Full text of "A history of the new California, its resources and people;"

979.4

Ir8h

v.l

1339447

GENEALOGY COLLECTION

ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIDIIIIIIIIDIIIIIIIHIIIIIIUII

3 1833 01148 4398

j2^A_>V^^fVV^

A HISTORY

THE NEW CALIFORNIA

ITS RESOURCES AND PEOPLE

EDITED BY

Leigh H. Irvine

"Knowledge of kindred and the genealogies of the ancient families deserveth highest
praise. Herein consisteth a part of the knowledge of a man's own self. It is a great spur to
look back on the worth of our line."- Lord Bacon.

" There is no heroic poem in the world but is at the bottom the life of a man."

—Sir Walter Scott.

ILLUSTRATED
VOL. I

THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY

NEW YORK CHICAGO
1905

1339447

PREFACE.

AT no time since the discovery of gold in 1849. m tne state of California,
have the eyes of the world been turned upon this garden spot as at
present. During a period of over fifty years of prosperity, not un-
mixed with adversity, the state has steadily forged to the front, and today
with its boundless resources and unparalleled advantages, it stands before the
world in a new light, with a new ambition, and has taken its proper rank
with the other peculiarly favored snots of the United States.

The second largest state in the Union today, it combines more natural

advantages, more incentive for location and more inducements for industrial

activity than any other of its sister states, and with the dawn of a new era

before it, the time has been deemed opportune when a distinctive statement

of the growth and development of this unsurpassed region should be spread

upon the pages of history and when the factors in this development should

be represented for the benefit of both the present and of future generations.

The new California is a different institution from the old. While the

' change may have been so gradual that it has been practically unnoticed by

the permanent residents, the people of the world recognize that the new

condition of affairs exists. This is mainly due to the men at the helm and

one of the purposes of this history has been to give credit where credit

~ is due.

The wonderful fertility of the soil, the great advantages of climate, the
immense superiority of geographical location have at times been presented
in a brief way, but a comprehensive history of the same has never been pul>-
li^hed and such is the object at present. In dealing with this subject the
purpose has been to represent only those certain localities that have practi-
cally made the history of the state and this with the especial reference to
Central California, including the great Sacramento, San Joaquin and Santa
Clara valleys and the magnificent district bordering on the bay of San Fran-
cisco.

Central California affords also a peculiarly interesting field for genea-
logical and family history. Her soil has been the scene of events of the
. utmost importance : her sons, at home and abroad, have shed lustre upon her
. name bv deeds of gahantrv on land and sea, by achievements in the arts and

iv PREFACE.

sciences, in the professions, in statesmanship and in commercial affairs, and
have been a power for ideal citizenship and good government. To afford to
the present and future generations a much deeper source of reliable informa-
tion concerning this historic section of our country, this work has been
made a veritable history of the people in their various localities, portraying
their home life, their customs, their institutions, their past, their present,
and their hope in the way of future development.

INDEX

Adams, Charles E., 573-
.Etna Life Insurance Co.. 674.
Alexander, William F.. 980.
Allen, Clifford E„ 446.
Allen, William W.. Jr.. 647.
Alpers, George, 767.
Ames. Fisher, 346.
Anderson, Christ P., 885.
Anderson. John A.. 3/0.
Anders,.,,. Hans D.. 662.
Anderson. Philip, 899.
Anderson. William A., 478.
Anderson, William C, 926.
Andrews, A., 642.
Aram. Eugene, 422.
Archer, Lawrence. 645.
Arndl, II. R., 1038.
Arnold. Matthew, 732.
Aver, Henry M., 618.

Bacon, Oilman W., 629.
Baehr, Harry, 6S2.
Bailey, Doctor B., 868.
Bair. Thomas. 882.
Barker, Curtis M., 592.
Barry, Thomas F., 081.
Bateman, David T.. 411.
Bauer. George W., 782.
Bauer. Hamilton A., 852.
Baughman, Noble 11.. 684.
Bauter, Lucian A.. 969.
Beard, form S., 983.
Beck. Francis E„ 879.
Beckman, William. 428.
Beede, William M. S„ 760.
Belasco, Frederic, 784.
Belcher. Peter, 890.
Belding, Charles, 638.
Bell, Harmon. 778.
Bell. Henry C, 530.
Bel!, rosiah, 830.
Bell, Philetus, 833.
Bell. Theodore A., 628.
Benson. Frank H., 6rs.
Berger, Jacques, 901.
Bi verson, Charles D., 7-°.
Bickford. William H., 1017.
Biggs Ebenezer, -565.
Birdsall. Ernest S.. 800.
Bishop, fohn X.. 737-
Black, Alfred P.. 377-
Black. John C, 593-
Blemer, Charles H.. 517

Blinn, Charles H., 602.
Block, Ahram, 721.
Bosley, William B., 759-
Bo U den, William A., 1044.
Bowers, Warren O., 487-
Boyd, Joseph C. 484-
Bray, William II., 921.
Brenner. Louis F., 424.
Briggs. William E„ 441-
Broedel. Michael, 666.
Brooke, Morris. 542.
Brown. Henrv C, 589.
Brown. Thomas >.[., 545.
Bryant, Edgar R., 769.
Bucklev. John J., 513.
Budd, lames II.. 343.
Bullock, Nathaniel, 822.
Burgess, John C, 845.
Burkett, G. P., 591-
Burnett, David M.. 661.
Burnham, James W„ 772.
Burris, David, 557.
Bush, David, 860.
Busick. Charles O., 481.

Caldwell, John, 805.
Cameron. George W., 1026.
Campbell, Alden W.. 425.
Campbell, George B.. 509.
Campbell, Tames C. 1012.
Campbell, lames H„ 667.
Campbell, John T., 546.
Carmichael, Daniel W., 612
Cannon. John L., 1019.
Castle. James U., 449-
Chapman. Melvin C. 751.
Chapman, William H., 7^4-
Charters. Harold F., 03 2.'
Chevalier, F. & Co., 666
Chirm, Frederick C, 518.
Chipman, Norton P., 727.

Churchill, Jerome. 1002.
Churchill. J. P., 1006.
Churchill. Jesse, 1007.
Clark, Asa. 456.
Clark. F. P., 443
Clark. George 11.. 488.
Clark. John P.. 807.
Clark. Ray D., 736.
Clayton, lames A . 397.
Clayton, Richard W.. 844.
Clinch, Charles E.. 94-2-

INDEX.

Coburn, Lewis F., 581.
Coe, Cbarles W., 744.
Coe, Henry W., 738.
Colin, Philip C, 795.
Colgan, Edward P., 444
Colgan, Edward P., 1014.
Collier, Buckner K.. 993.
Collins, Richard E.,'562.
Conant, Ernest W., 702.
Cone. Frederick S., 6S4.
Connor, John, 872.
Conrad. John, 690.
Cook, John P., 779.
Coombs, Frank L., 347.
Coonan, James F., 910.
Cooper, Benjamin F., 660.
Cooper, John F., 560.
Corlett, Robert, 986.
Cory, John B., 616.
Cottle. Ira, 663.
Cowell, Joshua, 654.
Cox, Frederick, 414.
Cox, Thomas J., 516.
Craig, Joseph, 349.
Crawford, Hugh A.. 974.
Crawford. Thomas O., 761.
Crooks, Samuel R., 1037.
Crume, Littleton T., 904.
Curry, Charles F., 357.
Curtner, Henry, 685.
Cutler, Fletcher A., 919.
Cutten, David P., 816.

1 )ahlgren, Carl, 607.
Dalton, Henry P.. 862.
Dalv, John S., 491.
Davis, Henry L„ 653.
Davis. John F.. 1043.
Davis, John T., 571.
Davison, Charles W., 734.
Deardorff, Albert G., 700.
DeGolia, George E., 869.
Desmond, Michael J., 502.
Deweese, Benjamin D., 848.
DeYoung, M. H., 340.
Dibble, Henry C. 718.
Dickinson, John H.. 3G6.
Dille. Samuel H.. 802.
Doan, Warren E.. 535.
Doggett, W. J.. Jr. 853.
Donnelly, Daniel L., 532.
Downey. John G, 3TO.
Doyle, Olline B., 834.
Drew. Alexander M., 009.
Dufficy, George W., 503.
D'unlap, David A.. 696.
Dunlap, William H., 928.

Easterby, Frank G., 1024.
Edelman. Charles, 768.
Ehrhorn, Edward M., 687.
Elkus, Albert. 4(13.

Ellery, Natlianiel, 426.

Evans, David, 952.

