  Foster,  and  Roach,  democrats, 
which  reported  favorably  upon  it,  except  Roach,  who 


666  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

in  a  minority  report  stripped  the  scheme  of  its  dis 
guises  and  laid  it  to  rest  under  an  indefinite  postpone 
ment.38  To  all  these  devices  to  ingraft  slave-state 
sentiments  upon  the  politics  of  California,  Broderick 
was  as  actively  opposed  as  to  slavery  itself,  regardless 
of  the  frowns  of  the  majority. 

In  January  Senator  Gwin  suggested  to  Governor 
Bigler,  and  through  him  to  the  legislature,  to  pass  a 
law  giving  its  consent  to  the  purchase  of  lands  from 
individuals  or  companies  for  sites  on  which  to  erect 
any  of  the  public  improvements  provided  for  in  bills 
then  before  congress,  and  even  sent  a  draught  of  such 

38 Cal.  Stat.,  1852,  67-9;  Id.,  1853,  pp.  94-5;  Gal.  Jour.  Sen.,  1852,  306-7. 
The  report  of  Roach  is  so  superior  to  the  general  tone  of  legislation  at  this 
session  that  I  am  prevented  from  giving  it  entire  only  by  lack  of  space.  Its 
tone  will  be  understood  from  a  few  extracts.  '  Thus  far  the  mines  have  been 
open  and  free  to  the  labor  of  the  world,  and  they  have  been  so  productive 
that  hardly  a  law  has  been  needed  for  their  regulation.  This  state  of  things 
has  assembled  in  Cal.  people  of  every  race  and  clime,  of  every  tongue  and 
creed;  some  entitled  to  work  our  mines  upon  the  same  terms  as  our  own  peo 
ple,  for  reciprocal  justice  gave  them  the  right  to  claim  it,  while  others  were 
entitled  to  no  such  privilege;  yet  they  formed,  perhaps,  a  majority  of  the 
foreign  miners,  and  drew  from  our  soil  a  greater  quantity  of  the  precious 
metals  than  our  own  citizens.  This  led  to  the  cry  that  foreigners,  as  such, 
ought  to  be  taxed;  and  as  a  concession  to  public  clamor,  a  law,  unjust,  un 
constitutional,  and  indiscriminating,  was  passed,  prohibiting  foreigners  with 
out  a  license  from  working  upon  lands  belonging  to  the  U.  S.,  whereas,  by 
the  solemn  faith  of  our  govt,  as  pledged  by  treaty  stipulations,  various  peoples 
have  as  much  right  to  work  those  lands  as  to  breathe  the  air  in  which  we  live. 
.  .  .At  the  same  time,  a  ruinous  competition  should  not  be  forced  upon  the 
people  of  this  state  by  bringing  servile  labor  to  contend  against  the  interests 
of  our  working  classes.  That  population  forms  the  majority  of  our  people; 
it  is  they  who  are  to  uphold  upon  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  that  government 
and  its  principles  which  seem  destined  to  make  the  circuit  of  the  globe. 
When,  under  this  bill,  Asiatic  labor  shall  take  its  march  to  our  state,  the 
low  price  at  which  it  can  be  brought  renders  necessary  that  some  restriction 
be  imposed  as  to  what  branches  of  industry  it  shall  be  confined;  for  we  must 
have  a  population  of  our  own  race  sufficiently  numerous  to  control  it,  and  not 
depending  upon  the  same  pursuits  in  which  this  servile  labor  may  be  employed. 
. .  .The  apparent  object  of  this  bill  is  to  place  foreign  labor  at  the  disposal  of 
our  own  people,  in  order  that,  if  foreigners  earn  money,  it  may  be  for  their 
masters.  The  amount  of  money  is  of  little  consequence  compared  with  the 
degrading  effect  of  any  law  that,  to  deprive  them  of  their  gain,  shall  make 
their  labor  inferior,  by  law,  to  capital,  and  give  to  the  latter  a  more  feudal 
right  to  dispose  of  their  persons  and  happiness.  I  am  opposed  to  any  enact 
ment  that  seeks  to  place  burdens  upon,  or  to  doom  to  inferiority,  any  race  of 
men  who  have  no  other  disability  to  become  citizens  except  residence. .  . .  The 
hopes  of  the  republican  world  have  been  scared  by  the  retrograde  movements 
of  France;  but  there  despotism  has  not  thought  of  making  one  white  man 
the  serf  or  bondsman  of  another,  or  of  giving  to  capital,  for  the  term  of  five 
years,  the  hand  and  heart  of  labor.' 


GWIN'S  MEASURES.  667 

an  act.39  This  was  the  beginning  of  a  scandal  which 
troubled  the  senator  not  long  after,  concerning  the 
purchase  of  the  assay  office  in  San  Francisco,  and 
might  readily  have  been  taken  for  personal  anxiety  to 
consummate  a  bargain,  but  seems  not  to  have  been  so 
understood,  for  the  mandate  was  obeyed. 

Gwin,  in  his  manuscript  Memoirs,  makes  much  of 
his  services  to  California  in  the  establishment  of  a 
mint,  and  says  little  of  the  charges  brought  against 
him  of  permitting  a  government  assay  office  to  be  es 
tablished  instead,  which  for  four  years  charged  two 
and  one  half  per  cent  on  the  gold  assayed,  causing  a 
loss  to  the  miners  of  California  each  year  of  more 
than  the  cost  of  a  mint,40  while  one  half  per  cent 
would  have  covered  the  cost  of  the  assaying.  The 
democrats  raged  against  the  whig  administration  as 
the  cause  of  this  loss;  but  now  and  then  a  whig  put 
the  question  of  how  came  the  two  and  one  half  per 
cent  in  the  bill,  and  who  received  the  extra  two  per 
cent.  A  writer  in  a  Marysville  journal,  in  1854, 
signing  himself  '  Interior,'  reviewed  Gwin's  course  in 
connection  with  the  mint,  and  exposed  his  method. 
In  the  last  days  of  the  thirty-second  congress,  the  act 
making  appropriation  for  a  mint  having  passed,  Gwin 
introduced  into  the  deficiency  bill  an  amendment, 
which  in  effect  repealed  the  mint  bill,  and  gave  the 
whole  appropriation  to  the  secretary  of  the  treasury, 
to  be  applied  to  the  rent,  lease,  or  purchase  of  an  assay 
office.  This  was  the  explanation  of  his  desire  to  have 
the  legislature  confirm  his  action,  even  before  it  was 
consummated.41  Marshall  opposed  it  in  the  lower 

39  Gwin  says  that  defeated  office-seekers,  who  had  entered  into  a  solemn 
pledge  to  destroy  him,  were  responsible  for  the  story  that  when  an  appropri 
ation  was  made  for  a  mint  in  S.  F.,  he  had  urged,  and  succeeded  in  securing, 
the  purchase  of  the  assay  works  there  for  the  purpose  of  immediately  com 
mencing  the  mint  operations,  and  had  received  a  consideration  from  the  own 
ers  of  the  property  for  his  services  in  securing  the  sale  to  the  government. 
Memotrs,   MS.,  135;  Gal  Slot.,  1852,  149;  Marysville  Herald,  Sept.  26,  1854. 

40  In  the  report  of  the  committee  on  commerce  and  navigation  for  1852,  it 
was  stated  that  the  want  of  a  mint  in  California  for  three  years  had  cost  the 
miners  $21,000,000.   Cal  Jour.  Sen.,  App.  656. 

41 '  Interior '  quotes  Gwin's  repeal  of  the  mint  bill  as  follows:  Sec.  6th. 


668  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

house,  more  than  intimating  that  a  fraud  was  contem 
plated,  and  secured  an  amendment  declaring  that  "the 
sum  of  $300, 000  appropriated  by  said  act,  or  so  much 
thereof  as  may  be  necessary,  shall  be  applied  only  to 
the  erection  and  putting  in  operation  a  mint  in  Cali 
fornia,  and  not  to  the  purchase  of  any  building  for 
that  purpose."  Nevertheless,  in  the  face  of  the  law 
the  assay  office  was  purchased,  and  converted  into  a 
mint,  at  a  swindling  price.  It  was  not  in  the  nature 
of  things  that  such  services  to  Moffatt  &  Co.  should 
go  unrewarded. 

The  legislature  sat  for  119  days,  and  passed  232 
acts  and  resolutions.  A  bill  was  introduced  in  the 
lower  house  "  recommending  the  electors  to  vote  for 
or  against  calling  a  convention  to  revise  and  change 
the  entire  constitution  of  the  state,"  which  was  killed 
in  the  senate.42  The  subject  being  referred  to  a  special 
committee  in  the  assembly,  the  grievances  stated  as  a 
ground  for  revising  or  reenacting  the  constitution  were 

Be  it  further  enacted,  that  nothing  in  the  provisions  of  an  act  entitled  '  an  act 
to  establish  a  branch  mint  of  the  U.  S.  in  Cal.,'  shall  be  construed  so  as  to 
prohibit  the  appointment  of  the  assayer  therein  authorized,  before  the  execu 
tion  of  the  contract  for  and  the  completion  of  the  branch  mint  buildings 
therein  authorized;  but  that  the  president  is  hereby  empowered  to  appoint, 
in  the  manner  presented  by  that  act,  an  assayer  for  said  branch  mint,  in  an 
ticipation  of  the  completion  and  establishment  thereof;  that  the  secretary  of 
the  treasury  is  here  authorized  to  procure,  by  rent  or  lease,  a  building  or 
apartments,  and  to  lease,  purchase,  or  rent  machinery  in  the  city  of  S.  F., 
suitable  for  the  receipt,  melting,  and  assay  of  deposits  of  gold,  in  dust  or 
otherwise,  and  for  the  custody  of  gold  coin. . . .  And  that  there  is  hereby  ap 
propriated,  out  of  the  money  heretofore  appropriated  for  the  establishment  of 
a  branch  mint  in  Cal. ,  so  much  as  may  be  necessary  for  the  purposes  of  this 
act.  That,  of  course,  left  nothing  for  the  mint,  and  was,  as  Marshall  said, 
equivalent  to  a  repeal;  and  it  was  slyly  introduced  in  the  long  deficiency  bill, 
where  it  was  not  likely  to  be  detected.  But  the  addition  of  '  provided,  that 
no  contract  be  made  for  the  erection  and  establishment  of  the  said  mint  till 
the  further  order  of  congress. '  It  is  impossible,  says  '  Interior, '  addressing 
his  letter  to  Gwin,  •  to  doubt  that  you  acted  corruptly  in  the  affair.  No  in 
genuity  can  defend,  no  charity  can  cover,  a  transaction  which  has  only  to  be 
understood  to  establish  your  faithlessness  as  a  representative.'  But  Gwiu 
makes  in  his  Memoirs  the  poor  excuse  that  '  defeated  office-seekers  in  the 
democratic  party  entered  into  a  solemn  pledge  to  destroy  him,  at  the  begin 
ning  of  Pierce's  administration.'  Pierce 's  administration  and  the  war  for 
places  had  not  begun  when  the  mint  and  deficiency  bills  referred  to  were 
passed;  and  it  mattered,  not,  indeed,  what  Gwin's  enemies  desired  to  accom 
plish;  they  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  draughting  or  passage  of  the  bills  in 
question. 

42  Two  reports  were  rendered,  the  minority  being  against  the  bill.   Cal. 
Jour.  Assem.,  1852,  166-774;  Hayes  Constit.  Law,  i.  38. 


PATRIOTIC  SCOUNDRELISM.  6G9 

the  inequality  of  taxation  and  representation  between 
the  north  and  south — a  motive  in  which  there  was 
some  truth  and  much  exaggeration.  The  majority 
rule  applied  as  consistently  to  the  southern  inhabitants 
as  to  any;  and  the  effort  was  at  bottom  a  pro-slavery 
movement. 

The  deliberations  of  both  houses  were  in  the  main 
harmonious,  although  an  occasional  remark  struck  fire, 
as  when  Paul  K.  Hubbs  of  Tuolumne  attributed  the 
low  price  of  the  state's  warrants  to  the  efforts  of  cer 
tain  bankers  to  depreciate  them,  looking  significantly 
at  J.  R.  Snyder  of  San  Francisco,  a  partner  in  the 
banking-house  of  James  King  of  William.  Snyder 
asked  in  a  threatening  manner  if  it  was  to  him  that 
Hubbs'  criticism  was  directed,  when  Broderick  inter 
posed  a  hope  that  his  colleague  would  not  attempt  to 
intimidate  the  senator  from  Tuolumne.  This  remark 
was  like  a  spark  to  powder.  Snyder  sprang  at  Hubbs, 
and  was  only  prevented  from  assaulting  him  by  the 
interposition  of  other  muscular  senators,  who  rushed 
to  seize  the  frenzied  banker. 

A  serious  debate  arose  when  Crabb  of  San  Joaquin 
presented  a  bill  to  prevent  obstructions  to  the  run  of 
salmon  in  the  San  Joaquin  River,  as  to  which  of  the 
committees,  of  commerce  or  agriculture,  the  bill  should 
be  referred,  some  sharp  language  being  used.  Frank 
Soule  of  San  Francisco  restored  good  humor  by  mov 
ing  that  the  subject  be  referred  to  a  committee  con 
sisting  of  Crabb,  Roach,  Cook,  and  Frye. 

Estill  of  Solano  and  Napa,  who  was  apparently 
incapable  of  being  honest,  had  prepared  two  speeches 
upon  a  subject  of  importance,  one  of  which  was  given 
to  the  Placer  Times  (dem.),  and  the  other  to  the  Sac 
ramento  Union  (whig),  both  made  conformable  to  the 
opinions  of  readers  of  the  different  political  journals. 
When  he  came  to  speak  on  the  question  in  the  senate, 
he  paid  little  attention  to  his  utterances  already  in 
print,  as  a  report  of  what  he  was  then  saying  on  the 
floor.  Broderick,  who  had  read  the  papers,  upbraided 


670  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

Estill  in  the  senate  for  his  duplicity.  As  he  was 
leaving  the  chamber,  one  of  his  friends  cautioned  him 
concerning  the  pugilistic  senator  from  New  York, 
saying,  "Look  out  for  Dave."  "0,  thunder!"  was 
the  senatorial  response;  "I  can  clean  him  out  in  a 
minute!"  And  notwithstanding  the  exposure,  Estill 
was  treated  by  his  fellow-senators  as  if  the  whole 
matter  were  a  jest.  In  such  ways  did  this  august 
body  defraud  and  laugh  at  the  people,  while  spending 
$200,000  of  the  people's  money,43  wheedled  out  of 
their  pockets  by  allusions  to  the  honest  toil  of  the 
mining  population,  which  was  being  swindled  by  the 
United  States  whig  assaying  office. 

The  administration  of  President  Fillmore  was  draw 
ing  to  a  close.  In  February  1852  the  California 
branches  of  the  great  national  parties  began  to  muster 
their  forces.  The  whigs  held  a  convention  at  Sacra 
mento  on  the  20th  and  21st,  and  the  democrats  on 
the  23d  to  the  26th,  for  the  purpose  of  electing  dele 
gates  to  the  national  conventions  to  be  held  in  Phil 
adelphia  and  Baltimore.44  The  whigs  leaned  to 
Webster  for  president,  and  the  democrats  desired 
the  nomination  of  Douglas,  but  both  pledged  them 
selves  to  labor  for  nominees  of  the  national  choice, 
the  democrats,  with  that  settled  determination  to 
force  the  issue  of  slavery  upon  all  occasions,  adding 
to  their  resolutions  " provided  that  said  nominees  be 
neither  free-soilors  nor  abolitionists."45 

The  whigs  met  again  in  June  to  nominate  candi- 

« Roach,  Statement,  MS.,  13;  S.  F.  Alta,  May  6,  1852. 

"  The  whig  delegates  elected  were:  W.  F.  Stewart,  El  Dorado;  J.  0.  Good 
win,  Yuba;  J.  A.  Clay  Mudd,  S.  F.;  R.  W.  Heath,  San  Joaquin;  alternates, 
B.  F.  Whittin,  Mariposa;  A.  Morgan,  Calaveras;  A.  Lyle,  Trinity;  Judge 
Davis,  Yolo.  A  new  state  central  committee  was  chosen,  consisting  of  Dr 
N.  D.  Morse,  E.  J.  C.  Kewen,  Tod  Robinson,  Sac.;  J.  N.  Hoag  of  Yolo; 
John  Wilson  of  S.  F.;  H.  A.  Crabb,  San  Joaquin;  Thomas  Robinson,  El  Do 
rado;  R.  H.  Taylor,  Yuba.  S.  F.  Alta,  Feb.  22,  1852. 

45  Proceedings  Dem.  Slate  Con. ,  p.  20.  The  democrats  elected  four  delegates 
to  the  Baltimore  convention:  W.  H.  Richardson  of  Sutter;  Jose  M.  Covar- 
rubias  of  Sta  Barbara;  E.  D.  Hammond,  Sta  Clara;  Joshua  Holden,  luolumne. 
For  substitutes:  Henry  A.  Lyons,  S.  F. ;  Amos  T.  Laird,  Nevada;  M.  M.  Wom- 
baugh,  Yolo;  and  Charles  Loring,  Solano. 


LATHAM  AND  McDOUGALL.  671 

dates  for  election  to  congress,46  and  to  state  offices;47 
and  the  democrats  followed  with  a  state  convention  in 
July.  The  nominees  of  the  whig  party  were  not  fortu 
nate  ones,  being  either  men  little  known  or  who  were 
questionable.  It  was  patent  that  Tingley,  with  the 
odor  of  his  coolie  bill  upon  him,  could  not  be  elected 
to  congress,  and  that  P.  L.  Edwards,  from  the  "state 
of  Pike,"48  as  Missouri  was  desparagingly  termed,  had 
small  chance  of  being  voted  in  by  the  chivalry,  or  by 
Yankee  electors,  Missourians  being  abhorred  of  both. 
The  democrats,  according  to  their  custom,  had  trained 
men,  well  known  to  both  parties,  and  ready  and  anx 
ious  for  positions.  The  nominee  for  congressman  from 
the  northern  district  was  a  rising  young  lawyer,  not 
unknown  in  politics,  Milton  S.  Latham,  and  for  the 
southern  district,  James  A.  McDougall;  with  other 
popular  men  for  the  state  offices.49  Between  the  two 

46  This  election  of  congressman,  the  year  following  the  election  of  McCorkle 
and  Marshall,  was  in  pursuance  of  a  law  of  the  late  legislature  fixing  the 
times  at  which  representatives  in  congress  should  be  elected — Cal.  Stat.,  1852, 
146 — and  to  prevent  the  recurrence  of  a  vacancy,  such  as  had  followed  the 
expiration  of  the  terms  of  Gilbert  and  Wright. 

47  The  nominees  for  congress  were  George  B.  Tingley,  Sta  Clara;  and  P.  L. 
Edwards,  Sac.;  for  judge  of  the  sup.  court  for  the  full  term,  J.  M.  Hunting- 
ton,  Tuolumne,  to  succeed  Justice  N.  Bennett,  and  Stanton  Buckner,  judge 
for  the  short  term;  William  W.    Hawks,  clerk  of  sup.   court;  presidential 
electors,  John  0.  Fall,  Yuba;  David  H.  Haskell,  S.  F.;  T.  D.  Johns,  and  J. 
A.  Hale;  alternates,  Thomas  Robinson,  El  Dorado;  A.  Maurice,  Butte;  Wil 
liam  A.  Robinson,  Siskiyou,  and  Samuel  Barney.  S.  F.  Alia,  June  10,  1852. 

48  There  does  not  seem  to  have  been  much  point  to  the  appellation.     There 
is  a  county  of  that  name  on  the  eastern  border  of  Mo.,  and  a  county  of  the 
same  name  on  the  western  border  of  111. ,  only  separated  from  each  other  by 
the  Mississippi  River.     There  is  nothing  to  show  that  the  immigration  from 
these  two  counties  was  specially  numerous — on  the  contrary,  the  greater 
part  of  the  immigrants  come  from  the  western  counties.     But  any  lean,  lank, 
lazy,  ignorant,  and  nigger-hating  drone  from  this  part  of  the  state  who  had 
crossed  the  plains  with  an  ox-team,  to  squat  among  the  foothills  of  the  Sierra, 
was  popularly  known  as   'an  arrival  from  Pike  co.,  Missouri, '  until  every 
Missourian  was  suspected  of  having  been  of  the  same  brood.     Ihey  were,  in 
truth,  the  descendants  of  pioneers  of  the  slave  states,  who,  having  moved 
from  frontier  to  frontier  for  several  generations,  had  been  unable  to  keep  up 
with  the  progress  of  the  times,  and  who  were  unfit  for  the  society  of  men 
who  had,  but  whose  ancestral  blood  was  perhaps  no  better  than  theirs. 

49  The  state  nominations  were:  Hugh  C.  Murray,  of  Solano,  judge  of  the 
sup.  court  for  the  full  term,  to  succeed  N.  Bennett;   Alexander  Wells,  of 
S.  F.,  for  the  short  term;  Preston  K.  Woodside,  of  Monterey,  for  clerk  of  the 
sup.  court;  Andreas  Pico,  of  Los  Angeles,  T.  J.  Henley,  of  Sac.,  Winfield  S. 
Sherwood,  of  Butte,  and  Joseph  W.  Gregory,  of  Gregory's  Express  Co.,  for 
presidential  electors;  alternates,  J.  L.  Brent,  Los  Angeles;  Lansing  B.  Miz- 
ner,  Solano;  J.  A.  Watson,  Shasta;  and  Seth  B.  Farwell,  of  El  Dorado.     A 


672  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

parties  in  the  state  there  could  not  be  any  important 
issues,  both  desiring  the  same  benefits  to  the  state, 
and  both  blaming  the  general  government  for  neglect, 
though  the  democrats  charged  the  executive,  and  the 
whigs  a  democratic  congress,  with  the  responsibility. 
The  means  taken  by  the  north  to  placate  the  south, 
namely  the  nomination  of  a  military  man  with  no 
pronounced  politics,  was  under  the  circumstances 
v/ise;  the  concession  of  the  south  in  accepting  a 
northern  democrat  for  president  looked  like  a  return 
to  confidence. 

Both  the  great  national  parties  had  pledged  them 
selves  to  adhere  to  the  compromises  which  had  warded 
off  imminent  disunion  when  California  was  admitted, 
and  there  seemed  not  much  left  to  differ  about;  but 
there  was  still,  within  the  democratic  party,  a  third, 
elementary  one,  ripe  from  organization,  teeming  with 
electric  fires  which  a  touch  might  at  any  moment  dis 
cover;  and  within,  or  supposed  to  be  a  part  of,  the 
whig  party  was  its  opposite,  which  was  to  apply  the 
touch. 

The  first  presidential  election  in  the  state  was  an 
occasion  of  interest,  which  could  only  be  attended  with 
an  eager  desire  for  victory  by  both  sides,  each  desirous 
of  gaining  a  standing  for  the  state  in  the  national 
party  to  which  its  support  was  pledged.  The  summer 
passed  in  a  whirl  of  political  meetings  and  public  dem 
onstrations,  terminating  later  in  county  and  mass  con 
ventions  for  the  nomination  of  district  judges,  members 
of  the  legislature,  and  other  officials,  the  general  elec 
tion  being  by  act  at  the  previous  session  changed 
from  September  to  the  presidential  election  day  in 
November. 

The  cities  of  San  Francisco  and  Sacramento  were 
whig  in  1852,  but  the  state  gave  a  majority  for  Pierce 
over  Scott  for  president,  of  9,669,  the  whole  vote  of 

new  state  central  committee  was  appointed,  consisting  of  D,  C.  Broderick, 
N.  S.  Petit,  F.  P.  Tracy,  David  Scannell,  Thomas  Hayes,  and  J.  R.'  Maloney, 
of  S.  F.;  G.  W.  Colby,  Sac.;  A.  C.  Bradford,  Stockton;  C.  H.  Bryan,  Marys- 
ville.  Hayes  Cat.  Pol,  i.  7. 


PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTION.  673 

the  state  being  71,189.  The  election  of  the  state 
democratic  ticket  was  a  matter  of  course.  It  was  not 
until  the  first  week  in  December  that  the  overwhelm 
ing  defeat  of  the  whigs  in  the  Atlantic  states  became 
known,  and  surprised  both  parties  in  California.  It 
fixed  more  firmly  also  the  hold  of  the  new  adminis 
tration;  for  who  likes  not  to  be  on  the  winning  side? 
But  it  was  destined  to  inaugurate  some  changes  in 
politics,  tending  toward  the  disintegration  of  parties. 
A  change  in  federal  offices  was  almost  universal.  The 
distribution  of  patronage  in  California  caused  differ 
ences  between  the  delegation  in  congress,  giving  rise 
to  factions  within  the  ruling  party  itself,  which  main 
tained  a  distinct  organization,  and  carried  on  that 
bitterest  of  warfares,  that  which  disunites  the  family 
bond. 

The  man  selected  by  the  democratic  administration 
to  fill  the  office  of  collector  of  customs 50  in  California 
was  R.  P.  Hammond,  a  retired  army  officer,  who  had 

59  Collier,  the  first  collector,  was  a  popular  villain,  and  received  a  fine 
testimonial  from  his  friends  and  confederates  in  Cal.  on  leaving  the  country. 
The  govt  brought  suit  against  him  for  moneys  not  accounted  for,  the  balance 
against  him  being  $700,000.  About  half  of  this  was  paid  up  before  suit  was 
brought  for  the  remainder.  In  addition  to  the  irregularity  in  accounts,  Col 
lier  was  guilty  of  seizing  foreign  vessels  and  their  cargoes  under  the  pretence 
that  the  navigation  laws  did  not  permit  them  to  engage  in  indirect  trade 
with  cargoes  taken  in  at  any  ports  other  than  those  of  their  own  country. 
The  cargoes  were  sold  at  auction  or  private  sale,  at  ruinous  sacrifices.  It 
was  charged  that  these  sales  were  generally  collusive,  and  that  the  collector 
profited  by  them  by  a  resale  at  a  great  advance.  These  seizures  fell  princi 
pally  upon  French  vessels,  the  gross  claims  presented  by  the  French  minister 
amounting  to  nearly  $800,000,  which,  with  the  other  claims  for  illegal  pro 
ceedings,  aggregated  over  $1,000,000.  Of  this  amount  our  fine  official  paid 
$200,000,  while  the  cost  to  the  government  was  $300,000,  after  reducing  the 
claims  to  about  one  quarter  of  their  full  amount.  These  proceedings,  to 
gether  with  the  Cal.  legislative  action  concerning  vessels  entering  S.  F.  and 
other  ports,  were  extremely  injurious  to  the  reputation  and  commerce  of  the 
state.  Collector  King  was  charged  with  omitting  to  account  for  $100,000  of 
the  public  money.  He,  too,  it  seems,  had  a  scheme  for  filling  his  pockets, 
less  troublesome  to  the  govt  than  Collier's,  one  part  of  which  was  to  pay  an 
exorbitant  rent  for  a  warehouse  leased  for  the  U.  S.,  when  the  owner  re 
funded  a  large  part  of  it  to  King  for  his  own  use;  and  another  to  contract 
for  the  lighterage  ashore  of  goods  intended  for  the  bonded  warehouse,  at  a 
rate  which  the  merchants  protested  against,  being  himself  a  silent  party  in 
the  contract.  On  complaint  being  made  to  Sec.  Corwin,  he  ordered  the  prac 
tice  discontinued,  and  allowed  the  importers  to  bring  their  goods  ashore  by 
their  own  lighters,  under  the  charge  of  a  revenue  officer.  It  was  a  long  time 
before  Kings  accounts  were  settled.  N.  Y.  Express,  in  S.  F.  AUa,  Sept.  9, 

HIST.  CAL  ,  VOL.  VI.    43 


674  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

been  in  California  since  April  1849,  and  who,  for 
Colonel  Stevenson,  laid  out  the  town  of  New  York 
that  year,  at  the  mouth  of  the  San  Joaquin  river, 
William  H.  Richardson,  who  two  years  afterward  was 
killed  by  an  Italian  gambler  with  whom  he  associ 
ated,51  was  appointed  United  States  marshal.  S.  W. 
Inge,  appointed  United  States  district  attorney,  had 
been  congressman  from  Alabama  for  several  years,  but 

O  t/ 

had  recently  come  to  California.  He  had  also  been  a 
partner  of  A.  P.  Crittenden,  a  prominent  lawyer, 
through  whose  interest,  says  Gwin,  he  received  the 
office.  John  C.  Plays,  of  Texas  ranger  notoriety,  who 
had  been  sherifFof  San  Francisco,  was  made  surveyor- 
general;  and  Thomas  J.  Henley,  formerly  of  Indiana, 
was  given  the  post-office.  Henley  had  been  a  con 
gressman  for  six  years  previous  to  coming  to  California. 
He  was  subsequently  transferred  to  the  Indian  de 
partment,  and  although  he  was  assailed,  there  were 
no  charges  ever  proven  against  him  in  his  capacity 
as  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs,  which  position 
he  held  during  the  administration  of  Pierce  and 
Buchanan,52  the  office  having  attached  to  it  a  laro;e 

'  O  O 

patronage. 

The  legislature  of  185363  met  at  Vallejo  January 

51  Sherman  Mem.,  67,  73;  Gwin,  Memoirs,  MS.,  10G;  Pop.  Tribunals,  ii.  29, 
this  series. 

52  Henley  was  born  in.  Indiana  in  1807.     He  was  elected  to  the  legislature 
at  the  age  of  21,  serving  for  several  terms,  and  being  speaker  of  the  lower 
house.     He  studied  law  but  did  not  practice.     In   1840  he  was  elected  to 
congress,  and  for  two  succeeding  terms.     In  1849  he  came  overland  to  Cali 
fornia,  establishing  himself  in  banking  business  in  Sacramento,  in  company 
with  McKnight  &  Co.,  and  subsequently  with  Milton  T.  Latham  and  Judge 
S.  C.  Hastings.     In  1G52  he  was  chosen  presidential  elector,  and  selected  to 
carry  the  electoral  vote  of  California  to  Washington  for  Pierce  and  King. 
Daring  the  war  he  took  no  part  in  public  affairs  except  to  canvass  the  state 
for  McClellan  in  1804.     He  wa.3  again  on  tlie  electoral  ticket  in  18GS,  when 


Barclay  Henley,  resides  (1888)  in  S.  F. 

53 The  senate  was  composed  of  J.  II.  Baird,  J.  S.  Hager,  J.  R.  Snyder, 
S.  P.  ;  A.  P.  Catlin,  J.  H.  Rabton,  Sac.  ;  J.  W.  Coffroth,  P.  K.  Hubba,  Tu- 
olumne  ;  J.  W.  Denver,  L.  S.  Williams,  Trinity  and  Klamath ;  J.  Walton, 
B.  F.  Keene,  El  Dorado;  H.  A.  Crabb,  San  Joaquin  and  Contra  Costa;  A.  M. 
da  la  Guerra,  Sta  Barbara  and  San  Luis  Obispo;  J.  M.  Eatill,  Napa  and  Sclano; 
S.  C.  Foster,  Los  Angelea ;  J.  Gruell,  Sta  Clara  and  Contra  Costa ;  J.  M. 


PROPOSED  NEW  CONSTITUTION.  675 

3d,  adjourning  a  month  later  to  Benieia.  The  chief 
interest  at  this  session  centred  on  the  bill  for  a  con 
stitutional  convention,  a  measure  warmly  supported 
by  Senator  Ralston  of  Sacramento,  who  declared  a 
"new  political  era  had  opened'5  in  the  state  since  the 
last  legislature,  and  that  the  time  had  "fully  arrived" 
for  forming  a  new  constitution.  Other  members 
showed  him  to  be  in  error  by  voting  down  the  meas 
ure,  which,  however,  was  discussed  with  an  unction 
that  made  it  evident  there  was  something  more  at  the 
bottom  of  the  project  than  appeared  on  the  surface. 
That  something  proved  to  be  a  plan  on  the  part  of 
the  whig  members  in  the  legislature  to  bring  their 
party  back  into  prominence  in  the  state,  and  drawing 
to  them  a  certain  portion  of  the  democrats,  by  favoring 
a  convention  which  would,  on  the  pretence  of  correcting 
some  immaterial  defects  in  the  constitution,  never  ad 
journ  until  they  had  divided  the  state.  The  discovery 
of  the  plot  occasioned  much  indignation.  By  the  bill 
which  nearly  became  a  law  in  1853,  the  people  were 
required  to  vote  only  on  convention,  but  not  on  the 

Hudspeth,  Sonoma  and  Marin;  D.  B.  Kurtz,  San  Diego;  J.  Y.  Lind,  Cala- 
veras;  C.  F.  Lott,  Butte;  J.  C.  McKibben,  Yuba;  P.  A.  Roach,  Monterey; 
S.  B.  Smith,  Sutter;  J.  H.  Wade,  Mariposa;  J.  Walkup,  Placer;  M.  M. 
Wambough,  Yolo  and  Colusa;  Wm  H.  Lyons,  Nevada.  'ihe  officers  of  the 
senate  were:  S.  Purdy,  prest;  B.  F.  Keene,  prest  pro  tern.;  A.  C.  Bradford, 
sec. ;  J.  S.  Love,  asst  sec. ;  J.  L.  Trask,  enrolling  clerk;  W.  G.  Marcy,  engross 
ing  clerk;  G.  W.  Ten  Broeck,  sergt-at-arms;  E.  C.  Dowdigan,  door-keeper. 
The  assembly  consisted  of  F.  A.  Snyder  (resigned  in  April  and  J.  H.  Saun- 
ders  was  elected  in  his  place),  J.  M.  Taylor,  G.  H.  Blake,  J.  N.  Cordozo,  S. 
Flower,  J.  Sime,  E.  Heydenfeldt,  of  S.  F.;  J.  H.  Estep,  J.  W,  Harrison,  J. 
Neely  Johnson,  Robinson,  Sac. ;  J.  Conness,  S.  Garfield,  A.  Wing,  S.  A.  Mc- 
Means,  El  Dorado;  J.  Brush,  J.  J.  Hoff,  J.  M.  Maude ville,  W.  Meredith,  J. 
M.  Wilson,  Tuolumne;  W.  C.  Martin,  R.  G.  Reading,  Trinity;  P.  Moore,  J. 
H.  Bostwick,  J.  T.  Crenshaw,  Nevada;  A.  B.  Caldwell,  Yolo;  T.  H.  Owen, 
Solano;  H.  P.  Halley,  S.  Knight,  F.  Yeiser,  San  Joaquin;  C.  S.  Fairfax,  J. 
H.  Gardner,  B.  B.  Redding,  Yuba;  S.  Bell,  Mariposa;  T.  T.  Cabaniss,  Shasta; 
P.  Cannay,  B.  F.  Myers,  Placer;  G.  Carhart,  Colusa;  H.  W.  Carpentier, 
Contra  Costa;  J.  M.  Covarrubias,  C.  E.  Huse,  C.  V.  R.  Lee,  Sta  Barbara; 
M.  P.  Ewing,  J.  McKamy,  Sonoma;  J.  Hunt,  J.  P.  McFarland,  Los  Angeles; 
R.  Irwin,  C.  C.  Thomas,  A.  Wells,  Butte;  F.  M.  Kettredge,  W.  S.  Letcher, 
Sta  Cruz;  C.  A.  Leake,  W.  A.  Oliver,  W.  M.  Rogers,  Calaveras;  A.  G.  Mc- 
Candless,  Sutter;  E.  McGarry,  Napa;  G.  McMahon,  W.  Van  Dyke,  Klamath; 
M.  Pacheco,  San  Luis  Obispo;  W.  G.  Proctor,  Siskiyou;  A.  C.  Smith,  Sta 
Clara;  T.  W.  Tilghman,  San  Diego;  B.  R.  Walker,  Marin;  I.  T.  Wall,  Mon 
terey,  speaker  of  the  assembly;  B.  McAlpin  was  chosen  chief  clerk;  J.  W, 
Scobey,  asst  clerk;  A.  G.  Kimball,  enrolling  clerk;  Wm  Zabriskie,  engross 
ing  clerk;  G.  W.  Coffee,  sergt-at-arms;  John  Warrington,  door-keeper. 


676  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

new  constitution  which  was  to  be  made,  leaving  the 
state  entirely  in  the  hands  of  this  mongrel  party,  made 
out  of  pro-slavery  men  and  disaffected  whigs.54 

Another  legislative  iniquity  which  was  very  nearly 
perpetrated,  and  which  was  recommended  by  the  gov 
ernor  in  his  message,  was  a  project  set  on  foot  by 
George  Wilkes  and  J.  M.  Estill,  with  a  few  others,  to 
increase  the  water-lot  property  in  San  Francisco  by 
extending  the  city  front  600  feet  into  the  bay,  beyond 
the  line  established  by  law  in  1851,  and  to  which  the 
grade  of  the  city  had  been  accommodated.  The  in 
ducement  offered  to  the  governor  to  support  the 
scheme  was  the  proffer  of  one  third  of  the  property 
so  created  to  the  state,  which  it  was  estimated  would 
bring  $2,000,000,  and  go  far  toward  redeeming 
the  state's  credit.  But  if  the  legislature  had  the 
power  to  make  the  addition,  and  to  accept  a  third, 
why  not  take  more,  and  cancel  the  whole  of  the  state's 
indebtedness,  or  take  all?  That  was  a  secret  between 
the  authors  of  the  measure,  and  the  governor  and 
legislature. 

The  original  beach  and  water  lot  property  had  not 
brought  to  the  state  treasury  what  it  should  have  re 
turned,  having  been  sold  under  an  attachment,  by  the 
city  physician,  Peter  Smith,  to  secure  the  payment  of 
a  bill.  The  sale  being  generally  regarded  as  invalid, 
the  lots  commanded  only  a  trifling  price,  and  the  one 
fourth  reverting  to  the  state  had  been  small  accord 
ingly.  Considering  the  condition  of  the  state's  finances, 
the  governor  earnestly  advocated  'the  passage  of  the 
bill.  To  this  the  San  Francisco  delegation  was  as 
earnestly  opposed,  Snyder  and  Heydenfeldt  resigning 
from  the  assembly  in  order  to  test  the  sentiment  of 
their  constituency.  They  were  immediately  reflected. 
The  bill  failed  in  the  senate,  after  passing  the  house, 
the  president,  Purdy,  giving  the  casting  vote.  From 
the  circumstance  that  Broderick's  most  intimate  per- 

5*£.  F.  Alta,  April  18,  1853;  Hayes  Constit.  Law,  i.  40,  41,  49;  Cal  Jour. 
Sen.,  1853,  633;  Cal.  Jour.  Assem.,  1855,  699. 


NORTHERN  DEMOCRACY.  677 

sonal  friend  Wilkes,  and  the  governor's  strong  sup 
porter  Estill,  were  connected  with  the  extension  bill, 
much  feeling  was  created  in  San  Francisco  against 
both  Broderick65  and  Bigler,  and  great  the  fear  that 
should  Bigler  be  reflected  the  next  legislature  would 
revive  and  pass  the  obnoxious  bill.  Broderick,  how 
ever,  was  not  in  pursuit  of  riches  obtained  by  ruining 
the  city  of  his  adoption.  Whatever  his  faults,  no 
spoils  clung  to  him,  though  he  walked  continually  in 
the  midst  of  those  who  lived  by  them.  His  aim  was 
now  the  high  one  of  the  United  States  senate.56  To 
secure  this  it  became  necessary  to  attach  to  himself 
the  whole  of  his  party,  or  that  wing  of  it  which,  in 
cluding  the  Bigler  following,  was  beginning  to  be 
known  as  the  Broderick  wing.  The  course  which  he 
pursued  to  that  end  will  be  presented  in  the  following 
chapter. 

55  Hittell,  in  Hist.  S.  F.,  315,  labors  to  bring  evidence  of  Broderick's  compli 
city  to  bear  upon  this  case.     The  circumstantial  proof  is  strong;  only  one 
thing  being  against  it,  that  if  Broderick  had  been  in  favor  of  its  passage,  the 
bill  would  have  passed.     But  Wilkes,  its   author,  explains  that  such  was 
Broderick's  hostility  to  it  that  he,  Wilkes,  abandoned  the  cause  and  returned 
to  New  York,  Broderick  having  shown  him  that  on  account  of  their  intimacy 
he  would  be  held  responsible,  and  his  prospects  injured  in  the  race  for  the 
U.  S.  senatorship.    Wilkes'  Affidavit,  1. 

56  Wilkes  says  that  it  was  expected  in  1853  that  Gwin  would  be  taken 
into  Pierce's  cabinet,  which  apparent  opportunity  caused  Broderick  to  ask 
him  to  canvass  the  legislature  for  votes  in  favor  of  Broderick,  which  he  did. 
He  does  not  give  the  results. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

POLITICAL  HISTORY. 
1854-1859. 

WARM  AND  WICKED  ELECTION — ONE  PARTY  THE  SAME  AS  ANOTHER,  ONLY 
WORSE — SENATORIAL  CONTEST — BRODERICK'S  ELECTION  BILL — BITTER 
FEUDS — A  TWO-EDGED  CONVENTION — BIGLER'S  ADMINISTRATION — RISE 
AND  FALL  OF  THE  KNOWNOTHING  PARTY — GWIN'S  SALE  OF  PATRONAGE 
— BRODERICK  IN  CONGRESS — HE  is  MISREPRESENTED  AND  MALIGNED — 
ANOTHER  ELECTION  —  CHIVALRY  AND  SLAVERY — BRODERICK'S  DEATH 
DETERMINED  ON — THE  DUEL — CHARACTER  OF  BRODERICK. 

THE  pro-slavery  division  of  the  democratic  party  in 
California,  managed  by  the  agents  of  Gwin,  had 
achieved  its  successes  in  a  skilful  manner,  with  mys 
terious  grace  and  gentlemanly  arts  and  accomplish 
ments,  and  by  that  eternal  vigilance  which  is  the  price 
of  all  great  achievements  on  the  field  of  politics.  But 
when  Fillmore  went  out  and  Pierce  came  in,  the 
eagerness  for  spoils  brought  the  chivalry  and  the 
northern  democracy  into  collision,  Gwin  not  having 
any  patronage  for  men  of  the  northern  wing  of  his 
party,  all  the  places  and  fat  salaries  going  to  his 
southern  friends.  Broderick  did  not  care  for  these 
favors,  but  he  did  care  that  the  course  pursued  by  the 
chivalry  forced  him  into  alliance  with  a  class  of  men 
whom  he  could  not  recognize  socially,  and  compelled 
him  to  join  hands  with  Governor  Bigler  for  the  pur 
pose  of  strengthening  the  opposition  to  the  southern 
faction.1 

1  Broderick  made  use  of  McG-owan  and  of  Billy  Mulligan,  both  shoulder- 
strikers.  He  once  said  to  a  friend:  'You  respectable  people  I  can't  de 
pend  on.  You  won't  go  down  and  face  the  revolvers  of  those  fellows;  and 
I  have  to  take  such  material  as  I  can  get  hold  of.  They  stuff  ballot-boxes, 

(678) 


MAGNIFICENT  FRAUDS.  679 

Edmund  Randolph,2  Park  A.  Crittenden,  and  Tod 
Robinson,  styling  themselves  leaders  of  a  reform 
party,  to  catch  the  ear  of  the  long-suffering  people, 
desiring  to  defeat  the  reelection  of  Bigler,  canvassed 
the  state  in  1853,  assisted  by  E.  D.  Baker,  whig,  then 
a  recent  immigrant  to  California.  Few  rivalled  Ran 
dolph  in  eloquence;  few  surpassed  Baker;  but  neither 
these  nor  the  less  impassioned  whigs  were  strong 
enough  to  prevail  against  the  Broderick-Bigler  com 
bination.  As  chairman  of  the  state  central  commit 
tee,  Broderick  issued  an  address  to  the  people,  in 
which  he  denounced  as  traitors  the  seceders,  and  as 
traitors  they  were  treated. 

The  whigs  nominated  for  governor  William  Waldo, 
a  man  credited  with  pure  principles  and  a  firm  will. 
As  far  as  any  one  could  see,  the  division  of  the  dem 
ocrats  favored  the  election  of  a  whig;  but  the  ballot- 
box  told  a  different  story.  In  the  whig  city  of  San 
Francisco  there  was  a  majority  of  five  for  Bigler;  in 
the  county  of  San  Francisco  there  were  seventy-one 
for  Waldo.  The  total  vote  of  the  state  was  76,377, 
and  the  whole  majority  for  Bigler  1,503.  In  Los 
Angeles  men  were  disguised  and  sent  to  the  polls  sev- 

and  steal  the  tally  lists;  and  I  have  to  keep  these  fellows  to  aid  me.'  Merrill's 
Statement,  MS.,  10.  Broderick  was  the  first  man  that  made  a  successful 
stand  against  the  so-called  chivalry,  or  southern  element.  Gwin  himself  ad 
mits  that.  Memoirs,  MS.,  117. 

2  Edmund  Randolph  was  of  the  lineage  of  the  celebrated  Randolphs  of  Va, 
and  a  lawyer  by  descent  and  education.  He  came  to  Cal.  in  1849  from  N.  0., 
being  at  the  time  of  his  leaving  that  city  clerk  of  the  U.  S.  circuit  court  for 
La.  In  N.  O.  he  married  a  daughter  of  Dr  Meaux.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
first  Cal.  legislature,  but  not  being  a  politician  by  nature,  was  not  prominent 
in  party  affairs.  He  was  gifted,  eccentric,  excitable  in  temper,  and  proud  of 
his  standing  as  a  lawyer.  He  was  usually  retained  in  important  land  cases, 
and  made  a  national  reputation  in  the  New  Almaden  quicksilver  mine  case. 
He  was  opposed  to  the  vigilance  committee,  and  defied  it,  out  of  a  regard  for 
law  in  the  first  and  personal  pride  in  the  second  instance.  Yet,  like  all  of 
his  class,  he  would  break  a  law  to  gratify  a  passion,  but  would  not  allow 
others  to  do  so  to  sustain  a  principle.  In  the  conflict  between  the  two  wings 
of  the  democratic  party  in  1857-8  he  espoused  the  cause  of  Douglas.  When 
the  civil  war  came  on  he  bitterly  opposed  the  Lincoln  administration,  and 
died  denouncing  it,  for  his  most  virulent  and  last  speech  was  made  in  August 
1861,  and  his  death  occurred  in  Sept.  How  futile  are  the  efforts  of  a  great 
mind  warped  all  out  of  place!  Cal.  Jour.  Sen.,  1854,  52-4;  Yolo  Democrat, 
Aug.  14,  1879;  Cal  Reg.,  1857,  164.  It  was  alleged  that  Bigler  owed  3,000 
votes  to  frauds  perpetrated  on  the  ballot-box.  Bell,  Reminis.,  21;  S.  F.  AUa, 
Sept.  9,  1853. 


680  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

eral  times  to  deposit  votes.  The  amount  expended  in 
San  Francisco  alone  in  influencing  votes  was  estimated 
to  be  not  less  than  $1,500,000  in  money  and  water 
front  property  This  was  exclusive  of  several  hundred 
steamer  tickets  to  the  states,  with  which  returning 
miners  were  bribed.  What  must  have  been  the  value 
attached  to  victory,  when  such  prices  were  paid  for 
preferment? 

There  was  little  to  choose  between  parties.  Both 
resorted  to  dishonest  practices,  although  on  the  side 
of  the  whigs  it  was  individual,  and  not  party,  acts.  A 
whig  editor  was  discovered  distributing  democratic 
tickets,  entire,  with  the  exception  of  his  own  name 
and  that  of  one  other  aspirant  for  the  legislature.  If 
he  could  not  get  in  at  the  door  he  might  by  the 
window. 

Gloomy  views  were  taken  of  the  political  situation  by 
the  whig  and  independent  press.5  The  state  was  indeed 
approaching  a  dark  period  in  its  history,  a  moral, 
political,  and  financial  night  out  of  which  was  to  arise 
the  morning  of  a  pure  day.  The  eternal  mutation  in 
human  events  always  gives  hope  of  mending  when 
matters  are  at  their  worst.  But  they  were  not  to 
mend  in  California  until  they  had  become  more  evil 
than  they  yet  were;  and  they  were  not  to  mend 
through  any  favorable  change  in  the  policy  of  the 
dominant  political  party.  When  and  how  will  mend 
these  later  times?  Governor  Bigler,  governor  now 
for  another  term,  and  perfectly  cognizant  of  the  in 
dignant  protest  of  San  Francisco  to  his  extension 
measures,  vaunted  his  opposition,  and  his  purpose  to 
recommend  the  passage  of  the  obnoxious  bill  by  the 
next  legislature.  According  to  his  asseverations,  in 
that  way  only  could  the  civil  debt  of  the  state  be  paid, 

3  Says  the  A  Ita,  reproaching  those  who  failed  to  vote  at  the  election,  to 
defeat  the  extension-bill  candidates:  'They  will  be  still  more  amazed  when 
they  find  the  second  stories  of  their  houses  below  the  level  of  the  streets,  and 
the  third  stories  sold  to  pay  the  expense  of  burying  the  others;  all  the  slips 
closed  up;  and  the  bay  piled,  and  filled  in  200  feet  east  of  the  outer  end  of 
long  wharf.  Their  indignation  against  extension  will  then  be  as  violent  as 
need  be.' 


A  NEW  TRICK.  681 

and  the  burden  of  taxation  lessened.  But  the 
people  of  San  Francisco  saw  in  it  a  bribe  for  politi 
cal  support;  and  with  good  reason,  the  water-lot 
property  having  been  secured  by  Bigler' s  supporters 
with  the  expectation  that  its  extension  would  place 
$4,000,000  in  their  pockets.  Broderick,  though  he 
labored  for  the  reelection  of  Bigler,  did  so  as  a  means 
to  his  own  ends.  The  governor  had  also  aspirations 
toward  the  United  States  senate,  and  unless  he  should 
be  continued  in  his  present  office,  might  make  a  serious 
diversion  of  interest  from  himself.  As  another  means 
to  the  same  end,  Purdy,  who  would  have  liked  to  run 
for  governor,  was  persuaded  to  content  himself  again 
with  the  office  of  lieutenant-governor.  The  vote  for 
Purdy  was  10,000  more  than  for  Bigler;  and  had  he 
not  yielded  to  Broderick's  persuasions  he  might  have 
had  the  higher  office;  and  all  because  he  had  voted 
against  the  extension  bill.4  As  soon  as  the  election 
was  decided,  Broderick,  at  the  head  of  the  victorious 
faction,  prepared  to  secure  his  election  to  the  United 
States  senate  by  the  legislature  elect,  to  succeed  Gwin 
in  1855.5  There  was  no  precedent  for  an  election  by 
a  legislature  not  the  last  before  the  expiration  of  a 
senatorial  term;  but  Broderick  was  of  the  order  of 
men  who  make  precedents;  and  having  a  legislature6 

*The  state  officers  elected  in  1853,  besides  the  gov.  and  lieut-gov.,  were 
J.  W.  Denver,  sec.  of  state  (he  resigned  in  Nov.  1850,  and  C.  H.  Hempstead 
was  appointed  to  the  vacancy);  Samuel  Bell,  cont. ;  S.  A.  McMeans,  treas. ; 
J.  R.  McConnell,  atty-gen.;  S.  H.  Marlette,  sur.-gen. ;  P.  K.  Hubbs,  supt  pub. 
in3t. ;  W.  C.  Kibbe,  qr-master  genl;  state  printers,  George  Kerr  £  Co. 
The  contract  system  was  repealed  May  1,  1854,  and  B.  B.  Redding  elected 
by  the  legislature,  who  was  succeeded  in  Jan.  185(5  by  Jaines  Allen;  W.  E. 
P.  Hartnell  was  state  translator.  Gal  Reg.,  1857,  189. 

