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1434023 GENEA1 OOY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 01115 0007 m
ire
THE BEGINNINGS OF
SAN FRANCISCO
The
Beginnings of San Francisco
from the
Expedition of Anza, 1774
to the
City Charter of April 15, 185a
With Biographical and Other Notes
By
Zoeth Skinner Eldredge
SAN FRANCISCO
ZOETH S. ELDREDGE
1912
Copyright, 1912
By Zoeth S. Eldredge
San Francisco
Printed by
John C. Rankin Company
54 * 56 Dey Street
New York
1434023
VOLUME II.
CONTAINS
Chapters XIII. to XVII.
Notes 33 to 40
Appendix
Index
Chapter XIII.
THE COMING OF THE ARGONAUTS
i 849-1 850
YEARS before the discovery of gold on the
American river gold placers had been worked
in California with varying degrees of success.
But little attention was paid to this industry and it
was not considered of much importance by either
the Californians or the foreigners residing in their
midst. The priests discouraged mining, the ran-
cheros were indifferent to it, and neither class wished
to see the country filled with a mining population.
On March 2, 1844, the deputy for California to the
Mexican congress, Don Manuel Castafiares,* re-
ported to his government the discovery of gold in
the vicinity of Los Angeles the previous year. These
mines had produced from about the middle of the
year to December 1843 two thousand ounces, the
most of which had been sent to the United States.
He said the placers extended a distance of nearly
thirty leagues (seventy-eight miles). William H.
Thomes, writing from San Pedro where the ship
Admittance was taking cargo June 30, 1843, says:
"Here we also received ten iron flasks of gold dust,
although where the latter came from no one knew,
but it was reported that the merchants of the Pueblo
los Angeles traded for it with the Indians and the
latter would not reveal the source whence it came."f
When Alfred Robinson went to the United States
* Castafiares: Coleccion de Documentos.
t Thomes: On Land and Sea, p. 253.
443
444 The Beginnings of San Francisco
in 1843, he carried to the mint in Philadelphia a
package of gold dust from Abel Stearns of Los
Angeles, the assay of which showed it to be .906 fine.
The placers from which this gold came were on
the San Francisco rancho, near the mission of San
Fernando. The rancho had formerly belonged to
the mission, but at this time was in possession of the
Del Valle family. The discovery was made in March
1842 and in the following May, Ignacio Del Valle
was appointed encargo de justicias to preserve order
in the mining district. William H. Davis says that
from eighty to one hundred thousand dollars of gold
was taken from these places in two years. Colonel
Mason in his report of August 17, 1848, on the gold
fields of California says: "The gold placer near
the mission of San Fernando has long been known
but has been but little wrought for want of water. "
But the event that was to set the world ablaze
and create an empire on the shores of the Pacific
was the discovery by James W. Marshall of gold
on the American river January 24, 1848. It may
seem strange that in a community where the some-
what extensive placers of the San Fernando valley
received so little attention a discovery of gold placers
in the Sacramento valley should have created such
intense excitement. It may be that the reason for
this was that the discovery on the American river
was so quickly followed by reports of the great ex-
tent of the gold region and the astonishing richness
of the placers. The gold deposits were on or near
The Discovery of Gold 445
the surface, no capital was required to work them, and
a laboring man with nothing but his pick, shovel,
and pan could obtain from one to two or more ounces
per day, with the possibility, always, of acquiring
a fortune in a few weeks.
In the foothills of the sierras about forty-five
miles northeast of the Embarcadero of the Sacra-
mento, on the south fork of the American river,
Captain Sutter was building a sawmill in the fall
and winter of 1847, and employed James W. Marshall
to superintend the work. In digging a tail race for
the mill, Marshall was in the habit of turning the
water into the ditch at night to wash out the dirt
loosened by the workmen during the day. On the
morning of January 24, 1848, Marshall saw and
picked up in the mill race a glittering piece of gold
weighing about half an ounce. The men picked up
other particles and, satisfied of the importance of
the find, Marshall went to Sutter with it. Sutter
was anxious to complete his mill and also a grist mill
he was erecting on the American river, and he and
Marshall agreed to keep the discovery quiet. The
attempt was useless; the men soon quit work and
went to digging gold. Sutter, who was sub-Indian
agent for the Sacramento valley, obtained from the
Indians of the Yalesumi tribe a lease of twelve square
miles on the American fork and sent it to Governor
Mason for confirmation. This Mason refused, say-
ing that the United States did not recognize the right
of Indians to sell or lease to private individuals land on
446 The Beginnings of San Francisco
which they resided.* The news of the discovery
spread like magic. Remarkable success attended
the labors of the first explorers and in a few weeks
hundreds were engaged in the placers. By August
1st it was estimated that four thousand men were
working in the gold district, of whom more than one-
half were Indians, and that from thirty to fifty
thousand dollars worth of gold was daily obtained.
Colonel Mason reports that no thefts or robberies
had been committed in the gold region, and it was a
matter of surprise to him that so peaceful and quiet
a state of things should continue to exist.
The discovery changed the whole character of
California. Its people, before engaged in agricul-
ture and in cattle raising, had gone to the mines or
were on their way thither. Laborers left their work-
benches and tradesmen their shops; sailors deserted
their ships as fast as they arrived on the coast.
Mason reports that seventy-six soldiers had deserted
from the posts of Sonoma, San Francisco, and
Monterey, and for a few days he feared that garri-
sons would desert in a body. As a laborer, a soldier
could earn in one day at the mines double a soldier's
pay and allowances for a month; while a carpenter
or mechanic would not listen to an offer of less than
fifteen or twenty dollars a day. "Could any com-
bination of affairs try a man's fidelity more than
this?" writes the governor, "I really think some ex-
traordinary mark of favor should be given to those
* Ex. Doc. 17, p. 490.
Colonel Mason's Report 447
soldiers who remain faithful to their flag throughout
this tempting crisis.' 1 In July 1848 Colonel Mason
made a tour of the mining region. "Many private
letters have gone to the United States," he says,
"giving accounts of the vast quantity of gold recently
discovered, and it may be a matter of surprise why
I have made no report on this subject at an earlier
date. The reason is that I could not bring myself
to believe the reports that I heard of the wealth of
the gold district until I visited it myself. I have no
hesitation now in saying that there is more gold in
the country drained by the Sacramento and San
Joaquin rivers than will pay the cost of the present
war with Mexico a hundred times over."* In
November he writes: "Gold continues to be found
in increased quantities and over an increased extent
of country. I stated to you in my letter, No. 37,
that there was more gold in the country drained by
the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers than would
pay all the cost of the war with Mexico one hundred
times over; if I had said five hundred times over,
I should have been nearer the mark. Any reports
that may reach you of the vast quantities of gold in
California can scarcely be too exaggerated for belief, "f
San Francisco was not inclined to accept the
reports of gold discoveries. Bancroft says a few men
slipped out of town to investigate for themselves,
keeping their movements quiet as if fearing ridicule.
* Mason to Jones, Adj. Gen. U. S. A., Aug. 17, 1848. Ex. Doc. 17, p. 528.
t Mason to Jones, November 24, 1848. Ex. Doc. 17, p. 648.
448 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Presently several well-laden diggers arrived bringing
bottles, tin cans, and buckskin bags filled with the
precious metal. " Sam Brannan, holding in one hand
a bottle of gold dust and swinging his hat with the
other, passed along the street shouting: 'Gold! Gold!
Gold from the American river. '"* The excitement
was prodigious and in a few days the exodus had
begun. By boat, by mule and horse, or on foot they
went, all eager to reach the mines, fearful that the
gold would be gone before they could get there and
receive their share. Business houses closed their
doors. There was no service in the little church on
the plaza and a padlock was on the door of the al-
calde's office. The ships in the harbor were deserted
alike by masters and sailors. Soldiers deserted their
posts and fled, taking their arms, horses, blankets,
etc., with them; others were sent after them to force
them back to duty and all, pursuers and pursued,
went to the mines together. General Sherman,
then lieutenant of 3d artillery, tells how he organized
a force of seven officers to pursue and bring back
twenty-eight men of the 2d Infantry who had de-
serted in a body taking their arms and accoutrements.
They captured and brought in twenty-seven of them.f
On the 25th of July, 1848, Governor Mason issued
a proclamation! which recited the fact that many
citizens had gone to the gold mines without making
* Bigler: Diary of a Mormon in California, MS. 79.
t Sherman: Memoirs, i, pp. 71-72.
\ Ex. Doc. 17, p. 580.
Military Force in California 449
proper provision for the families they had left behind;
that many soldiers, tempted by the flattering pros-
pects of sudden wealth had deserted their colors to
go to the same region, regardless of their oaths and
obligations to the government, thus endangering the
safety of the garrison; and he declared that unless
families were guarded and provided for by their
natural protectors, and unless citizens lent their aid
to prevent desertions, the military force in Cali-
fornia would concentrate in the gold region, take
military possession of the mining district, and exclude
therefrom all unlicensed persons. All citizens em-
ploying or harboring deserters would be arrested,
tried by military commissions, and punished accord-
ing to the articles of war.
Let us see what military force the governor had
at command to enforce his decrees. Twelve days
after issuing the foregoing proclamation the governor
received notice of the ratification of the treaty of
peace between the United States and Mexico and he
at once ordered the New York volunteers — Steven-
son's regiment — mustered out, their term of service
ending with the war. The Mormon battalion had
been previously mustered out on expiration of their
term of service. This left the commander but two
companies of regular troops, viz: F company, 3d
artillery, numbering sixty-two officers and men, and
C company, 1st dragoons, eighty-three, a total in
California of one hundred and forty-five soldiers,
with the ranks being depleted daily by desertions,
450 The Beginnings of San Francisco
and not a warship on the coast of the province. The
governor, without the machinery of civil government,
with no civil officers save the few alcaldes he had
appointed, and unsustained by adequate military
force, was compelled to exercise control and main-
tain order in a country extending over six hundred
miles in length by two hundred in width, over a com-
munity composed of about equal numbers of Cali-
fornians and foreigners, the latter largely made up
of runaway sailors and men accustomed to a lawless
life, jealous of each other and of the Californians,
all wrought up to an intensity of excitement by the
gold discoveries, and now increased by a thousand
soldiers discharged without pay.* It was a case
requiring skill, judgment, and determination. All
the complex responsibilities of a civil administration
thrust upon a military commander, without council
or legislative support, were to be met and the honor
of the United States government maintained. The
trial of criminals, the establishment of port duties,
the registration of vessels, the making of custom
house regulations, the examination of ship's papers,
the collection of duties, the appointment of collec-
tors, alcaldes, judges, etc., the prevention of smug-
gling, represent a few of the responsibilities of the
governor. On August 14, 1848, Major Hardie wrote
the governor from San Francisco that the deficiency
of force to support the civil organization at that place
* Mason to Adj. Gen. Ex. Doc. 17, p. 338. Mason says he should have a full
regiment of infantry, a battalion of dragoons, and one of artillery.
Disorder in San Francisco 451
was likely to be productive of the most serious con-
sequences. That the lower classes of the community
were of the most lawless kind, and when their ranks
were swelled by disbanded volunteers, freed from the
restraints of discipline, there would be no security
for life or property. Captain Folsom, assistant
quartermaster, wrote the same day that acts of
disgraceful violence were of almost daily occurrence
on board the shipping in the harbor and the officials
had no power to preserve order; that his "office
is left with a large amount of money and gold dust
in it, and the volunteers are discharged without pay."
"We collect port charges, etc.," he writes, "from
both foreign and American vessels, and in return we
are under the most imperative obligation to protect
trade."* It is not to be wondered at that Mason,
as colonel of 1st dragoons, applied to the War Depart-
ment November 24, 1848, to be ordered home, having
been absent from the United States for two years.
In addition to the outrages committed by lawless
men, the disbanding of the Mormon battalion and
the Stevenson regiment, together with the absence
at the mines of a large portion of the citizens, left
the country defenceless against inroads of hostile
Indians.
In the attempt to stay the desertion of his men
Colonel Mason granted furloughs permitting them
to go to the gold fields for periods of two or three
months. These soldiers met with varying degrees
* Ex. Doc. 17, pp. 612-613.
452 The Beginnnigs of San Francisco
of success. One of them, private John K. Haggerty,
of F company, 3d artillery, came back from the
mines with sixty pounds of gold (#15,000).
Throughout the Americas and Europe the most
astonishing reports were received from the gold
fields of California. General Smith writing from
Panama January 7, 1849, says that none of the
accounts received were exaggerated; that there had
been brought to Valparaiso and Lima before the end
of 1848, gold valued at $1,800,000; that the Brit-
ish consul at Panama had forwarded 15,000 ozs.
(#240,000) across the isthmus, and that the com-
mander of the Pandora, Royal Navy, informed him
that the truth was beyond the accounts he had heard.
General Smith was also informed that hundreds of
people from the west coast of South America were
embarking for the gold fields. In a subsequent letter
he says that he has learned from many sources that
there was a great emigration of people of all nations
to California and that many are going off with large
quantities of gold. He says that on his arrival there
he 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 so treat him.
On the 1 2th of April 1848, the Pacific Mail was
incorporated with a capital of five hundred thousand
dollars, and contracts were entered into for the
building of three steamers; the California, 1050 tons,
the Oregon, 1099 tons, and the Panama, 1087 tons,
the California was completed first and sailed from
Mason's Report Sent to Congress 453
New York October 6, 1848, under command of
Cleveland Forbes. She carried no passengers for
California.*
Meanwhile the reports from California of the
extent of the gold fields, and the marvelous quanti-
ties of the metal obtained by men unskilled in mining
and without capital were received in the eastern
states and in Europe. In November 1848 came
Lieutenant Loeser of the 3d artillery, with despatches
from the military governor of California, confirming
the most extravagant reports from the gold fields,
and bringing tangible evidence in the shape of a
box filled with gold dust. The gold was placed on
exhibition at the war office and the president embod-
ied Mason's report in his message to congress Decem-
ber 5th. f The entire community went wild with
excitement. Mason's report with the president's
indorsement was published in the principal news-
papers throughout the world. The "gold fever"
was on and from all parts of the world companies
were fitting out for California. From Sonora in
Mexico, thousands of men came overland, while
from the coasts of Chili and Peru as many more
came by sea. Thousands started from the Atlantic
ports of the United States for Panama, for Vera
Cruz, and for Nicaragua. The steamer Falcon from
* The Pacific Mail was incorporated for the purpose of carrying the mails
between Panama and the Columbia river. The enormous business consequent
on the discovery" of gold in California caused the original design to be abandoned.
t The gold was later deposited at the mint at Philadelphia and found to be
.894 fine, value: a few cents over $ 18.00 per oz.
454 The Beginnings of San Francisco
New Orleans landed at Chagres the first adventurers
for California, several hundred in number, all deter-
mined to board the steamer California at Panama, if
possible. The route across the isthmus was a fearful
one; by canoe up the Chagres river to Cruces, the
head of navigation, thence on mule, if one was to be
had, or on foot to Panama. There was an insufficient
number of boats to carry the adventurers up the
river — a journey of several days — and consequently a
vexatious wait at Chagres had to be endured. From
Cruces to Panama the baggage had to be carried on
the backs of men. The excessive rains, the trouble,
vexation, and exposure caused a vast amount of sick-
ness and few escaped the "Chagres fever.' 1 To aug-
ment their troubles the cholera made its appearance
followed by a number of deaths. This caused a
stampede when all baggage and property of every
description was abandoned and left on the route
while the panic-stricken emigrants fled to Panama.
Their belongings were afterwards brought in by
natives who were satisfied with a reasonable compen-
sation for their faithful services. The Falcon brought
to Chagres Major-general Persifer F. Smith ap-
pointed to command the Third (Pacific) Division.
Captain Elliott and Major Fitzgerald of his staff
were taken with cholera, and Elliott died and was
buried in the church yard at Cruces.* Arriving at
* The death rate from cholera was so great at Cruces that the later parties,
panic stricken, left the river at Gongora and made their way to the coast as
best they could.
The California at Panama 455
Panama there was a long wait for the steamer,
while the numbers of emigrants increased daily and
the inhabitants of the city became alarmed at the
prospect of pestilence and famine. Provisions rose
to famine prices and there was much distress and
suffering among the emigrants. At length the long
looked for steamer was sighted and anchored in the
harbor January 17th. All was excitement and many
hurried off to the ship thinking to secure passage,
but they were not permitted to board and were
obliged to return. The ship had accommodation
for seventy-five, cabin and steerage, and fifteen
hundred clamored for passage. She had stopped at
Callao and had taken on fifty passengers for San
Francisco, although it was understood that none were
to be accepted until Panama was reached. It was
decided that the New York passengers holding
through tickets should be first provided for; after-
wards those from South America, and finally as
many as possible from among the first applicants
for passage at the office in Panama.* On the 1st
of February the California sailed for San Francisco
with three hundred and fifty passengers. f The ship
was so crowded it was difficult to move about,
either on deck or in the cabin.
It was on the 28th of February that this modern
Argo steamed past the rugged cliffs of the Golden
* Robinson: Life in California, p. 236.
t Smith to Adj. Gen. Executive Doc. 17, p. 710. The number of emigrants
on the California has been variously stated from 350 to 500. Robinson says
400.
456 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Gate into the warm sunshine of a California spring,
past the green slopes of Marin and the purple heights
of Tamalpais, past the islands of the bay and the
Alta Loma, and cast anchor before a most disreput-
able collection of adobe houses, wooden shacks, and
tents — the outpost of this new Colchis — with its
background of wind swept dunes, bleak and desolate.
The weary Argonauts were joyfully welcomed. The
ships in the harbor donned their gayest bunting; the
guns of the Pacific squadron boomed while the yards
of the war ships were manned with blue jackets.
The rains of winter had driven the miners to cover
and the town was full. Gold dust was plenty and
the gambling houses ran day and night. The people
were rough and uncouth but they gave the new
comers a hearty welcome and celebrated with ardor
the establishment of steam communication with the
world.
There was nothing lofty in the motive that
brought this band of adventurers to these shores
and nothing particularly remarkable about the men
who composed it. They were strong, courageous,
undaunted. They came to make a fortune and
return; they remained to create an empire. It was
the part the Argonauts played in founding and
building a great commonwealth on the Pacific
coast that gives significance to their coming. Among
this first band were De Witt Clinton Thompson,
who commanded a California regiment in the war
of the Rebellion, John Bigelow, first mayor of Sacra-
Passengers on the California 457
mento, Rev. O. C. Wheeler, who erected the first
Baptist church, Rev. S. W. Willey, founder of the
State University, Pacificus Ord, judge and member
of constitutional convention, Wm. Van Voorhies,
first secretary of State, Rodman M. Price, member
of constitutional convention, later governor of New-
Jersey, William Pratt, surveyor general of California,
Eugene L. Sullivan, collector of the port, Lloyd
Brooke, one of the founders of Portland, Oregon,
Alexander Austin, Asa Porter, Samuel F. Blaisdell,
Henry F. Williams, Richard W. Heath, Robert B.
Ord, William P. Walters, Edwin L. Morgan, Malachi
Fallon, B. F. Butterfield, A. M. Van Nostrand,
Charles M. Radcliff, Samuel Woodbury, Isaac B.
Pine, and Oscar J. Backus. Alfred Robinson, who
had been appointed agent of the Pacific Mail, also
returned on the California, and Major General
Persifer F. Smith and staff were on board. Hardly
had the ship come to anchor when her crew deserted,
only one engineer remaining faithful to his obliga-
tions.
When the California sailed away from Panama
she left behind a multitude of emigrants, all disap-
pointed, some filled with rage, some with despair.
A few sailing vessels were chartered to carry the ad-
venturers to California and it is said that a few tried
in log canoes to follow the coast only to perish or
be driven back after futile struggles with winds and
currents.* The Oregon, second steamer of the
* Bancroft: Hist. CaL, p. 135.
458 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Pacific Mail, arrived at Panama about the middle
of March. The crowd had doubled. The Oregon
took on about five hundred, and reached San Fran-
cisco April ist. Profiting by the experience of the
California, the captain took the precaution to anchor
his ship under the guns of a man-of-war, and placed
the most rebellious of his crew under arrest. With
barely enough coal to carry him to San Bias he sailed
April 1 2th, carrying back the first mail, treasure,
and passengers. On the ist of May, the California
having obtained a crew sailed for Panama. The
Panama, third steamer of the Pacific Mail, arrived
at San Francisco June 4th, sixteen days from Panama.
The Oregon brought John H. Redington, Dr. Mc-
Mullan, John McComb, Stephen Franklin, Ferdinand
Vassault, George K. Fitch, A. J. McCabe, S. H.
Brodie, John M. Birdsell, Joseph Tobin, and many
others well known in California, while on board the
Panama were Wm. M. Gwin, first United States
senator from California, John B. Weller, boundary
commissioner, D. D. Porter,* Major W. H. Emory,f
of the boundary survey. Lieut. Colonel Joseph
Hooker,! Major McKinstry, T. Butler King, agent
of the United States to California, Hall McAllister,
Lieut. George H. Derby ("John Phoenix"), John
V. Plume, P. A. Morse, Lafayette Maynard, H. B.
* Afterwards admiral,
t Emory first came with Kearny in 1846.
% Later Major General (Fighting Joe). He came to California as Asst.
Adj. General to General Smith, Pacific Division.
The Overland Emigration 459
Livingston, Alfred De Witt, Andrew G. Gray,* sur-
veyor of the boundary commission.
Ships now began to arrive from all parts of the
world, crowded with treasure seekers, and by the
middle of November upwards of six hundred vessels
had entered the harbor and the larger part of these
were left swinging at their anchors while their crews
rushed to the gold mines. Colonel Mason advises
the adjutant general of the arrival of a ship at Mon-
terey loaded with ordinance stores and says that it
will cost more to unload the ship than the total
freight from New York to Monterey.
The sufferings of the emigrants who came by sea,
great as they were, were as nothing compared with
those who came by land. Not since the crusades
of the Middle Ages, has there been anything ap-
proaching the overland emigration in magnitude,
peril, and endurance. It is estimated that during
the year 1849, forty-two thousand emigrants came
overland to California, of whom nine thousand were
from Mexico. Eight thousand Americans came by
the Santa Fe route and twenty-five thousand by the
South pass and the Humboldt river. f The horrors
of the Camino del Diablo have been portrayed in a
previous chapter. Bayard Taylor writes: "The
emigrants we took on board at San Diego were objects
* Gray made the survey and laid out the "New Town" at San Diego, which
was called "Gray Town" by the people of "Old Town."
t The figures are Mr. Bancroft's. He had, perhaps, the best opportuniti*"!
for estimating the numbers.
460 The Beginnings of San Francisco
of general interest. The stories of adventures by
the way sounded more marvellous than anything
I had heard or read since my boyish acquaintance
with Robinson Crusoe, Captain Cook, and John
Ledyard. * * * The emigrants by the Gila route
gave a terrible account of the crossing of the great
desert lying west of the Colorado. They describe
this region as scorching and sterile — a country of
burning salt plains and shifting hills of sand, whose
only signs of human visitation are the bones of
animals and men scattered along the trails that cross
it. The corpses of several emigrants, out of com-
panies who passed before them, lay half buried in
sand, and the hot air was made stifling by the effluvia
that rose from the dry carcasses of hundreds of mules.
There, if a man faltered, he was gone; no one could
stop to lend him a hand without a likelihood of shar-
ing his fate."*
The rendezvous for overland emigrants was usually
Independence (Mo.) for both the Oregon and Santa
Fe trails. Throughout the eastern states the winter
of 1848-49 was one of preparation. Emigration
parties were formed in almost every town, each
member contributing a fixed amount for outfit.
These were as elaborate as the taste of the members
suggested or their means permitted. Provisions
for the journey and for one or two years in Cali-
fornia, with every known implement for digging
and washing gold, arms, ammunition, large sup-
* Taylor: El Dorado, p. 47.
Overland Routes 461
plies of clothing, blankets, etc., and in some
cases, goods for barter or sale, characterized the
equipment of the emigration of 1849. Vehicles
of every conceivable kind and quality were seen,
from the ponderous "prairie schooner" drawn by
three yoke of oxen, to the light spring wagon; riding
horses and pack mules; together with relays of ani-
mals for heavy hauls. Arriving at the rendezvous
the small parties were joined in a large party together
with such individuals and families as came in singly,
a captain was selected and the caravan set out on
its two thousand mile journey. The northern route
was by the so-called Oregon trail, up the north fork
of the Platte to the Sweetwater, up the Sweetwater,
through the South pass, to the Green river, down the
Bear to Soda springs, to Fort Hall on the Snake,
to the Humboldt, down the Humboldt to the sink,
across the desert to the Truckee river, over the Sierra
Nevada to the head waters of the Bear river, thence
down the river to the Sacramento and to Sutter's
fort. From the sink of the Humboldt, three routes
offered themselves: northerly to the Pitt river pass;
west, across the desert to the Truckee, and southerly
to Carson valley, where was grass and water, and
thence over the sierra to the south fork of the Ameri-
can river. It is estimated that by the end of April
1849, twenty thousand emigrants were in camp on
the Missouri waiting for the grass on the plains to
be high enough to feed. Many companies had started
earlier and by the middle of May the trail from
462 The Beginnings of San Francisco
the Missouri river to Fort Laramie presented a con-
tinuous line of wagons and pack trains. Through
the valley of the Platte the cholera broke out, claim-
ing many victims and spreading terror through the
ranks of the emigrants. This began to disappear as
they approached the Rocky mountains. At last,
after some days of travel through a rugged and
broken country where high bluffs force them from
the river to make long detours, Fort Laramie is
reached and the first stage of the journey is com-
pleted. For the next three hundred miles the
country is a desert, with little grass and less water,
through the forbidding Black hills, up the Sweet-
water, across the continental divide by the South
pass, at an elevation of seven thousand and eighty-
five feet; thence through a somewhat better country,
the Green river valley , to Bear river, which here
flows northward, making a horseshoe around the
mountains. Down the Bear they travel for a dis-
tance of about ninety miles to Soda springs. Here
the Bear turns southward and the emigrants proceed
westerly to the Portneuf river down which they travel
to Fort Hall, on the Snake river. The route is now
down the Snake to Raft river, thence over the
hills to Goose creek and up Goose creek to the head
waters of the Mary, or Humboldt, as the river now
began to be called. This was the regular route.
There were a number of short cuts which saved the
travelers from one to two hundred miles of distance,
but cost them weeks of extra time to get through;
The Dreadful Journey 463
short cuts which were all right for pack-trains, but
all wrong for wagons. On reaching the Humboldt
the traveler has two-thirds of the whole distance
behind him and is on the last stage of his journey.
And what a journey it has been, and how changed
he is from the one who set out so blithely from
Independence three months ago. How bright the
anticipations then ! how cosey the snug family retreat
within the great canvas-covered "prairie schooner!"
how jolly the conversation and the stories around the
camp fire! the song and music after the day's toil
was over. The long weary journey, the dreadful
monotony of the endless plains, the barren desert,
the bleak and almost impassable mountains, the
heat and dust, the scorching sun and the drenching
rains, the sickness and suffering, and the deaths that
have thinned his party, have long since dulled his
spirits and left in place of the joyous buoyancy of
the start, a sullen, dogged determination to push
forward. The faint-hearted abandoned him at the
Platte, at Laramie, and at Salt Lake; the weak
died; and before him now was the greatest trial of
the journey, the greatest test of strength. Many
were yet to fail, to die of starvation, of cholera, of
scurvy, and some, who had passed through so much
of hardship and suffering, were to die by their own
hands as they approached the fatal desert and saw
in the distance the loftybarrier of the Sierra Nevada.*
* Delano: Life on the Plains y p. 238. Five drowned themselves in one day
in the Humboldt river.
464 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Almost before the trains had reached the Platte
the emigrants realized that they had overloaded
their wagons and already began to throw away use-
less freight and baggage. As the difficulties of the
journey increased and animals gave out, wagons,
provisions, and property of all kinds were abandoned.
Large quantities of bacon were tried out and the fat
used for axle grease. During the latter part of the
emigration of 1849, the difficulties were greatly in-
creased. Feed became very scarce; the water of
the Humboldt had a bad effect on the horses and
they died in great numbers; the Indians, ever on
the alert became more aggressive, stealing the stock
and leaving many families from four to six hundred
miles from the settlements without teams or means
of conveyance. The remaining animals are now
giving out. Everything that can be dispensed with
is thrown away that the loads may be lightened for
the weakened oxen. The destruction of property
is immense and the road is lined with abandoned
wagons, sheet iron stoves, shovels, picks, pans,
clothing, and other articles — even guns.* From
halfway down the Humboldt to the sink the carcasses
of animals were so thick that had they been lain
along the road, one could walk over them without
putting foot to ground.
At last the sink of the Humboldt is reached and
before the emigrant lies the most dreaded desert of
* It is said that $50,000 worth of guns were thrown away in 1849, being
first broken to prevent their use by Indians.
A Struggle for Life 465
all. Here are long stretches of alkali with drifts of
ashy earth in which the cattle sink to their bellies
and go moaning along their way, midst a cloud of
dust and beneath a broiling sun. The road is covered
with putrifying carcasses and the effluvia arising
from them poisons the air. Even feeble women
must walk and the animals relieved of every possible
burden. To add to the general distress the cholera
again broke out and carried the emigrants off by
hundreds. The march now resembles the rout
of an army. All organization is at an end and each
one pushes on with what strength he has. Wagons
come to a stop and are abandoned, while the animals
are detached and driven forward. No one now thinks
of gold. It has become a struggle for life.
In an effort to avoid the desert a large part of the
emigration of 1849 was diverted to the northern route
through Lassen's pass. They left the Humboldt at
the big bend, sixty-five miles above the sink, and took
a northwesterly course. They were told they would
find grass in ten miles, grass and water in twelve,
and at Rabbit springs, thirty-five miles distant,
abundance of both, and from there on they would
have no further trouble. It was false information
and it lured thousands to their ruin. There was
little water or grass; the deserts to be crossed were
much greater in extent than those of the Humboldt;
the emigrants traveled some three hundred miles
out of their way and those late in the season found
themselves in a rugged mountain region, in three feet
466 The Beginnings of San Francisco
of snow, and two hundred and fifty miles from the
nearest settlement. The Pitt river Indians were
hostile and active, and many lives were lost. Major
Rucker, commanding the relief expedition, reported
that between seven and nine thousand emigrants
with from one thousand to twelve hundred wagons
had taken this route.
Many took the lower or Carson river route. Cross-
ing from the sink of the Humboldt to the sink of the
Carson, a distance of fifteen miles, they followed
up the Carson river some eighty miles to Eagle valley,
where there was abundant grass, then southerly
through Carson valley and over the sierra to the
south fork of the American.
In the latter part of July, the advance trains of
the emigration began to arrive in the Sacramento
valley and soon a steady stream poured in. Gaunt,
hollow-eyed men and women leading or carrying
children told tales of horror. Behind these, in the
great basin, were thousands battling with famine
and pestilence. Notwithstanding the absorbing char-
acter of their occupation, the rough miners did not
hesitate to go to the relief of the sufferers or to con-
tribute generously of their gold. General Smith
ordered all available troops to the Sacramento valley
and Major Rucker of the First dragoons was put
in charge of the relief operations, while one hundred
thousand dollars was appropriated for supplies.
Parties were sent in all directions with hard bread,
pork, flour, rice, and barley, beef cattle and work
Death on the Plains 467
oxen, and riding mules. A relief station was estab-
lished at the Truckee lower crossing (Wadsworth),
at the Hot springs in the Carson valley (Genoa),
and on the upper Feather river. From the relief
stations men were sent out on the desert as far as
the sink of the Humboldt, and the sufferers brought
in. They met whole families, men, women, and
children on foot, without food. Women, whose
husbands had died of cholera, with their little chil-
dren, without water or food; men scarcely able to
walk, who said that for two hundred miles back they
had eaten nothing but dead mules; one old man
with his wife and daughter, on foot, had nothing but
a few blankets which they carried on their backs.
The number of sufferers was so great the relief corps
could furnish barely enough food to enable them to
reach the nearest station. It is said that in the emi-
gration of this year five thousand died on the plains
from cholera alone.
In 1849 the rains began much earlier than usual
and the fall was heavy. In the mountains the snow
was of prodigious depth. The northern relief station
on the Feather river sent out men on all the trails
with food and riding mules, to meet the emigrants
coming through by the Lassen route. The amount
of sufTering was dreadful. Many of the emigrants
had been two or three days without food when the
government trains reached them. There were three
feet of snow on the ground through which many
were making their way on foot. Three men made
468 The Beginnings of San Francisco
desperate efforts to get through. For some days they
had been on an allowance of one meal per day.
When still seventy miles distant from the nearest
settlement they took stock and found they had bread
for two days only. Pushing on through the snow
they came in a few miles to a wagon containing two
women and two or three children who had eaten noth-
ing for two days. With a generosity which was
rare under the circumstances, they gave all they had
to these helpless ones and went on without. They
got through. The relief corps met women wading
through the deep snow carrying their children, and
strong men who had fallen through utter exhaustion.
The officer in charge of the camp writes: "A more
pitiable sight I never beheld as they were brought
into camp; there were cripples from scurvy and
other diseases, women prostrated by weakness, and
children who could not move a limb, and men
mounted on mules who had to be lifted off the animals,
so entirely disabled had they become from the effects
of the scurvy."* On December 20th, Major Rucker
reported that he had brought in all who had crossed
the mountains and had closed the relief camps.
In 1850, the suffering was even more severe than
in 1849. Throughout the States the reports of the
overloaded wagons had been received and many
went to the opposite extreme. By the time Fort
Laramie was reached provisions had begun to give
* Report of Maj. Rucker: Senate Doc. 52, pp. 96-151. See also Delano: Life
on the Plains, pp. 178-235.
Emigrants of 1850 469
out, but the emigrants went forward recklessly,
trusting to chance to get through. The Mormons
at Salt Lake were able to afford some relief but they
were short of provisions themselves. The supplies
of many of the trains held out until the Humboldt
river was reached when their stores became ex-
hausted. Emigrants arriving at Sacramento in July,
1850, reported the desperate condition of those in
the desert; that Mary's river (Humboldt) was six
or seven feet higher than it was ever known to be
before, and that the bottoms, where the only feed
grew, were almost entirely under water. One traveler
hired some Indians for fifteen dollars to swim the
river and float some grass across to him, thus saving
the lives of his oxen. Another said that what little
grass they procured on the way down the Humboldt
they had to swim for, sometimes cutting it and some-
times being compelled to pull it while standing in
the water up to their waists. " I have seen hundreds,
more than one hundred and fifty miles on the other
side of the Sink of Mary's River," writes W. Crum
to the Sacramento Transcript, "that were out of
provisions, or had but a few pounds to sustain a
miserable and wretched existence, with animals
that could never reach the Desert,* by reason of the
scarcity of forage. * * * From this circumstance
alone it may be possible that three-fourths of the
animals now on the plains must perish from hunger,
* The desert referred to in these reports and communications, always means
that between the sink of the Humboldt and the Truckee river.
47° The Beginnings of San Francisco
and the emigrant, with his scanty fare, must foot
until life itself becomes a burden. Those who
started late will fare still worse; as the season
becomes warmer, feed less, and provisions shorter. I
saw one man with two small boys 120 miles beyond
the Sink, who had left his wagon and lost all his
animals but one, and all the provisions he had was
three or four pounds of rice; another, with his wife
and children, I overtook seventy miles beyond the
Sink, with four horses that were just able to move
with the empty wagon, the wife walking ahead in
the burning sand and scorching sun, to relieve the
poor laden animals that were destined never to see
the Sink.' 1 J. M. Sheppards, who arrived about
August 1st, reported that only about one wagon
out of five would get through. His company started
with twelve wagons of which two would get in; many
that start with three or four horses get in with one;
many emigrants on arriving in Carson valley sell
their finest horses for ten or fifteen pounds of flour.
After arriving at the Truckee river or the Carson
valley, the emigrants still had the difficult passage
of the Sierra Nevada to make and most of them were
destitute of animals or food and many of both.
Tales of distress were brought by each arrival.
The cholera had again broken out and its ravages
were appalling. Nine-tenths of those in the desert
were on foot and starving. "Mothers may be seen
wading through deep dust or heavy sand of the desert,
or climbing mountain steeps, leading the poor chil-
1434023
Relief Parties 471
dren by the hand; or the once strong man, pale,
emaciated by hunger and fatigue, carrying upon
his back his feeble infant, crying for water and
nourishment, and appeasing a ravenous appetite
from the carcass of a dead horse or mule; and when
they sunk exhausted on the ground at night overcome
with weariness and want of food, it was with the
certainty that the morning sun would only be the
prelude to another day of suffering and torture."*
The miners contributed liberally to succor the
unfortunate emigrants. From lack of organization
and direction much of the effort was wasted and
supplies were slow in reaching the desert. Captain
William Waldo left Johnson's ranch August 27th
with a drove of beef cattle, after waiting three days
for the trains promised from Marysville and Yuba
City. Seventeen hundred pounds of flour were
deposited on the western side of the sierra, the com-
mittee being unable to get it across for lack of mules.
At the Truckee lower crossing beef was deposited
with the relief committee and Waldo left with them
ten good horses and mules to help the sick and desti-
tute to cross the desert. He entered the desert
September 7th and pushed on as far as the Great
meadows of the Humboldt, about the locality of
the present town of Palisade. About midway of the
desert he came upon two men who had laid them-
selves down to die. They had been living on the
putrified flesh of the dead animals on the road which
* Delano: Life on the Plains, p. 237.
472 .The Beginnings of San Francisco
had made them sick and for three days had eaten
nothing. He relieved their needs and they reached
the station. Two other men had died of starvation.
From Boiling springs to the Great meadows he met
few who had any provisions at all. One-fourth of
the entire number on the road were reduced to the
necessity of subsisting on the putrified flesh of dead
animals. This had produced the most fatal conse-
quences and disease and death were mowing them
down by hundreds. "The cholera has carried off
eight in one small train in three hours, and seven
others are attacked and, it is thought, will die ere
three hours more have elapsed." From the sink
westward the havoc was fearful. "Sir," he writes,
"by the time this reaches you I presume that you
will need no evidence from me to satisfy you of the
alarming and wretched condition of these people.
It appears that the judgment of God has pursued
them from the time they set out up to the present.
First cholera — then starvation — next war, starva-
tion, and cholera. The day has now passed when
anyone will have the hardihood to say that there is
no suffering amongst the Overland Emigrants; at
least no one who is within 200 miles of this place
will make such a declaration. * * * When I tell
them (the emigrants) that they are 400 miles from
Sacramento, they are astonished and horrified; many
disbelieve me. They were induced to believe when
at Salt Lake, that they were then within 450 miles
of Sacramento City." Indians have stolen a great
Desperate Conditions 473
number of the emigrants' stock, he says, and scarcely
a day passes when there is not a skirmish with them.
Many women are on the road with families of chil-
dren, who have lost their husbands by cholera, and
who will never cross the mountains without aid.
There are yet twenty thousand back of the desert,
and fifteen thousand of this number are now destitute
of all kinds of provisions, yet the period of the great-
est suffering has not arrived. It will be impossible
for ten thousand of this number to reach the moun-
tains before the commencement of winter. All
remember the fate of the Donner party. 33 On
September 15th Waldo is back on the Truckee river
sending in frantic appeals for supplies. He is issu-
ing, he says, from five to eight thousand pounds of
beef per day, and flour only to the sick. The station
is surrounded by sick, unable to proceed on their
journey. The flour deposited at Bear valley by the
Marysville train has not arrived. The relief raised
by the Feather river towns has failed for want of
system. If the people of California wish to extend
efficient relief to the emigrants, their supplies must
be placed under the control of one agent. The emi-
grants must have bread; thousands must die unless
they can be supplied with bread. The cholera is
killing them off from this point to the head of the
Humboldt. Ten thousand pounds of flour should
be immediately forwarded to the Truckee station
and another station established near the summit
with the same amount, and such other articles as
474 The Beginnings of San Francisco
are necessary for the sick. If the money cannot be
raised for this, he offers to turn over to the com-
mittee, or to any other body of men, real estate in
Sacramento which has cost him ten thousand dollars,
if they will advance at once eight or ten thousand
dollars, forwarded in flour and other necessary
articles for the sick, to the summit and to the
Truckee station. This, in connection with the beef,
horses, mules, and the dead stock that can be jerked
before it putrines, will save ten thousand human
beings from starvation. He says that if he were to
describe the cases of extreme suffering that he has
seen in the last fifteen days the account would
occupy a quire of paper. He was to leave on the
morning of the 16th for the head of the Humboldt
to induce all that are yet from four to six hundred
miles back to return to Salt Lake. Ten persons
died of cholera, the day before, while trying to cross
the desert.*
By September traders were nocking to the desert
with supplies, selling flour at one dollar and seventy-
five cents to two dollars and fifty cents per pound.
They also carried water and grass into the desert and
gathered up the animals they found abandoned.
They sold water at half a dollar a pint.f Many of
the emigrants had no money and were obliged to
* Captain Waldo's report is printed in the Sacramento Transcript of September
23, 1850.
t Letters and reports in Sacramento Transcript Sept. 3, Aug. 5, 1850; Alta
California July 31, Sept. 13, and Oct. 6, 1850.
The End of the Journey 475
part with their property. In starting out many put
nearly all they had into outfit; others thinking they
were going to a land of gold did not bring much money
with them. It was a great mistake. Money was
required for ferrage across streams, for supplies,
and for various purposes, and the want of it caused
loss and hardship. 34
At length the emigrants reached the end of their
journey, but their troubles were not over; they were
attacked with fevers and bloody flux, and many
perished miserably after having endured all but death
in crossing the plains; they reached the Sacramento
valley sick and weary, with the horror of the scenes
through which they had passed still upon them.
For a time they were distressed and unsettled. Their
numbers were so great that the relief extended by
the miners, large as it was, could not reach them all,
and many suffered and died for want of proper care
and the nourishment which their condition required.
Many were happy at first to get employment to pay
their board, and even those accustomed to the luxu-
ries of life were glad to get any servile employment
suited to their strength and ability. Gradually the
dark gloom that over-shadowed them was dispelled
by the kind treatment and aid they received on all
sides, the memory of their suffering faded, and with
returning health hope revived and ambition again
awoke.
Most of the states of the Union were peopled by
a steady influx of settlers from other communities.
476 The Beginnings of San Francisco
California was suddenly changed from a quiet
pastoral community, to a mining camp. A great
population was poured into it from all quarters of
the globe, all actuated by the most intense and
absorbing of motives, the quest of gold. Some to
mine for it, some to supply the gold miner with the
means of existence, and some to prey upon him.
Some saw fortunes in trade and in the building of
cities; others sought to reap the great profits result-
ing from the cultivation of the fertile soil. The
farming class found a large amount of the best lands
in private ownership under the Spanish grants. They
were not disposed to submit quietly to this condition
of affairs and in many cases "preempted" what
they chose to consider unoccupied land, ignoring the
obligations of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
which guaranteed to the Californians the enjoyment
of their liberty and property. Both Colonel Mason
the governor, and General Riley his successor,
endeavored to protect the owners of property, but
the failure of Congress to provide a civil government
for the territory, together with an insufficient force
to compel obedience to their mandates, made the
matter a difficult one. As James Bryce says, a great
population had gathered before there was any regular
government to keep it in order.* The great mass
of the population was American, and the inhabitants
formed for their own government and preservation
local laws regarding the punishment of crime — un-
* Bryce: The American Commonwealth, ii, 385.
The Rule of Rob Roy 477
written, but none the less understood — the size,
manner of locating and recording mining claims, and
they visited summary punishment on those who
violated the code. All things else were left to
individual taste and discretion. The alcalde of
Monterey, Walter Colton, a chaplain in the navy,
sold the land on which was situated the old Spanish
fort (Castillo de San Carlos). This transaction
brought from Colonel Mason a letter asking what
law or decree conferred on an alcalde the right to
sell the title of a Mexican fort or battery. In reply
the alcalde writes: "No Mexican law or decree,
as I can find, designates any particular spot as sites
for forts or batteries. Each military chief put up a
post where he chose, or demolished those put up by
his predecessor. He asked no leave to build, and
none to abandon. When guns were mounted no
alcalde ventured with his right to sell, but eagerly
extended that right over an abandoned position.
"The only rule which appears to have governed
the military and civil authorities in these matters
seems to have been that of Rob Roy —
'The simple plan,
That they shall take who have the power,
And they shall keep who can.' "
This flippant reply well illustrates the American
ignorance of and contempt for the Spanish law and
Spanish methods. Colton was an educated man, a
graduate of Harvard College and of Andover Theo-
478 The Beginnings of San Francisco
logical Seminary, and should have known better.
A rebuke was administered him by Henry W. Hal-
leck, captain of engineers and secretary of state. In
a formal report to the governor Halleck says:
"Monterey is the next point on the coast deemed of
sufficient importance at the present time for perma-
nent works. The old battery (San Carlos) was built
soon after the establishment of the mission of the
same name (1770) and though much dilapidated was
maintained up to about the time the Americans
took possession of the country. Another battery
in the rear of and auxiliary to this was begun by the
Mexicans previous to July 7, 1846, and afterwards
enlarged by the Americans, and occupied by them,
without intermission, to the present time. Copies
of the several claims to the land on which these
batteries are situated, or which lie so immediately
in the vicinity as to be necessary for the public
service, if the batteries themselves are retained, are
given in appendix No. 27, papers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5,
and the accompanying letters of the alcalde, dated
March 23, June 14, and August 10, 1848. It ap-
pears from these papers that titles Nos. 1, 2, 3, and
4, were given while Monterey was in possession of
the American troops, and by an alcalde who was an
officer in the United States navy; that Nos. 1 and 2
were given while the troops were occupying and hold-
ing the ground so deeded away and after both
Captain Halleck's Report 479
seller and buyers had been informed that the land
would be required for government purposes.*
"Unfortunately for the plea set up by the alcalde,
the laws relating to the granting of lands in California
are, as has already been shown, very minute and
perfect, resting upon no such doubtful authority as
that of Rob Roy, but upon positive and definite
decrees of the Mexican Congress, and the subor-
dinate but no less distinct enactments of the terri-
torial legislature — laws which seem to have been
perfectly understood and pretty generally obeyed
here previous to the irregular proceedings springing
out of the mania for land speculations following the
conquest of the country by the Americans. * * *
Nor is the alcalde more accurate in his opinion, that
the Mexican government has never designated any
particular spot or site for forts or batteries. If he
had examined the subject with care, he would have
found that the ground which he sold has been occu-
pied by works of military defence from about the
year 1772 to the present moment; that when, in
1775, it was proposed by the authorities here to
remove these works to a point on the bay further
north, the viceroy positively forbid the removal;
that there are in the government archives numerous
orders, both from the viceroys of New Spain and the
ministers of the Mexican republic, for the repair
* The buyers were Commodore Shubrick and Lieutenant-commander Bailey of
the United States navy, and they were both notified by Halleck himself that
the land would be required by the government. In these days of investi-
gations the whole thing looks a little queer.
480 The Beginnings of San Francisco
of these identical works, for the mounting of guns
in them, etc.; that these are the very works that
were captured by the insurgents under Alvarado and
Graham in 1836, by the naval forces under Com-
modore Jones in 1842, and, though greatly dilapi-
dated, constituted the only defences for the harbor
and town of Monterey on the 7th of July, 1846."*
In the winter of 1846-47, a party of immigrants
from the United States applied to the priests in charge
of the missions of San Jose and Santa Clara for
shelter. This was readily granted them and in the
spring they proceeded to plant the mission fields
and make themselves at home. So much at home
did they become that they finally put the priests
out and excluded them from the premises altogether.
The priests complained to Col. Mason and he ordered
Captain Henry M. Naglee, of the New York volun-
teers, to proceed with his command to Pueblo de San
Jose and assist the alcalde in ejecting the intruders.
If the alcalde did not act promptly and efficiently
in the matter, then the officer must proceed to execute
the order himself. He instructed him to use mild
and persuasive means to induce the intruders to
vacate the premises before resorting to force. "Say
to those people they have no right whatever to dis-
possess the priest and occupy those missions con-
trary to his consent, any more than they have to
dispossess the rancheros and occupy their ranches;
* Report of Halleck to Mason, Mar. I, 1849, on Land Titles in California
Ex. Doc. 17, pp. 1 19-182.
The Squatters' League 481
that they must respect the rights of others before
they can claim any respect for their own; that we
are bound to protect, and will protect, the priests
in the quiet possession of the mission at Santa
Clara and San Jose, and not suffer their premises
to be wrested from them even by the Californians,
much less by a people who have just come into
the country, who have not a shadow of claim to the
premises, and who, in the first place, were permitted
from motives of charity to occupy them temporarily
to shield them from the last winter's rains."*
The immigrants did dispossess the rancheros and
occupy their ranchos, in a great many instances.
In Santa Clara county the "Squatters' League"
organized an armed force, resisted the execution of
the sheriff's writ, held public meetings and bar-
becues — which the sheriff's men attended — and in-
dulged in many speeches regarding their rights as
American citizens, while their women kind presented
flags to the riflemen and extolled the defenders of
their homes. In the contra costa armed men took
possession of the San Antonio rancho (Oakland),
mounted a cannon, and announced that they would
defend their rights (to the Peraltas' property) to
the death. They even put Don Domingo Peralta
in jail, kept him there six months, and made him
pay a heavy fine, for attempting to drive them off
his rancho.
* Mason to N 'aglet, July 10, 1847. Ex. Doc. 17, p. 341.
482 The Beginnings of San Francisco
The better class of immigrants did not approve
the squatter method and strongly condemned all
such proceedings; but a portion of the early im-
migration was from the western frontier states
and of the class that considered a dead Indian the
only good Indian, and to whom a Spaniard, no
matter what his condition or degree of culture
and refinement, was a "greaser" and entitled to
no respect or consideration when their several claims
were in conflict. They were in full sympathy
with and consistent believers in the good old rule
of Rob Roy, and did not hesitate to take when they
had the power and hold when they could. In 1848,
thousands of Indians were engaged in washing gold
in the placers,* some on their own account, others
employed by Americans, who turned their labor
to good profit. The men of the later emigration,
and in particular those who came from Oregon,
abused the Indians shamefully and began a war of
extermination upon them, shooting them down on
the slightest pretext and driving them from their
claims which they took for themselves. f They
also undertook to drive all foreigners from the gold
mines under color of a proclamation from General
Smith informing all foreign adventurers coming to
California to search for gold, that trespassing on
the public lands was punishable by fine and imprison-
ment, and that the laws relating thereto would be
* Mason's report. Ex. Doc. 17, p. 532.
t Johnson: Sights in the Gold Region, p. 152.
Bands of Desperadoes 483
strictly enforced.* In this movement the Americans
were joined by English, Irish, and German emigrants,
and it was especially directed against the Sonorans,
Chilians, and Peruvians. f They even included
Californians among the "foreigners." They at-
tempted to drive Don Andres Pico from a claim he
was working on the Mokelumne river, but the hero
of San Pascual was not to be frightened as easily
as the timid Sonorans and he maintained his rights
as an American citizen. J
With the immigration there came, as was to be
expected, a plentiful supply of the scum and riff-raff
of the world; escaped convicts and ticket-of-leave
men from Botany bay, desperadoes, fugitives from
justice, ne'er-do-wells, and gamblers from all parts
of the globe, drawn to California by the promise
of easy money which the rapid accumulation of gold
by the people seemed to hold out. Armed bands of
desperadoes rode through the country committing
the most atrocious crimes until the citizens, unable
to endure longer the reign of disorder, rose and hunted
the criminals like wild beasts and drove them from
the country. Mason, in an official communication
to the war office, reports a number of murders and
the hanging of several men by the citizens, and says:
"You are perfectly aware that no competent civil
courts exist in this country, and that strictly speaking
* Ex. Doc. 17, pp. 719-720.
t Bennet Riley to Adj. Gen. Aug. 30, 18 4Q. Ex. Doc. 17, pp. 785-792.
% Taylor: El Dorado, p. 87.
484 The Beginnings of San Francisco
there is no legal power to execute the sentence of
death; but the necessity of protecting their lives
and property against the many lawless men at
large in this country, compels the good citizens
to take the law into their own hands. I shall not
disapprove of the course that has been taken in
this instance, and shall only endeavor to restrain
the people so far as to insure to every man charged
with a capital crime an open and fair trial by a jury
of his countrymen."*
It is evident from the military dispatches that
the deserters from the army contributed to the gen-
eral disorder and committed many outrages against
life and property. These deserters were protected
by the great mass of the citizens of the mining
region who thought it a shame that the soldiers
should be obliged to serve for what was really a
nominal sum while all those around them were
reaping an extraordinary reward for their labor.
Riley recommended the restoration of the war
penalty for desertion, and in a letter to the general
commanding the division said: "Information from
the south * * * shows that, with very few excep-
tions, the dragoons of the squadron of the 1st regi-
ment deserted upon being ordered to San Luis Rey.
Many had previously deserted from Los Angeles,
carrying with them their horses, arms and equip-
ments; and it is believed that the desertions at that
place will be greatly increased when the order
* Mason to Adj. Gen. Ex. Doc. 17, p. 653.
Desertion of Troops 485
breaking up the companies of the 2d dragoons is
received; so that I fear I shall not be able to organ-
ize from four companies of dragoons one required
for the escort of the commissioners.* It is known
that these deserters had committed many outrages
upon the property, and, it is feared, upon the persons
of the inhabitants they encountered in the route
to the mines. * * * The disposition I have proposed
(that of establishing a four company post in the min-
ing region and allowing the men limited furloughs)
will be an experiment, but one that should be tried,
if only for the sake of preventing a repetition of the
outrages unoffending people have suffered from those
they have been led to suppose would protect them
from Indian depredations and domestic violence."!
The Indians of the Tulares, who, joined by many
of the neophytes of the missions, had for some years
been a source of great annoyance to the rancheros
by stealing their cattle and horses, now renewed
their depredations, emboldened by the withdrawal
of the troops from the south. The situation was
further complicated by robberies committed by
Sonorans, driven from the northern mines, on their
way out of the country. The troops under command
of General Riley were the 2d infantry; companies
A and E, 1st dragoons; companies D and E, 2d
* The boundary commissioners. The escort was under command of Lieuten-
ant Cave J. Coutts. Later, in August, Riley reports that more than one half
of the escort had deserted.
t Riley to Sherman, Asst. Adj. Gen. April 16, 1849. Ex. Doc. 17, p. 899.
486 The Beginnings of San Francisco
dragoons; and companies F and M, 3d artillery;
in all six hundred and fifty men, the number being
constantly reduced by desertion.* With this force
he had to garrison the forts at San Francisco,
Monterey, and San Diego, furnish an escort for the
boundary commission, guard the government stores,
send expeditions against marauding Indians, succor
starving emigrants, establish relief stations at War-
ner's pass and in the Sacramento, and police the
territory.
More than two years had elapsed since the
conquest. Congress had met and adjourned without
providing California with a government. The au-
thorities at Washington recognized the military
government established in California, under the laws
of war, as a government de facto, to continue until
the congress should provide another. The people of
California, with that executive instinct of self-govern-
ment and self-preservation which first challenged
the wonder of the civilized world and afterwards
won its approbation, determined they would have
a responsible and representative government. In
full sympathy with this sentiment, Governor Riley
issued, on June 3, 1849, a proclamation calling for
the election of delegates to a convention to be held
in Monterey on the first of September, for the
purpose of forming a state constitution. The terri-
tory was divided into ten districts, with thirty-
seven delegates, and the election set for August 1st.
* Ex. Doc. 17, pp. 899, 938.
Constitutional Convention 487
The number of delegates was later increased to
forty-eight, owing to the rapid growth in population
of some of the districts. The convention was com-
posed of men in the full vigor of life, was fairly
representative, contained several men of talent,
and a good proportion of men of education and re-
finement. There were five men of European birth,
six Californians, twelve natives of New York, five
of Maryland, three each from Virginia, Kentucky,
and Ohio, two from Massachusetts, and one each
from Tennessee, Florida, Missouri, Maine, Vermont,
Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and New
Jersey. All the men of European birth and nine
or ten of the Americans were citizens of California
before the conquest. Among the Californians were
the distinguished Mariano Guadelupe Vallejo, the
courtly Pablo de la Guerra, the polished Jacinto
Rodriguez, and the dignified and handsome Jose
Antonio Carrillo. Among the Americans who later
became more or less famous, were Henry W. Halleck,
later general-in-chief of the United States army;
W. M. Gwin, U. S. Senator; John McDougal, gov-
ernor and U. S. Senator; Rodman M. Price, member
of congress for and governor of New Jersey; Thomas
O. Larkin, consul and special agent of the United
States; Edward Gilbert, member of congress and
editor of the Alta California; Pacificus Ord, Francis
J. Lippitt, Stephen C. Foster, Robert Semple and
others whose names are well known. The con-
vention completed its labors October 12, 1849,
488 The Beginnings of San Francisco
and the same day Governor Riley issued his proc-
lamation announcing the formation of a constitu-
tion and calling for a vote on November 13th for
its ratification by the people, and for the election
at the same time of a legislature and state officials.
The members presented to Governor Riley their
bill for services, charging sixteen dollars per day,
and sixteen dollars for each twenty miles traveled.
This the governor paid from the civil fund.* The
members now gave themselves up to congratulations
on the success of the convention, and assessing
themselves twenty-five dollars apiece for expenses
cleared the hall for a grand ball given to the citizens
of Monterey. The ball, held October 13th was
a great success. General Riley was there in full
uniform and wearing the yellow sash he won at
Contreras;lVIajors Canby, Hill, and Smith, Captains
Burton and Kane, and the other officers stationed
at Monterey, accompanying him. Don Pablo de la
Guerra acted as floor manager, and gallantly dis-
charged the duties of his office. Conspicuous among
the Californians were General Vallejo, Manuel
Dominguez, and Jacinto Rodriguez, while Captain
John A. Sutter, late of Switzerland, and Don Miguel
de Pedrorena, formerly of Spain, took an active
part in the festivities.
*The "Civil fund" was the money collected for duties by the military
and civil governors of California during the period between the conquest
and the inauguration of the state government.
Foundation of the State 489
On December 12th Governor Riley issued a proc-
lamation declaring the constitution ratified Novem-
ber 13th as the ordained and established constitution
of the State of California. The legislature met
December 15th and on December 20th Riley resigned
his powers as governor into the hands of Peter
H. Burnett,* the new executive. A great popu-
lation, coming together from the four winds of heaven
with but one idea, to enrich themselves as quickly
as possible and then depart, had, recognizing the
necessities of the situation, founded a common-
wealth. 35
Many who tried their luck at the mines returned
to San Francisco. Even their great success in ob-
taining gold could not compensate them for all
their privations, the exposure, the sickness, the
hard labor, and harder fare which fell to their lot.
And the shrewd trader saw that, rich as were the
gold placers, a richer field for acquiring wealth lay
before him in the town itself. The great prices and
great rise in various kinds of goods, provisions,
and other necessaries of life, opened the brightest
prospects to those who preferred trade to gold hunt-
ing. The immigration from the nearest territory
was but a mite to that which would flow from
abroad when the wild reports of abundant gold
* Peter H. Burnett, the first governor of the State of California, was born
in Tennessee in 1807, came to Oregon in 1843, and thence to California in
1848. In 1857, he was elected judge of the supreme court; in 1863 with Sam
Brannan and J. W. Winans, he organized the Pacific Bank of which he was
the first president, retiring in 1880.
490 The Beginnings of San Francisco
should reach and be accredited throughout the
eastern states, in Europe, and among the nations
of Asia.
It was inevitable that in a community composed
almost entirely of men* and living far from the
steadying influences of the eastern states there
should develop a spirit of recklessness and an indul-
gence in exciting pastimes that led to disorder.
Every man did as seemed good in his own eyes until
the lawless element aroused in the people the
instinct of self-preservation, and a form of order
was established. The Argonauts were like boys
let loose from school. Overflowing with vigor
and abounding in high spirits, their exuberance
found vent in the ghastly names with which they
afflicted the map of California. f
The struggle for wealth was redeemed by a whole-
souled liberality and no tale of woe failed of a gener-
ous response from the miners. The life, hard as
it was, was not without its compensations and com-
forts. Old distinctions of caste were abolished and
the professional man dug for gold with his own
hands or worked for wages by the side of the com-
*The census of 1850 placed the female population of the raining counties
below two per cent.
t Jayhawk, Pinchemtight, Fleatown, Whisky Flat, Shirttail Canon, Dog-
town, Plugtown, Hangtown, Frogtown, Gouge Eye, Red Dog, Jim Crow, You
Bet, Yankee Jims, Lousey Level, are examples of what Bret Harte calls "un-
hallowed christenings." With advancing refinement some of these names
were discarded for more euphonious ones; some died the death of abandoned
mining camps, and some still ornament the map.
Distinctions of Caste Abolished 491
mon laborer. The angularities of the ungainly and
illiterate in time wore off in the contact with educated
men, and to many a farmer boy, raised within the
narrow confines of a New England village, the
experience of a few years in the mines was an edu-
cation, while fitness to grasp opportunity brought
independence.
Chapter XIV.
EL PARAJE DE YERBA BUENA
1792-1839
AMIDST the hills near the financial center
/-\ of the present city of San Francisco, there
was a little space free from brushwood,
called El Paraje de Yerba Buena (the Place of Mint).
It fronted on a little cove of about half a mile
indentation with five-sixths of a mile space between
the outer points. The only practical landing for
small boats at low tide was at the northerly point
where the shoulder of a high hill (Loma Alta) came
down abruptly to the water. The cove was pro-
tected on the south by another range of hills
from one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet in
height, running out into the bay and forming the
southerly point of the cove at a height of thirty
or forty feet. The inside of the cove was shallow
and the ebb tide uncovered a quarter of a mile
of mud flats. Beyond that the water deepened to
five or six fathoms and continued from six to twenty-
two fathoms to a little island fronting the cove about
a mile distant, also called Yerba Buena. The
northerly point was called Punta del Embarcadero,
later known as Clark's Point, and the southerly,
Punta del Rincon, and still called Rincon Point.
The bottom was mud and sand and was excellent
holding ground, and at high tide boats could land
at the beach. Beginning at the water's edge about
where Sacramento street reached the shore and
running thence beyond Washington street on the
north a steep bank rose from the beach to a height
495
496 The Beginnings of San Francisco
of ten feet at Clay street diminishing in both direc-
tions until it disappeared; the flat below was about
one hundred feet wide at Clay street where the bank
touched the line of Montgomery street. This
cantil shows on Richardson's map.
On the night of November 14, 1792, Captain
George Vancouver in command of H. B. M. sloop-
of-war Discovery sailed into the port of San Fran-
cisco. As he passed the Punta del Cantil Blanco
(Fort Point) he was saluted by two guns, to which
he replied. As night closed in a fire was lighted
on the beach before the presidio and other guns
were fired; but as he did not understand their
meaning he continued up the port under easy sail,
taking soundings. He proceeded along the southern
coast in constant expectation of seeing the lights
of the town, off which he proposed to anchor. As
these did not appear, he found himself at eight
o'clock in a snug cove with six fathoms of water and
a clear bottom, and he dropped his anchor to await
the return of day. In the morning he discovered
his anchorage to be in a most excellent small bay,
three quarters of a mile from the nearest shore.
The cattle and sheep grazing on the surrounding
hills awakened in the sea-farers the most pleasing
recollections, but they could perceive neither habi-
tations nor inhabitants. Shortly after sunrise a
party of horsemen were seen coming over the hills
down to the beach and on sending a boat to the
shore Vancouver was favored with the good company
VERBA BUENA COVE AND ISLAND
From the "Annals of San Francisco."
r\v
C 4V Fi
CISCO
diminu th direc-
red; the flat as about
at Clay strec he bank
i Mont This
hardson's map.
ember 14, 1 792, Captain
;n command of H. B. M. sloop-
liled into the port of San Fran-
d the Pun Can til Blanco
vas saluted by ns, to which
night closed in a vas lighted
before the j J other guns
but as he did not u d their
(IZAJ2I M :nm /.xi-na ah*3Y V sail >
dmShzrf ik io 2 kn rifely ithern
ng the lights
1 he proposed to anchor. As
found himself at eight
e with six fathoms of water and
i, and he dropped his anchor to await
of ds In the morning he discovered
^e to 1 most excellent small bay,
le from the nearest shore.
ing on the surrounding
n the sea-farers the most pleasing
but they could perceive neither habi-
bitants. Sh< af' mrise a
rsemen were seen : hills
he beach and or t to the
'uver was favored wi >mpany
Father Dant{ Calls on Vancouver 497
of a priest of the order of Franciscans and a sergeant
in the Spanish army for breakfast. The priest
expressed his pleasure at the arrival of the English
captain and assured him he would confer special
obligations upon them by commanding any re-
freshment or service he or his mission could bestow.
The sergeant informed Vancouver that in the
absence of the commandant, he was directed to render
him every accommodation the settlement could
afford. Attending his visitors ashore after breakfast
Vancouver was presented with a fat ox, a sheep,
and some vegetables. With permission of the
sergeant Vancouver erected a tent for the accommo-
dation of his men engaged in procuring wood and
water; this being, I presume, the first structure of
any kind erected on the site of modern San Francisco.