Evans. Francis M., 700.

Evans. William H.. 918.

Falk, Charles C. 9S7.
Falk, Curtis, 955-
Fanning. Howard M., 4S0.
Felt, Rae, 958.
Fenwick, George W„ 948.
Fields, David I 1 ,, 99s.
Fisher, Lawrence, 536.
Flanagan, James L., 583.
hoote, Arthur D., 930.
Ford, Tirey L.. 388.
Fortmann, Henry F., 386.
Foster, Newel K.. 452.
Foster, Seth B.. 886.
Foulds, John E.. 826.
Fowler. Henry, 613.
Fox, Charles N., 668
Frasse. Irvin \. 862.
Freman, Giles N., 1034.
Fnsbie, Edward. 973.
Frost. Charles H,, 408.
Fuller, J. A., 691.
Fuller, Jesse B., 679.

Gamble, John T. 697.
Gardner. George !-.. 584.
Garratt, Richard M., 400.
Garter. Charles A., 878.
( iates, Freeman, 950.
Georgeson, Frederick W., 825.
Georgeson, G R., 947.
Gerber. William E.. 420.
Gere, George G, 694.

< Kit. William A.. 537.
Gibson. E. J\L, 7S3.
Gier. Theodor, 711.

< rilkyscn, John W., Jr., 587.
Gillespie. W. I., 971.
Gillis, Hudson B., 853
Gillis, James 1. . 526
Gillogly, Jane- \\\. 6 1.
Gordon. Alexander. 1022.
Gormley, William F.. ^00.
Graff. Hans. 834.

Graft. George E., 725.
Graham. Charles E., 413.
Graham. Eugene I).. 415.
Green, Thomas E., 880.
Gregory, E. II. L., 674.
Gregory. E. }.. 460.
' ■ ■■ 1 \ . Frank. 459.
( Iriin. Abraham K . 956.
Gimn. Harry I „ 968,

Hackett, John. 904.
Haines, Isaac S. 785
Hall, Thomas B., 364.
Hamilton, William B., 701.
Hamilton, William B.. 506.
Hammond, William, |>., 622
Harlow. William S„ 894
I Ian-is. Milus K. 840.
Harrison. John F. 564.
Hart. Aden C, 402.
Hart. Elija C. 465.
Hart. Fred B., 493.

INDEX.

Hart, Samuel R., 430.
Mart. W. II. II.. 624.
I [artman, Louis 1 1.. 729.
Hassett, William J„ 504.
I latch. Frederick W . 362
Hatch. Zephaniah J., 394.
Hawkins, Edwin 1',. 832.
1 law lev. \\ illiam G., 404.
Ilayc' Evens A.. 528.
1 [ayes, lay 0., 5---
Mead. Felix G-, 804.
Heald. Edward P., 650.
llcaM's Business College, 650.
Heggerty, Charles I., 338.
Hencry, Samuel. 763.
Henderson, James \\'., 902.
Henderson. Orrin S.. 572.
Meyer, Charles \Y.. 992.
1 licks, Thomas H., 990.
Higgins, John M., 526.
Hilborn, Edward P.. 550.
Ilindley, George, 966.
I linsdale. Lester J.. 440.
I lulis, .11, David. 637.
1 [oen, Ernest M., 427.
Holland. Arthur P.. 678.
Hoppe, Edward H.. 636.
Houston, Thomas J.. 967-
Howard, Benjamin F., 4'").
Hubbard, Adolphus S., 818.
Huckins, Henry, on.
Hume, Robert D., 730.
Hunt, Joseph H.. 630.
Hurlburt, Leiden G„ 1045.
I lurst, August, 1007.
Hurst, Ferdinand, 563.
llullon, Harry W., 1041.

lrelan, William. Jr.. 384.

Jackson, Robert A., 750.
James. Joseph W., 432.
Jarman, Albert H., 541.
[enkhls, Thomas, 799,
Jesse, James W.. 548.
Johnson, Grove L., 472.
f/ohnston, Alfred J., 524.
Lines, Alfred W., 707.
Jones, Stephen A.. 850.
Joost, Behrend, 368.
Jordan. Frank (,.. 676.
Juarez, Augustine. 890.
Juarez. Don Cayetano, 889
Jury, John G., 764.

373.

1 E.. 1035.

Kahn, L

Kane. W

Katzenstein, George B., 1 \6
Kell, Bernard E., 407.
Kelley, Joseph M„ 881.
Kellev. Thomas. 594.
Kellogg, George \ . 954.
Kennedy. William C, 665.
Ketcham, Thomas E.. 408.
Keys. Ernest M., 623.

Kiesel, Frederick W.. 5.
Kinlev. Edward, 811.
Kinley, Joseph M., Sto.
Kip, Lawrence, 983.
Kip. William I., 982.
Knight. George A., 336.
Knox, Thomas E.. 655.
Kooser, Norman 1'... 887.
Kramer, Edwin G., 959.
Kytka, Theodore, 780.

Lac

kmann, John, ^76.

Lal<

:e, Alber

t, 726.

Lan

de, Edw

ard. 386.

Lai-

igdon, \\

'illiam H.. 380.

Las

treto, Ei

nilio, 848.

Lat

lei E„ 458.

Lai

ick, Jose

La\

v, Hartl;

,'nd. 89 4 . :i ' 1

La\
Lea
Lea

is, Robe

rt J.. 505.
lies P.. 920.
nk W„ 600.

Lee

man. W

dliam H.. 494.

Lei

). Samuc

-1 F., 405-

Lei;

mil. '1 ho

mas 1', W. 372.

Leu

t, Willia

Let

.-her. Cla

.ren'ce' hC 905.

Levinsky. Arthur L., 419.
Leydecker, Theodore W., 633.
Lindley, Irenaeus C, S15.
Long. Percy V., 606.
Long, Seelv F., 857.
Look. Hallock 11., s.14.
Lovdal, O. A., 490.
Lowe, James R., 744.
Luce, Daniel, 746.
Luttrell, Charles J., 575.
Lyon, William P., Jr., 713.

.Maclean, Daniel. 570.
Mahl, Frederick W., 47S-
Maltman, Albert. 1014.
.Manuel. John. 438.
Mansfield. Joseph G., 300.
Marsh, Frederick D., 621.

W.. 1030.

Martin, James T, 495-
Martin, John P.. 928.
Martin. W. IL. 913.
Martin. W. H., 1047.
Mattison, Frank. 345-
Maupin. James L., 1029.
Maunin, William T„ 1028.
Mavtield. Tames M., 892.
McAllister, William F. M., 610.
McCarthy. William D., S77.
McClure, Henry C. 1018.
McCue, lames E., 611.
McCurdy, Arthur H.. 598.
McDonald, Archibald. 403.
McDonald, Mark L„ 353.
McDougall, William D, -?3-
McGowan, Frank, 3S2.

INDEX.

McKee, Edwin EL, 754.
McKenzie, George S., 874.
McLaren, John, 664.
McLaughlin, William, 462.
McLeod, Clyde P., 858.
McLeod, Donald, 575.
McMillan, John G., 401.
McNtitt, William F„ 334.
Meacham, Henry M., 569.
Miller, Charles E„ 976.
Miller Christopher T., 9S1.
Miller, Fred M.. 977.
Millington, Frank K., 634.
Mish Sol C, 766,
Moody. Edward L.. 634.
Moore, John H.. 748.
Moore, John W., 1020.
Moore, W. N., 600.
Morehouse, Henry V., 688.
Moreing, Lewis, 670.
Morgan, William J., 842.
Mott, Robert E., 764.
Muller, Carl L.. 1029.
Mullfcr, Edward, 998.

Nelson, Thomas A., 418.
Neumiller, William C, 416.
Newhall, Sylvester, 722.
Newman, James B., 60S.
Nicholl, John, 774.
Niestrath, Louis E, 446.
Nurse, Marcellus A., 596.

O'Connell, Frank M., 552.
Ogier, James H., 755.
O'Neil, Thomas F.. 641.
Owen, James C, 586.
Owen, Thomas C, 1036.

Pardee, George C, 786.
Parks, William W., IOOI.
Paul. Almarin B.. 671.
Peard, Sidney J„ 946.
Peixotto, Edgar D., 706.
Perkins, George C, 360.
Perry, John, Jr., 391.
Pfister, Adolph, 788.
Pfister, Henry A.. 649.
Pfister, Herman C, 788.
Phelan, James, 1010.
Phelan, James D., 1011.
Pierce, George S., 629.
Piatt. Horace G, 1031.
Pohli, Emil, 000.
Pollard, Frank C, 551.
Pomeroy. Edgar, 699.
Poncelet, Victor, 943.
Post, Charles N., 482.
Powell. John D., 435.
Prather, Edward C. 883.
Prowse, Charles, 988.