5Wilkes  says  that  on  his  return  to  California  in  the  autumn  of  1853 
Broderick  consulted  him  upon  the  propriety  and  legality  of  asking  the  legis 
lature  to  till  a  vacancy  2  years  in  advance;  and  that  his  opinion  was  that  the 
effort  if  undertaken  would  be  useful  as  a  preliminary  canvass,  and  would  give 
him,  Broderick,  a  start  in  the  way  of  organization,  over  any  other  aspirant 
for  the  same  place. 

6  The  senate  in  1854  consisted  of  W.  W.  Hawkes,  J.  S.  Hager,  D.  Mahoney, 
W.  M.  Lent,  E.  J.  Moore,  S.  F.;  A.  P.  Catlin,  G.  W.  Colby,  Sac.;  G.  D.  Hall, 
G.  W.  Hook,  H.  G.  Livermore,  El  Dorado;  C.  A.  Leake,  E.  D.  Sawyer,  Cala- 
veras;  J.  Henshaw,  W.  H.  Lyons,  Nevada;  C.  H.  Bryan,  J.  C.  Stebbins,  Yuba; 
C.  A.  Tuttle,  J.  Walkup,  Placer;  J.  H.  Wade,  Mariposa;  B.  C.  Whiting, 
Monterey;  S.  B.  Smith,  Sutter;  E.  T.  Peck,  Butte;  W.  B.  Macy,  Trinity  and 
Klamath;  E.  McGarry,  Napa,  Solano,  and  Yolo;  J.  P.  McFarland,  Los  Angeles; 


682  POLITICAL  HISTORY 

upon  which  he  believed  he  might  depend,7  he  purchased 
a  newspaper,  the  Alta,  and  repaired  to  the  capital  ac- 

D.  B.  Kurtz,  San  Diego;  T.  Kendall,  Tuolumne;  J.  M.  Hudspeth,  Sonoma  and 
Marin;  J.  Grewell,  Sta  Clara  and  Contra  Costa;  J.  H.  Gardner,  Sierra;  P.  cle  la 
Guerra,  Sta  Barbara  and  San  Luis  Obispo;  H.  A.  Crabb,  San  Joaquin  and 
Contra  Costa. 

Officers  of  the  senate:  S.  Purdy,  prest;  B.  F.  Keene,  prest  pro  tern.;  J. 
Y.  Lind,  sec.;  J.  H.  Stewart,  asst;  H.  St  Clair,  enrolling  clerk;  J.  C.  Tucker, 
engrossing  clerk;  W.  H.  Harvey,  sergt-at-arms;  E.  C.  Dowdigan,  door-keeper. 
Members  of  the  assembly:  J.  W.  Bagley,  J.  A.  Gilbert,  A.  A.  Green,  J.  C. 
Hubbard,  N.  Hubert,  F.  W.  Koll,  E.  Nichols,  E.  B.  Purdy,  W.  J.  Sweasey, 
S.  F.;  T.  R.  Davidson,  F.  A.  Park,  J.  M.  McBrayer,  J.  W.  Park,  Sac.,  died 
at  S.  F.  in  1870;  W.  C.  Daniels,  C.  S.  Fairfax,  J.  C.  Jones,  H.  B.  Kellogg,  J. 
Y.  McDuffie,  Yuba;  B.  L.  Fairfield,  B.  F.  Meyers,  J.  O.  Neil,  G.  H.  Van 
Cleft,  Placer;  E.  O.  F.  Hastings,  Sutter;  H.  B.  Goddard,  J.  J.  HofF,  B.  D. 
Horr,  T.  J.  Hoyt,  J.  M.  Mandeville,  Tuolumne;  A.  C.  Bradford,  J.  Stemmons, 
San  Joaquin;  J.  H.  Bostwick,  E.  F.  Burton,  H.  P.  Sweetland,  I.  N.  Dawley, 
W.  H.  Linsey,  Nevada;  S.  Ewer,  R.  Irwin,  J.  B.  McGee,  Butte;  F.  Ander 
son,  J.  C.  James,  Sierra;  R.  D.  Ashley,  Monterey;  W.  D.  Aylett,  Siskiyou; 
S.  A.  Ballou,  A.  E.  Stevenson,  A.  Briggs,  J.  Conness,  E.  G.  Springer,  D.  P. 
Tallmadge,  H.  Hollister,  G.  McDonald,  El  Dorado;  J.  W.  Bennett,  Sonoma; 
G.  W.  Bowie,  Colusa;  C.  E.  Carr,  E.  Hunter,  Los  Angeles;  P.  C.  Carrillo, 
Sta  Barbara;  D.  Clingan,  Marin;  G.  N.  Cornwall,  Napa;  P.  H.  French,  San 
Luis  Obispo;  M.  W.  Gordon,  A.  J.  Houghtaling,  C.  A.  McDaniel,  W.  C. 
Pratt,  M.  Rowan,  Calaveras;  H.  Griffith,  Yolo;  W.  B.  Hagans,  Sonoma;  J. 
C.  Henry,  P.  T.  Herbert,  Mariposa;  J.  Hunt,  San  Bernardino;  W.  S.  Letcher, 
J.  McKinney,  Sta  Clara;  J.  Musser,  Trinity;  C.  P.  Noel,  San  Diego;  J.  A. 
Ring,  Shasta;  M.  Spenser,  Humboldt;  W.  W.  Stowe,  Sta  Cruz;  J.  T.  Tivy, 
Tulare;  F.  M.  Warmcastle,  Contra  Costa;  J.  S.  Watkins,  Alameda;  S.  G. 
Whipple,  Klamath;  B.  C.  Whitman,  Solano.  C.  S.  Fairfax  was  chosen 
speaker,  J.  M.  Mandeville,  speaker  pro  tern.;  B.  McAlpin,  chief  clerk;  J.  W. 
Scobey,  asst  clerk;  John  Kimmell,  enrolling  clerk;  E.  A.  Kelley,  engrossing 
clerk;  G.  H.  Blake,  sergt-at-arms;  J.  H.  Warrington,  door-keeper. 

Charles  S.  Fairfax,  speaker  of  the  assembly,  was  a  descendant  of  the  last 
Lord  Fairfax,  and  himself  entitled  to  the  succession  as  the  10th  Lord  Fairfax. 
He  was  born  in  Vancluse,  Fairfax  co.,  Va,  in  1829,  and  came  to  Cal.  in  1849, 
wintering  in  a  cabin  near  Grass  Valley.  After  1854,  he  was  clerk  of  the  sup. 
court  for  5  years;  was  chairman  of  the  Cal.  delegation  to  the  dem.  nat.  con. 
at  N.  Y.  in  1868,  and  died  in  Baltimore  in  April  1869.  Colusa  Sun,  April  11, 
1874;  8.  F.  Alta,  April  6,  1869;  8.  F.  Call,  April  6,  1869;  Sutter  Co.  Hist.,  26; 
Field's  Reminis.,  107-12.  John  C.  James  came  to  Cal.  in  1850,  being  then  23 
years  of  age.  In  1858  he  went  to  reside  at  Genoa,  Carson  Valley,  then  a  part 
of  Utah,  and  from  there  he  was  elected  to  the  Utah  legislature,  the  only  gen 
tile  member.  In  1866  he  was  a  member  of  the  Nevada  legislature,  and 
speaker  pro  tern,  of  the  assembly.  He  is  spoken  of  as  being  intelligent,  gen 
erous,  and  fond  of  humor.  He  died  in  Carson  in  1874.  Los  Angeles  Star,  Feb. 
14,  1874;  Gold  Hill  News,  Jan.  26,  1874. 

7  A  scandal  of  the  senate  at  this  term  was  an  alleged  attempt  on  the  part 
of  J.  C.  Palmer,  of  the  banking  firm  of  Palmer,  Cook,  &  Co.,  to  induce  the 
newly  elected  senator  from  Butte,  E.  T.  Peck,  and  W.  B.  May  from  Trinity, 
whigs,  to  vote  for,  and  use  their  influence  to  bring  on,  a  senatorial  election  at 
this  session.  Peck  related  the  interview  with  Palmer  in  the  senate.  Palmer's 
argument  to  him  was  that  the  whigs  were  in  no  way  interested  in  the 
matter,  so  it  could  be  no  treachery  to  party;  it  was  '  a  war  between  two  fac 
tions  of  the  democratic  party, '  and  if  Peck  would  do  as  desired,  he,  Palmer, 
would  count  him  down  $5,000;  but  he  '  did  not  wish  Broderick  to  know  that 
the  offer  had  been  made.'  Peck  declined  to  be  purchased.  Palmer  was 
brought  before  the  senate,  and  denied  everything  on  his  side,  accusing  Peck 


BRODERICK'S  SCHEME.  683 

companied  by  his  friend  and  mentor,  Wilkes,  who  had 
accepted  an  invitation  from  him  to  come  to  California. 
This  scheme  of  Broderick's  has  been,  by  his  friends, 
declared  to  be  the  greatest  error  in  his  life.  I  do  not 
so  regard  it.  It  was  irregular;  it  was  tricky;  in  a 
certain  sense  it  was  unfair.  But  the  circumstances  in 
which  he  was  placed  were  remarkable  and  stringent. 

1  O 

He  could  not  begin  too  soon  to  meet  the  foe  which 
must  be  faced  at  every  turn.  He  was  perfectly  aware 
of  the  growing  strength  of  the  pro-slavery  party,  and 
that  Gwin  could  only  be  defeated  at  the  next  senatorial 
election  by  the  most  strenuous  measures.  He  sought 
to  accomplish  by  strategy  what  he  feared  could  not  be 
done  if  the  opportunity  were  neglected,  namely,  to 
rout  the  chivalry  in  California.  They  were  routed, 
and  through  this  act  of  Broderick,  but  not  in  the  way 
he  had  contemplated.8 

of  offering  himself  for  sale.  After  a  trial,  in  which  the  counsel  engaged  was 
E.  D.  Baker  for  Peck,  and  that  fine  reasoner,  Thomas  H.  Williams,  on  Palmer's 
side,  the  senate  disagreed  as  to  the  guilt  of  the  accused.  Hall  offered  a 
resolution  that  Peck's  allegations  had  not  been  sustained  by  the  evidence  ad 
duced  in  the  investigation.  Leake,  Gardner,  and  Moore  took  this  ground, 
but  Gardner  'resolved  further'  that  the  decision  of  the  senate  was  'not 
intended  in  any  degree  to  reflect  upon  the  honor  and  dignity  of  Mr  Peck.' 
Catlin  resolved  that  the  collateral  testimony  of  either  side  was  not  sufficient 
to  support  the  respective  charges  made  by  each  against  the  other,  which  reso 
lution  was  lost.  Crabb  then  resolved  that  it  was  not  the  intention  of  the 
senate  to  reflect  upon  the  honor  and  dignity  of  Peck,  which  was  finally  agreed 
to.  Cal  Jour.  Sen.,  1854,  83-4,  96-7,  118,  123-6. 

8  In  1881  was  printed  by  James  O'Meara  The  Most  Extraordinai-y  Contest 
for  a  Seat  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  ever  Known,  under  the  general  title 
of  Broderick  and  Gwin.  The  author,  an  Irishman,  was  a  chivalry  democrat 
and  a  secessionist  during  the  rebellion,  serving  the  southern  cause,  or  rather 
the  cause  of  a  Pacific  republic,  and  his  master  Gwin,  by  starting  disunion 
newspapers  in  various  places  on  the  coast,  which  were  surpressed  by  order  of 
Gen.  Wright,  who  excluded  them  from  the  mails.  O'Meara's  talents  as  a 
writer  were  above  the  average.  He  was  a  follower  of  Gwin.  He  knew  the 
ins  and  outs  of  the  party  warfare  in  Cal.,  of  which  he  was  a  witness,  and  in 
which  he  was  an  actor,  and  has  well  related  them,  with  as  little  bias  as  could 
be  looked  for  from  a  person  of  his  origin  and  quality.  From  his  writings  I 
draw  some  personal  sketches  of  the  legislature  of  1854,  and  the  wire-pullers 
present  at  this  session.  The  book  is  subtly  hostile  to  Broderick,  cunningly 
exaggerating  his  faults,  while  affecting  impartiality  making  him  out  a  creature 
of  no  principles,  but  inspired  alone  by  ambition  and  hate.  '  At  the  bottom 
of  Broderick's  cunning  scheme,' he  says,  '  was  Broderick's  earliest  tutor  and 
adviser  in  New  York,  George  Wilkes,  who  had  come  to  the  state  in  1851,  and 
then  stood  nearer  to  him  and  closer  in  his  confidence  than  any  other.'  This 
remark  applied  to  the  plan  of  a  banquet  got  up  ostensibly  in  honor  of  Gen. 
Wool  and  Ex-gov.  Foote  of  Miss.,  both  of  whom  were  offended  with  the 
administration  of  Pierce  on  personal  grounds,  but  really  to  give  Broderick  an 


684  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

His  plan  was  to  have  a  bill  passed  fixing  a  day  on 
which  the  legislature,  then  in  session,  should  elect  a 
successor  to  Grwin  in  the  United  States  senate.  On 
the  28th  of  January,  such  a  bill  was  introduced  in  the 
assembly  by  Gordon  of  Calaveras.  This  was  drawn 
up  by,  or  at  the  dictation  of,  Broderick.  It  was  made 
the  special  order  for  the  31st,  when  the  vote  being  un 
favorable,  it  was  tabled  to  await  the  action  of  the 
senate.  In  that  body  another  bill  was  introduced,  by 
Henshaw  of  Nevada,  whig,  which  it  was  the  interest 
of  the  Broderick  men  to  defeat,  and  which  was  in 
charge  of  the  whigs  and  Gwin  men,  with  some  aid 
from  the  agents  of  Congressman  McDougall,9  who 
also  aspired  to  the  senate  of  the  United  States  along 
with  many  others.10 

On  the  6th  of  March,  1854,  the  election  bill  came 
up  in  the  senate,  the  legislature  having  adjourned  to 
Sacramento  from  Benicia.  Every  means  was  being 
used  on  both  sides,  which  persuasion  and  intrigue  could 
render  serviceable,11  including  threats  and  imprison- 

opportunity  to  arraign  the  administration  an  account  of  appointments,  and 
promote  his  interests  as  against  Gwin.  Gov.  Bigler  presided  at  the  banquet, 
and  the  affair  did  temporarily  subserve  the  Broderick  interest;  but  a  reaction 
followed,  when  the  purport  of  some  of  the  speeches  became  known.  It 
stirred  up  the  whigs  to  defend  Gwin  and  the  administration.  O'Meara's  re 
marks  may  be  taken  with  several  grains  of  allowance,  on  account  of  his 
prejudice  in  favor  of  Gwin. 

9  Henry  B.  Truett,  formerly  mayor  of  Galena,  111.,  was  McDougall's  chief 
supporter.     Reuben  J.  Maloney,  of  111.,  was  another  of  McDougall's  friends, 
and  a  well-known  politician.     Gwin's  recognized  agents  were  Maj.  Folsom, 
Capt.   Bissell,  and  the  P.  M.  S.  Co.     Broderick  was  supported  by  Palmer, 
Cook,  &  Co.,  A.  A.  Selover,  John  Middleton,  Ned  McGowan,  A.  J.  Butler, 
Tom  Maguire,  Robert  J.  Woods,  a  southern  man  of  influence,  Frank  Til- 
ford,  who  was  appointed  district  judge  through  his  influence,  and  James  M. 
Estill. 

10  Early  in  the  session  W.  W.  Gift  entered  the  assembly  with  revolver  in 
hand,  crying  out  that  were  he  to  point  the  weapon  and  threaten  to  shoot  the 
first  one  who  should  venture  to  announce  himself  a  candidate  for  congress, 
three  fourths  of  them  would  dodge  under  their  desks.    Grim  pleasantry,  this. 

11  It  is  stated  that  J.  H.  Gardner,  of  Sierra,  an  anti-Broderick  dem. ,  and  a 
poor  man,  who  wanted  to  bring  his  family  from  S.  C.  and  could  not  for  lack 
of  means,  resisted  a  bribe  of  f 30,000  offered  for  his  vote.     In  another  instance 
a  clergyman  was  brought  from  Napa  to  plead  with  his  brother,  a  senator  from 
a  northern  co. ,  to  accept  a  still  larger  sum,  which  would  have  been  divided 
between  them;  but  this  man  also  refused  the  bribe.     On  the  other  hand, 
Wilkes  relates  how  he,  at  Broderick's  request,  solicited  the  influence  of  sev 
eral  members  by  promises  that  '  there  was  nothing  in  Mr  Broderick's  power 
which  could  gratify  an  honorable  mind  he,  the  said  Broderick,  and  deponent 
for  himself,  was  not  ready  to  pledge  to  the  service  of  said  member.'     'Depo- 


AN  IMPRESSIVE  SCENE.  685 

ment.  Less  strenuous  measures  sufficed  to  convert 
Jacob  Grewell  of  Santa  Clara,  a  whig,  and  an  anti- 
electionist,  but  susceptible  to  cajolery  by  great  men, 
having  been  an  humble  baptist  preacher  in  Ohio.  On 
the  day  before  the  senate  bill  was  to  be  considered,  he 
was  captured,  body  and  soul,  and  detained  until  the 
morning  of  the  6th,  when  to  the  surprise  of  his  party 
he  voted  with  the  Broderick  men  to  postpone  Hen- 
shaw's  bill  to  the  17th,  by  which  time  they  hoped  to 
secure  the  passage  of  the  assembly  bill. 

The  scenes  in  the  senate-chamber  during  this  period 
were  the  most  impressive,  for  intense  interest,  which 
ever  transpired  in  a  legislative  body  in  California. 
Every  one  was  aware  that  the  passage  of  the  election 
bill  meant  Broderick  for  senator.  Every  man  had 
done  all  that  he  could  for  or  against  it.  The  loss  of 
one  vote  on  either  side  would  defeat  one  or  the  other 
party.  By  the  loss  of  Grewell  to  the  whigs  and  Gwin 
men,  a  tie  resulted.  The  decision  rested  with  the 
president  of  the  senate.  He  voted  for  postponing  the 
Henshaw  bill.  The  star  of  Broderick  was  ascendant ! 
A  sigh  of  suppressed  excitement  suddenly  relieved 
was  heard  throughout  the  chamber.  For  a  moment 
more  there  was  a  strange  silence,  and  then  the 
friends  of  Broderick,  whose  steel-blue  eyes  shot  sparks 
of  fire,  pressed  around  him  to  grasp  his  hand.  It 
was  not  an  immaculate  palm ;  it  was  the  hand  of  a 
stone-cutter's  son;  the  hand  of  a  rough-and-tumble 
politician,  and  man  of  the  people ;  yet  to  his  friends  at 
that  moment  it  was  the  hand  of  a  king.  They  would 
have  kissed  it  but  for  shame.  As  it  was,  their  lips 
trembled,  and  Broderick  himself  was  speechless,  so 
nearly  was  he  to  the  consummation  of  his  heart's  de 
sires. 


nent  further  says  that  this  transaction  occurred  at  a  time  when  hostile  rumor 
had  charged  that  votes  were  being  bought  for  $10,000  apiece;  but  deponent 
solemnly  avers  that  no  temptations  beyond  an  appeal  of  said  member's  honor 
able  ambition,  were  used  by  deponent  with  said  honorable  member. '  Affidavit, 
4.  Baker's  speech  in  pamphlet  form,  28  pp. ,  argues  strongly  against  Palmer's 
attempt. 


686  POLITICAL  HISTORY 

The  shock  of  joy  which  so  unmanned  them  was  a 
blow  bringing  surprise  and  anger  to  the  other  side.  To 
what  end  had  been  their  lavish  expenditure  of  money] 
To  what  purpose  had  guard  been  kept  over  one  senator 
twenty-four  hours,  to  prevent  his  being  kidnapped, 
since  another  had  gone  over  to  the  enemy?  Upon 
Grewell  was  fastened  the  responsibility  of  the  defeat, 
and  they  determined  that  the  mischief  he  had  done 
he  should  undo. 

Henry  A.  Crabb  of  San  Joaquin12  was  leader  of 
the  whigs  in  the  senate.  Besides  being  a  whig,  he 
was  a  Mississippian,  a  true  representative  of  the  fight 
ing  chivalry,  and  a  strong  man  intellectually  and  po 
litically.  Crabb  called  Grewell  to  account  for  his 
action,  and  gave  him  his  choice  of  recantation  or — 
worse.  Other  senators  used  their  influence,  and 
Grewell,  after  explaining  his  defection,  agreed  to  move 
the  reconsideration  of  the  vote  of  the  6th  of  March 
on  the  following  day,  which  he  did,  prefacing  his  mo 
tion  by  a  statement  concerning  despatches  received 
from  constituents  to  account  for  the  change.  His 
motion  was  carried  by  a  vote  of  18  to  15.  Directly 
thereafter  a  message  was  received  from  the  assembly, 
informing  the  senate  that  the  bill  fixing  the  time  of 
electing  United  States  senators  had  been  passed  by 
them  on  the  6th.  Henshaw  moved  that  the  bill  be 
rejected.  Lent  of  San  Francisco  moved  to  postpone 
the  consideration  of  the  bill  until  the  17th.  Sprague 
of  Shasta,  a  Broderick  man,  moved  to  adjourn.  After 
a  rapid  succession  of  motions  and  balloting,  the  vote 
recurred  upon  Henshaw's  motion  to  reject  the  assem 
bly  bill,  when  the  vote  stood  17  for  to  14  against  re 
jection.  The  senate  bill  was  indefinitely  postponed, 
and  the  defeat  of  the  senatorial  election  measure  was 
final.13  The  disappointment  of  the  Broderick  faction 

12  Crabb  was  killed  in  Nicaragua  while  with  Walker's  expedition.     Brod 
erick  spoke  in  the  U.  S.  senate  in  favor  of  calling  his  murderers  to  account. 
Sac.  Union,  Aug.  13,  1859. 

13  The  friends  of  Broderick  in  Washington  had  given  him  considerable  as 
surance  on  a  point  upon  which  doubt  was  expressed  in  Cal. ;  namely,  whether 


DENVER  AND  HEMPSTEAD  687 

was  in  proportion  to  the  elation  experienced  by  the 
prospect  of  passing  the  assembly  bill  in  the  senate.14 

The  extension  bill,  which  the  governor  did  not  fail 
to  recommend  in  his  annual  message  to  the  legislature, 
was  also  defeated  by  an  adjournment  of  the  senate  be 
fore  it  reached  that  body.15  In  a  special  message  at 
the  close  of  the  session,  which  lasted  four  and  a  half 
months,  he  expressed  his  regret  for  the  failure  of  his 
favorite  project,  and  that  "all  the  more  important 
measures  required  by  the  people  have  been  defeated, 
either  by  a  direct  vote,  or  delay  in  acting  upon  them." 
While  this  was  probably  true,  the  same  policy  had 
defeated  some  that  were  not  required  or  desired ;  from 
which  it  appears  that  there  may  be  virtues  as  well  as 
sins  of  omission. 

On  the  llth  of  January,  the  governor  reappointed 
J.  W.  Denver  secretary  of  state,  he  having  been  ap- 

fointed  in  1853,  in  place  of  W.  Van  Yoorhies,  resigned, 
t  was  a  small  enough  return  to  make  to  a  man  who 
had  killed  in  a  duel  Edward  Gilbert,  ex-congressman 
and  editor  of  the  Alta,  because  he  had  ridiculed  the 
immaculate  John  Bigler.  Denver  resigned  in  1856, 
and  the  governor's  private  secretary,  Charles  H. 
Hempstead,  son  of  a  professional  gambler,  was  ap 
pointed  in  his  place. 

he  would  be  admitted,  being  chosen  under  such  conditions.  It  was  said  that 
the  sec.  of  the  senate  had  given  it  as  his  opinion  that  the  action  of  the  legis 
lature  would  be  sustained;  and  some  of  the  ablest  men  in  the  senate  were  of 
the  same  opinion,  including  the  southern  whigs;  and  the  republicans  would 
vote  for  his  admission  on  account  of  his  antagonism  to  the  Kansas -Nebraska 
bill,  at  that  time  the  principal  subject  before  congress.  The  assurance  that  he 
had  powerful  friends  in  the  U.  S.  senate  made  Broderick's  defeat  in  Cal.  the 
more  bitter.  Among  his  supporters  in  the  state  were  George  Wilkes,  A.  J. 
Butler,  J.  C.  Palmer,  Stephen  J.  Field,  John  Middleton,  A.  A.  Selover,  Frank 
Tilford,  Col  Dick  Snowden,  Thomas  Maguire,  Ned  McGowan,  V.  Turner, 
Charles  Gallagher,  and  C.  H.  Hempstead.  The  governor,  with  his  powerful 
patronage,  was  a  strong  right  arm. 

14  O'Meara  is  in  error  when  he  says  that  the  senatorial  election  bill  passed 
in  the  senate,  and  was  reconsidered  next  day.  It  never  passed  in  the  senate. 
The  assembly  bill  was  rejected,  and  the  senate  bill  never  came  to  a  vote  on 
its  passage. 

10  It  is  not  probable  the  bill  could  have  passed,  the  remonstrance  of  S.  F. 
was  too  strong.  A  memorial  of  8  pages,  addressed  to  the  legislature  in 
1854,  and  signed  by  the  mayor,  and  committees  from  the  board  of  aldermen, 
was  presented  by  a  special  committee  appointed  to  visit  the  capital  in  May 
for  this  purpose.  See  Remonstrance  of^the  City  of  San  Francisco,  in  Hist,  ami 
Incidents,  S.  F.  Doc.,  8. 


688  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

Whatever  the  feuds  in  the  democratic  patrty  previous 
to  the  senatorial  election  bill  fiasco  in  the  legislature, 
the  factions  had  voted  together  at  elections.  But  the 
Broderick  and  Gwin  supporters  could  no  longer  do 
this;  and  as  the  regular  senatorial  election  would  occur 
at  the  next  session,  there  was  a  Waterloo  in  prospect 
for  one  or  the  other  faction.  Efforts  were  made  to 
unite  them,  but  in  vain. 

After  many  preliminary  meetings  and  county  con 
ventions,  the  state  conventions  of  whigs  and  democrats 
came  off  in  July  1854.  The  democrats  met  in  Sacra 
mento  on  the  18th.  Broderick,  being  chairman  of 
the  state  central  committee,  used  his  position  to  ex 
clude  the  delegates  opposed  to  him,  by  securing  a 
building,  the  baptist  church,  and  arranging  the  seat 
ing  of  the  delegations  so  as  to  bring  his  friends  imme 
diately  about  him,  and  to  leave  no  place  for  the 
unfriendly  delegates.  Further  than  this,  he  had  his 
friends  admitted  by  a  private  entrance  in  advance  of 
the  time  appointed,  so  that  when  the  doors  were 
thrown  open,  the  other  delegations  would  be  dispos 
sessed  of  seats.  He  had  determined  every  particular 
of  the  proceedings  in  caucus  with  his  managers  to  give 
him  control  of  the  convention.  The  Gwin  delegates, 
on  the  other  hand,  had  concocted  a  counter-plan.  The 
Broderick  men  had  selected  Ned  McGowan  for  presi 
dent  of  the  convention;  the  Gwin  men  had  chosen 
John  McDougal,  and  made  other  preparations,  includ 
ing  an  armed  guard  to  conduct  their  nominee  to  the 
chair. 

At  the  hour  of  meeting,  the  anti-Broderick  dele 
gations  were  punctually  at  the  door  of  the  church, 
and  in  spite  of  the  thorough  management  inside, 
forced  an  entrance,  a  picked  number  making  their 
way  to  the  front.  In  the  centre  of  this  party  was 
the  person  selected  to  nominate  McDougal  for  presi 
dent.16  Almost  in  the  next  instant,  when  Broderick 

16  O'Meara  gives  the  names  of  Billy  Mulligan,  James  P.  Casey,  Mortimer 
J.  Smith,  'and  others  of  similar  courageous  or  desperate  character,' as  sus- 


SCENE  IN  A  CONVENTION.  689 

had  called  the  convention  to  order,  and  before  Brod- 
erick's  man  found  his  tongue,  the  motion  to  nominate 
McDougal  was  made.  The  nomination  was  a  fair  one, 
at  least  as  fair  as  the  other  would  have  been;  a  mem 
ber  of  the  Broderick  faction,  however,  in  a  moment 
collected  his  wits  and  nominated  McGowan.  This 
man  Broderick  declared  that  he  knew  and  recognized 
as  a  delegate,  but  the  other  he  did  not  know  and  could 
not  recognize,  pronouncing  his  seat  contested.  His 
right  to  decide  a  matter  of  this  kind  was  denied;  and 
the  friends  of  McDougal  putting  the  motion  declared 
it  carried,  and  hurried  him  forward  toward  the  chair. 
McGowan  was  also  declared  chosen,  and  borne  up 
ward  upon  the  platform.  Soon  the  two  were  seated 
side  by  side,  each  playing  his  part  as  chairman.  This 
duplex  administration  was  as  exciting  as  it  was  annoy 
ing,  pistols  being  freely  brandished  on  both  sides. 
But  yet  more  mad  must  these  men  become  before 
the  gods  should  destroy  them,  for  no  blood  was  shed, 
although  the  explosion  of  a  pistol  nearly  brought  on  a 
catastrophe. 

After  a  trying  session  which  lasted  until  darkness 
fell,  during  which  mutual  accusations,  confessions,  and 
defiances  were  hotly  interchanged,  and  during  which 
the  trustees  and  pastor  of  the  church  vainly  implored 
the  convention  to  leave  the  sacred  edifice  which  their 
conduct  desecrated,  a  temporary  truce  was  obtained, 
and  the  two  chairmen  left  the  church,  which,  the 
trustees  would  not  suffer  to  be  lighted,  arm-in-arm,  to 
meet  upon  the  same  platform  no  more  that  year.  The 
church  was  closed  against  them,  and  next  day  sepa 
rate  halls  were  obtained  for  the  two  factions.  The 
only  subject  touched  upon  during  the  afternoon  ses 
sion  of  the  18th,  not  of  a  personal  or  factional  char 
acter,  was  when  William  Walker,  the  filibuster,  and  a 

taining  Broderick.  Among  the  30  men  who  pressed  forward  to  the  piatform 
were,  he  says,  Maj.  Bidwell,  Judge  Terry,  Sam  Brooks,  William  G.  Bx>ss, 
Maj.  Hook,  Ben  Marshall,  G.  W.  Coulter,  W.  A.  Nunally,  Charles  S.  Fair 
fax,  V.  E.  Geiger,  Jo  McKibben,  M.  Taliaferro,  Maj.  Solomon,  and  George 
S.  Evans.  Broderick  and  Own,  92. 
HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.  44 


690  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

Broderick  man,  uttered  freesoil  sentiments,  McAlpin, 
on  the  Gwin  side,  declaring  that  no  freesoil  or  aboli 
tion  men  should  be  permitted  to  sit  in  democratic 
councils. 

When  the  division  had  been  made,  it  was  found 
that  the  anti-Broderick  convention  was  most  com 
plete.  It  nominated  for  congressmen  James  W.  Den 
ver  and  Philip  T.  Herbert.  The  Broderick  faction 
nominated  James  Churchman  of  Nevada,  and  renorni- 
nated  James  A.  McDougall.  The  whigs  who  met 
in  state  convention  on  the  26th,  J.  Neely  Johnson, 
president,  nominated  Calhoun  Ben  ham — who  during 
Buchanan's  administration  was  United  States  district 
attorney  for  California,  and  during  the  civil  war  was 
arrested  for  treason,  and  confined  in  Fort  Lafayette — 
and  G.  W.  Bowie,  of  southern  proclivities,  for  con 
gressmen. 

When  the  election  came  on  in  September  there  was, 
as  usual,  a  surprise.  The  whigs  had  confidently  ex 
pected  to  profit  by  the  division  among  the  democrats. 
But  they  were  defeated,  and  the  Gwin  wing  of  the 
democratic  party  carried  the  election  by  2,000  votes 
over  them,  and  by  27,000  over  the  electionists,  who 
had  in  all  little  more  than  10,000  votes.  There  was 
small  reason  to  be  proud  of  their  congressmen.  Den 
ver  had  already  killed  his  man,  as  I  have  said;  and 
Herbert  slew  an  Irish  waiter  at  a  hotel  when  he  went 
to  Washington.  We  soberly  begin  to  wonder,  so 
familiar  was  murder  to  San  Franciscans,  that  when 
after  having  been  indicted  by  the  grand  jury  of  the 
District  of  Columbia  and  imprisoned,  Herbert  re 
turned  to  this  city,  he  was  indignantly  warned  away 
by  the  public  press.  Denver  fought  for  the  union, 
and  became  a  brigadier-general  of  volunteers.  He 
was  also  governor  of  Kansas,  and  had  the  honor  to 
have  the  capital  of  Colorado  named  after  him. 

Ballot-box  stuffing  was  resorted  to  in  San  Fran 
cisco  at  this  election:  but  so  far  as  I  have  found  any 
evidence,  it  was  in  the  interest  of  city  officials.  The 


KNOWNOTHING  PARTY.  691 

honorable  Edward  McGowan,  judge  and  gentleman, 
a  true  law-and-order  man,  and  model  for  aspiring 
politicians,  was  the  one  to  offer  bribes  to  corrupt  the 
judges  of  election,  who  were  instructed  how  to  stuff 
the  boxes.  The  legislature  elect  was  believed  to  be 
so  divided  between  the  parties  that  in  the  senate,  at 
the  session  of  1855,  the  Broderick  men  outnumbered 
the  Gwin  men  by  two  votes,  aggregating,  however, 
on  the  democratic  side  25,  while  the  whigs  were  but 
seven.  In  the  assembly  the  Gwin  men  numbered  31, 
and  the  Broderick  men  14,  while  the  whigs  were  35 
strong,  showing  that  in  some  counties  they  had 
gained  considerably  at  the  last  election.  Three  dis 
tinct  parties  were  recognized,  under  the  names  of 
electionists,  anti-electionists — or  as  they  were  termed 
by  some,  bolters — and  whigs.  In  joint  convention 
there  would  be  43  anti-electionists,  28  electionists, 
and  42  whigs.  It  was  seemingly  in  the  power  of  the 
whigs  to  give  the  victory  to  either  faction  or  to  with 
hold  it,  at  the  senatorial  election  of  1855. 

And  now  fortune  threw  in  Broderick's  way  an 
opportunity  of  opposing  himself  to  the  chivalry  upon 
a  national  issue.  This  was  the  repeal  by  congress 
of  the  Missouri  compromise  bill.  The  north  in  the 
national  legislature  was  gradually  giving  way  before 
the  continued  assertions  of  the  south  that  it  was 
unfairly  treated  in  the  matter  of  the  public  lands. 
Certain  whig  leaders  advocated  the  repeal  of  the  re 
striction  of  slavery  in  the  territories  north  of  latitude 
36°  30';  but  they  were  in  the  minority;  and  while  they 
destroyed  the  whig  party  by  this  measure,  they  caused 
the  organization  of  a  new  one  upon  its  ruins — the 
native  American  or  kriownothing  party.  The  com 
plaint  of  the  slave-holders  and  slavery  extensionists 
was  that  the  north  encouraged  immigration,  and  the 
population  so  acquired,  anti-slavery  in  sentiment,  filled 
up  the  new  territories,  acquiring  title  under  the  laws 
to  land  which  belonged  as  much  to  the  south  as  the 


692  POLITICAL  HISTORY 

north.  There  were  many  in  the  north  no  less  inimi 
cal  to  a  foreign  population,  largely  made  up  of  a  turbu 
lent  class,  and  very  many  of  whom  were  of  the  catholic 
faith,  which  at  bottom  is  opposed  to  republicanism. 
On  this  issue  the  north  and  south  could  unite,  and 
did  temporarily  unite,  for  party  purposes. 

In  San  Francisco,  and  throughout  California,  there 
was  a  strong  sentiment  against  foreigners,  both  from 
the  southern  point  of  view,  and  on  account  of  the  gold 
carried  out  of  the  country  by  foreign  miners;  conse 
quently  the  San  Franciscans  were  quick  to  adopt  the 
doctrines  of  the  native  Americans,  or  knownothino-s, 

'  O     ' 

as  the  new  party  was  named  from  the  secrecy  main 
tained  concerning  the  proceedings  of  its  meetings,  to 
which  the  public  was  not  at  first  admitted.  In  a  city 
made  up  largely  of  foreigners,  the  success  of  the  party 
was  something  anomalous,  but  depended  upon  the 
hope  that  a  reform  was  to  be  worked  in  the  govern 
ment.  To  the  new  party  it  was  to  be  ascribed  that 
the  following  of  Broderick  in  1854  was  only  10,000. 
But  it  was  also  out  of  this  turn  in  politics  that  he  was 
to  recover  what  he  had  lost. 

When  the  senatorial  contest  again  began  in  the 
legislature  of  1855,17  the  balloting  opened  February 

17  The  state  senate  in  1855  consisted  of  E.  T.  Burton,  J.  T.  Crenshaw, 
Nevada;  G.  W.  Colby,  A.  S.  Gove,  Sac.;  S.  Day,  Alameda  and  Sta  Clara; 
W.  Flint,  W.  W.  Hawkes,  D.  Mahoney,  E.  J.  Moore,  S.  F.;  A.  French,  G. 
W.  Hook,  G.  D.  Hall,  B.  T.  Keene,  El  Dorado;  J.  C.  Hawthorne,  C.  A.  Tut- 
tle,  Placer;  H.  P.  Heintzelman,  Sonoma  and  Marin;  T.  Kendall,  J.  W.  Man- 
deville,  Tuolumne;  C.  A.  Leake,  Calaveras;  W.  B.  Norman,  Calaveras  and 
Amador;  C.  E.  Lippincott,  J.  G.  Stebbins,  Yuba;  W.  H.  McConn,  San  Joa- 
quin  and  Contra  Costa;  P.  C.  Rust,  Yuba  and  Sutter;  J.  P.  McFarland,  Los 
Angeles;  E.  McGarry,  Napa,  Solano,  and  Yolo;  J.  A.  McNeil,  Mariposa;  "VY. 
B.  May,  Trinity  and  Klamath;  E.  T.  Peck,  Butte;  J.  D.  Scellen,  Sierra;  R. 
T.  Sprague,  Shasta;  B.  C.  Whiting,  Monterey.  Prest,  S.  Purdy;  prest  pro 
tain.,  R.  T.  Sprague;  sec.,  "W.  A.  Cornwall,  removed  March  22d,  and  C.  Dick 
inson  elected  to  vacancy;  asst  sec.,  C.  Dickinson,  succeeded  by  E.  0.  F.  Has 
tings,  on  promotion;  enrolling  clerk,  J.  H.  Gardner;  engrossing  clerk,  J.  P. 
Van  Hagen;  sergt-at-arms,  J.  T.  Knox;  door-keeper,  J.  C.  Newman.  The 
assembly  consisted  of  E.  G.  Buffum,  J.  Cammett,  W.  A.  Dana,  W.  B.  Far- 
well,  H.  B.  Hasmer,  E.  W.  Taylor,  G.  P.  Johnston,  W.  Whitney,  R.  C. 
Rodgers,  of  S.  F.;  J.  G.  Brewton,  P.  L.  Edwards,  H.  B.  Merideth,  J.  R. 
Vinegard,  Sac.;  E.  Bogardus,  J.  L.  Boles,  W.  F.  Cunningham,  T.  Foster,  J. 
C  Johnson,  J.  N.  Smith,  H.  McConnell,  E.  A.  Stevenson,  El  Dorado;  D.  0. 
Adkinson,  C.  S.  Chase,  E.  S.  Gaver,  W.  Geller,  Clayton,  Yuba;  M.  Andrews, 
W.  Carey,  R.  F.  Gragg,  T.  Moreland,  Placer;  R.  B.  Sherrard,  Sutter;  N.  C. 


LEGISLATURE  OF  1855.  693 

17th,  with  42  votes  for  Gwin,  12  for  Broderick,  36  for  P. 
L.  Edwards  (whig),  14  for  McCorkle,  2  for  McDougal, 
and  1  each  for  Heydenfeldt,  Sould,  Sprague,  and  Bil 
lings.  Fifty-six  votes  were  necessary  to  a  choice. 
Thirty-eight  times  the  convention  balloted,  with  at  no 
time  any  important  loss  or  gain  to  its  three  principal 
candidates.  Gwin  and  Edwards  ran  evenly ;  Edwards, 
it  was  said,  might  have  had  the  senatorship  if  he  would 
have  pledged  certain  federal  offices  to  persons  proposed 
to  him  for  the  places,  which  he  refused.  But  Gwin 
could  not  get  it,  because  Broderick's  supporters  were 
too  well  trained  to  go  over  to  his  rival  for  any  cause. 
After  the  thirty -eighth  ballot,  the  joint  convention 
adjourned,  and  Gwin's  seat  in  the  United  States 
senate  was  left  vacant. 

This  humiliation  of  his  enemy  was  not  an  empty 
triumph  to  Broderick.  It  gave  him  time,  which  was 
the  important  object.  Gwin's  defeat  in  convention 
balanced  his  of  the  previous  year.  He  had  the  ad 
vantage  of  being  not  too  nice  to  descend  to  the  man 
agement  of  the  primaries,  where  his  early  training 
made  itself  felt.  To  the  wonder  of  his  foes  he  was 
able,  at  the  state  convention  of  that  year,  to  regain  the 
control,  and  govern  the  nominations  for  the  state  of- 
fices.18 

Cunningham,  W.  T.  Ferguson,  Sierra;  F.  Amyx,  E.  R.  Calvin,  T.  J.  Oxley, 
J.  M.  Quin,  Tuolumne;  E.  T.  Beatty,  J.  Pearson,  S.  B.  Stevens,  T.  W.  Talia- 
forro,  Calaveras;  D.  T.  Douglass,  T.  J.  Keys,  San  Joaquin;  J.  T.  Farley, 
Amador;  W.  W.  Jones,  F.  Mellus,  Los  Angeles;  A.  Wells,  C.  G.  Lincoln, 
Butte;  E.  A.  Rowe,  Trinity;  J.  J.  Arrington,  Klamath;  R.  D.  Ashley,  Mon 
terey;  E.  M.  Burke,  T.  C.  Flournoy,  Mariposa;  H.  M.  C.  Brown,  E.  H.  Gay- 
lord,  J.  Knox,  E.  G.  Waite,  J.  W.  D.  Palmer,  J.  Phelps,  Nevada;  H.  P.  A. 
Smith,  Marin;  K  Coombs,  Napa;  J.  H.  Updegraff,  Yolo;  J.  Doughty,  Sb- 
lano;  W.  Brown,  Contra  Costa;  J.  S.  Watkins,  Alameda;  T.  Baker,  Tulare; 
H.  Bates,  Shasta;  J.  Cook,  Stanislaus;  J.  M.  Covarrubias,  Sta  Barbara;  E. 
J.  Curtis,  Siskiyou;  W.  C.  Ferrell,  San  Diego;  W.  R,  Gober,  C.  T.  Ryland, 
Sfca  Clara;  W.  J.  Graves,  San  Luis  Obispo;  A.  Kinney,  Plumas;  S.  L.  Mc- 
Cutcheon,  Colu^;  A.  H.  Murdock,  Humboldt;  J.  Singley,  J.  S.  Stewart, 
Sonoma;  W.  W.  Stowe,  Sta  Cruz,  speaker;  J.  J.  Hoff,  speaker  pro  tern. ;  J. 
M.  Anderson,  clerk;  J.  W.  Scobey,  asst  clerk;  C.  Dannels,  enrolling  clerk; 
E.  A.  Kelly,  engrossing  clerk;  B.  McAlpin,  sergt-at-arms;  T.  F.  W.  Price, 
door-keeper. 

18  Some  say  that  Broderick  offered  to  merge  the  two  state  central  con 
ventions  into  one,  with  one  half  of  each  retained,  the  other  half  dropped,  and 
the  choice  of  chairman  to  be  decided  by  a  method  of  his  own;  ana  that  his 
offer  was  accepted,  though  the  other  factions  outnumbered  hia  4  to  1.  The 


694  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

For  this  there  were  other  reasons  besides  Broder- 
ick's  skill  in  managing  the  masses.  The  democratic 
party,  which  was  largely  made  up  of  Irish  and  Ger 
man  naturalized  citizens,  felt  itself  insulted  by  the  tone 
of  the  chivalry  toward  foreigners.  The  western  men 
and  northern  democrats  were  offended  at  being  made 
to  bow  to  the  southern  democrats,  and  also  that  all 
the  federal  patronage  was  given  to  the  needy  south 
erners,  who  crowded  into  place  in  California.  Gwin 
had  managed  so  adroitly  in  his  public  measures  that 
he  might  have  continued  indefinitely  in  the  senate, 
had  it  not  been  for  his  devotion  to  southern  principles 
and  southern  men,  to  the  complete  ignoring  of  the 
north.19  But  beino-  somewhat  sore  on  this  ground, 
and  remembering  that  Broderick  was  a  northern  man 
with  anti-slavery  principles,  they  rallied  to  his  stan 
dard  in  the  state  convention. 

To  whom  could  the  anti-electionists  appeal  for  pur 
poses  of  retaliation,  if  not  to  the  knownothings  ?  To 
them  they  turned,  and  the  result  was  a  defeat  of  the 
democratic  party  at  the  general  election,  though  they 
voted  solid  for  Bigler  for  a  third  term,20  giving  him 

alternative  he  offered  was  relentless  ever,  and  they  knew  him  too  well  not  to 
accept  the  terms.  Broderick  and  Gwin,  103. 

19Hittell,  in  his  Hist.  S.  F.,  291,  points  out  that  S.  W.  Inge  of  Alabama, 
U.  S.  district  atty  for  Cal.,  and  Volney  E.  Howard  of  Texas,  law  agent  of 
the  land  commission,  had  as  members  of  congress  voted  against  the  admis 
sion  of  the  state,  because  by  its  constitution  slavery  was  excluded;  that  Inge 
was  succeeded  by  Delia  Torre  of  S.  C. ;  that  Judge  Hoffman,  who,  as  I  have 
explained,  was  accepted  by  Gwin  after  he  had  quarrelled  with  Fillmore  over 
his  nomination  of  a  whig  to  the  place,  was  lowered  by  having  a  higher  court 
placed  over  him,  with  Judge  McAllister  of  Alabama  presiding;  and  that  the 
number  of  impecunious  southerners  of  noted  families  provided  for  in  the  S.  F. 
custom-houses,  had  given  it  the  sobriquet  of  the  Virginia  poor-house.  Frink, 
MS.,  10,  refers  to  the  same  exclusion  of  northern  men  from  office  in  Cal. 

2J  Bigler  came  to  Cal.  with  his  wife  and  daughter  in  1849,  and  as  I  have 
said,  scorned  not  manual  labor,  although  bred  a  lawyer.  He  was  a  good 
neighbor,  and  kind  to  strangers  in  sickness,  of  whom  there  were  many  at  Sac. 
After  his  defeat  in  1855  he  resumed  the  practice  of  law.  During  Buchanan's 
administration  he  received  an  appointment  as  minister  to  Chile,  returning  at 
the  close  of  his  term  to  Cal.  Pres.  Johnson  gave  him  an  appointment  to 
inspect  for  the  U.  S.  the  sections  of  the  Pac.  R.  R.  as  it  was  completed;  and 
also  gave  him  the  office  of  collector  of  internal  revenue.  He  died  at  Sac.  in 
Nov.  1871,  aged  68  years.  Sac.  Report,  Nov.  30,  1871;  Sac.  Bee,  Feb.  8,  1873; 
Plumas  (Quincy)  National,  Dec.  9,  1871;  Placermlle  Democrat,  Dec.  9,  1871; 
San  Bernardino  Guardian,  Dec.  9,  1871;  San  Jose  Mercury,  Dec.  7,  1871; 
Solano  Press,  1865,  in  Hayes'  Coll.,  Cal.  Notes,  ii.  289;  Tulare  Times,  Dec  16, 


BIGLER'S  ADMINISTRATION.  695 

4f>,220  votes;  but  the  new  party  gave  their  candidate, 
J.  Neely  Johnson,21  51,157.  It  has  been  said  that 
Estill,  the  governor's  whilom  chief  friend,  but  with 
whom  he  had  quarrelled  on  account  of  the  state  prison 
contract,  had  gone  over  to  the  knownothings  with  a 
following,  in  order  to  defeat  Bigler;  but  Estill  could 
not  have  carried  5,000  with  him  for  any  purpose. 

The  administration  of  Bigler  brought  forth  no  re 
forms  in  the  state's  affairs.  While  his  messages  show 
that  he  was  conscious  of  the  corruption  about  him, 
while  he  could  not  have  been  ignorant  of  all  that  was 
unceasingly  complained  of  in  the  public  prints,  he  was 
unable  to  stem  the  tide  of  misrule.  Over  and  over 
he  advocated  economy,  and  reprehended  the  criminal 
profligacy  of  the  legislatures.  But  rather  than  lose 
his  office  he  lent  himself  to  schemes  as  crooked  as  any. 
Like  the  man  who  mortgages  his  farm  to  raise  money 
with  which  to  speculate  in  stocks,  he  endeavored  to 
repair  some  of  the  state's  losses  by  the  beach  and 
water  lot  extension,  and  by  the  recovery  of  escheated 
estates,  of  which  there  were  manv  25  The  money  to 

1871;  Or.  Statesman,  Aug.  1868;  San  Jose  Pioneer,  Nov.  10,  1877;  Owins 
Memoirs,  MS.,  71-3;  Shuck,  Representative  Men,  47-62. 

21  J.  Neely  Johnson  was  born  in  southern  Ind.,  and  came  to  Cal.  overland 
in  1849,  studying  and  practising  law  at  Sac.     He  was  industrious,  and  be 
came  both  city  and  district  attorney.     Soon  after  the  close  of  his  term  as  gov. 
he  settled  in  Carson,  Nev.,  and  had  charge  of  the  estate  of  Sandy  Bowers 
during  the  absence  of  that  wealthy  ignoramus  in  Europe,  growing  rich  out  of 
the  fees  he  charged.     He  was  elevated  to  the  sup.  bench  in  Nev.,  and  died  in 
S.  L.  City  in  Aug.  1872.     His  wife,  whom  he  married  in  1852,  was  a  daughter 
of  J.  C.  Zabriskie,  an  eminent  counsellor  and  compiler  of  the  Land  Laws, 
U.  S.  Oakland  Transcript,  Sept.  1,  1872;    Watsonville  Pajaro  Times,  Feb.  18, 
18G5;  Carson  State  Reg.,  Sept.   1,   1872;  S.   F.  Bulletin,  Aug.  31,   1872;  Sac. 
Union,  Sept.  2,  1872;  Placer  Times,  April  13,  1850;  Hayes1  Scraps,  Cal.  Notes. 
ii.  289;  Brown 's  Statement,  MS.,  22. 