The English officers amused themselves with shooting
quail and in the afternoon the boat brought off
Father Antonio Danti, principal of the San Fran-
cisco mission, and Don Hermenegildo Sal, ensign
in the Spanish army and comandante of the post.
Sal suggested that Vancouver move his ship to the
presidio anchorage as being more convenient and
accessible. This was done on the following day and
the Englishmen were entertained with the greatest
courtesy and hospitality. Vancouver's descriptions
of the country, the bay, the presidio, and the garrison
are most interesting. His entertainment included
a trip to Santa Clara on horseback and so pleased
and appreciative was he at the courtesy shown him
498 The Beginnings of San Francisco
that although treated with such cold and distant
formality on the occasion of his second visit in
1793 that he left California in disgust, he named
the point below San Luis Obispo Point Sal in honor
of his San Francisco host.*
In a letter to the governor advising him of the
Englishman's visit, Sal says that Vancouver entered
in the night and passed down the bay and anchored
about a league below the presidio in a place they
called Yerba Buena. f That is the first reference
we have to the name of the little cove where forty-
three years later Richardson's tent marked the
beginning of the modern city. Vancouver's map,
which is here reproduced, shows the anchorage in
Yerba Buena cove, in other words, off the foot of
Market street. In this cove of Yerba Buena the
Predpriatie a Russian frigate, under command of
Otto von Kotzebue, dropped her anchor October
* Sal was sharply reprimanded by the governor (Arrillaga) for permitting
Vancouver to see the poverty and defenceless state of the California establish-
ments, and particularly for allowing him to visit the Santa Clara mission.
t Bancroft says, {Hist. Cal. i, 702): "It (the battery on Point San Jose)
was known as the Battery at Yerba Buena designed to command the shore
stretching westward to Fort Point and that stretching eastward to what
was called later North Point, together with that body of water between that
shore and Alcatraz island, already so called, known as the anchorage of Yerba
Buena, though it does not appear that any other vessel except that of Van-
couver ever anchored there. Thus it will be seen that the name Yerba Buena,
while it may have been given in a general way to the whole eastern part of
the peninsula from Black Point to Rincon Point, was applied in these early
times to the North Beach region and not, as is commonly supposed and as
was the case after 1830, to the cove south of Telegraph hill." "Vancouver's
anchorage was about midway between Black Point and North Point. Van-
couver's Voyage Atlas." Compare Vancouver's map with that of Lieutenant
Warner on page 724.
I
""\
VANCOUVER'S MAP OF THE ENTRANCE TO SAN-
FRANCISCO BAY, SHOWING HIS ANCHORAGE!
• Reproduced from his atlas.
?
3 OF Sa CISCO
I with sue? 1 and distant
asion o' id visit in
lifornia in disgust, he named
i Obispo Poin honor
lOSt.*
governor advising him of the
il says that Vancouver entered
town the bay and anchored
presidio in a place they
That is the first reference
of the li e where forty-
larked the
rn cii map,
shows the anchorage in
fthk ot aoKfftfftd mht fo <u-M'&SL&fbe&Mkf oot °*
J30AflOHO*/>A 8IH &HIWOH2 ,YA3 OOSlOVlf^i
.beIje aid moil bs-jubmq 9 fi .- command of
1 her anchor October
\rrillaga) for permi
the California establish-
-it the Santa Clara mission.
It (the battery on Point San j
erba Buena designed to command the shore
md that stretching eastward to what
aether with that body of water between that
called, known as the anchorage of Yerba
that any other vessel except that of Van-
be seen that the name Yerba Buena,
be whole eastern par
.•plied in these early
i and as
was Vancouver's
rth Point. Van-
couve I Lieutenant
War-
Anchorage in Yerba Buena Cove 499
8, 1824, "in the little bay surrounded by a ro-
mantic landscape where Vancouver formerly lay."
In 1825 Captain Benjamin Morrell in the American
schooner Tartar anchored in Yerba Buena cove,
and November 6, 1826, Captain Frederick William
Beechey, R. N., in H. M. S. Blossom entered the
port and dropped his anchor "in the spot where
Vancouver had moored his ship thirty-three years
before.'' Auguste Duhaut-Cilly in the French ship
Le Heros anchored here January 27, 1827. In fact
so well was this anchorage becoming known that
on November 14, 1827, Governor Echeandia gave
orders for the erection of a guard house on the
beach to be occupied by a corporal and three soldiers.
If this was done, all trace of it had disappeared before
December 4, 1835, when Richard Henry Dana in
the ship Alert anchored in Yerba Buena cove.
Around him was a solitude. The only other vessel
in the cove was a Russian brig which had comedown
from Sitka to winter and take back a cargo of grain
and tallow. On rising ground above the beach
an enterprising Yankee, he says, years in advance
of his time, had put up a shanty of rough boards
where he carried on a very small retail trade between
the hide ships and the Indians. This enterprising
"Yankee" was William A. Richardson, an English-
man, and the structure was simply a canvas tent
stretched on pine posts. This stood on what
was later Dupont street, on the block bounded by
Dupont, Stockton, Clay and Washington streets.
5<x> The Beginnings of San Francisco
On the site of this tent Richardson built in 1837
the adobe "Casa Grande" which up to 1848 was
one of the largest and most pretentious buildings
in town. This was the "Casa Fundadora" of the
Limantour diserio. The house which escaped the
fires that repeatedly destroyed San Francisco was
taken down in 1852, and its site was afterward
occupied by the Adelphi Theatre.
In February 1834 the comandante of San Francisco,
Ensign M. G. Vallejo, wrote to Governor Figueroa
complaining that the Villa de Branciforte which,
until 1828, had reported the padrone s (census
lists) to the comandancia of San Francisco, now re-
fused to do so and he asked to be informed what
were the limits of his domain. After some cor-
respondence the governor advised the comandante
that his jurisdiction comprised all the territory
north of the Las Pulgas rancho and of a line parallel
with the boundaries of the ranchos of Castro and
Peralta; that is, all the northern frontier and down
to San Mateo on the peninsula and Alvarado and
Niles on the contra costa. All the functions of
local government — executive, judicial, and econom-
ical — were exercised by the comandante. On the
4th of November Governor Figueroa addressed a
letter to Vallejo stating that the territorial diputa-
cion had on the previous day ordered the formation
of a civil government for the partido of San Francisco
by the election of an ayuntamiento consisting of
one alcalde, two regidores, and a sindico-produrador,
The Pueblo Formed 501
saying, "I also notify you that the ayuntamiento,
when installed, will exercise the political functions
with which you have been charged; and the alcalde,
the judicial functions which the laws, for want of
a juez de letrado confer on him; you remaining re-
stricted to the military command alone; and receiv-
ing, in anticipation, the thanks due for the prudence
and exactness with which you have carried on the
political government of that demarcation." On
the same day he addressed Vallejo another letter
as follows:
"Political Government of Alta California.
General Comandancia of Alta California.
"This government, satisfied of the zeal and activity which
characterize you, as well as the patriotism which animate
you, sees in your note of the 24th of October ultimo, a new
proof of your desire for progress, and of your untiring efforts
for the enlightenment of your country and of your fellow
citizens.
"In consideration of this, it takes pleasure in making known
to you that, with the consent of the Most Excellent Territorial
Diputacion, it has adopted entire the plan you have presented
in your note referred to, with respect to the pueblo of San
Francisco, declaring its boundary to be the same which you
describe in said note; that is, commencing from the little cove
(caleta) to the east of the fort, following the line drawn by you
to the beach, leaving to the north the casamata and fortress;
thence following the shore line of said beach to Point Lobos
on its southern part; thence following a right line to the summit
of El Divisadero, continuing said line towards the east to La
Punta del Rincon including the Canutales and El Gentil; said
line will terminate in the Bay of the Mission of Dolores.
"This government, as a proof of the confidence with which
your services inspire it, has directed that you should have the
honor of installing the first ayuntamiento in that pueblo of
San Francisco, for which you have already done so much.
502 The Beginnings of San Francisco
"In consequence, you will proceed in the time and manner
prescribed by law, in the election of the municipal authorities,
in order that they may be installed the first day of January
of the coming year, 1835, designating for town houses the
buildings which you deem most fit.
God and Liberty,
Jose Figueroa.
"Monterey, November 4, 1834.
Don Mariano G. Vallejo,
Comandante Militar of San Francisco.
A true copy
Zamorano. "
The above described line, commonly called the
Vallejo line, was adopted by the United States board
of land commissioners as the southern boundary
of the pueblo of San Francisco, and may be indicated
by a line drawn from Steamboat Point on the south
side of Rincon Point (Fourth and Berry streets)
to the Divisadero (Lone Mountain); thence to the
south side of Point Lobos. The validity of this
document was hotly contested by the attorneys for
the United States in the Pueblo Lands case, but
its authenticity was sworn to by Vallejo and accepted
by the land commission.
The official returns show that an election was held
at the presidio in the comandante's house on the
7th day of December 1834, at which eleven electors
were chosen; and that these electors met on the
following Sunday and chose the members of the
ayuntamiento of the new pueblo who were to enter
upon the duties of their respective offices on the
first of January 1835. This was the first election
Francisco de Haro 503
in San Francisco, and the highest number of votes
cast on December 7th was twenty-seven. Francisco
de Haro was elected alcalde and Francisco Sanchez,
secretary. Francisco de Haro had come in 18 19
as sub-lieutenant of the San Bias infantry at the time
of the Bouchard attack. He took part in various
military expeditions and in 1822-3, was secretary
of the newly created territorial diputacion. On
May 12, 1837, he bought from Jose Antonio Galindo
the Rancho Laguna de la Merced (San Francisco
and San Mateo counties) for a consideration of one
hundred cows and twenty-five dollars in goods.
His wife was Josefa, daughter of Jose Sanchez,
and his twin sons, Francisco and Ramon, were
grantees in 1844, of the Potrero de San Francisco,
later known as the Potrero Nuevo. These two
young men, with their uncle, Jose Reyes Berreyesa,
were among the first victims in California of the
American conquest, being slain by Fremont's men
at San Rafael in June 1846. The death of his sons
was a terrible blow to De Haro. He would brood
over their murder for days at a time and he never
recovered from it. He died November 28, 1849.
Francisco Sanchez was a grandson of a soldier of
Anza's company of founders and his father came with
the expedition. He served in the presidial company
and was appointed captain of the militia company
organized in 1837 for the defense of San Francisco.
504 The Beginnings of San Francisco
He was captain of the port in 1845, and acting
comandante of San Francisco at the time of its
occupation by Montgomery.
The growing importance of San Francisco bay
and the increasing number of ships coming for hides
and tallow determined Governor Figueroa to estab-
lish in Yerba Buena cove a commercial town or
trading post. The cove was two and a half miles
from the presidio and about the same distance from
the mission. It was small and well protected and
had the best anchorage in the bay. Under the
instructions and guidance of the priests and after
plans drawn by them, the Indians at the missions
around the bay built schooners or launches in which
the missions sent down their produce to the vessels
in Yerba Buena cove and brought back the goods
received in exchange. Captain William A. Rich-
ardson, who may be considered the first inhabitant
of Yerba Buena, obtained two schooners from the
missions of Santa Clara and Dolores which he manned
with Indian crews and employed in collecting and
bringing to the ships produce from the missions and
farms around the bay. He charged as freight twelve
cents a hide and one dollar a bag for tallow. The
tallow was melted and run into hide bags of five
hundred pounds each. For grain the freight was
twenty cents a fanega.
When Figueroa decided to establish a town in the
Paraje de Yerba Buena he withdrew from settlement
the land running two hundred varas back from the
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RICHARDSON'S PLAN OF
Facsimile of an exhibit in the Limantour C
Richardson's Plan for the Town 505
water front. He also instructed Richardson to
draw a plan for the town; this was done and the plan
accepted. I reproduce the draft. He made but
one street, the "Calle de la Fundacion," upon which
he projected the "Solar de D n . Guill°. Richardson."
On September 29, 1835, Figueroa died, leaving a
reputation for honesty and ability in the discharge
of his duties.
About the middle of 1835 Jose Joaquin Estudillo
applied to the governor for a grant of two hundred
varas of land in the place called Yerba Buena.
As the application was for a larger amount than that
designated for house lots (solares) the matter was
referred to the territorial diputacion which decided
that the ayuntamiento of San Francisco had power
to grant lots of one hundred varas in the place called
Yerba Buena, at a distance of two hundred varas
from the beach. I find no record of Estudillo's
receiving this lot. The first grant on record is that
to William A. Richardson, June 2, 1836, and is signed
by Estudillo, he having been elected alcalde January
1st. Richardson claimed that he had been granted
the lot in 1835. He had probably been permitted
to occupy it provisionally in that year, as it was
in 1835 that he had put up the structure described
by Dana. In 1837 he built the "Casa Grande"
on the site of the tent.
In the winter of 1835-6 Jacob Primer Leese, a
native of Ohio, then residing in Los Angeles, was
advised by some shipowners, trading on the coast,
506 The Beginnings of San Francisco
to establish a store and commission house in San
Francisco. He consulted his friends Nathan Spear
and William S. Hinckley of Monterey, and induced
them to join in a partnership for establishing a
business in that place. Through the favor of
Governor Chico he obtained the grant of a one hun-
dred vara lot on what was later the block bounded
by Dupont, Stockton, Sacramento, and Clay streets
and there built the first house in Yerba Buena. It
was completed in time for a celebration of the fourth
of July 1836, and the American flag was on that
day hoisted for the first time in San Francisco.
The celebration was a great event. Leese invited
the officers of the frontier garrison, the people of
the mission, the officers of the ships in the harbor,
and the rancheros of the whole country side. They
came from Sausalito, from Canada del Hambre,
from San Antonio, from San Pedro, Las Pulgas,
and from far and near. Lieutenant Martinez and
his handsome daughters, Susana, Francisca, Rafaela,
and Dolores were there; Richardson and his wife — ■
another daughter of Martinez — with their daughter,
Mariana; Victor Castro and wife — another daughter
of Martinez; Jose Joaquin Estudillo and wife and
daughter Concepcion; Francisco Guerrero and his
beautiful wife, Josefa, a daughter of Francisco de
Haro; De Haro and his daughters Rosalia and
Natividad — all the beauty, wealth, and fashion of
northern California graced the festivities, and the
SAN FRANCISCO IN 1837
From a lithograph of the original drawing by
John J. Vioget, certified by Jacob P. Leese.
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ilted his fri( an Spear
:iey of Monterey, and induced
artnership for establishing a
Through the favor of
ained the grant of a one hun-
was later the block bounded
rnento, and Clay streets
it house in Yerba Buena. It
me for a celebration of the fourth
rhe American flag was on that
te first tim Francisco.
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were there; Richardson and his wife —
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First Building on Montgomery Street 507
feasting, dancing, and other forms of entertainment
including a picnic at Rincon Point, were kept up
for three days.
Leese's house was used for a store and dwelling,
but he found it inconvenient to do business so far
from the water. Both Richardson's and Leese's
lots, which were adjoining, fronted on Richardson's
"Calle de la Fundacion," a road running from
northeast to southwest and leading from Yerba
Buena to the presidio. Later this portion of the
road was swung into its present position as Dupont
street, by Jasper O'Farrell. In 1837, or 1838, Leese
obtained permission to erect a building on a hundred
vara lot near the beach. Here he built a large
wooden store and dwelling on what became the
westerly line of Montgomery street, between Sacra-
mento and Clay, where he lived and conducted
his business until 1841, when he sold the building
and the four lots* to the Hudson's Bay company. 36
Near the beginning of 1838 Nathan Spear, a
native of Boston who came in 1823 via Honolulu,
bought of Captain Steele, master of the American
bark Kent, a ship's house twelve by eighteen feet,
and placed it near the beach on what is now the
northwest corner of Clay and Montgomery streets.
Spear was permitted to occupy this lot by Governor
Alvarado, who was a personal friend. He would
not be naturalized and could not, therefore, be
granted land. A little later Spear built a wooden
* A one hundred vara lot makes four fifty vara lots.
508 The Beginnings of San Francisco
store building just north of "Kent Hall," as the
ship's house was called, and here he lived and
conducted his business until 1846, when he sold
out his business and his half of the lot to William
H. Davis. In 1838 John Perry, an American mer-
chant, came from Realejo, Nicaragua, and asso-
ciated himself with Spear in business; Perry became
naturalized and Alvarado granted to him the fifty
vara lot which Spear occupied and he deeded it to
Spear. William S. Hinckley, Spear's partner, owned
the north half of the lot.
On the 1 8th of January 1839 Governor Alvarado
addressed an official communication to the alcalde
of San Francisco, in which he stated that inasmuch
as many individuals had asked for solares for
building houses in the lands of Yerba Buena which
had previously been withdrawn from settlement,
and as he was desirous of advancing the commerce
in that recent congregation of settlers, he therefore
had decreed that grants for house lots could be made
of any part of said prohibited lands.
JACOB P. LE
Born in St. Clairsville, Ohio, August 19, 1809; died in
San Francisco, February, 1892; came to California in 1833;
built the first dwelling in Yerba Buena (San Francisco) in
1836 and established the first business house.
ROSALIA LEESE
The first child born in Yerba Buena (San Francisco), born
4ft April 15, 1838.
508 Tn ginnings of San Francisco
store building just north of as the
was called, am lived and
usiness until 1846, when he sold
and his half of the lot to William
John Perry, an American mer-
Realejo, Nicaragua, and asso-
Spear in business; Perry became
ado granted to him the fifty
nd he deeded it to
mer, owned
imj .1 aoiMT. »r Alvarado
ni haib ;oo8; ,oi nvyul. .oidO /Ahwaii&l'J Si pi moil Jcalde
\Zi%i ni fiimolilEO oi ataao -so8] .-rujinda'-I ,o?abn£t^
ni (oDgionBiH ns3) Bn-jiiS. ednf m §2rlft$€& Jaift srfj i?$<f mUCn
.ozuod aaaniapd Jgift 9/fa barl?.iid£dg3 bitsldf8tS for
nds of Yerba Buena which
32334 AUA30A ,
mod ,$U§lfo 2$ ^uU zd^YSoM^i^ ^^^
.«?8r ,ji ih^yancing the commerce
-ngregation of si , he therefore
mts for ho- ts could be made
d prohibited lands.
Chapter XV.
THE VILLAGE OF YERBA BUENA
1839-1846
IN the year 1835 the bay of San Francisco was
a vast solitude through whose bordering groves
ranged the red deer, the elk, and the antelope,
while bears, and panthers, and other ferocious
beasts frequented the hills and often descended
upon the scattered farm yards. The five mission
establishments in its vicinity did not contain above
two hundred white inhabitants while the few ranchos
were of great extent and widely separated. Boats
manned by Indians came down the creeks from the
missions with their loads of hides and tallow for the
ships anchored in Yerba Buena cove. The growth
of the little settlement was slow and in 1844 it
contained only about a dozen houses and not over
fifty permanent inhabitants.
In 1839 Governor Alvarado ordered a survey
of Yerba Buena, and the alcalde, Francisco de
Haro, employed Jean Jacques Vioget, a Swiss sailor
and surveyor, to do the work which was completed
in the fall of that year. Vioget's survey laid out
the blocks between Pacific, California, Montgomery,
and Dupont streets, and shows Dupont street
intersected at Clay by the Calle de la Fundacion,
which branched off to the northwest towards the
"Puerto suelo. " Montgomery street is interrupted
at Clay street by a lagoon that made in from the
beach and occupied portions of the two Montgomery
street blocks between Clay and Pacific streets.
On the south, Montgomery street was again inter-
5"
512 The Beginnings of San Francisco
rupted by a fresh water pond (Laguna Dulce) at
the foot of Sacramento street which was supplied
by a stream that ran down Sacramento street from
above Powell. No names were given to the streets
and the cross streets were two and a half degrees
from a right angle. Down to 1846 lots were granted
by Vioget's map, which I reproduce, and lots pre-
viously granted were made to conform to it. No
street improvements were attempted, the line of
streets being merely indicated by building and
fences. In 1845 Captain Hinckley prevailed upon
the prefect at Monterey to have Vioget's survey
extended to Mason street on the west, Green street
on the north, and Sutter street on the south. Early
in 1846, according to Brown,* the map of this survey
— which he calls the first map of surveyed lands —
hung in Bob Ridley's billiard saloon, at that time the
headquarters for all strangers in town, and the names
of those who had lots granted were written on the
map. The map became soiled and torn and Captain
Hinckley volunteered to make a new one, which
was done with Brown's assistance, and the original
map was put away for safe keeping. The maps were
left in the barroom until after the raising of the
American flag when they were demanded of Brown,
who was Ridley's barkeeper, by Lieutenant Bartlett,
by order of Captain Montgomery. This map,
I presume the original, hung in a frame, in the San
Francisco recorder's office and was destroyed in
* Brown: Early Days of San Francisco, Chap. ii.
The Alcalde Map 513
the great fire of April 1906. A photographic copy
of it is in the State Library at Sacramento. It
bears the following certificate:
"San Francisco, Feb. 22, 1847.
"I hereby certify that this plan of the Town of San Francisco
is the plan by which titles have been given by the Alcaldes
from the first location of the town, and the numbers and names
of lots and streets correspond with records transferred by me.
Washn. A. Bartlett,
Chief Magistrate."
On this map Powell, Mason, and Green streets
have no names, Stockton street is the first street
west of Kearny, Pacific street is named Bartlett
street, Sacramento street is Howard, Sansome street
is Sloat, Battery street is Battery Place, and Bush
and Sutter streets follow California to the south.
In March 1847 Jasper O'Farrell was employed
to make a careful survey of the town and extend
its limits. His survey covered some eight hundred
acres and included the beach and water lots recently
granted to the town by General Kearny. His map
included the district bounded by Post, Leavenworth,
and Francisco streets, and the waterfront; and south
of Market street it showed four full blocks fronting
on Fourth and eleven full blocks fronting on Second
street. The streets in Vioget's survey were too
narrow, but they could not be widened without
a heavy expense which nobody wished to incur.
It was considered indispensable, however, that the
acute and obtuse angles of Vioget's lots should be
corrected, and to do this a change of two and a
514 The Beginnings of San Francisco
half degrees was necessary in the direction of some
of the streets. This transferred the situation of
all the lots and was subsequently called "O'Farrell's
swing" of the city. For years, on account of the
swing, buildings were to be seen at various places
projecting a little beyond the general line of the
street.
The line of Market street was made to correspond
with the road to the mission and the lots south of
that line were made four times as large as those
to the northward because smaller lots there were
not considered desirable.*
In 1849 W. M. Eddy, city surveyor, extended the
survey to Larkin and Eighth streets. Montgomery,
Dupont, Clay, and Washington streets were named
by Lieutenant Bartlett, and probably Kearny and
Stockton also. Some time before July 18, 1847,
Sloat street had become Sansome street, as appears
in a communication from Major Hardie of that
datef. O'Farrell's map gives the names of the
streets as we now have them.
In 1835 Captain Richardson's Indians had a temes-
cal on the flat at the foot of Sacramento street where,
after heating themselves in the sweat house, they
plunged into the waters of the Laguna Dulce. At
the foot of Clay street a spring of good water flowed
from under the bank and supplied the ships. Here
in 1838-9 Juan Fuller had a washhouse. In March
* Hindi: History of the City of San Francisco, pp. 1 14-16.
t Dwindle: Col. Hist. S. F. addenda, p. 258.
-• ^ ' ji- n. I'w w y n
-<.
M
^
I
M
Alpheus B. Thompson 515
1838 Francisco Caceres, an ex-sergeant of dragoons,
obtained a one hundred vara lot in the block bounded
by Dupont, Kearny, Jackson, and Pacific streets
and built an adobe house on what is now the south-
east corner of Dupont and Pacific, where he lived
with his family a number of years. In 1838, A. B.
Thompson built a hide house at Buckalew's Point
at the head of a little cove, near the northeast
corner of Sansome and Pacific streets. Thompson
was a Santa Barbara trader and ship owner who
came in 1825. He was a native of Maine and he
married a daughter of Carlos Carrillo.
In 1837 John Casimiro Fuller, commonly called
Juan Fuller, an English sailor who came in 1823,
obtained a hundred vara lot on Kearny, between
California and Sacramento streets. In 1839 he put
up three small wooden dwellings on his lot, in one
of which he lived. He was a butcher and cook and
was well known to all early traders. Brown says
that Fuller was one of a small party who attended,
at Leidesdorff's house, the reading of the declaration
of independence by Captain Montgomery, July
4th, 1846.* Fuller's wife was Concepcion Avila
and he has a number of descendants living in San
Francisco.
In 1839 John Calvert Davis was granted a hundred
vara lot on Kearny between Washington and
Jackson streets, and built a house on Washington
street near the southeast corner of this lot, and
* Brown: Early Days, Chap. ii.
516 The Beginnings of San Francisco
back of it a carpenter and blacksmith shop. He
was an English ship-carpenter and blacksmith.
Near the southwest corner of Montgomery and
Pacific streets, Victor Prudon built an adobe house
in 1839. He came in 1834 with the Hijar and Padres
colony as a teacher; he was a Frenchman, well
educated, of agreeable manners and attractive
personal appearance. He became secretary to Gov-
ernor Alvarado and captain of militia; later he was
secretary to Comandante-general Vallejo with rank
in the regular army as captain and brevet lieutenant-
colonel. He was taken prisoner, with his chief,
by the Bears at Sonoma.*
In 1839 William Sturgis Hinckley obtained by
grant from Alcalde Guerrero the two middle fifty
vara lots in the block bounded by Montgomery,
Kearny, Clay, and Washington streets. He also
appears to have owned a half interest with Spear
in the fifty vara lot on the corner of Montgomery
and Clay streets in the same block. This corner
lot was divided, Hinckley taking the north half,
on which he built in 1840 an adobe house next to
Spear's store on Montgomery street, where he lived
with his family until his death. Hinckley was a
native of Massachusetts and nephew of William
Sturgis of the mercantile firm of Bryant and Sturgis
so prominent in the California trade. He came to
California first in 1830 as master of the bark Volun-
* The members of the Bear Flag party were called by the Californians
Los Osos — The Bears.
William S. Hinckley 517
teer; was engaged in the Honolulu trade for several
years, and was master or supercargo of several ves-
sels in turn. He assisted Alvarado in his affair
with Guiterrez in 1836, landing two small cannon
from the Don Quixote. He was accused of smug-
gling and was in more or less trouble with the revenue
authorities. In 1844 he was alcalde and built a
little bridge across the neck of the laguna at Jackson
street, thus enabling the citizens to pass to Clark's
Point without going around the laguna. This was
the first street improvement work in Yerba Buena.
In 1845-6 Hinckley was captain of the port. He
died in June 1846, at the age of thirty-nine. His
wife was Dona Susana one of Lieutenant Martinez'
handsome daughters. She was his second wife and
after Hinckley's death she married William M.
Smith. Alcalde Bartlett occupied the Hinckley
house as both office and residence. The house
stood on what is now the southwest corner of
Montgomery and Merchant streets and was removed
in 1850 to make way for the Naglee building.
On January 15, 1840, Captain J. B. R. Cooper
received a grant of a hundred vara lot on the east
side of Dupont, between Washington and Jackson
streets, where, on the Jackson street lot just below
Dupont, his cousin, John Cooper, alias "Jack the
sailor," built a shanty and kept a groggery.
Leese received the grant of his Montgomery
street lot in January 1840, and the remaining third
of the block — two fifty varas — fronting on Kearny
518 The Beginnings of San Francisco
street between Sacramento and Clav streets — was
in the same month granted to Captain John J.
Vioget. At the eastern end of the Clay street lot
Vioget put up a wooden building in which he lived
and kept a bar and billiard saloon. He rented
this in 1844 to Robert T. Ridley who ran the business
until February 1846, when he employed John H.
Brown as bartender. Ridley, an English sailor, was
in 1 840-1 in the employ of Sutter, first having
charge of his launch, going then, for a time, to Fort
Ross. Later he was clerk for Spear and for the
Hudson's Bay company under Rae. He was a pro-
nounced cockney, a fine looking fellow, a tremendous
drinker, and very popular with all classes. He
became naturalized and married a daughter of
Juana Briones. He succeeded Hinckley as captain
of the port and after the Bear Flag affair was arrested
by the Bears as a "prisoner of war," and sent to
Sutter's fort. He was released with the other
prisoners and was candidate for the office of alcalde
against Washington A. Bartlett in the election
held September 15, 1846. In 1845 Ridley built a
house on the southwest corner of Montgomery and
California streets, where the Clunie building now
stands. The house was twenty varas back from each
street and did not front on the line of Montgomery
street as it now runs, but stood diagonally, like
the casa grande of Richardson. It was a low one-
story bungalow of adobe with a long piazza fronting
the bay. In 1846 he sold the house to LeidesdorfT
The First Hotel 519
who lived there until his death in May 1848, and it
was then occupied by W. D. M. Howard, his exec-
utor, and later by Captain Folsom who purchased
the estate from Leidesdorff's heirs. Folsom had
his residence and quartermaster's office there.
LeidesdorfT was a lover of nature and his garden
on the place was considered a triumph. In 1845
Ridley was granted Callayomi rancho at Sonoma
which he exchanged with Jacob Leese for Visitacion
rancho at San Francisco. In 1850 he was, with
C. V. Stuart, keeping the Mansion house, a part
of the mission buildings, and died there, November
11, 1851, aged 32.
To return to the Vioget house. After Ridley's
arrest Brown conceived the idea of turning the
place into a sort of hotel, there being no accommo-
dations in town for strangers. He therefore hired
Tom Smith, an English sailor, as cook and steward,
and took in such visitors as came. After the
arrival of the Brooklyn Brown found help in plenty
and engaged a widow, Mrs. Mercy Narrimore,
as housekeeper, Lucy Nutting as waitress, and
Sarah Kittleman, as cook, all from the Mormon
colony, and opened out as a hotel in regular style.
Two carpenters of the same immigration made the
tables, benches, and bedsteads; the beds were made
of Sandwich island moss; blankets of heavy flannel
with a seam in the center, and quilts of calico. The
house had been called Vioget house, but at the
request of some of the warrant officers of the Ports-
520 The Beginnings of San Francisco
mouth who offered to make him a sign-board, Brown
changed the name to the Portsmouth house. This
was the first hotel in San Francisco. Sarah Kittle-
man married Dr. Elbert P. Jones, who gave his
name to Jones street, and who succeeded Brown in
the Portsmouth house, taking both hotel and cook
off his hands. Jones was a Kentuckian, came in
1846, was active in town affairs and the first editor
of the Star, predecessor of the Alta California.
On January 1, 1841, there arrived in Monterey
the Hudson's Bay company's bark Columbia having
on board Sir James Douglas, agent of the company,
with a party of thirty-six men, and carrying a cargo
of goods for sale. The relations between the
company and the Californians had been friendly
but not close. The object of Douglas' visit was to
obtain from the California authorities greater priv-
ileges for his fur-hunting operations in the interior
and permission to establish a trading post on the
coast. His party was composed in part of hunters,
and the others were to conduct to the Columbia river
a herd of live-stock which he hoped to purchase.
Douglas was courteously received by Alvarado
and hospitably entertained at the capital, and
with a dozen of his men was sent overland to San
Francisco, enjoying along the way the generous
hospitality of the rancheros. He found the authori-
ties ready to grant him the concessions desired and
returned to Fort Vancouver to submit to the com-
pany plans for a trading establishment at Yerba
The Hudson's Bay Company 521
Buena. These were approved and Chief Factor
John McLoughlin despatched his son-in-law, William
Glen Rae, to take charge of the post with full power
to select or purchase a site for the proposed store.
Rae arrived in California in August and bought
from Leese his hundred vara lot and building on
Montgomery street, for which he paid four thousand
six hundred dollars, half in money and half in goods.
The Russian property at Ross* had been offered
to the Hudson's Bay company for thirty thousand
dollars, but Douglas could not find that the company
had any title to the land and was not disposed to
buy the personal property at such a figure. It
was afterwards bought by John A. Sutter.
Rae opened the Yerba Buena store with a ten
thousand dollar stock of goods and on December
30th, Sir George Simpson, governor of the company,
arrived and with him Chief Factor McLoughlin
who brought his daughter Eloise, wife of Rae.
Simpson visited Vallejo at Sonoma and was hos-
pitably entertained at Monterey and at Santa
Barbara. He gives the result of his observations
in California in his narrative, from which I have
quoted some extracts. f Mrs. Rae describes the
company's house as about thirty by eighty feet with
a big hall in the middle, on one side of which was the
* The Russian company had endeavored to extend their holdings to the
Sacramento river on the east, and southward to the Bay of San Francisco.
Failing to obtain the consent of Mexico, they decided to abandon their es-
tablishment in California.
t The matter relating to California is in Vol. I, pp. 267-411.
522 The Beginnings of San Francisco
store and on the other the dwelling, with a dining
room and sitting room in front and in back, four
bed rooms, and a kitchen back of all. Davis says
that Rae and Spear were the chief entertainers,
there being no hotels.* Rae was a Scotchman of
fine presence, a bon-vivant and hard drinker, but
subject to periods of great depression. He disliked
Americans and, it is said, boasted when in his cups
that "it had cost the company seventy-five thousand
pounds to drive the Yankee traders from the Colum-
bia and that they would drive them from California
if it cost a million." The large capital of the
Hudson's Bay company gave them an advantage
over the traders in Yerba Buena but the business
did not prosper under Rae's management. In the
revolt against Micheltorena Rae espoused the cause
of the rebels and furnished them with fifteen thousand
dollars' worth of stores and munitions of war. A
treaty of peace was signed in December 1844, and
Rae anticipated that the governor would punish
the company for his unjustifiable interference. He
pondered deeply over his position and the censure
he felt would be laid upon him, and his depression
was aggravated by the excessive use of intoxicating
liquors. About eight o'clock on the morning of
January 19, 1845, William Sinclair, Rae's clerk, and
Mrs. John Fuller heard loud cries from Rae's room.
They ran in and found Rae standing in the presence
of his wife, his coat off and a pistol in his hand.
* Davis: Sixty Years in CaL, p. 116.
Death of William Glen Rae 523
Sinclair seized the pistol before it could be discharged,
and hastened to call Hinckley. A shot rang out,
and Rae fell to the floor dead. He had had another
pistol. His wife fainted. Davis says that Rae
was unfaithful to his wife and this becoming known,
Rae, who was a very sensitive man, shot himself.*
Robert Birney, Rae's chief clerk, denied that family
troubles had anything to do with the suicide, which,
according to Larkin, was the result of Rae's unfortu-
nate participation in the revolution. James Alex-
ander Forbes, British vice-consul at Monterey,
took charge of the company's affairs and in March
1846, Dugald McTavish came down from the
Columbia and closed up the business. This ended
the Hudson's Bay company's operations in Cal-
ifornia which were, from the beginning, limited.
The stories told by a recent writer of brigades of
two hundred men disguised as Spaniards and led
by La Framboise and McKay to the very doors of
Monterey, and of a thousand-acre farm on the site
of modern San Francisco are pure invention.
McTavish sold the property on Montgomery
street to Melius and Howard for five thousand
dollars. In the winter of 1849-50 the building
was converted into the United States hotel and was
destroyed in the fire of June 14, 1850. On August
26, 1854, some workmen engaged in digging for a
sewer on Commercial street west of Montgomery
came upon a coffin through whose oval glass were
* Davis: Sixty Years in CaL, p. 120.
524 The Beginnings of San Francisco
seen the well preserved features of a dead man.
A crowd gathered, and after some time Charles
R. Bond, secretary for W. D. M. Howard, pushed
his way through the people about the trench and
recognized the body of William Glen Rae. The
place of burial had been formerly the garden of
his house.* The body was re-interred in Yerba
Buena cemetery — now the city hall lot.
In 1836 Juana Briones, wife of Apolonario Mi-
randa, built an adobe house on the westerly side of
Telegraph hill, where now Powell and Filbert
streets cross, in what is known as the North Beach.
For years it was the only house between Yerba Buena
and the presidio. Here she had a small farm and
supplied milk, eggs, etc., to the ships. She was
noted for her generous kindness to sick and deserting
sailors. Thomes, writing of his visit to Yerba Buena
in 1843 says: "We pushed on, and after a short walk
stood on the top (of Telegraph hill) * * * In
the rear of the town were vast mounds of sand,
ever changing, while at the foot of the hill, on the
Golden Gate side, was a large adobe house, and
outbuildings, the residence and rancho of Sefiora
Abarono, a rich widow, where I afterwards used
to go for milk every morning, unless off on boating
duty. The lady and I struck up quite a friendship.
She always welcomed me with a polite good-morning,
and a drink of fresh milk. * * * If the men had had
* Commercial street, which was Long Wharf, had been extended to Kearny
street through the block between Sacramento and Clay.
OjO DE FlGUEROA 525
some of the energy of that buxom, dark-faced lady,
California would have been a prosperous state,
even before it was annexed to this country, and we
would have had to fight harder than we did to get
possession. "* In 1838 Apolonario Miranda obtained
one hundred varas of land near the presidio, known
as the Ojo de Figueroa — the Well of Figueroa — where
he had previously built a house. This well, which
is still flowing, is near the middle of Lyon street,
between Vallejo and Green. The water has been
used until quite recently.
In 1842 Peter Sherreback, a native of Denmark,
obtained a fifty vara lot on the southeast corner of
Washington and Kearny streets and in 1843 built
a wooden house on the lot. This gave way to the
El Dorado gambling house destroyed by fire in 1849
and again in 1850. In 1850, Sherreback built on the
rear of this lot, a house of entertainment known as
"Our House" where refreshments, liquid and solid,
could be obtained. There was neither bar nor
counter, but on a table in the middle of the room was
placed wine and spirits, and those who desired helped
themselves.
*Thomes: On Land and Sea, 187-8. Telegraph hill and the Golden Gate
had not received those names in 1843, nor was "Sefiora Abarono" a widow
then. The foreigners, apparently, could not understand the Spanish custom
of calling a married woman by her maiden name. A baptismal entry, for
instance, would be (time, place, and name): "hija legitima de Apolonario Mir-
anda y de su legitima esposa Juana Briones." If she wrote her name in full
it would read, Juana Briones de Miranda. Of course she was always called
'Juana Briones." Brownsays (Early Days): "Mr. Baroma and family resided
at North Beach, near Washerwomen's Bay."
526 The Beginnings of San Francisco
In 1837 Francisco Sanchez received a hundred
vara lot next to Richardson's — the fourth grant
made in Yerba Buena, which in 1844 he sold to
Captain John Paty who built a house on it Paty
was a prominent ship-master on the coast in the
Hawaiian trade and was senior captain or commodore
in the Hawaiian navy. He was associated with
H. D. Fitch, Abel Stearns, and James McKinley
in various enterprises, and in 1843-5 Paty and
McKinley had a store in Yerba Buena, occupying
the casa grande of Richardson which McKinley
bought in 1842. James McKinley was also a
well-known trader. Bancroft says he was a Scotch
sailor boy who had been left at San Francisco or
Santa Barbara in 1824 by a whaler. He lived in
Los Angeles and later in Monterey where he married
Carmen, daughter of Jose Amesti and Prudenciana
Vallejo, and niece, therefore, of General Vallejo.
Josiah Belden, who came with the Bartleson party
in 1 841, was clerk for Paty and McKinley. Belden
became very wealthy through fortunate investments
in San Francisco real estate.
One of the most enterprising and public spirited
citizens of Yerba Buena was William Alexander
LeidesdorfT. He was a native of the Danish West
Indies, and came to California in 1 841 as master
of the American schooner Julia Ann sailing between
California and Honolulu. In 1843 he obtained
from Alcalde Sanchez the fifty vara lot on the
southwest corner of Kearny and Clay streets and
SAN FRANCISCO IN 1846
From a lithograph.
rsco
o Sanchez re 1 a hundred
Richardson's >urth grant
i, which in 1844 he sold to
:o built a hou it Paty
ter on the 1 in the
;or captain or commodore
He was associated with
D. 1 rns, and James McKinley
in and in 1843-5 Paty and
Me in Yerba Buena, occupying
vhich McKinley
also a
1 Scotch
dtfi m ooaiDAAH'i ama cisco or
.dqfiisorfrii 6 moil [ e lived in
he married
md Prudenciana
•ce, the: of General Vallejo.
, who c: h the Bartleson party
k for Pa d McKinley. Belden
vealthy through fortunate investments
e.
Ising and public spirited
i was William Alexander
native of the Danish West
to California in 1841 as master
hooner Julia Ann sailing between
>lulu. In 1843 he obtained
z the fifty vara lot on the
imy and ( -streets and
William A. Leidesdorff 527
the fifty vara back of it in Clay street. In 1844 or
'45 he erected a warehouse on the beach at the
foot of California street at what was afterwards
the corner of California and Leidesdorff streets,
on a lot which was granted to him by Alcalde Noe
April 22, 1846. The building was later used as a
United States quartermaster's warehouse. In 1846
Leidesdorff built a large adobe house on his lot on
the southwest corner of Clay and Kearny streets.
This he occupied first as a store and dwelling, but
later leased it to J. H. Brown, who opened it as
Brown's hotel November 1, 1846. It was later
called the City hotel. In 1848-9 it was the head-
quarters of the gamblers and in 1849 was leased
for sixteen thousand dollars, and sublet for stores
and rooms at a great profit. It was the stopping
place for officers of the army and navy during 1846-8,
and it was there, according to Brown, that the dec-
laration of independence was read by Captain
Montgomery, July 4, 1846, five days before the
American occupation. It was destoyed by the fire
of May 4, 185 1.
In 1844 Leidesdorff was naturalized and was
granted the Rio de los Americanos rancho, eight
leagues (35,500 acres) on the left bank of the Ameri-
can river. The town of Folsom is on this grant.
In 1845 Larkin appointed Leidesdorff vice-consul
of the United States. He took an active part in
all the affairs of the town, was captain of the port,
treasurer, etc., and an enthusiastic advocate of the
528 The Beginnings of San Francisco
American cause, going so far as to support the
Bear Flag movement, and, it is said, advising the
arrest of Hinckley and Ridley with whom he had
quarreled. Leidesdorff owned the first steamer that
ever sailed on the bay of San Francisco — a little
craft thirty-seven feet long by nine feet breadth
of beam, drawing eighteen inches of water. She
was built at Sitka by an American, as a pleasure
boat for the Russian officers, and bought by Leides-
dorff and brought to San Francisco on the Russian
bark Naslednik in October 1847, and on the 28th
of November she started for Sacramento carrying
ten or a dozen souls, including the owner and several
passengers, and made the passage in six days and
seven hours. She was called the Sitka.*
Leidesdorff died suddenly of brain fever on the
1 8th of May 1848, at the age of thirty-eight, leaving
a large and valuable estate. Colonel Mason, gover-
nor of California, advised Consul Larkin to take
charge of the estate, being under the impression
that Leidesdorff was an American citizen. On
finding however that he was a naturalized citizen
of Mexico, Mason directed John Townsend, alcalde
of San Francisco, to place the estate in charge of
safe, competent men under bond of double its
value. Townsend appointed W. D. M. Howard
* McKinstry Papers, MS. Bancroft Collection. The author says: "She
was so very crank that the weight of one man on her guard would put her on
on her beam ends, and when the order was given to trim ship we would pass
Mrs. Gregson's baby over to starboard or larboard."
The Custom House 529
administrator. LeidesdorfT was buried at the Mis-
sion Dolores with imposing ceremonies befitting his
prominence and social virtues. His estate was
heavily encumbered, owing some forty thousand
dollars, and it was thought doubtful if enough
could be realized from it to pay the debts, but
the discovery of gold settled that and the estate
became immensely valuable. Captain Joseph L.
Folsom went to St. Croix, Danish West Indies, and
bought from the heirs — the mother and sisters of
LeidesdorrT — the estate in California for seventy-five
thousand dollars and later paid fifteen or twenty
thousand more, the property being then worth
several hundred thousand dollars.
In 1844 the governor authorized the building of
a custom house at San Francisco, the cost not to
exceed eight hundred dollars. While Monterey was
the only port of entry, San Francisco had a receiver
of customs and a few thousand dollars were annually
paid there. The receiver in 1844 had his office in
Richardson's casa grande which was then occupied
by William H. Davis as agent for Paty and McKin-
ley. Work on the custom house was begun in the
summer of 1844, and the building completed in
September 1845. The work was done mostly by
Indians and some of the material was obtained from
the presidio. It was built of adobe, with tile roof,
one story and an attic, fifty-six and a half feet long
by twenty-two feet wide, with a veranda six feet
wide running across the front and both ends, and
530 The Beginnings of San Francisco
it contained four rooms. It cost about twenty-eight
hundred dollars and it stood on the northwest
corner of the plaza (Portsmouth square) with its
front to the plaza and its north end on Washington
street. This was the "old adobe" and "old"
custom house so frequently mentioned by writers
of early times. On the American occupation it
was used as a barrack. In front stood the flag pole
on which Montgomery raised the American flag.
Later the building was used by the alcalde and
revenue officers and as law offices. In July 1850,
Palmer, Cook & Co. had their banking office in the
south end and adjoining the bank were the law
offices of H. H. Haight. Edward Bosqui who was
a clerk in the bank and slept on the office counter,
was awakened one night by a noise outside the
building. He looked out of the window and wit-
nessed the pleasing spectacle of a man being hanged
from one of the beams of the veranda, a few feet
from his window. It was the vigilance committee
hanging Jenkins.
Bosqui tells of climbing up to the attic, which
proved to be a long, narrow, dimly lighted room,
filled with a varied assortment of flint lock muskets,
pikes, lances, battle-flags, ammunition, cartridge-
boxes, tents, and other war-like stores. The building
and all of its contents were destroyed by fire in 185 1.*
In 1839 or '40 Spear built a two story frame
building for a mill on the north side of Clay street
* Bosqui: Memoirs, pp. 45-58.
CUSTOM HOUSE, SAN FRANCISCO
From "Annals of San Francisco."
IB
NCI SCO
twenty-eight
northwest
h square) with its
end on Washington
adobe" and "old"
ttioned by writers
•ican occupation it
stood the flag pole
he American flag.
Later used by the alcalde and
revenue officers and as law offices. In July 1850,
eir banking office in the
the law
1 who was
ice counter,
Led one night by a noise outside the
He looked out of the window and wit-
f a man being hanged
veranda, a few feet
, lance committee
up to the attic, which
dimly lighted room,
ortment of flint lock muskets,
ammunition, cartridge-
ir-like stores. The building
iestroyed by fire in 1851.*
ar built a two story frame
the north side of Clay street
• ...
Custom House on the Plaza.
A Sailor in the Well 531
between Montgomery and Kearny. It stood fifteen
feet back from Clay street, was run by mule power,
and was the first grist mill in California. Daniel
Sill was the builder and miller. Thomes in 1843
speaks of an old adobe mill about a cable's length
from Clark's Point, run by mule power, which ground
out some sweet and nutritious but very dark flour.*
It was not an adobe building and was more than a
cable's length from Clark's Point, but Thomes was
writing from recollection many years after.
In 1844 Benito Diaz built an adobe house on the
east side of Montgomery street, between Jackson
and Pacific, near the lagoon. In 1847 Diaz sold
this to Alfred J. Ellis who opened a boarding house
and groggery. Beside the house was a well twenty-
three feet deep. When a peculiar taste to the whisky
caused Ellis to suspect the water, he cleaned out
the well and found a drowned Russian sailor. Brown
says that most of the citizens had been to Ellis'
saloon and had drunk the water and with some of
them it went very hard. Captain John Paty lay
in bed for two days from the effect of it, and Robert
A. Parker and many others were made very sick.f
John Finch, known as "John Tinker," an English
blacksmith and tinker, built in 1844-5 a saloon and
bowling alley on the northwest corner of Kearny
and Washington streets where afterwards stood
* Thomes: On Land and Sea, p. 186. The building was sold in 1848 to
Cross, Hobson & Co., who used it for store, dwelling, and office building,
t Brown: Early Days, Chap. iv.
532 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Wright & Co.'s Miners' Bank and later the Bella
Union theater. John Finch was present at the
raising of the American flag July 9, 1846.
William Davis Merry Howard, one of the principal
citizens of San Francisco, was a native of Boston and
came to California in 1839 as cabin-boy on the ship
California. He worked for a while as clerk for
Abel Stearns in Los Angeles and was for several
years supercargo of various Boston vessels in the
California trade. In 1845 he formed a partnership
with Henry Melius and bought the Hudson's Bay
property on Montgomery street. Melius came on
the brig Pilgrim with Richard H. Dana, and left
the vessel to become clerk for Alfred Robinson,
the company's agent; he was supercargo of several
of the Boston vessels, including the Admittance,
the ship that brought Thomes in 1843. The firm of
Melius and Howard became very wealthy. Melius
married a daughter of James Johnson of Los Angeles,
whose wife was a Guirado, and in 1850 withdrew
from the firm. His name was originally given to
Natoma street but the citizens were angered by
charges made by him against Howard and changed
the name of the street to Natoma.
In 1848 Melius and Howard built on the south-
west corner of Clay and Montgomery streets the first
brick building in San Francisco, and transferred their
business to this store. They were also the principal
promoters of the Central Wharf project, now Com-
mercial street, and gave to the company the right
William Davis Merry Howard 533
of way — thirty-five feet — across the block owned
by them and bounded by Clay, Sacramento, San-
some, and Battery streets. Howard was a large,
fine-looking man, deservedly popular with all classes,
and taking an active interest in everything pertain-
ing to the welfare of the town. His name was first
given to Sacramento street and later, in 1848-9,
to Howard street. His first wife, who died in 1849,
was an adopted daughter of Captain Eliab Grimes
of Honolulu and San Francisco. His second was
Agnes, daughter of Dr. J. Henry Poett. He died
in 1856, at the age of thirty-seven, leaving one son
by his second wife.*
In 1845-6 Stephen Smith of Bodega obtained a
fifty vara lot on the southeast corner of Dupont
and Washington streets where he built a wooden
house. In 1846 he leased it to Sam Brannan who
lived and published the Star there. » Smith was
a native of Maryland and came to California first
from Peru in 1841. He obtained permission of
Governor Alvarado to set up a steam saw-mill with
a promise of land suitable for his operations. He
brought the mill machinery from Baltimore in 1843,
and with it also three pianos, the first steam mill
and the first pianos in California. In 1844 he was
naturalized and received from Micheltorena a grant
of eight leagues of land at Bodega and there he
set up his mill.
* Howard Presbyterian Church was named for him. He gave the land oh
which the church was built, and was very liberal in contributions of money.
534 The Beginnings of San Francisco
By the operation of a law increasing the number
of inhabitants necessary for a municipal government,
San Francisco lost its ayuntamiento in 1838. From
that time until September, 1847, the town was
ruled by an alcalde, who was a judge of first instance,
and tried all minor cases. Noe, the last alcalde
under Mexican rule, lived on the northeast corner
of Dupont and Clay streets. Jose de Jesus Noe
came with the Hijar and Padres colony in 1834 and
settled in San Francisco. In December 1845, Noe
received from Pio Pico a grant of the San Miguel
rancho, one league, in what is now the geographical
center of the City and County of San Francisco.
A tract of one thousand and fifty acres of the rancho
is yet undivided and belongs to the estate of the
late Adolph Sutro. Francisco Guerrero y Palo-
mares, was another of the Hijar and Padres colonists
who settled in San Francisco. He was receptor
and administrator of customs, alcalde, and was
sub-prefect of the San Francisco partido, at the
time of the conquest, and again under American
rule, in 1849. He was a man of high standing
and well regarded by Americans as well as Cali-
fornians. He married Josefa, daughter of Francisco
de Haro, and both he and De Haro lived at the
Mission Dolores. Guerrero was murdered in San
Francisco in 1851. He bought from Galindo in
1837 the Rancho Laguna de la Merced in San
Francisco, and in 1844 was granted Corral de Tierra
rancho at Half Moon bay.
Population of Yerba Buena 535
According to Davis the inhabitants of Yerba
Buena in July 1846, numbered about one hundred
and fifty. I have accounted for some of the more
important ones and the rest, consisting mainly of
small traders, saloon keepers, and mechanics, I see
no reason for enumerating here. Davis mentions
Henry Teschmacher and R. S. Sherman as residing
in Yerba Buena at that time, but I think they
were later in settling there.
* Authorities: Bancroft, Hist, of Cal. ii-vi. Davis' Sixty Years. Hittell,
Hist. S. F. Bosqui, Memoirs. Thomes, On Land and Sea. Soule, Gihon and
Nisbet, Annals of San Francisco. San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 26, 1909.
Alta Cal., Feb. 17, 1867. Brown, Early Days. Dwindle, Colonial Hist. Simp-
son, Narrative. Cong. Doe. Senate No. 17.
Chapter XVI.
THE CONQUEST
IT was believed that Mexico, torn with internal
dissensions, would not be able to maintain
much longer its feeble hold on the rich province
of California, and it was known that a change of
nationality would not be unwelcome to the higher
classes of citizens, both native born and naturalized.
The Americans were rapidly colonizing the country
and made little effort to conceal their intention of
acquiring possession. It was also understood that
the English in California were making strong efforts
to induce their government to interfere with the
evident plan of the Americans to appropriate the
country by the filibustering method. The actions
of the Bear Flag party at Sonoma and elsewhere
confirmed the belief of the English residents and
the course of events was closely watched. In Yerba
Buena interest was quickened by the arrival, shortly
after the affair at Sonoma, of the United States
sloop-of-war Portsmouth, twenty-four guns, which
came in quietly and dropped her anchor in front of
the town. Rumors were current of an expected
conflict between the Portsmouth and an English
man-of-war, for which, it was said, Forbes, the
English consul, had sent to Mazatlan. On board the
Portsmouth strict vigilance was maintained and
the men were refused shore leave. Brown says that
one morning early in July, they were startled by
the report of a large gun and in a few minutes heard
the long roll beat on board the Portsmouth and the
S39
540 The Beginnings of San Francisco
ship was cleared for action, the guns run out and
every man was at his post. The people came out
of their houses expecting to see an engagement as
an English war ship sailed into port and came to
anchor abreast of the Portsmouth. She proved to
be an English frigate on surveying service.
On the 8th of July, Captain John B. Montgomery
of the Portsmouth received orders from Commodore
Sloat to take possession of Yerba Buena and the
northern frontier. Sloat advised Montgomery of
his action at Monterey and enclosed him copies
of his proclamation, in English and Spanish, instruct-
ing him to hoist the flag in Yerba Buena within
reach of his guns and post the proclamation in both
languages.
About eight o'clock on the morning of July 9th,
Montgomery landed with seventy men at the foot
of Clay street, marched to the music of fife and
drum up Clay to Kearny, thence to the plaza, where
he hoisted the American flag on the pole in front
of the custom house. There was no Mexican flag
on the pole to haul down, for the receptor de la
aduana (receiver of customs), Don Rafael Pinto,
had departed to join Castro and had taken the
flag and placed it with his official papers in a trunk
which he left with Leidesdorff for safe keeping.
Montgomery's force consisted of a company of
marines under Lieutenant Henry B. Watson and
a few sailors under Lieutenant John S. Misroon.
There was not a Mexican official in town from whom
The Flag Raised by Montgomery 541
to demand a surrender. Sub-prefect Guerrero had
retired to his rancho; the acting commander of
San Francisco, Francisco Sanchez, had sent all
his available militiamen to Castro, and, having
no force to oppose the American commander, avoided
the mortification of a surrender by retiring to his
rancho; Port-captain Ridley was a prisoner in the
hands of the Bears, and Receptor Pinto was with
Castro.
The Portsmouth saluted the flag with twenty-one
guns and the salute was followed by three hearty
cheers on shore and on board. Captain Mont-
gomery made a short address to the people assembled
and then Sloat's proclamation was read in English
and Spanish and copies in both languages were posted
on the flagstaff. Lieutenant Watson was appointed
military commander and with his marines took
possession of the custom house. In his address,
Montgomery invited citizens willing to join a local
militia to meet at Leidesdorff's house and form
a military company, choosing their own officers.
He said that in case of attack all necessary force
would be landed from the Portsmouth. The meeting
was held and a company organized with W. D. M.
Howard as captain, William M. Smith, first lieu-
tenant, John Rose, second lieutenant, and about
twenty privates. Lieutenant Misroon, with Purser
James H. Watmough of the Portsmouth, Leides-
dorff, and several volunteers made a tour of the
presidio and fort. At the fort they found three
542 The Beginnings of San Francisco
brass cannon and seven of iron, spiked by Fremont.
Two days later, in company with Leidesdorff and
a party of marines, Misroon visited the mission and
removed therefrom a lot of public documents. San
Francisco thus became an American town without
the firing of a gun and with the apparent satisfaction
of most of its citizens.
On the 9th, before landing, Montgomery sent
Lieutenant Joseph Warren Revere in the ship's
boat to Sonoma to take possession and raise the
flag. Revere arrived at Sonoma before noon, and
summoning the troops of the garrison (Bears) and
the inhabitants of the place to the plaza, he read
to them Sloat's proclamation and then hauling down
the Bear flag he raised the stars and stripes in its
place, much to the satisfaction of the Californians.
Revere sent an express to the commander at Sutter's
fort with a United States flag to be raised and
a copy of the proclamation to be read; also one to
Stephen Smith at Bodega. The flags were hoisted
at both places with the proper ceremonies. At
Yerba Buena all was quiet. At Montgomery's
invitation Captain Sanchez came in on the twelfth
and pointed out where two guns were buried, and a
few days Sub-prefect Guerrero came from his rancho
at Montgomery's request and gave up the papers
of his department. Lieutenant Misroon landed a
party of blue jackets from the Portsmouth and
constructed a battery at Punta del Embarcadero
(Clark's Point). The work was begun about July
Arrival of the Brooklyn 543
17th. High on the steep bluff facing the bay Misroon
excavated a terrace whereon he mounted a battery
of five guns.* This was called "the battery" and
gave the name to Battery street, whose lines inter-
sect it at Broadway. It was later called Fort
Montgomery. The battery was in existence as late
as the fall of 1849. On the 31st of July the ship
Brooklyn arrived from New York, with about two
hundred Mormons in charge of Elder Samuel Bran-
nan. They had sailed from New York February 4th
and June 20th were at Honolulu where they met
Commodore Stockton about to sail for Monterey.
Surmising that California would soon be occupied by
the United States and not knowing what they
might find there, Brannan bought in Honolulu one
hundred and fifty stands of arms and drilled the men
of his company on the way over. He had announced
to Brigham Young before sailing that he would
select the most suitable site on the bay of San
Francisco for the location of a commercial city,
but finding the United States in possession the
project was abandoned.
The landing of the Mormons more than doubled
the population of Yerba Buena. They camped for
a time on the beach and the vacant lots, then some
went to the Marin forests to work as lumbermen,
some were housed in the old mission buildings and
others in Richardson's casa grande on Dupont
* Two brass pieces from the old Spanish fort; two from Sonoma, and one
brass twelve pounder dug up at the presidio where it had been buried.
544 The Beginnings of San Francisco
street. They were honest and industrious people,
and all sought work wherever they could find it.
The peace and quiet of the town was undisturbed
by anything more serious than the arrest of a few
of the Portsmouth's men for disorderly conduct
and one or two causeless alarms. Brown says that
Lieutenant Watson was in the habit of coming to
him at the Portsmouth house at a very late hour
each night after he had gone to bed, to have his
flask filled with whisky. Watson would come to
Brown's window and give two raps on the shutter.
When Brown answered, Watson would say, "The
Spaniards are in the brush. ' ; At that Brown would
get up and fill his bottle and Watson would go on
duty. One night after Brown had gone to bed,
Watson came as usual, and gave the signal, but
Brown failed to awaken, when Watson, who had
been drinking, fired his pistol and sang out at the
top of his voice, "The Spaniards are in the brush."
Instantly the guard at the barracks gave the alarm,
the long roll was beaten and the men turned out
under arms. The Portsmouth signaled to know
if she should land a party, and the Mormons assem-
bling with arms and ammunition ready for service,
remained at the Portsmouth house for about three
hours. Some shots were fired at what were supposed
to be "Spaniards in the brush," but which were
found to be only scrub oaks swaying in the breeze.
In the morning Watson put Brown under bonds of
secrecy, and the town resumed its tranquillity;
The Blockhouse 545
but that they might be prepared in case the Span-
iards really should attack, Lieutenant Misroon landed
with a small party of sailors and constructed a log
blockhouse at or near the northwest corner of
Dupont and Sacramento streets on which was
mounted a large Spanish gun from the presidio.
After peace was declared this house was used as
a jail by the alcalde.*
Another alarm was caused by a City hotel coffee
pot which exploded with a loud report. The long
roll was beaten, the marines turned out and the citi-
zensof the militia formed in line at thebarracks. There
was nothing more serious than a badly scalded cook.
On August 26 Montgomery appointed Lieutenant
Washington A. Bartlett alcalde, and ordered an
election on the 15th of September following, when
Bartlett was elected alcalde, his opponent being
Robert T. Ridley. This first election under Ameri-
can rule was held in a back room of LeidesdorfTs
store — afterwards the City hotel. Brown claims that
he made the ballot box from a box holding bottles
of lemon syrup which Ridley had bought of Stephen
Smith of Bodega. The inspectors were William
H. Davis, Frank Ward, Francisco Guerrero, and
Francisco de Haro. Ninety-six votes were cast;
of these Bartlett received sixty-six, Ridley twenty-
nine, and Spear one. John Rose was elected treas-
urer and Peter Sherreback, collector.
* Brown: Early Days, Chap. ii. Aha California, Oct. 26, 1852. The
oldest inhabitant (191 1) has no knowledge of this blockhouse.
546 The Beginnings of San Francisco
On July 23d Sloat turned over the command in
California to Commodore Robert F. Stockton, and
on the twenty-eighth sailed for home on the Levant.
In the last days of September the frigates Savannah
and Congress arrived from Monterey, the latter
flying the pennant of Commodore Stockton, and on
October 5th, the citizens tendered the commodore
a public reception, which was accepted by him
with much pleasure. Guerrero, Sanchez, Vasquez,
and all the rancheros in the vicinity sent, for the
procession, the choicest horses from their caponeras*
numbering a hundred or more. The people came
in from all the surrounding country, and as the
commodore landed from his barge at the foot of
Clay street he was met by Montgomery, Bartlett,
and Frank Ward, while the orator of the day,
Colonel W. H. Russell, made the distinguished guest
a flowery speech of welcome and presented him to
the people. Then the procession, led by the chief
marshall, Frank Ward, with a military escort under
Lieutenant Jacob Zeilin, U. S. N., marched from
Sacramento and Montgomery streets to Washington,
to Kearny, to Clay, to Dupont, to Washington, and
down Washington to Montgomery street where a
platform had been erected. Here the people gath-
ered while Stockton made them an address and
gave them an account of the conquest of Southern
California. 37 At the conclusion of the address,
* A caponera is a band of horses kept up by the ranchero for his private use.
It consists of twenty-five of his best animals under the lead of a bell mare.
Reception to Stockton 547
the commodore with an escort of citizens made
a tour on horseback to the presidio and mission
and returned to a collation at LeidesdorfFs residence.*
The ceremonies concluded with a ball in the evening.
Davis says that Stockton was a good horseman, was
fine looking, of dark complexion, with a frank and off-
hand manner, active and energetic, and he impressed
them as a strong man of decided ability. One of the
first acts of Stockton on assuming command, was to
order the release of General Vallejo and the other
prisoners of the Bears confined at Sutter's fort.
Why they were not released on the day the American
flag was raised on the fort no one seems to know.
Throughout the disturbances incident to the state
of war then existing, most of the rancheros of the
better class remained quietly on their farms and
submitted to the requisitions of Fremont and the
other officers of the California battalion for horses,
cattle, and other property for the use of the army,
which they were obliged to exchange for Fremont's
* Lancey in the Cruise of the Dale, 131-2, says that the procession consisted
of Captain J. B. Montgomery and suite, Lieutenant Bartlett, magistrate of
the district, the orator of the day, foreign consuls, Captain John Paty, senior
captain Hawaiian navy, Lieut. -commander Rudacoff, Russian navy, Lieut.-
commander Bonnett, French navy, General Vallejo and others, who had
held office under the late government; the captains of the ships, and a long line
of citizens. He says that Stockton, in response to a toast at the collation,
made an eloquent address an hour long in which he alluded to the revolt in
the south and said that if one hair of the heads of the brave men he had left
to garrison San Diego, Los Angeles, or Santa Barbara should be harmed,
'he would wade knee deep in his own blood to avenge it." "As Commodore
Stockton was small of stature," says Lancey, "this was considered as a very
great sacrificial offer."
548 The Beginnings of San Francisco
receipts. With these requisitions, which were per-
haps regular, came other and more exasperating
demands from irresponsible Americans who carried
on the work of plunder under the pretense of military
necessity. This at last became unendurable and
the Californians determined to make an effort to
protect their property.* On the 8th of December
Alcalde Bartlett with five men started down the
peninsula to obtain some cattle. Francisco Sanchez
at the rancho of San Pablo, who had suffered severely
from such demands and had lost not only his own
horses but those of Melius and Howard under
his care, assembled a small party and captured
Bartlett and his men and carried them prisoners
to the hills. Other rancheros joined him until he
had about one hundred men under his command.