Ragan, D. F„ 396.
Ramage, William J., 9°6-
Raynes, Alonzo E., 538-

Ream, Daniel, 576.
Rector Brothers, 933.
Reeves, Truman, 354.
Richards, John E., 932.
Rickard, Thomas, 789.
Ricks, Hiram L.. 896.
Ridley, Joshua G, 771.
Ripley, Lauren W., 461.
Roberts, John H., 916.
Robison, Warren O., 554.
Rolley, George T., 915
Ross. Robert, 556.
Ross, Thomas, 471.
Rowell, Chester, 837.
Rowell, Hubert N.. 777.
Rucf, Abraham, 792.
Russ, Frederick, 978.
Russ, H. B., 980.
Russell, Thomas, 710.
Ryan. Frank D„ 604.

Salomon, Edward S., 796.
Sargent. J. P.. 478,
Sargent, Ross C, 477.
Schmidt, George, 870.
Schmidt, Henry, 1030.
Schrocder, Henry C, 914.
Secord, George £>., 558.
Shannon, William W., 359.
Shattuck. Arthur E.. 1027.
Shaw, H. C. 448.
Shay, Frank, 836.
Short, Frank H., 1000.
Short, John W., 835.
Sibley, Walter F, 417.
Simmons, Gustavus L., 499.
Siunott, Thomas J., 601.
Smith, Hiram C, 757-
Smith, Mayfield, 849.
Soto. Romulo M. F., 856.
Soule, Charles P.. 827.
Spitzer, Lewis A., 938.
Spranger, Francis X., 648.
Spreckels, Claus, 332.
Spreckles, John D., 333.
Squires, William P., 640.
Stabel, Ferdinand, 970.
Stanly, John A., 841.
Steffens, Joseph, 363.
Stilwell, George W., 626.
Stone, George, 37S.
Strader, Harvey W., 454-
Swartzel, William J„ 917-
Sweasey, Richard, 906.
Swift, Granville P., 859-
Swift, James V., 1033.

Taggart. Harry W.. 445-
Tavlor, John S., 960.
Ten-ill, George M., 712.
Thomas, George, 639.
Thompson, John W., 457-
Thornton. Arthur, 1032.
Tisdale. Charles L., 83S.
Tisdale, Thomas P., 762.

INDEX.

Torrev, Abner W., 829.
rraber, J. O., 839.

Frainor, Charles E., 510.
frcadwcll, A. B„ 9^4-
fully. John J., 759-
Punier. Frederick C. 747-
Turtle, Fred P., 90S.

Vance, John M., 817.

VanNorden, Charles, 432.

Von Detten, Otto, 418.

Von Nuys, Isaac N., 400.

Von Reynegom, Francis W.. 677.

Wachhorst. Eugene S., 512.
Wadsworth. Elijah. 1008.
Wadsworth, Frederick E.. 1010.
Waggoner, Waldo W., 864.
Wagner, Albert J., 531-
Wallace, William H., 987-
Walling. J. M.. 824.
Walrath, Richard C, 963.
Walsh, Philip M„ 555-
Walts, George W„ \\2.
Ward, James W.. 1021.
Ward, William D. F.. 552.
Ware, Allison P.., 553-
Warren, Stafford D., 752.
Waterman, S. D., 779-

Watts. Pliny R., S<57-
Webb, Ulysses S„ 355-
Welch, I. R.. 790.
Welch, Robert, 884.
Weller, [oseph R.. 704-
Werry, John. 806.
Wever, Charles IT., 623.
Whicher, John. 453.
Williams, Lincoln P.. 477-
Wilson. Arthur J.. 521.
Wilson. Jesse W„ <po.
Wilson. William M„ S49-
Winter. George W., S71.
Wissemann, George, 511.
Wittenbrock. Rudolph. 533.
Witter, Willis G.. 658.
Wittman, George W., 923.
Wolf. Andrew, 61S.
W r oods, Jolm N„ 467.
Woods, S. D.. 339-
Woods. Victor H.. 439.
Woodward, Edwin W„ 735-
Worswick. George D., 599.
Wright, Edgar B., 892.
Wright, Henry E., 486.
Wnlff. Nelson H.. 695.

Younger, Coleman. 944.

Photo by Taber

BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF SACRAMENTO
FROM DOME OF CAPITOL

HISTORY

THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

THE WONDERFUL STORY.

Herbert Spencer calls attention to the fact that all history is perverted,
and aptly cites the remark of a French king who, wishing to consult some
historical work, called to his librarian, "Bring me my liar!"

The incident illustrates a truth that is known to all who have had occa-
sion to verify disputed points in either biography or general history. That it is
almost always difficult, and sometimes impossible, to get at vital facts, is ap-
parent to those who have ever taken pains to investigate epochs of history,
or to search for the exact truth concerning contemporary events.

Often idle rumors have been repeated until public opinion has been firmly
grounded in error, and often the reverse of the facts has been sent forth with
the stamp of truth. Distortions of this character are to be looked for in all
cases where deep religious feelings or bitter political contests are factors ; but
it may surprise the reader to learn that many errors have crept into the pages
of histories that deal with facts about which there should be neither dispute nor
ill-feeling.

The development of society in California here and there affords striking
examples of controverted history, particularly with reference to the life and
labors of Fremont and his men, the character and habits of the native Cali-
fornians, and the work and purposes of the famous Vigilantes. These phases
of history are likely to be disputed always.

The sole purpose of this work, where debated points have confronted
the author, has been to sift the facts and reach the truth — but for the most

2 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

part the annals of the state afford an interesting and consistent story of Ameri-
can life under picturesque circumstances.

In some aspects the early years of California's history — after the dis-
covery of gold in 1848 — remind one of the simplicity of the ancient Greeks.
Emerson's description of the days of Hercules might well apply to pioneer
life in California in the few years just following Marshall's good fortune ; for
"the manners of that period were plain and fierce. The reverence exhibited
is for personal qualities — courage, address, self-command, rude justice,
strength, swiftness, a loud voice, a broad chest."

Certainly there was even less luxury and elegance than in Homeric
Greece, save that inventions here and there — matches, the improvements
in clothing and houses, fire-arms, and like additions to human comfort —
had lightened human toil in some degree.

"A sparse population and want," says the Sage of Concord, "make every
man his own valet, cook, butcher, and soldier, and the habit of supplying
his own needs educates the body to wonderful performances."

Such were the environments of Agamemnon and Diomed in Homer's
story, and such, too, were the conditions that confronted the rough and
ready men of brawn who rounded the Horn, crossed the Isthmus of Panama,
or made their way with oxen over the untrodden wilds that stretched from
the Missouri to the hills of the Sacramento, where there was gold for the
gathering.

Columbus needed a planet to shape his course upon, and Copernicus,
Newton, LaPlace, and Galileo required the star-strown depths of space to
enable them to fulfill the bent and genius of their natures. The restless and
aggressive American of 1848 and 1849 was r 'P e * or tne great fields of oppor-
tunity that lay in the rich mountains, the fertile valleys, and the sunset
slopes of the Golden West. And in no other epoch of our country's history,
save, perhaps, in the days of the Revolution "that tried men's souls," were
there ever such opportunities on the one hand and such hardships on the
other as tested the strength and manhood of the actors in the days of the
California Argonauts.

To write of the Mediterranean shores of America, as Charles Dudley
Warner has aptly called California, is to tell of a country of wonders and
unexplored possibilities, and to recount the story of the conquest and occu-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 3

paticn of this fair land is to deal with one of the most romantic and strik-
ing eras of American history. Here and there shadows fall across the pages
of that alluring story, as in the mistaken zeal of Fremont and his men, the
brutality of some of the early settlers toward the inoffensive natives, the
disregard of the rights of the original Californians by their conquerors, and
the lawlessness and licentiousness of large parts of the population; but for
the most part the narrative deals with rare powers of endurance, the inven-
tiveness and good fortunes of brawny men, the trials and privations of the
early mothers of the state, and the growth of an empire in a region destined
to play a wonderful part in the history of the coming centuries.