22  The  Leidesdorff  estate,  the  estate  of  Augustus  Decker  and  the  Jacinto 
El  Moro  estates,  worth  at  that  time  $2,500,000,  were  believed  to  have  escheated 
to  the  state;  but  the  governor's  recommendation  to  take  steps  to  secure  them 
were  unheeded.     Ann.  Mess.,  in  Cal.  Jour.  Sen.,  1855,  39.     The  legislature  of 
1856  passed  an  act  relative  to  escheated  estates,  permitting  aliens  to  inherit  and 
hold  property,  if  claimed  within  five  years.     When  not  claimed  in  that  time 
the  property  was  to  be  sold,  and  the  money  deposited  in  the  state  treasury; 
and  if  not  claimed  in  five  years  to  be  placed  to  the  credit  of  the  school  fund. 
Cal.  Stat.,  1856,  137-8.     The  Leidesdorff  estate  was  claimed  by  Joseph  L. 
Folsom,  who  purchased  it  of  the  heirs,  the  sup.  court  deciding  in  his  favor. 
The  Deske  estate  was  also  claimed  by  heirs  in  Prussia,  and  recovered.     The 
El  Moro  case  was  dismissed,   claimants  having  appeared.     Thomas  Hardy 
owned  a  Spanish  grant  of  6  square  leagues,  which  was  supposed  to  have  es- 


696  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

be  derived  from  any  of  the  plans  for  raising  a  revenue 
out  of  state  property  was  for  the  purpose  of  paying 
debts  which  never  ceased  to  accumulate.  When  the 
reform  party  threatened  him,  he  grew  querulous  in 
his  utterances;  and  in  the  struggle  to  redeem  himself, 
lost  the  support  of  some  of  his  political  friends. 

A  measure  frequently  recommended  by  Bigler  was 
the  discontinuance  of  annual  sessions  of  the  legislature, 
and  therewith  the  yearly  expenditure  of  $300,000. 
The  legislature  of  1855  proposed  amendments  to  the 
constitution,  making  the  sessions  of  that  body  biennial, 
the  next  legislature  to  be  elected  in  1857,  to  meet  in 
January  1858,  with  other  regulations  connected  with 
the  change.  Another  proposed  amendment  provided 
for  submitting  to  the  people  the  question  of  altering 
the  entire  constitution,  with  the  manner  of  conducting 
an  election  on  this  subject.  Still  another  amendment 
proposed  an  oath  to  be  subscribed  to  by  senators  and 
assemblymen,  that  since  the  adoption  of  such  amend 
ment  they  had  not  sent  or  accepted  a  challenge,  or 
fought  a  duel,  or  assisted  or  advised  others  in  duel 
ling.  The  first  and  the  third  of  these  were  not  con 
sidered  worthy  of  notice,  and  were  probably  intended 
to  carry  the  second;  for  the  legislature  of  1856,  com 
posed  largely  of  southern  knownothings,  agreed  only 
to  this  one,  and  passed  an  act  submitting  the  question 
of  amending  the  manner  of  calling  for  a  constitutional 
convention  to  the  people  at  the  next  general  election. 
The  people  voted  in  favor  of  the  amendment,  but  no 
call  was  made  under  it  at  that  time. 

The  legislature  of  1855  also  passed  an  act  concern 
ing  senatorial  elections,  to  the  effect  that  all  regular 
elections  for  United  States  senators  should  be  held 
"  after  the  first  day  of  January  next  preceding  the 

cheated,  but  it  was  taken  possession  of  by  virtue  of  a  pretended  administra 
tor's  sale.  The  estate  of  James  Beckett  was  claimed  by  his  widow.  The 
aggregate  amount  of  all  this  property  was  estimated  at  several  millions.  The 
legislature  appropriated  $30,000  for  the  prosecution  of  these  cases,  which  was 
divided  among  the  lawyers,  the  state  gaining  nothing.  Rept  of  Atty-Gen.,  in 
Cal.  Jour.  Sen.,  1856,  189-91. 


LEGISLATURE  OF  1856.  697 

commencement  of  the  term  to  be  filled,23  and  all  special 
elections  at  any  session  at  which  a  vacancy  or  execu 
tive  appointment  should  be  reported  by  the  governor; 
a  majority  of  all  the  votes  given  being  necessary  to 
an  election,  and  the  presence  of  a  majority  of  all  the 
members  of  the  senate  and  assembly  required.  As 
the  senatorial  contest  would  be  renewed  at  the  next 
session,  it  was  well  to  have  an  understanding  of  the 
law  on  the  subject. 

The  knownothing  party  at  the  opening  of  1856  had 
every  prospect  of  electing  a  senator  to  succeed  Gwin ; 
there  were  three  candidates,  either  of  whom  possessed 
much  personal  popularity;  namely,  H.  A.  Crabb  of 
San  Joaquin,  E.  C.  Marshall,  and  Ex-governor  Henry 
S.  Foote  of  Mississippi,  who  like  the  rest  of  the  gov 
erning  race  had  come  to  California  to  find  an  office  of 
honor  and  profit.  The  two  latter  were  democrats, 
who  had  joined  the  knownothings  for  no  other  purpose 
than  to  gain  place  and  power.  They  had  yet  to  learn 
that  there  were  many  more  deserters  from  the  demo 
cratic  ranks,  who  like  themselves  owed  only  a  fictitious 
allegiance  to  the  new  party.  In  the  assembly  elected 
by  the  knownothings,  there  were  those  who  needed 
not  much  persuasion  to  betray  the  new  leaders.  In 
short,  a  party  made  of  the  discontented  of  two  organ 
ized  and  trained  parties  could  not  be  expected  to  hold 
together  a  moment  after  any  material  inducement  was 
offered  them  to  return  their  former  faith. 

The  law  required  that  "on  such  a  day  as  might  be 
agreed  to  by  both  houses"  they  should  meet,  and  by 
joint  vote  proceed  to  the  election  of  a  senator;  but 
there  was  nothing  in  it  compelling  them  to  agree,  or 
to  go  into  an  election.  Both  Broderick  and  Gwin  had 
among  the  knownothings  old  followers  whose  habits 
of  obedience  were  second  nature,  and  to  these  they 
appealed  to  prevent  an  election.  They  were  saved 

23  This,  says  Tuthill,  was  to  keep  Weller's  seat  open  for  a  democrat.  Hist. 
Cal.,  424;  Rydcnun,  MS.,  18-20. 


698  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

all  anxiety  by  the  knownothing  legislature,  which  did 
not  go  into  joint  convention24  on  a  senatorial  election. 
Foote  had  been  nominated  in  caucus,  but  Wilson 
Flint,  democrat,  of  San  Francisco,  who  was  opposed 
to  Broderick  on  the  senatorial  question  at  the  previous 
session,  defeated  the  motion  for  convention  in  the 
senate,  on  the  ground  that  Foote  was  a  pro-slavery 
politician  who  would  never  have  come  to  California 
except  to  obtain  office.  In  this  action  he  was  governed 
by  his  own  convictions,  but  approved  and  encouraged 
by  Broderick,  to  whom  he  went  with  the  matter. 
According  to  Flint's  testimony,  given  in  1860,  at  a 
dinner  of  the  republican  members  of  the  legislature, 
he  said  to  Broderick  that,  feeling  as  he  did  about 

2*The  senate  of  1856  was  composed  of  W.  Flint,  F.  Tilford,  W.  W. 
Hawkes,  W.  J.  Shaw,  S.  F.;  W.  I.  Ferguson,  A.  S.  Gove,  Sac.;  J.  C.  Haw 
thorne,  C.  Westmoreland,  Placer;  W.  C.  Burnett,  P.  C.  Rust,  Yuba  and 
Sutter;  H.  M.  Fiske,  A.  French,  G.  W.  Hook,  J.  G.  McCallum,  El  Dorado; 

D.  R.  Ashley,  Monterey  and  Sta  Cruz;  E.  F.  Burton,  E.  G.  Waite,  Nevada; 
S.  Bynum,  Napa,  Solano,  and  Yolo;  J.  D.  Cosby,  Trinity  and  Klamath;  D. 
Crandall,  W.  B.  Norman,  Calaveras  and  Amador;  S.  Day,  Alameda  and  Sta 
Clara;  S.  H.  Dash,  Shasta  and  Colusa;  H.  P.  Heintzelman,  Sonoma,  Marin, 
etc.;  C.  E.  Lippincott,  Yuba;  W.  H.  McCoun,  Contra  Costa  and  San  Joa- 
quin;  J.  B.  McGee,  Butte  and  Plumas;  J.  A.  McNeil,  Mariposa;  J.  D.  Scel- 
len,   Sierra;  B.   D.  Wilson,   San  Diego,  Los  Angeles,  and  San  Bernardino. 
Prest  of  the  senate,  R.  M.  Anderson;  prest  pro  tern.,  D.  R.  Ashley;  sec.,  W. 
Bausman;    asst  sec.,   R.   Biven;    enrolling   clerk,  A.  E.  Waite;    engrossing 
clerk,  W.  Miller;  sergt-at-arms,  J.  W.  Ross;  door-keeper,  J.  McGlenchy. 
The  assembly  was  composed  of  J.  Ewalt.  J.  George,  T.  Gray,  H.  Hawes,  N. 
Holland,  B.  S.  Lippincott,  E.  W.  Moulthrop,  S.  A.  Sharp,  H.  Wohler,  S.  F.; 
G.  H.  Cartter,  G.  Cone,  G.  W.  Leihy,  J.  N.  Pugh,  Sac.;  J.  Borland,  E.  Bowe, 
S.  T.  Gage,  T.  D.  Heiskell,  J.  W.  Oliver,  W.  H.  Taylor,  L.  S.  Welsh,  J.  D. 
White,  El  Dorado;  T.  H.  Reed,  S.  Sellick,  L.  Stout,  R.  L.  Williams,  Placer; 
J.  W.  Hunter,  B.  S.  Weir,  San  Joaquin;  V.  G.  Bell,  S.  W.  Boring,  D.  Dus- 
tin,  T.  B.  McFarland,  G.  A.  F.  Reynolds,  Nevada;  J.  Dick,  Butte;  R.  B. 
Sherrard,  Sutter;  J.  T.  Farley,  G.  W.  Wagner,  Amador;  T.  C.  Brunton,  M. 
McGehee,  T.  J.  Oxley,  J.  T.  Van  Dusen,  Tuolumne;  A.  J.  Batchelder,  J. 
Shearer,  J.  Sterritt,  R.  M.  Turner,  W.  B.  Winsor,  Yuba;  H.  A.  Gaston,  A. 
A.  Hoover,  Sierra;  R.  C.  Haile,  Napa;  A.  R.  Andrews,  Shasta;  W.  McDon 
ald,  Klamath;  E.  J.  Curtis,  Siskiyou;  R.  Swan,  Tulare;  T.  W.  Taliaferro, 

E.  T.  Beatty,  Calaveras;  R.  B.  Lamon,  G.  H.  Rhodes,  Mariposa;  E.  J.  Lewis, 
Colusa;  G.  R.  Brush,  Marin;  J.  M.  Covarrubias,  Sta  Barbara;  J.  J.  Kendrick, 
San  Diego;  J.  L.  Brent,  J.  G.  Downey,  Los  Angeles;  A.  M.  Castro,  San  Luis 
Obispo;  R.  L.  Matthews,  Monterey;  W.  Blackburn,  C.  Davis,  G.  Peck,  Sta 
Clara;  E.  Bynum,  Yolo;  J.  C.  Callbreath,  Stanislaus;  T.  M.  Coombs,  Ala 
meda;  H.  G.   Heald,  J.   S.   Rathburn,  Sonoma;    R.  C.   Kelly,  J.  Winston, 
Plumas;  A.  R.  Meloney,  Contra  Costa;  C.  S.  Ricks,  Humboldt;  A.  M.  Ste 
venson,  Solano;  W.  W.  Upton,  Trinity.     Speaker,  J.  T.  Farley;  speaker  pro 
tern.,  T.  B.  McFarland;  chief  clerk,  J.  M.  Anderson;  asst  clerk,  A.  M.  Hay- 
den;  enrolling  clerk,  J.  Powell;  engrossing  clerk,  T.  Moreland;  sergt-at-arms, 
E.  Gates;  door-keeper,  J.  D.  G.  Quirk.  CaL  Reg.,  1857,  191. 


TENOR  OF  THE  TIMES.  699 

slavery,  he  conceived  it  to  be  his  duty  to  aid  the 
know  no  things;  to  which  Broderick  replied  that  he 
agreed  with  him  that  such  was  his  duty;  adding, 
"  Flint,25  I  will  load  the  democratic  party  down  with 
three  tons  of  lead  in  this  canvass."  And  he  nominated 
Mr  Bigler.  This  episode  I  introduce  here  to  explain 
what  followed  later. 

The  knownothings  stormed  and  threatened,  but 
Flint  was  firm.  Convinced  there  would  be  no  elec 
tion,  Crabb  withdrew  in  favor  of  W.  I.  Ferguson,  a 
young  lawyer,  with  nothing  to  recommend  him  but 
a  handsome  person,  active  brain,  finished  education, 
and  dissolute  habits.  He  was  mortally  wounded  in  a 
duel  in  August  1858  by  George  Pen  Johnston,  having 
gone  back  to  the  democratic  party  and  aspired  to  con 
gressional  honors.  Foote,  a  few  years  later,  found  his 
appropriate  place  in  the  confederate  senate. 

Sarshel  Bynuin  was  born  in  Ky,  and  came  overland  to  Cal.  in  1849.  He 
was  the  first  clerk  of  Solano  co.,  and  represented  Yolo,  Napa,  and  Solano  in 
the  legislature.  He  removed  to  Lakeport  in  1862,  where  he  became  clerk  of 
Lake  co.,  holding  the  office  until  1875.  He  died  the  following  year.  Vallejo 
Chronicle  and  Napa  Register,  Nov.  25,  1876. 

B.  C.  Haile,  born  in  Tenn.,  educated  at  Nashville,  was  a  merchant  in 
Sumner  co.  from  1836  to  1839,  when  he  removed  to  Miss.,  and  thence  to  Cal. 
in  1£49,  engaging  in  mining  in  Nevada  City.  After  a  year  in  the  mines  he 
settled  in  Napa  valley,  at  farming  and  laboring,  to  which  he  added  merchan 
dising  in  1857.  Again  in  1858  he  removed,  this  time  to  Suisun  valley,  where 
he  purchased  510  acres  of  land.  He  was  elected  to  the  legislature  from  So 
lano  co.  in  1868  and  1876.  Solano  Co.  Hist.,  410-11. 

Horace  Hawes,  a  native  of  one  of  the  eastern  states,  came  to  Cal.  in  1845, 
as  consul  to  some  of  the  Polynesian  groups  of  islands.  In  1846  he  resided 
at  Honolulu,  but  returned  to  Cal.,  and  was  prefect  of  the  district  of  S.  F.  in 
1849.  Unbound  Docs.,  57.  He  had  trouble  with  alcaldes  Colton  and  Geary, 
whose  land  grants  he  opposed.  By  profession  a  lawyer,  he  resumed  practice 
on  the  establishment  of  the  state  govt.  He  was  the  framer  of  the  consolida 
tion  bill,  which  effected  a  great  reform  in  the  govt  of  S.  F.  He  represented 
the  co.  of  S.  F.  and  San  Mateo  in  the  senate  in  1863^4.  In  1866  he  drew  up 
the  registry  law.  He  was  a  shrewd  business  man,  and  accumulated  a  large 
estate.  His  death  occurred  in  1871.  He  was  the  first  man  of  wealth  in  Cal. 
to  offer  to  give  any  considerable  portion  of  it  to  a  public  institution;  but  the 
conditions  of  his  gift  of  $1,000,000  were  such  that  it  was  not  practicable  to 
accept  it,  and  the  property  reverted  to  his  heirs.  S.  F.  Alta,  March  10,  1871. 

2°  Wilson  Gr.  Flint  was  a  native  of  Ohio,  born  1820.  He  engaged  in  mer 
cantile  pursuits  in  New  York  at  an  early  age,  and  afterward  went  to  Texas, 
whence  he  came  to  Cal.  in  1849.  He  erected  a  warehouse  at  North  Point,  in 
which  he  conducted  business  for  several  years.  In  1854  he  turned  his  atten 
tion  to  farming,  making  experiments,  and  writing  many  treatises  upon  the 
subject.  He  was  an  ardent  and  firm  friend  of  freedom,  as  his  course  in  the 
legislature  gave  proof.  He  died  at  S.  F.  in  Jan.  1867.  S.  F.  Call,  Jan.  6, 
1867. 


700  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

The  state  officers  who  came  in  with  the  knownoth- 
ings  were  expected  to  bring  in  some  reforms.26  The 
governor  promised  very  solemnly  in  his  inaugural,  and 
gave  much  earnest  advice  to  the  legislature.  But  it 
required  a  man  of  extraordinary  nerve  and  a  powerful 
personal  magnetism  to  impress,  himself  upon  the  tur 
bulent  and  evil  times  to  which  the  state  was  reduced 
by  politicians  who  cared  nothing  for  the  welfare  of  the 
people,  and  everything  for  money  and  personal  ag 
grandizement.  The  welfare  of  the  people!  Why, 
these  lawyers,  judges,  and  .fire-eating  politicians  were 
the  scum  of  the  state!  They  were  thieves,  gamblers, 
murderers,  some  of  them  living  upon  the  proceeds  of 
harlotry,  and  all  of  them  having  at  heart  the  same 
consideration  for  the  people  that  had  the  occupants  of 
the  state  prison,  where  these  ought  to  have  been ;  yet 
they  were  no  whit  worse,  and  could  not  possibly  be, 
than  the  politicians  of  to-day.  Johnson  was  a  very 
weak  individual.  He  could  no  more  control  the  hybrid 
legislature  than  could  a  child.  Even  Bigler  could 
have  done  little,  as  it  was  here  too  much  like  what  he 
had  complained  of  in  his  farewell  message,  that  to  be 
''made  responsible  for  the  acts  of  others,  or  for  mat 
ters  over  which  he  could  exercise  no  direct  control," 
was  bitter  injustice.  He  advocated  economy  and  pro 
bity,  and  the  legislature  did  what  it  could  at  that  late 
day,  and  yet  the  state  treasurer  elected  with  him  was 
a  defaulter  to  the  amount  of  $124,000.  He  pointed 
out  the  illegality  and  unconstitutionality  of  the  fund 
ing  acts  by  which  the  state  had  sustained  its  credit, 
and  thus  led  to  an  examination  of  the  subject,  and  to 
the  decision  by  the  people  to  pay  the  debt  and  save 
the  honor  of  California. 

The  knownothing  legislature  enacted  the  law  drawn 

26  R.  M.  Anderson  was  lieut-gov.;  David  F.  Douglass,  sec.  of  state;  George 
W.  Whitman,  controller,  suspended  in  Feb.  1857,  when  E.  F.  Burton  was 
appointed;  Henry  Bates,  treasurer  (resigned  in  1857,  and  James  L.  English 
appointed  in  his  place);  William  T.  Wallace,  atty-gen.;  John  H.  Brewster, 
sur.  -gen. ;  Paul  K.  Hubbs,  supt  pub.  instruction,  succeeded  by  A.  J.  Moulder, 
in  1857;  W.  C.  Kibbe,  quarter-master -gen. ;  state  printer,  James  Allen;  state 
translator,  Augistin  Ainsa.  Cal.  Reg.,  1857,  189. 


RISE  OF  THE  REPUBLICANS.  701 

up  by  Horace  Hawes,  by  which  San  Francisco  city 
and  county  governments  were  consolidated,  the  old 
charter  repealed,  and  the  whole  list  of  city  and  county 
officers  given  their  congd  at  the  next  general  election ; 
and  they  were  forbidden  to  contract  any  debt  in  the 
interim  not  authorized  by  the  act.27  The  consolidation 
act,  and  the  benefits  which  flowed  from  it,  gave  great 
relief  to  San  Francisco,  and  together  with  the  acts  of 
the  vigilance  committees,  produced  a  revolution  and 
reform,  the  greatest  ever  achieved  with  so  little  blood 
shed.  The  most  important  and  exciting  events  of  the 
new  administration  I  have  reserved  for  a  separate 
chapter.  Under  all  the  circumstances  of  this  remark 
able  period,  it  was  no  doubt  fortunate  that  no  Charles 
the  First  occupied  the  executive  office  in  California, 
and  that  Johnson  subsided  before  that  moral  force 
which  resides  in  the  soul  of  an  aroused  people.  It 
was  the  providence  of  almighty  power  among  a  suffer 
ing  people  that  California  at  this  juncture  should  have 
only  the  semblance  of  a  man  for  governor.  Had  he 
been  of  better  metal,  it  had  been  worse  for  him  and 
all  concerned. 

The  knownothing  party  enjoyed  but  a  brief  exist 
ence.28  As  a  native  American  party  it  secured  no 
standing  in  California,  appropriated  as  it  was  for  the 
shelter  of  hopeless  whigs  and  disaffected  chivalry. 
It  was  divided  by  the  rise  of  the  republican  party  in 
1856.  This  year  there  were  three  parties  in  the  field, 
and  a  president  of  the  United  States  to  be  elected. 
There  were  three  state  conventions  in  California,  sup 
porting  three  candidates  for  the  presidency :  Frdmont, 
republican;  Fillmore,  native  American;29  Buchanan, 

27  Col.  Stat.,  1856,  145-178.  San  Mateo  co.  was  created  out  of  the  south 
end  of  S.  F.  co.  by  the  same  act. 

28Fillmorehad  36, 165  votes  inCal.;  Buchanan,  53,365;  Fremont,  20,693; 
Tuthill,  Hist.  CaL,  428.  Joseph  McKibben  and  Charles  Scott  were  elected 
congressmen,  over  Whitman  and  Dibble,  native  Americans,  and  Rankin  and 
Turner,  republicans. 

2S  The  knownothings  used  to  meet  in  a  hall  on  Sac.  street  near  Montgom 
ery.  Coleman,  Vig.  Com,.,  MS.,  33;  Morrell,  in  Roman's  Newspaper  matter, 
76-7;  Sac.  Union,  Jan.  5  and  22,  and  Sept.  1,  3,  6,  1856;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Sept. 
3,  4,  and  Oct.  22,  1856. 


702  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

democratic.  The  whigs  had  some  organizations,  in 
clubs,  and  gave  their  support  to  Fillmore.  The  re 
publicans  made  their  maiden  effort  in  California  this 
year,80  but  the  candidate  they  had  to  indorse  was  not 
popular  with  any  party  in  the  state.  No  bear-flag 
reminiscences  could  suffice  now  to  extenuate  certain 
other  and  more  secret  deeds  connected  with  beef 
contracts  and  Mariposa  estates.31  Republicanism,  too, 
at  this  time,  was  regarded  as  sectional,  and  therefore 
not  to  be  encouraged.  The  election  of  Fremont,  it 
was  urged,  would  bring  on  disunion.  Southern  whigs, 
who  deplored  the  attitude  of  the  chivalry,  whom  they 
denounced  as  misrepresenting  southern  character,  could 
not  be  drawn  into  the  republican  ranks,  fearing  that 
in  the  event  of  disunion  they  should  be  found  taking 
sides  against  their  own  kindred  and  friends.  The 
times  were  indeed  out  of  joint  in  the  political  arena. 

30  Merrill  claims  to  have  organized  the  first  republican  club  in  Cal.      '  They 
gave   their   influence   to   Broderick  because  he  was   anti-chivalry.'  Merrill, 
Statement,  MS.,   10.     In  San  Joaquin  co.  the  chivalry  said  the  republicans 
would  not  be  permitted  to  organize  or  sit  in  convention.     'The  convention 
was  held,  for  all  that.'  Staples,  Statement,  MS.,  15-16. 

31  Says  the  S.  F.  Morning  Globe,  Aug.  19,  1856:  'Fremont's  pleading  induced 
congress  to  pass  a  bill  for  his  relief,  and  flush  again,  he  redeemed  his  Mari 
posa  estate,  and  bullied  Corcoran  and  Biggs,  who  held  the  claim  of  King  of 
William  for  $40,000,  advanced   on  the  beef   contract,  to  accept  $20,000  to 
$30,000  less  than  their  due.     Through  Palmer,  Cook,  &  Co.  he  shaved  the 
patient  Californians  who  had  waited  for  the  beef  contract  money,  forcing 
them  to  take  half.     The  cunning  Palmer  made  the  Mariposa  deed  over  to 
himself,  and  then  took  a  confession  of  judgment  from  Fremont  for  upward  of 
$73,000  at  3  per  cent  per  month  interest.     Hence  Fremont's  creditors  had  to 
take  what  Palmer  offered.     In  this  way  most  of  the  congressional  appropria 
tions  fell  into  Palmer,  Cook,  &  Co.  's  hands,  and  saved  them  from  bankruptcy 
in  1854.     After  that  Fremont  received  $1,000  per  month  as  Palmer's  agent  to 
aid  them  in  their  negotiations  in  the  east,  to  raise  money  on  the  Mariposa 
and  Bolton  &  Barren  claims,  but  failed.     Palmer's  fortunes  were  hard  pressed, 
and  he  ordered  Fremont  and  Wright  to  bribe  a  black  republican  speaker  into 
place.     Thus  Banks  became  speaker,  and  he  made  a  committee  report  a  bill 
to  confirm  the  Bolton  &  Barron  claims  without  ordeal  of  the  U.  S.  courts. 
Herbert  was  the  tool  to  lobby  the  bill,  which  he  would  have  passed  had  he 
not  killed  the  Irish  waiter.     Emboldened  by  success,  Fremont  struck  for  the 
black  republican  nomination.     Selover  alone  spent  $49,000  to  get  the  nomi 
nation,  says  the  Placer  Herald,  and  the  state's  money,  placed  in  Palmer's  hands 
to  pa/  tae  interest  on  her  bonds,  was  so  used.     Unable  to  borrow  money  to 
cover  the  $102,000  of  Cal.  bond  money,  their  game  collapsed,  and  Cal.  was  dis 
honored.     If  Fremont  were  elected,  Pahner  would  be  sec.  of  treas.,  Wright 
sub-treas.,  and  Selover  collector  of  the  port.'     Such  were  the  charges  and 
revelations  which  the  republican  nominee  for  the  presidency  had  to  meet  in 
Cal.     The  various  capitalists  with  whom  Fremont  had  to  deal  finally  deprived 
him  of  his  Mariposa  estate,  valued  at  $10,000,000,  according  to  his  own  testi 
mony.  N.  Y.   World,  Dec.  22,  1864;  Hayes  Scraps,  Mutiny,  iv.  25. 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEES.  703 

The  democratic  party,  feeling  itself  hard  pushed  by 
the  two  others  in  the  field,  again  united,  and  assessed 
office-holders  ten  per  cent  upon  the  income  of  heads 
of  departments,  and  five  per  cent  upon  the  incomes  of 
subordinates,  to  meet  the  expenses  of  the  campaign 
and  election.  Thus  in  a  circuitous  manner  the  admin 
istration  paid  out  of  the  public  funds  large  sums  of 
money  for  continuing  itself  in  power;  and  either  the 
salaries  of  the  officials  assessed  were  too  large,  or  the 
holders  of  offices  were  oppressed  to  serve  the  purposes 
of  the  managers  of  their  party. 

State  politics  partook  of  the  excitement  of  the  late 
acts  of  the  vigilance  committees,  and  the  legislative 
candidates  of  the  native  American  party  were  called 
upon  to  define  their  position  upon  this  question.32  A 
pledge  was  required  that  such  candidates,  if  elected, 
should  vote  for  the  passage  of  a  law  granting  a  gen 
eral  amnesty  to  the  vigilance  committee  of  San  Fran 
cisco  and  their  coadjutors;  and  against  expending  the 
public  money  to  pay  improvident  bills  made  for  the 
purpose  of  suppressing  or  exterminating  the  commit 
tee.  The  outrageous  frauds  perpetrated  at  former 
elections,  and  particularly  in  San  Francisco,  by  ballot- 
box  stuffing,  and  which  had  been  one  of  the  crimes 
against  which  the  vigilance  committee  warred,  was 
carefully  guarded  against  in  the  general  election  of 
this  year.33  The  municipal  election  in  this  city,  in 
the  spring,  had  been  so  managed  that  the  city  govern 
ment  was  retained  in  the  hands  of  the  same  corrupt 
officials  against  whom  the  honest  citizens  had  for  years 

32 S.  F.  Bulletin,  Aug.  30,  1856;  Fay's  Historical  Facts,  MS.,  21-2;  Sac. 
Union,  Oct.  10,  1856.  Robert  Robinson,  Henry  Palley,  L.  W.  Ferris,  J. 
Powell,  A.  P.  Catlin,  Robert  C.  Clark,  and  W.  C.  Wallace,  of  Sacramento 
co.,  declared  their  intention  to  give  their  support  to  the  vigilance  committee. 

33  The  Sac.  Union  of  Oct.  22,  1856,  has  a  description  of  a  plate-glass  ballot- 
box,  with  a  brass  frame,  a  small  opening  for  the  ballot  in  a  brass  cap  or  con 
trivance  that  seized  the  same  inside  and  rang  a  bell.  Another  ballot-box, 
described  in  the  issue  of  the  29th  of  Sept.,  was  made  of  strong  brass  wires, 
tightly  woven,  but  which  allowed  of  seeing  the  ballot  introduced.  The  false 
ballot-boxes  used  by  the  staffers  are  described  in  my  Popular  Tribunals,  ii. 
pp.  7,  8;  in  Frinlc,  MS.,  22-3.  Dempster  speaks  of  them  in  manuscript,  55-7; 
also  Sayward,  MS.,  33-4;  Brown,  Statement,  MS.,  20. 


704  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

had  no  redress  and  no  protection  until  the  vigilance 
committee  assumed  the  temporary  government.  By 
the  consolidation  act,  these  men  would  go  out  and  new 
officers  be  elected  under  the  act.  To  nominate  compe 
tent  and  honorable  men  was  the  care  of  the  people's 
party,  an  organization  without  reference  to  national 
affairs,  which  was  bent  upon  correcting  local  abuses. 
Such  was  the  political  situation  in  1856.  The  elec 
tion  went,  as  it  was  sure  to  go,  to  the  now  united 
democrats.  Buchanan  received  a  large  vote  in  Cali 
fornia,  more  than  double  that  of  Fremont.84  The 
people's  party  effected  some  important  reforms  in  city 
government;  the  whigs  and  knownothings  and  the 
republicans  had  received  a  lesson  which  was  useful  to 
them  in  1860. 

The  potency  of  Broderick  was  shown  in  the  spring  of 
1856,  when  he  seized  upon  the  democratic  convention 
and  welded  the  two  factions,  thus  securing  democratic 
presidential  electors  and  a  democratic  legislature.35 

34  The  presidential  electors  chosen  were  Delia  Torre,  native  of  S.  C. ;  Oli- 
vera,  of  Cal. ;  Bradford,  of  Pa;  Freanor,  of  Md.  Of  the  congressmen,  Scott 
was  from  Va,  and  McKibben  from  Pa.  Fairfax,  clerk  of  the  sup.  court,  was 
from  Va,  and  also  Moulder,  supt  of  public  instruction.  Sac.  Union,  Sept.  15, 
1856.  This  impartial  (!)  distribution  of  offices  was  a  timely  device  of  the 
party  to  unite  it. 

3a  The  senate  in  1857  was  composed  of  W.  J.  Shaw,  S.  Soule,  E.  L.  Sulli 
van,  F.  Tilford,  resigned,  and  F.  A.  Woodworth  elected  to  vacancy,  S.  F.; 
W.  I.  Ferguson,  J.  Johnston,  Sac. ;  J.  Walkup,  C.  Westmoreland,  Placer;  J. 
W.  Coffroth,  J.  W.  Mandeville,  Tuolumne;  G.  J.  Carpenter,  H.  M.  Fiske, 
S.  M.  Johnson,  J.  G.  McCallum,  El  Dorado;  J.  B.  McG-ee,  Butte  arid  Plumas; 
P.  de  la  Guerra,  Sta  Barbara  and  San  Luis  Obispo;  B.  D.  Wilson,  San  Diego, 
Los  Angeles,  and  San  Bernardino;  D.  R.  Ashley,  Monterey  and  Sta  Cruz;  S. 
B.  Bell,  Alameda  and  Sta  Clara;  W.  C.  Burnett,  J.  0.  Goodwin,  Yuba  and 
Sutter;  S.  Bynum,  Napa,  Solano,  and  Yolo;  S.  H.  Chase,  E.  G.  Waite,  Ne 
vada;  J.  D.  Cosby,  Trinity  and  Klamath;  D.  Crandall,  W.  B.  Norman, 
Calaveras  and  Amador;  S.  H.  Dosh,  Shasta  and  Colusa;  A.  B,.  Meloney, 
Contra  Costa  and  San  Joaquin;  S.  A.  Merritt,  Mariposa;  R.  S.  Mesick,  Yuba; 
A.  W.  Taliaferro,  Sonoma  and  Marin;  W.  T.  Ferguson,  Sierra.  Prest,  R. 
M.  Anderson;  prest  pro  tern.,  S.  H.  Dosh;  sec.,  G.  S.  Evans;  asst  sec.,  T. 
Ward;  enrolling  clerk,  J.  C.  Shipman;  engrossing  clerk,  J.  H.  Webster; 
sergt-at-arms,  A.  Hunter;  door-keeper,  J.  McGlenchy.  The  assembly  was 
composed  of  M.  C.  Blake,  R.  Chenery,  V.  J.  Fourgeaud,  R.  M.  Jessup,  E. 
Miro,  R.  Murphy,  C.  Palmer,  T.  G.  Phelps,  W.  W.  Shepard,  S.  F.;  A.  P. 
Catlin,  R.  C.  Clark,  L.  W.  Ferris,  J.  W.  McKune,  Sac.;  G.  D.  Hall,  J.  Car 
penter,  S.  F.  Hainm,  J.  Hume,  G.  McDonald,  C.  Orvis,  M.  N.  Mitchell,  J. 
Turner,  El  Dorado;  H.  Barrett,  W.  Burns,  M.  Fuller,  D.  W.  C.  Rice,  G.  N. 
Swezy,  Yuba;  C.  Gilman,  G.  W.  Patrick,  G.  H.  Rogers,  J.  R.  Underwood, 
Tuolumne;  W.  W.  Carpenter,  J.  0.  Neil,  A.  P.  K.  Safford,  S.  B.  Wyman, 


LEGISLATURE  OF  1857.  705 

The  latter  he  depended  upon  to  elevate  him  to  the 
United  States  senate,  and  the  former  to  give  him 
standing  with  the  president. 

The  expiration  of  Weller's  term  would  leave  two 
places  to  be  filled  in  the  senate,  and  remove  one  diffi 
culty  in  the  way  of  continuing  unbroken  the  demo 
cratic  patronage  in  California.  If  Broderick  could  be 
brought  to  relinquish  the  pursuit  of  Gwin's  place,  and 
content  himself  with  Weller's,  harmony  might  be  re 
stored,  and  the  friends  of  one  might  work  for  the  other. 

*  O 

That,  indeed,  was  the  compact  entered  into  early  in 
the  spring  between  Broderick's  managers  and  the 
chivalry,  and  which  secured  harmony  in  the  demo 
cratic  ranks  through  the  campaign. 

The  legislature  met  on  the  5th  of  January,  1857, 
which  was  to  decide  the  senatorial  contest  now  in  its 
third  year.  The  aspirants  were  several,  Ex-senator  • 
Weller,  Ex-congressman  Latham,  who  as  collector  of 
customs  had  a  rather  numerous  following,  Ex-congress 
man  McCorkle,  B.  F.  Washington,  Stephen  J.  Field, 
Frank  Tilford,  J.  W.  Denver,  and  P.  A.  Crittenden. 
The  agents  of  the  four  principal  candidates,  Gwin, 
Broderick,  Weller,  and  Latham,  were  industriously 
at  work  long  before  the  legislature  met.  Broderick, 
in  summing  up  the  results  of  his  labor,  ascertained 
that  he  lacked  two  votes  in  the  legislative  body. 

But  now  a  bold  idea  presented  itself,  which  was  no 

Placer;  E.  T.  Beatty,  G.  L.  Shuler,  J.  S.  Watkins,  Calaveras;  M.  Cassin,  E. 
M.  Davidson,  P.  Moore,  P.  H.  Pierce,  W.  C.  Wood,  Nevada;  J.  S.  Long,  J. 
S.  Morrison,  Butte;  B.  J.  Coil,  S.  M.  Miles,  Sierra;  W.  J.  Howard,  D.  Sho- 
walter,  Mariposa  and  Merced;  S.  R.  Warrington,  Sutter;  B.  F.  Varney,  Sis- 
kiyou;  I.  Hare,  Shasta;  B.  H.  Miles,  Sta  Cruz;  W.  J.  Graves,  San  Luis 
Obispo;  E.  Castro,  Monterey;  J.  M.  Covarrubias,  Sta  Barbara;  J.  L.  Brent, 
E.  Hunter,  Los  Angeles;  J.  J.  Kendrick,  San  Diego;  J.  Hunt,  San  Bernar 
dino;  0.  K.  Smith,  Tulare  and  Fresno;  N.  Palmer,  J.  A.  Quimby,  Sta  Clara; 
J.  B.  Lame,  Alameda;  J.  M.  Estill,  Marin;  T.  H.  Anderson,  Napa;  T.  M. 
Aull,  T.  Jenkins,  San  Joaquin;  J.  C.  Burch,  Trinity;  J.  S.  Curtis,  Yolo;  U. 
Edwards,  R.  Harrison,  Sonoma  and  Mendocino;  W.  Holden,  Stanislaus;  A. 
Inman,  Contra  Costa;  R.  Irwin,  Plumas;  J.  Livermore,  W.  M.  Seawell, 
Amador;  C.  S.  Ricks,  Humboldt;  D.  M.  Steele,  Colusa  and  Tehama;  A.  M. 
Stevenson,  Solano;  S.  G.  Whipple,  Klamath.  Speaker,  E.  T.  Beatty;  speaker 
pro  tern.,  J.  O'Neil;  chief  clerk,  W.  Campbell;  asst  clerk,  J.  W.  Scol>ey; 
enrolling  clerk,  R.  Lambert;  engrossing  clerk,  S.  B.  Harris;  sergt-at.-arms,v 
S.  F.  Brown;  door-keeper,  J.  J.  Frazier.  Cal.  Reg.,  1857,  ' 

HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.    45 


706  POLITICAL  HISTORY 

less  than  to  prevail  upon  his  friends  in  the  legislature 
to  make  the  nominations  in  caucus  before  going  into 
convention,  and  to  nominate  the  successor  to  Weller 
first.  Such  a  proceeding  had  never  been  heard  of,  as 
electing  a  successor  to  a  man  still  in  office,  while  the 
place  vacant  two  years  before  remained  unfilled;  but 
original  methods  were  quite  in  Broderick's  line.  The 
more  he  thought  of  it,  the  more  fortunate  it  seemed 
that  it  had  occurred  to  him.  Bargaining  was  not 
neglected,  some  of  Latham's  friends  being  brought 
into  the  arrangement  by  intimations  that  Latham  was 
his  choice  for  a  colleague. 

A  resolution  was  adopted  in  caucus,  "that  in 
making  the  nominations  for  United  States  senators, 
the  following  order  of  business  shall  be  observed:  1st. 
The  nomination  of  a  senator  to  fill  the  longj  term,  to 
succeed  Hon.  John  B.  Weller;  2.  The  nomination  of 
a  senator  to  fill  the  short  term,  to  succeed  the  Hon.  Wil 
liam  M.  Gwin."  The  vote  stood  42  to  35  for  adoption, 
only  Mandeville  of  Tuolumne  moving  a  substitute  to 
nominate  first  for  the  short  term.  The  caucus  then 
balloted  for  a  nomination  for  the  long  term,  when 
Broderick  had  42  votes,  Weller  34,  and  Tilford  3.  The 
nomination  was  then  made  unanimous.  But  the  nomi 
nee  for  the  short  term  was  not  decided  upon,  no  one 
having  more  than  26  votes,  and  40  were  necessary  to 
a  choice.  On  the  9th  the  legislature  went  into  joint 
convention,  and  elected  Broderick  as  the  successor  of 
Weller,  his  commission  being  immediately  made  out 
by  the  governor. 

Thereupon  Broderick  resolved  upon  another  bold 
movement.  The  election  of  the  senator  for  the  short 
term  would  be  as  he  should  direct,  and  the  aspirants 
were  openly  anxious  for  his  friendship.  This  led  him 
to  reflect  upon  the  combinations.  To  Jonathan  Car 
penter,  who  had  voted  for  him,  and  who  desired 
Latham  for  the  next  place,  he  said:  "If  I  go  to  the 
senate  with  Latham  as  my  colleague,  and  Scott  and 
McKibben,  being  his  friends  in  the  lower  house,  I 


SENATORIAL  BARGAINING.  707 

shall  be  a  mere  cipher ;  but  if  I  go  with  the  other  man 
[Gwin],  I  can  have  things  my  own  way." 

How  could  he  have  things  his  own  way  ?  Confer 
ring  with  Latham  and  Gwin,  he  found  both  willing  to 
renounce  the  federal  patronage  to  him  for  the  sake  of 
the  senatorship.  Latham,  indeed,  made  a  show  of 
stipulating  that  three,  or  at  the  least  one,  of  the  most 
important  offices  should  be  at  his  disposal.  This  was, 
perhaps,  because  he  had  promised  in  writing  that 
Frank  Tilford  should  have  the  collector's  office,  in  the 
event  of  his  election;  but  finding  Broderick  quite 
serious  about  the  patronage  being  left  to  him,  he  caused 
this  writing  to  be  abstracted  from  Tilford's  desk,36  com 
plaint  of  which  being  made  to  Broderick,  the  latter 
made  this  treatment  of  Tilford,  who  was  his  friend,  as 
friends  go  in  the  political  arena,  a  reason  for  deciding 
against  Latham.37  Gwin  managed  more  adroitly,  and 
made  what  appeared  to  be,  and  what  he  asserts  in  his 
Memoirs  was,  a  voluntary  surrender  of  a  privilege 
which  had  only  brought  him  ingratitude  and  anxiety.38 

36  Tilford,  born  1822,  was  of  Scotch-Irish  descent,  but  a  native  of  Lexing 
ton,  Ky.     He  came  to  Cal.  overland  with  a  company  of  young  men  in  1 849. 
He  was  elected  recorder  of  S.  F.  in   1850,  and  was  candidate  for  mayor  in 
1851,  but  was  beaten  by  the  whig  candidate.     He  then  formed  a  law  partner 
ship  with  Edmund  Randolph  and  R.  A.  Lockwood.     He  was  nominated  for 
judge  of  the  superior  court  in  S.  F.  in  1854,  and  again  defeated,  this  time  by 
the  knownothings.     In  1856  he  was  a  candidate  before  the  democratic  con 
vention  for  congressman,  but  Scott  was  chosen  instead.     In  1857  he  supported 
Broderick,  and  received,  not  the  collector's  office,  but  the  appointment  of 
naval  officer  of  the  port  of  S.  F.  for  4  years.     He  was  a  Breckenridge  demo 
crat  in  1860.     He  removed  to  Nevada  co.  in  1868,  editing  the  Sun  at  Meadow 
Lake,  but  finally  returned  to  S.  F.  Shuck,  Representative  Men,  277-87. 

37  In  the  campaign  of  1858,  Latham  endeavored  to  exonerate  himself  from 
the  blame  of  purloining  a  letter  from  another  man's  desk,  and  had  written 
evidence  in  his  behalf.     But  there  was  just  as  much  written  evidence  on  the 
other  side;  and  Tilford,  when  on  the  stand,  would  say  nothing  more  definite 
than  that  he  '  believed  Mr  Latham  to  be  entirely  innocent  of  all  wrong  and 
all  criminality  in  relation  to  the  transactions  referred  to  in  that  letter,  and 
mentioned  by  Mr  Broderick.'  Democratic  Standard,  in  Hayes'  Coll.,  Cal.  Pol., 
ii.  43.     It  was,  in  fact,  only  one  of  the  thousand  political  scandals  from  which 
no  man  in  the  politics  of  Cal.  was  entirely  free. 

38 Memoirs,  131-2.  To  Broderick  he  said:  'Provided  I  am  elected,  you 
shall  have  the  exclusive  control  of  this  patronage,  so  far  as  I  am  concerned, 
and  in  its  distribution  I  shall  only  ask  that  it  may  be  used  with  magnanimity, 
and  not  for  the  advantage  of  those  who  have  been  our  mutual  enemies,  and 
unwearied  in  their  exertions  to  destroy  us.  This  determination  is  unalter 
able;  and  in  making  this  declaration  I  do  not  expect  you  to  support  me  for 
that  reason,  or  in  any  way  to  be  governed  by  it.  But  as  I  have  been  be 
trayed  by  those  who  should  have  been  my  friends,  I  am  powerless  myself, 


708  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

As  the  price  of  this  renunciation,  he  was  elected  to 
succeed  himself  on  the  13th,  receiving  82  out  of  112 
votes.  On  the  following  day  he  published  an  address 
to  the  people,  acknowledging  his  obligation  to  Broder- 
ick  for  his  election,  and  again  renouncing  the  federal 
patronage,  on  the  ground  that  those  whom  he  had 
benefited  had  been  false  to  him,  that  the  distribution 
of  offices  had  been  a  source  of  discord,  and  a  weari 
some  care  of  which  he  was  glad  to  be  disburdened. 
This  letter  was  intended  to  forestall  any  possible  reve 
lation  by  Broderick  of  the  bargain  and  sale. 

But  the  device  was  apparent,  and  the  chivalry  loudly 
indignant.  That  their  leader  should  have  to  purchase 
his  seat  in  the  senate  of  Boderick,  the  stone-cutter's 
son,  a  man  of  the  lower  stratum  of  the  people,  a  mud 
sill39  of  the  north,  was  an  outrage  to  their  sensibilities 
not  to  be  endured.  And  strangely  as  it  seemed  to 
Broderick,  the  majority  of  his  party  sympathized  with 
them.  He  was  intensely  mortified  and  disappointed. 
Latham  chose  to  consider  himself  badly  used ;  and  Til- 
ford  through  him  was  also  wounded.40  He  was  no 

and  dependent  on  your  magnanimity.'  Hittell,  Hist.,  S.  F.,  298.  It  was  true 
that  his  friends  had  betrayed  him;  but  it  was  not  true  that  he  was  anxious 
to  be  entirely  relieved  of  the  patronage  which  had  kept  him  in  place  ever 
since  Cal.  was  a  state,  as  his  appeal  to  Broderick's  magnanimity  rendered 
evident.  The  Gazette,  issued  at  Monitor,  in  June  1864,  published  the  follow 
ing  correspondence  between  Gwin  and  Broderick,  in  1854,  when  the  great 
contest  began.  If  it  be  authentic,  Gwin  was  the  first  to  offer  a  trade.  Both 
communications  were  marked  confidential:  'Dear  Sir:  If  you  will  consent  to 
withdraw  your  name  for  the  U.  S.  senate  I  will  use  my  influence — and  you 
know  its  value — to  have  you  nominated  for  governor.  The  nomination  ia 
equivalent  to  an  election.  Your  obedient  servant,  W.  M.  Gwin.'  To  which 
Broderick  replied:  'D.  C.  Broderick  presents  his  compliments  to  Senator 
Gwin,  and  begs  to  inform  him  Broderick  is  in  the  habit  of  making  the  gov 
ernor  of  California  himself.  To  W.  M.  Gwin.' 

39 This  famous  term  'mudsill,'  applied  to  the  laboring  classes,  originated 
with  Senator  J.  H.  Hammond  of  S.  C.,  in  a  speech  as  follows:  'In  all  social 
systems  there  must  be  a  class  to  do  the  menial  duties,  to  perform  the  drudgery 
of  life;  that  is,  a  class  requiring  but  a  low  order  of  intellect  and  but  little 
skill.  Its  requisites  are  vigor,  docility,  fidelity.  Such  a  class  you  must  have, 
or  you  would  not  have  that  other  class  which  leads  progress,  civilization,  and 
refinement.  It  constitutes  the  very  mudsill  of  society,  and  of  political  gov 
ernment,  and  you  might  as  well  attempt  to  build  a  house  in  the  air  as  to 
build  the  one  or  the  other  except  on  this  mudsill.'  Broderick  quoted  this, 
and  more  of  the  speech  in  which  it  occurred,  in  a  speech  of  his  own  to  which 
I  shall  refer  later.  For  Hammond's  speech,  see  Cong.  Globe,  1857^;  App.,  69. 

**In  a  speech  made  at  Nevada,  Aug.  1st,  Latham  gave  the  history  of  the 
senatorial  bargaining,  so  fax  as  he  was  concerned  in  it.  He  said  he  told 


SYMPATHY  FOR  GWIN.  709 

better  friend  with  Gwin  than  formerly ;  and  was  led 
to  have  a  contempt  for  him  which,  with  the  renewed 
hostility  of  the  chivalry,  resulted  in  a  complete  estrange 
ment,  so  that  no  communications  passed  between 
them. 

There  were  doubtless  other  reasons  for  Broderick's 
final  decision  besides  the  love  of  power,  or  the  pecca 
dilloes  of  his  rivals.  Like  all  democrats  of  the  ante 
bellum  type,  party  unity  was  a  governing  motive.  He 
wished  to  be  on  good  terms  with  the  new  administra 
tion.  Gwin  had  his  implied  promise  to  support  the 
party.  He  was  aware  of  the  hold  which  Gwin  had 
upon  the  people  of  the  state,  who  generally  regarded 
him  as  having  done  a  great  deal  for  California,  and  he 
felt  a  pride  in  not  taking  a  mean  revenge  on  his  polit 
ical  foe. 

But  in  demanding  the  resignation  of  the  patronage 
to  him,  he  saw  no  injustice.  For  all  the  years  that 
Gwin  had  been  in  the  senate  of  the  United  States, 
none  but  pro-slavery  men  had  received  the  gift  of 
office  from  his  hand,  except  in  the  case  of  Hoffman, 
of  which  I  have  before  spoken;  and  during  most  of 
that  period  he  had  enjoyed  the  patronage  alone. 
Broderick,  being  now  in  a  position  to  make  terms, 
thought  this  a  good  opportunity  to  give  northern 
democrats  a  chance,  and  to  reward  his  political 
friends,  as  well  as  to  remove  the  odium  from  Cali 
fornia  of  being  a  Virginia  poor-house.  From  his 
point  of  view,  there  was  no  reason  for  the  howl  that 
went  up  all  over  the  state,  that  he  had  taken  advan 
tage  of  Gwin,  and  that  he  had  done  so  out  of  revenge. 
Admitting  that  he  had,  was  there  not  sufficient  prov 
ocation  in  the  sneering  tone  of  the  chivalry  toward 
the  Broderick  men?41 

An  acknowledged  trait  of  this  genius  of  the  people 

Broderick  that  he  had  agreed  to  go  for  Tilford  for  collector,  Crandall  for  sur 
veyor  of  the  port,  and  Solomon  for  U.  S.  marshal.  Hayes1  Coll,  Cal  Pol, 
11.  33. 

41  It  was  openly  reported  that  Gwin  declared  he  would  not  associate  with 
Broderick  if  he  should  be  elected. 


710  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

was  the  strength  of  his  own  convictions,  without 
which,  indeed,  he  could  never  have  risen  from  the 
trade  to  which  he  was  bred  to  be  a  senator  of  the 
United  States.  Knowing  that  he  had  associated 
with  New  York  roughs,  and  that  he  had  used  a  simi 
lar  class  in  San  Francisco  to  elevate  himself  to  power, 
it  is  natural  to  look  for  in  him  some  habits  of  profli 
gacy  or  wildness  of  deportment.  On  the  contrary,  ho 
was  known  among  his  friends  as  one  who  smiled  but 
seldom;  who  mourned  because  he  had  no  kindred  left 
on  earth ;  a  man  of  few  confidences,  often  gloomy,  and 
never  gay.  His  loves  and  hates  were  intense,  as 
was  his  power  to  inspire  others  with  similarly  strong 
sentiments.  His  personal  adherents  were  lovers 
more  than  friends.  Proud  with  the  consciousness 
of  his  abilities,  with  womanly  sensibilities  held  in 
control  only  by  a  powerful  will,  to  those  who  knew 
him  best  he  was  a  mystery. 