After some delay Commander Hull of the United
States sloop-of-war Warren, who had succeeded
Montgomery in command at San Francisco, sent
one hundred men, under command of Captain Ward
Marston of the marines, to put down this rebellion.
The force consisted of marines and seamen from
the ships and mounted volunteers from San Jose
and from Yerba Buena. The rival forces met on
the plains of Santa Clara on the 2d of January 1847.
After a sharp engagement of several hours during
* Walter Colton says: "The principal sufferers are men who have remained
quietly on their farms and whom we are bound in honor as well as sound
policy to protect. To permit such men to be plundered under the filched author-
ity of our flag, is a national reproach." Three Years in California, p. 155.
Battle of Santa Clara 549
which two Americans were slightly wounded and
the Californians were unhurt, Sanchez withdrew
his men into the hills and sent in a flag of truce
stating his grievances and offering to submit if the
United States would guarantee protection of prop-
erty.* An armistice was agreed upon until the
commandant at San Francisco could be heard from.
Two days later a reply was received from the
commander stating that the surrender must be
unconditional but giving unofficial assurances that
property should no longer be seized without the
proper formalities and receipts. f The terms were
accepted; San Francisco's alcalde was returned to
his anxious friends and the Californians returned
to their ranchos. This was the famous campaign
and battle of Santa Clara about which so much
absurd stuff has been written.
About the first of December 1846 the Warren's
launch was sent up the Sacramento river with twelve
men, including two sons of Captain Montgomery:
William H., acting master of the Warren and
John E., his father's secretary, with Midshipman
Daniel C. Hugenin. She carried, it is supposed,
money to pay the garrison at Sutter's fort. They
* Col. Mason reports to Adjutant-general June 18, 1847, that very many-
claimants had their property taken and no receipt or certificate given for it.
Ex. Doc. 17, Ho. of Rep. 31st Cong. 1st Ses.
t Bancroft: Hist. Cal., v, pp. 378-383;
Col ton: Three Years in Cal. p. 152-3;
Hall: Hist. San Jose, 157 et seq.;
Davis: Sixty Years in California.
550 The Beginnings of San Francisco
never arrived at Sutter's and after several weeks
Robert Ridley was sent in another launch up the
Sacramento and San Joaquin, but found no trace
of boat or crew. Ridley's opinion was that the
boat was lost in a gale shortly after setting out,
though there were those who thought that the
officers had been murdered by the crew.*
On the 30th of January 1847, a notice appeared
in the California Star signed by Washington A.
Bartlett, ordering the name of San Francisco to be
used on all public documents or records appertaining
to the town. The order stated that the name of
Yerba Buena was but local, originating from the
name of the cove on which the town was built, and
"therefore, to prevent confusion and mistakes in
public documents, and that the town may have the
advantage of the name given on the public maps,
it is hereby ordered that the name of San Francisco
shall be hereafter used in all official communications
and public documents or records appertaining to
the town."
On the 22d of February 1847, Lieutenant Bartlett
was ordered to his ship by the commanding officer
of the squadron, and Edwin Bryant was appointed
alcalde by General Kearny. Bryant was a native
of Massachusetts who came overland in 1846 and
served in the California battalion as lieutenant of
company H. It was during his administration that
the tide land grant was made by General Kearny to
* Bancroft: Hist. Cal., v. p. 384.
George Hyde 551
the town of San Francisco and the survey of Jasper
O'Farrell was extended to include the beach and
water property. Bryant resigned May 28th and
returned to the East with General Kearny, leaving
the valley of the Sacramento June 19th and reaching
Fort Leavenworth August 22d, making the journey
in sixty-four days. He published his book, What
I Saw in California, in 1849; the same year he came
across the plains to California and for several years
was a citizen of San Francisco. He died in Louis-
ville, Ky., in 1869 at the age of sixty-four.
George Hyde, who succeeded Edwin Bryant, was
appointed by Kearny first alcalde May 28th. He
was a native of Pennsylvania and came on the United
States frigate Congress in 1846 as secretary to Com-
modore Stockton. He served as second alcalde
under Lieutenant Bartlett while that officer was
a prisoner in the Montara hills, and was first alcalde
from June 1847 to April 1848. Hyde had many
controversies with the citizens and charges were
preferred against him by Ward, Brannan, and Ross;
these charges Colonel Mason instructed the counsel
to investigate. Hyde seems to have had the faculty
of creating violent opposition, but was, I think,
fully vindicated from all charges of official miscon-
duct. In June 1848-9 Hyde lived on Clay street
near Dupont, occupying the house afterwards known
as the "Sazerac." Later he lived on Broadway
whence he removed to a grassy lot of considerable
size quite out of town, near the junction of Post,
552 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Market, and Montgomery streets, where he built
a large square house surrounded by a garden and
lawn. The Mechanics' Library building now occu-
pies a portion of this lot and the rest of it still
belongs to the Hyde estate.
Early in March 1847 the ship Thomas H. Perkins
arrived from New York bringing Colonel Stevenson
and the first detachment of his regiment, the
Seventh New York volunteers, who were enlisted
for the war and were to be disbanded in California
to become settlers. Jonathan Drake Stevenson was
born in the city of New York January 1, 1800. He
was private secretary to Governor Thompkins of New
York and colonel of a New York militia regiment.
In January 1846 he was a member of the New York
legislature and in June of that year President Polk
offered him the command of a volunteer regiment
for service in California, if he could raise one.
Stevenson accepted the commission and opened the
rolls in New York, July 7th; by the end of July the
lists were filled and on August 1st the regiment was
mustered into service at Governor's island. On
September 26th the expedition sailed on three trans-
ports, the Thomas H. Perkins, the Loo Choo, and
the Susan Drew, under convoy of the United States
man-of-war Preble. The regiment was mustered
in as the Seventh but afterwards changed to the
First New York volunteers. Several officers of the
regular army were assigned to the regiment while
the rank and file were mostly young men and the
Stevenson's Regiment 553
rough element was largely represented. Though
their record in California was not altogether enviable,
and some of their number ended their careers on the
gallows, the muster roll of the regiment contains
the names of a large number of men of standing
who attained positions of wealth and influence.
I can give here but few of the best known names.
Colonel Stevenson was a familiar figure in San
Francisco where he lived much respected until his
death, February 14th, 1894, at the venerable age
of ninety-four. The lieutenant-colonel, Henry S.
Burton, and the major, James A. Hardie, both
regular army officers, became general officers in
the war of secession. Joseph L. Folsom, captain
and assistant quartermaster, also a regular army
officer, is frequently mentioned in this story. He
died at Mission San Jose in 1855, a very wealthy
man. Henry M. Naglee, captain of company D,
was a graduate of West Point and a lieutenant of the
regular army. He saw some active service in Lower
California where he received the severe censure of
his commander for causing two prisoners to be shot.
For this Colonel Mason ordered Naglee's arrest and
reported the matter to the adjutant-general to be
laid before the president for his action, but the end
of the war and the mustering out of the regiment
prevented further prosecution of the matter. Cap-
tain Naglee established the first bank in San Francisco
January 9, 1849, under the firm name of Naglee and
Sinton. His partner was Richard H. Sinton who
554 The Beginnings of San Francisco
came on the line-of-battle ship Ohio in 1848, with
Commodore Jones, as acting paymaster. The "Ex-
change and Deposit Office" of Naglee and Sinton
was in the Parker house on Kearny street, fronting
the plaza, now the site of the Hall of Justice. Sin-
ton soon withdrew and after the destruction of the
Parker house by fire, the business was continued
on the corner of Montgomery and Merchant streets,
under the name of H. M. Naglee & Company, until
closed by a run on the 7th of September 1850.
Naglee served in the war of secession as lieutenant-
colonel of the regular army and was made a brigadier-
general of volunteers. He returned to California,
became a man of great wealth, settled in San Jose,
and was a well-known viticulturist and manufacturer
of brandy. He died March 5, 1885. Francis J.
Lippitt, captain of company F, was prominent in
city affairs, speaker of the "Legislative Assembly"
of San Francisco, member of constitutional con-
vention, colonel of First California infantry in
the war of secession. John B. Frisbie, captain of
company H, became a railroad director, bank
president, etc. Edward Gilbert, lieutenant of com-
pany H, first editor of the Alia California, member
of constitutional convention, first member of congress
for California, was killed by General J. W. Denver
in a duel in 1852. William E. Shannon, captain
of company I, was a member of the constitutional
convention and author of the section of the bill
of rights that forbade slavery in California. Shan-
Record of Officers 555
non was born in Ireland and came to the United
States at the age of seven, his father settling in Steu-
ben county, New York. He studied law but joined
the regiment for California in 1846. He was for
a while a trader at Coloma and later a lawyer at
Sacramento, where he died of cholera in 1850. Nel-
son Taylor, captain of company E, was a member
of the first legislature, became a prominent citizen
of Stockton, went to New York in 1856, served in
the war of secession where he became a brigadier-
general, and in 1865 was member of congress. Ed-
wards C. Williams, first lieutenant of the company,
was a prominent lumber manufacturer in San Fran-
cisco and for many years president of the Mendocino
Lumber Company. He is one of the few survivors
of the regiment, and, rich in that which should
accompany old age, lives honored and respected in
his Oakland home. There, in January 191 1, he
gave me many interesting details of the officers
and men of this regiment that was mustered out
of service more than sixty-three years ago. Thomas
L. Vermeule, second lieutenant of company E, was
a member of the constitutional convention, a well-
known lawyer and politician. Edward H. Harrison,
quartermaster's clerk, was afterwards a prominent
merchant of San Francisco, of the firm of De Witt
and Harrison. Thaddeus M. Leavenworth, chaplain
of the regiment, was second alcalde of San Francisco
under Hyde and Townsend, and first alcalde, 1848-9.
James L. C. Wadsworth was sutler's clerk, and a
556 The Beginnings of San Francisco
well-known resident of San Francisco. Sherman
O. Houghton was sergeant of company A, a promi-
nent lawyer, mayor of San Jose, and member of
congress, 1871-5. He is living in Los Angeles.*
He married Mary M. Donner, and after her death,
Eliza P. Donner, her cousin, both survivors of the
Donner party. The Russ family, well known in
San Francisco, came, twelve in number, on the
Loo Choo, the father and three sons having enlisted
as privates in the regiment in consequence of losing
by burglary the entire stock of their jewelery store
in New York. Of them more later.
The Perkins carried the colonel, the surgeon, the
quartermaster, and companies B, F, and G; the
Loo Choo, companies A, C, and K, Major Hardie,
Assistant-surgeon Parker, and Chaplain Leaven-
worth; while the Susan Drew had companies D, E, I,
and H, with Lieutenant-colonel Burton, Commis-
sary Marcy, and Assistant-surgeon Murray.
The Perkins came in on March 5th, the Susan
Drew on the nineteenth, and the Loo Choo on the
twenty-fifth, while some men who had been left
behind in New York came on the ship Brutus,
April 1 8 th.
The war in California was over and the regiment
was assigned to garrison duty. Companies H and
K were stationed at the presidio under Major Hardie;
* The survivors of the Stevenson regiment living in California in January
191 1 are: Edwards C. Williams, Oakland; Sherman 0. Houghton, Los Angeles;
Thomas E. Ketcham, Stockton; Joseph Sims, Franklin; and Charles F. Smith,
Soldier's Home.
Mutiny at La Paz 557
A, B, and F, were sent to Santa Barbara under Lieu-
tenant-colonel Burton; E and G to Los Angeles
under Colonel Stevenson as commandant of the post
and of the southern military district; company I to
Monterey and later to San Diego; company C was sta-
tioned at Sonoma, and company D after a detail in pur-
suit of Indian horse thieves was sent to La Paz, Lower
California, where also were sent companies A and B,
with Lieutenant-colonel Burton in command. These
three companies, A, B, and D, were the only ones
that saw any active service. On the ratification of
the treaty of peace, the regiment, enlisted for the
war, was mustered out of service in August, Septem-
ber, and October, 1848. There were many com-
plaints of insubordination and disorder while in the
service and it was stated that the company officers
had little control over the men. Colonel Mason
reports the serious mutiny, at La Paz, of the men of
company A, affecting the entire command, and
necessitating the sending of the Independence from
Mazatlan to restore order. He also complains of
the bad conduct of certain soldiers of the three com-
panies since their return from Lower California to
be mustered out, and states that they had committed
gross acts of pillage upon public and private property.
Several murders were credited to the discharged
soldiers of the regiment, and there is little doubt
that they formed a considerable portion of the
organized band of desperadoes known as Hounds or
Regulators.
558 The Beginnings of San Francisco
On the 15th of July 1847, Governor Mason ordered
Alcalde Hyde to call an election for a town council
of six members, but the letter was not sent until
August 13th, and in the meanwhile Hyde had ap-
pointed a council on July 28th. The election was
held September 13th, and William Glover, W. D. M.
Howard, W. A. LeidesdorfT, E. P. Jones, Robert A.
Parker, and William S. Clark were elected to hold
their office until the end of 1848. The council
was authorized to make all municipal laws and regu-
lations and to appoint the necessary town officers
and determine their pay. This was the first legis-
lative body of the town since losing its ayuntamiento
in 1838.*
On the 7th of August 1848, Colonel Mason issued
a proclamation announcing the ratification of a
treaty of peace between the United States and the
republic of Mexico by which California was ceded
to the United States.
One result of the conquest I can only look upon
with regret. Some of the American officers seemed
to regard the change of flag as necessitating a change
or translation of Spanish names. To have a formal
official dispatch transform the Ciudad de los Angeles
into the City of the Angels is as absurd as it would be
to address Don Pablo de la Guerra as Mr. Paul of
the War. The practice of translating the Spanish
names makes the dispatches of that date most con-
* Ex. Doc. 17, 31st Cong, ist Ses. pp. 310-358, 537-8, 649-653. Bancroft:
History of Cal. v, pp. 502-517.
Translation of Spanish Names 559
fusing. Though the St. John, St. Joseph, Hawk's
Peak, Bird Island, of the conquerors have vanished,
and San Juan, San Jose, Picacho del Gavilan, and
Alcatraz are returned to their own, the Rio de los
Americanos has become the American river, Rio
de los Plumas, the Feather river, Isla de los Angeles,
Angel island, and Isla de los Yeguas, Mare island.
The work of transformation, begun by the officers
of the army and navy, was carried on by uncouth
mountaineer trappers and hunters and rude bor-
derers of Missouri, to whom everything Spanish was
poison; so, many a Spanish name, significant and
musical was supplanted by an outlandish, harsh,
or common-place designation.
Chapter XVII.
SAN FRANCISCO
i 847-1 850
THE serenity of the little town on the bay of
San Francisco was undisturbed either by
wars or bv rumors of wars. The American
occupation was taken as a matter of course and was
apparently accepted with equanimity by Californians
as well as by Americans and other foreigners. Noth-
ing more serious occurred during the conquest than
the capture of Alcalde Bartlett and the subsequent
battle of Santa Clara, from which the twelve mounted
volunteers of Yerba Buena, under Captain William
M. (Jim Crow) Smith, returned with all their mem-
bers intact, to receive, in company with the other
corps of the army, the commendation and thanks of
the commanding officer (Mervine) for their efficiency
in compelling the surrender of the "unrivaled cavalry
of California"; to which the gallant captain replied:
"Our watchword is inscribed upon our banner, and
we trust you will find us, as it represents, and
as we ever wish to be, semper paratus."*
Early in February 1847 information reached San
Francisco concerning the terrible plight of the Donner
party in the Sierra Nevada, and steps were at once
taken for their relief. A meeting of citizens was
called at Brown's hotel and General Vallejo, Captain
Mervine, LeidesdorfT, Howard, Brannan, and others
exerted themselves and raised some fifteen hundred
dollars. Passed-midshipman Selim Wood worth vol-
* Californian, Feb. 6. 1847.
S63
564 The Beginnings of San Francisco
unteered to lead a party to the rescue of the survivors
and under his command the party did good service
in bringing out the sufferers. 38
The 4th of July 1847, was celebrated in San Fran-
cisco with appropriate ceremonies. The frigate
Congress fired at midday a national salute and the
big Spanish gun of the blockhouse took up the refrain
and proclaimed the nation's birthday. At one o'clock
a large collection of ladies and gentlemen at Brown's
hotel listened to the reading of the Declaration of
Independence by Mr. J. fhompson, and to an ora-
tion by Robert Semple. In the afternoon Elbert P.
Jones gave an excellent dinner at the Portsmouth
house to a number of gentlemen including the naval
officers in the harbor and the officers of the volun-
teers. Toasts were drunk, speeches made, and
songs sung. The next evening a grand ball was
given at Brown's hotel, "where California's dark-
eyed daughters mingled in the dance with the fair-
haired belles of our own native land."
In September the people of San Francisco gave a
ball in honor of Governor Mason and his aid, Lieu-
tenant William Tecumseh Sherman, Third artillery.
Mason, declining private accommodations, put up
at Brown's hotel.
The population of the town had increased over
one hundred per cent, during the twelve months
following the American occupation, and the opinion
was expressed that San Francisco was destined to be
the New York of the Pacific. The California Star
Granting of Town Lots 565
estimated the population in June 1847, at four hun-
dred and fifty-nine exclusive of the New York
volunteers, and the number of buildings was one
hundred and fifty-seven, half of which had been
erected during the past four months. Before the
gold excitement had begun to depopulate the town,
in May and June 1848, the number of inhabitants
had increased to about eight hundred and fifty, and
that of buildings to two hundred.
Under the rule of Mexico lots were granted in
Yerba Buena to settlers without other cost than a
tax of twelve and a half dollars for a fifty vara and
twenty-five dollars for a hundred vara lot. Only
one lot was granted to a person and he was required
to fence it in and build upon it. With the American
occupation the alcaldes granted lots according to
the practice of the late government. W. S. Clark,
of Clark's Point, who arrived late in 1846, found
that the rule prevented him from obtaining more
than one lot. According to his own statement he
employed a number of persons to apply for lots in
their own names and then deed them to him. In
this way he obtained possession of a large number.
The alcalde, Bartlett, found this out and meeting
Clark took him to task for his doings and asked him
what he meant by such conduct. Clark informed
him that he had spent six months in crossing the
plains, that his outfit had cost him a good deal of
money, that he had spent six months more in estab-
lishing himself in San Francisco, and that he intended
566 The Beginnings of San Francisco
to be paid for all the time he had spent and the ex-
pense to which he had been put. This declaration
of rights settled the alcalde — according to Clark's
story. Clark sold twelve of the lots so obtained for
five thousand dollars apiece. On September 27,
1847, the council decided that lots should not be
forfeited for failure to build and fence, and in October
the alcalde's act in granting more than one lot to
one person was approved. Some time thereafter
thirty-six lots were granted to W. S. Clark and
William C. Parker. So well did this enterprising
American (Clark) use his opportunity that, in 1886,
he was thought to be worth several million dollars.
The case of Clark is but an example; he was one of
many. A spirit of lawless speculation in lands
developed almost immediately upon the raising of
the American flag in California, and was the origin
of all the confusion over titles to lands in San Fran-
cisco. The wise precautions of Spain and Mexico
were set aside. The theory that but one lot could
be granted to one person, and that if he failed to
take actual possession of it and improve it, it would
be taken from him and given to another, did not
suit the American speculator. All the lots granted
within the limits of the present city prior to July 7,
1846, were less than one hundred and twelve. Dur-
ing November and December 1846, the American
alcalde granted thirty-four; in 1847, five hundred
and forty-two; in 1848, three hundred and ninety-
two, and in 1849, nine hundred and forty-nine.
Peter Smith's Contract 567
After the election of the ayuntamiento, the slow pro-
cess of granting lots by petition was dispensed with,
and they were put up at auction and knocked down
to the highest bidder. In this manner, by the 5th
of January 1850, three thousand one hundred and
fifty-three fifty vara lots, equal to twelve hundred
acres of land, exclusive of streets, in and around
the heart of the city had been disposed of.* Alcalde
and council laid aside conscience as a useless encum-
brance, and plunged headlong into jobbing and specu-
lation.
But the great opportunity of the land sharks came
with the sale, under execution, of the greater part of
the city's property. Under a regime of peculation
and heedless extravagance a municipal debt of about
one million dollars was incurred, and was rapidly
growing under an interest charge of thirty-six per
cent, and a depreciated scrip which caused creditors
to endeavor to avoid loss by adding two or three
hundred per cent, to their bills. An attempt was
made to fund the debt at ten per cent, but some of
the holders of scrip, under the influence of land
speculators, refused to surrender it, and brought
suit against the city. Among these creditors was
Doctor Peter Smith, the owner of a private hospital,
who had in 1850 contracted with the city for the care
of destitute sick, at four dollars a head per day.
Smith procured judgments against the city for
#64,431.00 and began to levy upon its property.
* Argument of William H. Shaw in case of Hart vs. Burnett, pp. 28, 29.
568 The Beginnings of San Francisco
The commissioners of the funded debt denounced
the levy as illegal and warned the people against
buying the city's property under these judgments.
Other holders of scrip obtained judgments for their
claims, and some two millions of property, including
wharves, water lots, upland lots, the old city hall,
etc., were purchased by speculators at a nominal
figure. One parcel of four hundred and eighty
fifty vara lots was sold, under a judgment obtained
by Jesse D. Carr, for the sum of fifty dollars — less
than ten and a half cents a lot. The people were
inclined to treat the matter of the sales as a joke
but their amusement was turned into dismay when
sales were confirmed and the debt commissioners
were enjoined from disposing of the property. A
meeting of citizens was hastily called and the
amount of the judgments was subscribed and ten-
dered to the purchasers of the property; but it was
refused on the ground that the tenderers were not
entitled to the right of redemption. Before the city
council could be induced to act the time of redemp-
tion had passed. Charges of connivance were made
against the officials, but the city lost its property.
A few men had seized almost the entire domain,
made themselves very rich, created a landed aristoc-
racy, and reduced all others to the necessity of pay-
ing immense prices for building lots or still more
enormous ones in the shape of rents. In i860 the
supreme court held, that in the case of upland prop-
erty, a sheriff's deed passed no title; that the com-
Court.
Limantour's Claim 569
mon lands of the pueblo were held in trust for the
future citizens and that they were not subject to sale
under execution. But for many years the cloud
hung over the city titles, depressing prices and ren-
dering real estate unsalable. In addition to the
uncertainty of land values and the unsettling of titles
caused by the Peter Smith sales, claims were brought
forward in 1853 which threatened confiscation of
all lands south of California and west of Stockton
streets. These subjects extend beyond the limits
set to this work and I will touch but briefly upon
them.
On the 5th of February 1853, Jose Yves Liman-
tour, whom we have met in connection with the
supplies furnished Micheltorena's cholos, presented
to the land commission a most extraordinary claim
to some six hundred thousand acres of land in
California, the islands of the Farallones, Alcatraz,
and Yerba Buena, the peninsula of Tiburon, and
to four square leagues of land in San Francisco.
These astonishing grants were signed by Governor
Micheltorena and dated in 1843. Limantour claimed
that the grants were made him in return for aid fur-
nished to the government. The land commission
rejected the six hundred thousand acre grants but
confirmed those to the San Francisco leagues and to
the islands. Consternation seized the citizens. The
grants took in all the area between California street
and the Mission creek, and between the old road
leading from the presidio to the mission and the
570 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Pacific ocean — practically everything south of Cali-
fornia and west of Divisadero streets. The reason
Limantour gave for the delay of ten years in asserting
his claim was that he had been engaged elsewhere in
important matters and only now had the necessary time
to look after his interests in California. Notwithstand-
ing the fact that many able lawyers pronounced the
claim fraudulent or illegal, and the opinion of Henry
W. Halleck, an authority on Spanish titles, that the
government of California could not grant to a single
person nearly all the pueblo lands without the knowl-
edge or consent of the municipal authorities, the
panic stricken citizens began buying Limantour's
titles to their property. The United States govern-
ment appealed the case and appropriated two hun-
dred thousand dollars to defend its rights to the
presidio lands, the custom house, the mint, and other
property. The citizens had paid to Limantour some
three hundred thousand dollars when the United
States district court pronounced the alleged grants
forgeries, and much of the testimony introduced to
sustain them perjury. The discovery of the fraudu-
lent character of the documents was largely due to
Professor George Davidson of the United States
coast survey, who was called as an expert for the
government. The court, in rendering its decision,
pronounced the case without parallel in the judicial
history of the country, and said: "It is with no
slight satisfaction that the proofs of fraud are as
conclusive and irresistible as the attempted fraud
57i
antour
dollars
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iest of
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rred it
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. This
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: great-
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, pp- 243-4-
S7o
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Limant
his claii
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ing the
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Santillan Claim 571
itself has been flagrant and audacious." Limantour
was arrested and released on thirty thousand dollars
bail. He deposited the money with his bondsmen
and fled the country.
Jose Prudencio Santillan, Indian parish priest of
San Francisco, claimed a grant of three leagues of
land in San Francisco supposed to have been made by
Governor Pico, February 10, 1846. Santillan sold
the claim to James R. Bolton who transferred it
to a Philadelphia association. The claim was al-
lowed by the land commission, was appealed to the
district court, and so busy were the government and
lot owners in fighting Limantour that the case was
hastened through the district court almost unchal-
lenged. Having defeated the Limantour grant the
people awoke to the danger from the Santillan, or
Bolton grant, as it was called and petitioned the
supreme court to send the case back for new trial.
The supreme court examined the claim and rejected
it without referring it to the lower court. This
claim covered much of the property previously
granted (?) to Limantour and extended from the
so-called Vallejo line to the northern boundaries of
the ranchos Laguna de la Merced and Buri Buri.*
San Francisco began to improve immediately
after the American occupation and its future great-
ness as the metropolis of the Pacific was clearly
foreseen. The people recognized the necessity for
* Hoffman: Land Cases i, pp. 392-3. Bancroft: Hist, of Cal. vii, pp. 243-4.
57 2 The Beginnings of San Francisco
wharves to deep water and for filling in and building
upon the mud flats lying before the town. A pub-
lic meeting was held on the plaza February 15, 1847,
and a petition to the governor was signed asking for
a grant to the town of the tide lands of Yerba Buena
cove. In response to this action General Kearny,
on March 10th, granted and released to the town all
the right, title, and interest of the United States and of
the territory of California, to the beach and water
lots between Fort Montgomery (Clark's Point) and
the Rincon, excepting such lots as should be selected
for government use; the lots so given were to be
sold at public auction for the benefit of the town.
The alcalde, Edwin Bryant, employed Jasper O'Far-
rell to make a survey of the lots and announced a
sale for June 29th. The sale was postponed to
July 20th — 23d, when two hundred and forty-eight
lots, forty-five by one hundred and thirty-seven and
a half feet, were sold. Some of the lots on the beach
sold as high as six hundred dollars apiece, while those
under water sold from fifty to four hundred dollars.
I believe it was considered that General Kearny had
no authority to make such a grant, but in 1 85 1 the state
ceded the beach and water lots to the city for a pe-
riod of ninety-nine years and confirmed previous sales.
At the foot of Clay street a little pier had been
built at which small boats could land at high tide,
but the principal landing place was at the Punta
del Embarcadero, or Clark's Point — now the corner
of Broadway and Battery street. Here was deep
First Wharf 573
water and boats could come alongside the rocks.
William S. Clark built in 1847 a small wharf at the
point, at which ships could lie. The first vessel to
dock here was the brig Belfast in October 1848, the
first ship, it is said, to discharge cargo in San Fran-
cisco without lighters. Clark says he built a wharf
and warehouse on piles, making a pile driver of
twelve hundred pounds of pig iron obtained from
a whaler at Sausalito, and raising it by a windlass.
Clark, a native of Maryland, came with the Harlan
party in 1846, and was one of the Yerba Buena
volunteers in the Santa Clara campaign. Clark's
Point was named for him. General Sherman referred
to Clark as a Mormon who refused to pay tithes to
Sam Brannan, but Clark says Sherman was mis-
taken; he was not and never had been a Mormon.
In October 1847, the council authorized the exten-
sion of the little Clay street wharf five hundred and
forty-seven feet into the bay, also the construction
of a pier at the foot of Broadway, one hundred and
fifty feet in length. Eleven thousand dollars was
appropriated for the Clay street pier and four
thousand for that of Broadway. Work on these
was continued into January 1848, when funds gave
out and the work was stopped. No other work was
done on the water front in 1848, beyond a beginning
at the filling of the lagoon at Jackson street. In
the spring of 1849 a joint stock company was formed,
with a capital of one hundred and twenty thousand
dollars, which began in May the construction of' a
574 The Beginnings of San Francisco
wharf extending from the bank in the middle of the
block between Sacramento and Clay streets, where
Leidesdorff street now is, eight hundred feet into
the bay. The principal stockholders were Melius
and Howard, Cross, Hobson and Company, James C.
Ward, Joseph L. Folsom, De Witt and Harrison,
and Sam Brannan. Melius and Howard gave the
wharf right of way across the block between San-
some and Battery streets; the alcalde, with the
consent of the ayuntamiento, gave the right of way
across the next block east; Colonel Stevenson and
W. C. Parker, the right of way across the next block,
and the city, the right across the block following,
to Drumm street — to which the wharf was extended
by October 1850. Here was sufficient depth of
water to allow the Pacific Mail steamers to lie
alongside. The wharf was two thousand feet long,
thirty-five feet wide, and cost one hundred and eighty-
one thousand dollars. At the shore end (Leides-
dorff street), was the office of the Pacific Mail Steam-
ship company, a wooden building of two stories.
This was destroyed by the fire of June 1850, which
also seriously damaged the wharf, and the steam-
ship office was then moved to the corner of Sacra-
mento and Leidesdorff streets. Central, or Long
wharf, as it was called, became the favorite prom-
enade. Buildings perched on piles sprang up quickly
on either side, and commission houses, groceries,
Extension of Wharves into Bay 575
saloons, mock auctions, cheap-John shops, and
peddlers did a thriving business. Central wharf
is now Commercial street.
The immediate success of Central wharf started
similar enterprises upon every street along the front
from California street to Broadway, and by October
1850, California street was extended into the cove
by a wharf four hundred feet long by thirty-two feet
wide; Sacramento street (Howison's Pier) was ex-
tended eleven hundred feet by forty feet; Clay
street, starting from the bank at Montgomery
street, ran a pier forty feet wide alongside of Sherman
and Ruckle's store, nine hundred feet into the water,
leaving in its rear imbedded in the mud on the north-
west corner of Sansome and Clay streets, the ship
Niantic, and in the next block the ship General
Harrison. The pier that formed the extension of
Washington street ran two hundred and seventy-
five feet into the water; that of Pacific street, two
hundred and fifty feet, and that of Broadway, the
same. North of Broadway was Cunningham's wharf
between Vallejo and Green streets. Buckalew's
wharf was a continuation of Green street; Law's
wharf was between Green and Union streets, and
Cowel's wharf, between Union and Filbert streets.
Most of these wharves were private enterprises and
yielded large returns to the projectors. A few
belonged to the municipality, which soon absorbed
the rest as they were converted into streets.*
* Soule: Annals, p. 292.
576 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Where Leidesdorff's warehouse stood, on the beach
at California street, there was a small wharf for land-
ing at high tide. From this point northward to
Clay street, a narrow levee, piled and capped, marked
the boundary of the tide waters along the beach, and
formed the westerly line of Leidesdorff street. From
the corner of California and Leidesdorff streets, the
beach took a turn to the southeast corner of California
and Sansome streets; and where the building of the
Mutual Life Insurance Company now stands, there
stood in 1849 the store of Dewey and Heiser. This
building rested upon piles, the tide flowed and ebbed
under the store, and at high water lighters received
and discharged cargoes from the rear of this and all
the other stores on Sansome street between Cali-
fornia and Jackson. Diagonally across from Dewey
and Heiser's store, Captain Folsom in 1850 built
on piles the Jones house, afterwards called the Te-
hama house, on the northwest corner of California
and Sansome streets, a rendezvous of army officers
and a favorite hotel of wealthy rancheros. This
well-known hotel stood until 1864, when it was re-
moved to make way for the building of the Bank of
California. It was taken to the corner of Mont-
gomery street and Broadway where it stood until
destroyed by the fire of April 1906. At the Broad-
way wharf were the offices of the harbor master, of
the river and bar pilots, and of the Sacramento
steamer. On this wharf was also the Steinberger
butcher shop. Baron Steinberger conceived the
Beginning of Sansome Street 577
idea of making a large fortune by purchasing cattle
from the rancheros and selling beef to the people
of San Francisco. Sherman says that Steinberger
brought letters to General Persifer F. Smith and
Commodore Jones. He was a splendid looking fel-
low and carried things with a high hand. He bought
cattle from Don Timoteo Murphy at Mission San
Rafael, sold the beef from twenty-five to fifty cents
a pound, and paid Murphy nothing.*
Before the extension of Central wharf (Commercial
street) to deep water, a little wharf at the foot of
Sacramento street assumed prominence as a recep-
tion place for merchandise. A narrow strip, just
wide enough for a handcar tramway with room on
each side for one person to walk, was extended on
the south side of Sacramento street. When it came
to the easterly line of Sansome street a little pier
was extended northward, just large enough to ac-
commodate the store of Dall and Austin. After a
while a narrow row of piles was driven northward
from this pier to Commercial street and on to Clay,
and then extended to Washington, to Jackson, and
to Pacific where it joined terra firma at the east side
of Sansome street. Upon these piles was laid a
narrow plank walk about four feet wide, without
rail or protection of any kind, and along this narrow
way pedestrians passed and repassed. This was the
beginning of Sansome street. f
* Memoirs i, pp. 68-9.
t Barry and Patten: Men and Memories of San Francisco.
578 The Beginnings of San Francisco
As the piers grew seaward the lines of crossing
streets were marked by piles extended north and
south on which were erected buildings for stores
and offices. Many people lived in these buildings,
and it is estimated that in 1850 one thousand persons
were living over the water, in buildings resting on
piles, or in the hulks of vessels.
On the summit of Loma Alta a station was erected
whereon the American flag was raised to announce
the approach of a Panama steamer. Later a sema-
phore announced the character of the approaching
steamer; hence the name, Telegraph hill.
From April 1, 1849, to the end of the year, more
than seven hundred vessels entered the harbor.* To
meet the demand for freight and ship money, car-
goes were sold at auction and the market was glutted
with goods of all kinds. This condition, together
with the scant storage room, falling prices, and the
extraordinary cost of labor, was such that in some
instances it did not pay to unload cargoes. Many
vessels were beached and converted into storage
ships, shops, and lodging houses. Here we have
the spectacle of a gallant ship, metamorphosed into
a form and likeness that is neither of land nor sea,
but partakes of both, rounding out her career of
* Notwithstanding the great numbers of ships arriving at San Francisco
during 1849 and the few years following, there was no light at the entrance
of the harbor until 1854 when a light was erected on Alcatraz island, and in
1855 Point Bonita, the southeast Farallon and Fort Point each had a light.
There were no tugs and but few experienced pilots.
Imprisoned Ships 579
usefulness by a service equally important if less dig-
nified. The growing wharves push by her resting
place, crossing piers hem her in, and buildings grow
up between her and deep water; her retreat cut off,
she gazes helplessly through her cabin windows
upon the busy traffic of surrounding streets.
At the northwest corner of Clav and Sansome
streets was anchored the well-known ship Niantic.
Soon after the sailing of the California from Panama
with the first of the Argonauts, the Niantic arrived
at that port and brought up to San Francisco about
two hundred and fifty of the immigrants at one
hundred and fifty dollars a head. On the north-
west corner of Clay and Battery streets was the
General Harrison. The Apollo was on the north-
west corner of Sacramento and Battery streets,
and the Georgean, between Washington and Jackson,
west of Battery street. These ships were all burned
in the fire of May 3 , 1 85 1 . On the site of the Niantic
was built the Niantic hotel, which gave way in 1872
to the Niantic block. William Kelly writes: "On
enquiring where my friend Mr. S was located,
I was told I could be landed at a stair-foot leading
right to it; and was not a little surprised when we
pulled alongside a huge dismantled hulk, surrounded
with a strong and spacious stage, connected with
the street by a substantial wharf, to find the counting
house on the deck of the Niantic, a fine vessel of
one thousand tons, no longer a bouyant ship, sur-
580 The Beginnings of San Francisco
mounted by lofty spars, and ' streamers waving in the
wind,' but a tenement anchored in the mud, covered
with a shingle roof, sub-divided into stores and
offices and painted over with signs and showboards of
the various occupants. To this 'base use' was my
friend obliged to convert her rather than let her rot
at anchor, there being no possibility then of getting
a crew to send her to sea. Her hull was divided
into large warehouses, entered by spacious doorways
on the sides, and her bulwarks were raised about
eight feet, affording a range of excellent offices on
the deck, at the level of which a wide balcony was
carried round, surmounted by a verandah, ap-
proached by a broad handsome stairway. Both
stores and offices found tenants at higher rents than
tenements of similar dimensions on shore would
command, and returned a larger and steadier income,
as my friend told me, than the ship would earn if
afloat."*
Some ships were sent up the Sacramento and San
Joaquin rivers; some were sold for port dues and
broken up for building material; others rotted and
sank at their moorings, and it was years before the
channel was cleared of the hulks.
Before the inrush of gold seekers the principal
business house in San Francisco was that of Melius
and Howard, already noted. Into this firm was
admitted in 1849 Talbot H. Green, whose arrival
in 1 841 with the first overland immigrant party we
* Kelly: A Stroll through the Diggings of California.
Talbot H. Green 581
have seen. Green was a good business man, promi-
nent in all public affairs, and member of the ayun-
tamiento of 1849-50. In 1851 he was recognized and
denounced as Paul Geddes of Pennsylvania, a default-
ing bank clerk, who had left a wife and children in
the east. Green, protesting his innocence, started
for the east with the avowed purpose of clearing his
reputation, being escorted to the steamer by a large
company of prominent citizens. The charge proved
true, and Green passed from the life of California.
It was reported later that he had joined his first
wife and family. He had married, in California,
the widow of Allan Montgomery who came with her
husband in the Stevens party of 1844.* Green
street was named for him.
Another mercantile house, prior to the gold dis-
coveries, was Ward and Smith. Their store was on
the east side of Montgomery street, north of Clay.
Frank Ward, the head of this firm, came on the ship
Brooklyn in 1846. He was a very popular man and
a prominent citizen. His partner was William M.
Smith, whom we have seen as commander of the
Yerba Buena company at the battle of Santa Clara.
Smith came in 1845. He was an amusing fellow who
had been a circus rider, and was known as "Jim
Crow" Smith. In August 1848, Smith married
Susana Martinez, widow of Captain Hinckley. Next
to Ward and Smith was the store of Sherman and
Ruckel, on the northeast corner of Clay and
* Bancroft: Hist, of Cal. in, p. 765.
582 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Montgomery. In 1847 Sherman bought the southern
half of the corner fifty vara lot, and erected a wooden
store building. It was built on the flat below the
bank and had a bridge from the front door to Mont-
gomery street. On the northwest corner of Mont-
gomery and Washington streets, Charles L. Ross had
his "New York Store. " On April 1, 1849, the steam-
ship Oregon arrived, bringing Colonel John W.
Geary, the newly appointed postmaster, and a mail
of five thousand letters. Geary was the first post-
master, and his mail was the second opened in San
Francisco. Previous to the American occupation
correos (messengers) were employed by the govern-
ment to carry letters and during and after the con-
quest letters brought by ships were left at the stores
or shipping houses on the water front. C. L. Ross
who had been appointed temporary postmaster and
had distributed the mail brought by the California,
took the postmaster into his store and gave him floor
space, eight by ten feet, on which Geary drew chalk
lines and in the squares distributed the letters. Then
knocking a pane of glass out of the window, he opened
the general delivery. Ross was a native of New
Jersey who came in 1847, and was a prominent man
in San Francisco for a number of years.
Robert A. Parker, a native of Boston, came in
1847 as supercargo on the ship Mt. Vernon, and
opened a store in the casa grande of Richardson's
on Dupont street. Later he kept the City hotel,
and in 1849 built and kept the famous Parker house
NEW YORK STORE, CORNER OF MONTGOMERY
AND WASHINGTON STREETS
Note the "Cantil."
:o
n bought the southern
and erected a wooden
it on the flat below the
rhe front door to Mont-
west corner of Mont-
3, Charles L. Ross had
\ pril i, 1849, the steam-
Colonel John W.
postmaster, and a mail
is the first post-
.1 opened in San
n occupation
YJI3M00TH0M 30 flS'^OD ,3flOT2 ^W^W^?^ 01 "
2T33AT2 HOTO r /lIH3AW QVlk the COn-
".lijnBD" sib 3 joK e stores
L. Ross
aster and
California,
ave him floor
h Geary drew chalk
istributed the letters. Then
ut of the window, he opened
Ross was a native of New
47, and was a prominent man
number of years.
a native of Boston, came in
\\ the ship Mt. Vernon, and
casa grande of Richardson's
;ter he kept the City hotel,
I built and kept the famous Parker house
The Russ Family 583
on Kearny street facing the plaza. In 1846 William
H. Davis bought out the business of his uncle, Nathan
Spear, and did a large business in the store built by
Spear next to "Kent Hall.' : The store of DeWitt
and Harrison was, in 1848, on the northwest corner
of Sansome and Pacific streets. This house was
later DeWitt, Kittle and company, then Kittle and
company, and was continued in business until very
recently.
On the arrival of the Loo Choo in March 1847,
J. C. Christian Russ and his sons obtained from the
ship some second-hand lumber and built, out in the
suburbs, a shanty for the shelter of the family.
Here they lived for several years, building additions
from time to time as their needs grew. This house
was, until after the breaking out of the gold fever,
the southern limit of settlement, and was separated
from the town by a sand-hill. It was on the south-
west corner of Pine and Montgomery streets. Russ
and his sons ascertained that town lots were to be
had for the asking, and being men of thrifty habits
they managed to secure quite a large number. In
their shanty they had a store for the manufacture
and sale of jewelry, and after the discovery of gold,
added assaying and refining to their work. They
built the American hotel on the west side of Mont-
gomery street between Pine and Bush streets. They
owned the two fifty vara lots on Montgomery street
and the middle fifty vara on Bush street in this
block. When the great immigration came they
584 The Beginnings of San Francisco
built thirty-five or forty little shanties on their
property which they rented to good advantage.
These were removed later to build the Russ house,
so well known to Californians, which property still
remains in possession of the family. In 1850 the
head of the family went far into the wilderness and
built on Harrison and Sixth streets, on a little dry
knoll in the middle of a swamp, a residence where
he lived for a number of years and which became,
in 1856, the famous Russ Gardens. A narrow
causeway was built from Folsom street to the gardens,
and woe to the unlucky rider who deviated from the
narrow road; both horse and rider were likely to be
engulfed.
Of the hotels of San Francisco, the City hotel on
Clay and Kearny streets has been already described;
the Parker house, built by Robert A. Parker and John
H. Brown on Kearny street, facing the plaza, was de-
stroyed by fire three times and as many times rebuilt.
It was then incorporated with other property, in
the Jenny Lind Theatre building. This was, in
turn, destroyed by fire twice, and finally replaced
by a handsome stone structure, which, proving
unsuccessful as a theatre, was sold to the city for a
city hall at the price of two hundred thousand dol-
lars — a deal that was put through by the jobbers
of 1852. This building, known to San Franciscans
of the present day as the "Old City Hall," to which
was added the four story "El Dorado" on the north
as a hall of record, stood until taken down in 1895
Hotels of the City 585
to make way for the Hall of Justice, destroyed by
the fire of 1906, and now in process of reconstruction.
The St. Francis hotel, a four story building, stood
on the southwest corner of Clay and Dupont streets,
on the lot whereon Jacob P. Leese erected the first
house in Yerba Buena. The sleeping apartments
in the St. Francis were the best in California, and
the charge for room and board — one hundred and
fifty dollars a month — was unusually cheap. No
gambling was permitted. On the south side of Clay
street, above the City hotel, and facing the plaza,
was the Ward house, a good hotel, kept by Colonel
J. J. Bryant, whose contest for the shrievalty against
Colonel Jack Hays, the Texas ranger, in April 1850,
was long remembered. Bryant entertained liberally
at the Ward house; wine flowed and drinks were
free; but when the famous Texas ranger rode into
the plaza on his curveting, prancing black steed, his
dash and horsemanship carried the day, and the hotel
man was defeated. The Graham house, a four story
wooden edifice lined on two sides by continuous
balconies, was imported bodily from Baltimore and
set up on the northwest corner of Kearny and Pacific
streets. It was bought by the council, April 1, 1850,
for a city hall, for the sum of one hundred and fifty
thousand dollars. The building succumbed to the
fire of June 1851. These were the principal hotels
up to the time the Jones, or Tehama house of Captain
Folsom, and the Union of Selover and company,
were built. The latter was of brick, four and a half
586 The Beginnings of San Francisco
stories high, and cost, with furniture, two hundred
and fifty thousand dollars. It was on the east
side of Kearny street between Clay and Washington
streets, with a frontage of twenty-nine feet, and was
burned in 185 1. The Oriental hotel, spoken of by
Richard H. Dana, in his "Twenty-four Years After,"
was begun in 1850. It stood on the corner of Bush and
Battery, and was an elegantly appointed house. A
large number of cheaper hotels and innumerable
lodging houses and restaurants provided accommo-
dation to those who could pay for it, while out-of-
door stands sold hot coffee, pies, and hard-boiled eggs
on the streets. On the southwest corner of Bush
and Sansome streets was a large, high sand-hill, on
the top of which, in a hollow, hidden from sight of
passers on the beach, was a colony of thieves, bur-
glars, escaped convicts, and desperadoes of every
nationality. In this retreat they had their tents
and shanties, whence they issued forth by night in
search of prey.* The Rassette house was afterwards
built on the site of this sand-hill and still later it was
occupied by the Cosmopolitan hotel. It is now a
business block.
The first newspaper published in California ap-
peared in Monterey, August 15, 1846, edited by
Walter Colton and Robert Semple and called The
Calif ornian. A portion of its contents was printed
in Spanish. The printing apparatus was an old press
and type belonging to the Mexican government at
* Barry and Patten: Men and Memories of San Francisco.
Founding of the Alta California 587
Monterey, which had not been in use for several
years, so that the type had to be scoured, and rules
and leads made from tin plate. The paper was the
Spanish foolscap used for official correspondence.
It appeared every Saturday until May 1847, when it
was transferred to San Francisco and was later
merged in the California Star.
Sam Brannan, Mormon chief and elder, a printer
by trade, had published for several years in New
York a church organ called The Prophet. 39 He
brought with him on the Brooklyn the press and out-
fit of this paper, and on January 9, 1847, published
in San Francisco the first number of the weekly
California Star with Elbert P. Jones as temporary
editor, succeeded later by Edward C. Kemble.
It was a sheet of eight and a half by twelve inches
of print. The paper was temporarily suspended
during the gold excitement in the summer of 1848,
but from November the publication was regular.
It had been slightly enlarged in January 1848, and
when publication was resumed in November of that
year, Kemble bought out The Calif ornian and con-
solidated it with his own paper under the name of
the California Star and Californian. In January
1849, the name was changed to the Alta California,
with Edward Gilbert as editor, and Kemble, pro-
prietor. The Alta California became a great daily
and was published continuously until June 2, 1891,
when it was suspended. Kemble came with Brannan
on the Brooklyn, though he was not a Mormon.
588 The Beginnings of San Francisco
He took an active part in the politics of the town
and was connected with the paper until he went east
in 1855.
Soon after the American occupation educational
matters began to engage the attention of the people.
The California Star of January 16, 1847, urged the
importance of establishing a school for the children
of the rapidly growing town and offered to contrib-
ute a lot and fifty dollars in money towards the
erection of a school house. In April 1847, J. D.
Marston opened a private school in a shanty on the
west side of Dupont street between Broadway and
Pacific. This was the first school in San Francisco
and was attended by some twenty or thirty children.
It lasted but a few months. At a meeting of the
council, September 24th, W. A. Leidesdorff, William
Glover, and W. S. Clark were appointed a committee
to attend to the building of a school house. The
building was erected on the western side of the
plaza, and on April 3, 1848, the school was opened
under Thomas Douglas, a graduate of Yale college,
with Dr. Victor J. Fourgeaud, C. L. Ross, Dr. John
Townsend, John Sirrine, and William Heath Davis
as trustees. The school prospered until the gold
excitement carried teacher and trustees to the mines.
From the date of its completion in December 1847,
the school house served the purpose of town hall,
court house, people's court for trial of culprits by
the first vigilance committee, school, church, and
finally, jail. Owing to the range and variety of its
The First School 589
uses, the building was dignified by the name of
Public Institute. In April 1849, school was resumed
under the management of the Rev. Albert Williams,
a Presbyterian clergyman who arrived on the Oregon
April 1st, and who, on May 20th, organized the
First Presbyterian church with six members, and held
services in a tent on the west side of Dupont street
between Pacific street and Broadway.*
From the second Sunday after their arrival at
San Francisco, the Mormons held religious services
in Captain Richardson's casa grande on Dupont
street, where Sam Brannan exhorted the saints to
remain faithful in this land of gentiles, but some
twenty of them "went astray after strange gods,"
as did their eminent leader a few years later. On
the 8th of May 1847, a public meeting was held under
the auspices of the Rev. Thaddeus M. Leavenworth
(Episcopalian) who had come as chaplain of the
Stevenson regiment, and a committee was appointed
to gather subscriptions for the building or lease of
a house of public worship. The committee never
reported. On May 16th, 1847, Rev. James H.
Wilbur of the Oregon Methodist mission, passenger
on the ship Whiton, stopped on his way to Oregon
and organized a Sunday school which was to meet
every Sunday forenoon at the alcalde's office. J. H.
Merrill was appointed superintendent. This Sunday
school met the fate of the secular school — closed by
a stampede to the mines. On Sunday July 25, 1847,
* Taylor: California Life Illustrated, p. 66.
59° The Beginnings of San Francisco
Chaplain Chester Newell, of the United States
frigate Independence, preached in the new building
on the northwest corner of Washington and Mont-
gomery streets, the store built for Gelston & Com-
pany, and occupied later by C. L. Ross. This is
the first record of divine service, but it is likely that
other services were held by chaplains of ships in
the harbor. The first sermon preached after the
mines were opened, of which we have any notice,
was on September 3, 1848, in the public institute, by
the Rev. Elihu Anthony, a native of New York,
of the overland immigration of 1847, a Methodist
preacher. For several weeks following Mr. Anthony's
advent, Captain L. H. Thomas, of the English brig
Laura Ann, read the English service at the public
institute, and Mrs. C. V. Gillespie revived the
Sunday school. In this building a meeting of citi-
zens was held November 1, 1848, to organize a
Christian society. Edward H. Harrison presided;
C. E. Wetmore, C. L. Ross, C. V. Gillespie, Joseph
Bowden, and Edward H. Harrison were chosen
trustees, and the Rev. Timothy Dwight Hunt, a
native of Rochester, N. Y., who had lately arrived
from Honolulu, was appointed chaplain for one year
at a salary of twenty-five hundred dollars. This
was the only organized institution for Protestant
worship in the city until the spring of 1849, when the
first coming ships brought, with the seekers of the
Golden Fleece, several missionary preachers. In
The First Churches 591
August 1849, the following Protestant organizations
were holding services in the city:
1. The Chaplaincy, Rev. T. D. Hunt, Public
Institute.
2. First Presbyterian, Rev. Albert Williams, in
a large tent on Dupont street, near Pacific.
3. First Baptist, Rev. O. C. Wheeler, church on
Washington street, near Stockton.
4. Protestant Episcopal, Rev. Flavil S. Mines,
in house of J. H. Merrill.
On the 8th of October, a Methodist Episcopal
church, shipped from Oregon and set up on a Powell
street lot, was dedicated by the missionary minister,
Rev. William Taylor, assisted by the Rev. Mr.
Hunt, Rev. Albert Williams, and Rev. O. C. Wheeler.
The burial ground in 1846-47 was the fifty vara lot
on the southeast corner of Vallejo and Sansome
streets. There were no burials there after 1847,
the place of burial being established in the North
Beach region near Washington square; and in Feb-
ruary 1850, the Yerba Buena cemetery — the present
city hall lot — was opened for burials, and to it the
bodies were removed from North Beach.
On the 1st of April 1848, the California Star
express carried a mail from San Francisco to Inde-
pendence, Missouri, in sixty days. Fifty cents
postage was charged on letters. A special edition
of the newspaper was prepared for eastern distri-
bution and sent by this express. It consisted of
59 2 The Beginnings of San Francisco
six pages, and contained an article by Dr. Victor J.
Fourgeaud on The Prospects of California. This
was a most able presentation of facts concerning the
climate, soil, resources, minerals, lumbering, and
fishing facilities of California, and the writer pre-
dicted that with its agricultural, commercial, and
manufacturing prospects, California would become
one of the happiest portions of the globe. Doctor
Fourgeaud's article attracted much attention, and
he continued to publish, from time to time, articles
on California and did much to correct false impres-
sions gained from the writings of careless observers
and disappointed, prejudiced adventurers.*
The great and sudden immigration following the
discovery of gold completely changed the aspect of
the town. The necessity for shelter for the forty
odd thousand of people who landed in 1849 was such
that everything that would, in a measure, afford
protection from the winds and rains was utilized.
The range was from a dry goods box to a tent, or
a hastily constructed shanty lined with bunks.
* Many writers of 1849 denounced the country as unfit for agriculture
and said that it must forever depend upon the eastern states, Oregon, Chili,
Australia, and the Hawaiian islands for its breadstuffs. As for the climate
it was highly unhealthy.
Doctor Victor Jean Fourgeaud was born in Charleston, South Carolina,
April 8, 1817, and died in San Francisco, January 2, 1875. He was a graduate
of the University of France and of the Charleston Medical college. He came
overland to California accompanied by his wife and son, and arrived in San
Francisco October 20, 1847. While practicing medicine in San Francisco
and the bay counties Doctor Fourgeaud studied the agricultural possibilities
and the commercial prospects of California. He was actively interested in
the affairs of the city, and he made the first assay of the gold found by Marshall
at Sutter's mill.
Happy Valley 593
The space from California street to the line of
Market street was a region of high sand-hills covered
with a scattering growth of brush and scrub oak;
but following the curving shore of the cove to the
south, one came to a little valley protected on the
west by the sand-hills of Market street. Here,
sheltered from the harsh winds, tents had been set
up and the place named Happy valley. This was
between First, Second, Market, and Mission streets.
It was supplied with a good spring of water and
contained, in the winter of 1849-50, about one
thousand tents. To the south as far as Howard
street, was Pleasant valley. The beach afforded
good walking into town and served for a pleasant
stroll on Sunday afternoons. Around the plaza
were grouped houses of the better sort, the tents
dotting the hills in the rear and spreading around the
base of Telegraph hill to the north. This region,
abounding in public houses of the lowest order,
frequented by convicts and ticket-of-leave men from
Australia, bore the significant title of Sidney Town.
West of this section, and reaching from Kearny to
Stockton streets, between Broadway and Green
street, was Little Chili, where the Chilenos and
Peruanos were gathered. Westerly between Powell
and Mason streets, Washington street and Broadway,
was Spring valley, while Saint Ann's valley, not
yet occupied, was between Geary, Eddy, Jones, and
Stockton streets.
594 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Water for domestic use was obtained from wells,
and for drinking, an extra good quality was brought
from Sausalito in tanks and sold by the gallon from
carts in the street.
There was but little attempt at permanent con-
struction in San Francisco in 1849. Few of the
people contemplated a permanent residence, and for
the short time they intended to remain in California,
were satisfied with almost any kind of shelter.
Houses were built of the flimsiest construction, and
most of them, when finished at all inside, were lined
with cotton cloth in lieu of plaster. They had soon
good reason to repent of hasty and careless building.
Early on December 24, 1849, a fire broke out in
Dennison's exchange, a rickety gambling house on
Kearny street opposite the plaza, and in a few min-
utes the flames spread through the block. Some
fifty houses were burned and the loss was about
one million dollars. The adjoining blocks were
saved by pulling down buildings and by covering
houses with blankets saturated with water. Among
the fire fighters was David Colbert Broderick, a
New York fireman, of whom California was to hear
more. The buildings were quickly replaced and by
the end of January 1850, no vestige of the fire
remained. This was the first of the great fires from
which San Francisco was to suffer, and the only
one that comes within the scope of this work. With-
in a year and a half, San Francisco was devastated
six times by fire, and twenty-four million dollars
Organization of Fire Department 595
worth of property was destroyed. Each time the
destroyed portion of the city was rebuilt with better
buildings, until the business section presented a
substantial appearance. The walls of many build-
ings that remained standing after the great earth-
quake and fire of 1906 attest the fidelity of the con-
struction of 1 85 1. The havoc made by the first
great fire of December 1849, aroused the people to
the necessity for protection, but the fire department
was not formally organized until June 1850, when
the Empire Engine Company, No. 1 was formed,
with David C. Broderick as foreman. The Empire
was immediately followed by Protection No. 2, and
Eureka No. 3. The Eureka was changed to the
Howard, in honor of W. D. M. Howard, who pre-
sented the company with an engine. Five other
companies were organized before the close of the year,
together with hook and ladder and hose companies.
Owing to the cost of lumber and of labor, many
houses were made in Boston and elsewhere and
shipped to San Francisco in sections. Bayard Tay-
lor speaks of seventy-five houses imported from Can-
ton and put up by Chinese carpenters. In Happy
valley, W. D. M. Howard put up a number of cot-
tages that he had made in Boston, in one of which
he lived.
Though houses sprang up by hundreds over night,
they could not begin to hold the thousands who came
in 1849. The miner returning in the winter could
scarcely recognize his surroundings. He left a town
596 The Beginnings of San Francisco
of tents and shanties containing five or six thousand
inhabitants. He found a city of houses extending
along the shore from Clark's Point to the Rincon,
reaching out a long arm through the "puertezuela"
towards the Golden Gate, and stretching to the top-
most heights back of the town; while lofty hotels
with verandas and balconies furnished luxurious
quarters, and presented bills of fare set out with the
choicest of dainties. True, the streets left some-
thing to be desired — particularly after the rains
came — and the city was infested with the plague of
rats. These pests swarmed everywhere — into bed-
chambers, ovens, kneeding troughs, and one could
hardly walk the street at night without being brought
into contact with them.* They could be seen swim-
ming in the bay, visiting ship after ship. There
were black rats, brown rats, gray rats, of monstrous
size, fierce, voracious, and destructive.
The rainy season of 1849-50 was long and severe.
The early coming of the rains brought distress to
the belated immigrants in the sierra, and to the
people of San Francisco exceeding discomfort. With
the shedding torrents from the clouds the streets,
uneven and irregular, became, by the continual
passage of men and of horses and drays, so cut up
as to be almost or quite impassable. So deep was
the mud that horse and wagon were sometimes
literally swallowed up in it, while the owner narrowly
*A well house bore the sign "Shut the door and keep out the rats — the
nasty things."
SAN FRANCISCO IN 1849
Montgomery street looking north from California street.
Beginnings of San Francisco
hanties containing five or six thousand
He found a city of houses extending
from Clark's Point to the Rincon,
it a long arm through the " puertezuela "
ds the Golden G nd stretching to the top-
back of the town; while lofty hotels
randas and balconies furnished luxurious
and presented bills of fare set out with the
of daintie True, the streets left some-
to be desired — particularly after the rains
came — and the city was ini with the plague of
rat Tl irmed e here — into bed-
mbers, ovens, k ng troughs, and one could
treet at night without being brought
o*8th*SFi©cfeio&Ajn "/A8 Id be seen swim-
ifisiA Bimo^ilsO xnoi* dJion griiiiool issin Y"mo§inoM There
) rats monstrous
size, fiert us, and des r
The rainy season of 1849-50 was long and severe.
The early coming of the r brought distress to
the belated immigrants in the sierra, and to the
pe an Francisco exceeding discomfort. With
torrents from the clouds the streets,
um d irr< became, by the continual
and drays, so cut up
nte impassable. So deep was
and wagon were sometimes
in it, while the owner narrowly
Shut the door and keep out the rats — the
ll lr
4
«C"J
Impassable Streets 597
escaped a similar fate. Upham says: "It was no
uncommon occurrence to see at the same time a
mule stalled in the mud of the street with only his
head above the mud, and an unfortunate pedestrian,
who had slipped off the plank side walk, being fished
out by a companion."* It is said that even human
bodies have been found engulfed in the mire of
Montgomery street. The authorities caused a num-
ber of loads of brush wood and limbs of trees to be
thrown into the streets. General Sherman says:
"I have seen mules stumble in the streets and drown
in the liquid mud. Montgomery street had been
filled up with brush and clay, and I always dreaded
to ride on horseback along it because the mud was
so deep that a horse's legs would become entangled
in the brush below and the rider was likely to be
thrown and drowned in the mud."f Nobody
troubled to remove rubbish, but inmates of tents and
houses would put a few planks or boxes of tobacco
or other goods along the worst parts of the roads to
enable them to reach their own dwellings. The
inflow of shipments was such that many cargoes
contained goods in excess of the demand, and entire
* Upham (S. C): Notes of a Voyage to California, p. 268.
Caleb T. Fay in his Statement of Historical Facts, p. 3, says "I have seen a
mule in the rainy season go out of sight in the mud, at the corner of Mont-
gomery and Clay streets, with the exception of his head."
t Sherman: Memoirs, p. 67. Some good Samaritan gave warning to the
unwary by erecting a sign on the corner of Clay and Kearny streets, bearing
the legend:
"This street is impassable
Not even jackassable. "
598 The Beginnings of San Francisco
lines of sidewalk were constructed of expensive
merchandise whose storage would cost more than
its actual or prospective value, while tons of wire
sieves, iron, rolls of sheet lead, cement, and barrels
of beef were sunk in the mud. Tobacco in boxes
was found to be excellent foundation material for
small buildings. The narrowness of the pathways
made progress dangerous. Lanterns were indis-
pensable at night, and even in daylight not unfre-
quently a pedestrian would lose his balance and find
himself floundering in the mud. These were the
conditions under which the mixed population of
San Francisco conducted business in the winter of
1849-50. Before the following winter, which was
exceedingly dry, the streets in the central parts of
town were graded and planked, and Montgomery,
Kearny, and Dupont streets, were sewered from
Broadway to Sacramento street. The plaza, or
Portsmouth square, as it was now called, around
which were the principal gambling houses, was for
many years neglected. Neither tree, shrub, nor
grass adorned it, but it contained a rude platform
for public speaking, a tall flag staff, and a cow pen
enclosed by rough board .
Bad as were the physical conditions in 1849, the
social conditions were even worse. The town was
full of gamblers, thieves, and cut-throats from every
quarter of the globe. Society there was none.
Every man was a law to himself and by midsummer
disorder reigned. An organization, formed from the
The Hounds 599
riffraff of the disbanded regiment of New York
volunteers, joined by Australian convicts and the
scum of the town, paraded the streets with drum
and fife and streaming banners, spreading terror
and dismay among the people. They called
themselves Hounds or Regulators, and under pre-
tense of watching over public security, intruded
themselves in every direction and committed all
sorts of outrageous acts. Relying on strength
of numbers and arms they levied forced contribu-
tions upon the merchants for the support of their
organization. Their meeting place was a tent, on
what is now the corner of Kearny and Commercial
streets, which they called "Tammany Hall." The
culmination of their reign was reached when, on the
night of July 15, 1849, they made an attack in force
upon the Chileno quarter at the foot of Telegraph
hill, robbing, beating, and seriously wounding the
inhabitants and destroying their tents and houses.
The people of the town, now seriously alarmed, as-
sembled on the plaza and under the leadership of
Brannan, Ward, Bluxome, and others, organized
for defence and public order. Four companies of
volunteers of one hundred men each were formed,
under command of McAllister, Ellis, Bluxome, and
Lippitt, with Captain Spofford as chief marshall.
Two hundred and thirty men were enrolled as special
police. Tammany Hall was invaded and the nest
broken up. The regulators scattered in all direc-
tions. Nineteen men were arrested, including the
600 The Beginnings of San Francisco
leader, Sam Roberts, an ex-member of company E,
New York volunteers. A grand jury was formed,
the prisoners were regularly indicted and were put
on trial at the public institute. William M. Gwin
and James C. Ward were appointed to "assist"
the alcalde.* Hall McAllister and Horace Hawes
volunteered to appear for the people, while P. Barry
and Myron Norton were appointed to act for the
accused. Nine were convicted, and though there
was some talk of hanging them it was finally deter-
mined to ship them out of the country, and they
were sent to Washington on one of the war ships.
Hall McAllister, who was active in the work, was
a native of Savannah, Georgia, born February 9,
1826; was a graduate of Yale college and a lawyer
of high standing. He came on the Panama, June
4, 1849, bringing letters of introduction to Charles
V. Gillespie. Governor Riley appointed McAllis-
ter second lieutenant of the California Guards,
September 8, 1849, and on the 25th of the same
month appointed him attorney for the district of
San Francisco at a salary of two thousand dollars
per annum. His father, Mathew Hall McAllister, was
the first judge of the United States Circuit court at
San Francisco. Hall McAllister's name, given to Mc-
Allister street, attests the regard in which the people
held this distinguished jurist. His statue in bronze
stands in front of the city hall, on McAllister street.