There are elements of the poetic in almost every page of the story; and
the activities cf to-day, the cities and factories, the fields and workshops
where new Californians now carry on their vocations, are not beyond the
allurements of historic association. The pathfinders wrought not far from
the present centers of population, the sound of old monastery bells rang
forth centuries ago where steam whistles are heard to-day, and the ro-
mance of the Bonanza Kings was enacted on the very soil that is now dedi-
cated to the uses of the new time. The charm of incident, the poetry of
circumstance, the thrill of adventure in a brand-new land belong to the state
with which this work deals, the wonderland of song and story made famous
by Bret Harte, Mark Twain, and the Poet of the Sierras.

The San Francisco Call has truly said that the story of California is
one of the most interesting in the annals of mankind. The writer who thus
characterized the history of the state cleverly presents a picture that may
well finish this introductory chapter:

Beginning as a tale of adventure on the part of the cavaliers, and free-
booters of Spain and of England, exemplified in the romantic personalities
of Cabrillo and Drake, it is soon transformed into a story of missionary zeal,
telling of the labors of Junipero Serra and his colleagues ; then slowly
changes into an idyl of pastoral life whose continuity is rudely broken, first
by revolution, and then by a magic-working discovery of gold that brings
the restless foot of American enterprise to the land, and begins an era that
changes every existing institution and creates a new commonwealth.

With the change in the nature of its civilization a change comes over
the story of the state, but it remains as interesting as ever. In place of

4 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

the old records of adventurers, missionaries, and lordly rancheros, we have
now the story of gold hunters, miners, merchants, railroad builders,
founders of schools, churches and universities — men of every class and
grade of the pioneer type. The story of the work of those men and of their
sons constitutes the world's greatest historic romance of modern times. In
no other part of the globe, among anything like so limited a population, has
been done so much during the last fifty years to advance human welfare.
We have carried the industries of mining and of horticulture to a perfection
unknown elsewhere. Our ship-builders have established themselves among
the foremost of the age. In the application of electric energy to the needs
of industry, not only in cities, but in rural districts, we lead the van of
progress, and in many another department of industry we hold rank among
the foremost.

Nor have the achievements of the Californians been confined to the at-
tainment of material good. We have already furnished many a brilliant
name to the list of scientists, poets, painters, singers, sculptors, musicians
and orators whom the world honors. In short, the profuse fertility of the
state has been almost as notable in the domain of the intellect as in that of
the production of fruits and of gold.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

CHAPTER I.
CALIFORNIA'S GIFT TO CIVILIZATION.

A Careful Survey of the People and Their Environments — The
Builders of the Commonwealth and Their Achievements —
Honored Names Among the Professions — What Authors and
Thinkers Have Done for the Great West.

By President David Starr Jordan, of Stanford University.

California is still very young and has most of her history ahead of her.
What in time she will do for civilization will make a great volume when
its story is written. What she has already done, if adequately treated, will
demand more knowledge than any one man can possess, and more space than
this volume can give. All that can be attempted here is to give some slight
analysis of the elements of which California's past contribution consists.

First we may consider those contributions independent of man made
by sheer virtue of being California. The relation to nature has its civilizing
effect on men, not on all men of course, for California's scenery and climate
did very little for the development of the Digger Indian and does even less
for that of the hobo of to-day. Nature does nothing directly for any man.
It is a general rule of Evolution that Environment affects those who respond
to it or react from it. It encourages or checks or changes individual activ-
ity. It does not create it. The finer grades of men respond to the touch
of nature and transmute physical sunshine and greenery into intellectual and
moral sweetness and light. To such as these California offers the choicest
impulses in her glorious scenery, her health-giving climate and the elbow-
room she allows to the individual man. To these we may add the wider per-
spective that comes from seeing men and things, for to be a Californian im-
plies that one has traveled somewhat and has seen the world that lies be-
yond his native parish.

To realize the glory of California scenery one must live close to it
through the changing years, from mountain to sea, from north to south;
every crag, chasm, lake or headland bears the stamp of its own peculiar

6 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

beauty, a blending of richness, wildness and warmth. Coastwise every-
where sea and mountains meet and the surf of the Kuro Shiwo, the cur-
rent of Japan, chilled by its stay in the Bering Sea, breaks in turbulent beauty
against tall "vincoves" and jagged teeth of rock.

In the hills of the Coast range, "a misty camp of mountains pitched
tumultuously," lie valleys dotted with wide limbed oaks, or smothered be-
neath over-weighted fruit trees, all flooded with golden light in summer and
in the winter wet with fragrant rains.

Inside rises the great Sierra with spreading ridge and foothill like some
huge crawling centipede with back unbroken for a thousand miles. Frost-
bitten peaks of every height and bearing pierce the blue skies above. The
slopes are dark with giant pines and mighty sequoias which have lived over
from some other geological age and in whose silent aisles one may wander
all day long and see no sign of man. Here and there are purple dots of
lakes which mark the craters of dead volcanoes of the last efforts of glacier
polishing.

Through mountain meadows run swift brooks over-peopled with trout,
leaping full-throated over the crags, to be half-blown in mist before they
reach the bottom. Far down the fragrant canons sing the green and trou-
bled rivers twisting their way lower and lower to the common plains. And
these plains are never common, even the most hopeless alkali sinks being
redeemed by the delectable mountains which are sure to shut them in. Ev-
erywhere from each rising hill are great vistas of mountain and valley, blue
distances which swim m the crystalline air.

As there is from end to end of California scarcely a commonplace mile,
so from end to end of the year there is scarcely a tedious day. The cli-
mate is part of the scenery. Each season brings its fill of satisfaction and
winter or summer Ave look forward with regret to the inevitable change.

So far as man is concerned the one essential fact is that he is never the
dimate's slave. The powers of the air never besiege him in his castle. Win-
ter and summer are alike his friends calling him out of doors. The old
Californian never roasted himself all winter long. When he was cold in
the house he went out of doors to get warm, and he built a house only to
keep his belongings dry. To hide in it from the weather is a necessity only
in unfriendly regions.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 7

With climate and scenery comes the sufficiency of elbow-room. The
dominant note is that of personal freedom. Individualism is the character-
istic of California life. Man exists as man in California, not as a part of a
social organism. With plenty of elbow-room he works out his inborn char-
acter. He may be wicked, if that is his nature, but he is not hypocritical,
for to be that implies a yielding to outside demands, doing something
"against nature." The Californian carries his "own head under his hat,"
and California is in Browning's classification emphatically one of "Earth's
male lands," a land where things are settled by out-of-door standards, not
by that public opinion which women make in the house.

The development of the individual among her sons and daughters is
the greatest' contribution of California as a whole to American civilization.
This is her work by virtue of being California, to give physical tone, height-
ened perceptions and a broader outlook on nature and life. The rest of her
contribution is that of her sons and daughters who have been civilizing
agencies by virtue of being themselves.

For good influences have gone out from every man and woman who
has done honest work of whatever sort in California, and many are the
names which should be written high in California's Hall of Fame. It is
still too soon to see most of these in their propert perspective, and the writer
has not lived long enough in California to have seen clearly any large num-
ber even of those whose position is undoubted. He is therefore forced to
trust largely to what others have said and written, and for all omissions and
distortions he has only the one apology, he did the best he could in an em-
barrassment of wealth. And in this same embarrassment he may leave out
for the most part all those who are not so old as the state of California and
who are therefore still at their work, promising youngsters indeed many of
them, for by a trick of human nature all who are younger than we are still
seem very young.

For cur purpose of course to be a Californian is not necessarily to be
a native son. Most Californians had the ill-fortune to be born somewhere
else, and the good fortune to remove in time. Every one who has seen the
seasons round must be held a Californian. For the love of California grows
deep in his heart — that is. if he has any heart at all. And as Ave must adopt
some sort of classifications, we may begin with the first of California's his-

8 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

tory, with the names of Cabrillo, Vizcaino, and Sir Francis Drake. After
these came the Mission efforts projected by Salvatierra, Kiihn (called Kino)
and Jesuits and carried out by the good Padre Junipero Serro and his Fran-
ciscan associates, Palou, Crespi, Portola, Peyri, Catala and the rest, not
forgetting the wise Father Lasuen. These men were effective. Not in re-
ligion merely, but sociologically. They taught over 75,000 naked, indolent,
houseless savages, who had not a single industry this side the stone age, to
live in villages; to build such architecture as the missions, and houses for
themselves ; to farm, raise stock, spin, weave, to be masons, carpenters, plas-
terers, soapmakers, blacksmiths, millers, bakers, brickmakers y saddlers, etc.
If their regime had continued, ninety per cent of these people might have
been developed into self-supporting, decent citizens. In 185 1 the Jesuits
founded Santa Clara College, long the chief center of higher education in
California. Among its devoted teachers may be named the first president
John Nobili, while Burchard Villiger, Aloysius Varsi, James Burchard,
and Joseph Caredda, with the learned Father Kenna, the president of to-
day, were among his most eminent successors or associates. Among the
Dominicans, we may remember Villarasa and Vinyes, and of the hard work-
ing secular clergy, Joseph Alemany, the late distinguished Archbishop of
San Francisco, and his eminent successor Archbishop Riordan. Able co-
workers of these no longer living were Fathers Harrington, Gallagher. King
and Maginnis, and in Los Angeles Bishop Montgomery, Father Adam and
Father Meyer, who with his Vicentian brothers directed the work in St.
Vincent's Colleges. Two more names, Brother Justin of the Christian
Fathers, and Father Vuibert, president of St. Patrick's College at Menlo
Park, must not be omitted, and only lack of space excuses us from a full dis-
cussion of the work of St. Ignatius, St. Mary's and other Catholic colleges
and preparatory schools in the development of Christian education in Cali-
fornia.