This  "lone,  strange,  extraordinary  man"42  was 
struck  dumb  with  surprise  that  so  much  sympathy 
should  be  awakened  for  Gwin.  He  could  not  see 
any  good  reason  for  it;  nor,  I  confess,  do  I.  But  if 
he  was  pained  and  angered  at  this  sudden  defection  in 
California,  he  was  stung  in  his  innermost  nature  to 
find  in  the  national  capital,  the  goal  of  his  long  strife, 
an  organized  hostility  to  him  in  the  democratic  sen 
ate,  presumably  upon  the  ground  of  the  bargain  with 
Gwin;  while  Gwin,  who  had  condescended  to  pur 
chase  his  place,  was  attitudinizing  as  a  martyr. 
What  he  had  expected  for  his  services,  in  the  party 
of  which  President  Buchanan  was  a  leader,  was 
friendliness,  even  approbation;  but  on  calling  upon 
the  president  at  Wheatland,  he  was  undeceived.  "It 
was  cold  outside  the  house,"  he  said,  "  but  it  was  ice 
within."43  He  had  yet  to  learn  that  chivalry  had 
captured  the  president,44  and  that  his  free-state  de- 

42 S.  F.  Argonaut,  April  28,  1878. 

43  John  W.  Forney,  in  S.  F,  Post,  March  8,  1879. 

44  Nothing  could  better  illustrate  the  perfect  and  tyrannical  system  of  the 
democratic  party  of  this  period  than  the  fact  that  a  regular  espionage  had 


BRODERICK  AT  WASHINGTON.  711 

mocracy  had  no  standing  in  the  senate.  As  to  the 
federal  patronage,  while  Gwin  kept  to  the  letter  of 
his  agreement,  Broderick  found  his  recommendations 
ignored,  and  the  president  making  his  appointments 
through  Gwin's  advice,  which  he  asked,  and  of  course 
obtained.45  This  peculiar  relative  position  of  the  sena 
tors  left  the  congressmen  the  better  opportunity  to 
bring  forward  their  friends.  The  grand  prize  of  the 
collector's  office  was  given  to  B.  F.  Washington,  an 
old  friend  of  Gwin,  who  approved  of  McKibben's 
choice.  J.  D.  Fry  became  postal  agent;  Thomas  J. 
Henley,  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs;  Richard 
Roman,  appraiser-general ;  Michael  Kane  of  Penn 
sylvania,  appraiser  at  San  Francisco;  P.  L.  Solomon, 
United  States  marshal ;  Delia  Torre  of  South  Caro 
lina,  United  States  district  attorney;  and  Charles 
Hempstead,  a  young  man  who  had  been  Governor 
Bigler's  private  secretary,  was  made  superintendent 
of  the  mint.  Bigler,  who  had  gone  to  Washington 
in  the  hope  of  the  collectorship  for  himself,  failing  of 
that,  was  consoled  by  a  mission  to  Chili ;  and  men 
of  lesser  pretensions  had  to  be  satisfied  with  what 
they  could  get.  Of  the  office-seekers  who  had  built 
their  hopes  upon  Broderick,  few  received  anything, 
and  they  not  the  first  places.46 

Broderick's  was  not  a  nature  to  be  cowed  by  the 
president's  disapproval.  Highly  incensed,  he  re- 
been  exercised  over  Cal.  ever  since  Gwin  had  been  in  the  senate.  Judge 
Crane,  in  his  pamphlet,  The,  Past,  the  Present,  and  the  Future  of  the  Pacific 
Coast,  complains  of  this  espionage,  and  remarks  that  no  such  thing  had  ever 
been  thought  of  or  practised  concerning  the  other  states.  It  never  would 
have  been  in  Cal.,  had  not  the  slave  power  determined  to  control,  by  any 
and  every  means,  the  affairs  of  this  coast.  ' The  reports, '  said  Crane,  'are 
kept  a  profound  secret  from  the  public  and  the  parties  concerned.  How 
do  we  know  but  what  our  people  are  grossly  libelled  and  maligned  by  these 
secret  agents?  The  character  of  some  of  them  was  most  grossly  traduced 
under  Mr  Fillmore's  administration,  by  the  secret  agent  then  in  Cal.'  J.  H. 
Clay  held  this  office  under  Fillmore,  and  J.  Ross  Browne  under  Pierce. 
Browne's  commission  required  him  to  examine  the  accounts  of  federal  officers 
and  to  direct  their  official  acts.  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Oct.  8,  1856.  Another  part  of 
Browne's  duty  was  to  dismiss  from  office  any  man  suspected  of  not  being  a 
supporter  of  the  administration.  Fillmore  was  nearly  as  much  under  Gwin's 
influence  as  was  Pierce,  and  removed  or  appointed  whom  he  would. 

^Gwin,  Memoirs,  MS.,  33. 

46  His  return  to  New  York  was  celebrated  with  the  firing  of  100  guns. 


712  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

turned  in  April  to  California  to  explain  his  failure  as 
a  patron  to  his  friends,  and  to  labor  for  the  control  of 
the  state  convention  which  was  to  nominate  a  gover 
nor  and  lieutenant-governor.  By  the  steamer  which 
brought  him  came  a  letter  from  Gwin  to  a  political 
friend  who  would  know  how  to  use  it,  stating  Brod- 
erick's  purpose  to  nominate  his  followers  to  the  state 
offices,  and  to  censure  the  administration  for  the  fed 
eral  appointments. 

Any  attack  on  a  democratic  administration  by 
democrats  was,  according  to  party  usage,  treason,  and 
Broderick  was  at  once  called  upon  to  state  his  position. 
The  questions  he  was  asked  to  reply  to  were,  whether 
he  had  declared  himself  hostile  to  the  administration 
while  in  Washington;  whether  it  was  true  that  he 
had  entered  into  any  contract  with  Gwin  concerning 
the  federal  patronage ;  whether  the  rumor  that  Gwin 
had  secured  several  appointments  in  the  face  of  his 
address  from  Sacramento  was  well  founded;  and 
whether  he  had  any  intention  to  disrupt  the  party  in 
the  state  convention. 

Broderick  treated  these  allegations  as  calumnies. 
He  replied  that  he  did  not  return  to  make  war  upon 
the  administration  of  Buchanan.  He  declared  that 
his  election  was  effected  by  the  free  choice  of  his 
friends,  "without  bargain,  contract,  alliance,  combina 
tion,  or  understanding  with  any  one;"  that  after  his 
election  Gwin  sought  his  aid  to  secure  his  own. 
"  Regarding  him  as  the  acknowledged  leader  of  the 
other  wing  of  the  party,  I  believed  his  election  would 
heal  dissensions  and  effect  a  reunion."  "  Between  Mr 
Gwin  and  myself  there  was  no  condition  whatever  in 
regard  to  the  distribution  of  patronage."  He  defended 
Gwin  from  the  imputation  of  controlling  the  recent 
federal  appointments,  in  the  face  of  his  public  declara 
tion  that  he  would  not  do  so.  "Surely,"  said  he,  "  the 
combination  at  Washington  of  the  late  and  present 
members  of  the  lower  house  of  congress,  of  the  senator 
whose  term  has  expired,  of  the  three  presidential 


LEGISLATURE  OF   1858.  713 

electors,  and  a  throng  of  active  supporters,  well  prac 
tised  in  the  trade  of  soliciting  offices,  all  against  ine, 
would  seem  to  be  enough  without  the  personal  interfer 
ence  of  my  colleague.  In  the  absence  of  positive  evi 
dence,  I  must,  therefore,  regard  the  report  of  which  you 
speak  as  a  mistake.  I  am  not  here  to  distract  the 
party,  nor  to  control  its  nominations."47 

Broderick's  motive  for  this  denial  of  all  the  charges 
was  probably  the  single  one  of  preserving  the  unity 
of  the  party.48  He  had  now  more  powerful  enemies 
than  ever  before.  Ex-senator  Weller,  whose  friends 
regarded  him  as  having  been  tricked  out  of  a  reelection, 
was  unfriendly.  Latham,  who  was,  as  he  thought, 
not  fairly  treated,  was  also  unfriendly.  Til  ford,  who 
expected  a  fat  office,  was  disappointed,  and  of  course 
not  friendly;  and  there  were  others  disaffected  on  ac 
count  of  the  rumors  sent  in  advance  of  Broderick  from 
Washington.  Finding  affairs  in  this  state,  he  refrained 
from  any  strenuous  effort  to  control  the  state  politics. 
In  convention  he  nominated  McCorkle49  for  governor; 
but  Weller,  who  had  been  welcomed  back  to  California 
with  effusion  by  the  chivalry,  was  the  favorite  of  the 
party,50  received  the  indorsement  of  the  convention 

47  Correspondence  of  Alfred  Reddington  and  J.  P.  Dyer,  with  D.  C.  Brod 
erick,  in  8.  F.  Post,  March  8,  1879. 

48  Gwin  denies  that  there  was  any  bargain,  and  declares  that  he  renounced 
the  federal  patronage  because  he  was  exasperated  by  having  his  reelection 
opposed  '  by  some  of  the  most  influential  men,  whose  promotion  to  office  he 
had  secured.     In  his  cooler  moments,  no  one  regretted  it  more  than  Gwin 
himself.'  Memoirs,  MS.,  133.     But  even  his  champion,  O'Meara,  declares  that 
he  sold  the  patronage  to  Broderick  for  his  influence  in  reflecting  him. 

49  McCorkle  was  the  leader  of  the  democracy  in  Butte  co.,  said  the  Oroville 
North  Californian.     '  He  gives  the  cue  to  the  young  cockerels  who  are  just 
learning  to  crow,  and  allows  them  to  strut  and  swell,  and  flap  their  wings, 
and  jostle  him  about  with  the   utmost   familiarity.     The  old,  full-fledged 
fowls  he  clucks  into  a  corner,  and  explains  to  them  with  owl-like  gravity  the 

ets  and  mysteries  of  the  party.     He  then  clucks  the  whole  brood  up  to  the 
,  and  they  take  a  drink.    Sac.  Union,  Nov.  21,  1856. 

60  Mr  O'Meara  does  not  like  vigilance  committees.  There  have  been  many 
men  in  Cal.  who  felt  the  same  way.  He  says  that  John  Nugent,  editor  of  the 
S.  F.  Herald,  whose  business  had  been  ruined  by  the  committee,  was  pre 
sented  in  candidacy,  on  account  of  his  determined  hostility  to  the  committee, 
'in  order  to  vindicate  his  course;  but  his  name  had  been  withdrawn  before  the 
balloting,  as  his  friends  found  it  impossible  to  prevail  against  Weller.  During 
the  discussion  on  a  proposed  platform  resolution  denouncing  the  vigilance  or 
ganization,  Colonel  Joseph  P.  Hoge,  the  acknowledged  leader  of  the  conven 
tion,  stated  that  the  committee  had  hanged  4  men,  banished  28,  and  arrested 


714  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

by  a  vote  of  254  to  61,  and  was  elected,  Joseph 
Walkup  of  Placer  was  chosen  lieutenant-governor. 
The  only  Broderick  man  on  the  ticket,  of  more  than 
local  prominence,  was  Stephen  J.  Field,  elected  su 
preme  judge.  John  O'Meara,  another  of  Broderick's 
friends,  was  elected  state  printer.  The  knownothings 
had  disappeared,  and  the  opposition  to  democracy  was 
in  a  chaotic  state. 

The  legislature  chosen  for  the  session  of  1858,51 

280;  and  that  these  were  nearly  all  democrats.'  This  was  certainly  bad  for 
the  democrats.  The  truthful  colonel  might  have  gone  further  in  his  investi 
gations,  and  have  ascertained  that  the  criminals  sentenced  by  the  regularly 
organized  courts  were  democrats  almost  to  a  man.  It  was  because  the  courts, 
in  the  interest  of  that  party,  had  obstructed  the  course  of  ordinary  justice 
that  the  committee  was  organized. 

51  The  senate  of  1858  consisted  of  hold-over  members,  S.  A.  Merritt,  Aaron 
R.  Meloney,  Josiah  Johnson,  Alfred  W.  Taliaferro,  S.  H.  Chase,  Samuel  M. 
Johnson,  George  J.  Carpenter,  Wm  B.  Norman  (vacancy  filled  by  Wm  L. 
Lewis),  Wm  I.  Ferguson,  Richard  S.  Mesick,  Jesse  0.  Goodwin,  Samuel  Bell, 
Samuel  Soule,  Eugene  L.  Sullivan.  Senators  newly  elected,  Cameron  E. 
Thorn,  Los  Angeles,  San  Bernardino,  and  San  Diego;  Romualdo  Pacheco, 
Santa  Barbara  and  San  Luis  Obispo;  D.  S.  Gregory,  Sta  Cruz;  Win  Holden, 
George  H.  Rogers,  Stanislaus  and  Tuolumne;  Wm  I.  Ferguson,  Sac. ;  Hum 
phrey  Griffith,  Napa,  Solano,  and  Yolo;  J.  Berry,  Del  Norte,  Klamath,  and 
Siskiyou;  E.  Garter,  Colusa,  Shasta,  and  Tehama;  A.  S.  Hart,  John  Colter, 
Butte  and  Plumas;  Isaac  Allen,  Yuba;  J.  H.  Baker,  James  Anderson,  Placer; 
S.  Hamm,  W.  B.  Dickinson,  El  Dorado;  L.  N.  Ketchum,  Amador  and  Cala- 
veras;  John  C.  Burch,  Humboldt  and  Trinity;  E.  F.  Burton,  Nevada;  Gilbert 

A.  Grant,  T.  G.  Phelps,  S.  F.     Prest,  R.  M.  Anderson;  prest  pro  tern.,  S.  A. 
Merritt;   sec.,   Thomas   N.   Cazneau;   asst   sec.,  James   T.  Ewing;  enrolling 
clerk,  J.  T.  Ship  man;  engrossing  clerk,  Louis  Bartlett;  sergt-at-arms,  J.  W. 
Hawkins;  door-keeper,  John  McGlenchy. 

The  assembly  consisted  of  Homer  King,  R.  M.  Briggs,  Amador;  J.  H. 
Hobart,  Alameda;  James  Kitchens,  Butte;  B.  F.  Marshall,  E.  Parker,  T. 
O'Brien,  Calaveras;  F.  M.  Warmcastle,  Contra  Costa;  E.  J.  Lewis,  Colusa 
and  Tehama;  R.  P.  Hurst,  Del  Norte  and  Klamath;  David  E.  Buell,  J.  B. 
Galbraith,  J.  Graham,  J.  S.  Tipton,  H.  A.  Moses,  C.  W.  Pearis,  Harvey  Lee, 

B.  F.  Loofbourrow,  El  Dorado;  A.  H.  Mitchell,  Fresno,  Tulare,  and  Buena 
Vista;    H.   W.    Havens,    Humboldt;    Henry  Hancock,   Andreas    Pico,    Los 
Angeles;  James  T.  Stocker,  Marin;  I.  N.  Ward,  John  H.  Tatman,  Mariposa; 
Hosea  Abrego,  Monterey;  Thomas  H.  Anderson,  Napa;  Win  Hill,  J.  Cald- 
well,   J.  P.  Warefield,  James  K.   Smith,  George  A.  Young,  Nevada;  D.  B. 
Curtis,  A.  P.  K.   Safford,  Nicholas  Kabler,  W.  C.  Stratton,  Placer;  J.  L.  C. 
Sherwin,    S.   L.   Ballou,   Plumas;    E.   A.    Sheridan,  R.    D.  Ferguson,    C.   S. 
Howell,  Moses  Stout,  Sac. ;  J.  W.  Smith,  San  Bernardino;  Robert  M.  Groom, 
San  Diego;  G.  C.  Holman,  A.  G.  Stakes,  San  Joaquin;  H.  M.  Osgood,   San 
Luis  Obispo;  S.  B.  Gordon,  San  Mateo;  Russell  Heath,  Sta  Barbara;  Solon 
Simons,  W.  W.    McCoy,   Sta   Clara;   J.   C.  Wilson,   Sta   Cruz;    Charles   R. 
Street,  Shasta;  J.  A.  Clark,  R.  D.  Hill,  Sierra;  A.  B.  Walker,  Siskiyou;  N. 
H.  Davis,  Solano;  Uriah   Edwards,  J.  S.  Ormsby,   Sonoma  and   Mendocino; 
George  W.  Thomas,  Stanislaus;  J.  0.  Harris,  Sutter;  Edward  Neblett,  Trin 
ity;  A.  A.  H.  Tuttle,  W.  J.  Markley,  P.  M.  Haldeman,  T.  Hamblin,   Tuol 
umne;  Wm  Minnis,  Yolo;  N.  E.  Whitesides,  F.  L.  Ord,  B.  E.  S.  Ely,  C.  E. 


FUGITIVE  SLAVES.  715 

which  the  Bulletin  called  the  reconsiderationists,  from 
their  vacillating  course,  adopted  a  resolution  indors 
ing  the  president's  Kansas  policy,  which  recognized 
the  right  of  slavery  to  be  extended  into  the  territories, 
under  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  which  could 
not  be  excluded  until  after  the  state  had  been  admit 
ted  into  the  federation,  and  Broderick  was  instructed 
to  vote  for  it.  It  happened  also  that  the  fugitive 
slave  law,  as  applied  to  California,  was  tested  in  the 
courts  this  year,52  creating  much  excitement  among 
the  colored  population,  and  not  much  less  among  the 
white  inhabitants,  the  law  being  so  construed  by  the 
United  States  commissioner  that  the  negro  claimed 
was  liberated.  This  was  not  the  only  case  since  1851, 
but  it  was  decisive,  and  the  last  fugitive  slave  case  in 
the  courts  of  California. 

In  1852  Peachy  of  San  Joaquin  introduced  a  reso 
lution  in  the  assembly  to  allow  fifty  southern  families 
to  immigrate  to  California  with  their  slaves.  Some, 
indeed,  did  come,  who  on  finding  they  could  not  legally 
hold  their  slaves,  sent  a  part  of  them  back,  while 
others  became  free.  In  1855  two  men,  named  Chase 

De  Long;  D.  R.  Spillen,  Yuba;  J.  W.  Cherry,  J.  Banks,  J.  B.  Moore,  Cyrus 
Palmer,  Caleb  Burbank,  W.  W.  Sheppard,  S.  W.  Holliday,  Thomas  Gray, 
S.  F.  Speaker,  N.  E.  Whitesides;  chief  clerk,  J.  M.  Scobey;  asst  clerk,  J. 
W.  Bingay;  sergt-at-arms,  James  F.  Qwin;  enrolling  clerk,  T.  J.  Mitchell; 
engrossing  clerk,  W.  McConnell;  door-keeper,  A.  F.  Wager. 

52  This  was  the  case  of  the  slave  Archy,  claimed  by  a  Mr  Stovall,  from 
Miss.,  who  came  to  Cal.  in  1857,  and  taught  school  at  Sac.  In  Jan.  1858  he 
prepared  to  send  Archy  back  to  Miss.,  but  the  chattel  refused  to  go,  and 
escaped.  He  was  arrested,  and  his  friends  sued  out  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus, 
on  the  ground  that  Stovall  was  not  a  traveller,  nor  Archy  a  fugitive  under 
the  acts  of  1852,  1853,  and  1854.  He  was  rearrested  as  soon  as  discharged, 
and  his  case  hastened  up  to  the  sup.  court,  Burnett  being  then  upon  the 
bench,  having  been  appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  resignation  of 
Terry.  Stretching  at  once  conscience  and  the  constitution,  Burnett  decreed 
the  black  man  to  be  the  property  of  the  white  man,  and  Stovall  took  him  on 
board  the  steamer  for  the  states;  but  when  outside  the  entrance,  Stovall  was 
arrested  for  kidnapping,  and  Archy  brought  back  by  writ  of  habeas  corpus. 
E.  I).  Baker  was  counsel  for  Archy,  and  J.  A.  Hardy,  afterward  impeached 
for  treasonable  utterances,  pleaded  Stovall 's  cause.  George  Pen  Johnston, 
himself  a  southern  pro-slavery  man,  was  U.  S.  commissioner,  but  heard  the  case 
impartially,  and  ordered  Archy  liberated.  The  decision  was  upon  the  ground 
that  his  former  master  could  not  plead  that  he  was  a  traveller  passing 
through  the  country  with  his  property,  for  he  had  been  a  year  in  the  state 
engaged  in  business,  knowing  that  Cal.  was  a  free  state.  Tuthill,  Hist.  Cal., 
550-1;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Jan.  13  and  March  5,  6,  8,  16,  1858;  Grass  Valley 
Union,  Nov.  9,  1873. 


716  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

and  Day,  were  ridden  on  a  rail,  ducked,  and  otherwise 
maltreated  in  Alameda  county  for  being  abolitionists. 
In  this  year  expired  the  fugitive  slave  law  of  Califor 
nia,  draughted  to  enable  the  slave-holders  to  reclaim  any 
negroes  brought  into  California  before  its  constitution 
was  framed.  It  had  been  twice  extended,  but  was  now 
inoperative;  and  the  colored  population,  feeling  that 
they  were  really  free,  held  a  convention  in  San  Fran 
cisco,  at  which  they  discussed  their  rights,  treatment 
by  white  people,  politics,  and  principles,  and  necessity 
of  education.  This  convention  was  repeated  in  1856, 
and  an  effort  made  to  secure  the  repeal  of  the  law  pro 
hibiting  negro  testimony  in  cases  where  white  persons 
were  parties.  In  December  of  this  year  a  negro 
named  Coffee  purchased  his  freedom,  paying  $1,000 
for  himself,  and  sending  the  money  to  his  former  mas 
ter  in  Missouri,  who  sent  him  his  manumission  papers. 
This  self-sacrifice  was  entirely  unnecessary,  but  prob 
ably  discharged  in  the  mind  of  the  man  trained  to 
slavery  some  sense  of  obligation,  and  secured  for  him 
the  legal  evidence  that  his  freedom  was  not  in  dispute. 

At  the  same  time  in  San  Bernardino  county,  two 
negro  families,  comprising  fourteen  persons,  were 
claimed  as  slaves  by  a  former  master  who  wished  to 
take  them  to  Texas.  An  appeal  was  made  in  their 
behalf  to  the  United  States  district  court.  The  plea 
offered  was  that  they  were  going  of  their  own  free 
will,  the  mothers  being  willing  for  the  children;  but 
the  court  decided  that  the  children  should  not  be  taken 
unless  after  being  made  fully  aware  of  the  condition 
awaiting  them,  and  the  marshal  was  ordered  to  pre 
vent  their  abduction. 

In  1858  there  was  introduced,  or  revived  for  the 
benefit  of  Americans,  the  long-disused  practice  of  In 
dian  slavery  in  southern  California.  The  person  em 
ployed  in  the  purchase  of  Indians  was  Francisco 
Castillo,  who  carried  goods  to  the  San  Pedro  Martin 
mission,  in  Lower  California,  where  he  exchanged 
them  with  the  chief  latiniel  for  young  Indians  to  be 


SLAVERY  AND  THE  CONSTITUTION.  717 

sold  in  Los  Angeles.  Castillo  made  several  of  these 
trading  excursions  to  procure  slaves.53  Mr  Tuthill,  in 
his  History  of  California,  written  with  the  advantages 
which  a  newspaper  man  possesses  of  collecting  con 
temporary  history,  makes  the  somewhat  singular 
statement  in  his  otherwise  almost  faultless  narrative, 
that  "the  negro,  though  the  staple  topic  of  congres 
sional  legislation,  did  not  much  trouble  that  of  Cali 
fornia." 

While  it  is  true  that  California  had  not  to  bear  the 
burdens  of  congress,  being  only  a  thirty-first  part  of 
the  union,  and  having  a  free  constitution,  there  had 
never  been  a  session  in  which  the  negro,  in  some  shape, 
or  under  some  disguise,  had  not  been  the  subject  of 
legislation.  Even  while  the  constitution  was  forming 
to  which  he  subscribed,  Gwin  was  plotting  against  the 
freedom  of  at  least  a  portion  of  the  state,  assisted 
afterward  by  the  chivalry  in  the  legislature  and  out. 
Such  was  the  meaning  of  the  law  passed  in  1856  and 
1857,  providing  for  the  submission  to  the  people  of 
certain  amendments,  and  recommending  to  each  of  the 
electors  to  vote  for  or  against  a  convention  to  change 
the  constitution.  The  result  of  the  election  in  1857 
was  that  only  48,906,  out  of  93,881,  voted  on  the 
question.  Of  those  who  did  vote  upon  it,  30,226 
were  in  favor  of  calling  a  convention,  and  17,680  were 
opposed  to  it.  Thus,  taking  the  vote  for  lieutenant- 
governor  for  a  basis,  namely,  93,881,  there  were  not 
one  third  of  the  electors  who  desired  or  consented  to 
the  proposition  for  a  constitutional  convention.  This 
caused  Governor  Johnson  to  doubt  the  obligation  im 
posed  upon  the  legislature  to  summon  a  convention, 
and  he  left  it  to  that  body  to  decide  for  themselves 
their  duty  on  this  point;  "yet  despite  my  wishes,"  he 

53 Staples  Statement,  MS.,  16-17;  S.  F.  Herald,  June  10  and  19,  1852;  S.  F. 
Alta,  Feb.  8,  Aug.  31,  Sept.  22,  Oct.  6,  1852;  Id.,  Feb.  18  and  March  13, 
1853;  March  20  and  30,  April  13,  Aug.  21  and  28,  Sept.  1  and  27,  1854;  and 
Dec.  11,  1856;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Dec.  1855;  Proceed.  Colored  Citizens  2d  Ann. 
Convention;  Sac.  Union,  Dec.  10,  1856;  Sac.  Union,  Dec.  30,  1856;  Chandler, 
MS.,  306-7;  HayeJ  Los  Angeles,  i.  519-27;  Gomez,  MS.,  85-6;  Stephen  Bar- 
ton,  in  VisaUa  Delta,  Sept.  10,  1874. 


718  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

said  in  his  message,  "I  am  constrained  to  believe  the 
result  of  that  vote  does  not  invest  you  with  the  requi 
site  authority."  The  manoeuvring  for  a  division  of  the 
state  was  a  failure  to  secure  in  its  favor  a  majority  of 
all  those  voting  at  the  election,  as  the  law  required, 
and  those  persons  who  had  been  induced  in  the  ex 
pectation  of  a  different  result  to  bring  into  the  southern 
counties  young  negroes,  who  could  be  held  as  minors, 
had  now  to  return  them  to  the  slave  states  or  let 
them  go  free.  This  episode  of  California  history  will 
be  treated  of  separately  in  a  future  volume,  and  I 
hasten  to  the  conclusion  of  the  Broderick-Gwin  con 
test. 

Broderick  returned  to  Washington  filled  with  that 
bitterness  which  possesses  a  man  when  he  feels  him 
self  treacherously  or  unfairly  dealt  with.  It  was  not 
in  his  nature  to  admit  himself  beaten ;  and  it  was  ex 
ceedingly  painful  to  be  baffled  at  the  beginning  of  his 
senatorial  career  by  the  influence  of  men  in  his  own 
party,  and  even  by  a  man  whom  he  had  placed  in 
power. 

The  first  session  of  the  thirty-fifth  congress  opened 
with  the  discussion  of  the  Kansas  question.  Ever  since 
the  establishment  of  the  territory,  there  had  been  a 
struggle  between  the  slave-soil  and  free-soil  inhabi 
tants  for  the  control  of  the  future  state.  A  free-state 
constitution  was  adopted  by  the  people  in  1855  in 
convention  at  Topeka.  The  general  government, 
under  the  administration  of  President  Pierce,  dis 
missed  the  free-state  governor  and  appointed  one  of 
pro-slavery  views.  Voters  were  imported  from  Mis 
souri  to  elect  pro-slavery  legislatures.  Free-state  men 
were  charged  with  treason  and  imprisoned,  United 
States  troops  keeping  guard  over  them.  Another 
pro-slavery  constitution  was  framed  by  a  convention 
which  met  at  Lecompton  in  1857,  under  which  admis 
sion  to  the  union  was  demanded,  and  was  being  argued 


BLEEDING  KANSAS.  719 

in  1858.  The  condition  of  Kansas  and  the  questions 
it  involved  were  in  all  mouths  in  and  out  of  congress.64 

If  there  was  a  subject  on  which  Broderick  was 
more  positive  than  another,  it  was  on  that  of  free 
labor.  He  was  from  the  people  of  the  laboring  class, 
understood  them,  and  was  ever  their  ready  champion. 
In  the  senate  of  the  United  States,  Stephen  A.  Doug 
las  stood  alone  for  a  free  constitution  for  Kansas, 
fraud  having  been  clearly  shown  in  the  elections  of 
the  pro-slavery  legislatures  with  forcible  measures  and 
some  bloodshed.  Opposed  to  him  was  the  strength 
of  the  senate  and  President  Buchanan.  Broderick 
immediately  ranged  himself  on  the  popular  sover 
eignty  or  Douglas  side.  In  doing  so  he  had  two 
powerful  motives,  one  to  champion  free  labor  and  an 
other  to  attack  his  enemies,  including  the  president. 
Seward  called  him  "the  brave  young  senator." 

Broderick  was  not  an  orator.  Flourishes  of  rheto 
ric  and  graces  of  gesture  were  unpractised  by  him. 
But  in  his  blunt  way  he  made  some  hard  hits;  too 
hard,  too  rude  and  caustic,  for  his  own  personal  good.55 

6*  The  question  was  finally  settled  by  the  people  in  an  election  held  Aug. 
4,  1858,  when  the  slave  state  constitution  was  rejected  by  a  vote  of  11, 300 
against,  and  1,788  in  favor.  Barber,  Hist.  Western  States,  445. 

55  There  are  portions  of  Broderick's  speeches  on  the  admission  of  Kansas 
under  the  Lecompton  constitution,  which  should  not  be  lost  to  history,  and  I 
make  here  a  few  extracts:  'In  the  passage  of  this  bill — the  Kansas-Nebraska 
act  of  1854,  by  which  the  Missouri  compromise  line  of  30°  30'  was  removed  in 
the  territories — the  people  of  the  north  felt  that  a  great  wrong  had  been  com 
mitted  against  their  rights.  This  was  a  mistaken  view;  the  north  should 
have  rejoiced,  and  applauded  the  senator  from  111.  for  accepting  Mr  Dixon'a 
amendment.  The  south  should  have  mourned  the  removal  of  that  barrier, 
the  removal  of  which  will  let  in  upon  her  feeble  and  decaying  institutions 
millions  of  free  laborers.  In  the  passage  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  the 
rampart  that  protected  slavery  in  the  southern  territories  was  broken  down. 
Northern  opinions,  northern  ideas,  and  northern  institutions  were  invited  to 
the  contest  for  the  possession  of  these  territories.  How  foolish  for  the  south 
to  hope  to  contend  with  success  in  such  an  encounter !  Slavery  is  old,  de 
crepit,  and  consumptive;  freedom  is  young,  strong,  and  vigorous.  One  is 
naturally  stationary,  and  loves  ease;  the  other  is  migratory  and  enterprising. 
There  are  6,000,000  of  people  interested  in  the  extension  of  slavery.  There 
are  20,000,000  of  freemen  to  contend  for  these  territories,  out  of  which  to 
carve  for  themselves  homes  where  labor  is  honorable.  Up  to  the  time  of  the 
passage  of  the  Kansas -Nebraska  act,  a  large  majority  of  the  people  of  the  north 
did  not  question  the  right  of  the  south  to  control  the  destinies  of  the  terri 
tories  south  of  the  Missouri  line.  The  people  of  the  north  should  have 
welcomed  the  passage  of  the  Kansas -Nebraska  act.  I  am  astonished  that 
republicans  should  call  for  a  restoration  of  the  Missouri  compromise.  With 


720  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

He  denounced  the  president  for  his  attitude  toward 
Kansas,  and  his  encouragement  to  the  Lecomptonites. 
Speaking  of  the  troubles  in  Kansas,  "  I  regret,"  said 
he,  "that  I  am  compelled  to  differ  with  him  on  this 
question;  but,  sir,  I  intend  to  hold  him  responsible 
for  it  [the  condition  of  Kansas].  I  do  not  intend,  be 
cause  I  am  a  member  of  the  democratic  party,  to  per 
mit  the  president  of  the  United  States,  who  was 
elected  by  that  party,  to  create  civil  war  in  Kansas. 

the  terrible  odds  that  are  against  her,  the  south  should  not  have  repealed  it, 
if  she  desired  to  retain  her  rights  in  the  territories.  Has  it  never  occurred 
to  southern  gentlemen  that  millions  of  laboring  freemen  are  born  yearly 
who  demand  subsistence,  and  will  have  it?  that  as  the  marts  of  labor  become 
crowded  they  will  crowd  into  the  territories  and  take  possession  of  them  ? 
The  senator  from  South  Carolina  [Hammond]  undervalues  the  strength  and 
intelligence  of  these  men  when  he  denounces  them  as  slaves.  Would  a  dis 
solution  of  the  union  give  these  southern  territories  to  slavery?  No,  sir. 
It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  it  would.  A  dissolution  of  the  union  would  not 
lessen  the  amount  of  immigration,  or  the  number  of  free  white  men  seeking 
for  homes  and  a  market  for  their  labor.  Wherever  there  is  land  for  settle 
ment  they  will  rush  in  and  occupy  it,  and  the  compulsory  labor  of  slaves  will 
have  to  give  way  before  the  intelligent  labor  of  freemen.  Had  the  Missouri 
line  been  retained,  the  northern  laborer  would  not  have  sought  to  go  south  of 
it.  But  this  line  having  been  abolished  by  the  south,  no  complaint  can  be 
made  if  the  north  avails  herself  of  the  concession.  Senators  had  better  con 
sider  before  they  talk  of  dissolution,  and  first  understand  if  the  perpetuity  of 
their  beloved  institution  will  be  more  securely  guaranteed  by  it.  The  ques 
tion  of  dissolution  is  not  discussed  by  the  people  of  California.  I  am  not  at 
liberty  to  say  if  the  people  I  in  part  represent  are  denied  by  congress  the 
legislation  they  require,  they  will  consider  it  a  blessing  to  remain  a  part  of 
this  confederation.  The  senator  from  South  Carolina  very  boastingly  told  us 
a  few  days  since  how  much  cotton  the  south  exported,  and  that  cotton  was 
king.  He  did  not  tell  us  that  the  price  of  cotton  fluctuated,  and  that  the 
south  was  at  the  mercy  of  the  manufacturers.  Suppose,  sir,  the  16  free  states 
of  the  union  should  see  fit  to  enact  a  high  protective  tariff,  for  the  purpose  of 
giving  employment  to  free  labor,  would  cotton  be  king  then  ?  Why,  sir,  the 
single  free  state  of  California  exports  the  product  for  which  cotton  is  raised 
to  an  amount  of  more  than  one  half  in  value  of  the  whole  exports  of  the  cot 
ton  of  the  slave  states.  Cotton  king !  No,  sir.  Gold  is  king.  I  represent 
a  state,  sir,  where  labor  is  honorable;  where  the  judge  has  left  his  bench,  the 
lawyer  and  doctor  their  offices,  and  the  clergyman  his  pulpit,  for  the  purpose 
of  delving  in  the  earth;  where  no  station  is  so  high  and  no  position  so  great 
that  its  occupant  is  not  proud  to  boast  that  he  has  labored  with  his  own 
hands.  There  is  no  state  in  the  union,  no  place  on  earth,  where  labor  is  so 
honored  and  so  well  rewarded;  no  time  and  place  since  the  Almighty  doomed 
the  sons  of  Adam  to  toil,  where  the  curse,  if  it  be  a  curse,  rests  so  lightly  as 
now  on  the  people  of  California.  Many  senators  have  complained  of  the  sena 
tor  from  South  Carolina  for  his  denunciation  of  the  laborers  of  the  north  as 
white  slaves,  and  the  mudsills  of  society.  I  am  glad,  sir,  that  the  senator 
has  spoken  thus.  It  may  have  the  effect  of  arousing  in  the  working  men 
that  spirit  which  has  been  lying  dormant  for  centuries.  It  may  also  have  the 
effect  of  arousing  the  200,000  men  with  pure  white  skins  in  South  Carolina 
who  are  now  degraded  and  despised  by  30,000  aristocratic  slaves-holders.' 
Cong.  Globe,  1857-8,  App.  191-3;  Hayes'  Coll.,  Cal  Pol,  ii.  1,  2. 


LEGISLATURE   OF   1859.  721 

The  only  thing  that  has  astonished  me  in  this  whole 
matter  is  the  forbearance  of  the  people  of  Kansas. 
If  they  had  taken  the  delegates  to  the  Lecompton 
convention  and  flogged  them,  or  cut  off  their  ears  and 
driven  them  out  of  the  country,  I  would  have  ap 
plauded  them  for  the  act."  Referring  to  the  frauds 
by  which  the  Lecompton  constitution  had  been  forced 
upon  the  people  of  Kansas,  he  went  further  in  denun 
ciation  of  the  president.  "  Will  not  the  world,"  said 
he,  "  believe  he  instigated  the  commission  of  those 
frauds,  as  he  gives  strength  to  those  who  committed 
them  \  This  portion  of  my  subject  is  painful  for  me 
to  refer  to.  I  wish,  sir,  for  the  honor  of  my  country, 
the  story  of  these  frauds  could  be  blotted  from  exist 
ence.  I  hope,  in  mercy,  sir,  to  the  boasted  intelli 
gence  of  this  age,  the  historian,  when  writing  a 
history  of  these  times,  will  ascribe  this  attempt  of 
the  executive  to  force  this  constitution  upon  an  un 
willing  people,  to  the  fading  intellect,  the  petulant 
passion,  and  trembling  dotage  of  an  old  man  on  the 
verge  of  the  grave." 

The    legislature    elected    in    185858   was    strongly 

56  Owing  to  the  neglect  of  the  sec.  of  the  senate  to  give  the  full  names  and 
districts  of  numbers  for  1859,  the  list  will  appear  here  imperfect.  The  fol 
lowing  are  the  senators,  as  appears  from  the  journals:  James  Anderson,  Isaac 
Allen,  J.  Berry,  J.  H.  Baker,  B.  T.  Bradley,  S.  A.  Ballon,  J.  C.  Burch,  G. 
W.  Dent,  W.  B.  Dickinson,  A.  St.  C.  Denver,  G.  A.  Grant,  E.  Garter,  D.  S. 
Gregory,  H.  Griffith,  A.  S.  Hart,  S.  F.  Hamm,  W.  Holden,  L.  N.  Ketcham, 
M.  Kirkpatrick,  C.  T.  Lansing,  J.  M.  McDonald,  S.  A.  Merritt,  J.  O'Farrell, 
R.  Pacheco,  W  H.  Parks,  S.  H.  Parker,  T.  G.  Phelps,  J.  Price,  I.  N.  Quinn, 
R.  A.  Redman,  C.  E.  Thorn,  I.  S.  Titus,  E.  D.  Wheeler,  C.  H.  S.  Williams. 
Prest,  J.  Walk  up;  prest  pro  tern.,  W.  B.  Dickinson;  sec.,  E.  C.  Palmer;  asst 
sec.,  John  T.  Pennington;  enrolling  clerk,  John  C.  Rei  \;  engrossing  clerk, 
Win  S.  Letcher;  sergt-at-arms,  James  W.  Hawkins;  asst  sergt-at-arms,  G. 
P.  Saunders. 

The  assembly  consisted  of  Wm  P.  Rodgers,  Alameda;  W.  W.  Cope,  John 
A.  Eagon,  Amador;  James  Burdick,  C.  W.  Lightner,  Charles  E.  Mount,  Cal- 
averas;  H.  W  Dunlap,  Colusa  and  Tehama;  Benjamin  S.  Hines,  Contra 
Costa;  H.  C.  Sloss,  J.  S.  Tipton,  William  Coleman,  Ogden  Squires,  George 
M.  Condee,  George  N.  Douglass,  Alfred  Briggs,  George  A.  Douglas,  El  Do 
rado;  James  M.  Roane,  Fresno,  Tulare,  and  Buena  Vista;  Manuel  Torres, 
Marin;  Andrew  J.  Gregory,  George  H.  Crenshaw,  Mariposa  and  Merced; 
Mariano  Malorin,  Monterey;  Wm  B.  Matthews,  Napa;  Wm  R.  Armstrong, 
John  Caldwell,  Christopher  Cohalon,  Philip  Moore,  George  A.  Young,  Nevada; 
Wm  P.  Barclay,  Philip  Lynch,  Wm  C.  Stratton,  W.  P.  Wing,  Placer;  R.  B. 
Ellis,  James  E.  Sheridan,  Charles  Duncombe,  A.  R.  Jackson,  Sac. ;  G.  N. 
Whitman,  San  Bernardino;  A.  S.  Ensworth,  San  Diego;  G.  C.  Holman, 
Thomas  Lospeyre,  San  Joaquin;  Walter  Murray,  San  Luis  Obispo;  David  W. 
HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.  46 


722  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

Lecompton  as  to  the  federal  administration,  and  Gwin 
and  chivalry  as  to  California.  It  passed  resolutions 
when  it  met  in  1859,  condemning  Broderick  as  not 
obeying  the  instructions  of  the  legislature  which 
elected  him,  and  characterizing  his  remarks  in  the 
senate,  touching  the  president,  as  a  disgrace  to  the 
nation,  and  humiliating  to  the  people.  It  was  a  pity, 
seeing  the  truth  contained  in  them,  that  the  tongue 
had  never  learned  the  subtle  niceties  of  speech  by 
which  an  insult  becomes  unanswerable  by  the  victim, 
and  innocence  to  the  speaker;  for  thereby  he  would 
have  made  his  enemies  fear,  whereas  they  now  only 
censured,  harassed,  and  plotted  against  him.  From 
the  day  when  he  uttered  his  fearless  invective,  he  was 
a  marked  man;  a  man  devoted  to  evil  doom.57 

In  1859  there  was  another  gubernatorial  election 
in  California,  and  Broderick  returned  to  organize  the 
anti-Lecompton  wing  of  the  democratic  party  in  his 
state.  He  was  accompanied  by  Congressman  McKib- 
ben,  also  a  Douglas  democrat;  Scott,  his  colleague, 
being  an  administration  man.  Both  factions  had 
their  candidates  in  the  field,  and  the  republicans 
theirs.  Before  election,  however,  the  Broderick  wing 
.had  fused  with  the  republicans  on  McKibben  for  con- 

Connelly,  San  Mateo;  Eugene  Lies,  Sta  Barbara;  James  Springer,  E.  C. 
Tally,  Sta  Clara;  Charles  R.  Street,  Shasta;  Josiah  Lefever,  Sierra;  Nathan 
Cutler,  Solano;  John  S.  Robberson,  Joseph  B.  Lamar,  Sonoma  and  Mendo- 
cino;  George  W.  Thomas,  Stanislaus;  C.  L.  N.  Vaughn,  Sutter;  Fordyce 
Bates,  Trinity;  S.  M.  Buck,  Wm  Dow,  Robert  Howe,  G.  W.  Whitney,  Tuol- 
umne;  Harrison  Gwinn,  Yolo;  Francis  L.  Aud,  James  L.  Slingerland,  Mor 
timer  Fuller,  John  Whealdon,  Charles  E.  De  Long,  Yuba;  Philip  P.  Caine, 
F.  E.  Cannon,  Butte;  T.  B.  Shannon,  Plumas:  James  A.  Banks,  John  W. 
Cherry,  Albert  A.  Hill,  Louis  R.  Lull,  William  W.  Shepard,  S.  F.;  Wm  F. 
Watkins,  Siskiyou.  Speaker,  Wm  C.  Stratton;  chief  clerk,  Caleb  Gilman; 
asst  clerk,  Richard  R.  McGill;  enrolling  clerk,  Henry  C.  Kibbe;  engrossing 
clerk,  W.  Casey;  sergt-at-arms,  James  Moore;  asst  sergt-at-arms,  Julius 
Shultz. 

57  Wilkes  relates  that  when  Broderick  was  in  New  York,  before  sailing 
for  Cal.  in  1859,  and  while  they  were  in  conversation  in  the  bar-room  of  the 
Jones  house,  at  a  late  hour,  two  southerners,  Paul  K.  Leeds  of  N.  0.  and 
Richard  Renshaw  of  S.  C.,  interrupted  Broderick  with  insultiiig  sounds,  and 
that  when  this  was  repeated,  Broderick  sprang  upon  them,  and  caned  them 
both  severely.  He  was  afterward  troubled  about  the  affair,  and  labored  to 
keep  it  out  of  the  newspapers.  It  was  his  opinion  that  a  plot  was  laid  to 
bring  on  a  duel.  Crosby,  Early  Eventsy  MS.,  66-7,  expresses  the  same  opinion. 


NOTABLE  CAMPAIGN.  723 

gress.  John  Currey,  formerly  a  district  judge,  and 
a  personal  friend  of  Broderick,  but  wlio  had  turned 
republican,  was  nominated  for  governor  at  his  sugges 
tion,  perhaps  with  a  view  to  fusion.  John  Conness 
was  nominated  for  lieutenant-governor;  Samuel  A. 
Booker  of  San  Joaquin  for  second  congressman; 
Royal  T.  Sprague  for  judge  of  the  supreme  court; 
and  Edmund  Randolph  for  attorney-general. 

The  republicans  nominated  Leland  Stanford  for 
governor;  James  F.  Kennedy,  lieutenant-governor; 
O.  L.  Shaffer,  supreme  judge;  McKibben  and  E. 
D.  Baker  for  congressmen.  The  Lecomptonites 
nominated  Latham  for  governor;.  John  G.  Downey, 
lieutenant-governor;  W.  W.  Cope,  supreme  judge; 
attorney-general,  Thomas  H.  Williams;58  and  for 
congressmen,  John  C.  Burch  and  Charles  L.  Scott. 
Gwin  had  returned  to  California,  and  the  campaign 
opened  with  these  personal  and  acrimonious  attacks, 
which  soon  made  it  evident  that  the  Lecomptonites 
meant  to  provoke  a  resort  to  the  code  of  the  duello. 

Said  a  leading  journal:  "We  speak  the  convictions 
which  have  been  forced  upon  the  ininds  of  all  men 
who  have  read  the  speeches  of  Broderick  and  Gwin, 
that  a  bloody  termination  of  this  controversy  is  ex 
pected  by  the  friends  of  both  senators,  and  that  it  is 
one  for  which  one  or  both  are  prepared.  Commencing 
with  Gwin's  second  speech  in  the  canvass,  there  has 
been  a  pointed  avowal  of  his  readiness  to  '  settle  their 
private  griefs  in  a  private  manner/  coupled  with 
sneers,  insults,  and  personal  affronts  on  every  occasion 
on  which  the  elder  senator  has  alluded  particularly  to 
his  younger  rival.  The  organs  on  that  side  do  not 

58 Williams  was  born  in  Ky,  in  1828,  and  educated  at  Centre  College, 
Danville,  studying  law  afterward  at  Louisville.  He  came  to  California  over 
land  in  1850,  settling  in  El  Dorado  co.  After  the  expiration  of  his  term  of 
office  he  removed  to  Sac.,  where  he  practised  law.  When  the  Comstock  lode 
came  into  notoriety  he  removed  to  Nevada,  where  he  was  a  member  of  the 
legislature  in  1864.  He  purchased  a  valuable  property  in  Oakland,  Cal.,  which 
latter  became  his  home.  He  married  Mary  Bryant  of  S.  F.  in  1856,  who  died 
in  1866.  They  had  6  children,  4  of  whom  were  sons.  Sac.  Urwm,  Aug.  13, 
1859. 


724  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

disguise  the  wish  to  force  Broderick  into  a  private 
encounter.  We  have  had  dissertations  on  the  code, 
on  the  characteristics  of  chivalry,  on  what  constitutes 
an  affront,  and  how  far  personal  responsibility  may  or 
may  not  be  evaded.  These  imputations  upon  the 
personal  courage  and  honor  of  Broderick  have  been 
carried  on  since  the  Perley  affair,  and  seem  fully  to 
corroborate  his  view  of  that  matter,  and  that  it  was 
arranged  by  his  enemies  to  provoke  a  hostile  collision." 

A  Lecompton  journal  said:  " Irritated  by  the  man 
ner  and  substance  of  Broderick's  remarks  about  him 
at  different  points  in  the  state,  Senator  Gwin,  at  For 
est  Hill,  ridiculed  Broderick  most  mercilessly,  and 
spoke  of  him  contemptuously,  and  somewhat  offens 
ively,  without  being  absolutely  insulting  in  his  lan 
guage.  Broderick  about  the  same  time,  in  another 
portion  of  the  state,  told  all  he  knew  about  the  famous 
senatorial  contest  of  1857;  and  notwithstanding  pre 
vious  contrary  insinuations,  exculpated  Gwin  from  any 
serious  accusation  in  the  premises.  The  speech  at 
Forest  Hill  was  delivered  before  he  learned  the  pur 
port  of  Broderick's  revelations  at  Nevada.  Perhaps, 
had  these  revelations  reached  him  earlier,  his  offensive 
remarks  at  Forest  Hill  would  not  have  been  uttered. 
These  remarks  were  made  under  the  impression  rest 
ing  upon  Gwin's  mind  that  Broderick  designed  being 
personally  abusive  toward  him  in  his  speech  at  Ne 
vada.  It  turned  out  that  Broderick  was  not  so."59 

The  Perley  affair,  alluded  to  in  the  first  of  the  above 
quotations,  occurred  on  the  29th  of  June.  David  S. 
Terry,  who  had,  in  vigilance  committee  times,  been 
sustained  by  Broderick  against  the  wrath  of  the  peo 
ple,  but  who  now  was  a  devoted  follower  of  Gwin,  and 
consequently  a  foe  to  Gwin's  rival,  said  in  convention 
that  Broderick's  professed  following  of  Douglas  meant, 
not  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  the  statesman,  but  Frederick 
Douglass,  the  mulatto.  This,  in  the  days  of  slavery, 
and  coming  from  a  pro-slavery  man,  was  an  insult. 

w S.  F.  National,  in  Hayes'  Coll,  Cal.  Pol.,  ii.  53 


PERLEY'S  CHALLENGE.  725 

Broderick  read  the  speech  at  the  breakfast-table  of 
the  International  Hotel,  and  as  he  was  without  doubt 
expected  to  do,  uttered  a  remark  expressive  of  his 
irritation.     He  said  he  had  upheld  Terry  as  the  only 
honest  man  upon  the  bench,  but  he  now  took  back  his 
former  opinion,  or  words  to  that  effect.     At  the  same 
table  sat  D.  W.  Perley,60  a  friend  of  Terry,  whose 
ears  were   open   to  catch    Broderick's  comments  on 
Terry's  speech,  uttered  sot  to  voce  though  they  were. 
There  was  hardly  ground  for  a  deadly  encounter 
between  Perley  and  Broderick    in   the  remark,  but 
Perley  sent  a  challenge,  which  Broderick  declined, 
on  the  ground  that  Perley  was  a -British  subject  whose 
political  rights  would  not  be  affected  by  duelling,  and 
also  that  he  was  not  entitled  to  have  his  challenge 
accepted  on  account  of  his  inferiority  of  position.     "  If 
I  were  to  accept  your  challenge,"  said  he,  "  there  are 
probably  many  gentlemen   who  would   seek   similar 
opportunities  for  hostile  meetings,  for  the  purpose  of 
accomplishing  a  political  object,  or  to  obtain  public 
notoriety.     I  cannot  afford,  at  the  present  time,  to 
descend  to  a  violation  of  the  constitution  and  the 
state  laws  to  subserve  either  their  or  your  purposes." 
In  the  same  note  he  intimated  that  when  the  cam 
paign  was  over  he  would  not  refuse  to  fight.     This 
language  soon  becoming  known  throughout  the  state 
gave  intenser  meaning  to  the  utterances  on  all  sides. 
In  one  of  his  speeches,  Broderick  said:  "I  have  given 
my  reasons  for  not  meeting  Mr  Perley;  and  I  state 
to  you  that  he  had  no  more  expectation  of  a  quarrel 
with  me  than  I  have  of  killing  you  all  to-night.     He 
was  put  forward  by  designing  men  who  desired  to  get 
rid  of  me.     The  prompting  parties  themselves  had  no 
desire  to  engage  in  the  affair,  so  they  sent  this  little 
wretch  to  insult  me,  and  if  possible,  involve  me  in  a 
difficulty." 