* Thaddeus M. Leavenworth. He was openly charged with being in sym-
pathy with the regulators and of using them to further his political aspirations.
The Legislative Assembly 6oi
For more than two years the Americans had been
in possession of San Francisco; the gold mines had
been discovered, the pueblo had grown to a city of
ten or fifteen thousand inhabitants, and yet it had no
municipal government but that of the alcaldes. No
modern city had a greater need of a strong and effi-
cient local government, based directly upon public
opinion, responsible to it, and controlled by it. A
meeting of citizens was held on the plaza, February
12, 1849, for the purpose of organizing such a form of
government. The people had previous notice of the
meeting, it was largely attended, and by some of the
most prominent of the citizens. Resolutions were
adopted calling for the election of a "Legislative
Assembly" consisting of fifteen members, whose
power, duty, and office was to make such laws as they
in their wisdom might deem essential to promote the
happiness of the people. The resolutions provided
for the election of three justices of the peace to
administer the law and hear and adjudicate all civil
and criminal issues in the district, according to the
common law of the United States.
On February 21st the election was held; three
justices and fifteen members of the district legisla-
ture were elected, and the assembly was organized
March 5th, with Francis J. Lippitt, speaker, and
J. Howard Ackerman, clerk. The assembly held
its sessions in the public institute and on March 10th
reported to General Persifer F. Smith, commanding
the Pacific division, its proceedings, asking his recog-
602 The Beginnings of San Francisco
nition of their body and concurrence and aid in the
execution of its laws. General Smith declined to
recognize the legislative assembly and pointed out
to the petitioners that the "legislative assembly"
was a body wholly unknown to the law. He sug-
gested to them that the best government, unless
well-founded and secure in a validity that could
carry it safely through judicial scrutiny, was only
weaving a thread of endless trouble and litigation
for its people. He also assured them that so far as
the alleged misconduct of officers of the existing
government was concerned, any charge preferred
would be thoroughly examined and that there was,
in the government, not only the disposition, but
the law and power to remove and punish any officer
proved to be guilty. This referred to charges made
against Alcalde Leavenworth of maladministration
and of favoring land speculators in the granting of
city lands.
The pacific letter of the general was not well
received, and the assembly proceeded to abolish
the office of alcalde and ordered Mr. Leavenworth
to turn over to the sheriff the books and records of
his office. Leavenworth appealed to General Smith
and was assured by that officer that he was still
alcalde and chief magistrate of the district of San
Francisco, notwithstanding any law, enactment, or
resolution of the district legislature to the contrary,
and advised him to retain possession of his office,
his books, and his papers. He also advised him that
Constitutional Convention Called 603
the commander of the department, Colonel Mason,
was civil governor of California and would apply
whatever correction the case demanded.
On April 13, 1849, Brigadier-general Bennet Riley
succeeded Mason as military commander and civil
governor. One of Riley's first acts was to send the
steam transport Edith to Mazatlan to ascertain
what action congress had taken in regard to a govern-
ment for California, and on her return with the
information that congress had adjourned without
providing a government for California, he issued a
proclamation, dated June 3, 1849, for the election
of the necessary executive and judicial officers under
the existing (Mexican) laws and at the same time
ordered the election of delegates to a general con-
vention to meet at Monterey, September 1st, to
form a state constitution or plan for territorial
government to submit to congress.
In the meantime charges against Alcalde Leaven-
worth were laid before the governor, who, on May
6th suspended him from office and appointed a com-
mission consisting of Talbot H. Green, James C.
Ward, and Henry A. Harrison to investigate. I have
seen no report of this commission, but on June 1st,
Governor Riley restored the alcalde to his office and
four days later Leavenworth resigned. On May
31st the sheriff* appointed by the legislative assembly,
accompanied by a body of armed men, violently
entered the alcalde's office and forcibly removed
from the alcalde's custody the public records. The
604 The Beginnings of San Francisco
report of this act and of certain ill-advised talk of
"independence" having reached the governor, he
issued a proclamation, dated June 4th, denouncing
the so-called legislative assembly as an unlawful
body which had usurped the powers of congress,
and called upon all good citizens to assist in restoring
the records to their lawful keeper, the alcalde, and
warned all persons against giving them countenance
either by paying them taxes or by supporting or
abetting their officers.
Riley was thoroughly acquainted with conditions
in San Francisco and was also aware that the men
constituting the legislative assembly were among
the best in California. Having administered his
rebuke, he proceeded on the following day, in a most
courteous letter addressed to these same persons and
others, to point out their remedy under the law by
the election of an ayuntamiento. He appointed
nine of them judges of election, and assured them of
his entire sympathy with their efforts for the security
of property and the rights of citizens. After some
talk and denunciation of military interference, the
good sense of the leaders prevailed and without
formal action the "Legislative Assembly of the Dis-
trict of San Francisco" passed into history.
In accordance with the proclamation of the
governor the civil organization of the territory was
completed by the election, on August 1st, of judges
of superior court, prefects, alcaldes, justices of the
peace, and town councils (ayuntamientos). The
The Ayuntamiento 605
higher offices were, under the law, to be filled by ex-
ecutive appointment; but the governor announced
that he would appoint to those offices the persons
receiving the plurality of votes in their respective
districts. The people of San Francisco elected
Horace Hawes, prefect; Joseph R. Curtis and Fran-
cisco Guerrero, sub-prefects; John W. Geary, first
alcalde; Frank Turk, second alcalde; twelve council-
men (ayuntamiento), with Frank Turk and Henry
L. Dodge, secretaries.
The prefect, Horace Hawes, was a native of New
York and first visited California in 1847, on his way
to Tahiti where he had been appointed United States
consul. He returned to California in 1849, and spent
the rest of his life in San Francisco. He was a lawyer
of great ability, a man of honor, but eccentric to a
degree and exceedingly unpopular. He became
involved in a controversy with the ayuntamiento, and
accused certain members of profiting by their knowl-
edge of contemplated improvements. The ayun-
tamiento retaliated by preferring counter-charges
and by inducing the governor (Burnett) to suspend
the prefect. From my knowledge of the men
involved I have little doubt that the prefect was in
the right. Hawes was a member of the assembly
for two terms and of the state senate in 1863-64.
He earned the gratitude of the people of San Fran-
cisco by his services in connection with the consoli-
dation act, of which he was the author, which put a
check upon the plunderers of the city. He died in
606 The Beginnings of San Francisco
i 87 i, at the age of fifty-eight, leaving a large estate,
the bulk of which was to be devoted to the establish-
ment of a university; but his heirs, who had been
comfortably provided for, contested the will and
succeeded in breaking it on the ground of the testa-
tor's insanity.
John W. Geary was born in Pennsylvania and
served during the Mexican war with the Second
Pennsylvania volunteers, rising to the rank of colonel.
He came on the first voyage of the Oregon April 1,
1849, bringing a commission as postmaster. He
served as postmaster a short time, and hearing that
Jacob B. Moore had been appointed to succeed him,
he turned the office over to W. P. Bryan, temporary
postmaster. Geary was the first mayor of San Fran-
cisco under the charter. In 1852 he returned to
Pennsylvania, served with distinction in the war of
secession, and became governor of his native state.
Geary street was named for him.
The ayuntamiento organized a complete municipal
service with surveyor, tax collector, treasurer, and
other officers. Malachi Fallon was appointed chief
of police and given a force of thirty men — later
increased to fifty. To facilitate the course of justice,
the governor appointed William B. Almond judge of
first instance, with civil jurisdiction; criminal cases
remaining with the first alcalde. Almond was a man
of coarse manners and had a habit of adjourning
court to go out for a drink. He had been a peanut
peddler and knew little about law. In hearing his
PRISON BRIG EUPHEMIA AND STORE SHIP APOLLO
Sacramento and Battery streets.
Note the buildings on piles.
From "Annals of San Francisco."
>f San Francisco
ight, leaving a large estate,
to be devoted to the establish-
but his heirs, who had been
Led for, contested the will and
d in breaking it on the ground of the testa-
John W. Geary was' born in Pennsylvania and
served during the Mexican war with the Second
Pennsylvania volunteers, rising to the rank of colonel.
He came on the first voyage of the Oregon April I,
1849, bringing a commission as postmaster. He
served as postmaster a short time, and hearing that
Jacob B. Moore ha- 1 appointed to succeed him,
ojjo<ia <iiHa 3.HOT3 <x/A aimmh<iij3 cms no3rfl<p°rary
.8j3^je y-^bS bn£ oinameioBa r of San Fran-
.a 3 iiqno, S nibIiud 3 d J3; ,oI4 fi retumed tQ
Pennsylvania, served with dis >n in the war of
secession, and became governor of his native state.
Geary street was named for him.
The ayuntamiento organized a complete municipal
service with surveyor, tax collector, treasurer, and
other of! Malachi Fallon was appointed chief
iven a force of thirty men — later
To facilitate the course of justice,
,ted William B. Almond judge of
civil jurisdiction; criminal cases
laining witl tirst alcalde. Almond was a man
and had a habit of adjourning
court to go ou a drink. He had been a peanut
and knew little about law. In hearing his
Prison Ship Euphemia 607
cases he would sometimes listen to one or two wit-
nessess on one side, and then cut short the attorneys
of the other side, saying he wanted to hear no more.
The town was but poorly provided with jail facili-
ties, and the ayuntamiento used the first money
coming into its hands in the purchase of a prison
ship. They bought the brig Euphemia on October
8, 1849, and anchored her off the Sacramento street
wharf, corner of Battery street. The brig was soon
overcrowded, and the prisoners were put to work on
the streets under charge of a chain-gang overseer.
As soon as the council was organized they applied
to the governor for a loan from the civil fund. Gov-
ernor Riley informed them that while he had no
authority to loan any of the public funds in his pos-
session, he would direct the treasurer to pay over to
the municipality ten thousand dollars to purchase or
erect a district jail and court house, provided that an
equal amount was raised and appropriated by the
city for that purpose. The council had plans for a
city hall, hospitals, wharves, and other public im-
provements, and to meet these costs arranged a sale
of water lots, now coming into eager demand. The
sale was held in January 1850, and yielded six hun-
dred and thirty-five thousand dollars. Three hun-
dred thousand of this was at once appropriated for
the extension of the California and Market street
wharves, and in place of building a city hospital the
council entered into the contract with Doctor Peter
Smith which resulted so disastrously for the city.
608 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Notwithstanding the large amount of coin brought
into the country by immigrants and the millions of
gold dust used as currency, the specie basis was very
small in comparison with the volume of business
transacted. In August 1848, Colonel Mason re-
ported to the commissary general that, owing to the
scarcity of specie, drafts on the subsistence depart-
ment could not be negotiated except at a ruinous
discount. The merchants of San Francisco asked
to be allowed to pay custom dues in gold dust, and
were informed bv Governor Mason that his instruc-
tions gave him no discretion, but required him to
collect duties "exclusively in gold and silver coin"
before the goods could leave the custody of the col-
lector. He was willing, however, to permit the goods
to go at once into the market and to wait three and
six months for the duties, provided, that gold dust
be deposited as security at a rate low enough to insure
its redemption at the expiration of the period. Like
all other commodities in California the price of gold
was subject to violent fluctuations. Its value was
not well understood, and so great was the quantity
produced it was feared its value would greatly de-
crease.* It sold at the mines during 1848-49, at
four to nine dollars an ounce. The gold Colonel
Mason sent to the war department with his report
of August 17, 1848, he paid ten dollars an ounce
* Horace Greeley estimated that a thousand millions would be added to the
world's supply within four years.
Brown: Early Days, Chap. iv.
Price of Gold Dust 609
for, and it was worth at the mint eighteen dollars.
The price of gold dust was, however, largely governed
by the needs of the owner and the supply of coin.
Brown says that at first the gamblers would not play
for it and the miners would come to him at the bar
of the City hotel for money to play. He bought
their dust at six to eight dollars, according to his
supply of coin. The Indians, who mined much of
the gold, would sell it weight for weight for any article
they wished to buy. They have been known to sell
an ounce of gold for fifty cents in silver coin, or for
a drink of whiskey. Sixteen dollars an ounce
ultimately became the ruling price at which the gold
dust was taken in trade and in a transaction of any
size a handful more or less did not count with the
easy-going miner.
The profits of the merchants were enormous,
particularly at the mining camps. At the close of
1848 the most extravagant prices prevailed at the
mines. Sales of flour are reported at eight hundred
dollars a barrel; pork, four hundred; a pair of
boots, a blanket, a gallon of whisky, and hundreds
of other things, one hundred dollars each; eggs,
three dollars each; drugs, one dollar a drop; pills,
one dollar each; doctor's visits, fifty to one hundred
dollars; all paid in gold dust at eight to ten dollars
an ounce. Some dealers kept special price lists and
special scales and weights for trading with the
Indians, considering it quite legitimate to rob them.
I do not think such practices were at all general,
610 The Beginnings of San Francisco
but there is no doubt that they were altogether too
prevalent, and it was no uncommon thing for a trader
to make a fortune in a single season.
The forced and ruinous sales of cargoes in the fall
of 1849, with the enormous cost of lighterage and
storage caused a rapid fall in prices.* The heavy
rains at the beginning of winter closed interior traffic
and increased the stagnation. Beef and pork which
had ranged from twenty to sixty dollars a barrel
fell to ten dollars; flour fell from sixty to ten dollars;
coffee from seventy-five cents a pound to nine;
molasses from four dollars a gallon to sixty-five
cents, and other importations in like ratio.
The losses of 1849 checked importations for a time
and prices grew steadier under reduced supplies.
Wages continued high. A common laborer received
a dollar an hour, or ten dollars a day; while the
pay of a carpenter was sixteen dollars a day. The
cost of living was frightful. A little house of four
rooms rented for four hundred dollars a month.
For offices, a cellar big enough to hold a desk and a
few chairs rented for two hundred and fifty dollars
a month. Stores rented from one to six thousand
dollars a month, while the gamblers paid ten thou-
sand dollars a month rent for a lower floor in the
Parker house, and for other rooms in that hotel they
paid from thirty-five hundred to six thousand dollars
a month. Everything was on a cash basis and all rents
* Storage: Three dollars a month per barrel; drayage, three to four
dollars a load. Doc. 17, pp. 31-2.
High Prices 6ii
were paid in advance. Rooms at the hotels could
be had from twenty-five to two hundred and fifty
dollars a week. A bunk in an enclosed porch of an
adobe house cost twenty-one dollars a week. The
price of board was thirty-five dollars a week. There
were several cheap Chinese restaurants where meals
could be had for one dollar, while at the higher class
restaurants a dinner a la carte cost anywhere from
three to ten or more dollars. Food was abundant;
the ranchos supplied unlimited quantities of good
beef, while all kinds of game and fish could be had
for the taking. Milk, butter, fruit, and vegetables
were more difficult to obtain. Milk cost one dollar
a quart, butter from one dollar and a half to two dol-
lars and a half a pound, according to its rank, and
vegetables about what the dealer chose to ask. Bay-
ard Taylor speaks of choice grizzly bear steaks at
the restaurant, very solid, sweet, and nutritious,
of a flavor preferable to that of the best pork.
With the general exodus to the mines in the sum-
mer of 1848, real estate in the town became almost
worthless, and many of the faint hearted saw the
finish of San Francisco and the rise of the rival city
of Benicia on the straits of Carquines; but the
beginning of the winter rains sent the inhabitants
back to town, and the place was filled to overflowing.
Building was resumed with feverish intensity, and
lots that could hardy be given away in the summer,
found ready purchasers at greatly advanced prices,
and some on favored corners sold as high as ten
612 The Beginnings of San Francisco
thousand dollars. In the spring of 1849, real estate
speculation again lagged with the departure of the
miners, but with their return in the fall, laden with
the gold of the placers, speculation went mad and
prices advanced to unprecedented figures. The
firm of Finley, Johnson & Company sold for three
hundred thousand dollars real estate that had cost
them the year before, twenty-three thousand. A
lot on the plaza, bought in the spring for six thousand
dollars, sold for forty-five thousand. Encouraged
by the demand for lots, Dr. John Townsend and
Cornelius de Boom laid out a suburban town in the
Potrero Nuevo, on the beautiful sloping banks of
Mission bay,* but owing to its distance from town
it was long before there was a demand for lots.
Many of the people who had to have houses and
could not pay from three to six hundred dollars a
thousand for lumber, went to the redwood forest of
San Antonio, got out the lumber, and built for them-
selves. This was the case with Brother Taylor
of the Methodist conference. Landing in San Fran-
cisco in September 1849, after a long trip around
Cape Horn, he could find no shelter for his wife,
weak from a recent confinement and the weary
* In 1847, Dr. John Townsend built his residence and physician's office on
his fifty vara lot on the south side of California street between Montgomery
and Sansome, where the Merchant's Exchange now stands. John Cornelius
de Boom, a native of Antwerp, came in 1849, from South America, with a
cargo of goods, landing February 18th. He bought from Townsend his Cali-
fornia street lot and became owner of a large amount of San Francisco property.
He established the house of De Boom, Grisar & Co. of Valparaiso and San
Francisco.
General Smith's Unfavorable Report 613
voyage, and for his children. From four to five
hundred dollars a month was asked for the smallest
house that would hold them. The small class he
got together had no money and could not help him.
He said he would take his axe and wedge, go to the
redwoods, get out the lumber, and build him a
house. The members of his flock tried to dissuade
him, but he saw no other way. He would go, he said,
to the redwoods, and would leave the outcome with
the Lord. The fact that the aforesaid redwoods,
belonged to the Peraltas seems to have troubled
nobody. Brother Taylor did go to the redwoods,
accompanied by a good brother who volunteered to
help him, and after some weeks of arduous and
unaccustomed labor, succeeded in getting his lum-
ber and building his house on a lot another good
brother helped him to buy.
General Smith, commanding the Pacific division,
established a military post at Benicia, garrisoned by
two companies of infantry, and made it the general
depot for military supplies. He did not approve
of San Francisco, and transferred all the military
stores thence to Benicia. He reported to the
adjutant-general that the harbor at Yerba Buena
was a very inconvenient one — the sea too rough
three days out of seven to load or unload vessels;
and that the town of San Francisco was situated at
the extremity of a long point cut off from the interior
by an arm of the bay more than thirty miles long,
having no good water and few supplies of food; with
614 The Beginnings of San Francisco
the only road by which it could be reached inter-
sected by streams that rendered it at that time (in
March) nearly impassable. The town of San Fran-
cisco, he says, " is no way fitted for military or com-
mercial purposes; there is no harbor, a bad landing
place, bad water, no supplies of provisions, an
inclement climate, and is cut off from the rest of the
country, except by a long circuit around the southern
extremity of the bay. " He hopes that in fixing the
port of entry, capital, or other public places, the law
will leave to the president the selection; "otherwise,
private interest, already involved in speculation here,
will, by misrepresentation, lead to a very bad choice."
Early in April he made an exploring trip around the
northern branch of the bay, selecting a site on Car-
quines straits for a military depot where, on an inclined
plane, the town of Benicia was laid out; "a very
favorable site for a town larger than is likely to exist
anywhere here for a century to come. ' : His own head-
quarters, he writes in June, he is about to remove to
Sonoma, whence his dispatch of August 26th is dated.
As if to convict General Smith of prejudgment,
San Francisco continued to grow vigorously, and its
increasing prosperity was apparent not only in its
business houses, hotels, etc., but also in the appear-
ance of the people. The slouched hat gave way to
the black beaver; the flannel shirt, to white linen;
and dress and frock coats were taken from trunks
and sea chests. The sombrero, a very convenient
and becoming head-piece, was much affected by the
Dress of Californians 615
younger men. The men of the earlier immigration
long clung to the California costume: blue jacket
or roundabout, black trousers, and soft hat. In
summer the dress was white. The men of the inter-
regnum — of the conquest — adopted the California
dress and continued it well into 1850; but the fashion
among the argonauts finally prevailed. The gam-
blers affected the Mexican style of dress, in part,
with white shirt, diamond studs; sombrero, with
perhaps a feather or squirrel's tail under the band,
top-boots, and scarlet sash around the waist. Wash-
ing was very expensive, the usual charge being eight
dollars a dozen. Linen was sent to Honolulu and
even to Canton to be laundered. The favorite spot
for laundry work was a little pond in the Western
addition, separated from the waters of the bay by a
low range of sand dunes, called by the Spaniards,
Laguna Pequena, and by the Americans, Washer-
women's lagoon. The site of this pond includes the
blocks between Franklin, Octavia, Filbert, and
Lombard streets, but it has long been filled up and
built upon. In 1849 it was a place for excursions
and picnics. Here the washermen and gardeners
established themselves and plied their respective
occupations. The land adjoining the pond was a
rich, black loam and well repaid cultivation. The
washerwomen, of whom there were a few, principally
Mexicans and Indians, ranged themselves on one
side and the washermen on the other. The men went
into the business on a large scale, having their tents
616 The Beginnings of San Francisco
for ironing, their large kettles for boiling the clothes
and their fluted washboards along the edge of the
water. When one of these great, burly, long-bearded
fellows got a shirt on the board the suds flew — and
the buttons also. Nearer town, in the North Beach
section, where two springs fed a little brook, on the
corner of Mason and Francisco streets, Honest Harry
Meiggs, later alderman, absconder, and railroad
builder, erected a saw mill and had his lumber yard.
His wharf was afterwards extended into the bay.
The road to the presidio led from Dupont street,
through the "puertezuela," the little pass between
the hills at Pacific and Jones streets, and past the
Laguna Pequefia. This was also an excursion for
those who wished to get away for a moment from the
strenuous life of the sordid town. Past the long
adobe barracks and cottages of the presidio the rider
takes his way to the old Spanish fort upon the cliff
that overhangs the foamy beach. The gray crum-
bling walls and mouldering ramparts that once
echoed to the tread of "the swart commander in
his leathern jerkin"; the decaying gun carriage with
wheel half buried in the weeds and grass; the
weather-worn embrasures that once framed the face
of seaward-gazing sentry, now but the basking-place
where seabirds rest and blink in the sunlight, all
charm to rest, to forgetfulness of the present in the
dream of the past.
" the dying glow of Spanish glory
The sunset dream and last!"
The Road to the Mission 617
From Dupont street (Calle de la Fundacion)
another road led southward to the mission. This
wound in and around the sand-hills reaching the line
of Mission street, thence to the Mission Dolores.
Another road or path to the mission was along
Kearny, up Bush street to the hill, down Stockton
street, where on the corner of Sutter, the rider (of
1 851) came suddenly upon a most beautiful dwelling
with porch, veranda, door-yard, and flowers, lying
in the warm sunlight "like a sweet bit of our old
home spirited across the continent by fairy's wand."
This house was made in Boston for Judge Burritt
and shipped to San Francisco. It occupied the fifty
vara lot on the northwest corner of Sutter and Stock-
ton streets.* Dr. A. J. Bowie lived here many years.
It was afterwards added to and used as a beer garden,
where light opera was given in the evening, and was
known as the Vienna Gardens.
Down Stockton street the rider passed, skirting
the high sand-hill that filled Union square, through
Saint Ann's valley to Yerba Buena cemetery, to
the Hayes residence, where amid trees and flowers
Colonel Thomas Hayes kept open house for his
friends and dispensed generous hospitality. His
residence occupied the block between Van Ness,
Franklin, Grove, and Hayes streets, and that of
his friend and neighbor, James Van Ness, the block
between Van Ness, Franklin, Hayes, and Fell — the
present public library lot. From here it was little
* Barry and Patten: Men and Memories of San Francisco.
618 The Beginnings of San Francisco
over a mile to the mission. In the winter of 1850-51,
a plank road was built from California south on
Kearny to Third, thence to Mission street, and to
the Mission Dolores. This road was owned by a
stock company, cost ninety-six thousand dollars
and paid in dividends nearly eight per cent, a month
on the investment. The charge was twenty-five
cents for a caballero, seventy-five cents for a wagon
and two horses, and one dollar for a four-horse team.
The toll house was first on Kearny street, then on
Third at the intersection of Stevenson, then at Fourth
and Mission, and finally, further out. At Sixth
street the road came to a marsh which was crossed
by a bridge reaching from Sixth to Eighth streets.
Just before coming to the bridge a road led to the
cemetery and to the residence of C. V. Gillespie,
nearly opposite the cemetery gate. In the block
between Eleventh and Twelfth streets, on the north-
westerly side of the road was the Grizzly road-side
inn, where a chained bear was kept for the enter-
tainment of callers. A little further on a brook
crossed the road where some years later Robert B.
Woodward established that most delightful place
for the children of San Francisco, Woodward's Gar-
dens. Woodward began his ministrations to the
public on Pike street now Waverly Place, a short
street running from Washington to Sacramento
streets a little above Dupont, where he kept a coffee
house. Later he made a fortune in the famous
What Cheer house. At the mission was the Mansion
Society Cast into New Forms 619
house, where Bob Ridley and Charles V. Stuart
entertained all comers. Here, in their adobe houses,
lived the Guerrero, De Haro, Valencia, Bernal,
Alviso, Sanchez, Galindo, and other well-known
families whose names are perpetuated in our streets
and hills.
In 1849 San Francisco was a city of men. Every
man was his own housekeeper, doing, in many
instances, his own cooking, washing, and mending.
The men considered that they would be in California
so short a time that it was not worth while to bring
the families; besides, there was no place for them.
This resulted in the dissolution of old conventionali-
ties and the casting of society into new forms. Men
were like children escaped from school. The new
environment did not encourage moderation. A
great increase of activity came upon the people,
accompanied by a reckless and daring spirit. Men
noted for prudence and caution took sudden leave
of those qualities, and plunged into speculation so
daring that newly arrived persons predicted a speedy
and ruinous crash of the whole business fabric of
San Francisco. The latent stiength hitherto con-
fined by lack of opportunity and conventional rules
was brought into action, and leadership fell to those
most fitted. Practical equality ruled among the
members of the community and no honest occupa-
tion, however menial in its character, affected a
man's standing. Sailors, cooks, or day laborers,
frequently became heads of profitable establishments,
620 The Beginnings of San Francisco
while doctors, lawyers, and other professional men,
worked for wages, even as waiters and shoeblacks.
Said Broderick: "I represent a state, sir, where
labor is honorable; where the judge has left his bench
the lawyer and doctor their offices, and the clergy-
man 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."*
The exuberance of the Americans manifested itself
in dangerous excesses, chief among which were
drinking and gambling. The practice of drinking
was widely prevalent, and perhaps no city in the
world contained more drinking houses in proportion
to population than San Francisco. Various explana-
tions have been given for this wide-spread indul-
gence, such as lack of homes and higher recreations,
influence of climate, and so on. I think the practice
was largely due to the excitement and strain which
men were under, combined with freedom from re-
straint, lavishness, and an exaggerated spirit of good-
fellowship. They were not, as a rule, solitary drink-
ers. Gambling grew and flourished, in spite of a
* Speech of David C. Broderick in the United States Senate on the admission
of Kansas.
Recklessness of Californians 621
strong and universal public sentiment against it.
It was a part of the wildness in the blood — the crav-
ing for fresh excitement. The most reckless players
were the richly-laden miners, and from them the
professional gamblers reaped a harvest. In many
instances the gamblers themselves were men who
had led orderly and respectable lives at home. On
arriving at San Francisco in September 1849, Brother
Taylor asked a person who came on board the ship
if there were any ministers of the gospel in San
Francisco. "Yes," he said, "we have one preacher,
but preaching won't pay here, so he quit preaching
and went to gambling." The reply Mr. Taylor
received well illustrates the reckless manner in
which statements were made; statements as false
and misleading as they were reckless. There were at
that time, as we have seen, four places in the city
where the gospel was regularly preached by ordained
ministers. The wickedness of San Francisco has
been well advertised and is, to this day, a favorite
theme for discussion bv those who can see onlv
the surface of things and who accept, without investi-
gation, the statements of those who prate of a
"pleasure loving people" and of the "Paris of
America."
The other diversions offered the people were about
on a par with the drinking saloon and gaming table;
but with the growth of home influence men began to
long for better things. They began to be interested
in the development of the great resources of the
622 The Beginnings of San Francisco
country. Men sent for their families, and young
men began to look for wives. As soon as they made
up their minds to settle permanently in the country,
their conduct underwent a great change for the
better. They were interested in the establishment
of schools and churches, a better observation of the
Sabbath, and whatever they thought would improve
social conditions. In spite of dissipating and dis-
organizing influences, the main stock of society was
strong, vigorous, and progressive; and with the same
energy with which they had plunged into earlier
excesses, the Americans now set about the establish-
ment of order, guided by an enlightened experience
and the instinct of right. In a community which
contained contributions from all the nationalities
of Europe, Asia, America, and the islands of the sea,
the men of the United States dominated by numbers,
by right of conquest, by energy, shrewdness, and
adaptability. From the worst elements of anarchy
was evolved social order. With a freshly-awakened
pride of country, which made every citizen jealously
and disinterestedly anxious that California should
acquit herself honorably in the eyes of the nation
at large, the prejudices of sect and party were dis-
claimed, and all united in the serious work of forming
the commonwealth.
The city has had her full share of trials and tribu-
lations. Abused and degraded by pretended friends,
betrayed into the hands of plunderers by her guard-
ians, her people have twice risen and taken back into
The End of the Ayuntamiento 623
their hands the delegated powers of government;
then when their work was done they have returned to
their usual vocations, peaceful citizens and obedient
subjects of the law.
On the 15th of April 1850, the legislature granted
a city charter to San Francisco, assigning as bound-
aries: On the south, a line parallel to Clay street,
two miles south from Portsmouth square; on the
west, a line parallel to Kearny street, one and a half
miles from the square; on the north and east, the
county limits. The government was vested in a
mayor and common council; and with the election
of the new city officials, on May 1, 1850, the ayun-
tamiento passed out forever.
NOTES
Note 33
THE DONNER PARTY
In the spring of 1846 some two thousand emigrants
were gathered at Independence, Missouri, waiting for
the grass of the plains to attain sufficient growth for
feed for their cattle before commencing the long journey
to the Pacific coast. Some of these were bound for
Oregon and the rest for California. Among the latter
a large company under command of Lilburn W. Boggs,
ex-governor of Missouri, started about the beginning
of May. The party was found to be too large for con-
venience in handling and three days after the start it
was cut in two, Boggs taking charge of the advance,
the second division being placed under command of
Judge Moran of Missouri. Each of these two large
companies was subsequently divided into smaller ones
having various commanders who were changed from
time to time as the emigrants proceeded on their journey,
while the families changed from one company to another
and new combinations were constantly being formed.
In one of these companies, commanded by William
H. Russell of Kentucky, was the party known as the
Donner, or the Reed and Donner party. It consisted
of the brothers George and Jacob Donner, and their
families, James F. Reed and family, Baylis Williams and
his half sister, Eliza Williams, John Denton, Milton
Elliott, James Smith, Walter Herron, and Noah James,
all from Springfield, Illinois, William H. Eddy and family,
from Bellefield, Illinois, Patrick Breen and family and Pat-
rick Dolan, from Keokuk, Iowa, Mrs. Murphy, widow, and
children, from Tennessee, her sons in-law, William H. Pike
and William M. Foster, with their families, William Mc-
627
628 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Cutchen and family, from Jackson county, Missouri,
Lewis Keseburg and family, Mr. and Mrs. Wolfinger,
Joseph Rhinehart, Augustus Spitzer, and Charles Burger,
natives of Germany, Samuel Shoemaker, of Springfield,
Ohio, Charles T. Stanton, of Chicago, Luke Halloran,
of St. Joseph, Missouri, Mr. Hardcoop, a Belgian, Antonio
and Juan Bautista, Spaniards, from New Mexico. West
of Fort Bridger the party was joined by Franklin W.
Graves and family, his son-in-law, Jay Fosdick and wife,
and John Snyder, all from Marshall county, Illinois,
eighty-eight souls, all told.
It was a well equipped party, and George Donner,
a man of some wealth, was carrying a stock of merchan-
dise for sale in California. He had several milch cows
and the family was plentifully supplied with milk and
butter. For a time all was well and the company thor-
oughly enjoyed the novelty of their situation. The
weather was delightful, and the country between the
Blue and Platte rivers, a beautiful rolling prairie, was
covered with grass and wild flowers. Game abounded
and the men would ride twenty miles from the train
on their hunting excursions. The Indians were friendly
and the cattle grazed quietly around the camp unmolested.
Several musical instruments and many excellent voices
were in the party and all was good-fellowship and joyous
anticipation. The first death occurred just before the
crossing of the Big Blue river. Mrs. Sarah Keyes, the
aged mother of Mrs. James F. Reed, had been in feeble
health and was unable to endure the fatigues of such a
journey, but having no one to leave her with they had
been obliged to bring her. She was buried on the bank
of the Big Blue, and the emigrants moved on. The
route was the usual one: up the north fork of the Platte,
up the Sweetwater, through the South pass, down the
Big Sandy and the valley of Green river. At Fort
Notes 629
Bridger, then a new trading post on Black's fork of Green
river, a consultation was held regarding the next stage
of the journey. Bridger and Vasquez, the owners of the
fort, were old trappers of the American Fur company.
They had been in the region many years and had estab-
lished this fort which they expected to make a great
trading post, and they hoped to induce the government
to make it the principal military post of the intermountain
region. They had also traced out a road from Fort
Laramie to Fort Bridger which they claimed was easier,
had more grass and water, and was much shorter than
the road through the Black hills and South pass. It
followed up the Laramie river, came through Bridger
pass and down Bitter creek to the Green. This route,
surveyed by Captain Stansbury, U. S. topographical
engineers, in 1850, was that followed later by the Union
Pacific railroad from the Laramie to the Green river.
At Fort Bridger the emigrants met a man whose advice,
taken by them, was to cause their ruin. Lansford W.
Hastings had commanded a party of emigrants across
the plains to Oregon in 1842. The excessive rains of
that country through the winter had produced dissatis-
faction in the party and they determined to seek the
sunnier skies of California. This they did the following
year and reached Sutter's fort about the middle of July
1843. Bidwell says that Hastings came with a half-
formed purpose of exciting a revolution, of wresting
California from Mexico, and of establishing an inde-
pendent republic with himself as president.* The for-
eigners in the country were however too few for a success-
ful revolt and Hastings devoted himself to the work
of promoting emigration to California. He returned
to the United States and published an emigrants' guide
* Bidwell: California in 1841-8 MS. Bancroft Collection.
630 The Beginnings of San Francisco
to Oregon and California, wherein he gives a most glowing
account of California, whose people were "scarcely a
visible grade in the scale of intelligence above the bar-
barous tribes by whom they are surrounded," but who,
nevertheless, treated foreigners with kindness and freely
granted them lands.* He also, it is said, supplemented
his publication by lectures. In 1845 he brought a small
party through to California and then turned himself
to diverting the Oregon emigration to California. It
was on this business that he now presented himself to
our party of emigrants at Fort Bridger. Many of them
knew who he was and some had seen his book. The most
of the people were bound for Oregon, but Donner, Harlan,
Boggs, and some other parties were going to California.
Hastings assembled the emigrants and told them of a
new route he had discovered around the south end of
Salt Lake and striking the Humboldt river one hundred
and fifty miles above the sink. He told them that they
would, by taking this route, save two hundred miles
of travel over the old road by Fort Hall. Bridger and
Vasquez added their testimony in favor of the new route
and all three, for their own interests, exaggerated its
advantages and underrated its difficulties. The delib-
erations lasted three or four days and the historian of
the Donner party states that but for the earnest advice
and solicitation of Bridger and Vasquez the entire party
would have continued by the accustomed route. After
mature deliberation, the emigrants divided; the greater
portion, going by Fort Hall, reached California in safety.
The Donner party, which had a few days before elected
George Donner captain, decided to take the Hastings'
cut-ofF, as did the Harlan party, whose chief was Geofge
Harlan. These two parties left Fort Bridger on July
Hastings: Emigrants' Guide, pages 64-133.
Notes 631
28th, and for several days traveled in company. The
route was fairly good and they had little difficulty until
they reached Weber canon, where the road seemed im-
passable for the wagons. They halted and held a council.
Harlan and some of his party maintained that the road
could be made passable and that they could get through.
Reed and Donner refused to go on and with their party
turned back. The Harlan party spent six days in
building a road through the canon and on the seventh
passed over it and reached Salt Lake. They crossed the
desert, losing by death one of their members, and after
a hard struggle and a loss of many cattle, reached the
Humboldt near the vicinity of the present Palisade, where
they ascertained that the Boggs' party, which had gone
by Fort Hall, was seventy-five miles ahead of them.
Pushing on with all possible speed they crossed the
mountains and reached Johnson's rancho, the first
habitation west of the sierra, on the twenty-fourth of
October. They were the last party to cross the moun-
tains.
After leaving Harlan the Donner party traveled back
for two days and then struck across the Wasatch range
to the south and followed down the canon of a small
stream towards Salt Lake. Some three weeks were
spent in making roads and mending wagons, only to
find the mouth of the canon so narrow and so filled with
huge rocks as to be impassable. With great exertion
they succeeded in getting out of the canon and reached
Salt Lake about September 1st — some thirty-four days
from Fort Bridger, a journey they were told would be
made in six. It appears that Edwin Bryant, afterwards
alcalde of San Francisco, had passed through the Hastings'
cut-off ahead of the Harlan party. Bryant was traveling
with a small party with pack-mules, and was guided by
James M. Hudspeth, an associate of Hastings. He left
632 The Beginnings of San Francisco
letters for emigrants in the rear warning those with
wagons not to take the cut-off but keep to the old trail
by Fort Hall;* letters that were not delivered.
Encamped at the southern end of the lake, death
claimed on September 3d, another member of the Donner
party. Luke Halloran was a consumptive, without
friends or kinsman, who had joined the train hoping
to find health in the change of climate. He succumbed
to the hardships of the journey and was buried in a bed
of salt at the foot of the lake. From September 9th to
the 15th the party were crossing the Salt Lake desert,
which Bridger and Vasquez had assured them was but
fifty miles across, but which they found to be seventy-five.
Reed's oxen, driven by thirst, disappeared in the desert
leaving him helpless with three wagons and a family
of six, the rest of the party having passed on. With
his youngest child in his arms and followed by the
others, Reed walked twenty miles to the camp on the
head waters of a stream flowing into the Humboldt.
Several days were passed here while an unsuccessful
search was made for the lost cattle. Reed's only re-
maining cattle were one ox and one cow. Graves and
Breen each loaned him an ox, and by yoking his cow and
ox, together he had two yokes which he hitched to one
wagon, and loading on that all he could, he abandoned
the other two and cached such of his property as could
not be carried.
Before leaving the desert camp a careful account of
provisions was taken, and deeming the amount insufficient
Stanton and McCutchen volunteered to go forward to
California and bring back a supply. Their services were
accepted and they started, each with a horse, about
September 20th. All were put on short rations and
* Bryant: What I Sam in California, p. 144.
Notes 633
resuming the march they reached the emigrant road on
the Humboldt river about the end of September, long
after the last parties had passed. They now began to
realize their danger. A storm came on and in the morn-
ing the mountain tops were covered with snow. It was
a dreadful reminder of the lateness of the season and
of the horrors they feared must await them. The com-
pany now fairly demoralized, pushed on as rapidly as
possible, each family looking out for itself. All organi-
zation seems to have come to an end. The Indians,
ever hostile, hovered about the train and stole the cattle
at every opportunity. The poor animals were in a
pitiable condition. The grass was scanty and of a poor
quality, and the water was bad, causing much loss among
them. At every slight ascent the teams would have
to double up and it required five or six yokes of oxen
to move one wagon. The days of feasting and merry-
making, of song and story around the evening camp fire,
had long departed; they could not survive the deadly
monotony of the journey. The people became irritable
and quarrelsome under the never ceasing toil, the constant
sense of danger, the scanty food, and the difficulties of
their position. The differences that had existed among
them from the beginning were greatly increased and
they regarded each other with feelings of suspicion and
dislike, that only needed opportunity to break forth in
acts of hostility. At Gravelly Ford, on October 5th, in
a quarrel between Snyder and Reed, the latter was
savagely beaten by Snyder. Mrs. Reed rushed between
the furious men and received a blow on the head from
the butt end of Snyder's heavy whip stock. In an instant
Reed's hunting knife was out and Snyder fell, mortally
wounded, and died in fifteen minutes. Consternation
siezed the emigrants. Camp was immediately pitched
and after burying the dead man a council was held to
634 The Beginnings of San Francisco
determine the fate of the slayer. All the animosity of
the company now centered on Reed. It was first pro-
posed to hang him, and one man fastened up his wagon
pole for that purpose; but it was finally decided to banish
him to the wilderness, alone, with neither food nor arms.
Reed accepted the verdict and mounting his horse rode
out into the desert. His little daughter Virginia followed
him after dark, and carried him his rifle, some ammunition
and food. George and Jacob Donner with their wagons
and families were two days in advance of the main train.
Walter Herron was with them, and when Reed came up,
Herron determined to accompany him to California.
The two set out together and of Herron we hear nothing
further.
On the 1 2th of October the train reached the sink of
the Humboldt, and the cattle, closely guarded, were
turned out to graze. At daybreak the guard came into
camp to breakfast, leaving the cattle unguarded, and
during their absence twenty-one head were stolen by
the Indians. This left the company in a bad plight.
Several families had neither oxen nor horses left. All
who could must walk. Men, women, and children were
forced to travel on foot and, in many cases, carry heavy
burdens to lighten the loads for the oxen. Eddy and his
wife each carried a child and such personal effects as they
were able. No one was allowed to ride but the little chil-
dren, the sick, and the utterly exhausted. Seven of
the women had nursing babies and all were on the smallest
allowance of food that would sustain life. In this
condition the company began the desert lying between
the sink of the Humboldt and the lower crossing of the
Truckee river. The Belgian, Hardcoop, an old and
feeble man, fell; he could walk no further, and the train
passed on, leaving him to his fate. I suppose the old
man had no money to purchase the place of a bale of
Notes 635
goods on one of the wagons. On October 14th the
German, Wolfinger, failed to come into camp. He had
been walking in the rear with Keseberg. His wife induced
three young men to go back in the morning and look for
him. Keseberg had said that Wolfinger was but a short dis-
tance behind him and would soon be along. The searchers
failed to find him, but about five miles back came upon
his wagon, and near it, the oxen, still chained together.
There were no signs of Indians. The men hitched the
oxen to the wagon and drove them in. It was thought
that Keseberg murdered Wolfinger for his money, but
no inquiry was made concerning the missing man and the
wife supposed the Indians had killed him. McGlashan
says that Joseph Rhinehart, when dying of starvation
in George Donner's tent, confessed that he had some-
thing to do with the murder of Wolfinger.
On the nineteenth of October, at the lower crossing of
the Truckee (site of Wadsworth) the starving emigrants
met Stanton with relief. Captain Sutter, without com-
pensation or security, had sent them seven mules, five
of them loaded with flour and beef. McCutchen had
been ill and unable to return and Sutter had sent two
Indian vaqueros, Luis and Salvador, to assist Stanton with
the train and guide the emigrants over the mountains.
The relief was timely and had the party pushed res-
olutely forward there is little doubt that they could have
crossed the mountains; but with a lack of decision that
had characterized them from the start, they concluded
to rest three or four days at the Truckee meadows (Reno).
The delay was fatal. On the twenty-third, alarmed by
the threatening appearance of the weather, they hastily
resumed their journey. It was too late. At Prosser
creek they found six inches of snow and at the summit
the snow was from two to five feet deep. With an efficient
leader and a definite plan of action, the party might
636 The Beginnings of San Francisco
yet have succeeded in crossing the range. But there
was no leader, all was confusion and the panic stricken
emigrants, each for himself, made frantic efforts to break
through the snow barrier that imprisoned them. Some
families reached Truckee lake, as it was then called, on
October 28th; some on the 29th; some on the 31st, and
others never got beyond Prosser creek. Several wagons
passed up the old emigrant road on the south side of the
lake almost to the summit and were there abandoned.
Some took the north side of the lake and passed far up
towards the top of the pass, only to be left imbedded in
the snow. For two weeks the emigrants wasted their
strength in desultory efforts to escape, and then realizing
the hopelessness of such attempts, determined upon an
organized effort. Never before, from the formation of
the Donner party, had they ever agreed upon any im-
portant proposition. The terrible situation they were in
caused them to forget for a time their petty differences and
united them in one cause. They decided to kill all the
animals, preserve the meat, and on foot cross the summit.
That night a heavy snow fell and for a week the storm
continued with slight intermissions. Ten feet or more
of snow fell at the lake, and, for a time, all their energies
were required for the preservation of life. The mules
and oxen, their main reliance for food, blinded and
bewildered by the storm, strayed away and most of them
perished, being buried in the snow where only a few were
ever found. Those remaining were slaughtered and
the meat preserved in the snow. The emigrants now
realized that the winter must be spent in the mountains
and made such preparations as they could for shelter.
One cabin, built by an earlier party, was still standing
and others were hastily constructed. These were built
below the foot of the lake on what is now Donner creek.
Seven miles to the eastward, on Alder creek, a branch
Notes 637
of Prosser creek, the two Dormer families with several
of the unmarried men were encamped in tents and brush
wood huts over which were stretched rubber coats, quilts,
etc. Truckee lake and river are famous for the beautiful
trout with which they abound, but after two or three
unsuccessful attempts to catch them the effort was
abandoned and soon the lake was covered over with
thick ice. The entire party seemed dazed by the calamity
which had overtaken them.
Before leaving the Truckee meadows death had taken
another of the party. While engaged in loading a re-
volver, William Foster accidentally shot and killed
William Pike. This reduced the original company to
seventy-nine persons. In the party must now be counted
Luis and Salvador, the Indians sent by Sutter, making
eighty-one souls in the camps : namely, twenty-four men,
fifteen women, and forty-three children. Some of the
children may have been grown but as the chroniclers
do not give the ages, it is impossible to tell. Of the
company, the women were the bravest, the most resource-
ful, and most successfully endured the struggle with cold
and hunger, as will be seen later. The unmarried men,
fifteen in number, most of whom were young and vigorous,
gave way to despair, and after the first attempts to escape
made no further effort. The only exceptions were
Stanton, Denton, and Dolan, whose feeble exertions
were soon ended. Of the fifteen only two survived.
In all the company there was but one gun. It belonged
to Foster, and with it, Eddy shot a bear and two or three
ducks. After that no more game was seen.
On December 16th a party known as the " forlorn
hope" started on improvised snowshoes in an attempt to
cross the mountains. There was a possibility of their
getting through and their going would leave fewer hungry
mouths in camp. The party consisted of Eddy, Graves,
638 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Stanton, Dolan, Fosdick and wife, Foster and wife, Lemuel
Murphy (age 13), Mrs. Pike, Mary Graves, Mrs. Mo
Cutchen, Antonio, Luis, and Salvador: nine men, five
women, and a boy.
Taking rations for six days they started and on the
second day crossed the summit. On December 226. they
had consumed the last morsel of food. This day Stanton
gave out. He had been snow-blind for two days and was
two weak to keep up. It was he who had brought the
relief from Sutter's fort and had remained and cast his
lot with the party, when he might have escaped, having
no ties of kindred among them. They left him sitting
by the camp fire. It was I suppose the only thing they
could do. They could not help him and their own case
was desperate. On Christmas they reached the "camp
of death" where a snow storm confined them for a week.
Dolan, Graves, Antonio, and Lemuel Murphy died and
were eaten by their starving companions. By the
thirty-first, this food was gone and on New Year's day
they ate their moccasins and the strings of their snow-
shoes. The two Indians, Luis and Salvador, had refused
to eat of the dead bodies, and kept themselves apart
from the rest of the company, enduring the pangs of
hunger with Indian stoicism; but seeing ominous glances
cast in their direction they fled during the night of
December 31st. The party again pressed on. Fosdick
died on the fourth of January and was eaten. His wife
would not touch the food, but on this day, Eddy, who
had Foster's gun, shot a deer. This lasted until January
6th. There was no food on the seventh and on the eighth
Foster took the trail left by the bare and bleeding feet
of the Indians, overtook them, shot both, and again
the party, now reduced to two men and five women,
was supplied with food. On the eleventh they passed
out of the snow and came upon an Indian rancheria.
Notes 639
Amazed to see such tattered, disheveled, skeleton creatures
emerge from the sierra, the Indians ran off in fright,
but soon returned to furnish such relief as they could
and supplied them with acorn bread, all the food they had.
After a brief rest the march was resumed and accompanied
by the Indians the refugees traveled for seven days,
being compelled to rest frequently. At last they could
go no further and here, in the full view of the beautiful
valley of the Sacramento, laid themselves down to die.
The Indians, however, took Eddy, and partly leading,
partly carrying him, brought him to Johnson's rancho.
Four men started at once with provisions and guided
by the Indians, found Eddy's companions fifteen miles
back and brought them in the next day. It was January
17th; they had been thirty-two days coming from Donner
lake, and of the fifteen that started, eight had perished.
At Johnson's rancho there were only three or four
families of poor immigrants, but a volunteer set off at
once for Sutter's fort, forty miles below, for aid for the
snow-bound people in the mountains. Captain Sutter
and John Sinclair, alcalde of the district and manager
of Rancho Del Paso, offered to furnish provisions, and
men volunteered to carry them over the mountains.
There was considerable delay in organizing the relief
and securing saddle and pack animals, the country having
been pretty well cleared of men and animals by the
formation and equipment of the California battalion;
but on February 5th, the first relief, a well appointed
party of fifteen, under command of Reasin P. Tucker,
started for the rescue of the beleagured immigrants.
The ground was very wet and their progress was slow,
while heavy rains on the sixth and seventh kept them three
days in camp. On the tenth they reached Mule springs
on the Bear river, opposite the site of the present Dutch
Flat, having traveled the last four miles in snow, which,
640 The Beginnings of San Francisco
at the camp, was between three and four feet deep.
The animals could go no further and sending them back
under charge of William H. Eddy, who was one of the
volunteers, ten men, carrying from twenty-five to fifty
pounds of provisions, pushed forward on foot leaving two
men to guard the provisions left. On the twelfth they
halted to make snowshoes but could not use them and
went on without. The next day they reached Bear
valley which was covered with ten feet of snow. They
examined a cache made by Reed and McCutchen and
found that the provisions had been destroyed by bears.
Here it rained or snowed all night. The next morning,
February 15th, three of the men refused to go further
and started for home. This left but seven of the original
thirteen and it looked discouraging. They held a con-
sultation and determined to go forward. Captain Tucker
guaranteed to each man who persevered to the end, five
dollars per day from the time they entered the snow.
That day they made fifteen miles and the next day five
miles through a heavy snow storm, and camped in snow
fifteen feet deep. Five miles were made the following
day, eight the day after, and they camped in Summit
valley. The next day, February 19th, they crossed the
summit, with thirty feet of snow on the pass, and reached
the camp at the foot of the lake on the evening of that
day.
We have seen the safe arrival of the Harlan party at
Johnson's rancho, October 24th. The day following,
in the midst of a heavy rain storm, a man was seen
riding slowly towards the camp. It was James F. Reed,
who after great suffering, having been reduced to the
verge of starvation, had reached California. The fate
of his companion, Herron, does not appear. After a rest,
Reed went to Sutter's fort where he met Bryant, Lippin-
cott, Grayson, and others of the Russell party. Here
Notes 641
steps were being taken to raise a company for the Cali-
fornia battalion, and immigrants were being enlisted as
they came in. Reed was made a lieutenant and leave
given him to return to the mountains for his family whom
he expected to meet at Bear valley, forty miles west of
the summit. Sutter furnished Reed with horses and
provisions and gave him an order on Theodore Cordua
of the Honcut rancho (near the present Marysville)
for more horses. At Sutter's fort Reed was joined by
McCutchen, who had recovered his health, and together
they set out from Johnson's rancho for the mountain
camps with thirty horses, one mule, and two Indian
vaqueros. At Bear valley they found a man named
Jotham Curtis who with his wife had come over the moun-
tains and both were in a starving condition. Reed
relieved their necessities and leaving provisions to last
until his return, continued on his way. The snow was
two feet deep in the upper part of the valley. That
night their Indians deserted them and the next day the
deepening snow rendered further travel with horses
impossible. After an ineffectual attempt to proceed
on foot they returned to Curtis' camp in Bear valley.
Securing their flour in the wagon of Curtis (the cache
looked for by Captain Tucker) they returned to Sutter's
fort, taking Curtis and his wife with them. Sutter
considered the number of cattle the emigrants were
supposed to have and stated that if they killed the cattle
and preserved the meat in the snow there need be no fear
of starvation before relief could reach them. He told
Reed that there were no able-bodied men in that region,
all having enlisted under Fremont, and advised him to
go to Yerba Buena and lay the case before the naval
commander. Proceeding by way of San Jose Reed found
the lower peninsula in possession of the Californians under
Sanchez, and joining the volunteers took part in the
642 The Beginnings of San Francisco
famous battle of Santa Clara as first lieutenant of the
San Jose company. On the happy conclusion of the
Santa Clara campaign Reed was relieved of further mili-
tary duty, having served a month and a half, and after
receiving the commendation of his commander for gallant
conduct on the plains of Santa Clara, continued his
journey to Yerba Buena, where he arrived in the latter
part of January; a somewhat leisurely proceeding,
considering the starving families. At Yerba Buena a
mass meeting was called and steps were being taken for the
relief of the party when the news was received of the arrival
at Johnson's rancho of the survivors of the forlorn hope.
It was now realized that immediate action was necessary
if any emigrants were to be saved. A relief party was
organized under command of Selim Woodworth, and
leaving them to follow by boat up the Sacramento,
Reed and McCutchen, with Brittan Greenwood, a half
breed mountaineer and guide, hurried on by way of Sonoma
to Sacramento, thence to Johnson's rancho. Johnson
drove up his cattle and said, "Take what you want."
They killed five head and with the aid of Johnson and
his Indians, had the meat fire-dried and ready for packing.
Other Indians were making flour by hand mills and by
morning had two hundred pounds ready. The war
had taken so many men that it was difficult to find any
willing to brave the dangers of the Sierra Nevada, and
well might they fear it, as we shall see. At Johnson's
Reed learned of the party commanded by Captain Tucker
which had passed in seventeen days before. Reed packed
his provisions and with seven volunteers — making with
himself, Greenwood, and McCutchen, ten in all — started
from Johnson's, February 22d, carrying seven hundred
pounds of flour and the dried beef of five head of cattle.
This was the "second relief."
Notes 643
It is now time to look after the emigrants in the moun-
tains. The snow-fall continued, alternating with rain
and hard frosts until the cabins were buried and steps
had to be cut in the snow to reach the surface, now some
twenty feet above the ground. Wood there was in
abundance but it was difficult for these weak hands to
cut down a tree, and sometimes when it fell it would
be so buried in snow that they could not get at it, and
many days they had no fire. By the sixth of January
their only food was the hides of such animals as they
had slaughtered.* They also gathered up the bones that
had been cast away and boiled or burnt them until they
crumbled, then ate them. Mrs. Murphy's little children
used to cut pieces from a rug in the cabin, toast them
crisp on the coals and eat them. Mrs. Reed and her
children had been without other food than hides since
Christmas. At Alder creek the families were even worse
off since they had only brush huts and tents. George
Donner had met with an accident which disabled him,
and of which, aggravated by want of nourishment, he
finally died. Jacob Donner, a man in feeble health,
never rallied from the shock of finding himself imprisoned
in the mountains. He gave up in despair and died early
in December. Williams died at the lake December
15th, and Shoemaker, Rhinehart, and Smith at Alder
creek before the twenty-first. Patrick Breen's diary
written from day to day, from November 20th to March
* The green hides were cut into strips and laid upon the coals or held in
the flames until the hair was completely singed off. Each side of the piece
of hide was then scraped with a knife until comparatively clean, and was
placed in a kettle and boiled until soft and pulpy. There was no salt and
only a little pepper for seasoning. When cold, the boiled hides and the water
in which they were cooked, became jellied and resembled glue. The stomachs
of the little children and of some of the grown people revolted at this loathsome
food.
644 The Beginnings of San Francisco
1st, is the principal source of information. He frequently
comments on the scarcity of wood as well as food. "Hard
work to get wood"; "Don't have enough fire to cook our
hides"; "No wood," are some of his many entries.
Burger, young Keseburg, John L. Murphy, Eddy's wife
and child, McCutchen's child, Spitzer, and Elliott, all
died between December 30th and February 9th. With-
out fire, without food, without protection from the
dampness occasioned by the melting snows, the men,
women, and children were huddled together, the living and
the dead, in the gloom of their buried cabins, while above
them raged the tempest with a sound that was dreadful
in their ears. From time to time small parties made
feeble efforts to cross the mountains but these ceased
after January 4th, and the unfortunates waited with
lessening numbers and growing despair for the relief
that seemed far away. Day after day they looked for
help to come and day after day they became more hopeless.
For nearly four months they had been held prisoners
in the snow and it was more than two months since the
forlorn hope made its desperate effort to break through
the barrier and bring succor to the people. All food
was gone! Even the repulsive hide was no longer to
be had and the last resort must be to the bodies of the
dead. On the evening of the 19th of February, the
silence was broken by a shout from the direction of the
lake. In an instant weakness and infirmity were for-
gotten and up from the depths, climbing the icy stairways
leading to the surface, came the poor, starving wretches.
It was Captain Tucker and his men, the seven heroes
of the first relief. Coming down from the summit to
find a wide expanse of snow covering forest and lake
and a stillness that was like the silence of the grave,
they sent up a loud shout to see if happily any could
answer. The cry was answered, and around the relief
Notes 645
party came the weak and trembling forms of little children,
of delicate women, and of what had once been strong
men. The pitiful sight was too much for the men of the
relief and they sat down in the snow and wept. Half
a miles below the lake was the cabin of the Graves and
Reed families. Captain Tucker, who had crossed the
plains in company with the Graves family, before the
latter took the Hastings' cut-off with the Donners hastened
down the creek to see them. He saw smoke issuing
from a hole in the snow, and, as before, he shouted, and
up to the surface came Mrs. Graves and Mrs. Reed
and the little children. Mrs. Graves' first question was
for her husband and daughters. Did all reach the valley?
The stout heart of Tucker failed him. How could he
tell this starving woman of the fate of her husband and
her son-in-law! He assured her that all were well. The
same answer was given to the rest. Had the truth been
told, the survivors of the camps would not have had the
courage to attempt the journey. Food was given to
the sufferers carefully and in small quantities, and the
provisions were guarded lest the famished people should
obtain more than was good for them. The members
of the relief party camped in the snow, unable to endure
the sights within the cabins, and in the morning three
of them visited the Donner tents on Alder creek, seven
miles below.
The relief party determined to return on the twenty-
second and would take such as were able to travel. To
those who remained, they said other relief parties would
soon come. The question was, who should go? George
Donner had become helpless and his wife would not
leave him, though urged to go. From the Donner
camp came the two oldest daughters of George Donner:
Elitha and Leana; George Donner, Jr., son of Jacob,
and William Hook his step-son; Mrs. Wolfinger, and
646 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Noah James. Mrs. Jacob Dormer's two little boys
were not big enough to walk and the mother preferred
to wait for a larger party to come for them. From the
upper camp came Mrs. Reed, her daughter Virginia, and
son, James F., Jr. Her two other children, Martha (8
years), and Thomas (3 years), started with the company
but they had proceeded only two miles when Glover,
of the relief party, told Mrs. Reed that they showed such
signs of weakness it was not safe to allow them to go on
and that he would take them back. The poor mother
was frantic at having to send her little ones back to that
dreadful camp, and Mr. Glover promised to return as
soon as he arrived at Bear valley and bring Martha and
Thomas over the mountains. To this the mother was
obliged to consent. Two Murphy children, William G.
and Mary M.; Naomi L. Pike; three Graves children,
William C, Eleanor, and Lovina; Mrs. Keseburg and
her baby girl, Ada; Edward and Simon Breen, children;
Eliza Williams, and John Denton, twenty-one, all told,
made up the number brought out by the first relief.
The seven men constituting this party were: Reasin
P. Tucker, captain, Aquila Glover, Riley S. Moultry,
John Rhoads, David Rhoads, Edward CofTeemire, and
Joseph Sells. When Mrs. Pike, whose husband had been
accidentally killed at Truckee meadows, joined the
forlorn hope, she left her two year old Naomi, and her
infant Catherine, with her mother, Mrs. Murphy. Star-
vation had dried her milk and she could no longer nurse
the babe. The grandmother succeeded in keeping the
infant alive until the arrival of the relief party by ad-
ministering to it a little gruel made from coarse flour —
a small quantity of which Mrs. Murphy had saved —
mixed with snow water. On February 20th the baby
died, and little Naomi was carried to her mother by
John Rhoads, who bore her through the snow slung
Notes 647
over his back in a blanket. Another of the men of the
relief carried Mrs. Keseberg's baby, but the little one
could not survive. She died on the evening of the first
day out and was buried in the snow. The second day
the company reached Summit valley. When camp was
pitched John Denton was missed. John Rhoads went
back and found him asleep on the snow, and with much
exertion aroused and brought him into camp. He said
it was impossible for him to travel another day, and on
the morrow he gave out before proceeding very far.
His companions built a fire for him and giving him such
food as they could, left him. When Captain Tucker's
party were going to Donner lake, they had left a portion
of their provisions in Summit valley, tied up in a tree.
They had found it difficult to carry all they had started
with, and besides, thought it well to have something
provided for their return should the famished emigrants
eat all they carried in, which proved to be the case.
The scanty allowances were all eaten, and when the
party reached the cache they were horrified to find that
wild animals, by gnawing the ropes by which the provi-
sions had been suspended, had obtained and consumed
all. Starvation now stared them in the face and they
pushed on as rapidly as possible. On the twenty-seventh
they were met by the second relief under James F. Reed,
and being thus succored they reached Johnson's March
2d. In his diary Reed says: "Left camp (head of Bear
valley) on a fine, hard snow and proceeded about four
miles when we met the poor, unfortunate, starved people.
As I met them scattered along the snow-trail, I distrib-
uted some bread that I had baked last night. I gave
in small quantities to each. Here I met my wife and
two of my little children. Two of my children are still
in the mountains. I cannot describe the death-like look
all these people had. 'Bread'! Bread'! 'Bread'! ' Bread '1
648 The Beginnings of San Francisco
was the begging cry of every child and grown person.
I gave all I dared to them and set out for the scene of
desolation at the lake. " At Bear valley another cache
had been made and this was found unmolested. The
utmost caution was taken to prevent the famished people
from eating too much. One boy, William Hook, got at
the provisions and ate until his hunger was satisfied
and in the morning was found to be dying. Finding him
past relief they left two of their company with him and
continued on their way. Had it not been for the relief
afforded by Reed many of the party must have perished.
Realizing the terrible situation of the emigrants Reed
hurried on as fast as possible. On February 28th, he
made fourteen miles through very soft snow, and on
camping sent three of his men ahead who kept on through
the night and camped for a short rest within two miles
of the cabins, which they reached early in the morning.
They found all alive and after feeding them went on to
the Donner camp, where they arrived by noon. During
the day Reed and the rest of the party came up.
On March 3d Reed started his return taking Mr.
and Mrs. Breen and five children, which cleaned up the
Breen family — two having gone with the first relief; his
own two children, Isaac and Mary M., who had been living
with the Breens; two children of Jacob Donner; Solomon
Hook, Mrs. Jacob Donner's child by a former husband;
and Mrs. Graves and her four remaining children, seven-
teen in all. The relief party consisted of James F. Reed,
Charles Cady, Charles Stone, Nicholas Clark, Joseph
Gendreau, Mathew Dofar, John Turner, Hiram Miller,
William M^Cutchen, and Brittan Greenwood. Many
of the younger children had to be carried and all were so
weak and emaciated that it was evident the journey
would be a slow and painful one, and should a storm
Notes 649
arise before they got over the mountains, the situation
of the party would be extremely grave.
It was decided that Clark, Cady, and Stone should
remain at the mountain camps to attend to the helpless
sufferers, procure wood for them, and perform such other
service as they might need, until the third relief, which,
it was thought, would be sent at once, should arrive to
bring in all that remained. The second day after the
departure of the second relief, while Clark was absent
following the tracks of a bear he had wounded, Stone
and Cady concluded that it would be madness to remain
in the mountains and be caught in the storm they saw
coming. They deserted their post, therefore, and en-
deavored to overtake Reed and his party. Clark,
returning from an unsuccessful hunt late at night, found
them gone. When Mrs. George Donner found that
the men were going to leave, she persuaded them to take
her three little girls, Frances, Georgia, and Eliza, with
them over the mountains. She had previously offered
five hundred dollars to any one who would take them
safely over, and that, or perhaps more, was what induced
the two men to undertake the charge. They took the
children as far as Keseberg's cabin at the lake, and there
left them.
When Clark awoke on the morning after his hunt, he
found a fierce storm raging and the tent of Jacob Donner,
where he was, literally buried in fresh snow. The storm
lasted about a week. The snow was so deep that it
was impossible to procure wood and during these terrible
days and nights there was no fire in either of the tents.