And in this work the different sisterhoods have done their part most
faithfully. Often their silent work in asylums, prisons, hospitals, and schools
has been as effective as that of men whose names are on the lips of fame.
Among those who knew them well, the names of Mother Babtiste Russell,
of Mother Mary Teresa Comerford, Sister Mary Cornelia, Sister Mary
Frances McEnnis of the Sisters of Charity, and Sister Anna Rafael and Sis-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 9

ter Dolcres, founders of the Sisters of the Holy Family who work among
the San Francisco poor, are held in special veneration. And those, who,
save the last two names, have I believe all passed away, have left most worthy
successors.

The work of the Protestant clergy is not so satisfactorily summed up,
for it has not the same unifying spirit and its purposes and results are more
distinctly individual. The earliest American Reformer in California was
Rev. Walter Colton, first Alcalde of Monterey. He applied American laws,
built the first town hall, was the first landmarker, protecting the mission
ruins simply for fine sentiment, against the shameful mistreatment of na-
tive California by our immigrants. In the same work in later times the good
Father Casanova of Monterey took a leading part. Father William Tay-
lor, the "Methodist Boanerges," was the most prominent evangelical re-
former of his day. a great force for good in San Francisco. In later times
the names of Durand, McLean, Stebbins, Voorsanger, Brown, Leavitt,
Wendte, Nichols, Worcester, Clampett, Mcintosh, Hemphill and Hosmer
rise in connection with California's religious development, but here, as
elsewhere, I must leave out many more than I can name.

In the late contest for place on the pillars of the New York Hall of
Fame (limited to natives of the United States whose life ceased before 1891)
among the three hundred nominations placed before the judges, three were
Californians, in the sense of having done their best work here. These were
Fremont, Lick, and Thomas Starr King. It was Fremont's fortune to be
sent to do a very important work, the accomplishment of which gave him
his fame. James Lick is rightly honored for the noble use of his money, his
wise choice of wise advisers, as well as for the simple honesty of his life. He
set the noble fashion to his wealthy associates of using millions decently.
The fame of Thomas Starr King rests on his personal character and noble
activities. His strong clear word for liberty and justice was a potent in-
fluence in holding his adopted state to her place in the Union, and though
he died nearly forty years ago his words and his memory are still among
the forces for civilization in California. His successor, Horatio Stebbins,
has been not less honored and the memory of his noble face and stately figure
is one from which California would not part. Here, as much as anywhere
belongs the honored name of Martin Kellogg, whose greatest work in long

10 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

years of university service has been essentially a moral one, the influence
of a gentleman in making men gentle.

Among the preachers, too. I must place another gifted Californian,
though he does not usually range himself as such. Sternest of California's
moralists, a lineal descendant of the Puritans, with heart warmed and sym-
pathies broadened by the land of sunshine, yet preacher and Puritan for all
that. Roundhead and Ironside is Charles F. Lummis.

Great teachers, California has had in full measure, and their number
grows year by year with the growth cf her universities. Foremost among
those no longer living stand Edward Rowland Sill, Joseph Le Conte, John
Le Conte, Jr., Wilbur Wilson Tboburn, Amos Griswold Warner, George
Mann Richardson, Mary Sheldon Barnes, Sarah B. Cooper, Mary McDon-
ald Roberts, Norton of San Jose and Daniel Kirkwood. Joseph Le Conte,
investigator and teacher, is known and honored wherever the name of science
goes. It is easier to mention names than to omit them, but I must find place
only for another line. In it let me place Howison, Mrs. Clara Lincoln Mills,
Stringham, Moses, Hilgard, Davidson, Sweet, Reid, Branner, Stillman, An-
derson, Jenkins, Marx, Smith and Allen and leave a blank for the rest, which
others may fill as they choose. Among men of science, not connected with
teaching, a few names stand high in the history of California. Dr. O. W.
Avers, Dr. W. P. Gibbins, Dr. J. G. Cooper, Andrew Grayson, W. N. Lock-
ington, W. G. W. Harford, Lyman Belding and Yates of Santa Barbara in-
terested themselves in the natural history of California from the very first.
Amidst varied discouragements Dr. Kellogg struggled with the wealth of
California botany. Professor Whitney, afterward of Harvard, with his
associates carried through the geological survey of the state, on the whole
a very noble piece of work. Besides these, California has had her share of
. physicists and more than her share of astronomers, one of the greatest of
whom, James E. Keeler, was stricken down untimely. Equally great is his
successor, W. W. Campbell, and as worthy associates of his we may name
E. E. Barnard, Burnham, Perrine and Hussey. Both in literature and
in science the name of John Muir has a unique place, unique and unques-
tioned.

In literature, many sons and daughters of California have found a
worthy place, though originality is more the hall-mark of fame frequently

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 11

than greatness. Among those having an assured place, and who are as
old as the state of California, we must surely mention Mark Twain, Joaquin
Miller, Ambrose Bierce. These are still among the living. Of the dead we
may name again Edward Rowland Sill, Thomas Starr King, Bret Harte and
him who was called John Phoenix. The predominance of humorists is a reflex
of the cheerful view of life which comes to a land where life is cheerful.
The philosophy of Despair was not evolved in California. Besides the
humorists and poets the noble work of Helen Hunt Jackson is part of the
history of California. Robert Louis Stevenson, who cannot be praised by
any adjective used on his contemporaries, was largely Californian. The
romance of his life was here and much of his work was done in one of San
Francisco's suburbs. His home (Vailima) was "the first place to the left"
as you go westward out from San Francisco.

In medicine, California has known many honored names among which
the following at least must find place : Elias B. Cooper, and his gifted nephew,
L. C. Lane, H. H. Toland, J. H. Wythe, Henry Gibbons, W. P. Gibbons, A.
Saxe, John Scott, G. S. Simmons, Luke Robinson, Arthur B. Stout, John
F. Morse, Wilkins, Stallard, Hirchfelder. This list might be greatly ex-
tended, for the profession of medicine is one of civilization's most effective
agencies. At the same time, the physician most powerful in this regard
is not necessarily the one with the largest practice or the one whose name
is most often on the public lips.

The picturesque early history of California has attracted the attention
of California writers. Among the works of especial merit are the writings
of Theodore Hittell and John S. Hittell, Dwindle, Hall and Royce. To
Josiah Royce, Californian by birth and education, we owe the best studies
of the Psychology of California, the effect of its climate on its men and
women, of the physical surroundings of California. The first history of
California worthy the name was published by Franklin Tuthill in 1865, and
numerous others, as Doyle, Lummis and Mary Sheldon Barnes, have done
great service in advancing local studies or in reprinting valuable documents.
The great historical work of H. H. Bancroft has also lucid intervals, and
the historical seminaries of the two universities are centers of sound meth-
ods of historical investigation.

In this conned ion we may name as a civilizing agency the "Landmarks

12 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

Club" which has preserved the missions and their traditions so that fu-
ture generations may know what these monuments were like.

Sturdy pioneers also of differing types were Edward Beal, Kit Carson,
Stevenson and John Bidwell.

Energy and originality have characterized California's journalistic
work, but to write for a California newspaper the names of California's
great newspaper men would be a piece of temerity from which it is natural
to shrink, and the printer may leave a space for the author of the history to
fill.

But California will not forget James King, a reformer of the press,
and the editor of the Bulletin in times when it took a man to be an editor. It
has been said of him that "Directly he was a power : indirectly his assassina-
tion was one of the greatest factors of reform : whatever his faults, he was
the first martyr to good government." With the names of Pixley, Otis,
Irish, Hart, Fitch, and the rest, men who as editors have stood for right-
eousness as they understood it, we may pass to a group of reformers almost
unique in modern history.