60  Perley  was  a  lawyer  of  Stockton  in  1850,  but  removed  to  S.  F.  He 
came  from  New  Brunswick,  and  did  not  enjoy  a  high  reputation  in  the  com 
munity.  His  attachment  to  Terry  probably  came  from  the  circumstance 
that  Terry  had  acted  as  his  second  in  a  duel  in  1850. 


726  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

The  taunting  style  of  attack  and  defence  assumed 
by  the  Lecomptonites  stung  Broderick  to  the  depths 
of  his  silent  and  gloomy  soul ;  and  whatever  thoughts 
he  had  entertained  of  preserving  a  dignified  course, 
and  conducting  the  campaign  on  important  issues, 
were  dissipated.  At  Weaverville  he  said,  July  28th, 
in  reply  to  insinuations  that  he  did  not  hold  himself 
responsible  for  what  he  uttered:  "If  I  have  insulted 
Dr  Gwin  sufficiently  to  induce  him  to  go  about  the 
state  and  make  a  blackguard  of  himself,  he  should  seek 
the  remedy  left  every  gentleman  who  feels  offended." 
This  was  the  very  state  of  mind  to  which  it  was 
sought  to  bring  him. 

Meanwhile  the  contest  raged  fiercely.  Gwin  had 
taken  great  credit  to  himself  for  his  advocacy  of  the 
Pacific  Railroad  bill  in  congress,  and  the  people  of 
California  had  been  grateful  to  him  for  it.  His  bill 
introduced  in  1852  was  for  aid  in  constructing  a  rail 
road  and  telegraph  line  from  the  Pacific  to  the  At 
lantic  ocean,  starting  from  the  bay  of  San  Francisco, 
passing  around  it,  striking  the  foothills  near  Stockton, 
running  down  the  coast  to  Walker's  Pass,  across  the 
Sierra  Nevada,  and  east  to  Albuquerque  in  New  Mex 
ico,  having  branches  thence  to  St  Louis,  Dubuque, 
Memphis,  and  New  Orleans,  and  providing  for  a 
branch  to  Oregon,  on  the  Pacific  end.  The  history 
of  this  undertaking  will  be  presented  in  its  proper 
place.  I  give  this  outline  here  to  show  the  direction 
of  G win's  thoughts,  as  well  as  of  the  proposed  rail 
road. 

In  December  1855,  Senator  Weller  gave  notice  of 
a  bill  to  authorize  the  postmaster-general  to  contract 
for  the  transportation  of  the  United  States  mails,  in 
four-horse  coaches,  tri-weekly,  from  St  Louis  to  San 
Francisco.  The  act  was  not  passed  until  March  3, 
1857,  nor  was  the  line  put  in  operation  until  1858, 
when  another  act  gave  the  contractors  a  choice  of 
routes.  About  the  same  time  a  mail  line  was  estab 
lished  from  Placerville  to  Salt  Lake,  connecting  with 


GWIN  AND  BRODERICK.  727 

the  mail  from  Salt  Lake  to  St  Joseph.  The  con 
tractors,  under  the  act  of  March  3,  1857,  chose  the 
route  from  Memphis  and  St  Louis,  by  El  Paso,  the 
mouth  of  the  Gila,  and  San  Diego,  to  San  Francisco. 
The  postmaster-general  resided  in  Memphis,  a  very 
cogent  reason  for  the  choice  of  this  distinctly  south 
ern  route,  which  by  a  long  and  circuitous  line  reached 
the  populous  counties  of  California  from  the  extreme 
south-east  corner  of  the  state,  three  times  a  week,  at 
a  cost  of  $60 0,000  a  year.  It  was  shown  by  Broder- 
ick,  and  some  of  the  western  senators,  that  the  route 
from  St  Joseph  to  Placerville  was  shorter,  cheaper, 
and  more  convenient  than  the  southern  route,  and  it 
was  asked  that  the  time  on  the  Salt  Lake  route  be 
shortened  eight  days  by  an  increase  of  compensation 
to  the  contractors  to  enable  them  to  put  more  stock 
upon  the  road,  and  a  resolution  to  that  effect  was 
finally  passed  in  June  1858.  In  the  discussion,  which 
became  rather  warm,  Gwin  spoke  favorably  of  the 
Salt  Lake  route,  acknowledging  it  to  be  better  than 
the  southern  one,  saying  that  he  "expected  to  see  it 
run  in  twenty  days."61 

In  the  campaign,  however,  Gwin  attacked  Broderick 
for  proposing  the  removal  of  the  mail  line  from  the 
southern  to  the  central  route,  representing  his  action 
to  be  governed  by  sectional  prejudice,  making  much 
capital  thereby,  while  lauding  himself  with  little 
enough  modesty  for  his  exertions  in  behalf  of  a  rail 
road,  declaring  he  did  not  favor  one  route  above 
another.  Gwin  stigmatized  Broderick  as  disgraced 
by  his  refusal1  to  obey  the  instructions  of  the  legisla 
ture  of  1858,  directing  him  to  vote  for  the  admission 
of  Kansas  under  the  Lecompton  constitution,  asserting 
that  he  had  been  read  out  of  the  democratic  party  for 
his  action.  Broderick  replied  that  it  was  true  that 
Douglas,  Stuart  of  Michigan,  and  himself  had  been 
excluded  from  democratic  caucus  for  refusing  to  sup- 

«lffittell,  Hist.  S.  F.,  306-7;  Own,  Memoirs,  MS.,  85;  Hist.  Nevada,  this 
series,  pp.  228-9;  Cong.  Globe,  1857-58,  pt  iii.,  p.  3,002. 


728  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

port  the  president's  policy  with  regard  to  Kansas;  but 
that  during  the  last  days  of  the  last  session  he  had 
been  invited  and  urged  to  attend  the  caucus,  by  such 
distinguished  southern  senators  as  Toombs  of  Georgia 
and  Davis  of  Mississippi. 

Broderick  was  no  orator,  as  I  have  said;  he  was 
made  for  action ;  but  he  had  nerved  himself,  albeit  he 
was  suffering  from  a  prostrating  bodily  ailment,  to 
speak  in  this  campaign.  He  ridiculed  Gwin's  long 
written  speeches  with  which  he  read  every  one  out  of 
the  senate,  "except  Doolittle  of  Wisconsin  and  him 
self,"  and  spoke  off-hand  to  large  audiences.  He 
called  attention  to  the  attempted  Lime  Point  swindle, 
declared  Gwin  opposed  to  the  homestead  bill,  and 
agricultural  and  mechanical  college  bill,62  and  that  he 
was  a  paid  agent  of  the  Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Com 
pany.  No  very  clear  defence  was  ever  set  up  against 
these  charges;  but  true  or  false,  they  were  savage 
weapons  wielded  by  the  strong,  relentless  hand  of 
Broderick. 

It  was  the  senatorial  bargain,  however,  which  most 
severely  cut  Gwin.  So  far  as  Broderick  was  concerned, 
the  bargain  had  been  treated  confidentially  for  two 
years.  He  had  even  denied  its  existence  and  exoner- 

62 Gwin,  in  his  Memoris,  MS.,  fearlessly  praises  himself  for  his  advocacy 
of  these  bills.  He  certainly  had  a  way  of  seeming  to  do  whatever  Cal.  de 
sired  until  Broderick  began  to  expose  his  methods.  The  south  was  opposed 
to  granting  the  public  lands  for  any  purpose,  as  I  have  mentioned.  Gwin, 
being  instructed  to  vote  for  the  homestead  and  agric.  -college  bills,  made  a 
pretence  of  giving  them  his  aid,  while  his  action  was  really  not  friendly. 
For  instance,  look  at  this  amendment  to  the  agricultural-college  bill:  'That 
there  be  granted  to  the  several  states  and  territories,  for  the  purpose  herein 
after  mentioned,  5,920,000  acres  of  land,  to  be  apportioned  in  the  com 
pound  ratio  of  the  geographical  area  and  representation  of  said  states  and 
territories  in  the  senate  and  house  of  representatives;  provided,  that  said 
apportionment  shall  be  made  after  first  allotting  to  each  state  and  territory 
50,000  acres;  and  provided  further,  that  the  state  of  Cal.  may  locate  her  por 
tion  of  the  said  lands  upon  any  of  the  unappropriated  lands  in  that  state 
other  than  mineral  lands,  and  not  then  occupied  by  actual  settlers. '  Chain, 
Memoirs,  MS.,  148.  The  temper  of  the  south  was  not  such  as  to  allow  this 
liberal  disposition  of  the  public  lands,  with  the  apportionment  proviso  besides. 
Broderick  described  Gwin's  manner  toward  the  homestead  bill,  saying  he  sat 
quietly  tapping  the  floor  with  his  foot  in  approval  of  the  remarks  of  south 
ern  senators  against  it,  but  that  after  it  was  killed  he  voted  for  it.  It  is 
certain  Gwin  said  nothing  in  the  debates  on  the  bill.  See  Cong.  Globe, 
1857-58,  index. 


SLAYING  OF  FERGUSON.  729 

ated  Gwin,  until  G  win's  treatment  of  him  in  the  cam 
paign  incited  him  to  anger,  and  caused  him  to  tell  the 
whole  humiliating  story  in  a  manner  to  make  it  most 
humiliating,  reading  the  contract  letter  from  the  stand, 
with  sarcastic  comments.  The  Lecompton  newspapers 
and  speakers  pointed  out  the  contradiction  simply  as 
wilful  falsifying  without  motive,  to  the  great  disadvan 
tage  of  Broderick.  This  was  a  matter  in  which  Latham 
also  was  involved,  giving  damaging  accounts  of  Brod- 
erick's  treatment  of  him,  without  denying  that  he 
would  have  resigned  the  federal  patronage  to  the  more 
experienced  politician,  except  the  three  chief  offices. 
In  this  notable  campaign,  in  short,  the  democratic 
leaders,  or  a  majority  of  them,  were  at  enmity  with 
Broderick;  the  cause  of  that  enmity  being  anti-Le- 
comptonism,  veiled  under  the  flimsy  pretext  that  it 
was  a  personal  quarrel  between  the  two  senators. 

In  his  speeches  Broderick  was  provoked  into  men 
tion  of  a  matter,  which  from  its  suggestiveness,  prob 
ably,  as  well  as  because  he  had  lost  a  friend,  lay  near 
his  heart.  This  was  the  killing  of  State  Senator  Wil 
liam  I.  Ferguson,  in  a  duel,  by  George  Pen  Johnston, 
on  the  21st  of  September,  1858.  Ferguson  had  joined 
the  knownothing  party  in  1855,  but  had  gone  back 
to  the  democracy  in  1856.  When  the  rupture  occurred 
between  Douglas  and  Buchanan,  on  the  Kansas  ques 
tion,  Ferguson  took  the  side  of  Douglas.  Like  Brod 
erick,  he  thenceforth  became  a  marked  man  in  his 
party,  and  being  on  a  visit  to  San  Francisco,  a  quarrel 
with  him  was  sought,  a  challenge  sent  by  an  expe 
rienced  duellist,  accepted  by  a  man  who  knew  nothing 
of  fire-arms,  or  any  other  deadly  weapons,  and  Fer 
guson,  who  had  stood  three  shots,  was  mortally  wounded 
at  the  fourth. 

Broderick  connected  Ferguson's  death  with  the 
Gwin-Broderick  contract,  and  stated  that  he,  Ferguson, 
was  the  person  who  arranged  the  bargain;  charging 
that  he  had  been  murdered  in  cold  blood,  in  order  to 


730  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

get  rid  of  his  testimony  in  the  premises  ;  ^  citing  the 
breaking  open  of  Ferguson's  desk  after  his  death,  in 
the  search  after  the  original  of  the  famous  contract, 
but  which  had  been  confided  to  Estill  before  this 
event.  The  effect  of  these  utterances,  which  the  Le- 
compton  press  distorted  to  serve  a  purpose,  was  more 
damaging  than  helpful  to  Broderick.  His  friends,  or 
at  least  those  who  were  not  his  enemies,  were  puzzled 
by  something  seemingly  contradictory  in  his  speeches, 
and  were  led  to  doubt,  while  his  foes  triumphed  in 
the  unfavorable  construction  placed  upon  them. 

The  explanation  of  the  whole  mystery  was  exceed 
ingly  simple,  and  is  contained  in  this  frank  avowal  of 
Broderick  at  Napa,  that  he  set  out  upon  the  canvass 
with  the  resolve  to  abstain  from  personal  remarks; 
and  that  it  was  not  until  after  Gwin  had  ridiculed  him 
at  Nevada  and  Forest  Hill,  and  said  that  he  dared 
not  present  himself  before  the  people,  that  he  was 
roused  to  tell  what  he  knew.  Since  that  time  he  had 
said  that  Gwin  was  "  dripping  with  corruption,"  and 
had  given  proofs  of  the  statement.  Had  Broderick 
made  the  first  attack,  although  his  chance  of  escaping 
the  toils  would  have  not  been  lessened,  the  charge  of 
prevarication  could  not  have  been  brought  against 
him.  In  his  desire  to  have  the  campaign  not  a  per 
sonal  one,  he  placed  himself  still  further  in  the  power 
of  his  enemies. 

The  election  occurred  on  the  7th  of  September,  and 


.  Democratic  Standard,  Aug.  1,  1859.  The  Standaad  commented  upon 
this  statement,  that  Broderick  had  declared  unequivocally  that  the  matter 
was  arranged  between  himself  and  Gwin.  In  regard  to  that,  there  must  have 
been  a  first  mediator.  If  not  Ferguson,  no  one  has  ever  told  who  he  was. 
Broderick's  was  not  the  only  voice  to  condemn  the  killing  of  Ferguson  as  a 
political  murder.  It  was  notorious.  E.  D.  Baker,  who  pronounced  his  funeral 
oration,  more  than  hinted  at  it.  '  If  I  were,  under  any  circumstances,  an  ad 
vocate  for  a  duel,  it  should  be  at  least  a  fair,  equal,  and  honorable  duel,'  said 
Baker;  and  under  the  circumstances  it  was  enough.  Rev.  Benton,  in  a  dis 
course  on  the  death  of  Ferguson,  said:  'This  duel  grew  primarily  out  of  a 
political  difference  and  discussion  in  the  midst  of  a  social  scene.  It  is  only 
the  latest  and  not  the  first  duel  fought  in  our  state  that  has  had  a  similar 
origin,  and  a  political  significance.  If  I  am  not  mistaken,  political  reasons 
were  at  the  bottom  of  the  duels  between  Denver  and  Gilbert,  Broderick  and 
Smith,  Gwin  and  McCorkle,  Washington  and  Washburn  —  others,  also,  it  may 
be  —  and  finally  Johnston  and  Ferguson.' 


SLAYING  OF  BRODERICK.  731 

the  chivalry  were  triumphant.  On  the  following  day 
Terry  resigned  his  seat  on  the  supreme  bench,  which 
he  had  occupied  for  four  years,64  to  violate  the  consti 
tution  and  laws  he  expounded,  and  was  sworn  to  obey, 
by  challenging  to  mortal  combat  Broderick,  United 
States  senator.  The  provocation  was  the  utterance  of 
an  unfriendly  sentiment  three  months  before,  under 
the  exasperation  of  injurious  remarks  by  Terry  in 
open  convention.  To  remove  all  the  objections  made 
to  fighting  Perley,  a  social  equal,  and  a  day  after  the 
close  of  the  campaign,  were  selected. 

It  is  true  that  Broderick,  or  that  any  man,  could 
have  declined  a  duel  on  legal  and  moral  grounds.  But 
to  have  done  so  would  have  subjected  Broderick  to 
the  sneers  of  his  enemies,  and  to  the  contempt  of  some 
of  his  political  friends,  who  were  anxious  that  he  should 
show  an  unterrified  front  to  the  foe.  They  had  great 
confidence  in  his  skill  with  the  pistol,  this  being  a  part 
of  his  education  acquired  after  coming  to  California, 
in  order  to  place  himself  on  a  social  level  with  the 
duelling  southrons;  and  he  himself  is  said  to  have  re 
plied  to  one  who  feared  for  him,  " Never  fear;  I  can 
shoot  twice  to  Terry  once." 

But  he  was  not  a  duellist  at  heart,  and  moreover  did 
not  wish  to  kill  Terry.  If  he  had  that  kind  of  enmity 
against  any  man,  it  was  toward  Gwin.  Therefore  he 
hesitated  about  his  reply  to  the  challenge,  which  made 
his  officious  seconds  only  the  more  eager  to  have  him 
fight.  Said  the  Bulletin:  "It  appeared  to  be  a  com 
mon  belief  among  those  who  recognize  the  code,  that 
he  had  to  fight  them  all.  Perhaps  not  in  detail,  per 
haps  not  one  after  another,  but  when  he  presented  his 
breast  to  the  pistol  of  Terry,  it  would  seem  that  he 
braved  the  whole  concentrated  hate  of  those  who  felt 
aggrieved  by  his  attacks.  Few  believed  that  if  he 
had  escaped  that  issue  he  would  have  been  left  unmo 
lested  by  others.  Such  appear  to  have  been  his  own 

64  Terry  had  been  defeated  in  the  nominations  in  convention,  and  had  but 
a  few  weeks  to  serve,  therefore  his  sacrifice  was  immaterial  to  him. 


732  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

dying  convictions;  and  although  he  was  conscious  of 
the  feeling  of  his  adversaries,  he  seems  to  have  suc 
cumbed  under  the  belief  at  last  that,  in  his  own  person, 
either  by  Terry  or  some  one  else,  he  was  to  be  made 
a  sacrifice."  What  wonder  that  he  hesitated  about 
his  answer. 

However,  destiny  and  the  .duel  were  allowed  to  have 
their  way.  A  meeting  was  arranged  to  take  place  in 
San  Mateo  county,  ten  miles  from  San  Francisco. 
Broderick's  seconds  were  Ex-congressman  McKibben 
and  David  D.  Colton,  of  Siskiyou  county.  Terry's 
were  Calhoun  Benham  and  Thomas  Hayes.  The  first 
meeting  on  the  12th  was  interrupted  by  the  officers  of 
the  law;  but  on  the  following  morning  the  parties 
again  met  and  proceeded  to  the  final  act.  Every  care 
was  apparently  taken  to  place  the  combatants  on  an 
equality,  except  as  to  choice  of  position,  which  was 
Broderick's,  as  were  also  the  terms.  His  seconds 
had  stipulated  that  there  should  be  no  more  firing  after 
the  giving  of  the  word  "  one — two."  Two  circum 
stances  were  against  Broderick.  First,  he  was  ill  and 
weak,  and  consequently  nervous;  second,  his  pistol 
was  quicker  on  the  trigger  than  Terry's.  When  the 
word  was  given,  before  it  reached  a  level,  it  was  dis 
charged,  and  the  ball  struck  the  earth  in  a  direct  line 
with,  but  some  distance  from,  his  antagonist,  who  stood 
cool  and  firm — so  cool  that  he  noted  exactly  where  his 
ball  struck  his  adversary's  breast.  In  a  moment  more 
Broderick  sank  to  the  ground,  mortally  wounded,  and 
Terry  went  to  breakfast  with  his  friends.65  The  vic- 

65  It  was  said  that  Broderick  was  nervous,  but  all  his  actions,  his  com 
pressed  lips,  and  rigid  muscles  showed  that  his  nervousness  was  not  the  result 
of  fear,  but  of  intense  resolution.  Terry,  meanwhile,  stood  erect,  without  a 
wink  or  a  motion,  like  a  man  who  made  human  slaughter  a  profession.  As 
the  seconds  stepped  back  and  Colton  gave  the  word,  the  principals  raised 
their  pistols,  which  they  held  pointed  to  the  ground.  On  the  rise,  Broderick's 
weapon  went  off,  the  ball  striking  the  ground  a  few  feet  short  of  his  opponent. 
The  next  instant,  Terry,  who  had  fully  raised  his  weapon,  discharged  it  and 
exclaimed:  'The  shot  is  not  mortal,  I  have  struck  two  inches  to  the  right.' 
Broderick  suddenly  turned  a  few  inches,  and  was  seen  to  brace  himself  for  a 
moment,  then  gradually  lowered  himself  down  to  a  reclining  position  on  the 
ground,  and  then  fell  over  at  full  length.  He  did  not  speak  a  word  during 
this  time.  While  Broderick  thus  fell,  still  clasping  his  pistol,  Terry  stood 


A  VILE  MURDER.  733 

tim  was  conveyed  to  the  house  of  Leonidas  Haskell, 
at  Black  Point,  where  after  lingering  three  days,  he 
expired  on  the  16th,  having  said  but  little  after  the 
first  few  hours,  and  that  little  chiefly  the  incoherent 
mutterings  of  a  semi-consciousness.  Among  his  broken 
sentences  were  these:  "When  I  was  struck,  I  tried 
to  stand  firm,  but  the  blow  blinded  me  and  I  could 
not,"  to  Colonel  Baker.  To  others  he  said:  "They 
killed  me  because  I  was  opposed  to  the  extension  of 
slavery,  and  a  corrupt  administration."  How  soon 
the  significance  of  these  words  became  apparent ! 

What  a  strange  thing  is  the  public — stupid  and 
stolid,  or  wild  with  unreasoning  rage!  For  months  it 
had  been  known  that  Broderick  would  have  to  fight 
one  or  more  duels.  All  the  world  looked  on  as  at  a 
play ;  wondering,  hissing,  applauding,  but  waiting  ex 
citedly  for  the  catastrophe.  When  it  came,  had  the 
heavens  fallen  the  on-lookers  could  not  have  been  more 
surprised  apparently.  What,  Broderick  killed !  Oh, 
infamous !  Show  us  the  scoundrel  who  has  defied  the 
laws;  who  has  murdered  the  purest  man  among  us. 
Let  him  be  punished !  So  the  sheep  bleated,  leaving 
the  destroyer  with  the  mark  of  Cain  upon  his  brow  to 
go  free.  Everything  connected  with  the  murdered 
senator  seemed  a  surprise.  No  sooner  was  Broderick 
dead  than  he  was  a  lion.66  The  faults  of  his  career 

with  arms  folded  till  his  seconds  advanced,  and  with  them  he  left  the  field 
unharmed.  Broderick  regretted  the  physical  condition  which  had  made  him 
seem  to  falter.  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Sept.  19,  20,  1859.  Now  mark  the  impotence 
and  baseness  of  the  law  in  the  hands  of  this  great  high-priest  of  the  law. 
Terry  was  arrested,  and  admitted  to  bail  in  the  sum  of  $10,000.  The  trial 
was  put  off,  and  in  June  1860  he  applied  for  a  change  of  venue,  on  the  ground 
that  he  could  not  have  a  fair  and  impartial  trial  in  S.  F.,  because  of  his  course 
during  the  active  existence  of  the  vigilance  committee.  The  change  of  venue 
was  granted  by  Judge  Hager,  to  Marin  county.  On  the  day  set  for  trial,  the 
witnesses,  being  becalmed  on  the  bay,  and  not  arriving  promptly,  the  prose 
cuting  attorney  moved  a  nolle  prosequi,  and  the  farce  was  ended.  Tuthill, 
Hist.  Cal,  567-8. 

66  Said  the  A  Ita  of  Sept.  24,  1859:  '  The  chase  is  done.  The  quarry  is  laid 
low,  and  the  dogs  have  gone  to  kennel.  David  C.  Broderick  is  no  more  ! 
He  was  the  hunted  lion,  and  they  who  have  forced  him  into  the  quarrel 
which  made  a  sacrifice  of  his  life  were  the  hungry  pack  of  jackals  that  now, 
from  the  dark  corners  to  which  they  have  retired,  are  contemplating  their 
foul  deed  of  murder.  There  is  enough  in  this  melancholy  affair  to  call  for 
the  bitterest  condemnation  that  the  tongue  can  utter  or  the  heart  can  feel. 


734  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

were  seen  to  be  the  results  of  his  origin,  his  early  or 
phanage,  and  his  youthful  associations;  but  the  man 
himself  stood  revealed  as  one  whom  God  had  endowed 
with  personal  incorruptibility,  a  grave,  earnest,  hon 
est,  brave  man,  who  in  the  midst  of  unparalleled  cor 
ruption  in  his  own  party,  kept  his  hands  clean  and 
his  record  straight.  By  his  tragic  death  his  errors 
were  expiated,  and  all  at  once  California  recognized 
the  truth  that  in  the  balance  of  power  held  by  her 
"brave  young  senator"  against  the  encroachments  of 
slavery  had  lain  her  safety.  By  the  hand  of  that 
power  he  lay  dead,  and  Broderick  in  his  grave  was 

There  is  enough  to  justify  us  in  heaping  maledictions  upon  the  authors  and 
aiders  in  this  foul  tragedy,  but  we  will  forbear.'  The  Bulletin  of  Sept.  16th 
said:  'Not  for  many  years  has  the  popular  heart  been  so  thoroughly  moved 
as  it  was  this  morning  when  it  became  generally  known  that  Mr  Broderick  had 
breathed  his  last.  Since  the  early  days  of  Cal.  Mr  Broderick  has  played  a 
prominent  part  in  her  politics.  His  name  was  familiar  to  all.  Rugged  and 
positive  as  his  character  undoubtedly  was,  he  possessed  no  half-way  friends 
or  foes.  With  the  former  he  was  almost  worshipped;  with  the  latter  he  was 
undoubtedly  feared  as  well  as  hated — but  at  the  same  time  respected.  His 
friends  and  followers  are  stricken  down  by  the  blow  that  felled  their  leader 
and  champion  to  the  earth;  while  many  of  those  who  were  his  enemies  while 
living,  shocked  by  his  untimely  cutting  off,  express  sincere  sorrow  and  deep 
regret  at  his  death.  Thousands  of  others,  who  heretofore  have  not  taken 
part  for  or  against  him,  now  see  only  his  murdered  and  bleeding  form,  recall 
only  his  haughty  contempt  of  danger,  and  mourn  his  loss  as  a  public  calam 
ity  of  the  heaviest  import.'  Baker,  at  his  obsequies,  said:  'Fellow-citizens, 
the  man  that  lies  before  you  was  your  senator.  From  the  moment  of  his 
election,  his  character  has  been  maligned,  his  motives  attacked,  his  courage 
impeached,  his  patriotism  assailed.  It  has  been  a  system  tending  to  but  one 
end,  and  that  end  is  here.  And  what  was  his  crime  ?  Review  his  history; 
consider  his  public  acts;  weigh  his  private  character;  and  before  the  grave 
encloses  him  forever,  judge  between  him  and  his  enemies.  As  a  man  to  be 
judged  in  his  private  character,  who  was  his  superior  ?  It  was  his  boast  that — 
and  amid  the  general  license  of  a  new  country,  it  was  a  proud  boast — that 
his  most  scrutinizing  enemy  could  fix  no  single  act  of  immorality  upon  him. 
Temperate,  decorous,  self-restrained,  he  passed  through  all  the  excitements 
of  California  unstained.  No  man  could  charge  him  with  broken  faith  or  vio 
lated  trust.  Of  habits  simple  and  inexpensive,  he  had  no  lust  of  gain.  He 
overreached  no  man,  he  withheld  from  no  man  his  just  dues.  Never,  never, 
in  the  history  of  the  state,  has  there  been  a  citizen  who  has  borne  public 
relations  more  stainlessly  in  all  these  respects  than  he. '  After  speaking  of 
his  public  life,  the  eulogist  concluded:  '  Of  his  last  hours  1  have  no  heart  to 
speak.  He  was  the  last  of  his  race.  There  was  no  kindred  hand  to  smooth 
his  couch,  or  wipe  the  death-damps  from  his  brow;  but  around  that  dying 
bed,  strong  men,  the  friends  of  early  manhood,  the  devoted  adherents  of 
later  life,  bowed  in  irrepressible  grief,  and  like  the  patriarchs  of  old,  lifted 
up  their  voices  and  wept.'  S.  F.  Alta,  Sept.  21,  1859.  For  comments  on 
Broderick's  death,  see  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Sept.  13,  14,  15,  17,  18,  19,  20,  21,  23, 
1859,  and  March  8,  1860;  .Saxons  Five  Years,  etc.,  15-18;  S.  F.  News; 
N.  Y.  Sunday  Times,  in  Yrelca  Union,  Feb.  10,  1866;  Parkinson,  Pen  For- 
tracts,  52;  Cal.  Jour.  Sen.,  1861,  826-7. 


THE  DEAD  CHAMPION  AVENGED.  735 

more  a  king  than  ever  he  could  have  hoped  to  be  in 
life.  His  g%reat,  solemn,  burning,  aspiring  soul  went 
marching  on  as  did  John  Brown's  in  December  follow 
ing,  to  a  victory  greater  than  even  he  had  ever  con 
ceived;  for  the  party  which  had  warred  on  him  so  re 
lentlessly,  as  the  representative  of  freedom,  was  dead 
and  damned  in  California  forever  and  forever! 

Wilson  Flint,  who  had  been  opposed  to  him  in  pol 
itics,  but  who  had  his  confidence,  said:  "He  came 
back  here  to  be  a  republican  in  1860,  because  there 
was  no  other  way  to  break  down  the  pro-slavery  party 
and  save  the  union.  He  told  me  that  it  was  not  in 
the  power  of  Mr  Douglas,  or  all  the  democrats  of  the 
north,  to  resist  the  insidious  tyranny  of  the  federal 
administration  under  Mr  Buchanan.  If  the  demo 
cratic  party  succeeds  to  power  this  time,  the  union  is 
gone.  There  is  no  resource  but  to  defeat  that  party — 
to  break  it  up.  It  has  performed  its  mission ;  it  must 
go  to  history." 

The  pro-slavery  party,  with  its  lynx  eyes,  saw  this 
conviction  in  Broderick.  They  dreaded  his  organizing 
power,  and  so  doomed  him,  as  they  doomed  many  an 
other  man  afterward.  Said  Terry,  in  that  speech 
which  roused  the  resentment  of  Broderick,  speaking 
of  the  anti-Lecompton  party  in  California:  "A  miser 
able  remnant  of  a  faction,  sailing  under  false  colors, 
trying  to  obtain  votes  under  false  pretences.  They 
have  no  distinction  they  are  entitled  to;  they  are  the 
followers  of  one  man,  the  personal  chattels  of  a  single 
individual,  whom  they  are  ashamed  of.  They  belong, 
heart  and  soul,  body  and  breeches,  to  David  C.  Brod 
erick.  They  are  yet  ashamed  to  acknowledge  their 
master,  and  are  calling  themselves,  forsooth,  Douglas 
democrats.  .  .  .  Perhaps  I  am  mistaken  in  denying  their 
right  to  claim  Douglas  as  their  leader.  Perhaps  they 
do  sail  under  the  flag  of  Douglas,  but  it  is  the  banner 
of  the  black  Douglas,  whose  name  is  Frederick,  not 
Stephen."  These  utterances  show  conclusively  the 


736  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 

reason  of  the  hate  which  pursued  Broderick.     But 
everything  was  altered  by  the  pistol  of  Terry. 

Broderick's  obsequies  were  the  most  imposing  that 
had  yet  been  seen  in  San  Francisco.  The  eloquent 
Baker  delivered  an  oration  filled  with  pathos  and 
eulogy,  and  few  were  found,  if  their  hearts  did  not 
respond,  bold  enough  to  utter  opposing  sentiments. 
The  conscience  of  the  people  had  been  galvanized  into 
life,  and  from  their  threatening  frown  political  assas 
sination  shrank  abashed.  When  the  news  reached 
New  York  the  funeral  solemnities  were  repeated 
there,  the  procession  being  two  miles  in  length 
which  followed  the  catafalque  drawn  by  eight  gray 
horses  caparisoned  in  rich  black  velvet.  The  oration 
was  pronounced  by  John  W.  Dwinelle,  who  referred 
to  the  fact  that  Broderick's  friends  had  advised  him 
to  spend  his  vacation  in  Europe,  thus:  "A  less  brave 
or  less  conscientious  politician  would  have  evaded  the 
struggle  of  the  coming  election  in  California,  in  which 
he  could  have  hardly  hoped  to  succeed.  Not  so  with 
Broderick.  He  not  only  renounced  the  cherished 
pleasure  of  his  life,  but  accepted  the  alternative,  al 
though  he  clearly  saw  defeat  in  the  issue,  and  death 
in  the  vanishing  point  of  the  vista.  .  .  .  Against  all  the 
weapons  that  would  surely  seek  his  life,  he  could  not 
even  hope  to  stand;  it  was  even  almost  hoping 
against  hope  to  expect  that  he  could  defer  the  per 
sonal  sacrifice  until  after  the  political  contest  had 
been  terminated.  .  .  .  '  You  will  see  me  no  more/  was 
his  mournful  prediction  to  a  friend  who  grasped  his 
hand  for  the  last  time  on  the  departing  steamer. 
Alas,  how  his  heart  was  wrung  to  utter  those  words 
of  hopeless  farewell !  So  when  the  death-bolt 
reached  him,  and  his  mournful  presentiment  was 
fulfilled,  how  noble  was  the  feeling  which  prompted 
him  to  suppress  all  personal  resentment,  and  to  ex 
press  only  the  regret  that  the  leadership  of  his  party 
was  struck  down  with  him:  'Let  my  friends  take/ 


courage  by  my  example,  and,  if  need  be,  die  like  me 


I 

be, 


BRODERICK'S  SUCCESSOR.  737 

Let  it  not  be  believed  that  my  death  resulted  from  a 
few  idle  words,  or  from  anything  but  my  political 
position.'"  He  said  in  the  senate:  "When  I  come 
here  next  winter,  if  I  should  live  so  long  and  not  re 
sign  in  the  mean  time"  —showing  how  his  sensitive 
mind  dwelt  upon  the  "  insidious  tyranny  "  of  the  ad 
ministration. 

Said  John  W.  Forney,  in  1879,  reviewing  Brod- 
erick's  life,  the  Kansas  question,  and  Douglas:  "They 
stood  alone ;  and  although  there  were  more  opposing 
votes  among  the  democrats  in  the  house,  the  south  per 
severed  in  their  policy  till  the  democrats  were  routed, 
horse,  foot,  and  dragoons,  in  the  elections ;  till  they  lost 
the  presidency,  and  both  houses  of  congress;  till  se 
cession  ripened  into  war,  and  war  ended  in  defeat  and 
the  burial  of  slavery.  But  Broderick  was  saved  the 
saddest  sequel.  He  went  to  his  final  compt  before  his 
full  ostracism  and  exclusion  from  the  administration  .... 
He  worshipped  freedom  above  all  things,  and  I  never 
saw  him  intolerant  except  when  he  doubted  the  in 
tegrity  of  those  who  refused  to  see  the  truth  as  he 
saw  it,  and  he  firmly  believed  that  all  men  must  be 
wicked  themselves  who  could  not  or  would  not  reject 
the  wrong  as  he  did." 

Rumor  immediately  became  rife  with  speculation 
concerning  the  appointment  of  a  successor  to  Broder- 
ick's  place  in  the  senate.  It  was  even  whispered  that 
Terry  would  get  the  commission.  There  could  hardly 
have  been  so  bold  an  indecency  contemplated.  The 
appointment  must  now  be  of  a  man  on  whom  no  sus 
picion  could  rest  of  enmity  or  intrigue  toward  the 
senator  whose  place  he  would  take.  Such  a  man  was 
found  in  Henry  P.  Harm,67  of  Marysville,  a  pro-slavery 
democrat,  but  who  had  not  been  prominently  before 

67  Henry  P.  Hann  came  to  Cal.  across  the  plains  in  1849,  and  settled  him 
self  at  Marysville,  where  he  was  soon  after  elected  county  judge.  He  died 
at  the  end  of  his  first  session  in  the  senate,  I  believe  at  Jersey  City.  His 
widow  returned  to  Cal.  with  their  only  surviving  child,  a  daughter,  Kate, 
later  Mrs  W.  S.  Dewey  of  S.  F. 
HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.  47 


738  POLITICAL  HISTORY 

the  state  as  an  adherent  of  Gwin.  Mr  Hann  made 
the  usual  announcement  to  the  senate,  on  the  13th  of 
February,  of  Broderick's  death.  The  manner  of  it, 
he  said,  was  engendered  "by  the  use  of  unguarded 
expressions  by  the  deceased,  personal  in  their  charac 
ter  toward  another  distinguished  gentleman/  He 
intimated,  of  course,  that  on  the  dead  rested  the  odium 
of  the  encounter.  Otherwise,  Senator  Hann's  re 
marks  were  kindly,  even  eulogistic.  Douglas,  who 
had  prepared  a  eulogy,  was  prevented  from  delivering 
it  by  illness.  Senators  Crittenden,  Seward,  Foote, 
and  Toombs  made  brief  but  friendly  speeches.  Said 
Toombs:  "He  conducted  himself  here,  notwithstand 
ing  the  many  prejudices  thrown  around  his  name, 
which  a  partisan  opposition  had  cast  upon  him,68  in 
such  a  way  as  to  win  my  respect  and  admiration.  I 
trusted  him  as  a  faithful,  honest,  and  fearless  senator, 
who  never  hesitated  in  the  performance  of  his  duty." 
Seward  placed  him  "among  the  organizers  of  our 
American  states,"  with  such  men  as  Winthrop,  Wil 
liams,  Raleigh,  Perm,  and  Oglethorpe,  and  imputed  to 
him  the  honor,  in  a  great  degree,  of  shaping  the  free 
and  loyal  public  sentiment  of  California. 

Thus  ended  the  senatorial  contest  between  Gwin 
and  Broderick.  When  Gwin 69  departed  from  the  state 
to  return  to  Washington,  says  O'Meara,  "he  had 
flouted  in  his  face  a  large  canvas  frame,  on  which  was 

68 In  the  House  of  Representatives  Mr  Burlingame  said:  'I  never  knew 
a  man  who  was  so  misunderstood — who  differed  so  much  from  his  common 
fame.'  Morris  of  111.  said:  'A  truer  man,  a  more  distinguished  patriot,  a 
firmer  hater  of  wrong  and  oppression,  a  more  devoted  and  consistent  friend, 
and  purer  public  servant,  never  lived.  No  suspicion  was  ever  whispered  that 
corruption  had  tampered  with  him,  that  bribery's  base  coin  had  adhered  to 
his  fingers,  or  that  he  was  in  any  way  implicated  in  schemes  of  public  plun 
der.  Temperate,  moral,  simple,  and  frugal  in  his  habits,  and  addicted  to  no 
vices,  with  all  his  aims  his  country's  good,  he  trod  life's  path,  not  as  society's 
spawn,  but  as  one  of  nature's  noblemen.'  Sickles  of  N.  Y.  said:  'No  man, 
I  venture  to  say,  lives  who  ever  approached  David  C.  Broderick  as  a  legisla 
tor,  or  in  any  public  or  private  capacity,  with  a  corrupt  or  dishonest  sugges 
tion.'  Sac.  Union,  March  19,  1860. 

69  Charles  L.  Scott,  a  native  of  Richmond,  Va,  a  lawyer  by  profession, 
came  to  Cal.  in  1849,  and  after  trying  his  fortunes  in  the  mines,  resumed  the 
practice  of  law.  Union  Democrat,  in  Hayes1  Coll.,  Pol,  ii.  298. 


AN  OMINOUS  WARNING.  739 

painted  a  portrait  of  Mr  Broderick,  and  this:  'It  is 
the  will  of  the  people  that  the  murderers  of  Broderick 
do  not  return  again  to  California;'  and  below  were 
also  these  words,  attributed  to  Mr  Broderick:  'They 
have  killed  me  because  I  was  opposed  to  the  extension 
of  slavery,  and  a  corrupt  administration/" 

Behold,  now,  the  irony  of  church  charity!  The 
body  must  be  cast  out  by  the  priests — his  body,  who 
had  been  the  grandest,  noblest  of  all  their  saintly  so 
ciety,  the  body  of  the  man  martyred  for  his  high  poli 
tical  morality,  for  principles  which  were  soon  to  shake 
the  nation  to  its  very  foundations,  and  become  estab 
lished  by  the  shed  blood  of  a  million  of  its  sons. 
Broderick,  whose  life  had  been  a  battle  for  the  higher 
progress  against  a  vile,  iniquitous,  but  cherished 
relic  of  savagism,  was  denied  burial  in  'consecrated 
ground/  because  he  died  on  the  'field  of  honor.'  His 
mortal  remains  now  lie  under  a  stately  monument  in 
Lone  Mountain  cemetery,  erected  by  the  grateful 
people  of  California.70 

70  A  man  who  had  much  to  do  in  forming  loyal  sentiment  in  San  Joaquin 
county  was  David  Jackson  Staples.  Staples  was  born  in  Medway,  Mass., 
May  3,  1824,  and  was  descended  from  early  New  England  ancestors.  He 
came  to  California  in  1849,  and  settled  on  the  Mokelumne  river,  where  he 
purchased  land,  and  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising.  He  was  the  first 
justice  of  the  peace  in  his  precinct,  and  the  first  postmaster.  He  used  his 
influence  to  soften  the  hostility  of  his  southern  neighbors,  as  well  as  his 
courageous  will  to  repel  the  tyranny  of  their  leaders,  and  with  great  effect, 
considering  the  people  he  had  to  deal  with  in  that  county — 'The  South  Caro 
lina  of  California.'  The  first  republican  speech  in  the  county  was  delivered 
on  his  premises.  In  1852  he  ran  on  the  whig  ticket  for  the  legislature,  and 
was  beaten  on  account  of  anti-slavery  sentiments.  In  1860  he  was  elected  as 
an  unpledged  delegate  to  the  national  convention  at  Chicago,  and  voted  for 
Lincoln.  Fremont  selected  him  as  his  representative  to  decline  for  him  the 
complimentary  nomination,  which  it  was  understood  he  would  there  receive, 
and  he  executed  his  commission.  On  returning  to  California,  he  was  solicited 
to  run  for  joint  senator  for  San  Joaquin  and  Contra  Costa  counties,  and  came 
within  125  votes  of  an  election,  running  400  votes  ahead  of  his  ticket.  Going 
to  Washington  to  attend  Lincoln's  inauguration,  he  was  there  during-the  first 
days  following  the  President's  first  call  for  troops,  and  was  active  in  the 
defence  of  the  capital  at  that  critical  time.  On  again  returning  to  California 
ha  encountered  the  disasters  by  flood  which  ruined  many  less  able  to  bear 
t'leir  losses,  in  1861-2.  This  determined  him  to  remove  to  San  Francisco. 
H^  was  appointed  port- warden  by  Governor  Stanford,  which  office  he  held 
until  1866,  when  he  was  displaced  by  Governor  Low  for  political  purposes. 
Soon  after  he  became  president  of  the  Fireman's  Fund  Insurance  company, 
which  was  saved  from  dissolution  at  the  time  of  the  great  Chicago  and  Bos 
ton  fires  by  his  arduous  and  well-directed  efforts.  He  was  influential  in  giv 
ing  a  proper  direction  to  the  bequests  of  James  Lick,  who  sought  his  advice. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

POPULAR  TRIBUNALS. 
1849-1856. 

STATE  OF  SOCIETY — MINERS'  COURTS — CRIMES  AND  PUNISHMENTS — CRIMINAL 
CLASS — THE  HOUNDS — BERDUE  AND  WILDRED — ORGANIZED  RUFFIAN 
ISM — COMMITTEES  OF  VIGILANCE — THE  JENKINS  AFFAIR — VILLANOUS 
LAW  COURTS — JAMES  STUART — POLITICAL  AND  JUDICIAL  CORRUPTION — 
JAMES  KING  OF  WILLIAM — His  ASSASSINATION — SEIZURE,  TRIAL,  AND 
EXECUTION  OF  CRIMINALS — A  VACILLATING  GOVERNOR — A  BLOODY- 
MINDED  JUDGE — ATTITUDE  OF  UNITED  STATES  OFFICIALS — SUCCESS  OF 
THE  SAN  FRANCISCO  VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  UNDER  TRYING  CIRCUM 
STANCES — DlSBANDMENT. 

IN  the  abnormal  state  of  early  California  society, 
marked  by  a  singular  variety  of  races,  classes,  and 
characteristics,  the  people  almost  exclusively  intent 
on  gold-harvesting,  with  little  regard  for  the  country 
or  thought  of  home-building,  less  than  ordinary  atten 
tion  was  given  to  the  public  duties  of  a  citizen  by  the 
mass  of  men  on  whom  good  government  depends;  so 
that  the  formal  barriers  to  crime  and  corruption  were 
either  lacking  or  lamentably  weak.  The  ever-shifting 
current  of  mining  life  prevented  the  creation  of  local 
authorities.  Practical  common  sense  was  employed 
to  reach  direct  results.  Justice  was  not  allowed  to 
become  subordinate  to  circumlocution  or  technicalities. 
A  smattering  of  home  precedents  sufficed  for  forms; 
and  for  the  settlements  of  disputes  and  the  suppres 
sion  of  outrages  the  miners  improvised  courts,  with 
judges  and  juries  selected  from  among  their  own  num 
ber,  who  rendered  their  verdict  with  promptness  and 
equity.  In  the  absence  of  prisons  or  permanent  guards, 

(740) 


EARLY  CALIFORNIA  SOCIETY.  741 

chastisement  for  crime  ranged  chiefly  between  whip 
ping,  banishment,  and  hanging.  Stealthy  inroads 
upon  property  ranked  here  as  a  more  punishable 
offence  than  personal  violence;  for  property  was  un 
protected,  while  men,  for  the  most  part  well  armed, 
were  supposed  to  be  able  to  take  care  of  themselves; 
and  so  meanness  became  a  greater  crime  than  murder. 
They  were  a  self-reliant  class,  these  diggers;  of  rough, 
shaggy  appearance,  bristling  with  small-arms  at  the 
belt,  yet  warm-hearted;  with  mobile  passions  and 
racy,  pungent  language;  yet  withal  generous  and  gen 
tle.  Cast  adrift  on  the  sea  of  adventure  in  motley 
companionship,  each  man  held  life  in  his  own  hand, 
prepared  for  storm  or  shoal,  and  confident  in  finding 
means  and  remedies  when  needed. 

This  element  permeated  also  the  large  fixed  settle 
ments;  but  here  the  people,  with  some  reverence  for 
established  law  and  authorities,  generally  abstained 
from  interfering  in  the  administration.  Congregating 
largely  in  these  centres  of  population  were  the  idle 
and  vicious,  who  took  advantage  of  the  preoccupation 
of  the  industrial  classes  for  gaining  control  of  power, 
which  was  then  used  as  a  shield  for  nefarious  opera 
tions  against  the  community,  by  officials  in  the  diver 
sion  of  public  property  and  traffic  in  justice  and 
privileges,  and  by  ruffians  and  criminals,  singly  or  in 
bands,  in  more  or  less  glaring  raids  on  life  and  prop 
erty.  Thus  two  strong  factions  were  preying  upon 
society,  assisted  by  such  delectable  elements  as  Sydney 
convicts,  who  had  been  allowed  to  take  their  departure 
from  England's  penal  settlement.  As  allies,  tools,  or 
clients  of  the  officials,  the  others  could  generally  rely 
on  their  efficient  cooperation  for  eluding  punishment. 
If  arrested,  there  were  always  at  hand  tricky  advo 
cates  to  distort  law  and  protract  trials  till  witnesses 
had  been  spirited  away  or  bought;  finally,  compliant 
judges  and  packed  juries  could  be  counted  upon  for 
acquittal  or  nominal  punishment,  the  latter  to  be 
quickly  nullified  by  additional  bribery. 


742  POPULAR  TRIBUNALS. 

The  rising  of  San  Francisco  in  1849  against  the 
Hounds,  in  vindication  of  justice,  had  served  only  as 
a  momentary  check  on  crime,  which  with  growing 
opportunity  increased  apace.  At  last,  on  February 
19,  1851,  the  long-smothered  indignation  was  kindled 
into  a  flame  by  the  robbery  and  maltreatment  of  a 
prominent  merchant.  Excited  throngs  gathered  within 
the  city,  with  its  tribunal  and  jail,  wherein  lay  two 
persons  just  arrested  on  suspicion.  The  persuasive 
appeals  of  the  officials  were  drowned  in  jeers,  and  vio 
lence  was  feared  from  the  mob.  Then  some  respected 
men  stepped  forward  with  a  propitiatory  suggestion 
to  organize  a  court  of  citizens  for  trying  the  prisoners. 
This  was  acted  upon,  but  so  conflicting  proved  the 
testimony  concerning  the  identity  and  guilt  of  the  ac 
cused,  that  the  improvised  and  perplexed  tribunal 
surrendered  them  to  the  regular  judges,  despite  the 
sullen  growl  of  the  masses.1 

This  partial  discomfiture  of  popular  justice  served 
to  dampen  the  ebullition  of  the  masses,  and  crime 
emboldened  swelled  both  in  spirit  and  extent.  The 
rising  had  not  been  fruitless,  however.  The  merchants 
formed  a  patrol,  and  began  to  agitate  the  question  of 
a  popular  tribunal  for  the  punishment  of  crime  in  gen 
eral.  This  took  shape  on  the  9th  of  June,  when  the 
Committee  of  Vigilance  was  organized  under  the  fiery, 
coarse-grained,  and  erratic  yet  resolute  and  influential 
Sam  Brannan,  as  president  of  the  executive  commit 
tee,  or  directing  council  and  court.  Subject  to  this 
was  the  general  committee,  embracing  every  respect 
able  citizen  who  chose  to  join  and  act  as  guard  and 
detective,  reporting  all  suspicious  characters  and 
occurrences  to  headquarters.  In  grave  cases  certain 
taps  on  the  fire  bells  should  be  the  signal  for  a  general 

1  The  merchant  robbed  was  C.  J.  Jansen,  and  the  two  persons  charged  with 
the  robbery  were  Burdue  and  Wildred.  Under  the  pressure  of  popular 
anger  the  regular  judges  condemned  them  to  imprisonment.  Wildred  made 
his  escape;  the  other,  after  further  trials  elsewhere,  and  narrow  escape  from 
being  hanged,  was  proved  an  innocent  man.  Full  account  of  the  affair  is 
given  in  my  Popular  Tribunals,  i.  170  et  seq. 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF   1851.  743 

assembling,  to  take  action  as  determined  by  the  exec 
utive.2 

The  efficiency  of  the  body  was  to  be  tested  on  the 
day  following  its  organization,  when  the  significant 
bell  taps  summoned  the  members  to  try  a  notorious 
robber  just  captured.  A  few  hours  later  the  same 
bell  sounded  the  death-knell  of  the  man,  as  he  was 
hanged  from  the  veranda  of  the  old  City  Hotel.3 
Roused  by  this  action,  and  smarting  under  recent  cruel 
incendiarisms,  the  people  manifested  their  approval  in 
public  meetings,  and  rallied  round  the  vigilance  com 
mittee  till  the  enrolment  number  reached  716,  one 
fifth  of  which  force  figured  constantly  on  guard,  police, 
or  committee  duty.  Soon  afterward  the  association 
marked  its  career  by  the  execution  of  three  more 
prominent  members  of  the  Sydney  brood.4 

All  this  was  effected  not  without  show  of  opposition, 
and  dissent  even  from  respectable  quarters,  from  men 
whose  reverence  for  legal  authority  had  been  stamped 
into  their  characters  since  early  youth.  Officials, 
lawyers,  and  all  that  class  depending  on  the  patronage 
of  criminals  objected  to  this  profanation  of  time-hon- 

Concerning  the  originators  and  chief  members  of  the  body,  the  constitu 
tion  and  rules,  quarters,  district  committees,  and  land  and  water  police  squads, 
some  of  them  paid,  I  refer  to  the  full  history  of  the  movement  in  my  Popular 
Tribunals,  i.  207  et  seq.  For  convenience,  secrecy,  and  safety,  members  were 
known  by  their  enrolling  number.  Each  contributed  $5;  further  donations 
came  from  the  more  liberal  members  for  rent,  pay  of  a  few  constantly  engaged 
men,  and  expenses  of  trials  and  deportation.  Arrested  persons  were  lodged 
in  cells  at  the  headquarters,  in  two  large  buildings  on  Battery  st,  between 
California  and  Pine;  after  a  preliminary  examination  by  a  sub-committee,  they 
were  tried  by  the  executive  committee,  and  convicted  only  on  evidence  suffi 
cient  to  convict  before  ordinary  courts,  yet  with  procedure  weeded  of  all 
needless  technicality  and  form.  The  verdict  was  submitted  to  the  general 
committee  for  approval. 