The food gave out the first day and the dreadful cold
was rendered more intense by the pangs of hunger,
while the wind blew like a hurricane, hurling great pines
crashing to the ground about them. In the tent with
Clark were Mrs. Jacob Donner, her son Lewis, and the
650 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Spanish boy, Juan Bautista. George Donner and his
wife were in their tent and with them Jacob Donner's
youngest son, Samuel.
When the storm cleared away Clark found himself
starving like the rest. He had become one of the Donner
party. As the storm was ending Lewis Donner died
and was buried in the snow. Then Clark succeeded in
killing a bear cub and the camp again had food. It
had come too late for Mrs. Jacob Donner and her little
Samuel. They died and were buried in the snow.
Clark now determined to leave the mountains, and
dividing the bear meat with Mrs. George Donner, he
started on his journey, accompanied by Juan Bautista.
The little band conducted by Reed had reached the
lower end of Summit valley on the evening of the second
day out, when the storm burst upon them with fury.
All day the men of the relief had urged the party forward
with the greatest possible speed, that they might get as
near the settlements as they could before the storm
caught them. Their provisions were exhausted and
Reed sent Gendreau, Dofar, and Turner forward to a
cache a few miles below Summit valley. They found
the cache destroyed by wild animals and were pushing
on for the next one, a few miles beyond, when they were
caught by the storm and could neither proceed nor
return.
In a bleak and desolate spot in the Summit valley
Reed's party was forced to halt. The cold sleet-like snow
beat upon them, and a fierce, penetrating wind seemed to
freeze the marrow in their bones. With much difficulty
they succeeded in building a fire, and the hungry, freezing
immigrants crowded around it while Reed planted pine
boughs in the snow and banked up the snow both within
and without, forming, with the boughs, a wall to protect
the party from the cruel wind. Warmed by the fire the
Notes 651
others slept while Reed labored far into the night, perfect-
ing his breastwork and keeping up the fire. At length the
fire died down and the cold awakened Mrs. Breen. In
an instant she aroused the camp. All were nearly frozen.
The fire was renewed and Reed, who had been missed,
was found lying unconscious upon the snow. He had
fallen exhausted, and, overcome by the fatal drowsiness
which proceeds death from freezing, would soon have
passed beyond earthly help. They carried him to the
fire and after two hours of vigorous rubbing he showed
signs of returning consciousness. It was daybreak
before he was fully restored.
For several days the storm continued in all its violence
and it required the utmost exertions of McCutchen and
Miller to keep alive the fire. The other men, disheartened
by this calamity, gave up in despair. Mrs. Graves died
from exhaustion the first night in camp, and her death was
followed by that of her little son, Franklin, and of the
boy, Isaac Donner. The men of the second relief realized
that unless they could get help all in the camp would
starve. They could not carry all the children through
the deep snow, but they determined to set out for the
settlements and send back help. They accordingly
started, taking with them Solomon Hook and Martha
Reed, who could walk, while Hiram Miller carried little
Thomas Reed in his arms.
The relief party which had started from Yerba Buena
under command of Selim Woodworth reached Bear valley
where they were encamped in the deep snow, when
the advance of the second relief, Gendreau, Dofar, and
Turner reached that point. These men had found food
in the second cache, but instead of returning with it to
the party they had undertaken to save, they satisfied
their own hunger and pushed on for the settlements
leaving the remnant of the provisions where it could be
652 The Beginnings of San Francisco
seen by Reed and his men. In Bear valley they came
upon Woodworth's camp and two men, John Stark and
Howard Oakley, started for the Reed camp and met
Reed and his men coming out. They had been three
days on the way from "starved camp" to Woodworth's,
and were in a sad plight, with frozen feet and exhausted
bodies. Cady and Stone, from Donner lake, overtook
Reed on the second day from starved camp and accom-
panied the party to Woodworth's.
Meanwhile in the desolate camp in Summit valley
eleven unfortunates awaited the coming of a rescuing party.
There was no food save a few seeds tied in bits of cloth,
a lump of loaf sugar, saved for the babies, and a few
teaspoons of tea. Patrick Breen, a feeble man, now
worn to a skeleton, and his wife, Margaret, were the
only adults; the rest were children, two being nursing
infants — Mrs. Graves' Elizabeth, and Mrs. Breen's
Isabella. Mrs. Breen waited upon all and attended to
all. She fed the babies on snow water and sugar and
when she found a child sunken and speechless she broke
with her teeth a morsel of the sugar and put it between
his lips. She watched by night as well as by day and all
received her care. She gathered wood and kept up the
fire, without which they could not live. The fire had
melted the snow to a considerable depth and at length it
was so far beneath them that they felt but little of its
warmth. Mrs. Breen sent her son John down into the
snow pit and he reported the fire on the bare earth,
thirty feet below the surface of the snow. By great
exertion she got all her helpless company down into the
pit where they would be well sheltered and she constructed
a kind of ladder from a tree top which enabled her to
ascend and descend. Above, on the snow, lay the bodies
of the dead, and to them Patrick Breen resorted for food.
His wife would not touch it and declared she would die
Notes 653
and see her children die rather than have her life or theirs
preserved by such means. She never did eat of the
bodies herself, and if the father gave to the children,
it was without her consent or knowledge. Eight days
had passed since Reed and his men left. It seemed as
if the very limit of human endurance had been reached.
On the morning of the ninth day Mrs. Breen ascended
to the surface for her daily supply of wood and to look,
as she crawled from tree to tree, for the help that did
not come. She felt that if succor did not arrive that day,
it would come too late. She descended to the helpless
ones and together they repeated the Litany. Then
after a rest she again climbed out of the pit to resume
her watch for the coming of relief. She was so faint and
weak from starvation and from the effort of ascending
that her brain whirled and it required all her power
to control her own wavering life; but she thought of the
miserable ones in the pit who had only her to depend
on and she grew steadier. She thought she heard
sound of voices, but could see nothing for her eyes were
dimmed by the sudden excitement. It must be a delusion
of her overtaxed brain. Then the sounds came again,
and she heard the words, "There is Mrs. Breen alive yet
anyhow." The relief had come.
When Reed and his party had been brought into
Woodworth's camp in Bear valley and had been told of
the fourteen unfortunates left behind without food, the
third relief was at once organized. So dreadful was the
condition of the members of the first and second relief
parties, that men hesitated to expose themselves to the
danger of such frightful suffering. At Yerba Buena,
Foster and Eddy, survivors of the forlorn hope, had
endeavored to form a relief party, but were unable to
obtain volunteers. They set out, therefore, on the trail
of Woodworth's party and arrived at his camp the day
654 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Reed's advance party came in. When Reed's story
was told, Foster and Eddy, joined by Hiram Miller,
proposed to start at once, and with William Thompson,
John Stark, Howard Oakley, and Charles Stone, set out
from Woodworth's camp. It was arranged that Stark,
Oakley and Stone were to bring in the sufferers at starved
camp while Foster, Eddy, Thompson, and Miller were
to press forward to the relief of those at Donner lake.
Of the eleven at starved camp only two could walk:
Mrs. Breen and her son John. A storm appeared to
be gathering, and the supply of provisions brought by
the three men was limited. The lonely situation, the
sights in the camp, and the threatening aspect of the
weather, filled the minds of Oakley and Stone with terror.
It was proposed to take the three Graves children and
Mary Donner, all that the three men could carry, to
Woodworth's camp, and abandon the Breens, for the
mother would not leave her helpless ones and John was
in a semi-lifeless condition. To this programme Stark
would not agree. He had come, he said, on a mission
of mercy; he would not half do the work; the other two
could go if they would; he refused to abandon the helpless.
They went, and Stark was left to work out his plan of
salvation as best he could. Just how he managed with
the seven left to him, the narrator (McGlashan) does
not say. Five of the number had to be carried, and the
provisions besides. He was a powerful man, weighing
two hundred and twenty pounds, of a determined will
and undaunted courage. He would carry one or two a
distance ahead, put them down, and return for the others.
In this way he succeeded in getting them all to Wood-
worth's, where the others of the third relief had arrived.
Eddy and his companions reached the lake about the
middle of March. They found Nicholas Clark and Juan
Bautista at the head of the lake, where they waited until
Notes 655
the return of the relief party. At the lake were Mrs.
Murphy, her son Simon, the three little Donner girls:
Frances, Georgia, and Eliza, and Lewis Keseberg. At
Alder creek were George Donner and his wife, Tamsen.
The injury George Donner had received resulted in
erysipelas, and it was evident that he had but a few hours
to live. Mrs. Donner had come up from Alder creek to
see her little girls and assure herself that they were still
safe, and was with them in Mrs. Murphy's cabin when
the relief party arrived. They urged her to accompany
them and her children over the mountains, and argued that
there could only be a few hours of life left to George
Donner. She knew this and asked them to remain until
she could return to Alder creek and see if he were yet
alive. This they refused, as the gathering storm-clouds
over the summit warned them to be away, lest they be
caught in the storm and all perish. Mrs. Donner refused
to leave her husband; she returned to close his eyes and
to her own certain death. Eddy and Foster found their
children, little James Eddy and baby George Foster,
dead, and on the day following their arrival at the lake,
started on their return; Eddy carrying Georgia Donner;
Thompson, Francis Donner; Miller, Eliza Donner; and
Foster, Simon Murphy. Mrs. Murphy had cared for
the children and was now sick and entirely helpless.
She could not walk. They left her with such provisions
as they could, brought her wood, and made her as con-
fortable as possible, promising to return with assistance
and carry her over the mountains.
The departure of the third relief left at the lake Mrs.
Murphy and Keseberg, who had injured his foot and could
not walk, and at Alder creek Mr. and Mrs. George
Donner. I have no account of the return march of the
656 The Beginnings of San Francisco
third relief. They took up Clark and Juan Bautista
and all reached Woodworth's camp and ultimately
Johnson's rancho and Sutter's fort.*
On April 13th the fourth relief party started from
Johnson's rancho under command of William O. Fallon,
a mountaineer trapper and guide. With him were
William M. Foster, John Rhoads, R. P. Tucker, J. Foster,
Sebastian Keyser, and Edward Coffeemire. Alcalde
Sinclair of Sutter's fort had, by an offer of half of
any property that might be saved, induced these men
to attempt the rescue of the four left in the mountain
camps by the third relief. George Donner was a man
of some wealth, and in addition to the valuable stock of
goods he was bringing to California, was supposed to
have with him twelve or fourteen thousand dollars in
coin. It was the hope of recovering this wealth that
actuated most of the men of the fourth relief. Foster
went with them hoping to save Mrs. Murphy, his wife's
mother. They reached the lake April 17th, and found
that of the four left by the third relief, Mrs. Murphy
and Mr. and Mrs. Donner had died, and Keseberg alone
was living. Paying no attention to Keseberg the "res-
cuers" began a search for the money, breaking open
trunks and scattering their contents. Failing to find
any money they came to Keseberg's cabin and demanded
of him George Donner's money. Keseberg asked them
to give him something to eat but they threatened to
kill him if he did not instantly give up the money. At
this he gave them some five hundred dollars which he
said Mrs. Donner had given him to take to her children,
and this was all they could find. They accused Keseberg
* It appears that on the arrival of the third relief at Woodworth's the entire
expedition returned to Johnson's, abandoning the four persons still remaining
in the mountains. I have seen no explanation of this action.
Notes 657
of being a murderer and robber and so treated him.
They were rough and unkind towards him, left him to
his fate, and busied themselves in getting Donner's goods
over the mountains; each man, according to Keseberg,
carried two bales of silks or other goods, taking one a
certain distance and then going back and bringing up
the other. Keseberg with his wounded foot could not
keep up with them, but dragged himself along and man-
aged to reach their camp each night. Arriving at Sutter's
fort Keseberg was accused by some members of the
relief party of the murder of Mrs. Donner. In Fallon's
diary he is also accused of the murder of Wolfinger, of
having killed and eaten George Foster, and of having
been responsible for the abandonment of Hardcoop.
The most revolting statements are made by Fallon
concerning what he saw at the camp — statements that
have been repeated by others but which are most absurd
and impossible. McGlashan who wrote his story from
interviews with and statements from the survivors,
including Keseberg, discredits the accusations as do
other writers. The stories, however, found ready belief
and people shunned Keseberg and children fled from
him with aversion. At the suggestion of Sutter Keseberg
brought suit against Fallon, Coffeemire, and others, for
slander, and the jury gave him a verdict of one dollar
damages. He became a marked man and misfortune
pursued him wherever he went. As a sample of the
ridiculous stuff published about him, I quote an extract
from Sights in the Gold Region, by Theodore T. Johnson
(1849).
"Within a half a mile of our encampment (on the Sacramento
river) we saw the house of old Keysburg, the cannibal, who
reveled in the awful feast on human flesh and blood during
the sufferings of a party of emigrants near the pass of the Sierra
Nevada, in the winter of 1847. * * * It is said that the taste
658 The Beginnings of San Francisco
which Keysburg then acquired had not left him and that he
often declares with evident gusto, 'I would like to eat a piece
of you'; and several have sworn to shoot him if he ventures
on such fond declarations to them. We therefore looked at
the den of this wild beast in human form with a good deal
of disgusted curiosity, and kept our bowie knives handy for
a slice of him, if necessary."
This ends the story of the Donner party whose tragic
fate was known and feared by belated parties of the
overland emigration of 1849 and later years. I have
followed mainly the narrative of C. F. McGlashan in
his History of the Donner Party, and have tried to connect
his somewhat loose and disjointed story, omitting as
much of the dreadful details as possible, and all laudation
of the various actors in the tragedy. That there was
great heroism and self-sacrifice displayed by certain
members of the Donner and of the relief parties, will
be seen by any one who reads the story; but it is, at best,
a pitiful story of weakness and incompetence; nor can
I see, as McGlashan can, anything brave, generous, or
heroic in William Foster's trailing and potting for food the
Indians, Luis and Salvador, who had come to serve them.
The destruction of the party may be ascribed, after
the preliminary error in taking the wrong route, to in-
ternal discord, jealousy, and hatred among them, and
to the lack of organization and leadership. That any of
the party were saved seems quite remarkable when their
condition is realized and the deliberation with which
the work of relief was conducted is considered. The
abandonment of the four left in the mountains must
be strongly condemned. Granting that the saving of
Mrs. Murphy and George Donner was impossible and
of Keseberg immaterial, the life of Tamsen Donner was
worth all the exertion that could have been made, even
at the peril of the lives of the rescuers.
Notes 659
We have seen that of the eighty-eight persons who
started with or became joined to the Donner party,
six died before entering the sierra, and three — Reed,
Herron, and McCutchen — were in California, leaving
of the party seventy-nine, and of this number must be
added the Indians, Luis and Salvador, making eighty-one
in the mountain camps. Of this number, forty-five
were saved, including two of the nursing infants, and
thirty-six perished. Only five of the fifteen women died,
and four of the five died for those dependent on them.
Tamsen Donner gave up her life that she might comfort
her husband's last hours. Mrs. Jacob Donner remained
and died with her little children. Both women were
able to travel. Mrs. Graves sent her husband and
eldest daughter, a grown woman, with the forlorn hope;
she sent the next three children with the first relief party,
and waited, with the four little ones remaining for the
second relief. Her life was sacrificed for these children,
three of whom were saved. Mrs. Murphy's life was
given for the children — her little Simon and her grand-
children, Naomi and Catherine Pike, and George Foster.
The third relief found her unable to walk. Mrs. Eddy
died before the coming of the first relief.
The altitude of the Great Basin averages about forty
two or forty-three hundred feet. From Truckee meadows,
an altitude of forty-five hundred feet, the trail enters the
sierra and following up the canon of the Truckee river
reaches Prosser creek, thirty miles above, at an elevation
of fifty-six hundred feet. Thence to Donner lake, seven
miles, elevation six thousand feet. From the camp on
Donner creek to the head of the lake is four miles. A
mile from the upper end of the lake the trail comes to
the foot of precipitous cliffs and the greatest difficulty of
the ascent. It is a mile and a half to the summit of the
pass and the rise is twelve hundred feet. Crossing the
660 The Beginnings of San Francisco
summit, altitude seven thousand two hundred feet,
Summit valley is reached in a mile and a half, altitude
sixty-seven hundred and fifty feet. From Summit
valley to Bear valley is about twenty-five miles, elevation
forty-five hundred feet; thence to Mule springs (Dutch
Flat) fifteen miles, elevation thirty-five hundred feet.
Twelve or fifteen miles below this point the forlorn hope
emerged from the snow of the sierra.
In June 1847 General Kearny, with whom was William
O. Fallon and Edwin Bryant, passed the camps on his
way to the Missouri, buried such remains as he could
find and burned the cabins. The work of burial was
completed by returning Mormons of the battalion in
September of the same year.
As this work goes to press the book of Mrs. Houghton
is received: {Expedition of the Donner Party, by Eliza
P. Donner Houghton). Mrs. Houghton states that
Oakley and Stone of the third relief did not desert the
helpless ones at Starved Camp, but assisted in bringing
them out; a statement which is probably correct. Other-
wise her story does not conflict with the foregoing in
any material detail.
Notes 66i
Note 34
THE OVERLAND ROUTE
The emigration to California by the southern or Santa
Fe route passed up the Arkansas river to Bent's fort,
thence southwesterly to Santa Fe; thus far over the
Santa Fe trail, a road well traveled. Leaving Santa Fe
they passed down the Rio Grande, crossed over to the
headwaters of the Gila, down the Gila to its junction
with the Colorado, across the Colorado desert and over
the San Jacinto mountains by Warner's rancho or the
Vallecito pass, to San Diego. A few, for fear of the
Apaches, came over the Camino del Diablo, but so fearful
was the suffering by that route that it was soon abandoned.
The great mass of the emigrants went by the central
route. Leaving Independence on the Missouri river the
train passed out on to the open prairie. In the beginning
large companies under a single commander were the rule,
but experience soon taught the emigrants that with
small companies they could travel more easily, make better
time, and obtain better grass and water facilities. The
emigrants set out on their long journey with enthusiasm
and were most cordial and friendly in their relations
with one another. The exhilaration produced by the
pure air, the vastness and grandeur of the prairies bounded
only by the blue horizon, the succession of green undula-
tions and flowery slopes, was scarcely controllable and
all were happy in the joyous anticipations of the future.
There was little thought of hardship; the families were
well equipped and provided with every comfort for the
journey and nearly every family had a cow or two to
furnish fresh milk and cream. The camp was usually
made early in the afternoon where grass and water was
662 The Beginnings of San Francisco
plenty; the wagons were drawn up in a circle forming a
corral wherein such horses and cattle as were likely to
stray were confined. Outside of the corral the tents were
pitched with their doors outward; in front of these the
camp fires were lighted and the culinary operations
performed. After the evening meal was concluded the
time was passed in friendly calls, in singing, dancing,
etc., and all retired early to rest. In the morning after an
early breakfast the "catching-up" or yoking of the cattle
and attaching them to the wagons proceeded with great
bustle, noise, and confusion and by nine o'clock the train
began to move. The ceremony of organizing the company,
of choosing officers, of adopting regulations for govern-
ment of the party during the journey to California was
one of importance and was usually performed at one of
the early camps after leaving Independence. The elec-
tioneering for the position of captain of the company
was, at times, very strenuous, and the claims of ambitious
candidates were urged with vehemence by their respective
friends.
The harmony prevailing at the start was usually of
short duration. Nothing tries out the disposition of men
like the close companionship and petty inconveniences
and annoyances of a long journey. The companies were,
as a rule, made up of people who were meeting for the
first time and were not, therefore, bound together by those
ties of friendship that endure small irritants and infirmi-
ties of temper. Many of the men soon manifested
petulance, incivility, and a want of a spirit of accommo-
dation. This resulted in much wrangling, and angry
altercations arose from trifling matters, sometimes ter-
minating in violence and blood. Disruptions, forming
of new combinations only to be broken up in turn, fol-
lowed with increasing frequency as the journey proceeded
and its weary length became a tale of hardship and
\
Notes 663
suffering. The position of a captain or leader was not
always an agreeable one. The by-laws and regulations
adopted for the government of the company were not
easily enforced and the court of arbitrators appointed to
decide disputes between parties and punish offenders
against the peace and order of the company had little
authority. The person condemned was certain to appeal
to the assembly of the whole, and he was nearly certain
of acquittal on any charge under that of robbery or
murder. In all emigration parties there were men of
desperate and depraved character who were perpetu-
ally endeavoring to produce discord, disorganization, and
collision. In crossing the Missouri Line, about twelve
miles west of Independence, the emigrants passed beyond
the incorporated territories of the United States into
the wilderness, peopled only by savages, with no law
but that of might; hence the necessity for organization
in the interests of law and order.
On leaving Independence the emigrants took the Santa
Fe trail for about fifty miles and then crossed the Waka-
rusa creek and traveled in a northwesterly direction
to the Kansas river which they crossed by flatboat
ferry three or four miles east of the present Topeka;
thence west-northwest they crossed the Big Blue river
near the present town of Randolph, Kansas; thence
northwest they struck the Little Blue river at about
Hebron, Nebraska; thence traveling up the valley of the
Little Blue they reached the Platte eight miles below
the head of Grand island. They now followed up
the south bank of the river, sometimes on the river bottom,
treeless and dreary, their fuel "buffalo chips" (bois de
vache), drinking the warm and unpleasant water of the
Platte, and pestered by immense swarms of ravenous
mosquitoes. A journey of one hundred and ten miles
brings the pilgrims to the forks of the Platte and they
664 The Beginnings of San Francisco
follow up the south fork for a distance of about sixty
miles and then strike across in a north-northwest direction
and pass down Ash Hollow to the North Platte, a distance
of twenty-two miles. The trail now ascends the north
fork, sometimes in the river bottom, and then making
a circuit to avoid the bluffs which wall in the river and
interrupt the travel. The face of the country now pre-
sents characteristics which unmistakably proclaim it
to be uninhabitable by civilized man. The light sand,
driven by the bleak winds across the parched plains,
fills the atmosphere and colors the vegetation with a
gray coating of dust. The monotony of the scenery is
inexpressibly dreary and the emigrant, scorched by the
sun by day and chilled by freezing blasts by night, labors
on, his enthusiasm gone and his anticipations dulled by
the weary toil and stern privations of the journey. His
cattle are driven off by wolves, mounted Indians stampede
his horses, and he is yet in the first stage of his journey.
Up the north fork runs the trail to Fort Laramie. At
this point it leaves the river and passing through the
Black hills (Laramie mountains) joins the river again
at the ferry, near the present town of Casper, Wyoming.
Here the emigrants say good-bye to the Platte and a
journey of sixty miles of arid plains and bleak cliffs brings
them to Independence Rock and the Sweetwater river.
One hundred and fourteen miles up the Sweetwater and
they reach the South pass and the backbone of the
continent. Crossing the pass, the trail descends by
a gentle declivity for two miles to Pacific spring, the
waters of which flow into the Colorado river and the gulf
of California.
From Pacific spring the route lies west by north for
twenty-eight miles over an arid plain covered with sage
brush, to the Little Sandy, an affluent of the Green river;
thence westerly twelve miles to the Big Sandy river.
Notes 665
Here is one of the numerous "cut-offs" — a saving of dis-
tance at the expense of life and property. For forty-
five or fifty miles the trail of Greenwood's Cut-off, as
it is called, is across a desert without water to the Green
river. The main trail continues down the Green about
forty miles then leaving the river it ascends the bluffs
and continuing in a southwesterly direction it reaches
Black's Fork in a distance of fifteen miles. Forty miles
up Black's Fork is Fort Bridger. From Fort Bridger
the regular trail takes a northwest course to Ham's
Fork, up Ham's Fork, across the divide, down the Muddy
river to Bear river, which here runs northward, down
the Bear to Soda springs or Beer springs, as it is sometimes
called, thence across to Portneuf river down which the
trail follows to Fort Hall, on Snake river. Down the
Snake the emigrants travel for about fifty miles to Raft
river where the Oregon and California emigrants part
company. The California trail proceeded up Raft
river a distance of about seventy-five miles, thence over
the mountains to Goose creek, to its head waters, and
thence over the desert in a southwest direction to the
head waters of the Humboldt.
The "Hastings' Cut-off," the taking of which proved
so disastrous to the Donner party, was a trail passing to
the south of Great Salt Lake. Leaving Fort Bridger
and traveling in a west-northwest direction the trail
passed over the rugged Unitah mountains to Bear river,
thence over the Wasatch mountains to the Salt Lake
valley passing "Ogden's Hole" and emerging from the
mountains about where the city of Ogden now is, thence
around the foot of the lake, across Tooele and Scull valleys
and striking the Salt Lake desert after passing Cedar
mountains; thence in a northwesterly direction about
sixty-five miles, thence turning southwest for about
fifteen miles, then westerly across the Gosiute and
666 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Peoquop ranges, thence southwest and south, past Eagle,
or Snow Water lake, Franklin, and Ruby lakes to a low
pass of the Humboldt range on the fortieth parallel, thence
westerly across the mountains thirty miles to Eureka
creek, or South Humboldt river as it was then called,
thence north to the Humboldt river at Palisade where
it joined the main emigrant trail. From here the trail
followed the Humboldt river to its sink. Sixty-five
miles above the sink, near the present Mill City, Nevada,
the northern or Lassen route branched off from the
main trail. From seven to nine thousand persons of
the emigration of 1849 were persuaded to take this trail,
being informed that it was much easier, had more grass
and water, etc., only to discover, to their horror, that
this was the most dreadful road of all, and so many
perished of this emigration that the trail was given the
name of the "death route." Leaving the Humboldt at
the Lassen Meadows the trail ran in a general northwest
direction, passing in turn Antelope spring, Rabbit Hole
spring, Black Rock desert, Stove Pipe spring (off the
road), Mud spring, High Rock canon, Willow spring, and
Massacre lake; then passing between Upper and Middle
Alkali lakes, it turned north to Lassen pass and over the
pass to Goose lake. The emigrant had traveled over one
hundred and sixty miles from the Humboldt only to find
himself over two hundred miles of rough mountain travel
from the nearest settlement. Down the shore of Goose
lake, to Pitt river ran the trail, down Pitt river to Horse
creek, thence southerly to Deer creek and Peter Lassen's
rancho of Bosquejo.
From the sink of the Humboldt the emigrants had a
choice of two routes. The central was across the desert
to the Truckee river at Wadsworth, up the Truckee to
Donner lake, over the Donner pass to the south fork of
the Yuba, down the Yuba to Bear valley, down Bear river
Notes 667
to Johnson's rancho, where the trail crossed the Bear.
This was known as the Truckee and Bear valley route.
The second route, known as the Carson or Mormon
route, ran south from the Humboldt sink, to the Carson
river, up the Carson to Genoa — then called Mormon
station — thence southerly a distance of seventeen miles
to West Carson canon through which it ascended the
Sierra Nevada through Hope valley to Carson pass, over
this pass at an elevation of nine thousand feet, thence
by Twin lakes, Silver lake, Tragedy springs, Cold Springs
ranch, Sly Park, Pleasant valley, and Smith's Flat, to
Placerville.
A party of forty-five men from the Mormon battalion,
and one woman, wife of one of the soldiers, started in
July 1848 from Pleasant valley to cross the sierra and
make their way to Salt Lake. They had two small brass
pieces, bought of Sutter, and every man had a musket.
They had seventeen wagons, one hundred and fifty horses
and about the same number of cattle. They had sent
men in advance to make a road over which their wagons
could pass, and three of their men, David Browett, Ezrah
H. Allen, and Henderson Cox, were surprised and killed
by Indians at a place called by them Tragedy springs,
which name it still bears. The road they laid out became
the Carson or Mormon route for the emigration of 1849
and subsequent years. They gave Hope valley its name
because when they reached the valley they began to feel
hopeful of getting through.
668 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Note 35
THE MILITARY GOVERNORS
OF CALIFORNIA
Mexican rule in California terminated when Commo-
dore Sloat, on July 7, 1847, landed his forces at Monterey,
raised the American flag, and proclaimed California United
States territory. On December 20, 1849, General Riley
turned over to the newly elected state government the
administration of affairs, although California was not
admitted to the rights and privileges of a state of the
union until September 9, 1850. During the interregnum
between the last Mexican governor and the first repre-
sentative American governor, the territory was ruled by
military chiefs who used the right, under the law of
nations, to establish a civil government within the con-
quered territory to secure the conquest and to protect
the persons and property of the people. On the ratifi-
cation of the treaty of peace, the military government,
as such, came to an end, but until congress provided a
government for the territory, the rule of the military
chiefs, being a government de facto, was continued. Thus
to the cares and responsibilities of a military commander
were added all the details of civil government for which
he was fitted neither by training nor experience. Among
the many vexing questions to be solved were those
relating to land titles and to the customs dues. The
customs dues were fixed by Stockton at fifteen per cent,
ad valorem, with fifty cents tonnage charge on foreign
ships. In October 1847 the governor received a war
tariff from Washington to apply to all Mexican ports
in possession of the United States officers. It imposed
extraordinary specific duties as war contributions, and was
Notes 669
intended to force the Mexican government by loss of
revenue and by popular complaint to sue for peace.
Both Mason and Shubrick, the naval commander, rec-
ognized the injustice and impolicy of applying such
a measure to California and decided not to enforce it.
Mason explained his position and defended the liberty
he had taken in substituting a modified tariff for that
ordered, by referring to the instructions of June 3, 1846,
to General Kearny, to the effect that duties should be
reduced "to such a rate as may be barely sufficient to
maintain the necessary civil officers without yielding
any revenue to the government," and he said that
promises and assurances, based on those instructions,
had been given to the people of California as a solemn
pledge on the part of the government. Mason issued
his modified tariff making an ad valorem rate of twenty
per cent, and reduced the tonnage rate on foreign bottoms
to fifteen cents. The money thus collected was known
as the "civil fund" and was only used to defray the
expenses of civil government. Some loans were made
to the military officers from this fund but they were loans
only, to be returned on receipt of the treasury drafts.
The great increase of trade following the gold discoveries
caused this fund to reach a considerable amount and there
was some controversy over the disposition of it. Just
how much was collected I do not know, but between
August 6, 1848, and November 12, 1849, there had been
collected $1,365,000; and by the end of military rule there
was in the hands of the governor nearly a million dollars.
The rule of Commodore Sloat was brief. On July 29th
he transferred the command to Commodore Stockton
and sailed on the Levant for home. Stockton was
concerned mainly with the conquest and on January
19, 1847, he turned over the civil authority to Fremont
whose commission as governor he signed on the sixteenth,
670 The Beginnings of San Francisco
though General Kearny was in California and Stockton
was aware of Kearny's instructions to assume command
and form a civil government in that territory. As to
Fremont's administration, I have given an account of
that officer in a separate note. This then brings us down
to
General Kearny
Stephen Watts Kearny was born at Newark, New
Jersey, in 1794; died at St. Louis, Missouri, October 31,
1848. He was a student at Columbia college, New
York, in 1812, and would have graduated in the summer
of that year. When it became apparent that war must
ensue between the United States and Great Britain he
applied for a commission in the army and was appointed
from New York first lieutenant in the Thirteenth infantry,
John E. Wool, captain. His commission was dated
March 12, 181 2. He was in the engagement at Queens-
town Heights, October 13, 181 2, and was commended
by his colonel for gallantry in battle. He was made a
captain April 1, 1813; major of Third infantry May 1,
1829; lieutenant-colonel of first dragoons March 4, 1833;
colonel July 4, 1836; brigadier-general June 30, 1846;
brevet major April 1, 1820, for ten years' faithful service
in one grade, and major-general for gallant and meritorious
conduct in New Mexico and California to date from the
battle of San Pascual, December 6, 1846.
Kearny accompanied General Atkinson on his exploring
expedition to the Yellowstone and in 1834 took part in
a campaign against the Comanches. In 1842 he was
given command of the Third military department with
headquarters at St. Louis. With five companies of his
dragoons he marched in 1845 to the South pass returning
by way of Fort Bent and holding councils with various
Indian tribes.
ngs of San Francisco
was in California and Stockton
instructions to assume command
ament in that territory. As to
I have given an account of
This then brings us down
VRNY
s born at Newark, New
_ Missouri, October 31,
umbia college, New
-aduated in the summer
that war must
eat Britain he
opointed
is dated
¥tfx&o .// mwrnti .iA*m"/i3;j-fl3KiA0i.aa Queens-
nmended
made a
.try May I,
4, i8_;
I June 30, 1846;
faithful service
and meritorious
alifornia to date from the
r 6, 1846.
ral Atkinson on his exploring
and in 1834 took part in
ianches. In 1842 he was
: military department with
With five companies of his
o the South returning
nth various
•
/
Notes 671
In anticipation of a war with Mexico Colonel Kearny,
then in command at Fort Leavenworth, was in the spring
of 1846 selected to command an expedition to be sent
against the northern Mexican provinces, more particularly
New Mexico and California. Kearny's instructions,
dated June 3, 1846, directed him to occupy Santa Fe,
and after providing a sufficient garrison from his com-
mand, with the force remaining to press forward to the
conquest of Upper California whose early possession was
deemed to be of the greatest importance; and he was
instructed to conduct himself in such a manner as would
best conciliate the inhabitants and render them friendly
to the United States.
The troops of the expedition rendezvousing at Fort
Leavenworth consisted of six squadrons of First dragoons
under Major E. V. Sumner, two batteries of light artillery
under Major Meriwether Lewis Clark, two companies
of infantry under Captain W. Z. Angney, the Laclede
Rangers under Captain Thomas B. Hudson, and the
First regiment Missouri mounted volunteers under
Colonel Alexander W. Doniphan — in all sixteen hundred
and fifty-eight men and sixteen pieces of ordnance —
twelve six-pounders and four twelve-pound howitzers.
In addition was a corps of field and topographical engineers
consisting of Lieutenant William H. Emory, Lieutenant
William H. Warner, Lieutenant J. W. Abert, and Lieu-
tenant G. W. Peck. The force was styled the "Army
of the West" and began its march June 26, 1846, in
detached columns, and on July 29th crossed into Mexican
territory and concentrated in admirable order and pre-
cision at a camp nine miles below Bent's fort. After a
brief rest at Bent's fort the march to Santa Fe was
resumed and on August 18th Kearny entered the capital
of New Mexico, the enemy retiring before his advance.
The flag was raised on the plaza and saluted with thirteen
672 The Beginnings of San Francisco
guns by Major Clark's batteries. A few days before,
at Las Vegas, an express from Fort Leavenworth reached
the army bringing Kearny's commission as brigadier-
general. On the nineteenth Kearny assembled the
citizens and addressed them saying that the United
United States had taken possession of New Mexico and
that he would establish a civil government for the depart-
ment, assuring them of protection for person, property,
and religion. In addition to the Doniphan regiment
another regiment of Missouri volunteers had been raised
and was marching to Santa Fe under command of Colonel
Sterling Price. They were to form a part of Kearny's
force and march to California, should they be needed.
Kearney was also authorized to raise a battalion among
the Mormons who were assembling on the Missouri
river preparatory to a migration across the plains.
Kearny sent Captain Allen of the First dragoons from
Fort Leavenworth to enlist from among the Mormons
who wished to go to California, five companies of one
hundred men each, each company to elect its own officers,
the battalion to be commanded by Allen with the rank
of lieutenant-colonel. The battalion so formed was
assembled at Fort Leavenworth where Lieutenant-colonel
Allen fell sick and the troops marched to Santa Fe under
command of Lieutenant Andrew J. Smith of the First
dragoons. They reached Santa Fe on the ninth and
twelfth of October where they were received by Colonel
Doniphan with a discharge of artillery, much to their
delight.
On September 25th General Kearny began the march
from Santa Fe to California with three hundred dragoons
and two mountain howitzers, leaving orders for the
Mormon battalion to follow him. Colonel Doniphan
was to await the arrival of the regiment under Colonel
Price and then march his regiment into Chihuahua and
Notes 673
report to Brigadier-general Wool, leaving Santa Fe in
charge of Price. The artillery was divided, a part to
accompany Doniphan and the rest to remain in Santa
Fe. Proceeding down the Rio Grande Kearny met,
on October 6th a few miles below Socorro, an express
from California with dispatches for Washington from
Commodore Stockton. This was Kit Carson with a
party of fifteen men, including six Delaware Indians.
Carson informed Kearny that the conquest of California
had been completed and the territory was in the quiet
possession of the Americans. In consequence of this
information Kearny sent back to Santa Fe two hundred
of his three hundred dragoons. He retained companies
C and K, one hundred dragoons, under Captain Benjamin
D. Moore, Lieutenant Thomas C. Hammond, and
Lieutenant John W. Davidson, the latter in charge of the
two howitzers. His staff consisted of Captain Henry
S. Turner, acting assistant adjutant-general; Captain
Abraham R. Johnston, aide-de-camp; Major Thomas
Swords, quartermaster; Lieutenants William H. Emory
and William H. Warner of the topographical engineers,
with a dozen assistants and servants; and Assistant-
surgeon John S. Griffin. Antoine Robidoux was the
guide and Kearny insisted that Carson, being more
familiar with the route, turn back and guide them to
California. Carson was unwilling to do so saying he
had pledged himself to deliver his dispatches in person,
and he also desired to see his family. Kearny, however
assumed the responsibility for the dispatches, and Carson
consented to return. The entire force of officers and men
numbered one hundred and twenty-three. The com-
mand was mounted on mules, it being thought that they
would stand the hardships of the journey better than
horses. After two days' march Carson told the com-
mander that at their rate of travel it would take four
674 The Beginnings of San Francisco
months to reach California. The wagons were therefore
abandoned in favor of pack-mules and on October 15th
the command left the Rio Grande and turning westward
reached on October 20th the head waters of the Gila, a
beautiful mountain stream thirty feet wide. The march
down the Gila was without particular incident; the
Apaches were friendly, professing love for the Americans
and hatred for all Mexicans. The Pimas and Coco-
maricopas of the river pueblos received the expedition
hospitably, bringing to the camp corn, beans, honey, and
watermelons. At the junction of the Gila and Colorado
a small party of Mexicans convoying a band of five
hundred wild horses was encountered. These men gave
contradictory accounts of a rising of the Californians, and
from the contents of a dispatch bag, whose bearer was
also captured, the commander learned that a revolt
had placed that part of the territory through which he
must pass in the hands of the Californians and that the
Americans had been expelled from Los Angeles, Santa
Barbara, and other places.
The Colorado was crossed ten miles below the junction
on November 25th, and the twenty-sixth, twenty-seventh,
and twenty-eighth were spent in traversing the desert.
Crossing the Cordillera by the Carriso creek route, a
much easier road than that taken by Anza, the command,
after much suffering and the loss of many animals,
reached on December 2d Warner's rancho — Agua Caliente.
Here was food in plenty and Lieutenant Emory notes
the fact that seven of his men ate at a single meal a fat,
full grown sheep. On the fourth the march was resumed,
the route being southerly down the valley thirteen and
a half miles to Santa Isabel, the rancho of Edward Stokes,
whom Kearny had met on his arrival at Warner's, and
who volunteered to carry a letter to Commodore Stockton
announcing his approach. This letter was delivered to
Notes 675
Stockton December 3d, and he dispatched Captain
Archibald H. Gillespie with a force of thirty-nine men to
Kearny's assistance. The march of December 5th was
to the Santa Maria rancho and on the way he was met
by the reinforcements under Gillespie. The dragoons
had marched all day through a cold rain and it was
late at night when camp was made. Here they learned
that the enemy was in force a few miles below and Lieu-
tenant Hammond was sent to reconnoitre. He reported
that he was discovered and it was determined to attack
the enemy and force a passage. At two o'clock on the
morning of the sixth the call to horse was sounded and
nine miles were covered before daybreak. As day dawned
they approached the Indian village of San Pascual and
came upon the enemy already in the saddle and awaiting
them. Captain Johnston was in command of the advance
guard of twelve dragoons, mounted on the best horses.
Riding close behind was General Kearny with Lieutenants
Emory and Warner of the engineers and four or five of
their men; next came Captain Moore and Lieutenant
Hammond with about fifty dragoons mounted, with
but few exceptions, on the tired mules they had ridden
from Santa Fe. These were followed by Captains Gilles-
pie and Gibson with about twenty volunteers; Lieutenant
Davidson came next with the two mountain howitzers
drawn by mules with a few dragoons to manage the
guns; and finally, the rest of the force between fifty
and sixty men, under Major Swords, brought up the
rear and protected the baggage. At the word of com-
mand Captain Johnston made a furious charge upon
the enemy and was quickly supported by the dragoons
under Captain Moore. The Californians stood the
shock of the charge and a hand to hand conflict ensued.
Captain Johnston fell, shot through the head, and after
a brief struggle the Californians clapped spurs to their
676 The Beginnings of San Francisco
horses and fled the field. Captain Moore rallied his men
to the pursuit and all dashed after the flying foe. The
Californians retreated about half a mile to an open plain
then suddenly wheeled and rushed upon the Americans,
charging with their lances. The Americans stood their
ground, but at a fearful loss. The conflict lasted about
five minutes and then the Californians again fled. This
time there was no pursuit, nor did the Californians
return. The Americans remained in possession of the
field and of their dead and wounded. Captain Johnston
and Captain Moore were killed outright while Lieutenant
Hammond, badly wounded, lived several hours. Two
sergeants, two corporals, and ten privates of the dragoons,
one private of the volunteers, and one man of the topo-
graphical department were killed — in all nineteen. The
wounded included the general, Lieutenant Warner,
Captains Gillespie and Gibson of the volunteers, Antoine
Robidoux the guide, one sergeant, one bugleman, and
nine privates of the dragoons — sixteen, most of whom
had received from two to ten wounds each. Only one
death and one wound were caused by firearms. All
the other dead and wounded were lanced. Captain
Moore fell early in the second encounter with a lance
through his body and Hammond received the wounds
that caused his death while trying to save Moore. Both
Moore and Hammond were lanced by Dolores Higuera,
called "the Huero" (fair-haired), a tall powerful man who
resembled a German. Higuera then bore down on
Gillespie, unhorsed him, wounded him severely, and
would have killed him but dropped his lance in order
to secure Gillespie's silver mounted saddle.*
* It is said that the Huero later offered to return Gillespie his saddle and
bridle, but the latter refused to accept the property, saying that it had saved
his life. Philip Crossthwaite, who was in the fight, a volunteer under Gillespie
says that Captain Moore was lanced by Leandro Osufia.
Notes 677
The fight at San Pascual was the most famous and
deadly of the war in California. The force encounted
by Kearny was a body of about eighty Californians under
Andres Pico* who had entered the hills to cut off the
retreat of Gillespie who, it was thought, was out on a
raid for cattle and horses — Kearny's approach being
unknown. The Indians had reported on the fifth the
advance of a large force, but little attention was paid
to them. It was a cold rainy night and between eleven
and twelve o'clock the barking of a dog aroused the
sentry. A party sent out to reconnoitre found a blanket
marked "U. S." and the trail of the enemy's scouts.
The horses were brought in and preparations for defence
made and at daybreak the advance guard of the Ameri-
cans bore down at full speed upon them. The slight
loss among the volunteers is due to the fact that but
few of them got into the fight. The two howitzers were
brought up but did not get into action, though the mules
attached to one of them took fright and dashed after
the enemy who took the gun and killed the man in charge
of it. The Americans fought with desperate courage
against heavy odds. Their animals were either wild,
unbroken horses, or mules worn out with the long journey
from which the men themselves were not yet rested;
they had had little or no sleep the preceding night,
their clothing was soaked by the drizzling rain and they
were numb with the intense cold. Kearny had about
* Accounts of the number of Pico's force differ. John Forster (Pioneer
Data, p. 37-40) says: "Pico had seventy-two men. Captain Johnston
(Journal, Dec. 4) says: "We heard of a party of Californians — eighty men —
encamped at a distance from this;" (Santa Isabel). Emory (Ex. Doc. 41,
p. 112) says: "The navy took a prisoner at this house (Alvarado's). He
stated that Pico's force consisted of one hundred and sixty-men." This
is the number given by Kearny in his report, he being satisfied with the prison-
er's statement.
678 The Beginnings of San Francisco
one hundred and sixty men, all told, but not one half
of them were engaged; while the Californians, superbly
mounted and the finest horsemen in the world, were
fresh and were fighting in their own country, and with
a weapon most deadly in their hands, the lance. The
Californians had eleven wounded, none killed.
In consequence of Kearny's wound Captain Turner
assumed command. Messengers were sent to San Diego
for wheeled conveyances to carry the wounded and
Emory was sent back with a force to bring up Major
Swords and the rear guard which was about a mile behind;
the surgeon was busy dressing the wounded, while the
rest of the men were engaged in making ambulances for
their transportation. Their provisions were gone, their
horses were dead, their mules were on their last legs;
and the men, having lost one third of their number,
were ragged, worn down by fatigue, and emaciated.
When night closed in the dead were buried under a willow
tree to the east of the camp with no other accompaniment
than the howling of myriads of wolves. Their position
was defensible but the ground was so covered with rocks
and cacti that it was difficult to find a smooth place to
rest, even for the wounded. The night was cold and
damp and sleep was impossible. The Californians
hovered near and Pico reported to Captain Flores,
commander of the forces, that none of the Americans could
get away and that he would attack them when the rest
of his division — eighty men under Captain Cota — should
come up. On the seventh Kearny resumed command
and the troops were moved down the valley to San
Bernardo, having a slight skirmish with the enemy during
the march. The suffering of the wounded was very
great and it was apparent to the general that to advance,
encumbered as he was, would almost certainly result
in the loss of his wounded and of the baggage. He
SAN PASCUAL
The Charge of the Caballeros.
s of San Francisco
and sixty men, all told, but not one half
while the Californians, superbly
l horsemen in the world, were
n country, and with
hands, the lance. The
unded, none killed.
nd Captain Turner
were sent to San Diego
carry the wounded and
with a force to bring up Major
uard whi- about a mile behind;
-sing the wounded, while the
:ed in making ambulances for
ir provisions were gone, their
on their last legs;
..,„.. ,^ \ naciated.
a willow
camp wit tmpaniment
g of myriad Their position
>ut the gi .red with rocks
at it was di i smooth place to
the v, tie night was cold and
ep was >le. The Californians
i Pic ed to Captain Flores,
one of the Americans could
..ttack them when the rest
r Captain Cota — should
ny resumed command
down the valley to San
i with the enemy during
of the* wounded was very
le general that to advance,
vas, would almost certainly result
wounded and of the baggage. He
Notes 679
therefore remained in camp defending himself from the
assaults of the enemy. On the night of the eighth, Kit
Carson and Lieutenant E. F. Beale of the navy, a volun-
teer of Gillespie's force, offered to make their way through
the enemy's lines to San Diego, twenty-nine miles distant,
and make known to Stockton Kearny's condition. This
was done and Stockton sent Lieutenant Gray of the
Congress with two hundred marines and sailors, and
food and clothing for Kearny's naked and hungry men.
The reinforcements reached Kearny's camp before dawn
on the eleventh. The march was then resumed and they
reached San Diego on the afternoon of the twelfth,
unmolested by Pico, who had withdrawn on the arrival
of Gray with the reinforcements.
Sergeant Cox and Private Kennedy of the dragoons
died from their wounds, one on the march and the other
in San Diego. The bodies buried under the tree on the
battlefield were subsequently removed to San Diego
with the exception of Captain Johnston, whose remains,
sent to his father, were buried at Piqua, Ohio, while
those of Moore and Hammond, who were brothers-in-law
and strongly attached to each other, lie side by side,
at Point Loma.
General Kearny found Commodore Stockton actively
engaged in organizing his forces for an expedition against
the enemy who were in possession of Los Angeles and
Santa Barbara. Stockton's force consisted of about
four hundred and forty sailors and marines, ninety
volunteers of the California battalion under Captain
Gillespie, including twenty-five Californians and Indians,
six pieces of artillery, and a wagon train of one four-wheel
carriage and ten ox carts, under charge of Lieutenant
George Minor of the Savannah. In addition to this force
Fremont was approaching Los Angeles from the north with
four hundred mounted men and six pieces of artillery.
680 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Kearny was in a delicate position. He had reached
San Diego with but a remnant of his command, his best
officers had been killed, and he and many of his men were
wounded. He was indebted to the commodore for
rescue from a dangerous situation and he found that
officer organizing a vigorous campaign against the
revolted Californians. Stockton offered Kearny the
chief command but the general's courtesy prompted him
to decline, saying that the force was Stockton's and that
he would accompany him as his aide-de-camp. Kearny
however showed Stockton his orders and, according to
his testimony before Fremont's court-martial, announced
that as soon as his command was increased he would
take charge in California as instructed.
The army marched out of San Diego December 29th
with the force given above, to which had been added
fifty-five dragoons under command of Captain Turner:
Lieutenant Davidson assisting. General Kearny acted
as commander of the troops, Commodore Stockton
accompanying as governor and commander-in-chief.
The entire force, including sappers and miners, numbered
six hundred and seven.
At the crossing of the San Gabriel river, January
8th, their passage was disputed by about five hundred
Californians under Jose Maria Flores, with Jose Antonio
Carrillo second in command, and Andres Pico, comandante
de escuadron. The Californians had two nine-pounders
which they placed in position to command the ford
but their powder was home-made and had barely force
enough to expel the projectiles from the guns without
doing very much damage to the Americans. The engage-
ment lasted two hours when the Californians were driven
back. The American loss was two men killed and eight
wounded — one of whom died the following day. The
loss of the Californians was about the same.
Notes 68i
On the ninth the march was resumed and the enemy
was again encountered about four miles below Los Angeles,
the action resulting in one Californian being killed and
several wounded while Stockton had five men wounded.
This ended the war in California. The passage of the
Rio San Gabriel and the battle of La Mesa, as the action
below Los Angeles is called, have been somewhat over-
drawn. There is no question that both sides displayed
courage, but the Californians fought in a half hearted
way. They were only half armed, they had no powder
but the poor stuff they made themselves, and they had
no hope of success. Most of them went home after the
fight, leaving Pico only about one hundred men. Stock-
ton entered Los Angeles on the morning of the tenth.
Flores transferred the command to Pico on the eleventh
and returned to Mexico. On the thirteenth the peace
of Cahuenga was signed by Fremont and Pico.
It appears that Kearny was aware that Stockton in-
tended to ignore his authority and on the fourteenth
he wrote to the war department that upon the arrival
of the troops which were en route by land and sea he
would, according to the instructions, have the manage-
ment of affairs in California. On the sixteenth he ordered
Stockton to show his authority from the government
or to take no further action in relation to a civil organi-
zation. Stockton declined to recognize Kearny's author-
ity and on the same day delivered to Fremont his com-
mission as governor and suspended Kearny from the
command conferred on him at San Diego. Kearny
also ordered Fremont to make no changes in the organi-
zation of the California battalion, sending him a copy
of his instructions from the secretary of war of June 18,
1846, pointing out the sentence: "These troops and such
as may be organized in California will be under your
command." This order was delivered to Fremont in
682 The Beginnings of San Francisco
the evening of the sixteenth. Fremont after a consulta-
tion with Stockton, during which each exhibited to the
other the order he had received from Kearny, replied
to the general declining to obey his order on the ground
that he had received his commission from Stockton and
that on his arrival at Los Angeles he had found the
commodore still recognized as commander, and with
great deference, etc., he felt constrained to say that until
the two commanders adjusted the difference of rank
between themselves he would "have to report and
receive orders as heretofore from the commodore."
Finding his authority ignored and having no troops to
enforce obedience, Kearny announced to Stockton his
intention to withdraw his dragoons and report the
state of affairs to the war department at Washington,
leaving with the commodore the responsibility of doing
that for which he had no authority, and preventing him
from carrying out his instructions. He retired to San
Diego and on the 21st of January sailed on the Cyane
for Monterey. The troops en route were the Mormon
battalion, an artillery company sent by sea, and the
First regiment New York volunteers, also by sea. The
Mormon battalion, three hundred and fourteen strong,
reached San Diego January 29th.
Company F. Third United States artillery reached
Monterey January 28, 1847, on the transport Lexing-
ton, six months and fourteen days from New York.
The company was commanded by Captain Christopher
Q. Tompkins; the first lieutenants were Edward O. C.
Ord and William T. Sherman; second lieutenants Lucien
Loeser and Colville J. Minor. Doctor James L. Ord was
contract surgeon, and Lieutenant Henry W. Halleck of
the engineers accompanied the detachment. Three of
these men became general officers and two of them, Hal-
leck and Sherman, commanded the armies of the United
Notes 683
States. The rank and file numbered one hundred and
thirteen men. The first detachment of the New York
regiment arrived March 6th and the rest of the regiment
came during the month.
Kearny arrived at Monterey February 8th where he
found Commodore William Branford Shubrick who had
arrived in the man-of-war Independence to succeed
Commodore Stockton. Shubrick recognized Kearny as
the senior officer of the army in California, and the two
officers agreed to await more explicit instructions from
Washington before taking action. Kearny started for
San Francisco on the Cyane, February nth, and there
found Colonel Richard B. Mason of the First dragoons
and Lieutenant Henry B. Watson of the navy, who had
arrived from Washington February 12th, bringing in-
structions dated November 3d and 5th, for both general
and commodore, to the effect that the senior officer of
the land forces was to be civil governor. Kearny returned
to Monterey accompanied by Mason and Watson and
after consultation with Commodore Shubrick a joint
circular was issued in which was announced the orders
of the president regarding the position and authority of
the commander-in-chief of the naval forces and that
of the commanding military officer. On the same day,
March 1, 1847, Kearny issued a proclamation assuming
charge of the civil government of California and naming
Monterey as the capital. Also on the same day the gen-
eral issued "Orders No. 2" requiring Fremont to muster
the volunteers into United States service and put Captain
Cooke in command. He sent this by Captain Turner
and at the same time he wrote to Fremont ordering him
to report at Monterey and bring with him all archives,
public documents, and papers in his control, appertaining
to the government of California. Turner reached Los
Angeles March nth and delivered his orders and the
684 The Beginnings of San Francisco
joint circular to Fremont. All volunteers declining to
enter the service were to be discharged. Fremont
submitted the order to the California battalion and they
declined to be mustered in. William H. Russell "secre-
tary of state" wrote to Captain Cooke, March 16th
that the "governor" considered it unsafe to discharge
the battalion "at this time when rumor is rife with
threatened insurrection," and would decline to do so.
On the twenty-second Fremont started for Monterey
to see Kearny, reaching the capital at nightfall of the
twenty-fifth. He made a call of ceremony that evening
and had an interview with the general the next morning.
He started on his return on the afternoon of the twenty-
sixth and reached the pueblo on the twenty-ninth. It
is said in regard to the interview, that Fremont objected
to the presence of Colonel Mason and was offensive in
his remarks when he was informed by the general that
Mason was properly in the room. The result of the
interview was Fremont's promise to obey orders. To
insure this Kearny sent Mason south on an inspection
tour, giving him full authority in both civil and military
matters. From Mason's report of April 26th it appears
that Fremont had authorized the collector at San Pedro
to receive "government payment" in payment of customs
dues and that the masters or supercargoes of certain
ships were buying this paper at thirty per cent, discount
and using it to pay duties. The "government payment,"
he explained, consisted of certificates or due bills given
by the paymaster and quartermaster of the California
battalion. The order to the collector was dated March
2 1 st and signed "J. C. Fremont, Governor of California,
by Wm. H. Russell, Secretary of State." Mason also en-
closed an original order from Lieutenant-colonel Fremont
of the 15th of March, to Captain Richard Owens of the
California battalion, directing him not to obey the order
Notes 685
of any officer that did not emanate from him (Fremont)
nor to turn over the public arms, etc., to any corps with-
out his special order.
From various reports of the interview between Mason
and Fremont we learn that it was anything but an
harmonious one. Stephen C. Foster, who was present,
says that Mason sent an orderly to Fremont with a
request to report to headquarters. The man returned
with the statement that Fremont's sentry would not
admit him. Mason sent him back with the same order;
the man returned with the same report. The third time
Mason sent the orderly, when Fremont came. Mason
was very angry and addressed Fremont in harsh terms,
saying he had been waiting all the morning to arrange
for Fremont to turn over the government artillery and
other property. Fremont's reply was insolent in tone
and Mason threatened to put him in irons. Fremont
returned to his quarters and sent Major Reading with
a demand for an apology. This being refused, a challenge
followed and was accepted, but Kearny intervened and
the meeting did not take place.
General Kearny proceeded to organize a civil govern-
ment by appointing alcaldes, collectors, Indian agents, etc.,
and endeavored to settle the vexing questions relating to
civil affairs as best he could. On March 22d he announced
to the various claimants to the property of the missions
of San Jose, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and San Juan, that
until a proper tribunal was established to decide upon
the claims, the missions and the property belonging to
them would remain in possession of the priests, as they
were when the United States flag was first raised in
the territory, and the alcaldes of the various jurisdictions
were instructed to enforce this order. Kearny's last
military order was to send Lieutenant-colonel Burton
of the New York volunteers to Lower California with
686 The Beginnings of San Francisco
two companies of the regiment to take and hold possession
of the country for the United States. On May 13th
the general notified the adjutant-general that he was clos-
ing his affairs in California and would leave for St. Louis
via the South pass, and that the conduct of Lieutenant-
colonel Fremont was such that he would be compelled,
on arriving in Missouri, to arrest him and send him
under charges to Washington.
On the 31st of May, 1847, General Kearny turned over
to Colonel Mason the command, civil and military,
and started for the Missouri. Accompanying him were
Edwin Bryant, Major Swords, Captains Cooke and
Turner, Doctor Sanderson of the Mormon battalion,
Lieutenant Radford of the navy, Willard P. Hall, William
O. Fallon as guide, a Mormon escort of thirteen men and
a few men of the topographical service, a number of
servants, and Lieutenant-colonel Fremont with William
N. Loker of the California battalion and nineteen men
of his original party. At Sutter's fort several days were
consumed in preparation for the journey, and on June
22d Kearny was at the Donner camp burying such remains
of the unfortunates as he could find. He passed Fort
Hall in the middle of July and reached Fort Leavenworth
August 22d. Here he ordered Fremont to consider
himself under arrest and report to the adjutant-general
at Washington. Fremont was charged with mutiny,
disobedience of the lawful commands of his superior
officer, and conduct to the prejudice of good order and
military discipline. The court-martial was convened
November 2, 1847, and the trial lasted two weeks. Fre-
mont was defended by Thomas H. Benton and William
Carey Jones, and after three days of deliberation was
found guilty on all of the specifications and sentenced to
dismissal from the service. Seven members of the court
signed a recommendation of clemency on account of
Notes 687
previous services. President Polk approved the verdict,
except on the charge of mutiny, but remitted the penalty
and ordered Fremont to report for duty. In its findings
the court stated: "The attempt to assail the leading
witness for the prosecution (General Kearny) has involved
points not in issue, and to which the prosecution has
brought no evidence. In the judgment of the court
his honor and character are unimpeached. "
Fremont declined to accept the president's clemency
and sent in his resignation, which was accepted March
14th.
General Kearny was nominated in July 1848, for brevet
major-general for gallant conduct at San Pascual and for
meritorious services in New Mexico and California.
Thomas H. Benton spoke for thirteen days against the
confirmation and then announced that he had but begun
his theme — the conspiracy against Fremont.
In person Kearny was five feet, ten or eleven inches
in height, of fine figure and soldierly bearing; features
regular; eyes blue; and in ordinary social intercourse
the expression of his countenance was mild and pleasing
and his manners and conversation unaffected, urbane,
and conciliatory, without any sign of vanity or egotism.
A strict disciplinarian, he brooked no delinquency and
was stern and uncompromising towards those who
failed or were neglectful of duty. Upright, brave, and
energectic, he was true to himself and to the interests
and honor of his country.
Colonel Mason
Richard Barnes Mason, son of George Mason of
Lexington, Fairfax county, Virginia, was born on the
family estate in Fairfax county in 1797. He came of
a family distinguished in the annals of his state and
his grandfather, George Mason, was the author of the
688 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Virginia bill of rights and the friend of Washington and
Jefferson. On the 2d of September 1817, Mason was
appointed second lieutenant of the Eighth infantry.
He was made first lieutenant September 25, 1817, and
Captain July 31, 1819. On the formation of the First
dragoons in 1833, Mason was commissioned major March
4th. He was made lieutenant-colonel July 4, 1836,
and colonel June 30, 1846, on Kearny's promotion. On
July 31, 1829, he was made brevet major for ten years'
faithful service in one grade and on May 30, 1848, brevet
brigadier-general for meritorious service in California.
In 1824 Mason accompanied the expedition of General
Atkinson to the Yellowstone, served through the Black
Hawk war in 1832, and his whole service was spent on
the northern and western frontiers. In November 1846
Colonel Mason was ordered to California to relieve
General Kearny and he sailed for Chagres on November
10th reaching San Francisco February 12, 1849. The
war in California was over and on May 31st he received
from General Kearny the command, both civil and mili-
tary. One of Mason's earliest appointments was that
of Lieutenant Henry W. Halleck of the engineers, as
secretary of state: a most fortunate selection. Halleck
was not only the great soldier he afterwards proved
himself to be, but was a wise and able lawyer, well
educated, with a mind of high intellectual development.
Perhaps the most troublesome question the government
of California had to deal with was that relating to land
titles. Halleck, at Colonel Mason's request, made a
careful study of the subject and his report of March 1,
1849, on the laws and regulations governing the grant-
ing and holding of lands is an exhaustive review of the
matter. Halleck resigned in 1854 and was a member of
the law firm of Halleck, Peachy, and Billings, taking part
in many great land suits and acquiring a large fortune .
*>
COLONEL RICHARD B. MASON
From a portrait in possession of his daughter.
^^^t^x-7 <^U^ryf- '/?-c*>^j
CISCO
I of W ;ton and
1 8 17, Mason was
th infantry.
ember 25, 1817, and
18 19. On rmation of the First
[833 Mas ; ^missioned major March
was made lieuten lonel July 4, 1836,
1846, on Kearny's promotion. On
.ade b major for ten years'
grade and on May 30, 1848, brevet
-ious service in California.
>anied the expedition of General
ellowstone, served through the Black
2, and his whole as spent on
id western frontiers. In November 1846
to California to relieve
v.o?j.u .h a5i/,H3w J3K0J0D cn ± er
„ 1 i ( , rr , • , , . . . 40. The
.Tj^rigufifa sirf to noigesseoq ni jumioq s moil
ceived
1 mili-
that
Henry W. as
a most tion. Halleck
'■eat s< afterwards proved
was a and able lawyer, well
a mind of h tellectual development.
troublesome question the government
d to deal with was that relating to land
Mason's request, made a
id his report of March 1,
•vs and regulations governing nt-
lands exhaustive re^ he
•<ned ber of
uits and ge fortui.
/M*ry/- l£^p
Notes 689
He reentered the army in 1861, became major-general,
and was commander-in-chief, 1862 to 1864. He died at
Louisville, Kentucky, in 1872, at the age of fifty-six.
Halleck was considered a cold blooded, unpopular man
by those persons who only wanted a share of the property
belonging to some one else, but his fame does not rest upon
them.
The great event during Colonel Mason's administration
was the discovery of gold at Sutter's mill on the American
river, and it was Mason's report of August 17, 1848,
incorporated in the president's message at the opening
of congress in December, that caused the great excitement.
Leaving Monterey on June 17th accompanied by Lieu-
tenant W. T. Sherman, Mason reached San Francisco
on the twentieth and found that all, or nearly all the
male population had gone to the mines. Crossing with
their horses to Sausalito they proceeded by way of Bodega
and Sonoma to Sutter's fort where they arrived July 2d.
Along the whole route mills were idle, fields of wheat
were open to cattle, houses vacant, and farms were going
to waste. At Sutter's all was life and business. Launches
were discharging their cargoes and carts were hauling
goods to the fort where were already established several
stores and a hotel. Mechanics were getting ten dollars
a day and merchants were paying a hundred dollars a
month per room. Proceeding to Mormon island Mason
found some two hundred men working in the intensely
hot sun, washing for gold, some with tin pans, some with
Indian baskets, but the greater part with a rude machine
on rockers called a cradle. Four men, thus employed,
averaged a hundred dollars a day. The gold was in
fine bright scales and he secured a sample. From these
diggings he went to the mill, about twenty-five miles
above, or fifty miles^from Sutter's fort. Under guidance
of Marshall , Mason visited the various diggings in that
690 The Beginnings of San Francisco
vicinity, obtained samples of coarse gold and nuggets and
listened to the tale of the discovery at first hand. Re-
turning to Sutter's fort he was preparing to visit the
placers on the Feather, Bear, and Yuba rivers when
dispatches recalled him to Monterey where he arrived
July 17th. On his return trip he visited the quicksilver
mines at New Almaden. Before leaving Sutter's fort
he satisfied himself that gold existed in the beds of the
Feather, Yuba, and Bear rivers, and in many of the
smaller streams that lie between the Bear and the Ameri-
can Fork, and that it had been found in the Cosumnes.
He not only heard the marvellous tales but was shown
great quantities of clean washed gold. The most moder-
ate estimate he could obtain from men acquainted with
the subject was, that upwards of four thousand men were
working in the gold district, of whom more than half
were Indians, and that from thirty to fifty thousand
dollars worth of gold, if not more, was daily obtained.