A well known historian has said: "The greatest (and to my mind the
noblest) reform factor in all American California history was the Vigilante
Committee. I don't know if you can afford to praise them, but they were
men. Wm. T. Coleman, perhaps the greatest leader." Mr. Lummis says:
"It was not mob or lynch law (the first mob in California was over the
assassination of Lincoln) ; it was the bravest, m'anfullest, most effective
exercise of municipal good citizenship in the annals of any American com-
munity. It was neither precipitate nor masked nor howling nor wrecking
nor vindicative. It committed no atrocities, damaged no property, dodged
no responsibility, executed no verdicts save after formal trial under the
strict laws of evidence * * * twice in force, about three months each
time; hanged, publicly and decorously, eight desperadoes, banished scores of
others under pain of death, disbanded in public amid the grateful cheers of the
people, and directly brought about the remedy by ballot of the political abuses
which had become unendurable. There had been, between 1849 and 1856,
1,000 homicides in San Francisco, and seven executions. Courts were cor-
rupt, city government rotten. The work of these business men who took in
their hands not only their lives but their honor, who gave their time for

•HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 13

months when time was most worth money, who judged righteous judg-
ment and executed it unflinchingly — their work made San Francisco for
more than 15 years the freest from the spoils system of any in the Union.
Yet I have seen that quiet self-sacrifice not only 'adapted' by rabbles, but
sneered at by scholars who in the like civic crises pass rhetorical resolu-
tions and go valiantly and virtuously home, leaving the Machine to continue
business smiling at the old stand." [The reader is referred to contrary
views in chapter VIII, wherein Mr. James O'Meara writes. — Editor.]

Artists and musicians California has produced in numbers, but the
present writer has no knowledge which justifies him in any attempt to give
names. He can see with his own eyes that Keith can paint landscapes, that
Hill reproduces grand mountains and Mrs. Hudson has a fine touch in
showing the traits of the Indian boys and girls, but of relative value in these
regards he knows almost nothing.

Noted as engineers or architects have been Alfred Dickie, George Da-
vidson, Herman Schussler, Page Brown, Goddard, and others : men force-
ful, adequate and of thorough training. The name of Luther Burbank, most
successful inventor of fruits and flowers, belongs in a class by himself as an
engineer of nature.

The lawyers, I am told, took the leading part in the development of
California for the first twenty years of her life as a state, reluctantly yield-
ing that place in later days to the man of affairs. It was the influence of
good lawyers that brought about the use of the English language in the
early courts and replaced the Civil law of Roman origin by the English
common law. Prominent in this work, so important in the legal civiliza-
tion of California, was Elisha O. Crosby in 1850. Not less important was
the exclusion of slavery accomplished largely by the bar, backed by public
opinion and by the moral force of Thomas Starr King and others of Cali-
fornia's great moral teachers. That lawyers have been retained in Cali-
fornia for other causes than those of civilization is doubtless true, but these
are not the pages on which facts of shame are to be chronicled.

Among individual jurists of the past of California the name of Stephen
J. Field is first to catch the eye. The establishment of community property,
the change of mining customs into mining law and the development of the
state code are among the achievements associated with his name. Others

14 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

whose names are especially honored in San Francisco are Lorenzo Sawyer,
John B. Felton. Oscar L. Shafter, Samuel M. Wilson and Hall McAllister,
and besides these the next century will register John F. Doyle, Henry E.
Highton and John Garber.

Leland Stanford as war governor of California and David Broderick
as anti-slavery leader deserve prominent mention in the record of Californian
political administration.

Perhaps the influence of good lawyers had much to do with California's
self-restraint in the period before Congress gave a system of laws to the
newly acquired territory and in the beginning of the war of secession. This
self-restraint has been called by Professor Abbott "one of the finest things in
American history." A good lawyer, by the way, has been interpreted as "one
who lives a clean life, lends a hand in the public service and dies with his debts
paid." A great advocate who says in the office and court room, "I am my
client." and elsewhere, "I am myself," may be a "good fellow," but he is
not a good lawyer nor a factor in civilization.

"A great lawyer, if he be a lawyer merely," observes Nathan Abbott,
"is not much more than a great actor. He may be popular with his name
on every tongue, but he is not a moral force. L T nless a man is at heart
a moral man he cannot be said to be a factor in civilization."

The work of the business man for civilization is usually co-operative,
and it is not easy to segregate the part taken by the individual. The builder
of great railroads, the promoter of irrigation, the developer of commerce,
the breeder of stock, the maker of fine fruit, the inventor of better methods,
each has bis place and his glory, and it would be impertinent for the lay-
man to intrude in such matters his indiscriminating opinions.

But names not to be forgotten are those of Henry Meiggs, whose one
step may be forgotten in the aggregate helpfulness of his life, George Gor-
don, James Donahue, Peter Donahue, A. W. VonSchmidt, Isaac Fried-
lander, Adolph Sutro, Andrew S. Hallidie, Louis Sloss, Horace Davis, F.
W. Dohrmann, Irving M. Scott, and certainly not least though famous
in quite different ways Leland Stanford, and his three associates, Hop-
kins, Crocker and Huntington. The name of Phoebe A. Hearst belongs
among those who have helped to transmute wealth into culture and char-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 15

acter, the wisest cf all forms of charity because it gives not alms but oppor-
tunity.

If the rule of the lawyer has yielded to that of the man of business,
the next step must be the leadership of the university man. Or more cor-
rectly the men who are born to lead in public affairs or in business life
will hereafter have the advantage of university training.

The recognition of this fact and its development in practical form is
the great glory of Leland Stanford and of his noble wife, the sharer of
his thoughts and actions, And for the future, above all efforts of single
individuals, because inspiring and directing these must stand as civilizing
agents the influence of the universities of California, a force which Cali-
fornia is just beginning really to feel. Every dollar used for one of these
counts more than any other dollar can, because it is put out at the com-
pound interest of human development.

"Greater," says a Californian writer, "greater than the achievement of
lasting honor among one's fellowmen of later generations, is it to become
a living power among them forever. It rarely happens to one man and
woman to have both the power and the skill to thus live after death, work-
ing and shaping beneficently in the lives of many — not of tens nor of hun-
dreds, but of thousands and of tens of thousands, as the generations fol-
low on. Herein is the wisdom of money spent in education, that each re-
cipient of influence becomes in his time a center to transmit the same in
every direction, so that it multiplies forever in geometric ratio. This
power to mold unborn generations for good, to keep one's hand mightily
on human affairs after the flesh has been dust for years, seems not only
more than mortal, but more than man. Thus does man become co-worker
with God in the shaping of the world to a good outcome."

The Golden Age of California begins when its gold is used for pur-
poses like this. From such deeds must rise the new California of the com-
ing century, no longer the California of the gold-seeker and the adven-
turer, but the abode of high-minded men and women, trained in the wis-
dom of the ages, and imbued with the love of nature, the love of man, and
the love of God.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

CHAPTER II.

The Truth About Climate and Resources is More Wonderful Than
Fiction Could be Made — Vast Extent and Variety of Climate
and Soil — Importance of the Japan Current — Climatology,
Scenery and General Character of the Land.

It is the purpose of this chapter to present some of the vital truths
about northern California, its climate, soil, resources, and general charac-
teristics. The truth is more remarkable than any Aladdin-like tales that
might be woven from the author's imagination. This is perhaps the rea-
son that the early legends that reached Spain attributed supernatural powers
to the women of this land, which was supposed to be a living Eden, a sort
of fulfillment of Shakespeare's picture of fairyland, as portrayed in "A Mid-
summer Night's Dream." The truth was added to by the early navigators
until none could say where fiction and fact were blended.

Despite the luring and palpable facts of every-day life in California,
it is strange that a large proportion of the oldest inhabitants, even those
of ample means, know little of its scenic wonders, its grandeur of sea and
shore. But this fact has its counterpart the world over. Close to Niagara
the writer was surprised, many years ago, to come upon intelligent men
that had never heard its sublime diapason, the most wonderful manifesta-
tion on the globe of the power of gravitation. Its beautiful rainbows, its
cave of winds, and other secret wonders awoke no curiosity in their minds.
On the island of Maui, as well as on Oahu, in later years, the same indif-
ference was noted. At the Hawaiian metropolis he saw old men and women
that cared nothing for the volcanic fires of Kilauea, though at times its
aspect was that of a burning mountain. The sublime spectacle of the Pal-
ace of the Sun (Haleakala), most marvelous of extinct craters, had never
aroused the curiosity of the phlegmatic. So, in California there are thou-
sands that have never seen or cared to see the glories of Yosemite, the
inspiring peaks of Shasta, or the snowy crests of the high Sierras. Like
the peasants that wandered away from the diamonds of Golconda, which

Photo by Taber.