3  John  Jenkins,  as  he  was  called,  had  snatched  a  small  safe  from  Virgin's 
shipping  office  on  Long  Wharf,  and  sought  to  escape  with  it  in  a  boat.     He 
was  quickly  overtaken  and  carried  to  the  committee  rooms.     Being  an  old 
offender  of  the  Sydney  brood,  he  was  quickly  condemned  and  hanged  at  2 
A.  M.,  June  llth,  despite  the  efforts  of  the  police  and  desperadoes  to  interfere. 
Details  in  Id. 

4  Jas  Stuart,  the  real  culprit  of  the  Jansen  outrage,  was  hanged  July  llth, 
the  committee  forming  in  military  array  for  the  purpose.     Flags  were  hoisted 
a:id  guns  fired  by  the  ships  in  the  harbor.     The  other  two  victims,  Sam 
Whittaker  and  Rob.  McKenzie,  the  former  a  knightly  scoundrel,  the  smart 
est  of  the  Sydney  thieves,  the  latter  a  churlish  coward,  were  captured  by  the 
police,  but  retaken  from  the  prison  and  hanged. 


744  POPULAR  TRIBUNALS. 

ored  tenets.  The  fact  that  the  committee  was  so  in 
timately  connected  with  the  money-making  order,  and 
displayed  a  dictatorial  attitude  toward  mobs,  and 
all  species  of  lawlessness  except  their  own,  naturally 
commanded  the  confidence  of  the  laboring  class.  On 
the  other  hand,  all  non-producers,  especially  southern 
ers,  whose  chivalric  ideas  soared  above  common  indus 
trial  pursuits  to  the  realms  of  government  and  the 
learned  professions,  deemed  it  to  their  interest  to 
oppose  all  popular  justice.  The  law-and-order  party, 
as  these  opponents  termed  themselves,  had  also  re 
course  to  public-  meetings  and  loud  declamation, 
wherein  they  waved  the  tattered  emblems  of  author 
ity,  and  conjured  up  phantoms  of  bloody  anarchy. 
The  mayor  was  induced  to  issue  a  proclamation 
against  the  unlawful  reformers;  the  grand  jury  con 
demned  them;  and  the  governor  pronounced  a  warn 
ing  against  arbitrary  acts,  though  tacitly  approving  of 
them. 

Meanwhile  the  committee  held  bravely  to  its 
course,  registering  daily  notices  of  crime  and  felons, 
searching  for  criminals,  and  taking  testimony  for  the 
trial  of  prisoners,  of  whom  more  than  half  a  dozen 
were  at  times  awaiting  their  turn.  The  sentences 
now  passed  were  either  hanging  or  banishment.5 
Only  four  executions  took  place  in  San  Francisco  at 
this  time,  yet  these  four  had  greater  effect  than  ten 
fold  that  number  of  legal  death-dealings.  More  than 
fifty  notorious  criminals  and  suspected  characters  were 
condemned  to  banishment,  most  of  them  being  sent 
back  whence  they  came,  chiefly  to  Sydney.6  Bribery 
and  distortion  of  evidence  availed  nothing  before  this 
inflexible  tribunal,  which  startled  the  guilty  with  the 

5  Continued  imprisonment  could  not  have  been  enforced  by  a  temporary 
body,  although  the  lash  might  have  proved  effective.     Passage  money  for 
exiles  was  provided  by  the  committee  unless  the  prisoner  had  means.     In 
quiries  and  appeals  from  all  parts  had  to  receive  attention,  although  many 
were  foreign  to  the  committee's  object.     The  right  it  claimed  to  enter  private 
houses  in  search  of  evidence  created  some  hostility. 

6  Some  were  examined  on  arrival  at  their  destination,  and  not  permitted 
to  land. 


COUNTRY   COMMITTEES  OF   VIGILANCE.  745 

swiftness  and  certainty  of  retribution.  Moreover,  the 
admonitions  to  evil-doers,  and  the  watch  kept  over 
courts,  so  aroused  public  offices  to  zeal  and  alacrity  as 
greatly  to  promote  the  reform  in  hand. 

The  committee's  aim  being  thus  accomplished  in 
the  main,  it  retired  from  active  duty  on  September 
9th,  after  three  months'  existence;  yet  in  order  to 
sustain  the  effect  of  his  work,  a  committee  was  ap 
pointed  for  six  months  to  continue  the  watch  over  the 
political  and  judicial  administrations,  and  in  case  of 
need,  to  give  the  signal  for  a  general  meeting.7 

The  example  of  San  Francisco  was  widely  imitated 
throughout  the  state  and  beyond,  partly  because  the 
criminal  affliction  in  the  interior  had  been  increased 
by  the  exodus  of  fugitives  from  the  metropolis.  Ow 
ing  to  the  absence  of  courts  and  jails  throughout  the 
country,  summary  justice  became  indispensable.  By 
July  vigilance  committees  had  been  formed  in  different 
places,  and  more  were  rapidly  organizing  after  the 
model  of  the  city  by  the  gate,  and  associated  with  her 
in  a  measure  for  the  exchange  of  criminal  records  and 

O 

occasional  cooperation.  In  the  larger  towns,  such  as 
Sacramento,  Stockton,  Marysville,  Sonora,  San  Jose, 
and  Los  Angeles,  were  standing  associations  of  the 

O  '  O 

best  citizens,  as  complex  and  effective  as  the  proto 
type,  although  less  extensive.  In  the  smaller  towns 
and  in  the  mining  camps,  committees  organized  only 
for  the  particular  occasions  demanding  them,  usually 
to  try  some  desperado  just  caught.  With  less  facility 
for  effectual  banishment,  they  inclined  to  the  severer 
penalties  of  lash  and  noose,  with  corresponding  effect.8 

1  In  March  1852  the  general  committee  did  once  more  meet  to  intimidate 
the  emboldened  criminals.  In  June  the  records  of  their  meetings  ceased. 
Yet  during  the  winter  1852-3  they  issued  offers  of  reward  for  the  arrest  of 
incendiaries.  Pop.  Trib.,  ii.  394  et  seq. 

8  It  was  proposed  to  unite  the  committees  into  one,  centring  in  San  Fran 
cisco,  and  several  country  associations  offered  themselves  as  branches;  but 
the  original  body  declined  to  assume  the  responsibility  that  might  arise  from 
inevitable  excesses  beyond  its  control.  It  expatriated,  however,  many  crim 
inals  sent  in  from  the  country.  The  Sacramento  committee,  created  June  25, 
1851,  numbered  213  members  at  its  first  meeting,  and  stirred  the  courts  to 


746  POPULAR  TRIBUNALS. 

The  sweeping  purification  of  1851  served  long  to 
restrain  many  evils,  but  as  watchfulness  relaxed  they 
sprang  up  again,  changed  somewhat  in  their  nature, 
however,  from  the  former  predominant  outrages  on 
property  and  life,  to  the  less  glaring  phases  of  politi 
cal  corruption.  It  was  deemed  safer  and  more  profit 
able  to  steal  from  the  public,  under  cover  of  law,  than 
to  rouse  the  outcry  that  must  result  from  individual 
spoliation.  Thus,  at  a  time  when  commercial  prosper 
ity  was  on  the  decline,  taxes  were  increased  to  four 
per  cent  to  furnish  dissolute  and  scheming  officials 
with  money,  even  the  funds  not  embezzled  being  di 
verted  into  channels  most  conducive  to  sustaining 

t^ 

them  in  authority.  And  to  this  end  public  positions, 
requiring  able  and  trusted  men,  were  distributed 
among  the  subservient  tools  of  domineering  bullies, 
knaves,  and  ruffians,  who  manipulated  the  ballot,  and 
reduced  judicial  investigation  to  a  farce. 

An  ominous  frown  of  discontent  had  for  some  time 
been  gathering  on  the  public  brow,  when  on  May  14, 
1856,  the  community  was  startled  by  the  predeter 
mined  assassination  of  James  King  of  William,  editor 
of  the  Evening  Bulletin,  a  man  of  fearless  nature,  who 
had  assumed  the  task  of  exposing  roguery  and  pro 
moting  administrative  reform.  The  murderer,  James 
Casey,  also  an  editor,  was  a  noted  politician,  "whose 

greater  zeal.  On  Aug.  22d  it  hanged  a  reprieved  robber.  As  the  centre  of  a 
district  overrun  by  horse-thieves,  and  entrepot  for  the  southern  mines,  Stock 
ton  suffered  greatly,  and  on  June  13th  a  citizen  police  was  organized  by  170 
volunteers,  preliminary  to  a  vigilance  committee.  Marysville  had  its  com 
mittee,  which  adjourned  in  Oct.,  only  to  meet  in  the  following  month  for  the 
pursuit  of  Murieta's  band.  In  July  1G52  it  was  revived  by  incendiarisms, 
and  continued  to  act  as  late  as  1858,  when  five  desperadoes  were  sent  away. 
Shasta,  Nevada  City,  Grass  Valley,  Eureka,  and  Mbkelumne  Hill  figure  in 
the  list,  the  last  two  applying  the  noose  in  1852  and  1853.  Sonora  was  among 
the  most  busy  in  the  daily  dispensation  for  some  time  of  whipping  and  ban 
ishment,  with  shaving  the  head  and  branding  H.  T.,  even  on  the  cheek.  At 
the  same  time,  she  displayed  a  generous  charity  in  efforts  to  save  the  less 
culpable  from  temptation.  San  Jose  and  Santa  Clara,  Santa  Cruz,  San  Luis 
Obispo,  Santa  Barbara,  and  San  Diego,  were  represented  in  the  south.  At 
Los  Angeles  robber  gangs  and  riots  kept  the  place  in  a  turmoil.  In  several 
towns  were  uprisings  at  a  later  period,  as  at  Monterey,  Truckee,  and  Visalia, 
the  last  named  doing  sweeping  work,  and  Truckee  obtaining  martyrdom  for 
one  of  its  defenders.  For  details  of  vigilance  work  in  and  beyond  California 
in  early  days,  with  its  exciting  and  romantic  episodes,  I  refer  to  my  Popular 
Tribunals,  passim. 


VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  OF   1856.  747 

eastern  record  as  a  convict  had  been  exposed  by  his 
victim.  This  slaying  of  a  champion  of  the  afflicted 
citizens,  and  by  a  pronounced  public  swindler,  roused 
in  the  breasts  of  all  good  men  the  greatest  indignation, 
and  set  on  foot  measures  which  were  to  raise  King  of 
William  to  the  rank  of  a  martyr,  while  dealing  destruc 
tion  to  the  public  foes.  The  long-silent  bell  was 
quickly  sounded,  and  a  new  work  of  reform  was  begun. 
Recognizing  as  before  the  danger  lurking  in  a 
maddened  crowd,  the  remnant  of  former  vigilance 
members  determined  on  May  15th  to  revive  the  old 
committee  on  a  plan  more  suited  to  the  changed  con 
dition  of  affairs,  and  the  prospective  encounter  with 
greater  opponents.  An  executive  committee  of  forty 9 
members  was  chosen,  under  the  presidency  of  William 
T.  Coleman,  a  prominent  merchant,  a  model  Californian 
for  enterprise  and  integrity,  and  a  man  possessed  of 
practical  sense,  presence  of  mind,  and  determined  cour 
age.  The  members  of  the  general  committee,  which 
quickly  mustered  6,000  men,10  and  later  increased  to 
8,000,  were  organized  into  a  military  body,  mainly  in 
fantry,  armed  with  muskets  and  clubs,  complemented 
by  some  cavalry,  flying-artillery,  and  a  marine  battery, 
with  commissary,  medical,  and  police  departments,  and 
patrol  service.11  Subscription  soon  reached  $75,000, 
and  several  hundred  thousand  flowed  in  due  time  into 
the  treasury  from  dues  and  voluntary  subscriptions, 
to  cover  the  outlay  for  armament,  police,  testimony, 

9  At  first  of  26.     For  names  of  officers,  see  Pop.  Trib.,  ii.  113  et  seq., 
with  biographic  traits  of  leaders. 

10  During  the  first  24  hours  1,500  enrolled,  and  in  July  6,000  stood  on  the 
list,  with  many  more  ready  to  join  in  case  of  emergency. 

11  Employing  constantly  300  or  400  men.     When  4,000  strong  there  were 
40  companies,  including  two  companies  of  cavalry,  three  of  flying-artillery, 
oae  marine  hattery,  and  one  pistol  company.     The  police  numbered  200  or 
300  men,  partly  from  the  city  police,  and  several  under  pay;  the  medical 
dcpt  had  a  hospital;  the  commissary  attended  also  to  rations  for  the  patrol. 
The  companies  elected  their  own  officers,  and  many  possessed  their  special 
armories.    C.  Doane  was  chosen  marshal  or  general,  with  Col  Olney  as  second. 
No  uniform  was  required,  but  most  members  wore  a  dark  frock-coat  and  cap. 
In  Aug.  they  possessed  1,900  muskets,  250  rifles,  4  brass  six-pounders,  2  iron 
nine-pounders,  5  smaller  pieces,  a  portable  barricade  on  wheels,  also  swords, 
pistols,  etc.     A  board  of  delegates,  composed  of  three  members  from  each 
company,  had  to  confirm  verdicts. 


748 


POPULAR  TRIBUNALS. 


HEADQUARTERS  OF  THE  VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE. 


CASEY  AND  CORA.  749 

deportation,  and  other  demands.  Headquarters  were 
selected  on  Sacramento  street,12  east  of  Front  street. 

In  the  ranks  of  the  reformers  were  persons  of  all 
classes  and  creeds,  laborers,  merchants,  and  mechanics, 
master  and  man  alike  shouldering  a  musket,  standing 
guard,  and  marching  side  by  side.  They  differed  from 
their  brethren  of  1851  in  having  among  their  number 
more  solid  business  men,  with  a  sufficient  majority  of 
sedate,  deliberative,  and  broad-minded  conservatives 
to  control  the  hot-headed  radicals.  Seldom  has  been 
seen  an  array  of  patriots  playing  soldier  who  combined 
more  intelligence  and  zeal.13 

The  first  task  was  to  secure  and  try  Casey,  who  to 
escape  popular  fury  had  eagerly  availed  himself  of  the 
protection  of  the  jail,  there  to  wait  till  the  storm 
abated  sufficiently  to  permit  the  usual  circumvention 
of  justice.  His  voluntary  surrender  being  hopeless, 
the  committee  mustered  en  masse  to  enforce  it,  advanc 
ing  in  sections,  by  different  approaches,  toward  the 
jail.  It  was  Sunday,  May  18th.  A  sabbath  stillness 
reigned  throughout  tlie  city,  broken  only  by  the  meas 
ured  tread  of  the  reformers  and  the  call  to  worship 
of  church  bells.  The  law-and-order  party  was  also 
abroad,  confident  in  the  stout  walls  of  the  prison;  but 
as  the  line  of  gleaming  bayonets  grew  denser  around 
it  their  smile  of  derision  faded,  and  it  was  with  serious 
apprehensions  that  they  beheld  the  yawning  muzzle 
of  a  gun  uncovered  before  the  entrance.  They  saw 
the  hopelessness  of  opposition.  Casey  was  surrendered, 
together  with  another  murderer  named  Cora.14 

Rebellion!  was  the  cry  of  the  law-and-order  party, 

13  Old  no.  41.  It  was  the  old  appraisers' store.  Description,  with  plans 
and  views  in  my  Pop.  Trib.,  ii.  97-108.  The  first  temporary  quarters  were 
at  105 1  Sacramento  st.  The  constitution  of  1851  was  revised  and  adopted. 
Text  in  Id.,  112-13.  The  inspection  of  jails  was  an  early  task. 

13  Fit  to  *  found  a  state  organization,  a  nation,'  as  the  London  Times  ex 
claims.     Men  of  nerve  and  honor,  aiming  for  no  reward.     Americans  from 
the  northern  states  predominated,  then  westerners,  followed  by  southerners 
and  foreigners.     Many  sympathizers  gave  pecuniary  aid^while  holding  per 
sonally  aloof. 

14  Cheers  began  to  roll  up  from  the  exultant  spectators,  but  a  sign  of  ad 
monition  hushed  them  into  mute  approval. 


750  POPULAR  TRIBUNALS. 

which  found  itself  baffled  in  many  respects.  Its  ap 
peal  for  volunteers  had  brought  only  a  feeble  response, 
chiefly  on  the  part  of  lawyers  and  politicians.15  The 
local  authorities  nevertheless  planned  a  campaign.  A 
habeas  corpus  for  a  certain  prisoner  being  evaded  by 
the  committee,  the  attitude  was  construed  into  defiance 
of  state  authorities,  and  Governor  Johnson,  a  man  of 
narrow  views  and  vacillating  character,  thereupon 
appealed  to  the  United  States  troops  for  arms,  de 
clared  San  Francisco  in  a  state  of  insurrection,  and 
called  out  the  militia.  But  the  arms  were  refused, 
and  the  militia  held  back.16 

Meanwhile  the  committee  had  tried  the  two  pris 
oners  with  all  fairness,  and  condemned  them  to  death. 
The  sentence  was  carried  out  on  May  22d,  at  the  time 
the  remains  of  the  assassinated  editor  were  on  the  way 
to  the  cemetery  with  solemn  and  imposing  pagean 
try.17  The  reformers  followed  up  their  task  by  ferret 
ing  crime,  watching  officials,  collecting  testimony,  and 
driving  out  malefactors;  but  the  greatest  test  was  yet 
before  them.  On  June  2-1  st,  during  the  arrest  of  a 
noted  political  trickster,  a  scuffle  ensued,  wherein  a 
committee  officer  was  stabbed  by  Terry,  judge  of  the 
state  supreme  court,  who  leaving  his  duties  at  the 
capital  had  come  to  drag  his  already  soiled  ermine  in 
the  demagogical  slums  of  San  Francisco.  A  moment 
later  the  significant  tap  was  heard,  and  within  a  few 
minutes  the  reformers  were  flocking  up  and  falling 
into  line.  The  law-and-order  men  had  noted  the 
signal;  but  while  they  were  still  gathering,  their 

15  Assisted  by  a  numbsr  of  catholics  and  southerners  whom  King  had 
assailed.     Both  the  military  battalions  of  the  city  disbanded  to  avoid  serving 
against  their  fellow-citizens.      'Not  one  in  ten  responded,'  reported  the  gov 
ernors.  Pop.  Trib.,  ii.  359. 

16  By  orders  of  June  2d  and  3d,  W.  T.  Sherman,  appointed  major-general  of 
militia  and  given  the  military  command  in  San  Francisco,  promised  to  quickly 
disperse  the  vigilance  men.     Sherman  soon  resigned,  disgusted  with  the  gov 
ernor's  attitude,  and  was  succeeded  by  Volney  E.  Howard,  who  talked  much 
and  fought  little.     U.  S.  Gen.  Wool  and  Capt.  Farragut  declined  to  inter 
fere.     Loud  appeals  come  in  vain  from  Sacramento  and  elsewhere  against  the 
proclamation. 

17  The  procession  was  two  miles  in  length.     Places  of  business  were  closed; 
distant  towns  held  simultaneous  obsequies,  and  joined  in  subscribing  a  fund 
for  the  widow,  which  reached  about  $30,000. 


FORT  GUNNYBAGS.  751 

prompter  opponents  were  upon  them  with  bayonets 
fixed  and  artillery  in  limber.  One  body  arrested 
Terry,  and  others  enforced  the  surrender  of  dif 
ferent  strongholds,  thus  seizing  the  pretence  and 
opportunity  to  cripple  the  foe.18  Terry's  stab  had 
stricken  down  his  own  party,  while  crowning  the 
victors  with  triumph. 

For  a  time  the  life  of  the  chief  justice  hung  on 
a  thread;  but  the  disabled  officer  recovering,  the 
offender  was  arraigned  on  minor  charges.  The  ex 
ecutive  committee  found,  after  a  trial  of  twenty-five 
days,  that  while  Terry  undoubtedly  deserved  expatria 
tion,  he  was  too  strong  politically  to  be  treated  like 
an  ordinary  criminal.  The  state  and  federal  authori 
ties  might  join  to  interfere  in  behalf  of  a  supreme 
judge,  and  failure  would  injure  the  prestige  of  the 
committee.  The  success  of  their  cause  demanded  a  a 
acquittal,  and  so  it  was  decreed,  despite  the  disap 
pointment  of  the  unreflecting  members  against  the 
seeming  lack  of  equity  and  firmness.  The  decision 
was  wise,  for  a  sentence  of  banishment,  which  could 
not  have  been  enforced,  would  have  entailed,  not  only 
serious  litigation  against  the  city,  but  the  annulment 
of  other  sentences  and  general  discomfiture.19 

The  struggle  with  the  state  government  brought 
another  victory  for  the  reformers.  The  governor  had 
prepared  to  carry  out  his  proclamation,  partly  by  trans 
mitting  armament  from  the  interior;  but  the  com 
mittee  boldly  boarded  the  vessels  laden  therewith  and 
seized  the  weapons.20  They  nevertheless  took  meas 
ures  for  defence  by  intrenching  themselves  at  head- 

18  About  1,000  stand  of  arms  were  taken,  besides  pistols,  swords,  and  am 
munition,  and  200  prisoners,   including   U.   S.  naval  agent  R.   Ashe.     The 
prisoners  were  soon  released.     Gen.  Howard  blustered  nervously  to  prop  his 
fallen  prestige  and  plumes. 

19  The  board  of  vigilance  delegates  held  out  for  some  time  against  the 
acquittal.     Terry  took  refuge  on  board  the  U.  S.  sloop  of  war  John  Adams, 
whose  commander  had  been  blustering  against  the  reformers  till  his  superior 
quieted  him.     The  judge  thereupon  returned  to  his  court  at  Sacramento. 

20 Their  officers  were  arraigned  for  piracy,  which  implied  death;  but  as  it 
was  shown  that  the  arms  were  seized  temporarily  to  prevent  bloodshed,  the 
jury  acquitted  them. 


752  POPULAR  TRIBUNALS. 

quarters,  with  guns  planted  and  protected  by  a 
breastwork  of  sand -bags,  whence  the  appellation  Fort 
Gunnybags.21  Humors  of  possible  results  flew  thick 
and  fast,  some  hinting  even  at  secession,  though  none 
were  more  loyal  than  these  men.22  They  had  been 
driven  further  than  had  been  anticipated,  yet  their 
courage  rose  according  to  the  magnitude  of  the  peril 
and  responsibility,  arid  they  stood  resolved  to  carry 
the  issue  to  the  end.  Their  course  was  approved 
by  numerous  popular  demonstrations  in  different 
towns,  and  by  additional  enrolments.23  The  opposition 
claimed  a  force  of  6,000,  but  had  in  reality  only  one 
tenth  that  number,  for  most  of  military  companies 
summoned  by  the  governor  disbanded,  and  the  presi 
dent  of  the  United  States,  to  whom  application  had 
been  made,  replied  evasively.24  Thus  ignominious 
failure  stamped  the  efforts  of  the  opposition  and  the 
gubernatorial  prestige  sank  into  derision.25 

Striding  firmly  along  in  the  task  of  purification, 
the  committee  saw  it  practically  accomplished  within 
three  months.  It  had  been  marked  by  the  execution 
of  four  men,  the  deportation  of  twenty-five,  and  the 
order  for  a  number  of  others  to  leave,  a  lesson  which 
led  to  the  voluntary  departure  of  some  800  malefac 
tors  and  vagabonds.26  Stirred  by  fear  and  example, 

21  In  lieu  of  the  baptismal  name  of  Fort  Vigilance.     View  and  description 
in  Pop.  Trib.,  ii.  98,  etc.     See  a  previous  note  for  armament.     Passwords 
were  frequently  changed,  a  rally-cry  was  given,  and  a  distinctive  white  ribbon 
pinned  to  the  lapel.     The  city  was  scoured  for  arms  that  might  be  used  by 
the  law  party. 

22  Some  proposed  an  extra  session  of  the  legislature  to  take  measures  to 
meet  the  emergency. 

23  San  Jose  offered  1,000  volunteers;  Sacramento  formed  a  committee  of 
vigilance;  at  Sonora  5,000  men  gathered;  the  people  of  San  Francisco  clamored 
for  the  resignation  of  officials,  who  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  the  demand;  even 
children  formed  in  mimic  battle  array.  Pop.  Vig.,  ii.  203,  339,  350-2,  445,  etc. 
On  July  4th  the  committee  stood  prepared  to  adjourn,  when  further  menaces 
roused  it  to  defiance. 

24  He  saw  not  sufficient  danger  to  justify  interference.     Urged  partly  by 
Texan  resolutions,  he  finally  did  send  the  required  order   for  federal   aid 
to  the  governor,  when  assured  that  the  danger  was  past.     This  lenient  course 
was  prompted  greatly  by  the  approaching  general  election  «and  concerned 
party  interests.  Id.,  363-4,  573,  etc. 

20  The  insurrection  proclamation  remained  a  dead  letter. 
26 Details  and  names  in  Pop.    Trib.,  ii.  271-82,  348-53,  509,  528,  591-8. 
Besides  Casey  and  Cora,  Philander  Brace,  a  political  virtuperative  rowdy,  and 


WORK  ACCOMPLISHED. 


753 


officials  had  moreover  responded  to  duty  with  the 
most  gratifying  result  in  economic,  judicial,  and  gen 
eral  administration.  In  the  formerly  well-filled  county 
jail  not  a  prisoner  remained  awaiting  trial.  On  the 
21st  of  August,  therefore,  the  committee  deemed  it 
proper  to  adjourn,  with  a  closing  parade,  their  only 
vaunt  over  the  happy  achievement  of  great  reforms— 
a  thanksgiving  for  deliverance.  Most  of  the  compa 
nies  retained  their  organization,  however,  and  a  few 
officers  remained  to  watch  the  effect  of  their  work.27 
And  now  were  proven  how  baseless  the  croaking 
predictions  of  thoughtless  or  scheming  agitators,  that 


MEDAL. 


Jos.  Hetherington,  a  dissolute  though  gentlemanly  English  gambler,  were1 
hanged  for  murder.  The  adventures  of  the  unsavory  Judge  Ned  McGowan 
while  eluding  the  pursuing  committee,  and  his  ultimate  escape  from  sentence, 
are  told  in  his  own  Narrative.  See  Pop.  Trib.,  ii.  245  et  seq.  The  conduct 
and  treatment  of  a  branded  member  of  the  committee  is  instanced  in  the 
case  of  A.  A.  Green.  Appeals  for  redressing  private  wrongs  had  to  be 
ignored.  The  abused  Chinese  received  protection.  The  banished  were  for-, 
bidden  to  return  under  penalty  of  death;  but  some  came  back  after  the  com 
mittee  had  retired,  claimed  damages,  and  certain  compromises  had  to  be 
arranged.  Committee  members  were  also  persecuted  when  recognized  by 
their  victims  in  eastern  cities,  and  unsuccessful  though  costly  suits  were 
instituted  against  them.  Id.,  595-614,  621.  The  expatriation  order  was 
rescinded  in  Sept.  1857. 

27  For  parade,  list  of  companies,  closing  address,  and  finances,  see  Id., 
531-46.  The  vigilance  record  was  kept  up  till  Nov.  3,  1859.  The  governor 
maintained  in  print,  till  Nov.  3d,  his  proclamation,  declaring  the  city  in  a 
state  of  insurrection,  partly  for  election  purposes,  under  plea  that  the  com 
mittee  still  retained  the  state  armament.  This  was  then  surrendered. 
About  the  same  time  highway  robberies  became  so  frequent  that  the  gov 
ernor  joined  in  the  spreading  alarm,  protesting  his  inability  to  suppress 
them. 

HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.    48 


754  POPULAR  TRIBUNALS. 

California,  with  a  fostered  spirit  of  revolt,  would 
foment  at  slight  provocation,  and  become  a  vortex  of 
lawlessness  under  a  rule  of  terror,  driving  back  capi 
tal  and  settlers.  This  formal  vigilance  organization 
was  not  to  be  compared  with  the  rash,  vindictive, 
inob-like  risings  which  had  so  often  disgraced  the 
mining  region,  though  even  here  there  were  many 
calm  and  dispassionate  popular  tribunals,  resulting  in 
great  good.  A  slight  industrial  disturbance  was  the 
only  evil  effect  of  the  committee  movement,28  while 
the  benefits  were  incalculable,  in  many  respects  per 
manent,  and  far  surpassing  the  superficial  results  of 
the  year  1851.  Crime  never  again  reached  danger 
ous  proportions  in  the  city.  Expenditures  fell  from 
$2,646,190  in  1855  to  $856,120  in  1856  and  $353,292 
in  1 8 5 7.  A  people's  reform  party  was  organized,  which 
for  at  least  ten  years  did  good  service  in  maintaining 
an  honest  administration,  and  urging  the  people  to  a 
performance  of  the  political  duties  so  disastrously  ne 
glected.  San  Francisco  purified  became  famed  as  one 
of  the  best  governed  among  cities.  Real  estate  ad 
vanced  in  price,  immigration  received  fresh  impulse, 
and  trade  and  industry  flourished.  The  dignity  and 
Avorth  of  this  vigilance  committee  lie  vindicated  in 
the  glorious  results  of  its  labor,  and  in  the  lofty  prin 
ciples  by  which  it  was  actuated/ 


23 


28  A  few  timid  people  left  the  city,  a  court  or  two  adjourned,  and  some 
industries  had  temporarily  to  suspend. 

29  Firmness  and  moderation,  admirable  equity  and  self-abnegation,  marked 
its  every  act,  with  not  one  serious  error  of  judgment,  not  one  signal  failure 
of  purpose. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

ANNALS  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO. 
1851-1856. 

A  PERIOD  OP  TRIALS — LAND  TITLES — CITY  LIMITS — MEXICAN  GRANTS — 
SPURIOUS  CLAIMS — WATER  LOTS — FLUCTUATIONS  OF  VALUES — THE  VAN 
NESS  ORDINANCE — VILLANOUS  ADMINISTRATION — A  NEW  CHARTER — 
MUNICIPAL  MALEADMINISTRATION — POPULAR  PROTESTS — HONEST  AND 
GENIAL  VILLAINS  —  INCREASED  TAXATION — VIGILANCE  MOVEMENTS — 
REFORMS — ANOTHER  CHARTER  —  REAL  ESTATE  SALES — THE  BAPTISM 
BY  FIRE  AND  BLOOD — MATERIAL  AND  SOCIAL  PROGRESS  —  SCHOOLS, 
CHURCHES,  AND  BENEVOLENT  SOCIETIES — THE  TRANSFORMED  CITY. 

THE  six  years  following  the  birth  of  San  Francisco 
as  a  city  formed  a  period  of  herculean  achievements 
in  face  of  discouraging  obstructions — the  trials  and 
temptations  of  the  youthful  giant.  Hills  were  tum 
bled  into  the  bay,  and  on  mud  flats  was  made  solid 
ground.  On  the  sites  of  smouldering  ruins  were 
erected  substantial  buildings,  streets  were  paved,  and 
a  metropolis  was  formed  which  within  three  years 
took  rank  with  the  leading  mercantile  centres  of  the 
world.  Meanwhile  was  maintained  a  constant  struggle 
with  corruption  and  disorder,  against  unscrupulous 
and  grasping  officials  and  lawless  ruffians,  by  whom, 
midst  sore  affliction,  the  city  was  despoiled  of  her  heri 
tage,  and  burdened  with  heavy  debt. 

A  fundamental  trouble  appeared  early  in  the  title 
to  lands,  of  which  the  city  in  common  with  other 
pueblos  had  inherited  her  share,1  besides  obtaining 

1  As  shown  in  my  special  chapter  on  land  titles,  and  in  the  preceding 
vol.  iii.  702-8,  etc.  By  a  decision  of  1854  the  land  commission  confirmed  to 
the  city,  instead  of  the  claimed  four  leagues,  or  17,000  acres,  only  about 
10,000  acres,  that  is,  the  land  north  of  the  Vallejo  line,  running  from  near 

(755) 


756 


ANNALS  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO. 


BACHE'S  MAP  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO.  1856-7. 


LAND  TITLES.  757 

from  the  state  and  union  valuable  water  lots;2  but 
the  extent  and  validity  of  these  grants  were  quickly 
assailed  under  the  shadow  of  legal  decisions.  Irregu 
larities  had  also  crept  in,  by  permitting  one  purchaser 
to  acquire  many  lots;  by  the  sale  of  land  through  jus 
tices  of  the  peace  in  opposition  to  the  council  ;  by  the 
Peter  Smith  execution  sales;  and  by  the  vagueness 
involving  several  early  grants  within  the  city  limits.3 
With  such  favorable  opportunities  the  many  land- 
sharks  afflicting  the  country  ventured  to  nibble  at  the 
choice  peninsula,  and  so  rose  successively,  in  1850-3, 
the  claims  of  Stearns  and  Sherreback  to  sections  south 
of  Market  street,  of  Santillan  to  three  leagues  of  land 
radiating  from  the  Mission,  and  of  Limantour  to  four 
leagues  around  the  central  part  of  the  city,  and  in 
cluding  many  of  the  settled  blocks.  All  except  the 
first  received  such  confirmations  by  courts  and  land 
commission  as  to  rouse  consternation  among  property 
holders.4 

the  intersection  of  Brannan  and  Fifth  streets  over  the  summit  of  Lone  Moun 
tain  to  the  ocean.  In  1860  the  four-league  claim  was  conceded  by  the  cir 
cuit  court,  and  five  years  later  yielded  by  congress,  but  with  the  condition. 
that  the  land  not  needed  for  public  or  federal  reservation  purposes,  or  not 
disposed  of,  should  be  conveyed  to  the  parties  in  possession.  This  confirma 
tion  to  a  few  large  holders  of  valuable  pueblo  domains  was  inconsistent  with 
the  original  Mexican  pueblo  law  and  its  general  acceptance  by  the  U.  S.  ;  but 
the  Clement  and  McCoppin  ordinances  affirmed  the  alienation,  and  the  city 
gained  little  more  than  a  park  of  sand  hills  under  the  decree.  For  city  and 
county  boundaries,  see  notes  on  city  charters. 

2  Gen.  Kearny  in  1847,  perhaps  unauthoritatively,  relinquished  to  the  town 
the  U.  S.  claim  to  the  pueblo  lots  and  beach  and  water  lots,  which  were  not 
conveyed  under  Mexican  laws,  and  the  state  by  act  of  March  26,  1851,  ceded 
for  99  years  all  rights  to  beach  and  water  lots  against  25  per  cent  on  sale 
money,  previous  sales  being  confirmed.  By  act  of  May  1,  1854,  the  state 
proposed  to  cede  such  lots  forever,  on  condition  that  the  city  should  confirm 
to  holders  certain  other  lots,  such  as  the  obnoxious  Colton  grants.  This  was 
declined;  but  in  1852  interested  speculators  prevailed  on  the  alderman  to  ac 
cept  the  proposition.  Mayor  Harris,  however,  sustained  by  the  indignant 


people,  succeeding  in  having  this  act  repealed.  Concerning  water  lots,  see 
Cal.  Jour.  House,  1851,  p.  1329-33,  1853,  p.  694-5;  Id.,  Ass.,  1854,  ap.  9,  etc.; 
1855,  ap.  9;  1856,  66-76;  1858,  503-6;  Id.,  Sen.,  1855,  84-6,  482-3;  1859, 


23-4;  S.  F.  Manual,  204-9. 

3  To  Bernal,  Guerrero,  etc.,   which   in   due  time  were  confirmed.     The 
Smith  sales  are  spoken  of  later. 

4  See  chapter  on  land  titles.  Limantour,  Bird's-eye   View,  1-24;  U.  S.  vs 
Limantour,  with  photographs  of  documents;  U.  S.  Oov.  Doc.,  Cong.  39,  Sess. 
1,  Sen.  Rept  92.     See  also  newspaper  notices,  especially  at  the  time  of  the 
•several  pleadings  and  decisions,   till  1859,  when  it  was  finally  rejected,  to 
gether  with  the  Santillan  claim.     The  latter  was  made  additionally  interest- 


758  ANNALS  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

As  a  natural  result  of  the  irregularities  and  conflict 
ing  decisions,  almost  any  concocted  or  presumed  title 
could  be  made  available  for  temporary  possession,  and 
so  squatters  began  to  overrun  the  city,  seizing  upon 
every  desirable  unimproved  lot,  even  upon  public 
squares  and  cemeteries,  perhaps  fencing  it  during  a 
night,  and  bidding  armed  defiance  to  the  original 
owners;  at  times  backed  by  a  squad  of  ruffianly  retain 
ers.  Pitched  battles  with  bloodshed  became  frequent, 
but  judges  could  not  interfere  effectually,  nor  would 
juries  convict  a  presumed  owner  for  defending  his  prop 
erty.5  This  impaired  confidence  and  hindered  improve 
ments,  and  with  the  prospect  of  a  usury  bill,  lenders 
of  money  for  such  purposes  held  back,  so  that  the 
value  of  real  estate  was  seriously  reduced,  falling  from 
about  seventeen  million  dollars  in  1850-1  to  eleven 
millions  in  1851-2.6 

The  title  to  water  lots  was  fortunately  settled  in 
1851,  and  their  value  rapidly  advanced,  until  four 
small  blocks  on  Commercial  street  sold  for  over  a  mil 
lion  dollars  in  December  1853,7  when  speculation  and 

ing  from  the  purchase  by  the  vigilance  committee  of  1856  of  documents  re 
lating  to  the  Mission  lands  through  A.  A.  Green,  and  subsequent  litigation  for 
the  money.  See  Greens  Life,  MS.,  30-35;  S,  F.  Herald,  March  28,  1857; 
S.  F.  Bulletin,  July  21,  1857;  Jan.  27,  1859;  July  19,  18GO;  S.  F.  Post,  June 
28,  Aug.  21,  1878,  etc.;  S.  F.  Call,  etc.;  S.  F.  Post,  June  19,  1878;  and  nota 
bly  the  testimony  of  Coleman,  Viy.,  MS.,  120  et  seq.,  and  Dempster,  Vic/., 
MS.,  1  et  seq.,  the  vigilance  leaders.  The Gulnac,  Rineon  Point,  Point  Lobos, 
Colton  grants,  were  among  minor  claims.  Although  the  Sherreback  confir 
mation  decree  was  vacated  in  1860,  claimants  long  harassed  holders,  while 
the  Santillan  speculators  were  seeking  compensation  from  the  government. 
The  Stearns  claim  was  early  rejected. 

5  Speculators  hired  men  to  hold  possession  till  they  could  by  legal  quib 
bling  and  bribery  acquire  legal  right.     The  lot  where  later  stood  the  Grand 
Hotel  was  the  scene  of  lively  encounters,  as  related  by  Far  well,  Stat.,  MS., 
10.     See  also  Annals  S.  F.,  456-7,  540-1.     Property  holders  formed  in  1854 
an  association  for  protecting  themselves.     Capt.  Folsom's  lots  were  especially 
exposed  to  seizures. 

6  Values  and  fluctuations  are  considered  by  Williams,  Rec.,  MS.,  7;  Clark, 
Stat.,  MS.,  1;  Olney,  Stat.,  MS.,  2-3;  see  also  Alta  Cal,  S.  F.  Herald,  etc. 

7  This  sale  proved  the  means  for  one  of  the  numerous  raids  upon  the  city 
treasury.    The  owners  of  the  Sacramento  and  Commercial  st  wharves  claimed 
that  the  blocks  had  been  intended  for  a  dock,  to  the  advantage  of  their  prop 
erty,  and  were  appeased  with  $185,000  of  the  sale  money.     Soon  after  paying 
most  of  the  instalment  money,  values  fell  with  the  spreading  business  de 
pression,  and  the  buyers  picked  a  flaw  in  the  title,  on  the  ground  of  an  in 
sufficient  vote  for  the  sale  ordinance.   Although  this  ordinance  was  confirmed 
and  the  flaw  readily  overcome,  the  courts  after  five  years'  litigation  decided 


THE  PUEBLO  LANDS.  759 

business  excitement  culminated.  But  influenced  by 
certain  speculators  who  had  invested  in  the  Peter 
Smith  execution  sales,  arid  by  other  prospective  gains, 
the  assembly  in  1853  passed  a  bill  for  extending  the 
water-front  six  hundred  feet  beyond  the  line  established 
in  1851,  on  the  ground  that  state  finances  sadly  needed 
the  one  third  of  the  expected  six  millions  of  sale 
money.  Seeing  little  benefit  to  themselves  in  this 
scheme,  the  city  authorities  joined  the  citizens  in  loud 
protest  against  the  proposed  violation  of  rights  guar 
anteed  to  the  present  front-owners,  an  infraction  which 
must  also  injure  property  holders  in  general,  by  in 
volving  a  costly  change  of  grade  for  drainage,  and 
imperil  the  port  by  driving  vessels  beyond  the  existing 
headland  shelter.  The  clamor  had  the  effect  of  equal 
izing  votes  in  the  senate,  so  that  Lieutenant-governor 
Purdy's  casting  vote  was  able  to  defeat  the  bill.8  In 
terior  lots  remained  longer  under  a  cloud.  In  1854, 
however,  the  land  commissioners  confirmed  the  city 
title  to  land  north  of  the  Yallejo  line,  under  a  mistaken 
idea  as  to  the  extent  of  the  pueblo  lines;  and  in  1855 
the  Van  Ness  ordinance  assured  titles  to  possessors 
within  the  corporate  limits  of  1851.  It  took  another 

in  favor  of  the  buyers.  By  this  time  values  had  again  risen,  and  now  35  of 
the  buyers  compromised  by  keeping  the  lots  and  accepting  about  one  million 
— or  more  than  they  had  paid — as  compensation,  chiefly  interest  on  the  par 
tial  purchase-money.  Encouraged  by  this  success,  a  few  remaining  buyers 
claimed  similar  restoration;  but  now  an  ingenious  lawyer  found  that  the  inr 
stalment  money,  while  received  by  the  city,  had  not  been  in  legal  possession 
of  the  treasury,  so  that  it  must  be  sought  through  some  undefined  channel. 
The  last  claimants  evidently  lacked  means  to  win  over  the  weather-cock  justice 
for  further  spoliation.  Meanwhile  improvements  in  the  region  concerned 
had  languished  under  the  litigation.  For  details,  see  Coons  Annals,  MS.,  22 
-5;  Cal  Jour.  Sen.,  1856,  608-52,  ap.  18;  S.  F.  Rept  City  Litifj.,  1-64;  Id., 
Opinions;  Sac.  Union,  Dec.  18,  1856;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Oct.  28,  1859;  Alto,  Cal, 
Aug.  7,  1866,  etc.  These  authorities  refer  also  to  state  sales,  in  Dec.  1853 
for  $350,000,  in  March  and  June  1854  for  $241,100,  and  $100,000  also  in  1855, 
the  latter  especially  being  unfairly  managed  with  a  loss  to  the  state,  and  with 
a  cloud  upon  titles. 

8  Roach,  Stat.,  MS.,  15-16,  points  to  Guerra's  vote  as  having  tied  the 
measure.  The  prospective  cost  to  the  state  of  building  a  breakwater  had  its 
effect  on  votes.  Protests,  etc.,  in  S.  F.  Remonst.,  1-8;  8.  F.  Hist.  Incid.,  viii.; 
Cal.  Jour.  Sen.,  1853,  629-30,  ap.  no.  28-31,  41,  49,  65,  74;  Id.,  Ass.,  1854, 
15-18,  652;  AUa  Cal,  Apr.  13,  1853;  May  4,  1854,  etc.  The  bill  was  revived, 
but  in  vain.  See  also  FarwelVs  Stat.,  MS.,  4-6;  PurJatt'9  Letter  on  Water 
Front,  1-32;  8.  F.  Bulletin,  Apr.  16,  May  1,  5,  7,  June  12-16,  1856;  West. 
Amer.,  Jan.  31,  1852. 


760  ANNALS  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

decade  to  obtain  recognition  for  the  city  of  the  usual 
four-league  grant  under  Mexican  laws,  and  the  several 
claims  of  Sherreback,  Santillan,  and  Limantour  hav 
ing  by  this  time  been  finally  rejected,  additional  ordi 
nances  confirmed  also  outside  holdings,  and  so  restored 
general  confidence.9 

The  glaring  maleadministration  and  abuses  of  the 
common  council  of  1850  roused  the  citizens  to  an  ap 
peal  for  a  remedy,  and  on  April  15,  1851,  San  Fran 
cisco  received  a  new  charter,  which  enlarged  her  limits 
half  a  mile  to  the  south  and  west,  and  placed  a  whole 
some  check  on  financial  extravagance,10  notably  by 
reducing  or  abolishing  salaries  in  every  direction,  and 
seeking  to  restrain  the  accumulation  of  debts.  The 

9  The  final  decree  of  confirmation  was  issued  in  1867  through  the  circuit 
court,  and  in  1867-8  the  Stratton  survey  was  made  in  accordance.     Concern 
ing  city  titles  in  general,  see  also  Pioneer  May.,  i.  193,  257,  321,  etc.;  S.  F. 
vs  U.  S.,  -Doc.,  etc.,   1-70;  S.  F.  Miscel;  Tilford's  Argument,  1-17;  Brownes 
Stat.,  MS.,  15.     Among  journals,  Alta  Cal.  is   especially  full  of   comments 
about  the  dates  of  decisions,  as  indicated  in  preceding  references.     In  Biart's 
Rambles,  81-6,  is  the  story  of  the  fate  of  a  S.  F.  claimant.     Among  claims 
Jately  surviving  is  one  by  settlers  for  the  govt  reservation  at  Point  San  Jose. 
See  S.  F.  Bulletin,  June  17,  1878.     Coon's  efforts  for  promoting  the  settlement 
of  titles  are  highly  creditable.  Annals,  MS.,  28-31. 

10  Boundaries:  on  the  south,  a  line  parallel  with  Clay  st,  two  miles  and 
a  half  distant  from  Portsmouth   square;  on  the  west,   a  line  parallel  with 
Kearny  st,  two  miles  distant  from  Portsmouth  square;  on  north  and  south, 
same  as  county.     The  wards  remained  eight  in  number,  but  with  redistriction. 
to  equalize  the  number  of  their  inhabitants.     Officials  remained  unchanged, 
except  that  the  two  assessors  for  each  ward  were  changed  into  a  total  of  three 
for  the  city.     The  first  election  under  this  charter  was  to  take  place  in  April, 
and  thereafter  annually  at  the  general  election  for  state  officers.     No  debts 
were  permitted  to  accrue  which  together  with  former  debts  should  exceed 
the  annual  revenue  by  $50,000,  unless  for  specific  objects,  authorized  by  pop 
ular  votes,  and  duly  provided  for,  in   interest  and  redemption,  within  12 
.years.     Loans  in  anticipation  of  the  year's  revenue  could  not  exceed  $50,000. 
Loans  for  extinguishing  existing  debts,  etc.,  must  be  authorized  by  the  peo 
ple,  and  early  steps  taken  for  funding  such  debts.     Creditors  of  the  city 
might  fund  the  debts  due  them,  at  a  rate  of  interest  not  exceeding  ten  per 
cent,  and  payable  within  ten  years.     The  net  proceeds  of  city  real  estate  and 
bonds,  from  the  occupation  of  private  wharves  and  basins,  wharfage,  rents, 
and  tolls,  to  constitute  a  sinking  fund  for  the  debt.     Salaries  of  charter  offi 
cers  not  to  exceed  $4,000  a  year,  the  treasurer  and  collector  receiving  instead 
of  salary  not  over  half  per  cent  and  one  per  cent  respectively  on  money 
handled  by  them;  assessors,  not  exceeding  $1,500  each.     Aldermen  received 
no  compensation.     No  clerks  and  deputies  were  allowed  beyond  the  number 
stated  by  the  charter.     Further  details  in  CaL  Camp.  Laws,  1853,  944-55. 
Compare  above  and  other  salary  changes  with  the  allowances  for  1850-1  of 
$64,000  to  16  aldermen,  $8,000  or  $10,000  each  to  the  leading  officials,  from 
$4,000  to  $5,000  each  to  a  host  of  clerks  (now  reduced  to  $2,000  and  less), 
showing  a  salary  list  for  the  city  of  more  than  $800,000  prior  to  this  charter. 


MARKED  REFORM.  761 

more  prudent  administration  of  the  county  was  sus 
tained  by  placing  the  financial  control  with  a  board  of 
supervisors,  composed  chiefly  of  the  city  board  of  al 
dermen.11  Under  the  new  charter  was  elected  a  mu 
nicipal  body  of  high-class  men,12  chiefly  independent 
candidates  of  different  political  creeds,  intent  upon 
reform.  Headed  by  Charles  J.  Brenharn 13  as  mayor, 
they  proceeded  to  carry  out  this  aim,  midst  general 
commendation,  and  in  so  thorough  a  manner  as  to 
reduce  expenses  for  the  fiscal  year  to  one  fifth  of  the 
amount  wasted  by  their  predecessor,  from  $1,700,000 
to  $340,000,  besides  paying  off  $92,000  of  the  debt, 
fostering  education  and  other  measures,  and  still  leav 
ing  a  balance.  In  order  to  do  this,  however,  taxation 
had  to  be  more  than  doubled,  partly  owing  to  the 
lessened  value  of  property,  which  sank  with  the  abat- 

11  And  mayor,  supplemented  by  one  member  from  each  of  the  three  town 
ships  into  which  the  county  outside  of  S.  F.  was  divided.     A  tax  of  one  half 
per  cent  was  authorized  for  paying  the  accrued  debt  of  the  county.     Members 
of  the  board  were  to  receive  $3  for  each  day  of  necessary  attendance.     Text 
in  S.  F.  Manual,  235-7.     Other  regulations  for  city  and  county  officials,  in 
Id.,  passim;  S.  F.  Ordinances,  1853-4;  Cal.  Code,  662-78;  Col.  Statutes,  1851, 
etc.;  Id.,  Jour.  House,  1851,  p.  1857,  etc.     The  legislative  representation  of 
S.  F.  was  reduced  from  one  eighth  to  one  ninth. 