He reported that the entire gold district was government
land; and he thinks the government should receive rents
or fees for the privilege of procuring the gold; but
considering the large extent of country, the character of
the people engaged, and the small scattered force at his
command, he resolved not to interfere, but to permit all to
work freely. He was surprised to learn that crime of any
kind was very infrequent and that no thefts or robberies had
been committed in the gold district, though all lived in
tents, in brush houses, or in the open air; and men had
frequently about their persons thousands of dollars' worth
of gold; and he marveled that such peace and quiet should
continue. He says that the discovery of gold has entirely
changed the character of Upper California. Farmers,
mechanics, laborers, and tradesmen kave left everything
and have gone to the mines. Saflors desert their ships
as fast as they arrive, and soldiers their garrisons.
Notes 691
The events of Mason's administration have been
fairly epitomized in the various chapters of the historical
narrative preceding. He was the one man power,
everything had to be put up to him and from his decision
there was no appeal. Walter Colton tells of two murderers
convicted in his court and sentenced to be hanged. At
the execution the knots slipped and down they came.
The priest who confessed them was in the crowd that
witnessed the execution and he at once declared that
the penalty was paid and the criminals absolved. Has-
tening to the governor he demanded his mandate to that
effect. Colonel Mason gravely informed the priest that
the prisoners had been sentenced by the court to be
hanged by the neck until they were dead, and that when
this sentence had been executed the knot slipping business
might perhaps be considered.
Mason was relieved at his own request by Bennet
Riley on April 13, 1849, and sailed for the east in May.
He was placed in command at Jefferson Barracks where
he died July 25, 1850.
Colonel Mason was a large fine looking man with the
bearing of a soldier and the breeding of a gentleman.
General Sherman testifies: "He possessed a strong
native intelligence and far more knowledge of the prin-
ciples of civil government and law than he got credit for. "
Mason was not popular with a certain class of Americans.
He stood in their way; but as General Sherman says,
"he was the very embodiment of the principle of fidelity
to the interests of the general government," and he
might have added, to the people of California also.
General Riley
Bennet Riley was born in St. Mary's county, Maryland,
about the year 1790. He entered the service as ensign
of Forsyth's regiment of rifles January 19, 1813, and
692 The Beginnings of San Francisco
joined the army at Sacketts Harbor in the spring of
that year. He served throughout the war with credit
and was favorably mentioned on several occasions by his
commanding officers. He was already distinguished for
heroic courage, coolness in battle, and great natural
sagacity.
At the conclusion of peace Riley served with his
regiment on the Mississippi frontier. In 1821 the
rifles were disbanded and Riley was transferred to the
infantry. He had been made third lieutenant March
12, 1813 ; second lieutenant April 15, 1814; first lieutenant
March 31, 1817, and captain August 6, 1818. While
stationed on the frontier he was frequently called on
to engage the Indians, and in 1823 distinguished himself
to such a degree, in a battle with the Anickorees, that
he received the brevet of major. In 1829 he was ordered
to guard the caravan to Santa Fe with directions to await
on the Mexican line the return of the traders. During
their absence he defeated the Indians in two pitched
battles; and subsequently convoyed the merchants safely
to St. Louis. For his conduct in this expedition the legis-
lature of Missouri voted him a sword.
Riley served through the Black Hawk war and took
part in the final struggle, the battle of Bad-axe. On
September 26, 1837, he was made a major and ordered
to Fort Gibson. On December 1, 1839, he was made
a lieutenant-colonel and ordered to Florida where he
served until 1842 and distinguished himself by his energy,
promptitude, and courage, receiving the brevet of colonel
for gallantry in the action of Chokachatta; being made
colonel January 31, 1850.
In July 1846 Riley was ordered to Mexico. For gallant
and meritorious conduct at the pass of Cerro Gordo,
April 17-18, 1846, he was brevetted brigadier-general.
On August 7th the army moved on the City of Mexico
*&&*;
>.--■■
BRIGADIER-GENERAL BENNET RILEY.
From a painting in the office of the commandant at Fort
Riley, Kansas.
cGs of San 1 o
Harbor in the spring of
oughout the war with credit
\eral occasions by his
He was already distinguished for
Iness in battle, and great natural
Riley served with his
^issippi frontier. In 1821 the
] and Riley was transferred to the
I been made third lieutenant March
it April 15, 1814; first lieutenant
and captain August 6, 1818. While
he was frequently called on
nd in 1823 distinguished himself
degree, in a 1 nickorees, that
^he brevet of major. Ir he was ordered
lard/faw T}VAma JAJIMO-Jraia/Disa s to await
fa t* )ntbn Emm oD M, to nftbW ni UA&q 1 « m o,1 during
ir absence he de.i% gnB x .yJifcjf in two pitched
; and subseque * hants safely
legis-
vord.
Black Hawk war and took
the battle of Bad-axe. On
<s made a major and ordered
1, 1839, he was made
red to Florida where he
1842;: 'shed himself by his energy,
, and cou iving the brevet of colonel
;try in the a Chokachatta; being made
lary 31, 1850.
1 846 Riley v lered to A ' r gallant
ious conduct at the pass of Cerro Gordo,
1846, he was brevetted brigadier-general.
th the army moved on the City of Mexico
Notes 693
and Colonel Riley was assigned to command of the Second
brigade of the Second division. Arriving in front of
Contreras on the afternoon of August 19th he proved the
coolness and discipline of his brigade. Charged by the
enemy's lancers in overwhelming numbers, he remained
unmoved. He formed his brigade into a square and
received the enemy with a rolling volley, repulsing them
in disorder. Three times they reformed and charged;
but the third time after delivering his volley, Riley
ordered his men to follow with the bayonet, on which
the Mexicans fled in confusion and did not renew the
attempt. For his skill and daring on this occasion
I Riley received the commendations of the commander-
in-chief in his official report. On the succeeding morning
an attack was planned on the entrenched camp of the
enemy and its execution was entrusted to Riley. After
a laconic harangue to his men,* he led them into a ravine
by which the heights above the entrenchments were
reached and then with a wild yell the Americans rushed
down upon the enemy. In . consternation they broke
and fled with scarcely any show of resistance and in a
few minutes the action was over. The commander-in-
chief, General Scott, said in his report: "The oppor-
tunity afforded to Colonel Riley by his position was
seized by that gallant veteran with all the skill and
energy for which he is distinguished. The charge of
this noble brigade down the slope, in full view of friend
and foe, unchecked even for a moment, until he had
planted all his colors upon their furthest works, was a
spectacle that animated the army to the boldest deeds."
For his gallant conduct in this battle Riley was brevetted
major-general, dating from August 20, 1846.
* S. C. Foster says: "In the morning of the battle Riley said to his men:
'Boys, we must all do our duty to-day. Ben Riley gets hell or the orange
scarf before night.' " Angeles From '47 to'49.
694 The Beginnings of San Francisco
At Churubusco, on this same day, Riley engaged in
the assault of the hacienda and for his behavior in this
action was again commended by Scott as well as by the
commanding officer of his division, Twiggs.
Bennet Riley was another of the strong individualities
that ruled California during the interregnum; a man of
courage and of strong convictions, he could not be moved
from the line of duty as he saw it. He was intelligent and
was direct and soldier-like in all his dealings. His period
was that of the great immigration of 1849, and his qualities
were put to the severest test by the inrush of peoples from
every quarter of the globe, riotous, and freed from the
restraints that had hitherto held them in check. Riley
was ever ready to help when help was needed and he was
as ready with the strong arm when the help of that arm
was required to protect the weak. That his courage was
not alone that of the battlefield the following letter
(in part) to the assistant adjutant-general of the Pacific
Division will show. It appears that the commanding
general of the division (Persifer F. Smith) had made an
order on August 12, 1849, that the moneys of the "civil
fund" be turned over to military authorities and that
disbursing officers of the army be permitted to draw on
that deposit for all expenses allowed by law. The civil
fund at that time amounted to some six hundred thousand
dollars, was in possession of Major Robert Allen, treasurer
of California, and was disbursed only on the order of
the governor.
"Executive Department of California.
"Monterey, August 30, 1849.
" Colonel :
"I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter
of the 1 2th instant communicating the views of General Smith
respecting my acts and duties as governor of California.
Notes 695
* * * "On assuming command in this country as civil gover-
nor, I was directed to receive from Governor Mason all his
instructions and communications, and take them for my
guidance in the administration of civil affairs. Upon an
examination of these instructions, and a full consultation
with Governor Mason, I determined to continue the collection
of the revenue till the general government should assume that
power and to add the proceeds to the 'civil fund' — using that
fund for the necessary expenses of the civil government.
* * * "This 'civil fund' was commenced in the early part of
1847, and has been formed and used in the manner pointed
out in the early instructions to the governor of this territory.
The money has been collected and disbursed by the 'governor
of California,' and by those appointed by him in virtue of his
office. He is, therefore, the person responsible for this money,
both to the government and the parties from whom it was
collected; and it can be expended only on his order. Not a
cent of this money has been collected under the authority of
any department of the army; nor can any such department,
or any officer of the army, simply in virtue of his military
commission, have any control, direct or indirect, over it.
* * * "No collectors in California now hold, or have ever
held, any appointments, commissions, or authority from any
military department; nor have they ever received any orders
or instructions from such sources. All their powers have been
derived from the governor of California and they have been
subject to his orders only. * * * And I am both surprised and
mortified to learn that, at this late hour, an attempt is to be
made to remove this money from my control, and to placeit
at the disposition of officers who have had no responsibility in its
collection, and who of right can exercise no authority over
it. * * * If, however, it now be the general's wish to assume a
military control of the collection of duties on imports into
California, I will immediately discharge the collectors appointed
by the governors of California, and surrender the entire
direction of the matter to such military department or military
officers as he may direct. But for the money which has already
been collected by the civil officers under my authority, I alone
am responsible; and until further instructions from Washington,
I shall continue to hold it, subject to my orders only, and to
expend, as heretofore, such portions of it as may be required
696 The Beginnings of San Francisco
for the support of the existing civil government. No military
officer or military department will be allowed to exercise any
control over it.
* * * "I beg leave to remark, in conclusion, that while I
shall always be most happy to receive the advice and suggestions
of the commanding general of the division respecting my
duties as civil governor of California, I must nevertheless be
permitted to decide upon the measures of my own government;
for as no military officer can be held accountable for my civil
acts, so no such officer can exercise any control whatever
over those acts.
"Very respectfully, your obedient servant
"B. Riley,
"Brevet Brig. Gen. U. S. Army
and Governor of California.
"Brevet Lieutenant Colonel J. Hooker,
"Assistant Adj. General, Pacific Division."
The concluding sentence was called out by some remarks
concerning his course with Indian affairs and the public
lands. General Smith made several mistakes in Cali-
fornia and one of them was when he attempted to
interfere with the civil government of B. Riley.
Riley notified the war department of this demand for
the civil fund and forwarded copies of the correspondence,
together with a full history of the fund. He expressed
his opinion that the civil fund belonged to the people
of California and recommended that such portions of
the moneys so collected as should be left after defraying
the expenses of the existing civil government, be given
to California as a school fund, to be exclusively devoted
to purposes of education. In his letter of October 1,
1849, he stated that the convention called by him to
frame a constitution had nearly completed its labors
and that it had determined by unanimous vote that the
new government organized under this constitution should
go into operation as soon as convenient after its ratification
Notes 697
by the people, without waiting for the approval of congress
and the admission of California into the Union. He
said that while doubting the legality of such a course,
he should consider it his duty to comply with the wishes
of the people and surrender his civil powers into the hands
of the new executive, unless he received special orders
from Washington to the contrary. The secretary of war
wrote him, November 28th, that as the arrangement
contemplated by him might already have been made
any instructions from the department contrary to his
views on the subject might militate against the peace
and quiet of the community and be productive of evil;
that the first consideration was the due observance of
law and order, and this, it was hoped and believed,
would be attained under the new order of things. The
civil fund remaining in his hands he was directed to place
in the safe keeping of the proper officers of the treasury
department, to be held subject to the final disposition
of congress.
Riley was not a little criticised by the Americans for
his strict adherence to what he considered his duty.
They could not see it as he did and there was much loud
talk about "military interference. " This bluster affected
him not at all. It was all a matter of course. Later,
when they realized what he was doing for them, the tide
began to turn. On October 13th the constitution adopted
by the convention called by General Riley was signed
by the members. As they met for the last time they
were called to order by William M. Steuart of San Fran-
cisco, the president, Dr. Semple, being sick. Steuart
called John A. Sutter to the chair and taking the floor
read the address to the people. As the last name was
signed to the document the flag was run up the staff
in front of the government building while the guns on
the redout boomed thirty-one times. Three times three
698 The Beginnings of San Francisco
cheers were given for the new star added to the constella-
tion, and then the convention proceeded in a body to the
governor, headed by Captain Sutter, who, in an address
to his excellency, conveyed to him the thanks of the
convention for the great and important services he had
rendered to their common country and especially to the
people of California; and the members of the convention
he said, entertained the confident belief that when the
governor returned from his official duties in California
he would receive from the whole people of the United
States that verdict so grateful to the heart of the patriot,
"Well done, thou good and faithful servant."
The bluff soldier was somewhat taken aback by this
unexpected mark of respect. The tears in his eyes and
the plain sincerity of his voice and manner went to the
heart of every one present. "Gentlemen" said he, "I
never made a speech in my life. I am a soldier — but
I can feel; and I do feel deeply the honor you have this
day conferred upon me. Gentlemen, this is a prouder day
to me than that on which my soldiers cheered me on the
field of Contreras. I thank you from my heart. I am
satisfied now that the people have done right in selecting
delegates to frame a constitution. They have chosen a
body of men upon whom our country may look with pride;
you have framed a constitution worthy of California,
and I have no fear for California while her people choose
their representatives so wisely. Gentlemen, I congratu-
late you upon the successful conclusion of your arduous
labors, and I wish you all happiness and prosperity. What-
ever success my administration has attained is mainly
owing to the efficient aid rendered by Captain Henry W.
Halleck, the secretary of state. To him should be the
the applause. He has never failed me."
In accord with his letter of October 1, 1849, to the
war department, General Riley turned over to the
Notes 699
constitutional governor, Peter F. Burnett, the civil power,
and confined himself to his duties as commander of the
Tenth military department.
In person Riley was tall and rather slim. His iron
grey whiskers were trimmed up to his eyes, while a scar
upon his countenance added to his military aspect. His
soldiers adored him and felt competent for anything
if "old Riley," as they called him, was with them. He
died June 6, 1853.*
Fortunate it was for California that at so critical
a period in her history she was ruled by such men as
Kearny, Mason, and Riley. High-minded, intelligent,
able, they stood like a stone wall against which the waves
of anarchy, greed, and covetousness dashed in vain.
They held the reins of government with firm hands, and
in honesty, courage, and knightly character they represent
the best traditions of the American army. California
has not appreciated these men. Deceived by a loud
clamor she has wandered away after strange gods and has
bowed down in worship of unworthy and fustian heroes.f
* 31st Cong. 1st. Ses. Ex. Doc. 17 Ho. of Rep.; Sen. Doc. 52; Bayard
Taylor: El Dorado; Heitman's Register; C. J. Peterson: Military Heroes
of the War with Mexico; S. C. Foster: Angeles '47 to *4Q, MS.
fThe late James Lick left in his will the sum of one hundred thousand
dollars for a monument to be erected to the Pioneers of California. This
monument was unveiled Thanksgiving Day, November 29, 1894. It is a
group of bronze statuary in Marshall square, on Market street, San Francisco.
It records the names of thirteen navigators, explorers, commanders, etc.,
but one looks in vain for the names of Anza, Kearny, Mason, or Riley.
700 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Note 36
LEESE
Jacob Primer Leese was born in Ohio in 1809 and
engaged in the Santa Fe trade in 1830. He first came
to California from New Mexico in 1833 and did not
remain but returned in July 1834, and settled in Los
Angeles. He realized that a large and profitable business
could be done in collecting hides and tallow for the Ameri-
can ships and in supplying the Californians with the
goods brought by them. In looking over the field he
decided that the bay of San Francisco offered the greatest
facilities for a commercial city and in 1836 he formed a
partnership with William S. Hinckley and Nathan Spear
and, obtaining a hundred vara lot in Yerba Buena cove,
built the first solid structure there, finished it before
July 4, 1836, and celebrated Independence Day by giving
a feast, dance, etc., to the people of the mission, presidio,
and vicinity. The lot was on what was later the west
side of Dupont street, from Sacramento to Clay, and
the house stood on the southwest corner of Dupont
and Clay streets — now the heart of Chinatown. This
was the second grant made in Yerba Buena, the first
being to William A. Richardson six days earlier. It
was difficult for Leese to conduct his business so far
from the water front and he obtained two fifty vara lots
on Montgomery street, extending from Sacramento to
Clay streets, and built a larger building, part wood and
part adobe, which served him for store and dwelling.
In 1838 the partnership with Hinckley and Spear was
dissolved and Leese continued the business alone until
1841, when he sold out to the Hudson's Bay company
and transferred his business and residence to Sonoma.
Notes 701
He was thrown into prison by Fremont during the
Bear Flag revolt without apparent reason save that he
was married to a sister of General Vallejo. Leese was
naturalized in 1836 and was granted other lots in Yerba
Buena in 1840. In 1841 he was granted the Canada de
Guadalupe y Rodeo Viejo y Visitacion, on the San
Francisco peninsula, comprising eight thousand eight
hundred and eighty acres in San Francisco and San
Mateo counties, and also Huichica rancho of two square
leagues, at Sonoma. The Visitacion rancho Leese ex-
changed for Ridley's Calloyomi rancho of three leagues,
at Sonoma. In 1837 Leese married Maria Rosalia,
daughter of Ignacio Vallejo and sister of General Mariano
Guadalupe Vallejo. Of this marriage there was born
April 15, 1838, Rosalia Leese, the first child born in Yerba
Buena. She died in 1851.
Dana, in the last edition of his book containing his
revisitation of San Francisco in 1859, says: "In one of
the parlors of the hotel, I saw a man of about sixty years
of age, with his feet bandaged and resting on a chair,
whom somebody addressed by the name of Lies (Leese).
Lies! thought I, that must be the man who came across
the country to Monterey while we lay there in the Pilgrim
in 1835, and made a passage in the Alert, when he used
to shoot with his rifle bottles hung from the top-gallant
studding-sail-boom ends. He married the beautiful Dona
Rosalia Vallejo, sister of Don Guadalupe. There were
the old high features and sandy hair. I put my chair
beside him and began conversation, as one may do in
California. Yes, he was Mr. Lies: and when I gave
him my name he professed at once to remember me and
spoke of my book."
A son of Leese, Jacob R. Leese, born in Monterey April
15, 1839, married to a daughter of Jose Joaquin Estrada,
is living in San Francisco.
702 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Note 37
STOCKTON AND THE CONQUEST
OF CALIFORNIA
Proclamation Issued July 23d, 1846*
"Californians: The Mexican government and their military
leaders have, without cause, for a year passed been threatening
the United States with hostilities.
"They have recently, in pursuance of these threats, com-
menced hostilities by attacking, with 7,000 men, a small
detachment of 2,000 United States troops, by whom they were
signally defeated.
"General Castro, the commander-in-chief of the military
forces of California, has violated every principle of international
law and national hospitality, by hunting and pursuing with
several hundred soldiers, and with wicked intent, Captain
Fremont of the United States army who came here to refresh
his men, about forty in number, after a perilous journey across
the mountains, on a scientific survey.
"For these repeated hostilities and outrages, military
possession was ordered to be taken of Monterey and San
Francisco until redress could be obtained from the government
of Mexico.
"No let or hindrance was given or intended to be given
to the civil authorities of the territory, or to the exercise of
its accustomed functions. The officers were invited to remain,
and promised protection in the performance of their duties as
magistrates. They refused to do so, and departed, leaving the
people in a state of anarchy and confusion.
"On assuming the command, of the forces of the United
States on the coast of California both by land and sea, I find
myself in possession of the ports of Monterey and San Francisco,
with daily reports from the interior of scenes of rapine, blood,
and murder. Three inoffensive American residents of the
country have, within a few days been murdered in the most
* Stockton's Life, 116-18.
Notes 703
brutal manner; and there are no California officers who will
arrest and bring the murderers to justice, although it is well
known who they are and where they are.
"I must therefore, and will as soon as I can, adopt such
measures as may seem best calculated to bring these criminals
to justice, and to bestow peace and good order on the country.
"In the first place, however, I am constrained by every
principal of national honor, as well as a due regard for the
safety and best interests of the people of California, to put
an end at once and by force to the lawless depredations daily
committed by General Castro's men upon the persons and
property of peaceful and unoffending inhabitants.
"I cannot, therefore, confine my operations to the quiet
and undisturbed possession of the defenceless ports of Monterey
and San Francisco, whilst the people elsewhere are suffering
from lawless violence; but will immediately march against
those boasting and abusive chiefs who have not only violated
every principle of national hospitality and good faith towards
Captain Fremont and his surveying party, but who, unless
driven out, will, with the aid of hostile Indians, keep this
beautiful country in a constant state of revolution and blood,
as well as against all others who may be found in arms, aiding
or abetting General Castro.
"The present general of the forces of California is a usurper;
has been guilty of great offenses; has impoverished and drained
the country of almost its last dollar; and has deserted his post
now when most needed.
"He has deluded and deceived the inhabitants of California,
and they wish his expulsion from the country. He came into
power by rebellion and force, and by force he must be expelled.
Mexico appears to have been compelled from time to time to
abandon California to the mercies of any wicked man who
could muster one hundred men in arms. The distances from
the capital are so great that she cannot, even in times of great
distress, send timely aid to the inhabitants; and the lawless
depredations upon their persons and property go invariably un-
punished. She cannot or will not punish or control the chief-
tains who, one after the other, have defied her power, and kept
California in a constant scene of revolt and misery.
"The inhabitants are tired and disgusted with this constant
succession of military usurpers, and this insecurity of life
and property. They invoke my protection. Therefore upon
704 The Beginnings of San Francisco
them I will not make war. I require, however, all officers,
civil and military, and all other persons to remain quiet at
their respective homes and stations, and to obey the orders
they may receive from me or by my authority; and if they do no
injury or violence to my authority none will be done to them.
"But notice is hereby given, that if any of the inhabitants
of the country either abandon their dwellings, or do any injury
to the arms of the United States, or to any person within this
territory, they will be treated as enemies, and suffer accordingly.
"No person whatever is to be troubled in consequence
of any part he may heretofore have taken in the politics of
the country, or for having been a subject of General Castro.
And all persons who may have belonged to the government
of Mexico, but who from this day acknowledge the authority
of the existing laws, are to be treated in the same manner as
other citizens of the United States, provided they are obedient
to the law and to the orders they shall receive from me or by
my authority.
"The commander-in-chief does not desire to possess himself
of one foot of California for any other reason than as the only
means to save from destruction the lives and property of the
foreign residents, and citizens of the territory who have in-
voked his protection.
"As soon, therefore, as the officers of the civil law return
to their proper duties, under a regularly organized government,
and give security for life, liberty, and property alike to all,
the forces under my command will be withdrawn, and the
people left to manage their own affairs in their own way.
"R. F. Stockton,
" Commander-in-chief. "
According to this warlike lord the military possession
"of Monterey and San Francisco was ordered because
of the hunting and pursuing by General Castro with
several hundred soldiers, and with wicked intent, of a
peaceable young engineer who, in the prosecution of a
scientific survey, had come into California to refresh
his men after a perilous journey across the mountains,
and these possessions were to be retained until redress
could be obtained from the government of Mexico. Com-
Notes
705
modore Sloat who had been furnished with a copy of the
proclamation as he was about to sail, notified the secretary
of the treasury that the proclamation did not contain
his reasons for taking possession of or his views or inten-
tions towards California, and consequently it did not
meet his approbation. The whole proclamation with
its recital of daily reports of scenes of rapine, blood, and
murder; of the lawless depredations daily committed
by General Castro's men upon peaceful and unoffending
inhabitants; with its denunciation of the usurper, General
Castro, who, unless driven out, would, with the aid of
hostile Indians, keep the country in a state of revolution
and blood; with its tales of revolt and misery, is absurd,
false in its premises, bombastic in its utterances, offensive,
and undignified.
Stockton reported that the position he was about to
occupy was an important and critical one calling for
prompt and decisive action, in the face of difficulties
almost insuperable. According to Stockton the san-
guinary feeling of resentment everywhere breathed against
foreigners, threatened them with total extermination.
That the local legislature was in session and that Governor
Pio Pico had assembled a force of about seven hundred or
one thousand men, supplied with seven pieces of artillery,
and was breathing vengeance against the perpetrators
of the insult and injury which they supposed had been
inflicted. The situation had assumed a critical and
alarming appearance. Every citizen and friend of the
United States was in imminent jeopardy. Numerous
emigrants from the United States, marching in small,
detached parties, encumbered with their wives and
children and baggage, unprepared for attack, were exposed
to certain destruction. The public lands were being
disposed of and the necessity of prompt action became
an imperative duty.
706 The Beginnings of San Francisco
The energetic commodore lost no time in proceeding
against his powerful and exasperated foe. Sending Fre-
mont with his battalion to San Diego, he sailed for San
Pedro, landed three hundred and fifty men and marched
against the combined armies of Pico and Castro at Los
Angeles, now reduced, as Castro says, to less than one
hundred men. Completing a bloodless conquest he
announced the end of the war and returned to the north.
The account of the revolt with its accompanying blood-
shed has been told in the notes on Kearny and Fremont.
Relieved in January 1847 by Commodore Shubrick,
Stockton went east by the overland route in July. In
1849 he resigned his commission and in 185 1-2 represented
New Jersey in the United States Senate. He was a
brave man, resolute and energetic, but his vanity and
eagerness for applause led him, at times, far astray. In
his thirst for glory he magnified the difficulties of his
position in California and in ignoring the pacific policy
of Sloat and Larkin, and espousing the cause of Fremont
and Gillespie and supporting their filibustering plans, he
pursued a course towards the authorities and people of
California, which, combined with the acts of the volun-
teers, caused the only serious resistance in California
to the American occupation. As General Kearny said,
in referring to this matter, "Had they (the Californians)
not resisted they would have been unworthy the name
of men."*
* 31st Cong. 1st. Ses. House Ex. Doc. 1. Stockton's report, 34-5.
Notes 707
Note 38
WOODWORTH
Selim E. Woodworth was a son of the poet, Samuel
Woodworth, author of "The Old Oaken Bucket." He
was born in the city of New York November 15, 181 5.
In 1834 he sailed from New York with Captain Benjamin
Morrell, whose visit to California in 1825 has been noted,
on a three years' cruise to the South Pacific. The ship
was lost on the coast of Madagascar and all on board
perished except Selim and one sailor. Selim was pro-
tected by a native woman and after some time got away
on a whaler, reaching home after having been given
up for dead. In 1838 he was appointed midshipman in
the navy and April 1, 1846, he obtained leave of absence
and took the Oregon trail for the settlements on the
Columbia river. From Oregon he came to San Francisco
in the winter of 1846-7, and after his service on the
Donner relief he was ordered to the sloop-of-war Warren
and later to the command of the transport Anita. In
1849 he was elected to the state senate from Monterey
and resigned his commission in the navy. On the break-
ing out of the war of secession he offered his services to
the government and served throughout the war, reaching
the rank of commodore. He resigned in 1867 and
returned to San Francisco where he died in 1871. Selim
Woodworth built the first house in San Francisco on a
water lot. It was on the north side of Clay street at
the water's edge, on the spot later occupied by the Clay
street market; here Selim and his brother Fred lived and
carried on a commission business. All through his
life in California Selim Woodworth was foremost in acts
of charity, and in protection of life and property. He
708 The Beginnings of San Francisco
was small in stature but had the courage of a lion. He
was president of the vigilance committee of 1851, and in
1854 had a shooting box on Red Rock, a tiny islet midway
between San Francisco and San Pablo bays. Selim
and his brother Fred owned the lot on the corner of Mar-
ket and Second streets and during the squatter troubles
were obliged to camp on the ground, which was a sand-
hill, and defend their property with shot guns. This
lot formed a part of the site covered by the Grand hotel.
Selim Woodworth's son, Selim II, graduated at Anna-
polis and served in the navy. He married his cousin,
a daughter of James S. Wethered, and died a few years
ago on a Kosmos steamer en route to South America.
A widow and three children survive him, one being Selim
III.
Notes 709
Note 39
SAM BRANNAN
Samuel Brannan, Mormon elder and chief of the ship
Brooklyn colony, was born in Saco, Maine, March 2,
1819. In 1833 he removed to Ohio, where he learned
the trade of printer, and for five years from 1837 visited
most of the states of the Union as a journeyman printer.
In 1842 he joined the Mormons, and for several years
published the New York Messenger and later the Prophet,
organs of the Mormon church. Of the Mormon scheme
to colonize California Brannan was an integral part
and had charge of the New York end of it. In pursuance
of the plan Brannan chartered the ship Brooklyn, three
hundred and seventy tons, and sailed from New York
February 4, 1846, for San Francisco, with two hundred
and thirty-eight men, women, and children, the first
installment of the Mormon colony. He brought his
printing press, types, and a stock of paper; flour mill
machinery, plows and other agricultural implements, and
a great variety of articles such as would be useful in a
new country. At Honolulu where the ship arrived in
July, Brannan purchased one hundred and fifty stands
of arms to provide for the probable chances of war between
the United States and Mexico. On the 31st of July
1846, the Brooklyn arrived at San Francisco and the
passengers immediately landed and squatted among the
sand-hills of the beach. They were anxious to work
and were ready to accept any that was offered; glad to
make themselves useful — the women as well as the men
— and a party of twenty was sent into the San Joaquin
valley to prepare for the great body of the saints that
were coming overland.
710 The Beginnings of San Francisco
On January 7, 1847, Brannan brought out the first
number of the California Star, edited by Dr. E. P. Jones,
the second newspaper published in California, the first
being the Californian, published by Walter Colton and
Dr. Robert Semple, in Monterey.
Sam Brannan preached on Sundays and during the
week engaged in all sorts of business and political activ-
ities, and was from the first, a leading man in San
Francisco. As a preacher he was fluent, terse, and vigor-
ous, and he conducted the first Protestant service held
in San Francisco August 16, 1846, in Richardson's casa
grande on Dupont street.
In the spring of 1847, Brannan went east to meet
Brigham Young and the main body of the Mormon
migration. He met them in the Green river valley and
came on with them to Salt Lake. He was much dis-
pleased with their decision to remain and found a city
in the Salt Lake valley and he returned to California.
In 1847 Brannan established a store at Sutter's fort,
or New Helvetia, and furnished on Sutter's account the
supplies for Marshall, Weimer, and Bennett, the men
who were putting up the mill for Sutter on the South
fork, and after the discovery of gold he put up a store at
the mill which he named Coloma after the Indians who
lived there, and also one at Mormon island which he
named Natoma, after the name of the tribe there. A
large number of Mormons were engaged in mining on the
American river and Brannan insisted on their paying
over to him, as head of the Mormon church in California,
the ten per cent, claimed by the church. W. S. Clark
of Clark's Point, San Francisco, a Mormon elder, said
to Governor Mason, "Governor, what business has
Sam Brannan to collect tithes of us?" The governor
replied: "Brannan has a perfect right to collect the
Notes 711
tax if you Mormons are fools enough to pay it. " "Then,"
said Clark, "I, for one, won't pay it any longer."*
Through his mining operations at Mormon island,
the enormous profits of his stores at Sacramento, Natoma,
and Coloma, and the increase in value of his real estate
in San Francisco, Brannan became the richest man in
California. There was scarcely an enterprise of moment
in which he did not figure and he was as famous for his
charity and open-handed liberality as for his enterprise.
He was straightforward in his dealing and had the
respect and confidence of the business community.
Mingling in California with men of affairs, of education
and refinement, he abandoned his Mormon religion.
In ridding San Francisco of the thieves, gamblers, and
desperadoes that infested it none was more active, out-
spoken, and fearless than Brannan, and he lashed the
malefactors and their official supporters with a vigor
of vituperation that has rarely been equaled.
In company with Peter F. Burnett and Joseph W.
Winans he established in 1863 the first chartered com-
mercial bank in California, the Pacific Accumulation
and Loan Society, the name being afterwards changed
to Pacific Bank. His later years were marred by the
habit of drink to which he gave himself up and which
greatly affected his excellent business faculty. Unlucky
speculations made inroads upon his fortune and his
vast wealth melted away. He was divorced from his
wife whom he had married in 1844 and who came with
him on the Brooklyn. About 1880 he obtained a grant
of land in Sonora, in return for help rendered the Mexican
government during the French invasion, and thither he
removed and embarked on a large colonization scheme;
but his old time energy was gone. He died in Escondido,
Mexico, May 5, 1889.
* Sherman: Memoirs, 53. Clark denied he ever was a Mormon.
712 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Note 40
THE CLAIM OF CAPTAIN PHELPS
The bill of Captain Phelps for this service is as follows:
"The United States
"To Wm. D. Phelps, Dr.
"For services of himself, crew and boats of the barque
Moscow, of Boston, of which he was part owner and in com-
mand, and being agent for all other owners, and for the risk
and hazard incident to such service, in transporting Captain
J. C. Fremont and a detachment of men under his command
to a fort on the opposite side of the bay and entrance to the
port of San Francisco in Upper California in July, 1846, and
aiding him in capturing and dismantling the said fort, and
spiking the guns thereof, consisting of three brass and seven
iron cannon, of heavy calibre, and part of which were after-
wards taken on board the United States ship Portsmouth,
by order of Captain J. B. Montgomery, U. S. Navy.
"$10,000
"William D. Phelps."
Sworn to by the claimant.
To this bill Captain Fremont gives the following
approval:
"I certify that Captain William D. Phelps did transport
a party of men under my command to the fort near the Presidio,
at the entrance to the bay at San Francisco, under the cir-
cumstances narrated in the above deposition; that he aided
in dismantling the fort, and that I have always considered his
services on that occasion to have been very valuable to the
United States.
"John C. Fremont.
"Washington City, August 5, 1853."
In 1852 Congress passed a bill directing the secretary
of war to appoint a board of three commissioners to
Notes 713
settle the California claims, and in addition to Fremont's
certificate, as above, the board examined Major Gillespie
who expressed the following opinion of the service ren-
dered and the value thereof:
"I hereby certify that in July 1846, Captain W. D. Phelps
did transport a party of men under the command of John C.
Fremont from Sausalito across the bay of San Francisco
(seven miles) to the fort at Yerba Buena, commanding the
entrance to the harbor, for the purpose of spiking the guns of
the fort, which was in a very dismantled condition and could
not have been occupied without having been almost entirely
rebuilt. There was no enemy present, and the sole object
Captain Fremont had in view was to prevent the Californians
from using the guns at any future time. There was no risk
or personal danger incurred, and the service would be well
paid for at fifty dollars.
"Archi. W. Gillespie,
"Bvt. Major U. S. M. Corps.
"Washington, September 19, 1853."
This estimate was corroborated by other testimony
and the board unanimously voted to allow fifty dollars
for the service, and that sum was accordingly paid.
APPENDIX
Appendix A
THE PRESIDIO OF SAN FRANCISCO
On the 17th of September 1776, Lieutenant Jose Joaquin
Moraga founded the presidio of San Francisco, as related
in chapter VI, and on the 9th of the following month,
the mission of San Francisco de Asis, the religious serv-
ices being conducted by Fray Palou assisted by Frays
Cambon, Nocedal, and Pefia. The mission was located
on the ojo de agua Arroyo de los Dolores, the site selected
by Colonel Anza near the Laguna de Manantial after-
wards known as the Laguna de los Dolores, hence the
name which the mission came to be called — Mission Do-
lores. The report of the store-keeper {guarda almazen)
on December 31, 1776, shows a force of thirty-eight men,
including officers, eight settlers (pobladores), thirteen
sailors and servants, two priests (Palou and Cambon),
and one store-keeper, Herm'enegildo Sal: total sixty-two
men at the presidio and mission. The servants included
mechanics, vaqueros, etc., and four sailors landed from
the San Carlos to assist on the buildings and in digging
ditches to bring water from the stream. During the
winter the adobe walls of the presidio were begun, and in
January 1777, Moraga founded the mission of Santa
Clara. In November of the same year he founded the
pueblo of San Jose Guadalupe, taking the settlers from
the soldiers and pobladores of San Francisco. In April
1777, the presidio was honored by a visit from the gov-
ernor, Felipe de Neve, and in October the good padre presi-
dente, Fray Junipero Serra, made his first visit to San
Francisco, arriving in time to say mass in the mission
church on October 4th, the day of Saint Francis. On
the 10th he was taken to the presidio and for the first
717
718 The Beginnings of San Francisco
time looked upon the blue waters of the Golden Gate.
Standing upon the summit of the Cantil Blanco he ex-
claimed: "Thanks be to God, now has Saint Francis,
with the holy cross of the procession of the missions,
arrived at the end of the continent of California; for,"
he added with pious pleasantry, "to get any further it
will be necessary to take to the water."
The first child born in the new establishment was to
the wife of the soldier, Ignacio Soto. The babe was
hastily baptised, ah instantem mortem, and named Fran-
cisco Jose de los Dolores Soto. The first burial was on
December 21, 1776, being that of Maria de la Luz Mufioz,
wife of the soldier Jose Manuel Valencia. The first mar-
riage was that of Mariano Antonio Cordero, a soldier of
the Monterey company, with Juana Francisca Pinto,
daughter of the soldier Pablo Pinto, married, November
28, 1776. The mission church was a temporary affair
made of wood with a thatched roof. The foundation of
the permanent church was laid with appropriate cere-
monies in 1782. It was built of adobe and the roof was
covered with tiles; it was commodious and handsomely
decorated, and held five or six hundred persons. It still
stands (191 1) as originally built except that the adobe
walls are protected with a wooden covering.
On July 13, 1785, Moraga died and Lieutenant Diego
Gonzales, who came with Rivera in 1781, was appointed
temporary comandante. Gonzales remained about a
year and a half when he was sent to the Sonoma frontier
under arrest for irregular conduct. The presidio was in
charge of Ensign Sal as acting comandante until the
arrival of Lieutenant Jose Dario Argiiello June 12, 1787.
Arguello remained in command until March 1, 1806,
with occasional tours of duty elsewhere during which
Sal took his place as acting comandante. In December
Appendix 719
1790, the presidio had one lieutenant, one ensign, one
sergeant, four corporals, twenty-eight privates, three
retired soldiers — invalidos, one prisoner, and three serv-
ants; a total, with their families and the missionary priest,
of one hundred and forty-four souls. This is the first
census of San Francisco. It includes the mission guards
of Dolores and Santa Clara, but does not, of course, include
the Indian neophytes of the mission. In 1791 Arguello
was sent to Monterey to relieve Lieutenant Ortega, leav-
ing Sal as acting comandante at San Francisco. It was
during this period that Vancouver arrived and was
entertained by Sal.
Hermenegildo Sal was a native of Villa de Valdemora,
Spain, born in 1746, and probably came to California
with Rivera in 1773. He was corporal in the Monterey
company and witnessed Rivera's signature to the first
land grant in California, November 27, 1775. He was
made sergeant March 19, 1782; ensign, May 29, 1782;
lieutenant, April 27, 1795, and comandante of Monterey
from September of that year until his death, December
8, 1800. Sal was an excellent officer, a strict disciplinarian,
the best accountant and the clearest headed business
man in California. During the greater part of his service
he acted as habilitado — the accounting officer of the com-
pany. His accounts are in good order and are beautifully
written. Vancouver was greatly pleased by Sal's hospi-
tality and he speaks in the highest terms of the comandante
and his wife, of the decorous behavior of their two daugh-
ters and son, and of the attention that had evidently
been paid to their education. Sal's wife was Josefa Amez-
quita. His daughter, Rafaela, married Don Luis Antonio
Arguello. Josefa married Sergeant Roca. Two sons
entered the military company of San Francisco and both
died early.
720 The Beginnings of San Francisco
The walls of the presidio, begun by Moraga in the
winter of 1776-77, were, at the time of Vancouver's visit,
1792, completed on three sides, but on the fourth, or east-
erly side, a compromise was effected by a palisade suppli-
mented by bushes planted to cover its appearance. The
adobe walls were fourteen feet high and five feet thick.
About the beginning of the century the fourth, or east
wall was completed to correspond with the others. In
181 2 an earthquake threw down a large part of the
eastern and southern walls and nearly all of the northern
wall. It also ruined the church and a number of buildings
within the enclosure.
The fort was built in 1794, on the site selected by Anza
eighteen years before. The Punta del Cantil Blanco was
a bold jutting promontory of hard serpentine rock about
one hundred feet above high water. The fort was a
formidable affair of adobe, horseshoe in shape, and pierced
with fourteen embrasures lined with brick. It was about
one hundred and twenty-five feet long by one hundred
and five feet wide. The parapet was ten feet thick and
in the middle of the fort was a barrack for the artillerymen.
Eleven brass nine-pounders were sent from San Bias but
I believe only eight of them were ever mounted. The
fort stood on the extreme point of the rock, which, on
the west, was sheer to the water. Vancouver, writing in
San Francisco in October 1793, speaks of seeing on the
beach eleven dismounted cannon, nine-pounders, with
a large quantity of shot of two different sizes, and on the
top of the cliff several Spaniards who, with a numerous
body of Indians, were employed in erecting what appeared
to him to be a barbette battery. The fort was finished
in December 1794, and cost sixty-four hundred dollars.
It was later rebuilt with brick. It was named Castillo
de San Joaquin and was variously called by that name,
the "Castillo," and "Fort Blanco." It was garrisoned
ENTRANCE TO BAY OF SAN FRANCISCO IN 1852
The Cantil Blanco surmounted by the Castillo de San
Joaquin on the left.
From Bartlett's Narrative.
5 OF CISCO
vloraga in the
at the time of Vancouver's visit,
des, but on the fourth, or east-
i effected by a palisade suppli-
:nted to cover its appearance. The
were feet high and five feet thick.
eginning of the century the fourth, or east
completed to correspond with the others. In
1812 an earthquake threw down a large part of the
eastern and southern walls and nearly all of the northern
wall. It also ruined the church and a number of buildings
within the enclosure.
The fort was built in 1794, on the site selected by Anza
eighteen years before. The P el Cantil Blanco was
a bold jutting promonto: tine rock about
one r*j8i m oogiOKAin MA2 to Y*a or acffMTftat was a
iidaJa& ^b odbesD aril yd bainuo/mue ooarAE.. lilnsO ariT id pierced
.jblsdjfloniopwflth bri' 1 about
mdred ancbw*™*^ ^"J^&ft^^ng by one hundred
feet wide, arapet was hick and
le middle of the fort was a barrack for the artillerymen.
Eleven brass nine-pounders were sent from San Bias but
I believe only eight of them were ever mounted. The
stood on the extreme point of the rock, which, on
west, was sheer to the water. Vancouver, writing in
lancisco in October 1793, speaks of seeing on the
dismounted cannon, nine-pounders, with
tity of shot of two different sizes, and on the
iff several Spaniards who, with a numerous
, were employed in erecting what appeared
barbette battery. The fort was finished
94, and cost sixty-four hundred dollars.
uilt with brick. It was named Castillo
1 and was variously call at name,
Blanco." It was garrisoned
Appendix 721
by a corporal and six artillerymen. At Point San Jose
(Black Point) there was erected in 1797 a battery of
five eight-pounders for the protection of the inner harbor.
In 1796 the force at the presidio was increased by a num-
ber of Catalan volunteers, part of a company of seventy-
two men sent from San Bias at the request of Governor
Borica.
In 1795 Sal was made a lieutenant and sent to Mon-
terey, leaving Ensign Jose Perez Fernandez in charge as
acting comandante until the return of Lieutenant Argiiello
in March 1796. Argiiello remained in command until
1806, when he was sent to Santa Barbara and his son,
Don Luis Antonio, reigned as comandante of San Fran-
cisco until his death, March 27, 1830. Don Luis was
made a captain in 1818, and in 1822 was elected provi-
sional governor of California by the diputacion, defeating
by a small majority, Jose de la Guerra who was his senior
in rank. Argiiello served until the arrival of Governor
Echeandia in October 1825, when he returned to his
command at San Francisco. The last two years of his
life he was only nominal commander, being relieved from
active duty by Governor Echeandia. During Don Luis'
absence at Monterey as acting governor and after his
suspension in 1828, Lieutenant Ignacio Martinez acted
as comandante. Martinez served until 183 1 when he
was retired with forty-one years service to his credit and
was succeeded in the command of San Francisco by En-
sign Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, then twenty-three years
old. The force belonging to the San Francisco presidio
had been from fifty-five to sixty men, guarding the mis-
sions of Dolores, San Rafael, San Francisco Solano, San
Jose, Santa Clara, the pueblo of San Jose Guadalupe, and
part of the time, the Villa de Branciforte and the mission
of Santa Cruz. In 1830 the company had been reduced
to about thirty men. Vallejo was elected member of
722 The Beginnings of San Francisco
the diputacion and during his absence Alferez Jose Antonio
Sanchez acted as comandante, and after 1833, Alferez
Damaso Rodriguez. In 1835 Vallejo was made coman-
dante of the northern frontier and removed his company
to Sonoma, leaving Alferez Juan Prado Mesa in charge
of San Francisco with a half dozen artillerymen. Later
the regular troops were all withdrawn and the fort and
presidio suffered to fall into decay: one old artilleryman,
Corporal Joaquin Pena, being left as custodian of the
government property. Pena's report of January 7, 1837,
shows eight iron guns — three of them useless — eight brass
guns — one useless — nine hundred and ninety-four balls,
four muskets, one pistol, one machete, and a few musket
balls and other trifles. Vallejo protested against the
government's neglect and asked to have the fort repaired
and a presidial company sent to garrison San Francisco
but the most he could obtain was permission to repair
the fortifications at his own expense. In January 1837,
a company of milicia civica was enrolled in San Francisco,
with Francisco Sanchez as captain, two lieutenants, two
ensigns, and eighty-one men, among whom were William
Smith and William Grey, presumably Americans, and
William A. Richardson, Englishman. It does not appear
that this company ever garrisoned the presidio or were
assembled as a military body at San Francisco. In 1840
Vallejo, failing to receive any troops from Mexico, sent
from his Sonoma force — still called the San Francisco
company — Alferez Mesa with a sergeant and twelve
privates to garrison San Francisco. Mesa* and his men
appear to have been in garrison in 1841, in 1842, and
perhaps, in 1843. After this there seem to have been no
regular troops at the presidio. The walls were down and
the fort was crumbling to ruins.
* Juan Prado Mesa was grandson of Corporal Jose Valerio Mesa of Anza's
company. He received a wound from an arrow in a fight with Indians from
which he died in 1846.
■»| N ^ nnTiiiiii,ni!iininTnTmT
fS^l
o a a a
a a a
n_n_n_
^T_C
rJl
THE PRESIDIO OF SAN FRANCISCO IN 1820
%
PffESJOlO t/e
5/M F/fANC/sco /820
£«yS I L LnJ 1 j
' " I =miimM
/?u/nas
s of San Francisco
nd during his absence Alferez Jose Antonio
acted as comandante, and after 1833, Alferez
Rodriguez. In 1835 Vallejo was made coman-
dante of the northern frontier and removed his company
to Sonoma, leaving Alferez Juan Prado Mesa in charge
of San Francisco with a half dozen artillerymen. Later
the ar troops were all withdrawn and the fort and
pre uffered to fall into decay: one old artilleryman,
aquin Pefia, being left as custodian of the
ernment property. Pena's report of January 7, 1837,
shows eight iron guns — three of them useless — eight brass
guns — one useless — nine hundred and ninety-four balls,
four muskets, one pistol, one machete, and a few musket
balls and other trifles. Vallejo protested against the
government's neglect and aske ave the fort repaired
nd apresi^ T/J gggpu YJ? m rai8 M <l 3ft/ rancisc .
but the most he could obtain w to repair
the fortifications at his own exp' nuary 1837,
ica was enrolled in rancisco,
in, two lieutenants, two
ae men, am' ! iom were William
iliam Grey, presumably Americans, and
William A. Richardson, Englishman. It does not appear
that this company ever garrisoned the presidio or were
assembled as a military body at San Francisco. In 1840
Vallejo, failing to receive any troops from Mexico, sent
from noma force — still called the San Francisco
lesa with a sergeant and twelve
priv n San Francisco. Mesa* and his men
appeai i in garrison in 1841, in 1842, and
r this there seem to have been no
presidio. The walls were down and
ambling to ruins.
of Corporal f Anza's
/ed a wound from an arrow in a fight with Indians from
4.6.
"V\
/ft/was
Mura//j
a a a a a a
a a a a a
Aft/nr//a
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6asa at/ Cam" L/PMj 0ff,c,a/es
Esfa era /a fac/rada pr/ncrpj/ da/
Presid>o t a:-r/&s aaa fuese arrumaba
/a ta/eau par /as /amA/ares da /d/2
Pr£S1D/0 Je
3/l/s F/r/i/vc/sco /820
Pvadado e/ /7 da Sef ° /776 po-r-
filoraya Qtur-oa , fr Pa/au
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\ff u/ras R S JD D
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I r
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*
*«, 3
2 ^
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**
.r
if
J
t-t
S?t/ir,as ffu/n<rs
Mura//a
> 'a a /d 6ah'0, ed/hrda df/ Pt/er-Sa
tO tr~ *
Afura/Ja
r
•*<
a*
t*
*r > c
/. '
7 %x „ '"•>„, \
,,..••'■""""
'".„
^ «■ o°
Cdo/ed from a/nxJng !n possess/on of
George Daf/h'son, certified iy fo/ienr/
M.G.I/a/rejo.
ZaePi J. fiiJrea'fe
Dae 2S, /904.
Appendix 723
On July 1, 1846, Fremont with twelve of his men crossed
over from Sausalito in the launch of the Moscow and
spiked the guns of the Castillo de San Joaquin and then
returned whence they came. Brown asserts it was a
bold deed.* Fremont says that as they ascended the
hill several horsemen were seen hastily retiring, while
Brown says that there was not a Spaniard nearer than the
Mission Dolores (four and a half miles). 40
After raising the American flag in San Francisco Cap-
tain Montgomery remained in command until about
December 1, 1846, when he was succeeded by Commander
Joseph B. Hull of the Warren, Lieutenant Watson of the
marines retaining the command of the troops on shore,
succeeded later by Ward Marston, captain of marines on
the flagship Savannah. Marston was commander of
the force that marched against Sanchez in the Santa
Clara campaign of January 1847. He was succeeded by
Robert Tansill, lieutenant of marines on the man-of-war
Dale. In March 1847, came the Stevenson regiment and
companies H and K were sent to garrison the presidio
under command of Major James A. Hardie. After the
volunteers were mustered out in August 1848, Hardie
resumed his position in the regular army — lieutenant
of Third artillery — and remained as commandant of the
presidio with a small force of the First dragoons. By
order of Colonel Mason Captain Joseph L. Folsom,
assistant quartermaster, laid off a reserve for military
purposes embracing the presidio and Point San Jose
(Black Point). This reserve, as described by Captain
Folsom in his report of June 23, 1848, was bounded by
"a line drawn north sixty degrees west and tangent to the
eastern extremity of Alcatraz island to the summit of a
* Early Days. Chapter ii. The extracting of the spikes caused Lieutenant
Misroon an infinite amount of trouble. Captain Phelps filed a claim against
the United States government for ten thousand dollars for conveying Fremont
across the bay from Sausaiito.
724 The Beginnings of San Francisco
high ridge of hills running sensibly parallel to the bay.
The line extends five thousand two hundred and fifty-
three feet from the bay of San Francisco to the summit
of the hills, and thence south forty-two degrees west to
the Pacific ocean. From this point on the coast the bound-
ary runs along the beach to the old fort at the entrance
of the harbor, and thence, still following the beach, to
the point of departure."* The boundaries of this reserve
may be sufficiently indicated for general purposes by a
line drawn from the foot of Jones street to the summit of
the Clay street hill at Clay and Jones streets, thence south-
westerly to the ocean which is reached at Lawton, or L
street, a most royal demesne of about ten thousand acres.
Captain Folsom, in the concluding paragraph of his report
says: "Should it ultimately be found that the reserve
is unnecessarily large, it can be relinquished in part when
no longer wanted." A map of this reserve, as surveyed
by Lieutenant William H. Warner, United States topo-
graphical engineers, is given herewith.
Previous to the laying out of this reserve, Mr. Thomas
0. Larkin of Monterey, notified Colonel Mason, governor
of the territory, on June 16, 1847, that he was, by pur-
chase from Don Benito Diaz, owner of two leagues of
land near San Francisco running from Laguna de Loma
Alta (Washerwomen's Lagoon) to Punta de los Lobos,
embracing the old presidio and castillo, for many years
abandoned, deeded and granted on the 25th of June
1846, to said Diaz by Pio Pico, governor of California,
and on the 19th of September same year, sold and con-
veyed by Diaz to Larkin for a valuable consideration.
Larkin further notified Governor Mason that, in going
over the land the previous May, he found that some troops
of the United States government were in possession of
* Rudolph Herman Company vs. City and County of San Francisco. Agreed
Statement of Facts. 13-14.
■
U'ft.-t*.:
THE MILITARY RESERVATION IN 1847
AS LAID OUT BY CAPTAIN FOLSOxVI
Survey by Lieutenant Warner.
Drawn from a copy made by Lieutenant George H. Derby.
nMMXSVV,
STKI33H
>F bAN rRANClSCO
sensibly parallel to the bay.
nousand two hundred and fifty-
of San Francisco to the summit
south forty-two degrees west to
m this point on the coast the bound-
the beach to the old fort at the entrance
and thence, still following the beach, to
rture. "* The boundaries of this reserve
ma ndicated for general purposes by a
Jones street to the summit of
at Clay and Jones streets, thence south-
is reached at Lawton, or L
l1 demesne of about ten thousand acres.
1 the concluding paragraph of his report
.'timately be found that the reserve
t*8i KI ffil tab YXrruil/ JTHT " P art when
mte&A tflATTAO YH TJO CIIA.J ?J > red
.rasad .H aoaoaO JnsuMusiJ yd obsm yqoo £ moil amnQ
Pi lr. Thomas
0. Larkin of M notified Colonel Mason, governor
territ n June 16, 1847, that he was, by pur-
chase from Don i ., owner of two leagues of
d near San Francisco running from Laguna de Loma
a (Wash* s Lagoon) to Punta de los Lobos,
:ing the old presidio and Castillo, for many years
indoned, deeded and granted on the 25th of June.
J Diaz by Pio Pico, governor of California,
iber same year, sold and con-
for a valuable consideration,
•vernor Mason that, in going
lay, he found ti troops
of I rnment were in p -on of
* Rn erman Company vs. City and County of Agreed
Facts. 13-14.
uoi mr>e rgttj'
^nvvsujA i
no* uvssoTffQ
Appendix 725
the presidio; that they were living there; that they had
torn down some of the buildings to repair others, and in
some cases were putting new roofs on the houses. Larkin
protested against his property's being used without his
consent, or without compensation, and against damages
sustained now or hereafter.
In proof of his claim Larkin offered the following docu-
ments:
Grant of two leagues of land known as the Punta de
los Lobos, comprising all that property on the San Fran-
cisco peninsula lying north of a line drawn from the
Laguna de Loma Alta to the Punta de los Lobos, signed
by Pio Pico in the city of Los Angeles, June 25, 1846.
Deed from Benito Diaz and his wife, Luisa Soto, for
above grant to Thomas O. Larkin, in consideration of
one thousand dollars in silver coin, signed in Monterey
before Walter Colton, alcalde, September 19,1846.
Certificate of claim of Thomas O. Larkin to the afore-
said grant, signed by Washington Bartlett, alcalde of
San Francisco, October 6, 1846.
These documents bore the following endorsement:
"The United States troops are in possession of the presidio
and old fort at the entrance of the bay of San Francisco, which
are claimed by Mr. Thomas O. Larkin as his property.
"Without making any decision for or against the soundness
of Mr. Larkin's title as exhibited by this paper, the possession
held by the United States will not operate to the prejudice of
any just claim to said property held by Mr. Larkin.
"Monterey, September 3, 1847.
"R. B. Mason,
"Colonel 1st Dragoons, Governor of California."
On June 6, 1847, Captain Folsom in a report to Major
Thomas Swords, quartermaster, expressed his opinion
against the validity of Larkin's title for the following
reasons:
726 The Beginnings of San Francisco
That the fort and presidio were on the land claimed;
that they had been occupied by troops up to within four
or five years and that one or more old Mexican soldiers
continued to reside there; that he was assured by General
Vallejo and Colonel Prudon that it was contrary to the
organic laws of Mexico to sell or convey away any lands
which might be wanted for "forts, barracks, field-works,
and public purposes for defence"; that the title was not
approved by the departmental assembly, as required by
law; that the alcalde of the district had not certified that
the grant could be made without prejudice to the public
interest, as required by law; that Pio Pico, the governor,
was not in Los Angeles on June 25, 1846, when the alleged
grant was signed; but had left Los Angeles June 17th or
18th and did not return until July 15th, being at Santa
Barbara on June 25th.
Henry W. Halleck, brevet captain of engineers and
secretary of state, in an exhaustive report to Governor
Mason on the laws governing the granting or selling of
lands in California, dated March 1, 1849, rejected the
claim of Larkin as against the law, practice, and precedent
of the Mexican government.*
On the 28th of November 1848, the president of the
United States appointed a joint commission of navy and
engineer officers for an examination of the coast of the
United States lying on the Pacific ocean. Among the
duties of the commission was the selection of points of
defence.
Now enters upon the scene Mr. Dexter R. Wright, who
produces a deed from Thomas O. Larkin and wife to the
Rancho Punta de los Lobos, dated September 29, 1846.
Why Larkin should claim on June 16, 1847, to be owner of
the land deeded to Wright eight months before, does not
appear.
* Doc. No. 17. 131-182.
Appendix 727
On the 28th of December 1849, General Riley, com-
manding the Tenth military district, advised the war
department that the reserve made by Captain Folsom was
greater than was required for military purposes; that the
owners of the Rancho de los Lobos were willing to give the
land occupied by the presidio and fort and the adjoining
ground to the United States for purposes of fortification,
and he thought it would be advisable to relinquish all the
land that might be found unnecessary for military pur-
poses, the designation to be made by the joint commission
of navy and engineer officers.
On the 31st of March 1850, the joint commission recom-
mended the reservation of the following tract of land on
the San Francisco peninsula for military purposes.
"From a point eight hundred yards south of Point Jose
(Point San Jose) to the southern boundary of the presidio
along that southern boundary to its western extremity, and
thence in a straight line to the Pacific, passing by the southern
extremity of a pond that has its outlet in the channel between
Fort Point and Point Lobos."
The land thus described was reserved by President
Fillmore, November 6, 1850.
On the 5th of April 1850, Mr. Dexter R. Wright entered
into a bond in the sum of fifty thousand dollars for the
faithful performance of his agreement to convey to the
United States the presdidio and fort tract and reservation
and Point San Jose, in consideration of the relinquishment
by the United States of all "control, occupation, and mili-
tary possession" of the remainder of the Rancho de los
Lobos; a very clever scheme to secure government recog-
nition of his title. In the bond the presidio reservation
is described as follows:
Beginning at a point on the crest of a high hill, south-
east of the presidio and marked by a stake which was
established in the presence of Captain E. D. Keyes, Cap-
728 The Beginnings of San Francisco
tain H. W. Halleck and D. A. Merrifield, Esq., on the 3d
day of April, 1850; thence running in a northerly direction
parallel to Larkin street, in the town of San Francisco, to
low water mark on the southern shore to the entrance
to the bay of San Francisco; then running along the low
water line of said bay and of the sea to the mouth of the
outlet of the pond between Battery Point and Point
Lobos and southwest of the said presidio; thence along
the middle of said outlet and pond to the extremity of
said pond; thence in a northeasterly direction to the point
of beginning.
This was the presidio reservation secured to the govern-
ment by Lieutenant-colonel Juan Bautista de Anza when,
on March 28, 1776, he erected a cross on the Cantil Blanco
and directed the fort to be built on the point and the
presidio under the shelter of the hill; his act creating,
under the laws of Spain, a military reservation of three
thousand varas — fifteen hundred and sixty-two and a half
acres. The boundary lines of the Spanish presidio are
those of the presidio reservation to-day with the excep-
tion of eighty feet cut off from the eastern frontage by an
act of congress on May 9, 1876, and given to the city of
San Francisco for a street.
In November 1849, Captain E. D. Keyes, Third artil-
lery, had succeeded Major Hardie in command of the
presidio and on April 27, 1850, under orders from General
Riley, he withdrew the military forces under his com-
mand to the reserve as described and bounded in Wright's
bond, with the exception of those stationed at Point San
Jose.
On April 28, 1850, General Riley transmitted to the
Adjutant-general a copy of Wright's bond, concurring
with the opinion of the joint commission that the arrange-
ment with Wright secured to the United States all the land
Appendix 729
that would ever be required for military purposes on the
south side of the entrance to the bay of San Francisco, and
recommended approval by the secretary of war.
On June 19, 1850, the following endorsement was made
on General Riley's letter by G. W. Crawford, secretary of
war:
"The agreement is disapproved. The acceptance of a quit
claim to a parcel of land now, as I think, rightfully in the pos-
session of the United States, might afterwards prejudice the
right of the government to the remainder of the freehold em-
braced in the Diaz grant.
G. W. C."
The Diaz grant was finally rejected by the land com-
mission, and thus was ended a most impudent attempt to
grab several thousand acres of San Francisco's choicest
residence district. I do not know how far Larkin was
concerned in the fraud, but he made a claim for the
property and fought for its possession. He was, in any
event, unfortunate in his association with Benito Diaz.
Another grant, for which Larkin was claimant before the
land commission, was the orchard lands of the Santa Clara
mission, sold to Castanada, Arenas, and Diaz. The claim
was rejected on the ground that the deed was fraudulently
antedated.
The stake Captain Keyes placed on the crest of the hill
to mark the southeastern corner of the presidio reservation
was replaced in May 1850, by a cannon set in the ground
and from this cannon Captain Keyes ran a line northerly
to the bay, parallel to the line of Larkin street, and put
up a fence on that line. The bearing of this fence was
found to be north, seven degrees and thirty minutes west.
The area of the reservation as described in the Wright bond
and enclosed by Captain Keyes, was determined by
Lieutenant George M. Wheeler, United States engineers,
to be fifteen hundred and forty-two 60-100 acres.
730 The Beginnings of San Francisco
On October 27, 1851, the joint commission of navy and
engineer officers modified their recommendation of March
31, 1850, and in accord with their report, President Fill-
more on December 31, 185 1, modified his order of Novem-
ber 6, 1850, to embrace in the reservation, only:
1st. The promontory of Point Jose (Point San Jose)
within boundaries not less than eight hundred yards
from its northern extremity.
2nd. The presidio tract and Fort Point, embracing all
the land north of a line running in a westerly direction
from the southeastern corner of the presidio tract, to the
southern extremity of a pond lying between FortPoint
and Point Lobos, and passing through the middle of said
pond and its outlet to the channel of entrance from the
ocean.*
The act of congress of May 9, 1876, giving to the city
of San Francisco eighty feet of the eastern frontage of
the presidio reservation for a street, determined the fence
of Captain Keyes to be the eastern line of the presidio,
and the fence was set back eighty feet in accord therewith.
It has now been replaced by a stone wall. In making
his survey Keyes did not conform to the line parallel with
Larkin street but ran easterly of said line thereby making
a considerable reduction in the size of the city blocks
abutting on Lyon street. The cannon planted by Cap-
tain Keyes was on what is now the northeast corner of
Pacific avenue and Lyon street.
In 1849 some repairs were made to the presidio to render
it habitable and four thirty-two pounders and two eight-
inch howitzers were mounted on the old fort. In May
1851, General Persifer F. Smith was succeeded in command
of the Third division by Brevet Brigadier General Ethan
A. Hitchcock, who removed the division headquarters
* Rudolph Herman Company vs. The City and County of San Francisco.
Agreed Statement of Facts. 5-165.
Appendix 73 1
to Benicia. In 1853 Lieutenant-Colonel Mason was
engineer in charge of the work at Fort Point; Mason died
and was succeeded by Major J. G. Barnard. The old
fort was taken down and some of the material used in
the new construction. The site was cut down to the
water's edge and a new fort, Winfield Scott, succeeded
the Castillo de San Joaquin. In 1857 Brevet Brigadier
General Newman S. Clark, who succeeded Major General
John E. Wool in command of the division of the Pacific,
returned the division headquarters to San Francisco where
it has since remained. The command in California has
been held by some eminent soldiers; among them, Albert
Sidney Johnston, Edwin V. Sumner, George Wright,
Irwin McDowell (1864-65 and again 1876-82), Henry W.
Halleck, George H. Thomas, George M. Schofield (1870-76
and again 1882-83), 0. O. Howard, and Nelson A. Miles.
The ancient presidio is no longer protected by its
fourteen foot adobe wall, but its quadrangle is the parade
ground of the post, and is lined on two sides by the chapel,
officers' club, guard house, offices, and officers' dwellings.