LOGGING SCENE IN THE REDWOODS

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 17

they thought were common pebbles, many of our people fail to realize that
nature spreads treasures at their feet in almost every part of the state.

The author of "A Lemon Home in California" struck the truth when
he said that the scent of woods and flowers, the inspiring glimpses of moun-
tain and sea, and the smell of lemon groves from afar tell the story of a
mild climate and a varied soil.

The picture of an earthly paradise has not lost its charm, even in
an era of commercialism; and actually or ideally the search for a Garden
of Eden is the "dream of youth and the most serious occupation of man-
hood." The ancient fables of Guatauma to the effect that the first men
of India found the earth delicious when they ate of it, are not wholly
wrong — for the very soil of some countries holds' men with a charm so
great that there is magic in the very touch of the ground. California has
ever been a name to conjure with, a country for the working out of des-
tiny. The name is a symbol of gold mines, ancient forests, fields of yellow
grain, orange groves, and an empire of wealth.

Over wide areas of the state June is never far away. The humidity of
summer is so slight that there are no sunstrokes during the heated term, and
the nights of winter are not so cold as autumn in the east.

Conditions will be understood more intelligently when it is explained
that the ocean frontage of the state is not far from nine hundred miles, and
the state comprises a domain as extensive in latitude as that stretch of terri-
tory extending from Plymouth Bay, Massachusetts, to Savannah, Georgia.
It will doubtless astonish many readers to learn that the New England states
New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Ohio combined do not make an area
as large as that of California.*

Northern California begins where the San Joaquin river basin ends, and
that basin alone is two hundred and fifty miles long and sixty miles
wide. The northern part of the state has generous winter rains, fertile soil,
and a dry and healthful summer climate. It should be remembered that the
great Japan current equalizes the climate of California in such a way that

*Note.— California is the thirty-first state admitted into the Union. The coast line ot
the commonwealth is 1097 miles, her greatest width is 270 miles ; her area is 158,360 square
miles. The state has 120 peaks exceeding 8.000 feet in height ; 41 exceeding 10,000, and
11 exceeding 13.000. The snow line of the Sierra Nevada is about thirty miles in width,
and these mountains are from fifty to one hundred miles back of the coast. — Lummis.

IS HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

altitudes are more important factors than latitudes in the production of
climate.

In "A Lemon Home in California" the present writer has described the
climate of northern California, and has said that its equalizing factor is the
great Japan current, that warm river of the sea which gives the western
coast of America its balmy climate, like mildest Italy, its skies of Egypt, and
here and there the luxuriance of the valleys of the Amazon. That current
of the ocean is a wonderful phenomenon for contemplation. Starting on its
marvelous journey beneath the fierce and ever-shining suns of the equator,
in a latitude southwest of Mexico, this remarkable ocean current plows its
way through the unbroken solitudes of the Pacific, gathering increased heat
in every mile of its course through latitudes of equatorial summer. After
flowing ten thousand miles through earth's hottest climates this current
strikes the eastern coast of Asia, turns northward, then forces its way through
the waters of the northern Pacific, sweeps the shores of northern California,
then flows southward and bathes the entire state with the breath of welcome
heat and life. Large areas of northern California feel the good effects of
this climate-making ocean stream, which is one of the factors that enable
high latitudes to produce lemons' and oranges as generously as in San Diego
and the south.

William H. Mills, a well-known Californian, has thus fitly described
some of the effects of the climate that gives California one of its perennial
charms :

"Under our summer suns the fruits of the tropics ripen, unaccompa-
nied by the discomforts of the torrid zone. Here the brown of our summer
hills and the golden stubble of the after-harvest are the only winter that we
know. Here a spring-like verdure is the harbinger of coming autumn, and
autumn is attended by no forewarning of the bleak rigors of winter. Here
winter is the season when the warm, brown earth is turned by the plow for
seed time, and spring, with its flowers and ripening grain, is opulent with
the prophecy of hopeful industry. Nor are these all the features which chal-
lenge our love of country. Here nature has wrought her best enchantments in
the sublimity of mountain heights, the bold grandeur of cliffs, the pensive
peacefulness of lovely valleys, and the expansive splendor of fertile plains."

It is not strange that such a land has ever appealed to men like Bayard

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 19

Taylor and Horace Greeley, and they have always beheld the vision of a
glorious future for the millions destined to till the fertile acres of these Pa-
cific shores. Humboldt's vision of one of the largest cities of the world at
the Golden Gate comes closer to realization each year.

Dr. P. C. Remondino, one of the great climatologists of the United
States, has aptly said that climate is a wonderful factor in civilization, for it
makes morality and creeds — the mysteries of Eluesis, the festivals of the
Roman Flora, or the orgies of Dionysius and Bacchus, which would never
have occurred except in certain regions of the globe. Climate determines
the diet, the occupations, the diseases which we shall suffer and die of, as well
as the average life we shall live.

Under fifty years of American occupation, as well as under centuries
of native life, California has yielded a rich harvest of years to those for-
tunate enough to dwell beneath her benign skies. Subject to none of the dev-
astating storms of other countries, free from violent changes, and ever
equable and healthful, it is not strange that life has been prolonged to ex-
tremes of old age throughout the state.

CHARACTER OF THE LAND.

This history deals with northern California only, except in so far as the
peninsula of Lower California and various points in the southern part of the
present state contribute events that shed light on the early occupation by
the Spaniards, the work of the Jesuits, and the colonization by the Franciscan
fathers.

The upper part of the San Joaquin valley, the country adjacent to the
coast, including many small and fertile valleys, as well as the rich expanse
immediately back of the ocean here and there, form an empire in extent and
fertility. Counties are as large as some states, and townships are as large
as counties of other states. The foothills and the picturesque Coast Range,
shielded and backed by the high Sierras, have much to do in determining the
climate. Though the Japan current, heretofore described, is a strong factor in
giving the coast moderate summers and mild winters, the mountain background
prevents currents of air of extreme temperatures from disturbing the isolation
of our uniform climate.

In the vicinity of San Francisco, in Santa Cruz, and as far north as

20 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

Eureka, often in summer time there are high fogs and boisterous winds.
The fogs are frequently mistaken for clouds by visitors from the east, and it
is not unusual to see "tenderfeet" with parasols and umbrellas during the
summer months, which Californians know are free from rains.

Everywhere the foothills are picturesque, and at times their blue peaks
seem very close to the shore, though generally some miles distant. It is
common knowledge that the high Sierras are famous in romance and in
song. Yosemite rivals the Alps, and the diversities of climate of the state
are the most marvelous in the world. From orange groves and strawberry
fields it is but a few hours' ride to the snow belt of the beautiful moun-
tains.

Far to the north is glorious old Shasta, one of the famous peaks of the
world. It stands unique in its noble masonry, rising skyward 14,442 feet.
Its grandeur impresses the visitor as do few spots in the wide world. Trav-
elers from afar have said that the globe nowhere else presents a view more
impressive than the silhouette of sovereign Shasta, rising sublimely into
heights of everlasting snow. It lifts its hoary summit into the bluest of
summer skies; and is visible from such great distances that its deep canons
and expansive fields of snow, its thousands of acres of rugged pinnacles, and
its broad expane of ice blend in one imposing mass, at once the despair of
painters and the inspiration of poets.

The Coast Range is broken through at the entrance of the Golden Gate,
and legend says that an upheaval in times so far remote that the oldest native
Indians knew of the occurrence only by tradition, shook down the mountain
walls and allowed the tides of old ocean to plow through the narrow chan-
nel into the Golden Gate.

The coast region has a distinct summer climate, particularly in the
territory extending from Santa Cruz to the far north. High fogs and brac-
ing winds predominate during the dry summer months, and the winds, like
great sanitary fans, have doubtless saved San Francisco from plagues and
fierce heat during the long days of summer.

Outings from the regions adjacent to the sea, during July and August
in particular, are not to escape from the heat, but to find it. Mr. Louis
YYhitcomb, of the San Francisco Chronicle, discovered after long observa-
tion that eastern people find the climate a cold one during summer, and they

^PPP^

Photo by Taber

MT. SHASTA, 14,442 FEET, FROM THE SCOTT MOUNTAINS,
SHASTA CO., CALIFORNIA.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 21

welcome an escape to warmer regions. Various springs and mountain re-
sorts are popular in the summer because of their genial warmth. At no time.
however, is the coast climate disease-breeding, except to invalids and weak
people. The rugged enjoy it.