12  The  election  took  place  on  Apr.  28th,  6,000  votes  being  polled.     The 
other  officials  were  G.   A.   Hudson,  controller;  T.  D.  Greene,   collector;  R. 
H.  Sinton,  treasurer;  R.  H.  Waller,  recorder;  R.  G.  Crozier,  marshal;  F.  M. 
Pixley,  attorney,  etc.     R.  S.  Dorr  and  J.   F.  At  will,  a  successful  music  and 
fancy-goods  dealer,  became  presidents  of  the  two  boards  of  aldermen,  wherein 
W.  Greene  was  the  only  reflected   member.     For  the  county,  Hayes  was 
reelected  sheriff.  See  Blux&mes  Vig.,  MS.,  12-13;  FarwelVs  Stat.,  MS.,  8-9; 
AUa  Cal.,  Cal.  Courier,  etc.,  for  the  month. 

13  Born  at  Frankfort,  Ky,  Nov.  6,  1817,  and  well  known  on  the  Mississippi 
for  nearly  a  dozen  years  as  a  steamboat  captain,  he  came  to  Cal.  in  1849  and 
assumed  command  of  the  McKun,  running  between  S.  F.  and  Sac.     Able  and 
genial,  he  quickly  became  a  favorite,  and  received  in  1850  the  unsolicited 
nomination  of  the  whig  party  for  the  mayoralty,  although  taking  no  part  in 
politics.     Geary  held  the  position,  however,  and  Brenham  continued  a  cap 
tain,  now  of  the  Gold  Hunter,  which  he  partly  owned.     In  1851,  he  took  part 
in  the  canvass,  and  succeeded  in  defeating  F.  Tilford.     His  term  ended,  he 
joined  B.  C.  Sanders  in  the  banking  business,  and  was  chosen  president  of 
the  whig  state  central  committee.     Reelected  mayor  in  1852,  he  declined  the 
appointment  of  mint  treasurer,  and  displayed  throughout  his  official  career  an 
unimpeachable  integrity,  together  with  a  laudable  firmness  and  sound  judg 
ment.     Henceforth  he  devoted  himself  to  business,  notably  as  agent  with 
J.  Holladay  for  the  North  Pacific  Transport  Co.,  although  accepting  in  the 
seventies  the  appointment  of  director  and  commissioner  of  public  institutions. 
He  died  of  apoplexy  on  May  10,  1876,  leaving  five  children  by  the  daughter 
of  Gen.  Adair  of  Or.  Alta  Cal.,  May  11,  1876;  S.  F.  Call,  id.;  S.  F.  Bulletin, 
May  12,  1875;  portrait  in  Annals  S.  F.,  735. 


762  ANNALS  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

ing  gold  excitement,  and  chiefly  to  provide  for  the 
interest  and  cost  of  the  debt-funding  scheme.14 

The  election  as  well  as  zeal  of  these  men  was  greatly 
due  to  the  popular  spirit,  which  gave  a  first  sig 
nal  manifestation  in  February  1851,  roused  by  the 
startling  increase  of  robberies,  murders,  and  incendi 
arism,  by  Sydney  convicts  and  other  scum,  and  by  the 
apathy  and  negligence  of  officials.  This  outburst  was 
followed  by  a  scathing  report  from  the  grand  jury,  and 
by  June  it  unfolded  into  a  formal  committee  of  vigi 
lance.  While  mainly  directed  against  criminals,  and 
for  the  better  administration  of  justice,  the  movement 
left  a  salutary  if  short-lived  impression  in  other  quar 
ters,  after  a  vigorous  purification  of  three  months.15 

Owing  to  a  vagueness  in  the  charter,  the  question 
arose  whether  the  next  municipal  body  should  be 
chosen  at  the  first  succeeding  state  election,  or  whether 
the  April  officials  should  retain  power  until  September 
1852.  Eager  for  spoils,  the  democratic  party  decided 
upon  the  former  interpretation,  and  took  steps  for  se 
lecting  a  new  government.  The  existing  authorities, 
as  well  as  the  majority  of  the  people,  took  a  contrary 
view,  and  abstained  both  from  presenting  candidates 
and  from  voting.  With  the  field  wholly  to  themselves, 
the  opposition  thereupon  proclaimed  the  election,  by 
a  meagre  partisan  vote,  of  a  ticket  whose  doubtful 
aspect  stood  relieved  by  few  creditable  names  besides 
that  of  Stephen  R.  Harris,16  the  mayor  elect.  The 

14  The  regular  tax  was  still  limited  by  charter  to  one  per  cent,  but  pacific 
objects  raised  it  to  $2.45  per  cent,  besides  50  cts  for  state  purposes  and  $1.15 
for  county,  total  $4.10,  upon  an  assessed  value  of  $14,000,000,  reduced  from 
$21,600,000  in  the  preceding  year.     Compare  later  financial  showing  with 
the  former  chapter  on  S.  F. 

15  A  criticism  on  the  inactivity  and  inefficiency  of  Judge  Parsons  of  the  dis 
trict  court  at  S.  F.,  by  Editor  Walker  of  the  Herald,  caused  the  irate  judge 
to  condemn  the  editor  to  fine  and  imprisonment.     Newspapers  and  people 
rose  in  behalf  of  the  liberty  of  the  press,  and  Parsons  narrowly  escaped  im 
peachment.     The  superior  court  reversed  Parson's  judgment.  Parsons  Im- 
peadit,  Rept  Cam.;  Alta  Cal,  March  10  et  seq.,  1851;  Stic.  Transcript,  March 
14,  1851,  etc.     Shortly  before,  the  Gold  Bluff  excitement  had  led  to  a  rush 
from  and  through  S.  F.  for  the  northern  coast  of  Cal.     This  was  the  year  of 
the  greatest  and  final  sweeping  conflagrations. 

Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.,  born  in  1802,  and  a  physician  of  25  years'  stand- 


MUNICIPAL  GOVERNMENT  763 

existing  official  at  first  .gnored  the  democratic  claim 
ants,  but  when  these  were  sustained  by  a  decision  of 
the  superior  court,  at  the  close  of  the  year,  they 
withdrew.17 

Finding  themselves  obnoxious  to  circumvented  peo 
ple,  the  so-called  accidental  officials  had  less  scruple  in 
seeking  to  promote  their  own  ends;  and  but  for  the 
firmness  and  integrity  of  the  mayor  in  vetoing  several 
obnoxious  schemes,  the  abuse  might  have  become 
extensive.  As  it  was,  the  popular  indignation  turned 
upon  them  for  the  purchase  of  the  Jenny  Lind  thea 
tre  for  a  city  hall.  Not  only  was  the  price  excessive, 
but  costly  changes  were  required  to  fit  the  place  for 
offices,  and  then  it  proved  so  inadequate  as  to  call  for 
speedy  extension  and  additional  purchases.1 


13 


ing.  He  had  held  several  public  trusts  in  N.  Y.,  as  health  commissioner,  etc., 
and  arrived  in  Cal.  in  1849  with  a  high  reputation  for  honor,  moral  worth, 
able  zeal,  and  generosity.  After  a  brief  mining  experience  he  opened  at  S.  F., 
in  partnership  with  Ponton,  the  most  extensive  drug  business  in  the  county, 
but  was  repeatedly  overwhelmed  by  fires.  His  opposition  to  the  obnoxious 
measures  of  his  official  associates  confirmed  the  popular  estimation,  and  we 
find  him  later  selected  for  other  municipal  charges,  as  controller  and  coro 
ner;  also  as  president  of  the  Pioneer  Soc.  in  1855-6.  He  died  at  Napa  asy 
lum  on  Apr.  27,  1879.  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Apr.  28,  1879;  Stock  Exch.,  Apr.  29, 
May  1,  1879;  S.  F.  Call,  Apr.  29,  1879.  Portrait  in  Annals  S.  F.,  740;  8.  J. 
Pioneer,  May  10,  1879;  8.  F.  Post,  Apr.  29,  1879. 

17  Although  they  might  have  retained  office,  for  the  courts  had  adjourned 
when  the  surrender  took  place.     The  district  court  had  decided  that  officials 
elected  in  Sept.  should  take  possession  in  April,  so  as  to  leave  the  old  board 
a  year  in  power.     The  old  officials  offered  to  resign  if  the  new  body  would  do 
likewise,  and  so  permit  a  more  general  and  valid  election;  but  this  did  not 
suit  the  rapacious  claimants.     The  new  government  embraced  J.  W.  Hillman, 
S.  Clarke,  C.  McD.  Delauy,  D.  W.  Thompson,  G.  W.  Baker,  D.  S.  Linnell,  for 
controller,  treasurer,  attorney,  marshal,  recorder,  and  collector,  respectively. 
I.  H.  Blood  and  N.  Holland  headed  the  aldermen,  among  whom  were  four 
reflected  members,  including  Meiggs,  later  notorious  as  Honest  Harry. 

18  The  former  purchase,  similarly  underhanded,  was  burned  in  June  1851, 
and  offices  being  scattered  at  a  high  rental,  of  about  $40,000  a  year,  a  new 
hall  was  required,  and  an  act  of  Apr.  10,  1852,  authorized  the  purchase  or 
erection  of  one  at  a  cost  not  exceeding  $125,000.   Cal.  Statutes,  1852.     Yet, 
by  bringing  in  the  county  for  a  half-interest,  $200,000  was  paid  for  the  Parker 
House,  including  the  theatre.     This  was  the  stone  structure  on  the  east  side 
of  the  plaza,  of  great  beauty  and  comfort,  seating  2,000  people,  which  had 
opened  on  Oct.  4,  1851,  at  a  cost  of  $160,000,  but  proved  a  losing  speculation. 
The  $200,000  represented  little  more  than  the  bare  walls,  for  the  interior 
was  torn  down  and  reconstructed  at  a  cost  of  over  $40,000.     Harris  vetoed 
the  purchase,  but  it  passed,  sustained  by  the  superior  court.     One  result  was 
a  duel  between  Alderman  J.  Cotter  and  Editor  Nugent  of  the  Herald,  wherein 
the  latter  had  a  leg  broken  for  his  insinuations  against  aldermanic  probity, 
as  McGowan  testifies  in  the  8.  F.  Post,  Feb.  8,  1879.     See  Aha  Cat.,  Placer 
Times,  and  other  journals  for  June  1852,  etc.     In  1854  the  Atia  Cal.  office 


764  ANNALS  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

Popular  outbursts  like  the  denunciation  of  the  city- 
hall  purchase  proved  too  ephemeral  to  frighten  legally 
fortified  officials,  and  by  proper  collusion  it  was  easy 
to  overcome  the  veto  or  opposition  of  a  solitary  mayor. 
Accordingly,  by  propitiating  tax-payers  with  the  de 
serving  Brenham  once  more  for  chief  city  magistrate, 
and  a  few  other  respectable  men,  politicians  smuggled 
into  his  train  a  number  of  their  own  fold  more  unsa 
vory  than  the  preceding,19  with  whose  aid  extravagance 
steadily  increased  Nevertheless  the  conscientious 
few  suppressed  any  very  glaring  abuse  that  might 
have  disturbed  the  pervading  lull.  The  democratic 
faction  herein,  saw  its  opportunity,  and  by  further 
deluding  the  public  with  a  reduced  rate  of  taxation, 
they  foisted  upon  the  city  at  the  following  election  a 
larger  horde  of  creatures,  under  whose  voracity  the 
expenditure  rose  to  $1,441,000,  or  double  that  of  the 
preceding  year,  and  more  than  quadruple  the  amount 
for  1851-2,  and  far  in  excess  of  the  receipts.20 

Corruption  and  disorder  permeated  every  depart 
ment.  Even  reforms,  like  the  reconstruction  of  the 
police  deuartment,21  were  distorted  to  serve  for  plun- 

adjoining  on  the  north  was  bought  for  $50,000  as  a  hall  of  record  and  occu 
pied  in  July,  and  a  building  on  the  south.  The  place  became  a  sink-hole 
of  corruption,  the  prison  in  the  basement,  with  its  refuse  of  humanity, 
and  heaLh  and  police  offices.  On  the  first  floor  were  the  offices  of  sheriff, 
clerks,  and  collector  around  the  mayor's  court-room,  with  its  calendar 
of  dissipation.  The  second  story  was  occupied  by  the  upper  and  lower 
house  of  aldermen,  the  treasurer's  office,  and  the  district  court.  One  flight 
higher  led  to  the  jury-rooms  and  offices  of  the  surveyor,  engineer,  board  of 
educ.,  the  whole  surmounted  by  the  bell-ringer  watching  in  his  cupola  for 
fires.  The  same  council  sought  to  arrange  with  the  state  for  foisting  the 
Colton  grants  upon  the  city. 

19  The  aldermen  were  presided  over  by  J.  P.  Haven,  the  pioneer  insurance 
agent,  and  J.  De  Long.     The  officials  embraced  R.  Mathewson,  L.  Teal,  H. 
Bowie,  G.  W.   Baker,  R.   G.   Crozier,  and  J.  K.  Hackett,  as  controller,  col 
lector,  treasurer,  recorder,  marshal,  and  attorney,  respectively. 

20  Adding  county  expenses,  which  had  grown  from  $115,700  in  1851-2  to 
$292,700  in  1852-3,  and  to  $391,000  in  1853-4,  the  total  was  $1,831,800,  while 
the  receipts  amounted  to  $1,200,000  from  a  tax  rate  of  $2  for  the  city,  and 
$1.28^  for  the  county,  while  the  state  tax  was  60  cts.     Under  the  general 
prosperity  culminating  in  1853,  the  assessed  value  of  property  had  Arisen  to 
$28,900,000.     Corruption  entered   into   every  branch   of  administration,  as 
may  be  seen  from  the  item  of  $205,300  for  wharf  purchases,  $479,000  for 
streets,  $213,400  for  hospitals,  $149,300  for  police  and  prisoners,  $126,600  for 
the  volunteer  fire  department.     Salaries  were  $253,000. 

21  By  ordinance  of  Oct.  28,  1853.     The  force  to  be  composed  of  56,  each 
alderman  appointing  three,  to  be  confirmed  in  council;  one  district  and  sta- 


HONEST  HARRY  MEIGCS.  765 

der.  Money  was  spirited  away  among  controlling 
men  and  partisans,  and  business  transacted  on  trust, 
contractors  and  employes  being  paid  in  warrants  or 
municipal  promissory  notes.  Without  definite  pros 
pects  for  payment,  these  naturally  depreciated,  and 
creditors  sought  compensation  by  adding  losses  to 
their  bills,  so  that  the  city  had  frequently  to  pay 
double  or  treble  for  work  itself,  besides  other  filch- 
ings.  Warrants  were  moreover  signed  loosely  in 
blank,  and  allowed  to  circulate  as  security  or  as  dis 
counted  paper,  without  inquiry  as  to  their  extent  or 
nature,  till  the  accumulation  of  funds  brought  forward 
a  part  for  redemption.  This  neglect  on  the  part  of 
officials,  as  well  as  business  men,  favored  such  frauds 
as  were  perpetrated  in  1854  by  Alderman  Henry 
Meiggs,  who  decamped  after  victimizing  the  commu 
nity  for  about  a  million,  chiefly  on  forged  warrants.22 

The  success  of  spoliators  whetted  the  appetite  of 
the  opposition  element,  which,  uniting  with  a  number 
of  earnest  men  to  form  the  known  othing  party,  raised 

tion  house  in  the  city;  pay  of  54  policemen,  $150  per  month,  captain  and  his 
assistant  $200.  In  Dec.  $300  per  month  was  added  for  a  detective  police. 
S.  F.  Ordin.,  1853,  183-5,  199,  171.  Names  of  men  in  8.  F.  Direct.,  1854, 
209.  The  office  of  city  engineer  was  also  created  in  Sept. 

22  Honest  Harry,  as  he  was  called,  had  become  a  general  favorite,  owing 
to  his  genial  manners,  generous  disposition,  and  tact.  In  1850  he  was  a 
prominent  man  in  S.  F. ,  notably  as  a  lumber-dealer  and  mill-owner,  with  his 
"depOt  at  North  Beach,  in  which  region  he  consequently  become  interested  by 
large  purchases  of  lots.  He  sought  to  direct  the  city  extension  that  way,  and 
to  this  end  expended  large  sums  on  improvements,  grading,  wharf,  etc.,  aided 
by  his  position  as  alderman  during  three  administrations.  This  proved  a 
heavy  drain  upon  his  resources,  and  just  as  he  expected  to  recuperate  by  sell 
ing  lots,  real  estate  began  to  drop  rapidly.  Deeply  involved,  he  sought  relief 
by  forging  purloined  warrants  and  other  notes,  and  borrowing  money  upon 
them  at  several  per  cent  per  month,  $75,000  being  raised  on  $300,000  over 
issue  of  stock  for  the  lumber  company  of  which  he  was  president.  Prospects 
growing  darker,  and  ugly  rumors  starting,  Meiggs  fitted  out  a  vessel  in  a 
lavish  manner,  and  departed  in  Oct.  1854  for  Chile  with  his  family  and 
brother,  the  latter  having  just  been  elected  controller,  with  a  view  of  cov 
ering  the  manipulations  of  the  other.  The  extent  of  his  failure  was  at  first 
magnified  to  about  $2,000,000,  and  by  others  reduced  not  below  $750,000. 
Rich  and  poor,  merchants  and  toiling  workmen,  suffered.  Many  preferred  for 
their  own  credit  to  hide  their  loss,  others,  including  confederated  aldermen,  took 
advantage  of  the  incident  to  repudiate  as  forgeries  genuine  indebtedness,  and 
so  the  case  remained  involved  in  mystery.  Meiggs  gained  riches  and  renown 
as  a  railway  contractor  in  Chile  and  Peru,  and  bought  up  most  of  his  notes  at 
a  low  figure,  and  the  California  legislature  passed  an  unconstitutional  act  of 
pardon,  which  the  governor  vetoed. 


766  ANNALS  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

the  cry  for  reform,  and  so  won  adherents  in  every 
direction.  Under  the  plea  of  gaining  indispensable 
support  for  their  young  party,  the  scheming  lead 
ers  introduced  an  additional  proportion  of  tools  upon 
the  ticket,  upon  which  a  number  of  influential  names 
also  of  the  existing  regime  served  to  insure  a  de 
lusive  confidence.  Then  with  cunning  manoeuvres 
calculated  to  defeat  the  democratic  ballot-stuffers  at 
their  own  game,  they  wrested  the  victory  at  the  polls, 
and  S.  P.  Webb  replaced  C.  K.  Garrison23  as  mayor 
in  October  1854. 

During  the  preceding  term  there  had  been  some 
justification  for  expenses  in  the  general  prosperity 
and  demand  for  improvements,  but  midst  the  settling 
gloom  of  1854-5  retrenchment  should  have  followed. 
Instead  of  this,  however,  the  expenditures  for  the  city 
and  county  increased  more  than  one  third,  with  a 
doubling  of  the  street  department  bills,  and  a  large 
increase  in  the  accounts  for  salaries,  hospitals,  and  fire 
and  police  departments.24  Expenses  for  the  following 
year  decreased  for  lack  of  accessible  means  and  fall 
ing  credit,25  but  corruption  in  judicial  and  civic  ad- 

23  A  self-made  man,  though  born  of  a  Knickerbocker  family,  near  West 
Point,  March  1,  1809.     He  rose  from  cabin-boy  to  builder  of  houses  and  ves 
sels,  and  to  the  command  of  steamboats.     The  gold  excitement  induced  him 
to  establish  a  banking  house  at  Panama,  and  in  1852  he  received  the  agency 
at  S.  F.  of  the  Nicaragua  steamship  line,  and  of  two  insurance  companies. 
Despite  the  loss  of  steamers,  he  acquired  a  princely  fortune,  with  which  he 
transferred  himself  in  1859  to  his  native  state,  there  to  continue  figuring  as 
a  magnate.  Larkin's  Doc.,  vii.  222;  Sherman's  Mem.,  100;  portrait  in  Annals 
S.  F.,  744;  and  Shuck's  Rep.  Men.,  143;  Alta  Cal,  July  8,  1869,  etc.     Despite 
the  many  promises  in  his  messages  and  acts,  he  failed  to  check  the  extrava 
gance  and  corruption  around  him.     The  career  of  Webb  turned  in  another 
direction,  and  in  1877  he  was  reported  as  living  in  blindness  and  poverty  at 
Andover,  Mass.  S.  J.  Pioneer,  May  12,  1877.     Among^  the  political  associ 
ates  of  Garrison  were  S.  R.  Harris,  W.  A.  Mathews,  H.  Bowie,  G.  W.  Baker, 
B.   Seguin,  S.  A.  Sharpe;  and  of  Webb,  W.  Sherman,  E.  T.  Batturs,  D.  S. 
Turner,  R.  H.  Waller,  J.  W.  McKenzie,  L.  Sawyer;  both  parties  respect 
ively   as   controller,  collector,    treasurer,  recorder,  marshal,  and   attorney. 
J.  F.  A  twill  was  president  of  the  aldermen  in  1853-4  and  1854-5,  and  F. 
Turk  and  H.  Haight  successive  presidents  of  the  assistant  board.     For  Webb's 
inaugural  speech,  see  A  Ita  Cal ,  Oct.  3,  1854. 

24  The  total  swelled  to  $2,646,200,  upon  an  assessed  valuation  of  $34,763,- 
000;  the  city  tax  was  $2.15  per  cent,  plus  $1.70^  for  state  and  county,  and 
the  city  and  county  receipts  $1,076,000,  more  than  $120,000  less  than  for 
the  preceding  year. 

*>The  city  and  county  revenue  falling  to  $702,000. 


VIGILANCE  REFORM.  767 

ministration  grew  more  flagrant  than  ever  in  other 
respects.26 

The  city  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  political  dema 
gogues  from  New  York,  which  formed  the  majority  of 
the  dominant  factions,  and  came  versed  in  all  the  arts 
of  Tammany  Hall  for  manipulating  elections.  With 
farcical  party  conventions  and  a  subsidized  press  they 
hoodwinked  the  public,  while  offering  votes  to  the 
highest  bidder  or  to  their  own  adherents.  Then,  with 
the  aid  of  the  interested  and  corrupt  officials  and 
judges  who  stood  ever  ready  to  sell  their  influence  to 
schemers  and  criminals,  they  tampered  with  the  ballot- 
boxes,  and  enrolled  ruffians  to  intimidate  honest  voters, 
and  to  repeat  their  own  illegal  balloting  in  different 
wards.27  These  creatures  were  subsequently  rewarded 
either  with  city  money  or  patronage,  and  with  ap 
pointments  on  the  police  force  or  in  other  departments, 
in  order  to  sustain  the  installed  plunderers. 

This  state  of  affairs  was  mainly  due  to  the  indiffer 
ence  of  respectable  citizens  for  their  political  duties, 
intent  as  they  were  on  amassing  wealth,  for  enjoyment 
in  an  eastern  home.28  But  even  their  apathy  was 

26  The  officials  for  1855-6  were  Jas  Van  Ness,  mayor;  A.  J.    Moulder, 
controller;  E.  T.  Batturs,  collector;  W.  McKibben,  treasurer;  J.  Van  Ness, 
recorder;  H.  North,  marshal;  B.  Peyton,  attorney.     J.  M.  Tewksbury  and 
H.  J.  Wells  presided  over  the  two  boards.     For  the  county  Thos  Hayes  held 
the  position  of  county  clerk  since  1853,  as  successor  to  J.  E.  Wainwright  and 
J.  E.  Addison  for  1851  and  1850,  respectively.     H.  H.  Byrne  had  been  at 
torney  since  1851,  succeeding  Benham.     The  sheriff  for  1850  had  been  J.  C. 
Hayes,  reflected  in  1851  and  succeeded  by  T.  P.  Johnson;  W.  P.  Gorham 
acted  in  1853-4,  D.  Scannell  in  1855-6.     The  successive  treasurers  in  1850, 
1851,  1853,  and  1855  were  G.  W.  Endicott,  J.  Shannon,  G.  W.  Greene,  and 
R.  E.  Woods;  recorders  for  the  same  periods,  J.  A.  McGlynn,  T.  B.  Russum, 
Jas  Grant,  and  F.  Kohler.     Van  Ness,  who  is  well  remembered  for  his  land 
ordinance,  and  through  the  avenue  named  after  him,  was  the  son  of  a  Ver 
mont  governor,  born  at  Burlington  in  1808.     As  an  able  lawyer,  he  quickly 
assumed  prominence  in  S.  F.,  and  held  repeatedly  the  office  of  alderman  be 
fore  becoming  mayor.     He  subsequently  moved  southward  to  pursue  agricul 
ture,  and  was  in  1871  chosen  state  senator  for  S.  L.  Obispo  and  Sta  Barbara. 
He  died  on  Dec.  28,  1872,  at  S.  L.  Obispo.  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Jan.  2,  1873;  Santa 
Clara  Argus  Jan.  4,  1873;  S.  L.  Ob.  Tribune,  Jan.  4,  1873-  S.  Dkyo  Union, 
Jan.  16,  1873. 

27  As  more  fully  explained  in  my  Popular  Tribunals,  ii.,  with  illustrations 
of  false  ballot-boxes. 

28  And  so  they  neglected  voting,  jury  calls,  etc. ,  and  left  ruffians  to  hold 
sway,  often  allowing  a  momentary  caprice  to  decide  their  choice.     For  in- 


768  ANNALS  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

overcome  at  last.  The  assassination  on  May  14,  1856, 
of  J.  King  of  William,  who  in  the  Bulletin  had  under 
taken  to  expose  official  corruption,  gave  the  decisive 
impulse.  The  people  rose  almost  en  masse  to  avenge 
their  champion.  A  vigilance  committee  formed  again 
to  supervise  and  purify  the  city,  especially  the  political 
and  judicial  administration,  chiefly  by  driving  forth 
the  miscreants  through  whom  politicians  carried  out 
their  election  trickery,  by  calling  upon  the  people  to 
nominate  candidates  of  high  character,  and  by  guard 
ing  the  ballot-box  from  fraud.  So  effectually  was 
this  task  performed,  that  after  a  vigilance  session  of 
three  months,  San  Francisco  stood  transformed  from 
among  the  most  corrupt  and  insecure  towns  in  the 
union  to  one  which  within  a  year  came  to  be  lauded 
as  a  model  for  wise  and  economic  government.29 

The  reform  secured  a  sound  basis  in  the  Con 
solidation  Act,  the  chief  aim  of  which  was  municipal 
retrenchment  by  merging  the  double  city  and  county 
governments  into  one,  and  reducing  the  pay  and  fees 
as  well  as  number  of  officials.  The  combined  county 
and  city  limits  were  by  it  restricted  to  the  tip  of  the 
peninsula,  north  of  a  line  skirting  the  southern  extreme 
of  Laguna  de  la  Merced,  and  divided  into  twelve  dis 
tricts,  equal  in  population,  each  of  which  elected  one 
member  to  the  governing  board  of  supervisors.  The 

stance,  Robinson  of  the  amphitheatre  received  a  large  vote  for  alderman 
simply  because  his  metric  ridicule  of  local  authorities  caught  the  public  fancy. 
See  Annals  S.  F.,  338-40.  Citizens  in  general  smiled  at  the  advantage  se 
cured  by  officials,  and  so  kept  rogues  in  countenance.  Party  spirit  will  be 
considered  under  state  politics.  McGowan's  version  of  local  politics  in  S.  F. 
Post,  Sept.  12,  1878.  Special  points  are  given  in  Coon's  Annals,  MS.,  2-5; 
Manrows  Stat.,  MS.,  2-3;  Farwell's  Stat.,  MS.,  13-14. 

29  This  grand  and  beneficent  vigilance  movement  stands  fully  recorded,  in 
the  corruption  which  caused  it,  in  its  extent,  method,  work,  and  glorious  re* 
suits,  in  my  special  work  on  Popular  Tribunals,  2  vols.,  this  series,  and  the 
brief  synopsis  in  a  previous  chapter,  which  are  chiefly  based  on  the  state 
ments  and  hitherto  secret  records  intrusted  to  me  by  the  men  who  figured 
as  leaders  of  the  committee,  and  by  several  score  of  its  supporters.  The 
progress  of  reform  growing  out  of  it  will  be  noticed  in  my  next  volume,  based 
on  the  MS.  records  of  such  men  as  Coon,  who  reformed  the  police  department, 
of  Coleman,  Bluxome,  and  others.  The  Bulletin  follows  among  journals  most 
closely  the  entire  movement.  In  its  issues  of  July  14,  1856,  etc.,  it  gives 
the  summon  to  and  refusal  of  the  city  officials  to  resign. 


CONSOLIDATION  ACT.  769 

mayor  was  replaced  by  a  president  of  this  board,  chosen 
by  popular  vote,  together  with  the  necessary  staff  of 
officials,  among  them  a  police  judge  with  special 
powers,  a  chief  of  police  to  relieve  the  sheriff  of  the 
police  management,  and  two  dock-masters  to  replace 
the  harbor-master;  all,  with  four  minor  exceptions, 
elected  for  two  years  in  order  to  abate  the  evil  of  rapid 
rotation.  Taxes,  aside  from  the  state  levy,  were  lim 
ited  to  one  dollar  and  sixty  cents  per  centum,  of  which 
thirty-five  cents  were  for  schools.  The  contraction  of 
debts  by  the  government  was  prohibited,  and  the  ex 
penditure  of  different  departments  specified  and  limited, 
with  no  allowance  for  rent,  fuel,  and  other  incidentals. 
The  police  force  was  reduced  to  thirty-four,  and  offend 
ers  were  awed  by  greater  strictness,  including  sen 
tences  to  public  labor.30 

30 The  charter,  approved  April  19,  1856,  contains  the  following  features: 
Art.  I.  Sec.  1.  The  boundaries  of  the  united  city  and  county  of  S.  F.  remain 
as  before  (defined  in  1857),  except  on  the  south,  where  the  line  begins  on  the 
eastern  border,  due  east  of  Shag  Rock,  which  lies  off  Hunter's  Point,  and 
running  west  through  a  point  on  the  county  road,  one  fourth  of  a  mile  N.  E. 
of  Lilly's  county  house  to  the  s.  E.  extremity  of  the  south  arm  of  Laguna 
de  la  Merced;  thence  due  west  out  into  the  ocean.  Sec.  4.  Existing  regula 
tions  for  county  officers,  excepting  supervisors,  remain  in  force  unless  changed 
by  this  charter.  Taxes  to  be  uniform  throughout  the  city  and  county.  Sec. 
5.  The  city  and  county  to  be  at  once  formed  into  twelve  districts,  equal  in 
population,  and  each  constituting  an  election  precinct.  Sec.  6.  At  the 
time  of  election  for  state  officers,  S.  F.  shall  elect  hereafter  a  president  of  the 
board  of  supervisors,  a  county  judge,  clerk,  police  judge,  chief  of  police, 
sheriff,  coroner,  recorder,  treasurer,  auditor,  collector,  assessor,  surveyor, 
superintendent  of  common  schools,  superintendent  of  streets,  district  attor 
ney,  two  dock-masters,  who  shall  continue  in  office  two  years;  the  office  of 
harbor-master  is  abolished;  further,  for  each  district,  one  supervisor,  one 
justice  of  the  peace,  and  one  school  director,  to  continue  in  office  two  years; 
also  one  constable,  one  inspector  and  two  judges  of  election,  to  hold  office  for 
one  year.  Each  elector  to  vote  only  for  one  inspector  and  one  judge  of  elec 
tion,  those  having  the  highest  votes  to  receive  the  offices.  Sec.  8.  Hours  at 
public  offices  to  be  from  9  A.  M.  to  5  p.  M.  from  March  to  Sept. ;  in  the  other 
months  from  10  to  4.  Sec.  9.  Vacancies  in  elective  offices  to  be  filled  by  ap 
pointment  from  the  board  of  supervisors  till  the  following  election;  except 
for  office  of  dock-masters,  to  which  the  governor  appoints,  and  for  sheriff,  to 
which  the  court  appoints.  Sec.  10.  The  fees  and  compensation  of  sheriff, 
clerk,  county  judge,  recorder,  surveyor,  treasurer,  assessor,  and  dock-mas 
ters  remain  as  before,  yet  that  of  assessor  not  to  exceed  $5,000  a  year,  includ 
ing  expenses  for  clerks,  etc.;  dock-masters  to  receive  $4,000  each  a  year; 
treasurer  to  receive  commissions  only  on  receipts,  not  on  payments  or  trans 
fers,  and  no  allowance  for  clerks  and  incidentals;  surveyor  to  receive  $1,000 
salary  for  all  city  and  county  work.  Sec.  11.  Auditor,  police  judge,  attorney, 
and  chief  of  police  to  receive  $5,000  each;  supt  of  streets  and  of  schools,  $4,000 
each;  president  of  supervisors,  $2,000;  no  fee  or  salary  to  school  directors  or 
supervisors;  inspectors  and  judges  of  election,  $12  each  for  each  election.  No 
HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.  49 


770  ANNALS  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO 

The  vigilance  movement  not  only  affected  the  choice 
and  conduct  of  the  officials  who  held  power  under 

further  allowance  to  any  official  for  rents,  fuel,  etc.,  yet  the  necessary  books 
for  auditor,  assessor,  and  supt  of  streets  may  be  supplied  by  order  of  super 
visors  upon  the  treasury.  Sec.  12.  No  board  or  official  can  contract  any  debt 
against  the  city  or  county.  Sec.  13.  The  term  of  office  under  this  act  to  com 
mence  on  the  Monday  following  the  election,  unless  otherwise  provided  by 
law.  Sec.  14.  All  officers  must  give  bond,  to  be  approved  by  judge,  auditor, 
and  supervisors;  no  banker,  or  his  agent  or  relative,  to  be  surety  for  any 
officer  having  the  control  of  money;  the  surety  must  be  worth  twice  the 
amount  of  his  undertaking,  above  all  other  liabilities. 

Art.  II.  Sec.  15.  The  police  dept  to  be  under  direction  of  the  chief  of 
police,  with  the  powers  hitherto  conferred  on  sheriffs.  Sec.  19-20.  The 
police  judge  to  have  the  powers  of  recorders  and  justices  of  the  peace,  fol 
lowing  recorder's  court  proceedings;  and  to  try  offences  against  the  regulations 
of  supervisors.  No  appeals  from  his  fines  when  not  exceeding  $20;  his  court 
to  be  a  court  of  record,  with  a  clerk  appointed  by  the  supervisors,  at  $1,200 
a  year.  Sec.  22.  Fines  from  the  courts  of  police  judge,  sessions,  and  justices, 
to  be  paid  into  the  treasury  as  part  of  the  police  fund.  Courts  have  the 
option  of  imposing  labor  on  public  works,  instead  of  fines  and  imprisonment, 
counted  at  the  rate  of  $1  per  day.  Sec.  23-4.  The  chief  of  police,  in  con 
junction  with  president  of  supervisors  and  police  judge,  to  appoint  four  police 
captains,  each  from  a  different  district,  and  not  exceeding  30  police  officers, 
from  the  different  districts,  each  recommended  by  12  freeholders.  Sec.  25. 
Pay  of  captains,  $1,800;  of  officers,  $1,200  a  year.  Sec.  27.  Provisional  polic 
may  be  appointed  for  24  hours,  without  pay,  in  cases  of  emergency. 

Art.  III.  Sec.  30-5  concern  schools.  Of  the  school  act,  May  3,  1855, 
sees.  19-24  are  inapplicable.  The  petition  of  50  heads  of  white  families  in 
any  district  justify  the  establishment  of  a  school. 

Art.  IV.  Sec.  36-64  concern  streets  and  highways.  The  grading,  paving, 
planking,  sewering,  etc.,  of  streets  to  be  done  at  the  expense  of  the  lots  on  each 
side  of  the  street;  grading  may  be  opposed  by  one  third  of  interested  prop 
erty  holders.  Property  seized  for  money  due  on  street  work  to  be  sold  for  a 
term  of  years. 

Art.  V.  Sec.  65-74  concern  supervisors.  Their  president  must  sign  all 
ordinances,  yet  such  may  be  passed  over  his  veto  by  two  thirds  of  the  super 
visors.  All  contracts  for  building,  printing,  prison  supplies  (the  latter  not 
exceeding  25  cts  per  day  for  each  person  daily),  to  be  awarded  to  the  lowest 
reliable  bidder.  The  taxation,  exclusive  of  state  and  school  tax,  shall  not  ex 
ceed  $1.25  per  cent  on  assessed  property.  The  school  tax  must  not  exceed 
35  cents  per  cent.  Appointments  of  public  agents  or  officers,  which  so  far 
have  been  made  by  nomination  from  the  mayor  with  confirmation  from  the 
common  council,  are  to  be  made  by  confirmation  of  the  supervisors  on  nomi 
nation  of  their  president.  In  addition  to  regular  duties  and  powers,  the 
supervisors  may  provide  ways  and  means  for  sustaining  city  claims  to  pueblo 
lands. 

Art.  VI.  Sec.  75-98  relate  to  finance.  Fines,  penalties,  and  forfeitures 
for  offences  go  to  the  police  fund;  likewise  40  per  cent  of  the  poll-tax,  or  such 
proportion  as  may  be  assigned  to  the  city  and  county;  this  fund  to  be  aided 
by  the  general  fund  of  S.  F.,  if  required,  the  latter  fund  consisting  of  unas- 
signed  moneys  and  the  surplus  from  special  funds.  Taxes  may  be  paid  at 
one  per  cent  above  par  value,  with  audited  salary  bills  of  school-teachers, 
interest  coupons  on  funded  debt  of  S.  F. ,  and  audited  demands  on  the  treas 
ury  as  per  sec.  88.  Expenditures  for  fire  dept,  exclusive  of  salaries,  are  lim 
ited  to  $8,000  a  year;  expenditures  not  specified  by  the  act 'must  not  exceed 
$70,000  a  year  from  the  surplus  fund  of  the  corresponding  year  alone.  Sched 
ule,  sec.  1-10.  Until  the  next  general  election  the  present  county  auditor 
shall  act  for  S.  F.,  and  the  present  city  marshal  to  act  as  chief  of  police,  and 


PEOPLE'S  PARTY.  771 

this  charter  from  July  to  November,31  but  out  of  it 
sprang  the  people's  party,32  composed  of  vigilance  sym- 

the  present  city  surveyor  as  superint.  of  streets,  and  the  present  mayor  as 
police  judge,  and  the  present  justices  of  the  peace  as  supervisors,  electing 
president  and  clerk,  all  with  the  power,  duties,  and  compensation  prescribed 
in  this  act.  The  police  force  to  be  immediately  reduced  according  to  this  act. 
The  board  of  education  of  the  city  to  act  till  the  general  election.  Then  shall 
be  elected  for  city  and  county  a  president  of  supervisors,  police  judge,  chief 
of  police,  auditor,  tax  collector,  and  superint.  of  streets,  and  for  the  several 
districts  the  supervisors,  school  directors,  justices  of  the  peace,  constables, 
and  inspectors  and  judges  of  election,  and  all  vacancies  in  elective  offices  are 
then  to  be  filled.  This  act  to  take  effect  on  and  after  July  1st.  Sec.  9.  San 
Mateo  county  to  be  formed  out  of  the  southern  part  of  S.  F.  county;  county 
seat  and  county  officers  to  be  elected  on  the  second  Monday  in  May  1856,  as 
per  subdiv.  5-15;  a  special  tax  levy  not  exceeding  50  cents  on  $100,  to  be 
applied  to  a  jail  and  county  house;  the  ordinary  taxation,  exclusive  of  state 
and  school  tax,  must  not  exceed  50  cents  on  $100;  no  debt  to  be  contracted. 
For  text,  see  Cal  Statutes,  1856,  145  et  seq.;  S.  F.  Consolid.  Act. 

The  main  object  of  the  charter,  economy,  is  insured  by  several  provisions, 
such  as  the  specification  of  items  of  expenditure,  the  legal  restriction  on  pay 
ments,  the  exclusion  of  contingent  expenses,  the  offer  of  contracts  to  lowest 
bidder,  the  assignment  of  street  work  to  owners  of  property  concerned,  so  as 
to  restrict  price  as  well  as  extravagance.  Aside  from  the  guardianship  pos 
sessed  by  each  district  in  its  supervisor  and  recommended  police,  each  party 
obtained  representation  through  the  manner  of  electing  election  judges.  The 
several  good  points  of  the  document  do  not,  however,  excuse  its  defects,  which 
have  subsequently  found  recognition  in  a  host  of  material  amendments,  as 
•will  be  noticed  in  my  next  volume.  Although  S.  F.  chiefly  originated  and 
benefited  by  the  debt  contracted  for  the  county,  yet  the  segregated  Sa;i 
Mateo  should  have  been  assigned  a  just  share.  The  text  of  the  document  ia 
verbose,  straggling,  and  involved,  altogether  unworthy  of  so  important  an 
act. 

Mr  Hawes,  once  prefect  of  S.  F.  county,  who  introduced  the  bill  in  the 
assembly,  was  mobbed  by  partisans  of  disappointed  plunderers.  The  defects 
of  the  early  charter,  or  rather  the  grievances  and  aspirations  of  the  eighth 
ward,  had  in  1853  led  to  a  revision,  greatly  affecting  squatters,  which  was 
defeated  in  six  wards,  yet  carried  by  the  majority  of  the  eighth,  only  to  be 
lost  in  the  legislature.  Text  in  S.  F.  New  Charter,  1853,  1-24.  Out  of  this 
grew  a  duel  between  Alderman  Hayes  and  Editor  Nugent,  the  latter  being 
again  wounded.  8.  F.  Whig,  June  11,  1853;  8.  F.  Post,  Aug.  3,  1878;  Alia 
Cal,  Apr.  15,  1853,  etc.,  claimed  that  the  charter  vote  was  'stuffed.1  The 
revision  question  continued  in  agitation,  however,  and  resulted  in  the  passage 
of  a  reincorporation  act,  approved  May  5,  1855,  which  greatly  checked  expen 
diture.  Under  this  charter  was  elected  Mayor  Van  Ness  and  his  colleagues, 
who  held  office  from  July  1855.  Cal  Statutes,  1855,  251-67,  284;  8.  F.  Ordi 
nances,  1853-4,  509;  S.  F.  New  Charter,  Scraps,  Sac.  Union,  Apr.  28-30,  1855, 
etc.  Changes  in  ward  boundaries  may  be  examined  in  S.  F.  Directories,  1852, 
p.  67;  1854,  p.  177;  1856,  p.  137,  etc. 

31  It  embraced  the  county  officials,  two  of  the  old  city  staff  and  a  few 
newly  elected  men,  notably  four  justices  of  the  peace,  who  assisted  to  form 
the  provisional  board  of  supervisors,  under  G.  J.  Whelan  as  president,  the 
mayor  being  transformed  into  police  judge,  according  to  the  schedule  of  the 
charter. 

32  Which  recognized  among  evils,  rotation  in  office,  connection  with  gen 
eral  party  politics  of  state  and  nation,  etc.     Some  even  advocated  officers 
elected  exclusively  by  tax -payers  for  managing  finances.      Jury  duty  was 
upheld  as  sacred,   etc.    Dempster's    Vig.,   MS.,   17-20'   Coons  Annals,  MS., 
6-12. 


772  ANNALS  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

pathizers,  who  organized  a  nominating-  committee  of 
twenty-one  prominent  citizens  to  select  efficient  and 
worthy  candidates  for  office,  regardless  of  political 
creeds  and  other  irrelevant  distinctions.  This  ticket 
headed  by  E.  W.  Burr  as  president  of  the  board  of 
supervisors,  with  H.  P.  Coon  for  police  judge,  D. 
Scannell  for  sheriff,  and  W.  Hooper  for  treasurer  and 
collector,33  received  the  approval  of  electors,  and  it 
was  justified  by  the  sweeping  reforms  carried  out 
midst  great  obstacles,  by  an  economic  administration 
which  reduced  expenses  to  the  extraordinarily  low 
figure  of  $353,300  for  the  year,  or  less  than  one  sixth 
of  the  amount  for  1854-5,34  and  by  a  purification  of 
the  city  hall  from  partisan  trickery  and  other  disre 
putable  elements. 

Under  the  heedless  rush  of  expenditure  which  be 
gan  in  1850,  as  noticed  in  a  preceding  chapter,  em 
bracing  monstrous  self-voted  salaries  to  aldermen,  and 
squandering  and  peculation  under  the  guise  of  grading, 
building,  and  other  operations,  a  debt  of  over  one  mil 
lion  had  been  contracted  in  about  a  year,  which  was 
rapidly  growing  under  a  heavy  interest  of  thirty-six 
per  cent,  and  the  excessive  charges  demanded  in  view 
of  depreciated  scrip  payments  and  prospective  deficits.35 
Alarmed  at  the  pace,  a  number  of  conscientious  men 
bestirred  themselves  to  obtain,  not  alone  the  new 
charter  of  April  1851,  which  should  restrain  such  ex 
travagance,  but  an  act  to  fund  the  debt  on  the  reason 
able  basis  of  ten  per  cent  interest,  redeemable  from  a 
preferred  fund  within  twenty  years.3®  Under  this, 

33  C.  R.  Bond,  assessor;  E.  Mickle,  auditor;  J.  F.  Curtis,  chief  of  police; 
H.    Kent,   coroner;  T.    Hayes,  county   clerk;   F.    Kohlerr   recorder;  H.    H. 
Byrne,  attorney;  Cheever  and  Noyes,  to  the  uselessly  double  office  of  dock- 
master;  J.   C.   Pelton,   supt  of  schools;  B.  O.  Devoe,  supt  of  streets.     The 
supervisors  for  the  twelve  districts  were,  in  numerical  order,  C.  Wilson,  W. 
A.  Darling,  W.  K.  Van  Allen,  M.  S.  Roberts,  S.  Merritt,  C.  W.  Bond,  H.  A. 
George,  N.  C.  Lane,  W.  Palmer,  R.  G.  Sneath,  ,T.  J.  Denny,  S.  S.  Tilton. 

34  Perhaps  the  retrenchment  was  too  severe,  for  gas  and  other  needfuls 
were  stopped  for  a  while,  and  streets,  schools,  etc. ,  suffered  somewhat. 

30  The  corporation  property  would  at  a  forced  sale  have  realized  barely  one 
third  of  the  indebtedness. 

36  Under  act  of  May  1,  1851,  accordingly  a  commission,  was  appointed,  em- 


FUNDED  DEBT.  773 

bonds  were  issued  for  $1,635,600  out  of  the  two  mil 
lions  due.  Among  those  who  refused  to  surrender 
their  scrip  was  Peter  Smith,37  who  procured  judg 
ments  against  the  city  and  began  to  levy  upon  its 
property.  Instead  of  raising  money,  as  they  could 
have  done,  for  settling  the  claim,  the  badly  advised 
commissioners  proclaimed  the  levy  illegal  and  fright 
ened  away  buyers  from  the  sale,  so  that  the  few  daring 
speculators  and  schemers  who  bought  the  property,  to 
the  amount  of  some  two  millions,  including  wharves, 
water  lots,  and  the  old  city  hall,  obtained  it  for  a  trifle, 
as  low  as  one  fiftieth  of  the  value  in  some  instances, 
A  large  proportion  of  the  sales  were  confirmed,  and  over 
the  rest  hung  for  years  a  depressing  cloud  which  added 
not  a  little  to  the  sacrifice.38  The  county  debt  was 
funded  in  1852  to  the  amount  of  $98,700  at  seven  per 
cent  interest,  payable  in  ten  years.39 

Special  loans  being  permitted  under  the  charter, 
bonds  were  issued  two  years  later  for  $60,000  to  aid 
the  struggling  schools,  and  for  $200,000  on  behalf  of 
the  fire  department,  with  interest  at  seven  and  ten 

bracing  P.  A.  Morse,  D.  J.  Tallant,  W.  Hooper,  J.  W.  Geary,  and  J.  King  of 
Wm,  to  issue  stock  and  manage  the  interest  and  the  sinking  fund  formed  by 
a  preferred  treasury  assignment  of  $50,000.  The  salary  of  the  commissioners 
was  $1,200  each,  the  prest  and  sec.  receiving  $300  more.  City  property  re 
quired  for  municipal  purposes  was  forever  exempt  from  sale.  All  city  prop 
erty  was  to  be  conveyed  to  the  commissioners.  Col.  Statutes,  1851,  387-91; 
Petition  for,  etc.  Id.,  Jour.  Sen.,  p.  1820;  Id.,  House,  p.  1463-6;  S.  F.  Floating 
Debt.  Mem,;  Alta  Cal,  Jan.  22,  Apr.  1,  1851;  Sac.  Trnnscript,  Feb.  1,  1851, 
Most  holders  accepted  the  stock,  although  not  bound  to  do  so;  a  few  who  held 
aloof  or  lived  abroad  were  finally  paid  in  full. 

37  Who  had  in  1850  contracted  to  care  for  the  destitute  sick  of  the  city  at 
$4  per  day.     His  claim  nqw  was  $64,431. 

38  The  sales  took  place  on  July  7,  Sept.  17,  1851;  Jan.  2,  30,  1852.    Among 
the  last  was  a  belt  of  600  ft  beyond  the  existing  water-front,  which  brought 
$7,000.     People  treated  them  as  a  farce,  but  the  aspect  changed  when  in 
junctions  were  issued  against  the  commissioners'  effort  to  dispose  of  the  prop 
erty.     A  compromise  was  offered  in  Feb.  1852,  but  failed,  owing  to  the  hostile 
attitude  of  the  council  in  refusing  to  support  it.     The  commissioners  were 
widely  blamed,  some  hinting  at  secret  connivance  with  the  plunderers,  but 
they  no  doubt  acted  in  good  faith  under  the  legal  advice  given.     The  state  in 
stituted  suit  against  them  for  25  per  cent  of  the  sold  water  lots.     Had  all 
claimants  joined  in  Smith's  procedure,  the  lack  of  available  means  for  the  total 
would  have  frustrated  it.  Alia  Cal.,  Nov.  24-Dec.  10,  1852,  March  30  J853, 
is  especially  full  of  comments. 

39  By  act  of  May  4,  1852,  S.  R.  Harris,  F.  D.  Kohler,  and  O.  Frank  being 
commissioners,  who  received  $500  each  for  their  work,  and  the  sec.  $1,500, 
For  sinking  fund,  etc.,  see  Cal.  Laws,  1850-3,  p.  365-7. 