732 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Appendix B
THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO
In the Vioget survey of 1839 the streets were, as has
been stated, very narrow. Vioget ran no east line for
Montgomery street and consequently that street, being
completed later, was the widest in the village and was
made sixty-two and a half feet wide. Kearny street
was made forty-five feet, five inches wide, and Dupont
street, forty-four feet, this irregularity being probably
due to want of knowledge in regard to the lines and when
buildings were erected the street lines were made, in a
degree, to conform. Kearny street was afterwards wid-
ened to seventy-five feet between Market street and
Broadway, and Dupont to seventy-four feet from Market
street to Bush. Vioget laid out five streets running east
and west, viz: Pacific, Jackson, Washington, Clay, and
Sacramento. These streets were forty-nine feet, one and
a half inches wide. The Vioget survey was extended
some time before the American occupation to include
Stockton and Powell streets on the west, Broadway and
Vallejo on the north, and California, Pine, and Bush on
the south. Stockton and Powell were made sixty-six
feet nine inches wide, Broadway, eighty-two and a half
feet, California, eighty-five feet, and the others sixty-
eight feet, nine inches, which became the regulation
width for the main streets of the Fifty vara and the West-
ern addition surveys; the exceptions being, in addition
to California street and Broadway, Van Ness avenue
one hundred and twenty-five feet, and Divisadero street,
eighty-two and a half feet wide. The five westerly
streets of the Vioget survey extend with their narrow width
to Larkin street, the limit of the Fifty vara survey, and
Appendix 733
from Larkin street they were widened to sixty-eight feet,
nine inches, by taking from the lots on either side. Market
street is one hundred and twenty feet wide, and the main
streets of the Hundred vara survey are eighty-two and
a half feet wide. In the Mission the main streets are
eighty-two and a half feet, except Dolores, which is one
hundred and twenty; Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth, Thir-
teenth, and Sixteenth streets, which are eighty feet wide
and the streets from Fourteenth to Twenty-sixth inclusive
(excepting Sixteenth street) which are sixty-four feet wide.
I cannot undertake to give the origin of all of the
street names in San Franicsco, but can give an account of
most of the better known ones. Many of the names
of course, require no explanation, as for instance, the trees,
Cherry, Chestnut, Pine, etc.; natural objects, as Bay,
North Point, and others; the presidents of the United
States and statesmen of national reputation, as Fillmore,
Buchanan, Clay, etc.; the names of states and of coun-
ties, and the numbered streets and avenues. In giving
an account of the naming of the streets, I shall again pass
beyond the time limit of this history and bring my account
down to date. Prior to 1909, San Francisco enjoyed the
distinction of having three sets of numbered streets and
two sets of streets designated by letters of the alphabet.
Two sets of the numbered streets were called "avenues"
and one had the suffix "south"; one set of lettered streets
had the same treatment. To remedy this condition,
which was becoming intolerable, the mayor of the city
appointed, in 1909, a commission to look into the matter
of street names and recommend such changes as might
be considered necessary. The commission in its report
suggested many changes, most of which were adopted. The
commission endeavored to avail itself of the wealth of
material existing in the history of the city and state,
and give to the streets names not only of historical sig-
734 The Beginnings of San Francisco
nificance but to add to their attractiveness the liquid
beauty of the Spanish nomenclature of the colonial period.
In this the commission was only partially successful,
owing to a general opposition on the part of small trades-
men to having the names of their streets changed, claiming
that they had established their business under the existing
names and having, they said, an "asset" in the name of
the street on which they were.
I will give the streets in order, first, in the Fifty vara
survey, then the Western addition, the Hundred vara
survey, and the Mission.
The Fifty vara survey is that part of the city lying
between Market and Larkin streets and the bay. The
street on the water front, which, when completed, will run
from the presidio line to the San Mateo county boundary,
was named by the commission of 1909, The Embarcadero
(the Landing). That portion of it within the completed
sea wall had been named East street North, and East
street South, according to its extension to the north or
south of Market street. On the Embarcadero the num-
bers indicate the location of buildings — odd numbers to
the north, and even numbers to the south of Market street.
Next west of the Embarcadero is:
Drumm street was named for Lieutenant Drum who
was adjutant of the department during the civil war;
afterwards adjutant-general of the army.
Davis street was named for William Heath Davis at
the instance of William D. M. Howard.
Battery street was so named because of the battery
erected by Lieutenant Misroon on Clark's Point.
Sansome street was originally named Sloat street in
honor of the commodore and it so appears on the alcalde
Appendix 735
map of 1847; but between February 22d and July 18th
of that year the name was changed to Sansome.
Leidesdorff street was named for William A. Leides-
dorff.
Montgomery street was named for Commander John
B. Montgomery of the Portsmouth. The name of Mont-
gomery avenue was changed to
Columbus avenue, in honor of Christopher Columbus,
by the commission of 1909, in order to avoid the confusion
resulting from two streets bearing the same name.
Kearny street was named for Stephen Watts Kearny,
military governor of California, March 1, 1847, to May 31,
1847.
Dupont street was named for Captain Samuel F. Du
Pont, who commanded the flagship Congress and after-
wards the sloop-of-war Cyane. This street was the
original "Calle de la Fundacion" of Richardson and ran
from about the line of California street north-northwest.
It was later swung into line with the other streets by
Jasper O'Farrell. The street acquired an unsavory
reputation by becoming the residence of an undesirable
class of citizens. When these disreputable residents
were removed some years ago, the name of the street was
changed to
Grant avenue, by which it is now known.
Stockton street was named for Commodore Robert F.
Stockton, military governor of California, August 22, 1846
to January 19, 1847.
Powell street is supposed to have been named in honor
of Doctor W. J. Powell, surgeon United States sloop-of-
war Warren, conquest of California.
736 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Mason street was named for Richard B. Mason, colonel
First dragoons and military governor of California, May
31, 1847, to April 13, 1849.
Taylor street was named for Zachary Taylor, the hero
of Buena Vista and twelfth president of the United States.
Jones street was named for Doctor Elbert P. Jones,
first editor of the California Star and member of the coun-
cil of 1847.
Leavenworth street after the Rev. Thaddeus M.
Leavenworth, chaplain First New York regiment; alcalde
of San Francisco.
Hyde street after George Hyde, secretary of Com-
modore Stockton on the Congress; alcalde of San Fran-
cisco.
Larkin street was named for Thomas 0. Larkin, United
States consul at Monterey and secret agent of the govern-
ment before the conquest.
Green street was named for Talbot H. Green who came
with the Bartleson party in 1841 and was a prominent
citizen of San Francisco. An account of him appears in
chapter xvii.
Vallejo street was named for Mariano Guadalupe
Vallejo.
Halleck street was named for Captain Henry Wagner
Halleck.
Pacific, Clay, Sacramento, California and Pine
streets require no explanation, exceptthat Pacific streetwas
originally named for Alcalde Washington A. Bartlett and
the original name of Sacramento street was Howard street,
named for William D. M. Howard. Why these names
were changed does not appear.
Appendix 737
Bush street was named, it is said, for Doctor J. P. Bush,
an early resident.
Sutter street was named for John A. Sutter.
Post street was named for Gabriel B. Post who came in
1847; member of the ayuntamiento of 1849.
Geary street was named for John W. Geary, first
alcalde, 1849-50, and first mayor under the charter.
O'Farrell street was named for Jasper O'Farrell.
Ellis street was named for Alfred J. Ellis who came
in 1847; member of the ayuntamiento of 1849, and of
the constitutional convention.
Eddy street was named for William M. Eddy the
surveyor. He completed the survey of the city under
the charter of 1850.
Turk street was named for Frank Turk, clerk of the
ayuntamiento and second alcalde.
Golden Gate avenue was originally named Tyler street
for John Tyler, tenth president of the United States,
but after the opening of Golden Gate park the street was
asphalted, made the driveway to the park, and the name
changed.
McAllister street was named for Hall McAllister the
eminent jurist.
This completes the origin of the streets' names, so far
as any explanation may be necessary, of the Fifty vara
survey. The description of the streets of the Hundred
vara survey would perhaps be next in order as these two
surveys comprised the extent of the city as defined by the
charter of 1850; but for convenience I will continue the
streets north of Market street, comprising the Western
addition and the adjoining Outside Lands survey.
738 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Hayes street was named for Colonel Thomas Hayes,
county clerk from 1853 to 1856. He had a large tract of
land in what was known as Hayes' valley which the Van
Ness ordinance confirmed to him. He was one of Terry's
seconds in his duel with Broderick.
Page street was named for Robert C. Page, clerk to
the board of assistant aldermen, 1851 to 1856.
Haight street for Fletcher M. Haight, a prominent
lawyer of San Francisco and later United States district
judge for the Southern district of California.
Waller street for R. H. Waller, city recorder in 1851,
also in 1854.
Anza street (Outside Lands survey) was named by the
commission of 1909 in honor of the father of San Francisco,
Lieutenant-colonel Juan Bautista de Anza.
Balboa street, in honor of the discoverer of the Pacific
ocean, Vasco Nunez de Balboa.
Cabrillo street, in honor of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo
the navigator.
Lincoln way, in honor of Abraham Lincoln.
Irving street, for Washington Irving.
Judah street, for Theodore D. Judah.
Kirkham street, for General Ralph W. Kirkham.
Lawton street, for General Henry W. Lawton.
Moraga street, for Lieutenant Jose Joaquin Moraga,
founder of the presidio and mission of San Francisco.
Noriega street, for Jose de la Guerra y Noriega.
Ortega street, for Jose Francisco de Ortega, discoverer
of the Bay of San Francisco.
Pacheco street, for Juan Salvio Pacheco, soldier of
Anza's company and one of the founders of San Francisco.
Appendix 739
Quintara street, for Spanish family.
Rivera street, for Captain Fernando Rivera y Mon-
cada, comandante of California.
Santiago street, Spanish battle cry.
Taraval street, Indian guide, Anza expedition.
Ulloa street, for Francisco de Ulloa, the navigator.
Vicente street, Spanish name.
Wawona street, Indian name.
Yorba street, for Antonio Yorba, sergeant of Catalan
volunteers, with Portola expedition, 1769; sergeant of
San Francisco company, 1777.
These names were given by the commission of 1909,
not only for the historical value some of them possess,
but to preserve the order of the alphabet, the streets hav-
ing been lettered.
Polk street was named for James K. Polk, eleventh
president of the United States.
Van Ness avenue, for James Van Ness, mayor of San
Francisco 1856, and author of the Van Ness ordinance
which confirmed title to the actual possessors on January
I, 1855, of property west of Larkin street. Mr. Van
Ness' residence was Western addition block 73, bounded
by Van Ness avenue, Franklin, Hayes, and Fell streets.
Franklin street may have been named for Selim Frank-
lin, a pioneer merchant.
Gough street was named for Charles H. (Charley)
Gough. In 1850 he sold milk for J. W. Harlan, at four
dollars a gallon, carrying it on horseback in two two and
a half gallon cans, one swung on each side of the saddle
740 The Beginnings of San Francisco
pommel. In 1855 he was a member of the board of alder-
men and was appointed on a committee to lay out the
streets in the Western addition.
Laguna street was named for Washerwomen's lagoon.
Octavia, Buchanan, Webster, Pierce, and Scott
require no explantion.
Steiner street was probably named for some friend of
Alderman Gough.
Divisadero street was named for its position: the
summit of a high hill. The name comes from the verb
divisar — to descry at a distance. Divisadero: a point
from which one can look far. The Spanish name for
Lone mountain was El Divisadero.
Broderick street, for David Colbert Broderick.
Baker street, for Colonel E. D. Baker.
Lyon street, for Nathaniel Lyon, captain of C Troop,
1st dragoons. In 1849 he punished the Indians of Clear
Lake for murder and then marched to the Oregon border
to punish the Pitt river Indians for the murder of Lieu-
tenant Warner and recover his body, which was found
near Goose lake. Lyon, then a general officer, was killed
at the battle of Wilson's creek, Missouri, August 10, 1861.
Arguello boulevard was named by the commission of
1909 for Jose Dario Arguello, comandante of San Fran-
cisco, 1785-1806; governor, ad interim, 1814-15.
La Playa (The Beach) was the name given by the com-
mission to the street next to the ocean beach and running
parallel with it.
The Hundred vara survey is that part of the city which
is south of Market street and east of Ninth (formerly
Johnston) street. South of Ninth street and extending
Appendix 741
to Thirtieth is the Mission Dolores, or the Mission, as it
is usually called. The Mission extends from Harrison
street on the east to the hills of the San Miguel rancho
(Twin Peaks) on the west. East of Harrison street is
the Potrero Nuevo, extending from Division street on the
north to Islais creek on the south. South of Islais creek
is the Potrero Viejo, commonly called South San Francisco.
This extends to the San Mateo county line. To the west
of the Potrero Viejo, or South San Francisco, are a number
of small subdivisions, bearing various names, each having
its own survey.
The street next to the Embarcadero in the Hundred
vara survey is
Steuart street, named for William M. Steuart who
came as secretary to Commodore Jones on the line-of-
battle ship Ohio in 1848. He was a member of the
ayuntamiento in 1849-50 and chairman of the judiciary
committee. In the records of the ayuntamiento to
December 1, 1849, his name is spelled Stewart. From that
date it is Steuart. He was one of the delegates from San
Francisco to the constitutional convention and was, at
times, acting chairman. He was a candidate for governor
in the election of November 1849.
Spear street was named for Nathan Spear who was one
of the earliest merchants of San Francisco (see chapter
xiv) and was upright and honorable in all his dealings.
He died in San Francisco in 1849, at the age of 47.
Beale street was named for Lieutenant Edward F.
Beale, United States navy. Beale took an active part
in the conquest of California serving as lieutenant with
the California battalion; later he was surveyor-general
of the state and at one time United States minister to
Austria.
742 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Fremont street was named for Colonel John C. Fre-
mont.
Market street is the dividing line between the Fifty
and Hundred vara surveys, the Western addition, and the
Mission Dolores. It runs diagonally, from northeast to
southwest and cuts the city in two. The streets of the
Hundred vara survey, run parallel with, and at right angles
to it. The name was probably suggested by Market
street, Philadelphia.
Mission street was the first street opened in the
southern portion of the city and followed the road to the
mission.
Stevenson street, between Market and Mission, was
named for Jonathan Drake Stevenson, colonel of the First
New York volunteers. The blocks in the Hundred vara
survey were so large that it was found necessary to run
what were called sub-division streets through them.
Many of these have names of no significance, such as Annie,
Jessie, Clementina, etc.
Natoma street, a sub-division street, was originally
named Melius street for Henry Melius, Howard's partner;
but after the quarrel between the partners it was changed
to Natoma. The name is that of an Indian tribe on the
American river.
Howard street was named for W. D. M. Howard.
Folsom street was named for Captain Joseph L. Folsom.
Harrison street was named for Edward H. Harrison,
quartermaster's clerk of First New York volunteers,
collector of the port, member of the ayuntamiento, and
member of the firm of DeWitt and Harrison.
Bryant street was named for Edwin Bryant who suc-
ceeded Lieutenant Bartlett as alcalde of San Francisco.
Appendix 743
Bryant served in the California battalion as first lieutenant
of company H.
Brannan street was named for Elder Samuel Brannan.
Bluxome street was named for Isaac Bluxome, Jr., a
prominent business man.
Townsend street was named for Doctor John Town-
send, a native of Virginia who came overland with the
Stevens party in 1844. He took part in the Micheltorena
campaign as aid to Captain Sutter, was alcalde of San
Francisco in 1848, and member of the ayuntamiento,
1849. He died of cholera in December 1850, or January
1851.
Valencia street was named for the family of Jose
Manuel Valencia, a soldier of Anza's company.
Guerrero street was named for Francisco Guerrero.
His biography is in chapter xv.
Dolores street was named for the mission and con-
tains the mission church.
Sanchez street was named for the family of Jose
Antonio Sanchez, a soldier of Anza's company.
Noe street was named for Jose de Jesus Noe. A brief
biography of him is given in chapter xv.
Castro street was named for the family of Joaquin
Isidro de Castro, a soldier of Anza's company.
The streets of the Potrero Nuevo ("The Potrero")
are mostly names of states for the streets running north
and south, and those running east and west are the con-
tinuation of the numbered streets of the Mission Dolores.
The streets in the Potrero Viejo (South San Francisco)
were mainly numbered "avenues" and lettered streets.
These names the commission insisted on changing, giving
the following names to the avenues:
744 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Arthur avenue, for Chester A. Arthur, twenty-first
president of the United States.
Burke avenue, for General John Burke of the Revolu-
tionary army.
Custer avenue, for General George A. Custer United
States army, killed in a battle with the Sioux under Sitting
Bull, on the Little Big Horn river in Montana, June 25,
1876.
Davidson avenue, for Professor George Davidson, the
eminent scientist and engineer.
Evans avenue, for Rear-admiral Robley D. Evans of
the United States navy.
Fairfax avenue, for Thomas Fairfax, sixth Baron
Fairfax, who became an American colonist, friend of Wash-
ington, and died near Winchester, Virginia, March 12,
1782.
Galvez avenue, for Don Jose de Galvez, visitador-
general of Spain and member of the council of the Indies,
who organized the expedition commanded by Portola,
1768-69.
Hudson avenue, for Henry Hudson, English navigator,
discoverer of Hudson river and Hudson's bay.
Inness avenue, for George Inness the noted American
landscape painter.
Jerrold avenue, for Douglas William Jerrold, English
dramatist and humorist.
Kirkwood avenue, for Samuel J. Kirkwood, war gov-
ernor of Iowa.
La Salle avenue, for Robert Cavalier, Sieur de la
Salle, French explorer, discoverer of the Ohio river.
Appendix
745
McKinnon avenue, for Father McKinnon, chaplain
of First California volunteers, Spanish war, who died in
the Philippines.
Newcombe avenue, for Samuel Newcombe, the dis-
tinguished astronomer.
Palou avenue, for Fray Francisco Palou, companion
of Junipero Serra, and his historian.
Quesada avenue, for Gonzalo Ximinez de Quesada,
Spanish explorer and conqueror of New Granada.
Revere avenue, for Paul Revere, American patriot
and hero of the midnight ride.
Shafter avenue, for General William R. Shafter, com-
mander of the United States army in Cuba.
Thomas avenue, for General George H. Thomas, "The
Rock of Chickamauga."
Underwood avenue, for General Franklin Underwood,
United States army.
Van Dyke avenue, for Walter Van Dyke, justice of
the supreme court of California.
Wallace avenue, for William T. Wallace, chief justice
of the supreme court of California.
Armstrong avenue, for General Samuel Strong Arm-
strong, founder of Hampton Institute.
Bancroft avenue, for George Bancroft, American his-
torian, secretary of the navy, United States minister to
Great Britain and Berlin.
Carroll avenue, for Charles Carroll, signer of the
Declaration of Independence.
Donner avenue, for the leader of the party of immi-
grants who perished in the Sierra Nevada.
746 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Egbert avenue, for Colonel Egbert, United States
army, killed in the Philippines.
Fitzgerald avenue, for Edward Fitzgerald, English
poet and translator.
Gilman avenue, for Daniel C. Gilman, American
educator, former president of the University of California.
Hollister avenue, for Sergeant Stanley Hollister of
California, killed in Cuba.
Ingerson avenue, for Doctor H. H. Ingerson, a citizen
of San Francisco.
Key avenue, for Francis Scott Key.
Le Conte avenue, for Professor Joseph Le Conte,
teacher, scientist, and author.
Meade avenue, for General George G. Meade, a com-
mander at Gettysburg.
Nelson avenue, for General William Nelson, a loyal
Kentuckian.
Olney avenue, for Richard Olney, American lawyer
and statesman.
Pulaski avenue, for Count Casimier Pulaski, Polish
general who served in the Revolutionary war.
Richter avenue, for Captain, Remhold Richter, First
California volunteers, killed in Philippines.
Sampson avenue for Admiral William T. Sampson,
United States navy.
Tovar avenue, for Don Pedro de Tovar, ensign-general
of Coronado's army.
Ugarte avenue, for Father Juan de Ugarte, founder
of missions in Lower California; first ship builder of the
Californias, 1719.
Appendix 747
For the lettered streets of South San Francisco the
following names were adopted by the commission:
Alvord street, for William Alvord.
Boalt street, for John H. Boalt.
Coleman street, for William T. Coleman.
Donahue street, for Peter Donahue.
Earl street, for John O. Earl.
Fitch street, for George K. Fitch.
Griffith street, for Millen Griffith.
Hawes street for Horace Hawes.
Ingalls street, for General Rufus Ingalls.
Jennings street, for Thomas Jennings (Sr.)
Keith street, for William Keith.
Lane street, for Doctor L. C. Lane.
Mendell street, for George H. Mendell.
Newhall street, for Henry M. Newhall.
Phelps street, for Timothy Guy Phelps.
Quint street, for Leander Quint.
Rankin street, for Ira P. Rankin.
Selby street, for Thomas H. Selby.
Toland street, for Doctor H. H. Toland.
Upton street, for Mathew G. Upton.
Bernal Heights and Bernal avenue, were named for
the family of Juan Francisco Bernal, a soldier of Anza's
company.
748 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Peralta avenue, for the family of Gabriel Peralta,
corporal of Anza's company.
De Haro street was named for Alcalde Francisco de
Haro.
The commission in selecting new names for numbered
and lettered streets was limited in its choice by the neces-
sity of preserving an alphabetical order.
Appendix 749
Appendix C
BUCARELI TO RIVERA
Instructions of the viceroy to the comandante of
California regarding the establishment at San Francisco.
(Provicial State Papers Miscellaneous ii., 259, Spanish
Archives of California.)
"In consequence of what you and the Reverend Father
President of your missions have represented to me in
your last letters, I have now resolved upon the occupa-
tion of the Port of San Francisco, persuaded that this port
may serve as the base for future operations, and have
decided that Captain Don Juan Bautista de Anza, who
at present is in this capital, shall lead a new expedition
by land from his presidio of Tubac, taking adequate
provisions of fruits and cattle, which being finished and
the land surveyed by him, he must return by the same
road with the ten soldiers he will take, and give me an
account of the results.
"Besides the escort (of ten soldiers) that will accompany
him, he will take a lieutenant and a sergeant and he has
orders to recruit in the province of Sonora twenty-eight
men who will volunteer to go and make their homes in
that country, and who, it is calculated, with their wives
and children, will make a company of one hundred persons.
"With this consideration I have arranged that the
packet boat destined to supply with provisions the presidio
and mission of Monterey, shall carry sufficient (provisions)
for their maintenance for one year, and have so ordered
the commissary at San Bias, Don Francisco Hijosa, to
act, taking care to send them entirely separate, and dis-
tinctly marked that you may know them. When they
750 The Beginnings of San Francisco
are received they must be put in a safe and suitable place
where they may be preserved and kept on deposit until
the arrival of Anza's expedition, and the domiciliation
of the families he will transport takes place, at which time,
as they have this destiny only, the use of these provisions
must begin, without permitting them to have any other
application. If Don Juan Bautista de Anza should have
need of any (provisions) in order to return to Sonora they
must be furnished him from those that may be in the
presidio or in the missions.
"With this arrangement I believe I will have supplied
the people you lack, as represented in your letter of 16th
of June last, and with the sending of the arms, asked for
in that of the 8th of October, which I suppose are in San
Bias, or near that port, the needs for the defence of your
establishments, which you state as urgent, will be supplied.
"The proposed occupation of the Port of San Francisco
has for its object not only the utility which may inspire
us with larger ideas, but that there may be in that place
a constant and sure sign indicating the authority of the
king; and as I consider the erection of the proposed mis-
sions very proper in order to accomplish this purpose and
propagate religion among the gentiles that inhabit the
neighboring lands, I earnestly beg and charge the Rev-
erend Father Junipero, that in making selections of suit-
able religious men for these missions from among his
subordinates, he will earnestly impress upon them the
importance of the undertaking, as upon this depends
their success; and it becomes a singular service to God
and to the king, to which you must contribute, on your
part, all necessary assistance.
"The indicated expedition will be under your orders in
the custody of said port, from the very moment that
Captain Don Juan Bautista de Anza arrives at your
Appendix 751
presidio and delivers it up to you; it being understood
that the said captain has to assist also in the survey of
the Rio de San Francisco, so as to be able to report to
me what he has seen, and he will then return by the
same road with the ten soldiers belonging to his presidio.
"God preserve you many years."
Mexico, December 15, 1774.
El Bailio Frey Don Antonio Bucareli y Ursua,
Senor Don Fernando de Rivera
y Moncada.
"P. S. The object of this expedition is to conduct
troops for the escoltas of the two missions that I have
resolved to establish in the Port of San Francisco. There
is nothing so interesting as this undertaking in its relation
to future plans when we know, through advices we have
received by sea, of the abundant harvest of souls awaiting
the apostolic zeal of the missionary fathers, and I say to
the Reverend Father Junipero that, in order to give
effect to the pious intentions of the king and that these
establishments may mutually aid each other, I will, on
my part, give all the support in my power, on your send-
ing me the information that you are in accord with Father
Serra.
"I have been informed of the abundant crops that have
been raised this year in your country, and as the plenti-
fulness of provisions can facilitate the conversion of the
gentiles, I command this important matter to Padre
Fray Junipero.
"Between the two missions and not far from the coast,
the fort should be erected for the shelter of the troops
in order that they may go to the aid of either when the
six men assigned to each mission are not sufficient. You
may also take from the presidio in your charge some of
752 The Beginnings of San Francisco
the men whom you consider most suitable as being accus-
tomed to the country, and exchange them for others among
the company Captain Anza will bring. You can arrange
this with him, understanding that he is fully advised of
everything."
El Bailio Bucareli.
Seiior Don Fernando
de Rivera y Moncada.
Appe
NDIX
753
Appendix D
THE MURDER OF BERREYESA
AND THE DE HAROS
The story of the death of Jose de los Reyes Berreyesa
and Francisco and Ramon de Haro has been told in many
of the accounts of the Bear Flag war and most of the
narrators agree that it was an unprovoked murder. The
Los Angeles Star published on September 27, 1856, a
signed statement of Jasper O'Farrell, who saw the shooting
and also a letter from Jose de los Santos Berreyesa, son
of the murdered man. These statements may have been
published in other newspapers, but if so the papers have
disappeared and there is no record of the statements, so
far as I know, save that of the Los Angeles Star, and of
that day's issue I have only succeeded in finding one
copy. From the fact that the records of this testimony
have become so scarce it would seem as if some one had
attempted to destroy them. This being the case I have
thought it best to put the statements of O'Farrell and
Berreyesa on record in this work and am able to do so
through the courtesy of Mr. J. M. Guinn of Los Angeles,
secretary of the Historical Society of Southern California,
whose collection contains this valuable copy of the Star.
It has been claimed that the statements were published
in the newspapers for their political effect on the presi-
dential campaign of 1856. That is probably true but it
cannot in any way alter the facts.
754 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Berreyesa's Account
San Francisco, Sept., 22, 1856.
Hon. P. A. Roach
My dear sir:
"In reply to your question whether it is certain or
not that Col. Fremont consented to or permittted his
soldiers to commit any crime or outrage on the frontier of
Sonoma or San Rafael in the year 1846, to satisfy your
inquiry and to prove to you that what is said in relation
thereto is true, I believe it will be sufficient to inform you
of the following case: Occupying the office of first alcalde
of Sonoma in the year 1846, having been taken by surprise
and put in prison in said town in company with several
of my countrymen, Col. Fremont arrived at Sonoma
with his forces from Sacramento. He came, in company
of Capt. Gillespie and several soldiers, to the room in
which I was confined, and having required from me the
tranquillity of my jurisdiction, I answered him that
I did not wish to take part in any matters in the neigh-
borhood, as I was a prisoner. After some further re-
marks he retired, not well satisfied with the tenor of my
replies. On the following day accompanied by soldiers
he went to San Rafael. At the time that the news of my
arrest had reached my parents, at the instance of my
mother, that my father should go to Sonoma to see the
condition in which myself and brothers were placed, this
pacific old man left Santa Clara for San Pablo. After
many difficulties he succeded in passing (across the
strait), accompanied by two young cousins, Francisco
and Ramon Haro, and having disembarked near San Ra-
fael they proceeded towards the mission of that name
with the intention of getting horses and return to get
Appendix 755
their saddles, which remained on the beach. Unfortu-
nately Col. Fremont was walking in the corridor of the
mission with some of his soldiers and they perceived the
three Californians. They took their arms and mounted —
approached towards them, and fired. It is perhaps true
that they were scarcely dead when they were stripped of
the clothing, which was all they had on their persons;
others say that Col. Fremont was asked whether they
should be taken prisoners or killed and that he replied
that he had no room for prisoners and in consequence
of this they were slain.
"On the day following this event Fremont returned to
Sonoma and I learned from one of the Americans who
accompanied him, and who spoke Spanish, that one of
the persons killed at San Rafael was my father. I sought
the first opportunity to question him (Fremont) about
the matter, and whilst he was standing in front of the
room in which I was a prisoner, I and my two brothers
spoke to him and questioned him who it was that killed
my father, and he answered that it was not certain he
was killed, but that it was a Mr. Castro. Shortly after-
wards a soldier passed by with a serape belonging to my
father and one of my brothers pointed him out. After
being satisfied of this fact I requested Col. Fremont
to be called and told him that from seeing the serape on
one of his men that I believed my father had been killed
by his orders and begged that he would do me the favor
to have the article restored to me that I might give it
to my mother. To this Col. Fremont replied that he
could not order its restoration as the serape belonged
to the soldier who had it, and then he retired without
giving me any further reply. I then endeavored to obtain
it from the soldier who asked me £25, for it, which I paid,
756 The Beginnings of San Francisco
and in this manner I obtained it. This history, sir, I
think will be sufficient to give you an idea of the conduct
pursued by Col. Fremont in the year 1846."
I remain your friend
Jose S. Berreyesa.
Statement of Jasper O'Farrell, Esq.,
in Reference to the Above Mentioned Act
I was at San Rafael in June 1846 when the then Captain
Fremont arrived at that mission with his troops. The
second day after his arrival there was a boat landed three
men at the mouth of the estero on Point San Pedro. As
soon as they were descried by Fremont there were three
men (of whom Kit Carson was one) detailed to meet
them. They mounted their horses and after advancing
about one hundred yards halted and Carson returned
to where Fremont was standing on the corridor of the
mission, in company with Gillespie, myself, and others,
and said: "Captain shall I take these men prisoners?"
In response Fremont waved his hand and said: "I
have got no room for prisoners." They then advanced
to within fifty yards of the three unfortunate and un-
armed Californians, alighted from their horses, and delib-
erately shot them. One of them was an old and respected
Californian, Don Jose R. Berreyesa, whose son was the
alcalde of Sonoma. The other two were twin brothers
and sons of Don Francisco de Haro, a citizen of the
Pueblo of Yerba Buena. I saw Carson some two years
ago and spoke to him of this act and he assured me that
then and since he regretted to be compelled to shoot
those men, but Fremont was blood-thirsty enough to
order otherwise, and he further remarked that it was
not the only brutal act he was compelled to commit while
under his command.
Appendix 757
<<i
I should not have taken the trouble of making this
public but that the veracity of a pamphlet published by
C. E. Pickett, Esq., in which he mentions the circumstance
has been questioned — a history which I am compelled to
say is, alas, too true — and from having seen a circular ad-
dressed to the native Californians by Fremont, or some
of his friends, calling on them to rally to his support, I
therefore give the above act publicity, so as to exhibit
some of that warrior's tender mercies and chivalrous
exploits, and must say that I feel degraded in soiling paper
with the name of a man whom, for that act, I must always
look upon with contempt and consider as a murderer and
a coward."
(Signed) Jasper O'Farrell.
758 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Appendix E
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The San Francisco fire of 1906 destroyed the Spanish
Archives of California, consisting of perhaps three
hundred thousand documents, forming the records of
California under Spanish and Mexican rule. That part
of the archives constituting the land titles of California
was saved by reason of the expedientes being kept in a
large iron safe which withstood the heat of the fire, and
while badly baked and sweated the papers were found
legible when the safe was opened some three months
later. The other papers consisting of royal proclamations
military reports, mission reports, court proceedings,
journals, diaries, correspondence, and all the multitudi-
nous documents relating to the details of government,
had been collected by the United States authorities and
placed in custody of the United States surveyor-general
for California. The loss is very great though not neces-
sarily irreparable, for under the system of Spain which
was followed by Mexico, a number of certified copies of
each report, order, etc., were made, and these copies may
be found in Mexico, in Madrid, in Seville, and in other
places. They have found their way into the British
museum and into various libraries of the United States.
When making his history of California Mr. H. H. Ban-
croft put a number of men at work on these manuscripts
and took from them such memoranda as he desired to
use in his study. He did not make copies, save in a
few instances, nor are his extracts more valuable, as he
claims, for historical purposes than the originals. In
1858 Congress passed an act authorizing the collection
of all papers, documents, books, etc, of every description
Appendix 759
belonging or pertaining to the former government of Cali-
fornia, appointed the United States surveyor-general for
California custodian, and made it the duty of the secre-
tary of the interior to collect said documents wherever
they might be found and place them with the custodian.
Under this law Edwin M. Stanton, afterwards secretary
of war, collected the manuscripts and bound the mis-
cellaneous or historical documents in two hundred and
seventy-four volumes, classified as Department Records,
Department State Papers, Provincial State Papers, etc.,
titles having no meaning whatsoever, for the papers were
jumbled together without regard to date or character.
For a number of years I spent all my spare time delving
into this mine of historical information and some of my
most valuable and interesting records have come from it.
From this storehouse comes the story of Anza's great
expedition for the founding of San Francisco. From it
I have also obtained a complete census (padron) of Cali-
fornia in the year 1790, as well as padrones of the various
presidios, missions, pueblos, and ranchos from 178 1 to
1845. These census lists together with the filiaciones,
hojas de servicio, and mission registers have enabled me
to give the origin and family record of the first settlers
of California, thereby making the narrative of this
history somewhat more personal and interesting than it
would otherwise be.
The greatest source of historical information is the
Bancroft collection, now belonging to the University
of California. This has been pretty fairly described in
Bancroft's history and through the courtesy of Mr.
Frederick J. Teggart, the curator, I have made extensive
use of it. The mission registers (Libro de Misiones) are,
in most instances, in the possession of the parish priests —
successors of the missionaries. I have made a complete
transcript of the registers of births, marriages, and deaths,
760 The Beginnings of San Francisco
{de razon) of the mission of San Francisco from 1776 to
1850, the mission of San Francisco Solano, and those of
Santa Clara and Santa Barbara, following the lines of
San Francisco families.
The most interesting and valuable of the documents,
not yet printed, are the diaries of the two expeditions of
Juan Bautista de Anza. Anza's diary of 1774 is in the
archives of Mexico; that of 1775-76, was in the archives
of California — copies of both are in the Bancroft library.
The diary of Pedro Font (borrador) is in the Academy of
Pacific Coast History, and Font's full diary or report is
in the John Carter Brown library at Providence, R. I.,
a certified copy of which, comprising six hundred and
seventy pages (MS.) is in my possession.
For the account of the discovery and first attempt at
settlement of California, we must go back to Bernal Diaz
del Castillo's "Historia Verdadera de la Conquista."
Diaz was born in Medino del Campo about 1498; died in
Guatemala about 1593. He accompanied Pedrarias to
Darien in 1 514, and thence crossed to Cuba; was with
Cordoba in the discovery of Yucatan in 15 17, and with
Grijalva in 1518; he subsequently joined Cortes and
served through the conquest of Mexico, and accompanied
Alvarado to Guatemala in 1524. In all these campaigns
he was a common soldier, though he subsequently became
a captain. He began writing his history in 1558, at San-
tiago de los Cabelleros in Guatemala. It was first pub-
lished in Madrid in 1632, and has remained a standard
historical authority for the conquest of Mexico.
The works of Vanegas: "Noticia de la Calfornia,"
and of Palou: "Vida de Junipero Serra," and "Noticias
de la Nueva California" are the principal authorities
for the historical beginnings of Baja and Alta California,
while in the modern history Bancroft easily ranks first
for the colonial period, and though I have questioned some
Appendix 761
parts of his narrative there is no doubt of the value of the
work to the student and I have freely availed myself of
his references, thereby greatly facilitating my work in
the Bancroft collection. The work of contemporary
writers and travelers such as Vancouver, Beechey, Morrell,
Dana, Simpson, Brown, Bayard Taylor, and others, has
been liberally drawn upon, as well for historic merit as
for local color and atmosphere. One of the more valuable
of these is Davis' "Sixty Years in California." William
Heath Davis was born in Honolulu in 1822. His father,
William Heath Davis, was a Boston ship-master engaged
in the China trade who lived long in the Hawaiian Islands,
being married to a daughter of Oliver Holmes, another
Boston ship-master, also long a resident of the islands and
one time governor of Oahu. Holmes' wife was a native
Hawaiian, and another of his daughters married Nathan
Spear. William Heath Davis, Jr., first visited California
in 183 1, a boy on the bark Louisa. In 1833 he came again
on the bark Volunteer, and the third time in 1838 on the
bark Don Quixote. From 1838 he was clerk and manager
for his uncle, Nathan Spear, at San Francisco, remaining
in his service until 1842, when he engaged as supercargo
on the Don Quixote and made several trips to the Hawaiian
Islands. In 1845 he entered into business on his own
account and became a prominent merchant and ship-
owner in San Francisco, member of the ayuntamiento,
etc. In 1849 he began the second brick building in San
Francisco on the northwest corner of Montgomery and
California streets, finished in 1850, the bricks and cement
being brought from Boston. It was forty feet front on
Montgomery street by eighty on California, four stories
high, and he leased it to the government for a custom
house. It was burned in the fire of May 3, 1851. In
1847 Davis was married to Maria de Jesus, daughter of
Joaquin Estudillo. He was living in San Francisco at
762 The Beginnings of San Francisco
the time of the fire of 1906. He died at the house of his
daughter, Mrs. Edwin H. Clough, in Haywards, April
19, 1909. He was very prosperous for many years but
in his old age reverses overtook him and he died a poor
man.
Another valuable contribution is Robinson's "Life in
California. " Alfred Robinson, a native of Massachusetts,
born in 1805, came to California on the American ship
Brookline in 1829, and remained as agent for Bryant and
Sturgis of Boston. He traded up and down the coast dis-
posing of cargoes and buying hides. He joined the Catho-
lic church and was baptized Jose Maria Alfredo. On June
24, 1836, he married, in Santa Barbara, Ana Maria de
la Gracia Leonora, daughter of Jose de la Guerra. Read-
ers of Dana's "Two Years Before the Mast" will remem-
ber his description of the wedding and of the ridicule he
cast upon the bridegroom, pinned and skewered in a tight,
swallow-tailed coat just imported from Boston. Dana
revisited California twenty-four years later and called on
Don Alfredo in Santa Barbara. "I did not know how he
would receive me," he writes, "remembering what I
had printed to the world about him at a time when I took
little thought that the world was going to read it; but
there was no sign of offence, only a cordiality which
gave him, as between us, rather the advantage in status."
Robinson's only allusion to Dana's offence is when de-
scribing the wedding of Dona Angustias de la Guerra he
says: "On this occasion the bridegroom neither had an
opportunity of appropriating the services of an experienced
steward (of the Alert, one of Bryant and Sturgis' ships)
nor had he a vessel to which he could repair and make use
of her choicest stores, as has been facetiously stated in
a popular work by R. H. Dana to have been done by an
American gentleman who subsequently married a sister
of the bride." Don Alfredo was straightforward in all
Appendix 763
his dealings and had the respect of all classes. His book,
published anonymously in 1846, was marred by the use
of initials instead of names, which fault was corrected
in the reprint of 1891, to which were added several chap-
ters. It remains one of the best and most interesting
narratives of life in California during the colonial period.
When the Pacific Mail Steamship Company was estab-
lished Robinson was appointed agent in California with
headquarters in San Francisco. He died in San Francisco
October 19, 1895.
Richard Henry Dana and his book "Two Years Before
the Mast," are too well known to require any notice here.
Dana was but twenty years old when he came to Califor-
nia and many of his statements are decidedly boyish in
character and flippant in tone. In his later edition, his
chapter "Twenty-four Years After," is a great improve-
ment both in style and sentiment.
William H. Thomes, a native of Maine, came in 1843
from Boston, a sailor boy, age sixteen, on the American
ship Admittance, Peter Peterson, master; Henry Melius,
supercargo; incited to this adventure by reading Dana's
"Two Years Before the Mast." He was seized with an
intense longing to encounter the dangers Dana had met
with; see the same ports he had visited; get wet with the
same surf, and see the same people he had described. So
uncomfortable did he make himself at home over this
matter that his parents concluded that a long and difficult
voyage, under a Tartar captain, would be the only cure
for his complaint. They therefore enrolled him on the
shipping papers of the Admittance. His book "On Land
and Sea," is full of interest— particularly in its personal
descriptions. Thomes and his friend Lewey, another
ship-boy, feigned an attack of smallpox to be left in Cali-
fornia when the ship started for home in order that they
might return to the Refugio rancho and marry a couple
764 The Beginnings of San Francisco
of pretty mestizas. The girls, however, would have
none of them, and Thomes returned east on the schooner
California and ultimately married a daughter of his old
master on the Admittance, Captain Peterson. He
returned to California in 1849 on the ship Edward Everett.
His later work, "Lewey and I," a story of the conquest, is
very inferior to the first book and worthless from an his-
torical point of view.
The prominence of John H. Brown in the foregoing
pages is due to the fact that he wrote a book, "The Early
Days of San Francisco"; a book so bad that it amounts
to a literary curiosity and deserves a place in Golden Gate
Park museum. Brown tells his story with originality
and a freedom from prejudice in matters of orthography
that is quite striking, yet he tells what he saw — or thought
he saw — and gives us much that is new and interesting;
some of which I have verified. John Henry Brown was
an English sailor who ran away from his ship and came to
Philadelphia about 1830. In 1840 he was in the Cherokee
Nation, and in 1843, in company with a party of Cherokee
fur-traders, crossed the country by the Humboldt-Truckee
route and spent the winter at Johnson's rancho on the
Bear river. Returning east in 1844, he came back with
the Grigsby-Ide party in 1845. Brown stayed for a while
with Sutter and then went to work in Yerba Buena, first
as barkeeper for Finch and Thompson in their saloon on
the northwest corner of Kearny and Washington streets,
then as barkeeper for Bob Ridley on the south side of
Clay street below Kearny. He lived in San Francisco until
1850, keeping the Portsmouth house, and later, the City
hotel, and from 1850 to 1881 lived in Santa Cruz. In
1885 he kept a grocery store in San Francisco. He was a
well-known character and claimed to know more than any
other living man regarding the history of San Francisco.
He said that so many misrepresentations had been made
Appendix 765
concerning San Francisco by writers who relied upon
hearsay evidence that he would write a true history of
the city from his actual experience.
As I write this chapter I am informed of the death of
my friend Professor George Davidson. He had been in
somewhat feeble bodily health for some time though his
fine mind and his wonderful memory were unimpaired.
But the link which bound us to the past is broken. Since
1850 Professor Davidson has been identified with the
scientific progress of the states and territories of the
Pacific coast and no man was his equal in knowledge of
their history. He has taken the greatest interest in my
work, has helped me with suggestion and advice and every
important chapter and note, in its final form, has been
read and approved by him. For fifty years Professor
Davidson was connected with the coast and geodetic
survey and for thirty years was in charge of the work on
the Pacific coast. Coming to California in charge of an
astronomical and triangulation party, during the gold
excitement, in 1850, Professor Davidson and his assistants
were charged by their chief not to accept private employ-
ment for a period of one year, and to this all agreed. In
consideration of the high cost of living in California David-
son's pay was advanced from six to eight hundred dollars
a year — almost enough to maintain him for two months.
By arrangement with the military authorities he was per-
mitted to obtain supplies from the quartermaster at the
government rate, otherwise he would have been obliged
to resign. Most of his assistants promptly resigned to
accept private employment for which the most exorbitant
fees were paid, but Davidson's plain and simple honesty
did not permit a deviation from the path of duty. He
had undertaken to serve the government and would carry
out his contract. Offered a fee of five thousand dollars
to run a street line in Santa Barabra, he refused the offer
766 The Beginnings of San Francisco
and lived on his eight hundred dollars a year. His long
service in the survey made him thoroughly familiar with
both the coast line and the interior and he was frequently
called as an expert in the great land cases. It was his
rule to refuse employment from either side, requiring a
subpoena of the court and then his testimony was at the
service of either party to the action. His testimony in
the Limantour case has been spoken of. It ended the
case and caused the arrest of the petitioner while his
accomplices fled. The lawyers received great fees; the
expert received nothing.
Living by the line of duty, which his clear sight could
not mistake, Professor Davidson died a poor man, as the
world counts wealth, but rich in all that makes life valu-
able. He was honored by the leading governments of
Europe as well as by that of the United States, and by
universities and scientific societies of Europe and America.
His work on the Alaska boundary, the boundary between
the United States and British Columbia, and that between
California and Nevada is of special value. He was cor-
respondent of the Bureau of Longitudes of France; the
Academy of sciences of the French Institute; the Swedish
Anthropological and Geographical society, and of the
Royal Geographical society; honorary professor of geod-
esy and astronomy and professor of geography in the
University of California; doctor of laws; doctor of science;
doctor of philosophy; knight of the Order of Saint Olaf
in Norway, and member of thirty-four learned societies
in this country and Europe. He was author of two hun-
dred and sixty-one books and papers on scientific and
historical subjects.
George Davidson was born in Nottingham, England,
November, 1825; died in San Francisco, California,
December 1, 191 1; married in 1858, Eleanor, daughter of
Robert Henry Fontleroy, of Virginia, and Jane Dale
Appendix 767
Owen, daughter of Robert Owen of Lanark, Scotland.
A son and a daughter survive him. A mountain in Alaska
and one in San Francisco bear his name and one of the city
streets was named in his honor.
In the following list of authorities examined I designate
manuscripts in Bancroft collection, B. C. and those (that
were) in the Spanish Archives of California, S. A. C.
Alvarado (Juan Bautista), Historia de California. MS.
B. C.
Alameda County History. 1881.
Anza (Juan Bautista), Diario que practico por tierra
el ano de 1774, El Capitan Don Juan Bautista de
Anza desde Sonora a los Nuevos Establecimientos
de California. MS. Archivo de Mexico. Diario
del Teniente Coronel Don Juan Bautista de Anza,
Capitan del Presidio de Tubac, Sonora, etc. 1775-76.
MS. S. A. C.
Apostolicos Afanes de la Compania de Jesus. Barce-
lona, 1754.
Archives of California, 274 vol. with many unbound
MS. (Destroyed by fire, 1906.)
Arrillaga (Jose Joaquin), Correspondence. Men of the
First Expedition. MS. S. A. C.
Avila (Maria Inocenta Pico de), Cosas de California.
MS. B. C.
Ayala (Juan Manuel), Log of the San Carlos. Report
on Bay of San Francisco. Description of Bay of
San Francisco. In March of Portola. San Fran-
cisco, 1909.
Baldridge (William), Days of '49. MS. B. C.
768 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Bancroft (Hubert H.), History of Pacific States.
Barnes (George A.), Oregon and California in 1849.
MS. B. C.
Barry (T. A.) and B. A. Patten, Men and Memories of
San Francisco. San Francisco, 1873.
Bartlett (John Russell), Personal Narrative of Explora-
tions and Incidents. New York, 1854.
Beckwith (E. G.), Report of Explorations of a Route
for the Pacific Railroad, 38th & 39th parallel. 33d
Cong. 1st Ses. H. Ex. Doc. 129.
Bee (Heary J.), Recollections of California from 1830.
MS. B. C.
Beechey (F. W.), Narrative of a Voyage to the Pacific
in 1825-28. London, 183 1.
Belden (Josiah), Historical Statement. MS. B. C.
Benton (Thomas H.), Letters and Speeches. Niles
Register and Congressional Globe.
Berreyesa (Jose de los Santos), In Los Angeles Star,
September 27, 1856.
Bidwell (John), California in 1841. MS. B. C. State-
ments in Royce's California. Articles in Century
Magazine, XVIIL, XIX.
Bigelow (John), Life and Services of J. C. Fremont.
New York, 1856.
Bigler (Henry), Diary of a Mormon in California.
MS. B. C.
Bluxome (Isaac, Jr.), Personal Narrative. MS. B. C.
Bosqui (Edward), Memoirs. San Francisco, 1904.
Appendix 769
Borthwick (J. D.), Three Years in California. London,
1857.
Breen (Patrick), Diary of a Member of the Donner
Party. MS. B. C.
Broughton (William R.), A Voyage of Discovery to
North Pacific Ocean. London, 1804.
Brown (Charles), Early Days of California. MS. B. C.
Brown (John H.), Early Days of San Francisco. San
Francisco, 1886.
Bryant (Edwin), What I Saw in California. New
York, 1848.
Bryce (James), American Commonwealths. London,
1891.
Bucareli (El Bailio Frey D. Antonfo), Reglamento,
1773, 1774. Letter to Fages October 14, 1772. To
Rivera, September 19, 1773, and January 2, 1775.
MS. S. A. C.
BufTam (E. Gould), Six Months in the Gold Mines.
Philadelphia, 1850.
Burnett (Peter F.), Recollections and Opinions of an
Old Pioneer. New York, 1880.
Cabrera Bueno (Jose Gonzales), Treatise on Naviga-
tion. London, 1790.
California, Journals of Senate and Assembly, 1 850-1 856.
California and New Mexico. Messages and Documents
31st Cong. 1st Ses. H. Ex. Doc. 17.
Canfield (Chauncey), Diary of a Forty-niner.
770 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Castenares (Jose), Diary of Journey, Velicata to San
Diego, 1769. MS. S. A. C. Reconnaissance of the
Port of San Francisco. In March of Portola. San
Francisco, 1809.
Castenares (Manuel), Documentos para la Historia de
California. Mexico, 1846.
Castro Documents. MS. B. C.
Century Magazine, XVII., XIX. Articles by various
writers.
Clark (William S.), Recollections of a San Francisco
Pioneer. MS. B. C.
Clemens (Samuel L.) (Mark Twain), Innocents Abroad.
Colton (Walter), Deck and Port. New York, 1850.
Three Years in California. New York, 1850.
Congressional Globe, 1847-48.
Coon (H. P.), Annals of San Francisco. MS. B. C.
Coronel (Antonio F.), Cosas de California. MS. B. C.
Cortes (Hernan), Historia de New Espana. Edited by
Lorenzana.
Costanso (Miguel), Diario Historico de los Viages de
Mar y Tierra hechos al Norte de California. MS.
Sutro Library, also Pub. Academy Pacific Coast Hist.,
191 1. Historical Journal. London, 1790.
Coues (Elliott), On the Trail of a Spanish Pioneer.
Diary of Garces. New York, 1900.
Crespi (Juan), Diario Viage San Diego a Monterey,
1769. In Palou's Noticias. Diario que se formo
en el registro que se hizo del San Francisco, 1772.
Appendix 771
In Palou's Noticias. Letter, May 21, 1772. In
Outwest, January, 1902. Diary of Voyage on the
Santiago, 1774. Pub. Historical Society of Southern
California. Vol. ii., part 1.
Croix (Teodoro), Approval of Location of Presidio of
Santa Barbara. MS. S. A. C.
Crosby (E. 0.), Events in California. MS. B. C.
Dana (Richard H., Jr.), Two Years Before the Mast.
Boston, 1873.
Davidson (George), Methods and Results — Voyages on
Northwest Coast. 1 539-1603. Washington, 1887.
The Alaska Boundary. San Francisco, 1903. Dis-
covery San Francisco Bay. San Francisco, 1907.
Francis Drake on North Coast of America in 1579.
San Francisco, 1908. Origin and Meaning of Name
California. San Francisco, 1910.
Davis (William Heath), Sixty Years in California.
San Francisco, 1889.
Delano (Amasa), Life on the Plains, etc. New York,
1857.
Deymann (Rev. Clementinus), Portiuncula Indulgence.
San Francisco, 1895.
Diaz del Castillo (Bernal), Historia Verdadera de la
Conquista de la Nueva Espaiia. Paris, 1837.
Directory, San Francisco: Parker, 1852-53; Colville,
1856.
Documentos para la Historia California. MS. B. C.
Doyle (John T.), Historical Introduction to Palou's
Noticias. Memo, as to discovery of Bay of San
772 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Francisco. San Francisco, 1889. Pious Fund of
California. In Pub. Cal. Hist. Society, Vol. i., part I:
San Francisco, 1887.
Drake (Francis), The World Encompassed. Hakluyt
Soc. Ed. London, 1854.
Dwindle (John W.), Colonial History of San Francisco.
San Francisco, 1866.
Dye (Job F.), Recollections of California. MS. B. C.
Emory (William H.), Notes of a Military Reconnais-
sance. Washington, 1848.
Esplandian, Sergas of (Reprint).
Estudillo (Jose Joaquin), Documentos para la Historia
de California. MS. B. C.
Fages (Pedro), Salida Que Hizo El Theniente de Vol.
de Cataluna, Don Pedro Fages, 1770. Pub. Acad-
emy Pac. Coast Hist., Vol. ii., No. 3, 191 1. Letter
to Romeu, May 28, 1791. S. A. C. MS. Report of
the Massacre of the Colorado. MS. S. A. C.
Farnham (J. T.), Life, Adventures, and Travels in Cali-
fornia. New York, 1857.
Fay (Caleb T.), Historical Facts on California. MS.
B.C.
Field (Stephen J.), Personal Reminiscenes of Early
Days.
Figueroa (Jose), Manifesto of. San Francisco, 1855.
Provisional Regulations for Secularization of the
Missions of Alta California. In H. Doc. 17.
Filiaciones (Enrollment). MS. S. A. C; B. C.
First Steamship Pioneers. San Francisco, 1874.
Appendix
773
Folsom (Joseph L.), Report on Boundaries of Military
Reserve at San Francisco. Superior Court of San
Francisco, Herman vs. City and County of San Fran-
cisco.
Font (Pedro), Diario que forma el Padre Fray Pedro
Font en el viage del que hizo a Monterey y Puerto de
San Francisco, 1775 y 1776. Sacado del Borrador.
MS. (University of California.) Diary of Font, in
full. MS. Carter Brown Library, Providence, R. I.
Forbes (Alexander), History of California. London,
1839.
Forster (John), Pioneer Data from 1832. MS. B. C.
Foster (Stephen C), Angeles from '47 to '49. MS. B. C.
Fourgeaud (Victor J.), Prospects of California. In
California Star. April, 1848.
Fowler (John), Bear Flag Revolt. MS. B. C.
Fremont (John Charles), Geographical Memoir. Wash-
ington, 1849. Memoir of My Life. New York,
1887. Conquest of California in Century Mag.,
Vol. XIX. Memoirs of Life and Services by John
Bigelow. Court-martial, 30th Cong. 1st. Ses. Sen.
Ex. Doc. 33. Cal. Claims; 30th Cong. 1st. Ses.
Senate Rep. 75. Correspondence in Cong. Globe,
Niles Register, etc.
Galvez (Jose), Letter of Instruction to Fages, January
5, 1769. MS. S. A. C.
Garces (Francisco), Diario y Derrotero. Translated by
Dr. Elliott Coues.
Garcia (Jose Maria), Report on Condition of Territory,
1834 MS. S. A. C.
774 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Garniss (James R.), Early Days of San Francisco. MS.
B. C.
Gleeson (William), Hist, of Catholic Church in Cali-
fornia. San Francisco, 1872.
Goycoechea (Filipe), Report Concerning Joseph O'Cain,
1795. MS. S. A. C.
Hakluyt's Voyages. Various relations concerning Cor-
onado, Marco de Niza, Mendoza, Espejo, Gomera,
Ulloa, Preciado, Gali, Alarcon, and others.
Hale (Edward Everett), Queen of California. In At-
lantic Monthly, xiii. 265.
Hall (Frederick), Hist, of San Jose. San Francisco,
1871.
Hall (William Ham.), Irrigation in California.
Halleck (Henry W.), Correspondence. In Doc. 17.
House of Rep. 31st Cong. 1st Ses. Report on Land
Titles in California, in same.
Harlan (Jacob Wright), California, '46 to '88. San
Francisco, 1888.
Hastings (Lansford W.), Emigrants' Guide to Oregon
and California. Cincinnati, 1845. New Descrip-
tion of Oregon and California. Cincinnati, 1849.
Hayes (Benjamin), Emigrant Notes. MS. B. C.
Heitman (Francis B.), Historical Register and Dic-
tionary of the United States Army.
Helper (Hinton R.), The Land of Gold. Baltimore,
1855.
Historical Society of Southern California Publications.
Various documents in Sutro library relating to voy-
Appendix 775
ages of Gali, Cermeno, and Vizcaino. Letters from
Junipero Serra to Viceroy and diaries of Crespi and
Peria, part 1, vol. ii., also part 1, vol. vi., various
documents.
Hittell (John S.), History of San Francisco. San Fran-
cisco, 1878.
Hittell (Theodore H.), Oration: Achievements of
California. San Francisco, 1892. History of Cali-
fornia. San Francisco, 1897. George Bancroft and
His Services to California. San Francisco, 1893.
Hoffman (Ogden), Report of Land Cases. San Fran-
cisco, 1862. Opinions in Law Cases.
Hojas de Servicio. Various soldiers. MSS. S. A. C. and
B.C.
Hutchings' Illustrated California Magazine.
Hyde (George), Historical Facts on California. MS.
B. C.
Ide (William B.), Bear Flag Revolt. MS. B. C. Bio-
graphical Sketch.
Irving (Washington), Adventures of Bonneville.
Johnson (Theodore T.), Sights in the Gold Region.
New York, 1849.
Johnston (Abraham R.), Journal of a Trip with the
First Dragoons in 1846. In Doc. 41. H. of Rep.
30th Cong. 1st Ses.
Jones (William Carey), First Phase of the Conquest of
California. Pub. Cal. Hist. Socy. Vol. o., Part 1.
San Francisco, 1887.
Kearny (Stephen W.), Documents and reports in H.
Doc. 17. 30th Cong. 1st Ses. Report of Battle of
7j6 The Beginnings of San Francisco
San Pascual in Bryant's What I saw in California.
General Kearny and the Conquest of California by
Valentine M. Porter. Los Angeles, 191 1.
Kelly (William), A Stroll Through the Diggings of Cali-
fornia. London, 1852.
Kirkpatrick (Chas. A.), Journal of 1849. MS. B. C.
Kotzebuc (Otto von), New Voyage Around the World.
London, 1830.
Lancey (Thomas C), Cruise of the Dale. Scrapbook
from San Jose Pioneer. B. C.
Land Titles in San Francisco. Hart vs. Burnett. Su-
preme Court of California. San Francisco, 1859.
Langsdorff (C. H. von), Voyages and Travels. 1803-07.
La Perouse (John Francis Gallup, Count de), Voyage
Around the World, With Atlas. London, 1798.
Laws of the Indies (Don Felipe II.) Law VI. Pro-
viding four (4) leagues of land for Pueblo. In Hart
vs. Burnett.
Larkin (Thomas 0.), Various documents and corre-
spondence. MS. B. C.
Laut (Agnes C), The Conquest of the Great North-
west. New York, 1908.
Laws and Regulations. Various laws and regulations
concerning granting of lands, secularization, etc.,
in Halleck's Report. H. Doc. 17. 31st Cong. 1st Sess.
and in Hart vs. Burnett.
Leese (Jacob P.) Bear Flag Revolt. MS. B. C.
Libros de Mision. San Francisco de Asis, San Fran-
cisco Solano, Santa Clara, Santa Barbara. MS.
Appendix 777
Limantour (Jose Y.), U. S. Circuit Court Records.
Lloyd (B. E.), Lights and Shades in San Francisco.
San Francisco, 1876.
Low (Frederick F.), Observations on Early California.
MS. B. C.
Lugo (Jose del Carman), Vida de un Ranchero. MS.
B.C.
McGee (W. J.), The Old Yuma Trail. In National
Geographic Magazine, May-April, 1901.
McGlashan (C. F.), History of the Donner Party.
Truckee, 1879.
McKinstry (George), Papers on the History of Cali-
fornia. MS. B. C.
Mange (Juan Mateo), Diario 1694-1701. In Docu-
mentos para la Historio de Mexico, 4th series, Vol. i.
226-402.
Marcou (Jules), Notes upon the First Discoveries of
California. Washington, 1878.
Martin (Thomas S.), Narrative of Fremont's Expedi-
tion. 1845-47. MS. B. C.
Mason (Richard B.), Report on Gold Discoveries. In
Doc. 17. 31st Cong. 1st Sess.
Mead (Elwood), Report on Irrigation Investigations
in California. U. S. Dept. Agriculture; bulletin 100.
Washington, 1901.
Merrill (Annis), Recollections of San Francisco. MS.
B. C.
Mofras (Eugene Duflot de), Exploration de l'Oregon,
des Californies, etc. Paris, 1844.
yy8 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Morrell (Benjamin W.), Narrative of Four Voyages.
New York, 1832.
National Geographic Magazine. March, April, 1901.
January, 1907, August, 1909.
Neal (James), Narrative, MS. B. C.
New Helvetia Diary. Events, 1845-48. MS. B. C.
Newspapers. Californian, California Star, Alta Cali-
fornia, San Francisco Herald, S. F. Argonaut, San
Jose Pioneer, Los Angeles Star, and many others.
Niles Register, 1846-47.
Nugent (John), Scraps of Early History. In S. F. Ar-
gonaut, April 13, 1878.
Oakland. Statutes concerning Oakland Water Front.
O'Farrell (Jasper), Letter in Los Angeles Star, Sept.
27, 1856.
Ortega (Padre Jose), Historia del Nayarit; Sonora,
Sinaloa, y Ambos Californias. Apostolicos Afanes
de la Compania de Jesus. Barcelona, 1754.
Ortega (Jose Francisco), Fragmento de 1769. MS. B.C.
Letter, 1870. MS. Letter to Rivera relative to the
Anza Expedition, May 5, 1775. MS. S. A. C.
Osio (Antonio Maria), Historia de California. MS.
B. C.
Padrones, California, 1790; Branceforte, 1830, 1845;
Los Angeles, 1781, 1789, 1790, 1795; Monterey, 1790,
1804, 1808, 1813, 1816, 1818, 1827, 1836; Santa
Barbara, 1785, 1797, 1834; San Diego, 1778, 1790;
San Francisco, 1790, 1795, 1842, 1844; San Jose,
1790, 1792, 1794, 1795, 1799, 1833, 1840; and various
missions 1790-18 10. S. A. C. and B. C. MSS.
Appendix 779
Palou (Francisco), Letter June 15, 1772. In Outwest,
January, 1902. Noticias de la California. San
Francisco reprint, 1874. Vida de Junipero Serra.
Mexico, 1787. Diary, 1774. In Noticias de la
California.
Parkman (Francis), The Oregon Trail. New York,
1849.
Peralta vs. United States. Circuit Court, Northern
Dist. of Cal.
Pena (FrayTomas de la), Diary of a voyage on fragata
Santiago, 1774. Pub. Hist. Socy. of Southern Cal.
ii., pt. 1.
Peterson (C. J.), The Military Heroes of the War with
Mexico.
Pico (Pio), Narracion Historica. MS. B. C.
Porter (Valentine M.), General Kearny and the Con-
quest of California. Los Angeles, 191 1.
Portola (Gaspar de), Diario del Viage a la California,
1769. Pub. Academy Pac. Coast History, 1909.
Extracto de Noticias del Puerto de Monterey Pub.
Academy Pac. Coast History, 1909.
Presidio Rosters: Monterey, San Francisco, Santa
Barbara, San Diego, Real Cuerpo de Artilleria.
1795-1809. S. A. C. and B. C. MSS.
Randolph (Edmund), Address on the History of Cali-
fornia. San Francisco, i860. Argument in case of
Hart vs. Burnett. San Francisco, 1859.
Revere (Joseph Warren), A Tour of Duty in California.
New York, 1849.
780 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Riley (Bennet), Proclamations and Correspondence,
1849. In Doc. 17. H. of R. 31st Cong. 1st Ses.
Rivera y Moncada (Fernando Javier), First Grant of
Land in California. MS. S. A. C; Certificate of
service of Pedro Amador, First Expedition, 1769.
MS. S. A. C.
Robinson (Alfred), Life in California. San Francisco,
1891.
Royce (Josiah), California. Boston, 1886. Fremont
and Montgomery. Century Magazine, XIX.
Rudo Ensayo. In American Catholic Historical Asso-
ciation, V. 110-264.
Russ (Adolph G.), Biography of a Pioneer of 1847.
MS. B. C.
Sal (Hermenegildo), Correspondence, Will, etc. MS.
San Francisco, Proceedings of Ayuntamiento.
San Jose. Distribution of Lands. MS. S. A. C.
Sawyer (Charles H.), Documents on the Conquest of
California. MS. B. C.
Serra (Junipero), Diary of a Voyage to San Diego in
1769. In Outwest, March, July, 1902. Letter to
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la California.
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Burnett. San Francisco, 1859.
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Simpson (Sir George), Narrative of a Journey Round
the World. London, 1847.
Simpson (James H.), Report of Explorations Across the
Great Basin. Washington, 1876.
Appendix 781
Sloat (John D.), Dispatches and Orders. In Doc. 4.
H. of R. 29th Cong. 2d Ses.
Soberanes Documents. MS. B. C. •
Sonoma County History (by Robert A. Thompson),
Philadelphia, 1877.
Soule (Frank), J. H. Gihon and J. Nesbit, Annals of
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Stockton (Robert F.), Dispatches in Doc. 4. H. of R.
29th Cong. 2d Ses. A Sketch of the Life of. New
York, 1856.
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Taylor (Alexander S.), First Voyage to the Coasts of
California. San Francisco, 1853. Fragments and
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Taylor (Bayard), El Dorado. New York, 1884.
Taylor (William), California Life Illustrated. New
York, 1858.
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Thomes (William H.), On Land and Sea. Boston, 1884.
Lewey and I. Chicago, 1896.
Thompson (Robert A.), History of Sonoma County.
Philadelphia, 1877. Russian Settlements in Cali-
fornia. Santa Rosa, 1896.
Thornton (J. Quinn), Oregon and California in 1848.
New York, 1849.
Tuthill (Franklin), History of California. San Fran-
cisco, 1866.
782 The Beginnings of San Francisco
United States Supreme Court: United States vs.
Ortega.
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Philadelphia, 1878.
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In San Francisco Centennial Memorial. Docu-
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Historia de California. MS. B. C. Report on
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page 530.
Vancouver (George), Voyage of Discovery to the Pacific
Ocean. London, 1798.
Venegas (Miguel), Noticia de la California. Madrid,
1857.
Vila (Vicente), Log of the San Carlos, 1769-1770. Pub.
Academy Pac. Coast Hist. 191 1.
Walpole (Frederick), Four Years in the Pacific. Lon-
don, 1849.
Wheeler (Alfred), Land Titles in San Francisco. San
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Exploring Expedition. Philadelphia, 1845.
Willey (Samuel H.), The Transition Period of Califor-
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Williams (Henry F.), Statement of Recollections. MS.
B.C.
Wilson (Benjamin D.), Observations of Early Days,
1841, etc. MS. B. C.
Winship (George Parker), The Coronado Expedition.
In Fourteenth Annual, Smithsonian Institution,
Part 1.
Appendix 783
Wise (Lieutenant), Los Gringos. New York, 1849.
Wood (William Maxwell), Letters from John D. Sloat.
Washington, 1871.
Yount (George C), Life and Adventures. MS.
INDEX
Aceves, Antonio Quiterio, biography 297
Ackerman, J. Henry 601
Agua Amarga, watering place 122
Agua Caliente, watering place 105, 106, 109
Agua Caliente (Warner's ranch) 674
Agua Escondida (in Papagueria) 60, 62
Agua Escondida (in California) 122
Aguage (definition) 74
Aguirre, Antonio 201
Aguirre, Juan Bautista 48, 329
Alabado, a hymn 103
Alamo river 74, 315
Alarcon, Hernando de 336
Alcatraces, Alcatraz, island 47, 50
Alcalde map 512, 513
Alexander VI., Pope 21
Allen, Major Robert 694
Almaden mines 377
Almond, William B 606
Alta California, newspaper 587
Altamirano, Justo Roberto 295
Altar, presidio 73
Altar, Rio del 149
Alvarado, Juan Bautista, 179, 180, 232, 233, 236, 238, 256, 257,
260, 366, 378, 480, 508, 511, 518, 520, 533
biography 3S°-3S*
Alvarado, Maria Ignacia, wife of Pio Pico 363
Alvarez, Luis Joaquin 2 9$
Alvires, Claudio 333
Alviso, Domingo 2 93
Alviso, Ignacio 34 1
Alvitre, Sebastian 33 2
Amesti, Jose 5 2 °
Americans, arrival of first armed parties 236
787
788 The Beginnings of San Francisco
American river 375, 444, 461
gold on 448
Amezquita, Josefa, wife of Sal 719
Amezquita, Juan Antonio 295
Amezquita, Manuel Domingo 332
Angel island 47, 50
Anthony, Rev. Elihu 590
Anza, Juan Bautista, 48, 55-151, 309, 312, 328, 330, 717, 720,
738, 749, 750, 752
illness of 1 29
exploration of peninsula and Riode San Francisco. . .1 29-1 51
diaries of 760
military reservation secured by him 728
Arballo, Maria Feliciana 305
Arce, Francisco C 393
Archuleta, Ignacio 322
Archuleta, Miguel 207
Arellano, Arellanes, Manuel Ramirez 299
Arellano, Arellanes, Teodoro 300
Argonauts, arrival at San Francisco 456
names given by them 490
Arguello, Dona Concepcion 193, 344-345
Arguello, Jose Dado 320, 344, 718, 719, 721, 740
Arguello, Luis Antonio 344, 719, 721
Arguello, Santiago 191
Arivaca 57
Arizona, Arizonac 57, 283
Armstrong, James 259
Army of the West 671
arrival at Santa Fe 672
march for California 672
dragoons sent back 673
Arrillaga, Jose Joaquin 227, 275
Arroba (definition) 211
Arroyo Seco 92, 127
Index 789
Arroyo de Buenos Ayres 141
Arroyo de San Jose Cupertino 131
Arroyo de San Salvador 136
Arroyo del San Mateo 134
Arroyo del Bosque 41
Arroyo del Puerto 132
Arroyo del Rincon 123
Arroyo de los Dolores 134, 717
Arroyo de los Llagas 130, 234
Artisans imported 162
Asuncion, rancheria of 126
Asuncion, military camp 126
Austin, Alexander 457
Avila, Concepcion, Fuller's wife 515
Avila, Francisco 332
Ayala, Juan Manuel de 44
Ayuntamiento (definition) 165
Ayuntamiento for San Francisco ordered 500
Ayuntamiento elected 604
Backus, Oscar J 457
Bahia de los Pinos 2 7 2
Bahia Redonda 4 2 > T 3 2 > 137
Bailey, Theodorus, Lieut. Com'r 479
Baja California Il °
Bajio (definition) 59
Baker, Colonel E. D 74°
Balboa, Vasco Nunez de 73 8
Bancroft, George, secretary of the navy 39 1
Bandini, Jose, daughters of x 93
Barreneche, Barrenche, Fray Juan Antonio 3 12
Bartleson, John 2 53
Bartlett, John Russell T 9 X
790 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Bartlett, Washington A 512, 514, 518
appointed alcalde 545
captured by Sanchez 548
released 549
orders name* San Francisco used on all public docu-
ments 550
Battalion of convicts ordered 236
Battalion arrives 237
Batallon Fijo 237
Beale, Edward F 679, 741
Bear flag 402
Bear flag war 393-410
Bear river (in Utah) 253, 376
Bear river (in California) 394, 462
Beechey, Capt. Frederick William, R. N 499
Begg, John & Co 211
Belden, Josiah 253, 526
Benicia 355
Benton, Thomas H 383,388,401,425,686-687
Bernal, Dona Carmen Sibrian de 328
Bernal, Jose Francisco, biography 301, 747
Berreyesa, Jose de los Reyes 304, 406-408, 503, 753
Berreyesa, Jose de los Santos 190, 407, 754-756
Berreyesa, Nicolas Antonio 304
Bidwell, John 253, 398, 423
Bigelow, John 456
Birdsall, John M 458
Birney, Robert 523
Blaisdell, Samuel F 457
Bluxome, Isaac, Jr 599, 743
Bodega y Quadra, Juan Francisco 44, 137
Bodega, Russian settlement 226
Bocana de la Ensenada de los Farallones 41
Boggs, Lilburn W 627
Boiling springs, Humboldt desert 472
Index
791
Bojorques, Jose Ramon 295
Bojorques, Pedro Antonio 303
Bolton, James R 571
Borega valley 87
Borica, Diego de 162, 188, 245
Boronda, Manuel 207
Borromeo, Count Carlos 269
Bosqui, Edward 530
Boston man 243
Boston nation 245
Bouchard, Captain Hippolyte 227
Bowden, Joseph 590
Bowie, Dr. Augustus J 617
Branciforte, Villa de, founded 160
Brannan, Samuel 264, 448, 533, 543, 589, 599, 743
biography 7°9
Breen, Margaret, wife of Patrick (Donner party),
648,651,652, 653
Breen, Patrick (Donner party) 627, 643, 652
Bridger and Vasquez 629
Briones, Juana 5 l8 > 5 2 4> 5 2 5
Broderick, David C 594, 595, 747
Brodie, S. H 45 8
Brooke, Lloyd 457
Brown, Charles 4° 8
Brown, John Henry 5 l8 > 5 2 7, 544
biography 764-765
Brown's hotel 5 2 7
Bryan, W. P 6° 6
Bryant, Edwin 172, I73> 631, 742
appointed alcalde 55°
his book 55 1
Bryant, Colonel J.J 5 8 5
Bryant and Sturgis 5*°
Buckalew's Point 5 1 5
792 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Bucareli y Ursua, Antonio, viceroy of New Spain,
42, 56, 174, 216, 274, 343, 749, 752
Buchanan, James, secretary of state 387
secret dispatch 388-391
Buey de Agua (definition) 43
Burnett, Peter H 489, 605, 711
Burritt, Judge Samuel L., residence of 617
Burrows, Captain Charles 130, 416
Bush, Dr. J. P 737
Burton, Louis T 196
Burton, Henry S 553
Butron, Manuel 216
Butterfield, B. F 457
Butte, a town 140
Buttes of Sacramento valley 388, 392
Caballeria (definition) 78
Cabecera (definition) 234
Caborca, mission of 57, 58, 149
Cabrillo, Juan Rodrigues 272, 738
Caceres, Francisco 515
Cady, Charles, second relief (Donner party) 648, 649, 652
Cahuenga pass 122
Cahuenga, peace of 418, 425, 681
Calaveras river 378
California families, origin of 189
costume 198
courtesy 201
honesty 201
hospitality 203
name changed 228
deplorable condition of 240
battalion 415
march of 417
presidential vote, 1856 427
Index
793
California, gulf of 336
Californians, a fine race 189-200
revolt of 41 5
Californian (newspaper) 586-587
California Star (newspaper) 587-588
California Star express 591
Calle de la Fundacion 507
Camino del Diablo 58
Campa y Cos, Fray Miguel 51
Canada de la Graciosa 124
Canada de San Andres 43, 135
Canada (definition) 86
Canon (definition) 86
Caiiizares, Jose 45, 48, 49
Canoe 102
Cantil Blanco 718
Cantil at Montgomery street 496
Caponeras (definition) 54-6
Carlos III., king of Spain 39
Carquines, straits of 31, 40, 42, 48, 49, 137
Carr, Jesse D 5^8
Carrillo, Anastacio l $9
Carrillo, Carlos Antonio 189, 196, 233, 515
Carrillo, Dona Francisca Benicia, wife of Vallejo 355
Carrillo, Guillermo x 95
Carrillo, Jose Antonio 190, 233, 430, 431, 433, 680
Carrillo, Joaquin x 9"
Carrillo, Maria Antonia Victoria, wife of Ortega 275
Carrillo, Mariano *95
Carrillo, Raimundo *95
Carrillo, Ramon 196, 197
Carrillo, daughters of Carlos Antonio l 9&
Carrillo, daughters of Joaquin *9 6
Carrizal (in Papagueria) 5^j 59? ! 49
Carrizo (definition) 74
794 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Carrizo creek 85
Carson, Kit 375, 406, 407, 673, 679, 756
Carson pass 375
Carson river 375, 466
Carson sink 466
Carson valley 461, 470
Carson valley hot springs 467
Casa Fundadora 500
Castanares, Manuel 433
Castillo de San Carlos (Monterey) 477, 478, 479, 480
Castillo de San Joaquin 135, 231, 409, 542, 543, 720
Castle Dome 70
Castro, Angel Maria 380
Castro, Joaquin Isidro 300, 743
Castro, Jose 179, 191, 233, 257, 260, 261, 380, 419
Castro, Manuel de Jesus 130, 240, 377, 380
Castro, Maria Lugarda, wife of Thomas W. Doak 247
Castro, Dona Modesto, wife of the general 191
Castro, Victor 506
Cattle, slaughter of 177
Cattle thieves 485
Cayuco (definition) 44
Central (Long) wharf 374, 532
Cermeno, Sebastian Rodrigues 272
Cerro Colorado 141
Cerro de San Pablo in
Chagres river and fever 454
Chico, Mariano, governor 232, 506
Chiles, Joseph B 253
Chimney peak 70
Chino (definition) 160
Cholera on isthmus 454
plains 462
desert 465, 470, 472
deaths from 467, 472
Index 795
Cholos (definition) 228
Cholos 238-240
Churches in San Francisco 591
Cienega (definition) 82
Cienega de San Sebastian, 82, 85, 86, 106, 113, 114, 116, 289, 290
City hall 584
City hotel 527, 582, 584
City wharves 573, 575
Civil fund 488, 607, 694
Clark, Newman S., general 73 1
Clark, Nicholas, second relief (Donner party), 648, 649, 654, 656
Clark, William S., his methods of obtaining town lots. . . . 565
first wharf 573
Clark's Point named for him 573
Cocopa mountains 79, 80
Coffeemire, Edward, first and fourth relief (Donner
party) 646, 656
College of San Fernando 145
Colorado desert 73, 82, 94, 106, 109, 111,315,317
Colorado, missions of the 148, 309-313
Colorado river, 63, 69,95, 106, 109, no, 147, 148,315, 317, 336-33 8
Colton, Walter 4 2I > 477, S 86
Colonists, pay of 216
Colonization I & 2
failure of mission plan for I0 3
Comisario prefecto 2 3°
Commercial street 575> 577
Commonwealth founded 4°9
Community of men 49°
Compadre (definition) l 97
Compania Extranjera 2 3"
Constitutional convention 4°7
Convicts sent to California J " 2 > l8 9
Cooke, Philip St. George 26 4
Cooper, John Bautista Roger 5*7
796 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Cooper, John Burwood, alias "Jack the Sailor" 517
Cordero, Mariano Antonio 718
Cordoba, Alberto de, engineer 187
Cordua, Theodore 641
Corita (definition) 147
Corlear, governor of New York 243
Corlear, Arent van 243
Coronado, Francisco Vasquez de 336
Cortes, Hernando 21
Costanso, Miguel 32, 35, 94, 164, 190
Cota, Pablo de 320
Coutts, Lieutenant Cave J 485
Cowie and Fowler 404
Coyote creek 86, 87, 116
Coyote river 130, 136, 141
Crespi, Fray Juan 31,34,40, 124,131,319,320
Croix, Carlos Francisco de, viceroy of New Spain 39
Croix, Teodoro de 310
Cross, Hobson and company's building 531
Cupertino 131
Cunningham, William H 250
Curtis, Joseph R 605
Curtis, Jotham 641
Custom house at San Francisco 529, 530
Customs dues 215, 216
Dall and Austin 577
Dana, Richard Henry, Jr 193, 196, 215, 499, 532
Dana, William G 196, 250
Danti, Fray Antonio 497
Davidson, Professor George 272, 744
his services in Limantour case 570
biography 765-767
Davidson, Lieutenant John W 673, 675, 680
Index 797
Davis, John Calvert c 1 r
Davis, William Heath, 214, 215, 256, 444, 508, 523, 529, 583, 588
761, 762
Dead Man's island 430
Diaz, Benito 531, 724
Diaz, Fray Juan 57, 75, 3 1 1
Diaz, Manuel, alcalde of Monterey 383
Diaz, Captain Melchior 58, 63, 69, 336, 337
Diaz, del Castillo, biography 760
De Boom, John Cornelius 612
Defensores de la patria 235
De Haro, Francisco, 202, 407, 503, 506, 511, 748
De Haro, Francisco and Ramon . . . 407, 408, 503, 753, 754, 756
De Haro, Dona Josefa, wife of Guerrero 534
De la Guerra, Dona Angustias 193, 195
De la Guerra, Pablo 194, 487, 488
De la Guerra y Noriega, Jose 211, 247, 342, 721, 738
daughters of 193
Del Valle, Ignacio 444
De Mofras, Eugene Duflot 171-173
Denton, John (Donner party) 627, 637, 647
Derby, Lieutenant George H 458
De Soto, Ignacio 15 1 , 2 97
Desperadoes 4^3
Dewey and Heiser 57^
De Witt, Alfred 459
De Witt and Harrison 5^3
De Witt, Kittle & Co 5§3
Diseno (definition) 2I °
District (bounds of) 2 33
Doak, Thomas W 196, 247
Dodge, Henry L 6°5
Dofar, Mathew, second relief (Donner party) 648, 650
Dolan, Patrick (Donner party) 627, 637, 638
Dolores, mission of *57
798 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Dominguez, Manuel 197, 488
Dominican Monks 174
Doniphan's regiment 671
Donner party 473, 627, 63 1
measures for relief of 563-564
composition of 627, 628
the Oregon trail 627
emigrants at Independence 627
George Donner 627-628, 643, 650, 655, 656, 658
Jacob Donner 627, 643, 644, 650
Tamsen Donner, wife of George, 645, 649, 650, 656, 658, 659
James F. Reed 627, 632
Reed loses his cattle 632
he kills Snyder 633
is banished to desert 633
sets off for California 634
Boggs, Lilburn W 627
Russell, William H 627
death of Mrs. Keyes 628
Black hills 629
South pass 629
meet Bridger and Vasquez 629
at Fort Laramie 629
at Fort Bridger 629
meet L. W. Hastings 629
take Hastings' cut-off 630
joined by Harlan party 630
in Weber canon 63 1
Wasatch range 63 1
reach Salt lake 63 1
death of Halloran 632
reach Humboldt river 633
quarrels 633
death of Snyder 633
Index 799
Donner party, the sink of the Humboldt 634
all on foot fa*
death of Hardcoop fa*
death of Wolfinger 635
they reach the Truckee 63 5
relief train arrives 635
rest at Truckee meadows 635
a snow storm 63 5
unable to cross the sierra 636
camp on Donner and Alder creeks 636-637
death of Pike 637
the forlon hope 637
death of Stanton, Dolan, Graves, Antonio, and Mur-
phy 638
Luis and Salvador killed for food 638
forlorn hope passes out from the sierra 638
arrive at Johnson's rancho 638
first relief starts 639
reach summit 640
arrival of Reed at Johnson's 640
Sutter furnishes supplies 641
Reed's ineffectual attempts to reach the emigrants. . . . 641
he enlists in Fremont's army 641
in Santa Clara campaign 642
second relief starts 642
suffering and death in the mountain camps 643
arrival of the first relief 644
they start on return with twenty-two sufferers 646
meet second relief coming in 647
second relief reaches camps 648
starts on return with seventeen emigrants 648
suffering and death at starved camp 651-653
third relief reaches starved camp and mountain camps,
654-655
Tamsen Donner refuses to leave dying husband 655
800 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Donner party, fourth relief reaches camps. Only Keseberg
alive 656
absurd stories concerning Keseberg 657-658
description of the trail 659, 660
Douglas, James 368, 520, 521
Douglas, Thomas 588
Drake, Francis 272
Dress of San Franciscans 614, 615
Drinking and gambling 620, 621
Duhaut-Cilly, Auguste 499
Du Pont, Captain Samuel F 735
Dwindle, John W 157
Echeandia, Jose Maria, governor 175, 208, 251, 499, 721
Eddy, William H. (Donner party),
627, 637, 639, 640, 653, 654, 655
Eddy, William M 5 l 4,737
Ejidos (definition) 166
El Buchon 234
El Cojo 1 24
El Divisadero 501-502
El Dorado 584
El Polin, ojo de agua 188
Ellis, Alfred J 531, 599, 737
Embarcadero of the Sacramento 445
Emmons, Geo. F., lieutenant 339
Emory, William H 3155458,673,675,678
Ensenada del Carmelita 46
Esaire, Fray Tomas 100, 146
Escolta (definition) 224
Estrada, Jose Antonio 351
Estudillo, Jose Joaquin 505
Expediente (definition) 218
Index 8oi
Fages, Pedro 39, 40, 77, 93, 136, 161, 274, 277, 278
Fallon, Malachi 45^ 606
Fallon, William 0., fourth relief (Donner party) 656
guide 657
Fanega (definition) 91
Farallon islands 133
Fauntleroy, Daingerfield 41 1
Fauntleroy's dragoons 41 1
Fay, Caleb T 597
Felch, Judge Alpheus 155
Felix, Jose Vicente 302
Feo, Captain Pablo 288
Ferdinand VII., king of Spain 166
Fernandez, Jose Perez 721
Figueroa, Jose, governor,
167, 175, 176, 185, 228, 229, 500-502, 504
death of 179
Finch, John 531, 532
Finley, Johnson and company 612
Fire 594
Fire department organized 595
First New York volunteers 552
arrival in San Francisco 55 2
services in California 553
personnel of 553
services, Lower California 557
mutiny in 557
Fitch, George K 45§
Fitch, Henry Delano 19A 5 26
Flores, Jose Maria 4 2 9> 68 °
Folsom, Captain Joseph L 451, S l 9> 5 2 9> 553
lays off military reservation 723-724
Folsom, town of 5 2 7
Font, Fray Pedro 100, 103, 109, III, 128, 132-142
diary of 7"°
802 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Forbes, Cleveland 453
Forbes, Alexander 258
Forbes, James Alexander 258, 539
Ford, Henry L 404
Foreigners, arrest of 257
Foreign trade 209, 210
Boston houses predominate 212
Fort Bridger 630
Fort Hall 462, 630
Fort Laramie 462
Fort Montgomery 543
Fort Ross 226, 367, 521
Fort Point SO, 133
Fort Vancouver 520
Fort Winfield Scott 731
Forster, John 362
Fosdick, Jay (Donner party) 628, 638
Foster, Stephen C 487, 685
Foster, William M. (Donner party),
627, 637, 638, 653, 654, 655, 656, 658
Fourgeaud, Dr. Victor J 588, 592
Franciscan monks 171, 181, 186
Fernandinos 185
Zacatecans 185
Franklin, Selim 739
Franklin, Stephen 458
Fremont, John C 262, 723, 742, 757
biography of 374-427
expeditions of 1842 and 1843 374
enters California, 1844 375
expedition of 1845-1846 376
affair of Gavilan peak 380-384
meeting with Gillespie 387
attacked by Klamaths 387
stirs up settlers 392
Index 803
Fremont, John C, captures Arce's horses 393
captures Sonoma 394
organization of Bear flag party 395
prisoners sent to Sacramento 397
applies to Montgomery for supplies 399
Bear flag raised 402
Ide's proclamation 402
murder of Cowie and Fowler 404
assumes command of the Bears 406
murder of Berreyesa and the De Haros 407
escape of De la Torre 408
spikes guns at San Francisco 409
end of Bear flag war 410
hot pursuit of Castro 41 1
description of his party 412
Sloat takes possession 414
Fremont marches south 415
the Californian battalion 416
the peace of Cahuenga 417
appointed governor by Stockton 417
his statements and testimony 419-426
nominated for the presidency 426
the vote in California 4 2 7
his endorsement of Phelps' claim 7 12
Fresh pond x 34
Friday of Sorrows J 34
Frisbie, Captain John B 554
Fuente, Pedro Perez de la 3°6
Fuller, John Casimiro 5 X 4> 5*5
Fuller, Mrs. John 522
Fur trade 20 9
Gale, William A IQ 7, 209-21 1
Gallegos, Carlos 296
Galindo, Jose Antonio 202, 503, 534
804 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Galindo, Nicholas 303
Galvez, Jose de 31, 55, 744
Gantt, Captain John 370
Garces, Fray Francisco (Francisco Tomas Hermenegildo),
57, 69, 75, 76, 95, 100, 102, 109, 146, 305, 309, 312, 313, 314
Garcia, Bernardino, desperado 404
Garcia, Jose Antonio 296
Gardner's lagoon 74
Garnett, Major R. S 355
Gavilan creek 40, 130
Gavilan mountains 40, 130
Gavilan peak 263, 381-385
Geary, John W 582, 737
first alcalde 605
biography of 606
Gelston and company 590
Gendreau, Joseph, second relief (Donner party) 648, 650
Gente de razon (translation of) 307
Gibson, Samuel 404, 675, 676
Gila bend 96
Gila mountains 61, 62
Gila river 62, 63, 64, 69, 95, 103, 104, 108, 148
Gilbert, Edward 487, 554
Gillespie, Archibald H, 387, 399, 406, 428, 675, 676, 713, 754, 756
Gillespie, Charles V 590, 618
Gillespie, Mrs. Charles V 590
Gilroy hot springs, site of 141
Gilroy, John 246, 247
Gilroy, town of 247
Glover, Aquila, first relief (Donner party) 646
Gold in 1843 443
discovery of, 1848 444
first assay 592
deposited for customs dues 608
value of 608-609
Index 805
Gold excitement rr-.
Golden Gate 31, 34, 41, 456
first passage of . r
Gomez, Joaquin ^g.,
Gomez, Jose I4 y
Gonzales, Diego yjg
Gonzales, Jose Manuel 303 332
Goose creek 462
Gough, Charles H 739
Goycoechea, Felipe 245, 246
Graciosa, La Laguna 124
Graciosa, Canada de la 124
Graciosa station 124
Graham house 585
Graham, Isaac 232, 480
Graveyard in San Francisco 591
Gray, Andrew G 459
Gray, William 722
Green river 253, 462
Green, Talbot H 253, 580, 581, 603, 736
Greenwood, Brittan, second relief (Donner party) 442,448
Gregson's baby (Mrs) 528
Grigsby, John 394, 395, 396
Grigsby-Ide party 397
Grimes, Captain Eliab 533
Grijalva Pablo 112, 114, 121, 150
biography 293
Guadalupe lake 124
Guerrero, Guerrero y Palomares, Francisco 339, 506, 534
sub-prefect 541,542,605,743
Gulf of California 80, 85, 88, 92
Gulf of the Farallones 272
Gutierrez, Ignacio Maria 2 97
Gutierrez, Maria Estaquia 3°5
Gutierrez, Nicolas, governor 232, 233
806 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Gwin, William M 458, 487, 600
Gyzelaar, Henry 211
Haggerty, John K 452
Haight, Fletcher M 738
Haight, Henry H 530
Halleck, Henry Wagner . . 478, 487, 570, 682, 688-689, 731, 736
Hammond, Lieutenant Thomas C 673, 675, 676, 679
Happy valley 593, 595
Hardie, James A 450, 514, 553, 723
Hardy, Lieutenant R. W. H 317
Hardy's Colorado 317
Harlan, George 630
Harlan, J. W 739
Harlan party 63 1
Harrison, Edward H 555, 590, 603, 742
Hartnell, William E. P 180, 193, 208, 21 1
Hastings, Lansford W 629, 630, 63 1
Hawes, Horace 600, 605, 606
Hayes, Colonel Thomas 617, 738
Hays, Colonel Jack 585
Heath, Richard W 457
Heceta, Bruno de 44, 5 1
Hemet valley 89
Hensley, Samuel J 370, 406, 420
Hickman, Robert 253
Hides and tallow 211
Highlands, fruit district 318
High prices 609, 610
Higuera, Dolores 676
Hijar, Jose Maria 176
Hijar-Padres colony 516, 534
colonists 176, 177
Hijo del pais (definition) 189
Index 807
Hinckley, William Sturgis. . 197, 377, 506, 508, 512, 518, 523, 528
biography 516-517
Hitchcock, General Ethan A y, Q
Hooker, Joseph 458j ^ 6
Horcasitas, San Miguel de 99, 100, 101, 107, 117, 149
Horcasitas, Rio de JOI
Horse canon gy
Horseshoe bay c
Hospital cove c
Hotel charges 610, 61 1
Hounds coo
Howard, William D. M,
519, 524, 528, 532, 533, 541, 595, 736, 742
Howard, 0.0 73 1
Howison's pier 575
Hudson's Bay company 507, 521-523
trappers of 249, 368
Hudspeth, James M 63 1
Hull, Commander Joseph B 548, 723
Humboldt desert 465, 474
Humboldt meadows 471, 472
Humboldt river 254, 376, 461, 465, 469, 474
Humboldt sink 461, 464, 466, 467, 469, 470, 472
Hunt, Jefferson 432
Hunt, Reverend Timothy Dwight 590, 591
Hyde, George 551-552, 73^
Ide, William B 39 2 , 4 02 > 4 IQ
Imperial valley 3 l &
Imuris io1
Indians, Apaches H9
Cajuenches 72, 73, 74, 79
Cocomaricopas 104, 105, 106
Cojats 72, 73
808 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Indians, Comeya 73, 85
Danzantes 88, 1 16
Dieguenos 107, 120
Iroquois 120, 243, 424
Klamaths 387
Maricopas 105, 106
Papagos 95
Pimas 105
Pimas Gilefios 95
Quiquimas 79
Serranos 85, 107, 114, 127
Yumas 70,71,79,94,105,106, 145,148,309,312
Indians of California 166
Indians of the Colorado 136
Indians of the Humboldt river 464, 472
Indians of the missions 158, 172, 187, 229, 230
Indians of the Pitt river 466
Indians of the Sacramento valley 386, 387, 388
Indians of the Santa Barbara channel 136
Indians of San Francisco bay 136
Indians of San Diego bay 60
Indians of San Jacinto mountains 60
Indians of the Tulares 231,385-386
Indian miners 446, 482
Isla de Alcatraces 47
Isla de los Angeles 47
Islais creek 48, 50
Islas, Santiago de las 312
Iturbide 230
Jenny Lind theatre 584
Johnson, James 532
Johnson's rancho 471, 63 1
Johnston, Captain Abraham R 673, 679
death of 675
Index
809
Johnston, Albert Sidney j* 1
Jones, Dr. Elbert P 520 , s g 7j 736
Jones, Thomas Ap Catesby, commodore,
235, 238-239, 258, 260, 480
Jornada (definition) IOI
Junta departmental 234
Junta fomento de California 228
Kearny, Stephen Watts.. .190, 264-265, 315, 391, 418, 513, 735
his grant to the town of San Francisco 572
defeat at San Pascual 675-679
fight at San Gabriel river and La Mesa 680-681
controversy with Stockton and Fremont 681-682
assumes command 683
organizes civil government 685
leaves for east 686
witness at Fremont court-martial 687
Kelsey, Benjamin 253
Kemble, Edward C 587-588
Kent hall 507-508
Kern, Edward M 377
Kern lake 1 40
Kern river 146, 377
Keseberg, Louis (Donner party) . . . 628, 635, 644, 655, 656, 657
Keyes, Captain E. D 728
Keyser, Sebastian, fourth relief (Donner party) 656
Kino, Fray Eusebio Francisco 58, 59, 108
biography 284-285
King, T. Butler 45§
Kings river 37^
Kinshon, governor of Massachusetts 243
Kittleman, Sarah 5 ! 9> 5 2 °
Kittle and company 5^3
Klamath lake 3^7
Knight, William 394
810 The Beginnings of San Francisco
La Asuncion 122
La Canada del Paraiso 89
La Empinada 60, 62
La Laguna Graciosa 124
La Mesa, battle of 681
La Perouse, Jean Francois Galoup de 3 2 9 - 33°
La Purificacion 61
La Reina de los Angeles 160
Las Bolas 57
Las Bolas de Plata 283
Las Lagunas del hospital 104
Las Llagas 41
Las Playas 59
Las Tinajas Altas 61, 286-287
Los Angeles, pueblo — city 91, 159, 160, 237-239
Los Angeles, cabecera, second district 234
Los Angeles river 91, 122
Los Correos 127
Los Ositos 1 27
Los Llorones 329
Los Pechos de la Choca 330
Los Pozos del Carrizal 74, 112, 114
Los Santos Reyes 273
Labor 620
Laguna de Manantial 134, 150, 328, 717
Laguna de San Antonio Bucareli 89, 118
Laguna de Santa Olalla 72,74, 78, 81,94, IQ 6, HI, 145
Laguna del Presidio 132
Laguna del Principe 89
Laguna de la Concepcion 123, 320
Laguna de la Merced 51, 135
Laguna de las Cojas 72, in
Laguna de los Dolores 150-151, 328, 717
Laguna Dulce 512, 514
Laguna Graciosa 124
Index 8ii
Laguna Larga de los Santos Martires 124
Laguna Pequefia I34? 328
Laguna Salada 149, 5II) 5I y 5 573
Lands, distribution authorized 161
Land grants 216
limit of 217
to foreigners 218
preemption by Americans 219
doubtful claims 219
loss of the rancheros 220
Land commission 220
Larkin, Thomas O 377, 381-383, 386, 487, 523, 528, 736
Larkin's claim to presidio 724
Folsom's report thereon 725-726
rejected by commission 729
Lassen's pass 465
Lassen's rancho 386, 387
Lassen's route 467
League (length of) 63
Leavenworth, Rev. Thaddeus M., 555, 589, 600, 602, 603, 736
Lechuguilla desert 60
Lechuguilla plant 60
Leese, Jacob P 262,394,397,505-507,517,700-701
Legislative assembly 601, 604
Leidesdorff, William Alexander 377,518,519,526-529,541
Leidesdorff street 576
Leon, Ponce de 21
Liberty hill 122
Limantour, Jose Yves 239, 569, 570-571
Limantour claim 5^9, 57°
Lime point 5°
Linares, Ignacio 296
Little Chili 593
Lippitt, Francis J 4^7, 554, 599, 6o1
Livermore, Robert 2 49
8 12 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Livingston, H. B 459
Llano de los Robles 41, 13 1
Lobos creek 132
Loeser, Lieutenant Lucien 453, 682
Loma Alta 495, 578
Long Sault, heroes of 120, 424
Long wharf 524
Lopez, Juan Francisco 305
Lopez, Dona Maria Ignacia de la Candelaria 305
Lopez, Sebastian Antonio 303
Loreto, capital of the Californias 226
Lyon, Nathaniel 740
McAllister, Hall 458, 599, 600, 737
McAllister, Mathew Hall 600
McCabe, A. J 458
McComb, John 458
McCulloch, Hartnell and company 211
McCutchen, William M. (Donner party),
627, 632, 640, 642, 648, 651
McDowell, General Irwin 731
McDougal, John 487
McKinley, James 526
McKinstry, Major 458
McLain, Louis 416
McLoughlin, John 521
McLoughlin, Eloise, wife of Rae 521
McMullan, Dr 458
McNamara grant 419, 420
McTavish, Dougald 523
Mansion house 519, 619
Marcy, William L., secretary of war 391
Mare island 50
Maricopa wells 104
Index 813
Marsh, Dr. John 252, 254-255
Marshall, James W 444
Marston, J. D 588
Marston, Captain Ward 548, 723
Martinez, Ignacio 197, 299, 506, 721
daughters of 197
Martinez, Dona Maria Antonia, wife of Richardson 248
Martinez, Dona Susana, wife of Hinckley 517
Mary's river 253, 254, 462
Mason, Richard B., 444"453> 459, 476-479, 480, 484, 528, 556,
558, 608, 683, 684, 685, 687-691, 723, 736
Mason, lieutenant-colonel of engineers 731
Maynard, Lafayette 459
Machado, Agustin 201
Mayor-domos appointed 171
Melius, Henry 532, 742
Melius and Howard 523, 532, 580
Merchants, profits of 609
Merrill, J. H 589
Merritt, Ezekiel 262-263, 393, 394, 396
Mervine, Captain William 190, 414, 429, 430
Mesa, Jose Valerio 294
Mesa, Juan Prado 7 22
Mescaltitan, Rancherias de 92, 123, 320, 321
Meiggs, Honest Harry 616
Mendocino, cabo de 2 73
Mendoza, Antonio, viceroy 2 7 2
Mexico, city of Io8
Miles, General Nelson A 73 1
Military establishment I °4, 22 5
Military force 485-486
Military force in 1848 449
Military governors 668, 699
Military Governor Sloat 66 9
Military Governor Stockton 669
814 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Military Governor Kearny 670
Military Governor Mason 687
Military Governor Riley 691
Militia, enrollment of 239
Mill at Clark's point 531
Miller, Hiram, second and third relief (Donner party)
648, 651, 654
Minor, Colville J 682
Mission of the Dolores 135, 327, 330, 717, 718
Mission, road to 617, 618
Mission bay 49, 50
Missions, property of 156-158
land of 158
secularization ordered 165
in the way of colonization 175
secularization accomplished 181
grapes, origin of 188-189
Missions of the Colorado 148, 309-3 10
Missions of Lower California 173
Misroon, Lieutenant John S 540-542
constructs battery 542-543
constructs blockhouse 545
Micheltorena, Manuel, governor, 235, 236, 238, 239, 260-261,370
Mojave desert 146, 375
Montara mountains 32
Monte del Diablo mountains 141
Monterey 31, 39, 226, 269
Monterey, mission of 40, 56, 93, 128, 142, 269
Monterey, presidio of 55, 93, 128, 142, 269
Monterey, Rio de 126, 127
Montgomery, John B.,
353, 399, 402, 512, 515, 540, S4i, 549, 723, 735
Moore, Captain 244
Moore, Captain Benjamin D 673, 675, 676, 679
Moore, Jacob B 606
Index 815
Moraga, Gabriel, biography 292
Moraga, Jose Joaquin,
115, 121, 127, 129, 139, 142, 150, 331, 717, 738
biography 291-292
Morgan, Edwin L 457
Mormon pilgrimage 264
battalion 264, 672
Mormons insulted 43 1-43 2
arrival at Yerba Buena 543
religious services of 589
Morrell, Captain Benjamin 133
Moultry, Riley S., first relief (Donner party) 646
Mountain lake 132
Munos, Francisco 306
Murphy, Mrs. Lavinia (Donner party) 627, 643, 646, 655
Murphy, Timoteo 577
Murphy, Martin, rancho 393
Nacimiento, Rio de 92, 126
Naglee, Henry M 480, 553-554
Naglee and Sinton, first bank in San Francisco 554-555
Napa valley 394
Narvaez, Panfilo de 21
Natividad, La 130, 232
battle of 130, 416
Narrimore, Mrs. Mercy 5 J 9
Neve, Felipe de, governor 123,216,226,276,320,331,717
New Helvetia, Nueva Helvecia 367, 369
Newell, Chaplain Chester, U. S. N 59°
New river 3 T ^
Niantic, ship and building 579? 5$°
Nieto, Jose Manuel 161
Noe, Jose de Jesus 5 2 7> 534> 743
North beach 49 8 > 6l6
Nutting, Lucy 5 X 9
816 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Oakley, Howard, third relief (Donner party) .... 652, 654, 660
O'Cain, Joseph 245-246
O'Farrell, Jasper 370, 406, 507, 513, 737, 753, 756-757
O'Farrell's swing 514
Ogden, Peter Skeen 254
Ogden river 254
Ojo de agua (definition) 134, 328
Ojo de Figueroa 525
Onas, governor of Pennsylvania 243
Onate, Juan de 337-33$
Onontio, governor of Canada 243
Ord, Edward O. C 682
Ord, James L 193, 682
Ord, Pacificus 457
Ord, Robert B 457
Oregon trail 461
Oriental hotel 586
Ortega, Ignacio 247
Ortega, Jose Francisco 33> 34» 35> 2 74> 3 2 °> 7*9, 738
biography 275-276
Ortega, Dona Maria Clara 247
Ortega, Dona Maria Trinidad (La Primavera) 358
Overland emigrants 459
in the Colorado desert 460
rendezvous 460
outfit 461 , 661
numbers in camp 461
Overland route, Santa Fe trail 661-663
central route 661
Greenwood's cut-off 665
Hastings' cut-oif 665
Ogden's hole 665
the death route 666
Truckee and Bear river route 667
Mormon or Carson route 667
Index 817
Overland route, Kearny's march down the Gila 674
across Colorado desert 674
arrival at Warner's rancho 674
Owens, Richard 377, 420, 654
Owens lake 377
Owens river 377
Pablo, Captain (Feo) 147
Pacheco, Juan Salvio 296, 738
Pacheco, Romualdo 196
Pacheco pass 386
Pacific Mail Steamship company 452
office 574
Padilla, Juan N 404-405
Padres, Jose Maria 176
Padron (definition) 500
Page, Robert C 738
Pajaro river 41, 130
Palma, Captain Salvador . . 62-78, 95, 106-111, 146-147, 309
Palmer, Cook and company 530
Palo Alto 43
Palo Alto, rancheria of 131
Palo Colorado (redwood) 135
Palou, Fray Francisco 42, 43, 51, 151, 329, 717, 745
Panama, city of 454> 455> 457
Panama isthmus route 454
Papago legend 287
Papagueria 58, 102, 148
Parrott, John 258, 382
Paraje (definition) 7^
Parker, Robert A 53 1 , 5§2
Parker house 5^4
Partido (definition) 233
Paso de Robles, El I2 6
818 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Pass of the Cocomaricopas 104
Pattie, James Ohio 251
Pattie, Sylvester 251
Paty, Captain John 240, 526, 531
Paty and McKinley 529
Pedrorena, Miguel 488
Pena, Corporal Joaquin 722
Peralta, Domingo 481
Peralta, Gabriel 294
Peralta, Louis 294
Peralta, Sebastian 378
Peralta de Bernal, Maria Teodora 246
Perry, John 508
Phelps, Captain William D 235
his claim 712
Philippine ocean 86, 88
Pike, William M. (Donner party) 627, 637
Pilot knob 72, 1 1 1
Piloto (definition) 46
Pimeria 87
Pine, Isaac B 457
Pinole (definition) 47
Pinto, Juana Francisca 718
Pinto, Pablo 297, 718
Pinto, Rafael 540
Pico, Andres 190, 302, 426, 483, 677, 680
Pico, Antonio Maria 302
Pico, Jose Antonio Bernardino 251
Pico, Jose Dolores 302
Pico, Jose de Jesus 302, 416, 425-426
Pico, Jose Maria 302, 305
Pico, Pio 240, 302, 378, 386
biography 358-364
Pico, Santiago de la Cruz 301
Pico, Miss 251
Index 819
Platte river 461-462, 463
Pleasant valley rqi
Plume, John V 45 g
Poblador (definition) ! co
Poett, Dr. J. Henry 533
Point Avisadero c
Point Concepcion 92, 123
Point Cavallo c
Point Lobos 34,43, 5 o, 51, 502
Point Reyes 32,34, 35, 42, 139
Point Richmond 50
Point Sal 498
Point San Jose 50, 498
Point San Pedro 50, 135
Polk, James K 687, 739
Pomona, site of 119
Post, Gabriel B 737
Porter, Asa 457
Porter, David D 458
Portneuf river 462
Portsmouth house 520
Portsmouth square 530, 598
Portola, Gaspar de, 31, 39, 43, 55, 73, 94, 123, 125, 131, 164,
185,225,319,320
Portrero Nuevo 503,612
Powell, Dr. W. J 735
Poza de las Angustias 77
Pozos de en Medio (Papagueria) 62
Pozos de en Medio (Colorado desert) 75> 77
Pozos de Santa Rosa de las Lajas 81, 112, 114
Pratt, William H 457
Presidial companies 2 34
Presidial districts *^4
Presidial soldiers 158-159, * 8 7
families of l8 7
820 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Presidial soldiers, ranchos of 187
Presidio described 223
reservation under Spanish law 728
Presidio of San Francisco 719
guns mounted 730
present area of 729
road to 616
Price, Rodman M 457, 487
Price, Sterling 672
Propios (definition) 168
Prudon, Victor 262, 516
Public institute 589
Pueblo de la Laguna 320
Pueblos, grant of Philip II 163
Puertezuelo 122, 511, 596
Puerto Dulce 49, 132, 140
Puerto de San Francisco 273
Puerto de la Concepcion 70, 146
Puerto de la Concepcion, mission of 312
Punta Guijarros 235
Punta del Cantil Blanco 50, 133, 720
Punta del Embarcadero 495, 542
Punta del Rincon 495
Punta de los Muertos 280
Punta de los Reyes 272, 273
Purisima Concepcion del Caborca 57
Purisima Concepcion (on Colorado) 70, 72
Purple hills 69
Pyramid lake 375
Quiros, Fernando de 44, 151
Radcliff, Charles M 457
Rae, William Glen 521-524
Raft river 462
Index 821
Rancheria Nueva 123
Rancheria del Buchon 12c
Rancheria del Cojo 124
Rancheria del Rincon 123
Rancheros plundered 547
Rancho Barranca Colorado 392
Rancho Buri Buri 321
Rancho Callayomi 519, 701
Rancho Canada de Guadalupe Rodeo Viejo y Visitacion,
519, 701
Rancho Corral de Tierra 534
Rancho El Alisal 378, 380
Rancho Laguna de la Merced 202, 304, 340, 503, 534
Rancho Laguna Seco 378
Rancho Nacional Soscol 35 2 » 3 54
Rancho Nuestro Senora del Refugio 227, 247
Rancho Nueva Helvecia 367, 370
Rancho Olompali 405
Rancho Petaluma 350, 354
Rancho Patrocino 208
Rancho Punta de los Lobos 724, 726, 727
Rancho Rinconada de los Gatos 379
Rancho Rio de los Americanos 5 2 7
Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana 197
Rancho San Antonio 294-295, 481
Rancho San Isidro 247
Rancho San Pedro 43°
Rancho Santa Ana del Chino 4 2 9
Rancho Santa Isabel 674
Rancho de las Bolsas 3 J 9
Rancho de las Pulgas I35» 5°°
Rancho de los Dos Pueblos 3 21
Rancho de los Encinos J 6i
Rancho de los Medanos 2 53> 2 55
Rancho de los Ositos 4 1 "
822 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Rancho de los Verdugos 417
Randolph, Edmond 185
Rassette house 586
Rats, plague of 596
Reading, Major Pierson B 685
Real de la Cieneguilla 149
Real estate 611
Real hacienda (definition) 227
Redington, John H 458
Redlands 318
Reed, James F. (Donner party), 627, 632, 633, 634, 640, 641-
642, 647, 648, 650, 653, 656
Reglamento of 1828 167, 217, 229
Reglamento of 1833 167
Reglamento of 1834 167, 229
Releuse canon 127
Relief stations 467
Rents 610
Reorganization of society 622
Resources, development of 621-622
Revere, Lieutenant Joseph Warren 542
Reyes, Francisco 161
Rezanof, Nicolai Petrovich 258, 344, 345
Rhoads, David, first relief (Donner party) 646
Rhoads, John, first and fourth relief (Donner party),
646, 647, 656
Richardson, William A 197, 248, 499, 504, 722
Richardson's bay 46
casa grande 500, 505
plan of town 505
tent 498-499, 504
Indians 514
Ridley, Robert 512, 518-519, 528, 541, 545
Riley, Bennet 476, 484-485, 603-605, 727, 728
calls convention 486
Index 823
Riley, Bennet, proclamation 486
resigns civil power 489
biography 691-692
in Black Hawk war 692
at Cerro Gordo 692
at Contreras 693
at Churubusco 694
as governor of California 694
declines to deliver civil fund to commanding general,
694-696
delivers government to Burnett 699
publicly thanked for services to California 698
Rincon point 502
Ringgold, Lieutenant. 339
Rio Gila 62, 63, 64, 69, 95, 103, 104, 108, 148
Rio Jesus de los Temblores 319
Rio Padrones 7 2 > 3 l6
Rio San Ignacio 101
Rio de Guadalupe 136, 331
Rio de Horcasitas 101
Rio de Nacimiento 9 2 > I2 ^
Rio de San Francisco 4 2 > l 3 2
Rio de Santa Rosa 9 2 > I2 4
Rio de Triunfo 9 1
Rio del Altar 5^,95
Rio del Carmelo 2 °9
Rio del Tizon 63
Rio de la Asuncion 9 1
Rio de la Carpenteria 9 1
Rio de las Virgenes I22
Rio 6 Laguna de San Francisco I 4°
Rivera y Moncada, Fernando Javier,
40,42,43,48, 51, 117, H9, I2 °> I2I > I2 9> !3i> H 2 "
145, 150, 159, 216, 274, 309, 312-313, 739, 749> 7Si
biography 334"335
824 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Riverside district 318
mesa 318
Roach, Philip A 754
Robbins, Thomas W 196
Roberts, Sam 600
Robidoux, Antoine 673, 676
Robinson, Alfred 173, 193, 209-210, 443, 457, 532
biography 762, 763
Rob Roy, rule of 477, 479, 482
Rodeo creek 137
Rodriguez, Damaso 722
Rodriguez, Jacinto 487, 488
Rodriguez, Jose 207
Romero, Jose Antonio 332
Rosales, Bernardo 332
Rose, John 541, 545
Ross, Charles L 582, 588, 590
Rucker, Major D. H 466
Rufus, Ernest 370
Russ family 556, 583
gardens 584
house 5*H
Russell, William H 419, 627
Russian hunters 209
Sacramento, beginnings of 334
Sacramento valley 466, 475
Saint Ann's valley 593
Saint Francis hotel 585
Sal, Hermenegildo 216, 497, 717, 718
biography 719
Sal, Josefa, wife of Sergeant Roca 7 X 9
Sal, Rafaela, wife of Luis Arguello 719
Salinas river 92
Index 825
Salinas valley 92, 130, 262, 378, 384
Salmon Trout river 375-376
Salta Atras (definition) 160
Salton sea 317
San Antonio mission 39, 56, 92, 126
San Antonio creek 4-1 > 90, 119
San Antonio valley 141
San Benito, arroyo de 40, 130
San Benito valley 40
San Bernardino valley 130, 318
San Buenaventura, doctor serafico 39, 276
San Buenaventura mission 40,91, 122, 276
San Buenaventura, Rio de 122
San Buenaventura valley 41
San Carlos Borromeo 31
San Carlos, packet boat 1 50-151, 717
San Carlos, pass of 88, 117, 289, 290
San Diego 3 1, 39, 40, 55
San Diego mission 107, 143
destruction of 119, 120, 121, 127
San Diego presidio 142
San Dionisio 69, 108
San Elcearo, San Elizario, Rio de 92, 130
San Eusebio, wells of 80
San Felipe river 82, 85, 86, 1 15
San Fernando, battle of 261
gold placers 444
land claimed by mission 161
San Fernando valley 9 1 ? I22
San Francisco de Asis (saint) 102
San Francisco climate 3 2 4"3 2 6
boundary of city 5 QI
first election 5°3
city property sold 567
titles clouded 567
826 The Beginnings of San Francisco
San Francisco, return of the volunteers 563
July 4th celebration 564
ball in honor of governor 564
increase in property values 564
granting of lots 565
lawless speculation 566
a city of men 619
San Francisco mission 39
San Francisco presidio founded 151
San Francisco, Rio de 42, 117, 132, 136-140
San Francisquito creek 130, 135
San Francisco Solano mission 157, 231
San Gabriel land 161
San Gabriel mission 39, 56, 73, 90, 94, 119, 121, 142, 250
San Gabriel river 119
battle of 680
San Gregorio 87, 116
San Gorgonio pass 94, 289
San Hieronimo de los Corazones 336
San Ignacio canon 101
San Ignacio pueblo 101
San Ignacio, Rio 101
San Jacinto lake 89
San Jacinto mountains 73, 86, 88, 107, 145
San Jacinto river 89
San Joaquin river 139, 254
San Joaquin valley 140, 262, 375, 386
San Jacome rancheria 76
San Jose de Guadalupe 160, 331-333, 717
San Jose, Valle Ameno de 89, 1 18
San Jose, Rio de 89
San Jose mission 255, 480, 481
San Jose pueblo 480
San Juan Bautista 234, 240, 383
San Juan Bautista mission 130, 409, 41 1
Index 827
San Leandro creek 41 T ^6
San Luis Obispo mission . . 39, 56, 92, 125, 140, 141, 142, 144-145
San Luis Obispo creek 126
San Luis Obispo canon 125
San Mateo, arroyo de 131, 136
San Miguel (saint) 102
San Pablo bay 41, 48, 132, 137
San Pablo, Cerro de 72
San Pablo, Rancheria de 72
San Pedro 239, 443
San Pedro valley 32,35
San Pedro y San Pablo de Bicuner mission 72, 312
San Pascual 106
San Pascual Bailon 41
San Pascual, battle of 190, 675
San Pascual, Llano de 130
San Rafael mission 157, 406, 754, 755, 756
San Ricardo 139
San Sebastian del Peregrino, Cienega de,
82, 85, 86, 106, 113, 114, 116, 289, 290
San Simon y Judas 104
San Souci valley 327
San Timoteo canon 94
San Xavier del Bac 102, 307
Santa Ana pueblo 101
Santa Ana river 89, 118, 318, 319
Santa Angela de Fulgino, Arroyo de 138
Santa Barbara 123, 244-245, 320
Santa Barbara channel 9 I_ 9 2 > I22
Santa Barbara county 123
Santa Barbara Indians 9 2
Santa Barbara mission 123, 320
Santa Barbara presidio 320
Santa Caterina, aguage of 87, 1 16
Santa Clara, battle of 548-549
828 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Santa Clara mission 39, 409, 480, 481, 497, 717
Santa Clara valley 41, 122, 131, 141, 378
Santa Cruz river 96, 102
Santa Delfina, Canada de 40
Santa Delfina (saint) 130
Santa Delfina valley 130
Santa Gertrudes mission 73
Santa Lucia mountains 126
Santa Maria Magdalena, pueblo 101
Santa Margarita rancheria 126
Santa Margarita, Rio de 126
Santa Maria, Fray Vicente 46, 5 1
Santa Rosa island 233
Santa Susana mountains 91, 122
Santillan, Jose Prudencio 571
Santillan claim 571
Santo Tomas, wells of 80
Sanchez, Francisco 299, 503-504, 526, 541, 542, 548, 722
Sanchez, Jose Antonio 298
Sanchez, Jose Antonio, second 298-299, 503, 721, 743
Sanchez, Josefa, wife of De Haro 503
Sansome street 577
Saric 57
Sarria, Padre Vicente Francisco 230
Saticoy, site of 122
Sausalito 45
School house 588
Sells, Joseph, first relief (Donner party) 646
Selover and company 585
Semple, Dr. Robert 354, 395, 487, 586
Serra, Fray Junipero,
56, 93, 128, 144, 185, 274, 320, 322-323, 717, 750, 751
Serranos (definition) 85
Settlers enrolled 159
Seymour, Admiral Sir George 421
Index 829
Seymour, Lieutenant 421
Shannon, Captain Thomas E 1-1-4
Sherman, William Tecumseh 448, 682
Sherman and Ruckel cSj
Sherrebach, Peter C2C cac
Ships:
Admittance, American ship 443, 532
Albatross, ship 209
Albatross, American schooner 247
Alert, American ship 235, 499
Apollo, store ship 579
Blossom, British man-of-war 499
Brooklyn, American ship 519, 543, 587
California, Pacific Mail steamship 452, 455
Chato, Mexican brig 237
Clementine, British brigantine 233, 256
Columbia, British bark 520
Collingwood, British man-of-war 421
Congress, United States frigate 414, 546
Courier, American ship 250
Cyane, United States sloop-of-war 258
Dale, United States sloop-of-war 258
Discovery, British sloop-of-war 496
Don Quixote, American brig 213,240, 517
Euphemia, prison ship 607
Falcon, American steamer 454
Independence, United States frigate 590, 683
Isaac Todd, British ship 246
Julia Ann, American schooner 5 2 ^
Juno, British sloop-of-war 4 20
Kent, American bark 5°7
La Victoria, Spanish ship 272
Laura Ann, British brig 59°
Le Heros, French ship 499
Loo Choo, United States transport 55^
830 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Ships:
Lydia, American schooner 247
Moscow, American bark 723
Mount Vernon, American ship 582
Niantic, American ship 579, 580
Nuestra Senora Aranzazu, Mexican frigate 245
Olive Branch, English brig 250
Oregon, Pacific Mail steamer 452, 458
Orion, English whaler 248
Panama, Pacific Mail steamer 452, 458
Phoenix, English ship 244
Pilgrim, American brig 532
Portsmouth, United States sloop-of-war .... 353, 383, 539
Predpriatie, Russian frigate 498
Sachem, American ship 211
San Agustin, Spanish galleon 272
San Carlos, Spanish packet,
44> 5 J > 45, 150-15^ 2 79, 282, 717
San Diego, Spanish ship 273
San Salvador, Spanish ship 272
Savannah, United States frigate 429, 546
Shark, United States schooner 258
Sitka, Russian steamer 528
Susan Drew, United States transport 556
Thomas H. Perkins, United States transport .... 552, 556
Tres Reyes, Spanish ship 273
United States, United States frigate 258
Vandalia, American ship 429
Vincennes, American sloop-of war 339
Volunteer, American bark 516
Warren, United States sloop-of-war 549
Waverly, schooner 250
Whiton, American bark 589
Yorktown, United States sloop-of-war 258
Short, Father Patrick 208
Index 831
Shubrick, William Branford 479, 683
Signal mountain 76
Sidney town 593
Sierra Madre of California 85,88,113, 290, 318
Sierra Maricopa 104
Sierra Nevada 250, 463, 470
Sierra Pinecata 59
Sierra Pinto 59
Sierra de Estrella 104
Sierra de Nuestro Padre San Francisco 42
Sierra de Santa Lucia 92
Sierra del Charco 141
Sill, Daniel 53*
Simpson, Sir George 192, 345, 368, 521, 370
Sinaloa 99
Sinclair, John, alcalde 370, 656
Sinclair, William 522, 5 2 3
Sinton, Richard H 553
Sirrine, John 588
Sitio (definition) 161
Sloat, John D., commodore 265, 391, 413, 414, 546
Slover mountain 3*8
Smith, Persifer F., general,
355, 452, 454, 457, 466, 482, 601-602, 613-614, 730
Smith, Jedediah S 249, 254
Smith, Dr. Peter 567-568
Smith, Stephen 533» 54 2
Smith, Tom 5 J 9
Smith, William M 5*7, 54*, 581, 722
Smuggling 21 1-210
Snake river 4" 2
Snyder, John (Donner party) 628, 633
Soda springs 253, 462
Sola, Pablo Vicente, governor 208, 229, 294
Solar (definition) 217
832 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Sonoma, pueblo of 23 1, 409, 542
Soldado de cuera (definition) 102
Soldiers, desertion of 446
Soldier school teachers 207
Soledad mission, site of 93
Sonoitac, Sonoyta, mission 58
Sonoyta river 58
Sonora pass 254
Sotelo, Jose Antonio 303
Soto, Ignacio de 151, 297, 718
Soto, Jose de los Dolores 718
Southampton bay 49
South sea 118
South pass 253, 462
Spear, Nathan 256, 506, 507, 508, 518, 530, 741
Spofford, Captain 599
Spring valley 593
Squatter's league 481
Stanford university, site of 131
Stanislaus river 254
Stanton, Charles T. (Donner party) .... 628, 632, 635, 637, 638
Stanton, Edwin M 759
Stark, John, third relief (Donner party) 652, 654
Starvation in the desert 463-474
Steamboat point 502
Stearns, Abel 444, 526
Steinberger, Baron 576-577
Steuart, William M 697, 741
Stevenson, Colonel Jonathan D 553, 742
Stevenson's regiment, survivors of 556
Streets, condition of 596-598
Streets of San Francisco 73 2- 734
fifty vara survey 734
western addition and outside lands 738
one hundred vara survey and mission 741
Index 833
Streets of San Francisco, Potrero Viejo 743
Stribling, C. K., commodore 259
Stockton, Robert F.,
4H, 543, 546, 547, 679, 680, 681, 683, 702-703, 704-706
Stokes, Edward 674
Stone, Charles, second and third relief (Donner party),
649, 652, 654, 660
Store ships 578-579
Stuart, Charles V 519
Sullivan, Eugene L 457
Suisun bay 42, 48, 50, 138
Sumner, Edwin V., general 73 1
Sunol, Antonio 341
Sutter, John A., 256, 260-262, 370, 371-372, 375, 39$, 445, 4 88 ,
518, 521, 697, 698, 737
Sutter's fort 257, 264, 369, 375, 386, 397
Sutter's mill 445
Swift, Granville P 404, 407
Swords, Major Thomas 673, 678
Taft, William H., secretary of war 269
Talbot, Theodore, lieutenant California battalion ... 415, 429
Tamalpais mountain 4 2
Tansill, Robert, lieutenant of marines 7 2 3
Tapia, Felipe Santiago 3°°
Tarabel, Sebastian 73, 74, 81, 1 10
Taylor, Bayard 459
Taylor, Captain Nelson 555
Taylor, Reverend William 59 1 , 6l2 , 6l 3
Taylor, Zachary 73"
Telegraph hill 34, 35, 5*4, 593
Telegraph pass
Tehama (Jones) house 57"
Tennant, Dr. Samuel x 97
834 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Territorial diputacion 167, 228
Thomas, George H., general 731
Thomas, Captain L. H 570
Thomes, William H 443, 524, 531
biography 763-764
Thompson, Alpheus B 515
Thompson, DeWitt Clinton 456
Thompson, William, third relief (Donner party) 654, 655
Tinaja (definition) 60
Tinaja pass 61
Tinajas Altas 61, 286-287
Tinajas del Cerro de la Cabeza Prieta 59
Tobin, Joseph 458
Tompkins, Captain Christopher Q 682
Torre, Joaquin de la 401, 405-410
Townsend, Dr. John 370, 528, 588, 612, 743
Truckee pass 376
Truckee river 375~37 6 > 4 6l > 4 6 7> 473
Translation of Spanish names 558-559
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo 219
Tubac 96, 100, 101, 103, 149, 307-308
Tucker, Reason P., first and fourth relief (Donner party),
639,640, 641, 644, 645, 647, 656
Tucson 96, 103,308
Tulares 140
Tulares lake river 377
Tule desert 59
Tule mountains 59
Turk, Frank 605, 737
Turner, Captain Henry S 673, 678, 680, 683
Turner, John, second relief (Donner party) 648, 650
Tyler, John 737
Ulloa, Francisco de 739
Union hotel 585
Index 835
United States, war anticipated 239
University of California, site of 137
Valencia, Jose Manuel 298, 718, 736
Valencia, Juan Agustin 301
Valencia, Juan Ignacio 77
Vallejo, Ignacio Vicente Ferrer, biography 346-348
Vallejo, Mariano Guadalupe, 179, 188, 231-232, 240, 255, 262-
264, 366, 369, 394-396, 487, 488, 500-502, 547, 721, 736
biography 34 6 "357
Vallejo, Maria Rosalia, wife of Leese 191, 348, 701
Vallejo, Prudencia, wife of Jose Amesti 526
Vallejo, Salvador 196, 262, 356, 394
Vandeventer flat 88, 89
Vancouver, George 224-245, 258, 496-499, 719, 720
Vancouver's anchorage 49&
Vancouver's map 49^
Van Ness, James 617, 739
Van Nostrand, A. M 457
Van Voorhies, William 457
Vara (definition) 63
Varela, Cerbula 4 2 ^
Vargas, Manuel de 2 °7
Vasquez, Jose Tiburcio 33 2
Vasquez, Juan Atanasio 3 QI
Vassault, Ferdinand 45&
Vega, Ramon Lasso de la 20 7
Ventura county I2 3
Verdugo, Jose Maria *°°
Verdugo, Mariano de la Luz l88
Vermeule, Lieutenant Thomas L 555
Victoria, Manuel, governor 2 3 2 > 2 35
Vidal, Mariano *4 2
Viernes de los Dolores J 34
Villela, Marcos 3°6
836 The Beginnings of San Francisco
Victoria, Manuel, governer 236
Vioget, Jean Jacques 367, 511,512, 518
Vioget house 519
Vizcaino, Sebastian 272-273
Volcano lake 317
Wadsworth, James L. C 555
Waldo, Captain William 471-474
Walker, Joseph R 376
Walker lake 376
Walker river 254, 375, 376
Waller, R. H 738
Walnut creek 138
Walters, William P 457
Ward, James C 600, 603
Ward and Smith 581
Ward house 585
Warner, William H 673, 675, 676, 724, 740
Washerwomen's lagoon 134, 327, 615
Water for San Francisco 594
Watmough, Purser James H 541
Watson, Lieutenant Henry B 540, 541, 544, 683, 723
Weber, Charles M 253
Weller, John B 458
Wetmore, C. E 590
Wheeler, Lieutenant George H 729
Wheeler, Reverend 0. C 457, 591
Wilbur, Reverend James H 589
Wilkes, Charles 172-173, 339-341
Willey, Reverend Samuel W 399, 423, 457
Williams, Reverend Albert 591
Williams, Lieutenant Edwards C 555
Williams, Henry F 457
Wilson, Benjamin D. ("Don Benito") 256,429
Index 837
Wilson, Captain John 196
Willow pass 138
Willows, the 328
Winans, Joseph W 711
Woodbury, Samuel 457
Woodward, Robert B 618
Woodworth, Selim E 563,642,651
biography 707
Wool, John E., general 73 1
Workman and Rowland party 255
Wright, Dexter R 726
Wright, George, general 731
Wright and company, miners' bank 532
Yerba Buena cove 49, 495, 504, 5 1 1
Yerba Buena cove anchorage 498
Yerba Buena island 49
Yerba Buena, first mention of name 498
Yerba Buena village I33> 495
inhabitants of 535
night alarm 544"545
defenses of 543? 545
first election 545
Yorba, Antonio 293, 739
Yorba, Tomas I 97
Yount, George 4°4
Yuha .springs ° T
Yuma, Arizona "9
Yuma, fort 7°
1897