774  ANNALS  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

per  cent  respectively,  and  redeemable  within  about 
twelve  years.  Meanwhile  the  administration  had 
again  relapsed  from  the  momentary  fit  of  economy  in 
1851,  with  a  consequent  accumulation  of  fresh  city 
warrants  to  the  amount  of  $2,059,000 ;  but  as  this  sum 
had  been  swelled  largely  by  Meiggs7  forgeries  and 
other  doubtful  means,  it  was  compounded  under  a 
funding  act  of  1855,  for  $329,000  in  bonds,  bearing, 
six  per  cent  interest,  and  redeemable  in  1875.40  The 
management  of  the  different  debts  proved  satisfactory, 
with  a  steady  increase  of  the  sinking  funds,  besides 
punctual  payment  of  interest  and  a  partial  redemption, 
so  that  the  final  settlement  seemed  assured.41  The 
obligations  connected  with  these  bonds  alone  absorbed 
fully  one  third  of  the  regular  revenue  as  established  in 
1856,  and  accounted  in  a  measure  for  the  ever-recur 
ring  excess  of  expenditure,  notwithstanding  the  liberal 
tax  levy,  as  shown  in  the  annexed  noteJ 


42 


40  Act  of  May  7,  1855,  authorized  the  council  to  appoint  three  citizens  as  a. 
board  of  examiners,  at  the  same   time   the  mayor,   controller,   and  treas 
urer  acting  as  commissioners  at  $1,200  each  a  year.     The  sinking  fund  to  be 
started  in  1865.  Cal  Statutes,  1855,  285-7.     A  repudiation,  Hitteil,  S.  F.,  227, 
t3rms  it.     In  April  1855  the  scrip  was  quoted  at  61-2  cts.     By  ordinances  of 
Sept.  22,  1853,  and  Dec.  1,  1853.    The  school  bond  sinking  fund  received  $5,000 
aanually;  that  of  the  fire  bonds,  $16,666;  the  respective  date  of  redemption 
was  Nov.  1,  1865,  and  Dec.  1,  1866.  S.  F.  Ordin.,  1853,  400,  512-13,  etc. 

41  By  the  middle  of  1856  the  debt  of  1851  had  been  reduced  by  $136,600,  and 
the  county  bonds  were  redeemed  before  half  the  term  had  expired,  at  a  discount 
of  25  per  cent.    The  city  had  so  far  expended  for  the  debt  for  1851  $1,  196,  117, 
chiefly  for  interest,  less  than  $200,000  going  to  the  sinking  fund.     The  interest 
on  the  other  three  bonds  had  absorbed  $48,307.    Then  there  was  a  mortgage  on 
the  city  hall  of  $27,792,  and  $27,792  due  on  the  purchase,  while  the  outstanding 
three  per  cent  monthly  scrip  of  1851  and  audited  warrants  loomed  above. 
Compare  statements  in  #.  F.  Municipal  Reports  also  of  1859,  1869,  etc.,  and 
abstracts  in  journals  following  the  quarter  and  annual  treasury  reports,  with 
synopsis  in  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Oct.  8,  1855;  Aug.  2,  1856,  etc.;  Merc.  Gaz.,  Aug. 
10,   1860;  Alta  CaL,  May  16,  1853;  June  27,  July  7,  1856;  S.  F.  Herald,  id., 
etc.  ;  Sac.  Union,  Feb.  19,  March  14,  Apr.  23,  July  14,  1855,  etc. 

"  The  rates  of  taxation  since  1850  were: 

Year.  City.  County.  State.  Total. 

1850-1  .........  $1.00  $0.50  $0.50  $2.00 

1851-2  .........  2.45  1.15  .50  4.10 

1852-3  .........  2.45  1.66J  .30  4.41£ 

1853-4  .........  2.00  1.284  .60  3.88^ 

.104 


1854-5  .........  2.15  1.104  -60  3.85^ 

1855-6  .........  2.33J  .82£  .70  3.85* 

1856-7  .........   1.60  .70  2.30 

The  quarterly  licenses  under  charter  of  1851  were  from  $50  to  $100  on  auction 
and  commission  business  with  dealings  from  $25,000  a  year  downward,  and 


FIRES  AND  BUILDINGS. 


775 


Out  of  the   sweeping   conflagrations   of  her  early 
years,    San    Francisco   had    emerged    a   transformed 

$150  ou  dealings  above  $50,000;  merchants  and  manufacturers  paid  about  J 
to  .£  more,  and  wholesale  liquor  dealers  $10  above  this.  Bar-rooms  paid  $30 
on  business  below  $2,000  per  month,  and  $60  and  $100  for  limits  of  $4,000 
and  over;  restaurants  and  coffee-houses  $25;  brokers  $50;  pedlers  $100,  ex 
cept  when  selling  produce  raised  within  the  corporate  limits;  omnibuses  $15, 
two-horse  hacks  $10,  and  wagons  $8;  gambling-houses  $50;  billiard  and 
bowling  halls  $25  for  each  table  or  alley.  S.  F.  Manual,  1852,  30  et  seq. 
These  sources  yielded  for: 

Municipal 
Licenses. 
$59,591 
276,835 
328,039 


Year. 
1850-1 . 
1851-2. 
1852-3. 
1853-4. 
1854-5. 
1855-6. 
1856-7. 


City 
Taxes. 
$103,013 
3J5,661 
397,033 
592,240 
582,732 
424,766 
290,846 


188,508 

103,784 

33,054 

59,927 


County 
Taxes. 

State  Taxes 
and  Licenses. 

$119,028 

$137,003 

122,632 

102,520 

313,217 

93,583 

419,378 

210,339 

389,620 

291,896 

244,337 

180,019 

146,959 

Totals. 
$478,635 
810,648 
1,131,872 
1,410,473 
1,368,022 
882,176 
497,732 


The  state  licenses  averaged  about  $23,000  a  year  except  for  1854-5,  when  they 
reached  $108,479;  and  the  poll-tax  about  $3,000  annually  for  1850-5,  except 
1852-3,  when  $11,833  was  obtained;  the  rest  of  the  state  receipts  in  S,  F.  co. 
came  from  property  tax. 

The  assessed  value  of  property  was : 


Year. 
1850-1. 
1851-2. 
1852-3. 
1853-4. 
1854-5. 
1855-6. 
1856-7 . 


Improvements.  Personal  Prop. 


Included 

in 

personal. 
$6,158,300 
9,159,935 
8,394,925 
8,345,667 


$4,772,160 
2,875,440 
2,805.381 
4,852,000 
5,837,607 
5,073,847 
4,194,970 

County. 
$118,988 

115,704 

292,727 

391,033 

478,963 

330,487 


Totals. 
$21,621,214 
14,016,903 
18,481,737 
28,900,150 
34,762,827 
32,076,572 
30,368,254 


Real  Estate. 
$16,849,054 

11,141,463 

15,676,356 

17,889,850 

19,765,285 

18,607,800 

17,827,617 

The  expenditure  stood  as  follows: 
Year.  City. 

1850-1 $1,694,459 

1851-2 340,628 

1852-3 716,302 

1853-4 1,440,792 

1354-5 2,167,227 

1855-6 525,633 

1856-7 

As  compared  with  1853-5  the  items  for  1856-7  show  the  following  large 
reductions: 

Year  1853-4. 

Street  dept $179,093 

Wharf  purchase 265,314 

Salaries 252,898 

Hospital  dept 213,364 

Police  and  prison 149,305 

Fire  dept 126,607 

School  dept 62,033 

Advertising  and  stationery. ...     46, 144 

Assessment  expenses 32,314 

Legal  service 28,254 

Elections 21,669 

Street  lights 1 1,692 

Sundries,  old  debts,  etc 143,138 


Year  1854^5. 

$909,948 

61,119 

320,345 

278,328 

236,690 

263,123 

157,834 

65,231 

45,011 

31,821 

22,920 

44,204 

209,619 


Totals. 
$1,813,447 

456,332 
1,009,029 
1,831,825 
2,646,190 

856,120 

353,292 


Year  1856-7. 
$605 

76,244 
40,3UO 
59,266 
33,014 
85,323 

344 

7,292 

10,700 

784 

39,360 


$1,831,825          $2,646,190          $353,292 


776  ANNALS  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

city,43  vaster  and  more  substantial,  yet  with  marked 
peculiarities,  as  in  half  cut  away  hills  and  curious 
grades,  and  in  the  business  centre  by  a  fortress-like 
architecture  of  massive  walls,  recessed  windows,  and 
forbidding  iron  shutters,  to  defv  the  flames.  The  era  of 

O  e/ 

tents  and  shanties  passed  into  one  of  brick  and  granite,44 

See  authorities  of  preceding  note.  The  Annals  S.  F.,  393-4,  calculates 
that  the  taxation,  including  indirect  customs  duties,  was  in  1851-2  $45 
per  head  of  city  population.  List  of  large  tax-payers  and  mortgages  in 
Hunt's  Mag.,  xxxii.  619;  Alta  CaL,  Dec.  13,  1855;  Sac.  Union,  Oct.  4,  1855, 
etc. 

43  As  described  in  the  preceding  chapter  011  the  city.     After  1851,  only 
minor  fires  took  place,  the  largest  of  which,  on  Nov.  9,  1852,  destroyed  some 
32  buildings  in  the  block  between  Merchant  and  Clay  sts,  east  of  Kt  arny,  vrJ- 
ued  at  $100,000.     The  fire-proof   city  hall  block  checked  the  flames.     The 
Rassette  house,  corner  of  Bush  and  Sansome,  burned   May  2,   1853,  value 
$100,000.     Several  of  the  416  boarders  were  injured.     The  St  Francis  hotel 
burned  in  Oct.  1853.     See,  further,  S.  F.  Fire  Dept  Scraps,  12-14;  Alta  CaL, 
June  14,  1855;  July  28,  1856. 

44  Brick  fields  were  established,  yet  bricks  came  long  from  the  cheaper  and 
superior  sources   of  Australia,  N.  Y.,  etc.,  lava  from  Hawaii,  granite  from 
China.     The  first  granite-faced  building  was  erected,  with  Chinese  aid,  by  J. 
Parrott  in  1852,  completed  in  Nov.,  at  a  cost  of  $117,000.     It  was  the  three- 
story  building,  68  by  102  feet,  on  the  N.  w.  corner  of  Montgomery  and  Cali 
fornia  st,  at  first  occupied  by  Adams  &  Co.  and  Page,  Bacon,  &  Co.     A  still 
larger  building  of  the  same  type,  four  stories  high,  62  by  68  feet,  rose  on  the  N.  E. 
corner,  completed  Jan.   1854,  costing  $180,000.     It  was  occupied  by  Wells, 
Fargo,  &  Co.,  and  the  Pioneer  Society.     Views  of  both,  in  S.  F.  Annals,  415, 
514;  Montgomery's  Remin.,  MS.,   1-2;  U.   S.   Census,   Tenth,  x.  352-3.     The 
Folsom  quarries  were  opened  soon  after  to  add  material  for  houses  as  well  as 
cobble  paving.  Sac.  Union,  June  14,  1856.     Among  oLher  notable  buildings 
erected  by  this  time  were  the  Montgomery  block,  on  Mont,  st,  between  Wash 
ington  and  Merchant,  completed  in  Dec.  1853,  4  stories,  122  by  138  feet,  so  far 
the  largest  and  finest  block  on  the  Pacific;  Rassette  house,  on  the  corner  of 
Bush  and  Sansome,  5  stories,  with  200  rooms,  the  largest  edifice  of  the  kind; 
the  city  hall,  3  stories,  74  by  125  feet,  costing  $240,000  as  transformed;  custom 
house  block  of  1853,  s.  E.  corner  of  Sansome  and  Sacramento,  3  stories,  80  by 
185  ft,  costing  $140,000;  Bay  State  row,  Battery  near  Bush,  175  ft  square,  50 
ft  high,  costing  $140,000;  Orleans  row  of  1853,  N.  w.  corner  California  and 
Davis,  2  stories,  50  varas  square,  cost  $135,000;  Armory  Hall  of  1853,  N.  E, 
corner  Montgomery  and  Sacramento,  4  stories,  60  ft  square,  $125,000;  Masonic 
Hall,  Montgomery  st,  between  Sacramento  and  California,  of  1853,  4  stories, 
40  by  50  ft,  $125,000,  including  the  land;  the  Empire  of  1852,  s.  w.  corner  of 
California  and  Battery,  2  stories,  89   by  184  ft,  $110,000;  Merchant-street 
block,  between  Montgomery  and  Kearny,   of  1853,  3  stories,  50  ft  square, 
$100,000,  including  land;  Phoenix  block  of  1852,  Clay  st,  between  Montgom 
ery  and  Kearny,   3  stories,   50  by  180  ft,  $105,000;  the  post-office  of  1850, 
N.  E.  corner  Kearny  and  Clay,  2  stories,  87  by  90  ft,  $98,000;  Maynard  row  of 
1852,  N.  w.  corner  California  and  Battery,  2  stories,  70  by  182  ft,  $85,000; 
the  Battelle  of  1853,  Montgomery,  between  Clay  and  Commercial,  5  stories; 
court  block  of  Jan.  1854,  Clay  near  Kearny,  3  stories,  41  by  108  ft;  Howard's 
of  1850,   which  had  escaped  many  fires,   4  stories;  Naglee's  of  1851,  s.   w. 
Montgomery  and  Merchant,   3  stories,  40  by  137  ft;  Riddle's  of  1853,  Clay 
near  Leidesdorff,  3  stories,  50  by  90  ft;  Merchant's  exchange,  on  Battery,  an 
imposing  edifice.    The  not  very  pretentious  custom-house  building  on  Battery 
st,  completed  in  Oct.  1855,  cost  over  $850,000 


STREETS  AND  HILLS.  777 

which  with  the  increase  of  safer  structures  assumed  a 
lighter  and  more  ornamental  form.45 

The  business  part  of  the  city  advanced  into  the  bay 
for  half  a  dozen  blocks  within  as  many  years,  following 
close  upon  the  piling,  and  bearing  along  the  sand  hills 
from  its  rear  to  provide  a  more  stable  foundation  for 
the  substantial  edifices  which  gradually  replaced  the 
wooden  ones.46  Attracted  by  the  deep  water  and  better 
wharves  of  Clark  Point,  and  partly  by  the  promises 
of  North  Beach,  with  its  expanse  of  level  ground,  fair 
anchorage,  and  proximity  to  the  bay  gate,  the  com 
mercial  centre  took  a  decidedly  northward  direction 
after  1852-3,  as  shown  by  the  construction  of  the 
custom-house,  in  1854-5,  on  Jackson  and  Battery 
streets,  surrounded  by  the  merchants'  exchange  and 
other  representative  buildings.47  While  the  crumbling 
slopes  of  Telegraph  hill  were  made  to  yield  under  this 
movement,  cognate  and  especially  manufacturing  in 
terests  continued  their  onslaught  upon  the  drift  hills 
south  of  California  street,  and  rapidly  levelled  their 
way  to  Happy  Valley.  All  around  the  fringe  of  dwell 
ings  grew  denser,  with  increasing  family  ties,  the 
fashionable  ones  clustering  near  South  Park,  on  Third 

45  An  improved  fire  departmenc  and  the  extension  of  fire  insurance  gave 
courage  to  the  cautious  for  erecting  superior  houses. 

*6  Cars  laden  with  sand  by  steam-paddies  were  constantly  rattling  down 
the  inclines  along  the  water-front.  Despite  fillage  the  toundation  was  not 
very  secure.  The  American  theatre  on  Sansome  st  settled  two  inches  on  the 
inauguration  night  and  a  part  of  the  U.  S.  warehouse  fell  in  18.">4.  Storms 
occasionally  made  serious  inroads  on  the  loose  fillage,  and  drove  the  waters 
over  the  low  ground.  Instance  on  Dec.  21,  1851,  and  Dec.  17,  1852, 
the  latter  causing  a  loss  of  $200,000  to  vessels  and  buildings.  Alfa  CaL,  Nov. 

4,  Dec.  18,  1852;  S.  F.  Herald,  Jan.  3,  1855;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Nov.  2,  1855. 
Reports  on  grades,  in  8.  F.  Board  of  Engineers,  Rcpt,  1-27.     See  chapter  on 

5.  F.    Although  Market  st  was  in  1852  opened  between  Kearny  and  Battery  st, 
yet  as  late  as  1857  high  hills  blocked  it  beyond  Third  st. 

47  The  banking-house  of   Lucas,  Turner,  &  Co.,  and  several  other  lead 
ing  firms,  moved  away  from  California  st  to  the  Jackson-st  end  of  Mont 
gomery  st,  in  1854-^5,  and   erected   costly  houses.     Sherman's  reasons  are 
§iven  in  his  Mem.,  i.  104,  etc.     Pacific  st  was  graded  through  the  rocks  at 
ansome  st,  and  extensive  encroachments  were  made  on  Telegraph  hill  for  £1- 
lage  along  its  base,  and  for  ballast  to  departing  ships,  till  wheat  came  to  serve 
this  purpose.     At  Clark  Point  rose  in  1851   three  U.  S.  bonded  warehouses 
of  iron,  part  of  which  were  buried  at  the  close  of  that  year  by  falling  rocks 
from  the  hill.     The  discovery  of  a  small  gold  quartz  vein  in  the  hill,  in  1851, 
promised  for  a  time  to  advance  the  grading.  Morn.  Post,  Sept.  29,  1851. 


778  ANNALS  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

street,  and  along  Stockton  street  toward  the  slopes  of 
Russian  hill,48  and  houses  being  freely  sprinkled  even 
beyond  the  circling  summits  and  west  of  Leavenworth 
street. 

It  was  a  straggling  city,  however,  with  its  dumps 
and  blotches  of  hills  and  hillocks,  of  bleak  spots  of 
vacancy  and  ugly  cuts  and  raised  lines  The  archi 
tecture  was  no  less  patchy,  for  in  the  centre  prison- 
like  and  graceful  structures  alternated,  interspersed 
with  frail  wooden  frames  and  zinc  and  corrugated  iron 
walls,  and  occasionally  the  hull  of  some  hauled-up 
vessel;  while  beyond  rude  cabins  and  ungainly  super 
imposed  stories  of  lodging-houses  in  neglected  grounds 
varied  with  tasteful  villas  embowered  in  foliage,  and 
curious  houses  perched  high  on  square-cut  mounds.49 
For  a  time  caution  set  the  fashion  for  residences  also 
of  brick,  but  the  winter  rains,  the  summer  fogs,  and 
above  all  the  cost  and  the  startling  admonition  of 
earthquakes,  soon  created  so  general  a  preference  for 
frame  dwellings  of  all  grades,  as  to  make  brick  dwell 
ings  a  rarity,  and  to  place  another  mark  of  peculiarity 
upon  the  city.  Wood  affirmed  its  supremacy  by  yield 
ing  more  readily  to  the  growing  taste  for  elaborate 
ornamentation.  The  distribution  of  races  in  this  cos 
mopolitan  settlement  added  to  the  many  distinctive 
quarters  raised  by  fashion,  by  branches  of  trade  and 
manufacture,  the  most  notable  being  the  Hispano- 
American  district  along  the  south-western  slope  of 
Telegraph  hill,  adjoined  by  French  and  Italian  colo 
nies  southward,  and  the  striking  Chinatown,  which 
was  fast  spreading  along  Dupont  street  its  densely 

48  Here,  between  Washington  st  and  Washington  square,  was  the  chief 
promenade,  near  the  adjoining  churches,  and  with  Dupont  st  as  the  thorough 
fare  from  the  business  centre.    Pacific  st  above  Stocktoa  st  was  in  1853  granted 
to  a  plank-road  company  to  be  opened  to  Larkin  st  under  toll.  S.  F.  Ordin., 
1853,  116. 

49  The  '  antique  castle  '  on  the  s.  E.  corner  of  Stockton  and  Sacramento  sts 
was  a  three-story  brick  building,  plastered  and  painted  in  imitation  of  stone 
work,  each  block  of  a  different  color.     Its  history  is  given  in  S.  F.  Call,  Nov. 
18,  1878.     Of  the  solid  houses  in  the  central  part  600  were  valued  at  over 
$13,000,000.     Some  were  so  frail  as  to  fall.  Sac.  Transcript,  May  15,  1851; 
8.  F.  Bulletin,  July  22,  1856;  Alia  Cal,  Nov.  17,  1856. 


WATER  AND  GAS.  779 

crowded  and  squalid  interiors,  relieved  here  and  there 
by  curious  signs  and  fa£ades  in  gold  and  green,  and 
pouring  forth  files  of  strangely  attired  beings. 

Owing  to  the  unexpected  extension  of  the  city  into 
the  bay,  and  to  defects  in  the  original  plan,  it  was 
afflicted  with  a  faulty  drainage,  against  which  the 
prevailing  west  winds,  however,  offered  a  partial  safe 
guard.  The  lack  of  good  water  was  another  disad 
vantage.  The  supply  came  for  several  years  from  two 
or  three  brooks,  a  number  of  wells,50  and  from  Sauza- 
lito,51  whence  it  was  brought  by  steamboats  to  the 
reservoirs  of  the  water  company,  and  distributed  by 
carts  among  the  inhabitants.52 

The  requirements  of  the  fire  department  for  their 
numerous  cisterns  proved  a  strong  inducement  for 
laying  pipes  from  Mountain  Lake,  but  the  project 
was  delayed.53  The  city  suffered  also  for  years  from 
lack  of  proper  street  lighting.  The  first  public  oil- 
lamps  began  in  October  1850  to  partially  relieve  citi 
zens  from  carrying  lanterns  as  a  protection  against  the 
numerous  pitfalls,  but  it  was  not  until  three  years  and 
a  half  later  that  gas-lights  appeared.54  The  streets 

66  The  Croton,  Cochituate,  and  Ball  and  Doran  were  the  leading  wells. 
Account  of,  in  AUa  Cat.,  Oct.  25,  1852;  Apr.  19,  1853;  July  27,  1855;  Sac. 
Union,  Aug.  25,  1855.  They  yielded  each  15,000  to  30,000  gallons  daily. 

51  The  old  watering-place  for  whalers,  etc. 

52  In  the  spring  of  1854  about  65  teams  were  thus  employed.     A  one-horse 
water-cart  with  a  good  route  sold  for  $1,500  or  $1,800.     Families  were  sup 
plied  at  from  $3  to  $5  a  month.    The  Sauzalito  Water  and  Steam  Tug  Comp. 
organized  in  1851  to  furnish  200,000  gallons  daily,  and  to  tow  vessels;  capital, 
$150,000.     They  claimed  theirs  to  be  the  only  water  that  would  keep  at  sea. 

53  The  Mountain  Lake  Water  Co.  was  organized  in  Oct.  1851  with  a  capi 
tal  of  $500,000.     rihe  lake,  lying  3^  miles  west  from  the  plaza,  beyond  the 
hills,  was  supplied  by  a  large  drainage  and  several  springs.     See  their  char 
ter  and  prospectus  of  1851-2,  p.  1-14;  S.  F.  Manual,  219;  AUa  Cal.,  Jan.  25, 
July  8,  1852;  May  13,  1853;  July  25,  1855.     The  company  was  reorganized 
and  their  time  of  limitation  successively  extended,  but  after  starting  the  work 
in  May  1853  the  cost  was  found  to  exceed  estimates,  and  the  promoters  held 
back.  S.  F.  Ordin.,  131,  204-6,  245-6,  392;  S.  F.  Directory,  1854,  212;  1856-7, 
p.  191;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Dec.  7,  1855;  Sept.  22-3,  Dec.  13,  1856,  with  allusions 
to  a  new  project.     The  fire  dept  had  in  1854  already  38  large  cisterns. 

54  The  first  oil-lamps  were  lighted  in  Merchant  st  by  J.  B.  M.  Crooks,  and 
paid  for  by  subscription.     He  took  contracts  from  the  city  in  1852.  S.  F. 
Annals,  518.     Montgomery  st  was  first  lighted  on  March  31st.  AUa  Cal.t 
Apr.  1,  1851;  Dec.  31,  1852;  S.  F.  Herald,  July  7,  1850;  Jan.  18,  1853.     Yet 
street  lighting  did  not  become  common  till  Jan.  1853.     After  several  projects 
the  S.  F.  Gas  Co.  organized  in  1852,  with  B.  C.  Sanders  as  prest,  J.  M.  Moss, 
Jas  Donohue,  etc.;  capital  $450,000.     Their  works  were  begun  in  Nov.  on 


780  ANNALS  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

suffered  long  after  from  want  of  proper  paving  and 
cleaning.55  The  plaza  remained  a  waste  eyesore  till 
1854,  when  grading  and  planting  changed  its  aspect. £8 
By  this  time  communication  had  been  facilitated  by  at 
first  half-hourly  omnibuses  between  North  Beach  and 
South  Park,  with  two  lines  to  the  mission,  which  in 
1856  were  supplemented  by  one  to  the  presidio.57 
Occasional  conveyances  connected  also- with  Iluss  gar 
dens,  the  new  pleasure  resort  on  Sixth  street,  with 
the  picturesque  Lone  Mountain  cemetery,53  and  with 
the  fortification  begun  in  1854  at  Fort  Point,  to  be 
supported  by  similar  works  at  Point  San  Jose,  Alca- 
traz  and  Angel  islands,  all  of  which  vied  with  the 
time-honored  mission  and  its  race-tracks  and  gardens 
in  attacting  especially  Sunday  revellers. 

The  progress  of  San  Francisco  was  particularly 
marked  in  1853  with  the  expansion  of  business  under 
the  increasing  gold  yield  and  general  development. 
An  excitement  seized  upon  the  entire  community;  real 
estate  rose,  building  operations  were  undertaken  in 
every  direction,  with  costly  structures  in  the  central 

Front  st  between  Howard  and  Fremont  sts.  Posts  were  ordered  for  Dec. 
1853.  S.  F.  Ordin.,  1853,  474;  S.  F.  Directory,  1854,  p.  260;  1856-7,  p.  77-8; 
Quiyleys  Irish,  376.  On  Feb.  1 1,  1854,  a  few  leading  streets  and  buildings  were 
first  lighted.  Three  miles  of  pipes  were  then  laid  and  gradually  extending. 
The  price  was  $15  per  1,000  ft,  which  in  view  of  wages  and  cost  of  coal— see 
chapter  on  commerce — was  claimed  to  be  20  per  cent  cheaper  than  in  N.  Y. 
In  1856  this  was  reduced  to  $12.50,  but  street-lamps,  which  consumed  one 
fourth  of  the  80,000  ft  daily  manufactured,  continued  to  be  charged  at  32^ 
cents  each  per  night.  8.  F.  Bulletin,  Apr.  12,  Sept.  3,  Nov.  29,  1856.  The 
bill  for  11  months  was  $46,000.  Alta  Cal.,  June  28,  1856.  Gas  was,  however, 
in  use  9  months  earlier.  Id.,  May  15,  1853;  Cat.  Fares,  etc.,  1-2. 

65  The  first  sprinkler  appeared  May  2,  1851,  but  garbage,  mud,  rats,  and 
other  nuisances  were  general.  Cobble-stones  were  brought  from  Folsom  in 
1856.  Sac.  Union,  June  14,  1856. 

56 A  contract  was  made  for  $33,450,  S.  F.  Ordin.,  1853-4,  291;  but  the 
total  charged  for  that  year  was  $40,138.  An  iron  fence  was  added. 

57  The  Market-st  rail  line  was  projected  in  1854,  and  the  Mission  line  be 
gun  in  1856,  but  their  completion  extends  beyond  this  period.  S.  F.  Direct., 
1854-6;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  Dec.  4,   1855;  Mar.  29,   Apr.   1,  3,   16,  30,  May  12, 
Sept.  15,  1856;  Alta  Cal.,  July  14,  1853;  July  22,  1854;  Apr.  30,  1856.     The 
public  hacks  of  the  day  included  Brewster  coaches  worth  $4,000,  with  silver 
plating  and  rich  fittings. 

58  Projected  in  Nov.  1853,  and  inaugurated  May  30,  1854,  with   160  acres 
of  undulating  ground.     After  the  first  interment  in  June  it  quickly  became 
the  favorite  burial-place.  Alta  Cal.,  May  17,  30,  1854;  S.  F.  Bulletin,  May  6, 
1864. 


RISE  AND  FALL.  781 

parts,  and  everybody  yielded  to  extravagant  hopes. 
Of  more  than  600  of  the  stone  and  brick  buildings 
nearly  one  half  were  erected  in  course  of  that  year, 
the  assessed  value  of  property  increased  from  $18,- 
500,000  to  $28,900,000,  and  the  population,  including 
transients,  was  estimated  toward  the  close  of  the  year 
as  high  as  50,000,  or  fully  one  seventh  of  the  total  in 
the  state.  But  the  advance  was  based  on  fictitious 
values.  The  country  was  on  the  eve  of  an  industrial 
revolution.  Mining  had  reached  its  culminating  point 
and  driven  workers  to  agricultural  pursuits,  which 
now  made  themselves  apparent  by  a  home  production 
that  rapidly  displaced  the  staple  imports  and  carried 
their  channels  of  distribution  away  from  San  Fran 
cisco.  So  serious  a  blow,  added  to  the  general  re 
trenchment  in  the  interior  consequent  upon  a  change 
from  extravagant  camp  life  and  high  wages  to  sedate 
self-supplying  farm  occupations,  had  a  staggering  effect 
upon  the  prevailing  inflation.  Under  the  sudden 
decline  of  business  the  newly  erected  warehouses  were 
found  needless,  offices  were  abandoned  or  reduced, 
workers  were  thrown  out  of  employment.  The  ripples 
of  disaster  spread  wider  and  wider,  manifested  by 
tenantless  houses,  declining  wages  and  revenue,  and 
falling  values  of  real  estate  and  other  property.59 
Additional  burdens  came  in  the  growing  corruption  of 
officials,  attended  by  dissipation  of  property  and  reve 
nue,  by  election  frauds  and  growing  debts,  following 
upon  recent  devastations  by  fire  and  criminals,  the 
whole  culminating  in  the  commercial  crisis  of  1855, 
and  in  the  glaring  political  disorders  which  in  the  suc- 

59  The  advance  of  25  per  cent  and  more  in  real  estate  from  1852  to  1853 
was  more  than  lost.  Four  small  blocks  eight  feet  under  water,  between  Com 
mercial  and  Clay  sts,  from  Davis  st  eastward,  sold  in  Dec.  1853  for  $1,193,550, 
or  an  average  of  $8,000  to  $9,000  per  lot,  corners  as  high  as  $10,000.  A  few 
months  later  they  might  have  been  bought  at  one  half.  Indeed,  vacant  lots 
became  unsalable.  Out  of  1,000  business  houses  300  were  deserted.  The  Union 
hotel,  renting  for  $6,000,  was  in  1855  let  at  $1,000.  Compare  statements 
in  the  journals  of  the  period,  especially  Alia  CaL,  Jan.  19,  1853;  Aug.  18, 
Oct.  10,  Nov.  14,  1856;  Sac.  Union,  June  21-30,  Oct.  16,  1855.  Prices  north 
ward  held  their  own.  In  Hayes  Valley  50-vara  lots  sold  in  Oct.  1856  for 
from  $225  to  $250. 


782  ANNALS  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

ceeding  year  roused  the  people  to  forcibly  reform  the 
entire  administration  by  means  of  a  portentous  vigi 
lance  movement. 

But  the  crisis  passed,  and  business  assumed  its 
normal  course,  with  new  and  surer  channels,  regulated 
by  a  truer  standard.  As  it  regained  strength,  under 
the  auspices  of  unfolding  resources  and  a  growing 
settled  population,  the  city  responded  to  the  impulse. 
She  reasserted  her  claim  as  the  Pacific  metropolis, 
pointing  to  her  position  at  the  Golden  Gate  outlet, 
to  her  dry-dock,60  her  vast  array  of  wharves,  ware 
houses,61  and  other  facilities;  her  blocks  of  substan 
tial  business  structures,  whence  radiated  extending 
suburbs,  sustained  by  fast-increasing  manufactures,62 
embracing  half  a  dozen  important  foundries,  machine 
and  boiler  works,  employing  several  hundred  men; 
four  saw-mills,  besides  sash,  blind,  and  box  factories; 
eleven  flouring  mills  with  a  capacity  of  1,100  barrels 

60  At  Rincon  Point,  established  in  Apr.  1851. 

"Replacing  the  sevenscore  and  more  of  storage  ships  used  in  Oct.  1851. 
Annals  S.  F.,  355.  Concerning  wharves,  see  my  former  chapter  on  S.  F.,  and 
my  next  volume;  also  chapter  on  commerce,  for  shipping,  etc. 

62  Of  five  foundries,  in  the  Happy  Valley  region,  the  Union  iron- works  main 
tained  the  leading  place,  pioneers  as  they  were,  founded  in  1849  by  P.  Dono- 
hue  and  brother.  The  Sutter  iron-works  and  the  Pacific  foundry  opened  in 
1850,  the  Vulcan  iron-works  in  1851,  and  the  Fulton  in  1855,  two  employing 
in  1856  some  30  men  each,  and  the  others  from  50  to  nearly  200  each.  The 
boiler-works  of  Coffee  and  Risdon  employed  40  men.  Minor  establishments  of 
the  above  class  were  the  Excelsior,  Empire,  Phoenix,  and  those  of  S.  F.  Kern 
and  F.  Snow,  supplemented  by  Carem  and  Renther,  W.  H.  Clarke,  and  Mahly 
&  Fabra.  There  were  also  wire-works,  2  brass -foundries,  a  dozen  tinsmiths, 
half  a  dozen  each  of  ship  and  copper  smiths;  4  saw-mills,  7  sash  and  blind 
factories,  half  a  dozen  turners,  2  box  factories,  2  willow  and  wooden  ware 
establishments;  11  flouring  mills,  5  coffee  and  spice  mills.  The  S.  F.  sugar 
refinery  employed  over  100  men.  There  were  also  a  steam  cracker  factory 
and  steam  candy -works;  a  dozen  and  a  half  of  breweries,  among  them  the 
Philadelphia  in  the  lead;  1  malt-maker,  2  distilleries,  3  vinegar  factories, 

8  soda  and  6  syrup  and  ginger-ale  manufacturers,  1  chemical  work,  1  gold 
refinery,  1  metallurgical,  half  a  dozen  manufactories  of  soap  and  candles,  9  of 
camphene  and  oil,  2  of  wash  fluids,  5  packers;  a  score  of  coopers,  two  dozen 
wagon  and  carriage  makers;  3  pump  and  block  makers,  2  boat-builders,  5 
sail-makers,  a  score  of  saddlers;  cordage  works,  5  billiard-table  manufactories, 
1  piano-forte  maker,  1  furniture  factory,   a  dozen  and  a  half  upholsterers, 

9  carvers  and  gilders,  2  lapidaries,  numerous  goldsmiths  and  jewellers,  2 
opticians,  1  watch-case  maker,  2  sculptors,  9  engravers,  8  lithographers,  a 
score  of  printing-offices,  1  stereotype  foundry,  half  a  dozen  bookbinderies,  and 
other  establishments  for  supplying  clothing,  food,  etc.     The  Annals  S.  F., 
492,  numerates  in  1854  fully  160  hotels  and  public  houses,  66  restaurants,  63 
bakeries,  48  markets,  chiefly  butcher-shops,  20  baths,  and  18  public  stables. 


INDUSTRIES.  783 

daily ;  a  steam  cracker  factory ;  a  large  sugar  refinery ; 
a  dozen  and  a  half  breweries,  besides  distilleries,  soda 
and  syrup  works;  several  oil,  candle,  and  soap  works; 
billiard-table  manufactories;  a  beginning  in  furniture 
making;  and  a  host  of  establishments  concerned  in 
supplying  necessities  and  luxuries  for  mining,  field, 
and  home  life,  a  large  proportion  of  an  artistic  stamp. 
Happy  Valley,  and  the  adjoining  region  south  of 
Market  street,  were  the  centre  for  heavy  industries. 
North  Beach  claimed  also  a  share,  while  Kearny 
street,  as  the  connecting  link,  displayed  their  pro 
ductions  in  shops  which  for  rich  and  striking  ap 
pearance  were  already  rivalling"  those  of  eastern  cities. 

JT  i/  O 

In  1854  there  were  five  public  markets,  of  which  two 
had  over  two  dozen  stalls  each. 

No  less  marked  were  the  social  features,  daily 
strengthened  in  the  domestic  atmosphere,  with  its  at 
tendant  religious  and  benevolent  admixture.  The  first 
male  organizations,  for  protection,  had  expanded  into  a 
dozen  military  companies,  with  ornamental  as  well  as 
useful  aims,63  supplemented  by  the  semi-heroic  fire 
brigades,  seventeen  in  number,  including  three  hook- 
and-ladder  companies,64  and  by  several  clubs,  with  ad 
juncts  for  gymnastic,  convivial,  moral,  and  literary 
purposes.65  Fraternal  societies  had  blossomed  into 
numerous  lodges,  among  Free  Masons,  Odd  Fellows, 
and  Temperance  societies,  and  traders  and  professional 

63  The  First  Cal.  Guards  Co.,  formed  in  July  1849,  under  Naglee  out  of  the 
Hounds  affair,  was  followed  in  succeeding  years  by  others  under  the  title  of 
riiles,  lancers,   cadets,   blues,   fusiliers,   mostly  of   50  men  each.     The   first 
battalion  parade,   on  July  4,   1853,   embraced  six  S.  F.  companies.  Annals 
S.  F.,  454,  702,  et  seq. 

64  As  outlined  in  the  former  S.  F.  chapter. 

60  The  Union  and  German  were  among  representative  social  clubs.  There 
were  two  gymnasiums,  two  clubs  for  vocal  culture,  one  for  chess.  Among 
literary  associations  were  two  Hebrew,  one  German,  one  catholic,  one  for  sea 
men,  besides  the  general  Athenaeum  and  Cal.  academy  of  Sciences  and  the 
Mercantile  Library  and  Mechanic's  Institute.  Patriotic  motives  bound  many 
of  them,  although  special  ones  existed,  as  in  the  New  England  society.  Among 
religious  associations  were  Cal.  Bible  Soc.  of  1849,  the  S.  F.  Tract  Soc.,  and  the 
Y.  Men's  Christ.  Assoc.  There  were  several  trade  associations,  including  one 
for  reporters  and  three  medical.  Sons  of  Temperance  and  the  Grand  Temple  of 
Honor  formed  two  abstinence  societies,  each  with  several  lodges;  the  lodges 
of  the  Masons  and  Odd  Fellows,  12  and  10  respectively. 


784  ANNALS  OF  SAN  FKANCISCO. 

unions  were  rapidly  forming.  Although  benevolent 
associations  had  been  started  in  1849  by  the  male  com 
munity,  they  received  their  encouragement  mainly 
with  the  growth  of  families.  Women,  indeed,  figure 
as  promoters  of  two  Hebrew  societies  and  one  for  sea 
men,  besides  assisting  several  others,  particularly  the 
two  catholic  and  protestant  orphan  asylums66  and  the 
four  hospitals,  among  them  the  United  States  Marine, 
which  formed  one  of  the  imposing  features  of  the  city. 
These  and  other  objects  had  effective  cooperation  from 
members  of  the  society  of  Pioneers,  founders  as  they 
were  of  the  state.  Education  received  their  early  at 
tention,  and  from  the  one  small  beginning  in  1848—9  the 
public  schools  had  increased  to  seventeen,  some  of  pri 
mary,  others  of  grammar  and  intermediate  order,  one 
high  school,  also  one  evening  school,  with  an  attend 
ance  of  nearly  3,400,  for  which  the  average  monthly 
expenditure  was  over  $12,000.  There  were  also  two 
superior  girls'  schools,  a  Jesuit  school,  and  the  San 
Francisco  college.67  The  thirty-two  congregations  of 
the  city  embraced  eight  protestant,  six  catholic,  and  two 
Hebrew  bodies,  besides  a  convent  for  the  two  sisters 
of  Mercy.  Some  of  them  worshipped  in  halls,  but 
most  possessed  special  temples,  the  most  imposing 
being  the  catholic  cathedral.68 

Notwithstanding  the  numerous  churches,  the  inhabi 
tants  were  by  no  means  devout,  as  may  readily  be 
understood.  The  reckless  and  exuberant  spirit  of  the 

66  Both  established  in  1851.    Among  benevolent  societies  were  four  Hebrew, 
one  Chinese,  two  Irish,  one  Swiss,  one  German,  and  one  French,  the  two  latter 
with  good  hospitals,  and  three  for  women  alone.     The  sisters  of  Mercy  super 
vised  the  city  and  county  hospital,  and  the  government  the  U.  S.  marine  hoo- 
pital,  the  latter  one  of  the  great  structures  of  the  city,  costing  about  a  quarter 
of  a  million. 

67  Which  aspired  to  a  university  grade.     Also  two  Hebrew  schools  and 
some   minor   private   establishments,   besides  Sunday  schools  in  connection 
with  churches.     The  attendance  and  cost  for  1855-6,  as  above,  was  far  in  ex 
cess  of  the  preceding  and  even  following  year,  the  latter  on  economic  grounds. 
The  15  Sunday  school  claimed  1,150  pupils. 

68  Followed  by  the  churches  of  the  congregationalists  and  presbyterians. 
In  point  of  number  the  methodists  led,  with  7  congregations,  whereof  1  Ger 
man  and  2  colored;  catholics  6,  presbyterians  5,  including   1  Welsh  and  1 
Chinese;    baptists   4,  episcopalians  and  congregationalists   3  each,    German 
Lutherans,  Unitarians,  and  SweJenborgians  1  each. 


ELEMENTS   OF  CULTURE.  785 

mining  era  was  too  deeply  engraven,  with  its  revelry 
of  thought  and  conduct.  The  women  set  the  religious 
example,  partly  from  sedate  habit,  while  social  allure 
ments  aided  them.  They  also  elevated  the  tone  of 
intercourse  and  pastime,  shamed  vice  away  into  the 
by-ways,  lessened  dissipation,  and  placed  gayety  within 
limits.  Official  ordinances  against  prostitution,  gam 
bling,  and  other  vices  were  chiefly  due  to  their  influence, 
and  female  patronage  gave  a  higher  attraction  to  the 
several  theatres69  and  halls,  which  with  dramas  and 
reunions  competed  against  lower  resorts.  Habit  and 
excitement,  sustained  by  climatic  and  other  influences, 
continued,  however,  to  uphold  the  drinking-saloons, 
so  that  their  number  was  proportionately  larger  here 
than  in  any  other  city  in  the  world.  Costly  interior 
decorations  lent  them  additional  attractions;70  not  to 
mention  billiard-tables,71  and  other  appeals  to  the 
lurking  mania  for  gambling;  the  tangible  pretext  in 
free  lunches,  which  had  become  the  fashion  since 
1850,72  and  established  themselves  as  one  of  the 
marked  specimens  of  Californian  liberality;  and  the 
mental  refreshments  presented  in  numerous  files  of 
journals.  Newspapers  appeared  as  a  redeeming  fea 
ture  over  many  a  shady  trait,  and  to  extol  both  the 
enterprise  and  taste  of  the  people  by  their  large 

69  The  Adelphi  opened  in  July  1851,  on  Dupont  st  between  Clay  and 
Washington  sts,  40  ft  front,  65  in  depth,  and  31  in  height.  The  Metropoli 
tan  opened  Dec.  24,  1853,  on  Montgomery  st  between  Washington  and 
Jackson,  and  took  the  leading  rank  for  size  and  beauty.  The  Jenny  Lind 
had  been  converted  into  the  city  hall;  the  American,  on  the  corner  of  San- 
some  and  Halleck  sts,  with  a  seating  capacity  of  nearly  2,000,  declined  into 
occasional  use,  like  the  Union  on  Commercial  st,  east  of  Kearny  st,  and  the 
three  halls,  San  Francisco  on  Washington  st,  and  Musical  and  Turn  Verein 
on  Bush  st.  The  Olympia,  in  Armory  hall,  had  closed.  Maguire  was  in  18^6 
preparing  to  build  a  new  S.  F.  hall  for  minstrels,  etc. 

'° Many  had  bought  mirrors,  chandeliers,  cornice-work,  etc.,  at  the  early 
forced  auctions,  for  a  mere  trifle,  and  later  competitors  for  public  favor  had  to 
imitate  the  display.  Religious  journals  are  no  more  reliable  than  other 
fiery  champions  of  a  cause,  out  the  Christian  A  dvocate  asserts  with  some  jus 
tice  that  by  actual  count  in  May  1853  there  were  527  places  in  S.  F.  where 
liquor  was  sold.  Of  these  83  were  retail  drinking-saloons,  52  were  whole 
sale  stores,  144  were  restaurants,  154  were  groceries,  46  were  gambling- 
houses,  and  48  fancy  and  dance  houses.  See  also  Alia  Col.,  June  8,  1852; 
S.  F.  Herald,  etc. 

71  Also  proportionately  more  numerous  than  elsewhere. 

72  Instance  St  Amant's  humorous  experience  in  this  respect.    Voy.,  108-11. 

HIST.  CAL.,  VOL.  VI.    50 


786  ANNALS   OF   SAN  FRANCISCO. 

number  and  excellence.  There  were  in  1856  thirteen 
daily  periodicals,  and  about  as  many  weekly  issues,  in 
half  a  dozen  languages.73 

Thus  lay  transformed  San  Francisco,  from  an  ex 
panse  of  sand  hills,  from  a  tented  encampment,  to  a 
city  unapproached  by  any  of  similar  age  for  size  and 
for  substantial  and  ornamental  improvements;  from  a 
community  of  revelling  adventurers  to  one  of  high 
average  respectability  and  intelligence.  A  choice 
selection  of  manhood  from  all  quarters  of  the  globe 
was  here  congregated,  with  enterprise  and  ability  both 
well  and  badly  directed;  but  as  devastating  fires  had 
weeded  the  architectural  parts  of  the  frail  and  un 
seemly,  so  vigilance  movements,  assisted  by  gold  rushes 
and  filibuster  schemes,  had  purified  society  of  the  worst 
criminal  elements  and  political  cormorants,  and  were 
now  raising  the  city  to  a  model  for  order  and  municipal 
administration.  The  inhabitants  numbered  about  50,- 
OOO,74  with  a  proportionately  smaller  floating  or  tran 
sient  population  than  formerly,  owing  to  the  increase 
of  permanent  settlers  in  the  state,  and  to  the  facilities 
and  attractions  of  interior  towns  for  supplying  miners 
as  well  as  farmers  with  goods  and  entertainment.75 
The  fluctuating  settlement  stood  now  the  acknowl 
edged  metropolis  of  the  west,  after  a  brief  struggle 
with  threatening  vicissitudes,  while  the  tributary 
country  had  developed  from  a  mining  field  with  flit 
ting  camps,  to  an  important  state  with  a  steady 
mining  industry,  and  a  fast-unfolding  agricultural  and 
manufacturing  region,  which  promised  to  rival  if  not 

73  Of  which  two  were  French,  two  German,  one   Spanish,   one  Italian, 
one  Chinese.     Several  were  religious  and  Sunday  papers,  including  a  Mor 
mon,  issue;  and  Hutchings'  was  the  monthly  magazine  of  the  day.     A  vast 
number  had  come  and  gone  during  the  preceding  years,  as  will  be  shown  later. 
The  Annals  S.  F.,  493,  of  1854,  claimed  12  dailies  and  10  other  periodicals. 

74  Calculations  in  the  Directory  for  1857-8  make  it  60,000,  including  4,000 
floating.    A Ita  Gal,  of  Nov.  3,  1855,  claimed  'at  least '  60,000;  but  Sac.  Unwit, 
Aug.  29,  1855,  reduces  the  figure  somewhat  jealously  to  40,000. 

70  The  cheering  winter  influx,  and  the  succeeding  gloom  left  by  the  spring 
exodus,  which  during  the  first  years  made  many  despair  of  the  city's  future, 
were  now  hardly  perceptible. 


GRAND  ACHIEVEMENTS.  787 

eclipse  the  foremost  sections  of  the  union,  And  this 
phenomenal  progress  was  the  achievement  of  half  a 
dozen  years,  surpassing  the  wildest  of  those  specula 
tions  which  had  incited,  first  the  entry  of  the  pioneers, 
then  annexation  by  the  United  States,  and  finally 
city-building,  and  the  founding  of  an  empire  out  of 
the  manifold  resources  which  one  after  another  un 
folded  before  the  unexpectant  eyes  of  the  absorbed 
gold-seekers.  A  series  of  surprises  marked  the  ad 
vance  of  the  state  as  well  as  of  the  city — the  one  a 
wilderness  bursting  into  bloom,  the  other  a  mart  of 
progress  purified  by  many  fiery  ordeals.76 

76  Early  navigators,  like  Ayala,  Morrell,  Beechey,  Wilkes,  the  whaling  and 
trading  ship  captains;  writers  like  Dana,  Forbes,  Greenhow,  Simpson,  Bry 
ant,  all  united  in  pointing  to  S.  F.  as  the  metropolis  of  the  prospective  west 
ern  empire.  So  Webster  and  Benton  had  prophesied,  and  for  this  many 
patient,  persevering  pioneers  had  expectantly  toiled.  Men  there  are  who 
dreamed  of  an  empire  which  from  here  should  encompass  Cathay,  and  meet 
the  English  on  the  confines  of  India.  Annals  S.  F.,  54—5.  On  the  other  side 
were  disbelievers,  a  host  of  them,  as  shown  by  fluctuating  values  of  S.  F. 
estate,  by  the  deprecating  utterance  of  fortunate  as  well  as  disappointed 
sojourners  who  every  month  turned  their  back  upon  the  state,  for  home  or 
for  other  fields.  Kane,  in  Miscel.  Slot.,  MS.,  11.  The  progress  of  the  city 
is  well  illustrated  by  her  several  directories,  of  which  eight  appeared  dur 
ing  the  period  of  1851-6,  beginning  in  Sept.  1850  with  the  small  12°  issue 
of  139  pp.,  by  Chas  P.  Kimball,  containing  somewhat  over  2,500  names, 
and  a  meagre  appendage  of  general  information.  It  is  altogether  a  hasty  and 
badly  arranged  publication,  yet  of  sufficient  interest  from  being  the  pioneer 
in  the  field,  and  from  its  array  of  city  founders  to  warrant  the  reprinting 
which  it  received  a  few  years  ago.  The  next  directory  did  not  appear  till 
Sept.  1852,  when  A.  W.  Morgan  &  Co.  issued  an  8vo  of  125  pp.,  wrongly 
called  the  first  directory  of  the  city.  It  contained  few  more  names  than  the 
preceding,  although  better  arranged,  and  with  a  fuller  appendix  of  general 
ities,  including  a  business  list.  In  the  following  month  F.  A.  Bonnard  pub 
lished  a  12mo  business  register.  The  first  really  excellent  directory  was 
issued  in  Dec.  1852  by  J.  M.  Parker.  It  was  an  8vo  of  114  register  pp.,  with 
about  9,000  names,  prefaced  by  an  historic  sketch  and  an  admirable  plan  of 
the  city,  and  followed  by  a  valuable  appendix  of  general  information  and 
statistics.  This  covered  1851-3,  and  the  next  publication  by  Le  Count  & 
Strong  was  delayed  till  1854.  It  contained  264  pp.,  and  while  not  surpassing 
the  preceding  contained  much  general  information.  In  Jan.  1856  Baggett  & 
Co.  issued  the  8.  F.  Business  Directory  in  222  pp.,  prepared  by  Larkin  &  Bel- 
den,  wholly  classified  under  business  heads.  In  Oct.  1856  Harris,  Bogardus, 
&  Labatt  appeared  with  a  meagre  directory  of  138  pp.,  which  was  eclipsed  by 
the  simultaneous  publication  of  Colville  in  308  pp.,  containing  about  12,000 
names,  with  historic  summary  and  a  valuable  appendix.  A  peculiar  feature 
of  the  latter  consisted  of  fine  type  notes  throughout  the  register  of  names, 
with  biographic  and  historic  information  concerning  persons,  societies,  and 
notable  buildings.  The  next  issue  was  by  Langley. 


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