At times the rainy season becomes a little wearisome, but some of the
loveliest days of the year are in the halcyon calms that follow the heavy
southeastern winter rains, which usually find their origin in the storms, or
''cyclones," as the weather observers designate them, from the far north-
western Pacific.

There is a deal of misapprehension in some quarters concerning the
rainy season in California. Some people have been led to believe it is a
period of disagreeable storms and almost perpetual floods; but it is more
•accurate to say that the rainy season is the only time of the year when there
is any rain, the period when farmers rejoice and the masses are happy. By
February spring is in full splendor, and often January days are as life-
giving as the budding springs of New England. The brown hills become
green early in February, and soon nature is aglow. Royce well says : "A
few golden weeks of absolute freedom from winds and rains, or warmth and
sunshine, give place at last, to the long sleep of the dry sea — as windless and
dreary as the climate of Lotus Land."

The approach of winter is not heralded by fear; it is welcomed with
joy. Summer wanes gradually, sometimes lingering until past the halycon
days of September, or even until the soft brown tints of October tell that
cool nights and rains are near. A wind springs from the southeast, rushing
toward a climatic disturbance far out in the northwestern ocean, and soon
a gentle shower begins — sometimes more like mist than rain. In a few
hours, or possibly not until nightfall, it becomes steadier and the precipita-
tion may increase until it seems as if the windows of the sky had been thrown
open; but thunder and lightning are almost unknown. It is during these
heavy rains that the farmers rejoice, though they are satisfied if the downfall
continues gently for three or four days. Then the sun peeps forth from
cirrus clouds, the air becomes clear, mountains loom into view through the
lens of bright atmosphere, the birds sing, and often the most charming weeks
of all the year follow these benign winter storms that are feared by those
who have never been west of the Rockies.

;F THE NE\Y CALIFORNIA.

•R III.

S S . . -- a— The Great

s ! mxn, Drake — The Jesuits

5— DKSO0VEI ?S an Frax Cisco Bay

— The of S Z i uka — Sax Jose the

— .^ther Facts

x Visitors.

« - - • - - than with the

ggles . - - . . - .- - . . y.ve into the

- - I -■ . - - ed to the stir-
§ ■ .- -. E - ER - - scarcely

- s . - . . . . . - began

stent parts of the earth
■ ■ . • . ■

- •■ the Sacramento Socieb ;f Cali-

Da Ef on ai a to Spain.
"-■..■ saity claim is I s

: . --_ - A" issued a bull that gave the

| ■ - . - sars I ster a contr ; . -

reason of Fort gaFs attempt to claim the
• • I 1x001)05. The : . -: s i I Pope Alex-

ander V ad it by g _ ' Spain all countries

^ s mark of longitude

- . ■ .-■ : .- banns of the same de; -

7 " ~ - - " that The Treat}-

I ic Ode . : ncluded at 7 - : - s, Sp ' -: -
- - - awnente of S tng> slight modifi-

~ - t -~ VL and in accordance

■ -

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 23

SOME EARLY VOYAGES.

It should be understood that after the conquest of Mexico by Cortes
( 1 520-1521), many expeditions by sea were sent forth to discover new wonders
on the Pacific coast of North America. It is impossible to escape the conclu-
sion that earl)' ideas of the geography of the coast were exceedingly crude and
limited. Even so late as the year 1741 Laurence Echard published in the Lon-
don Gazetteer that California was a large island of the South Seas. In the
year 1794 "The Young Man's Book of Knowledge," published in London,
described California as "sixteen hundred miles broad, and two thousand miles
long." The climate and soil were said to be like paradise, and this remark-
able sentence occurs : "It has rich mines of silver, and some of gold, which
are worked more and more every day."

The account was no doubt wholly mythical, for the following declara-
tion is made immediately after the statement regarding the mines : "The
dew that falls in California and lights on the rose leaves, candies and be-
comes hard like manna." Other equally absurd stories prevailed in those
days, not only about this state, but regarding all things and countries remote
from the observation of the simple and superstitious people of early times.

It is well known that in the year 1524 Gonzalo de Sandoval took to
Cortes many strange stories of California, and they were transmitted to Em-
peror Charles V. Though it is inconceivable that the wisest thinkers of that
day could have done otherwise than reject most of the accounts that reached
their ears, yet it is known that many of the descriptions bore the impress of
truth. Some of the narratives of fabulous wealth and virgin resources pro-
duced a profound impression on men of restless spirit, and the dream of brave
men was to conquer foreign lands.

Asia was still believed to lie within the very gates of the new country,
and so conservative a historian as Hittell asserts that the wildest imaginable
rumors actually led to the discovery and subsequent exploration of California.
The generations that passed after the first discoveries, and before explorations
had been carried far, but served to whet the appetite for adventure.

Disappointed as the early Spaniards were of discovering the particular
forms of wealth they had long dreamt of unearthing, they did in fact plant
their adventurous feet on the soil of the great western empire of America.

24 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

XIMINES WAS THE DISCOVERER.

In 1522 Cortes, having made himself thorough master of Mexico,
began to look ambitiously to the northward. His fortunes moved and varied
in such a manner, however, that it was left for Fortuno Ximines to discover
the Peninsula of California, now known as Lower California, in the year

1534. He sailed in La Conception, a ship owned by the powerful Cortes,
and but for the aid of Cortes, Ximines could not have made the discovery.*
The ambition of Cortes flamed high after he heard of the explorations of his
subordinate, and he himself reached the promontory of San Felipe, on May 3,

1535, and took possession of the country in the name of the sovereign. He
gave the name of Santa Cruz to the bay that surrounded him. La Paz, just
north of Cape San Lucas, is supposed to have been the exact spot where the
old explorer landed. The country was so bleak and forbidding that Cortes
put to sea, and temporarily abandoned the attempt to settle the country by
the Spanish.

By the year 1537 new rumors of the vast wealth of the country were in
circulation throughout Mexico. Various expeditions failed, until Cortes dis-
patched one under Francisco de Ulloa, and to Ulloa largely belongs the credit
for the early exploration of Lower California.

By 1540 Cortes, who was really on a freebooting expedition during all
his western voyages, returned to Spain and abandoned California.

Light is shed on the conditions that existed in early times by some perti-
nent observations of John W. Dwinelle's, in an able address on the acquisition
of California, delivered before the California Pioneer Society, in San Fran-
cisco, on September 10, 1866. He gave these facts :

"It was only by accident, after all, that Columbus discovered the vast
region of continents and islands which are now called America. He was not
in quest of new continents, nor of the golden-fruited gardens of the Hesper-
ides. Believing, from inductive reasoning, that the earth was round, but with

*Note. — Ximines was a pilot under Becerra. and Becerra, one of the favorites of Cortes,
was sent out in charge of an expedition that tried to learn the fate of a missing vessel
of a previous expedition. Ximines and the crew mutinied. They really discovered Lower
California, but Ximines and twenty of his men were murdered by the Indians. Ximines,
or Ximenez, as he was often called, was under Becerra, whom he killed. After compelling
the dead leader's friend to go ashore at a barren spot Ximenez sailed away from the scene
of his crime. They at last discovered what was supposed to be an island, though it was in
fact Lower California. Ximenez and his companions disembarked on the supposed island,
and he and twenty companions were killed by Indians.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 25

very imperfect notions of its magnitude, he was firmly persuaded that by
sailing in a westerly direction from the coast of Spain, he would in due time
arrive on the coast of China, which was then classed as a portion of the
Indies ; and when he discovered the first American islands, believing that he
had already reached the Indies, he gave to the natives the name of Indians,
which inaccurate classification they have ever since retained. Looking over
the books and maps of the old geographers, it is curious and wonderful to ob-
serve how much they did know, and how much they did not know, of the
geography of the northwestern coast of America for more than two hundred
years after the discoveries made by Columbus. Although Cortes, when he
fell into that inevitable disgrace with which the kings of Spain have always
rewarded their greatest benefactors, sent out various expeditions from Mexico
for the exploration of the northwestern coast, and even accompanied some of
them as far as La Paz, in Lower California, and although the viceroys
who succeeded him sent out various expeditions within fifty years after the
conquest of Mexico, both by sea and by land, which must have penetrated as
far north as the 43d degree of latitude, yet the physical geography of that re-
gion remained in the most mythical condition, and the very existence of the
bay of San Francisco was contested as fabulous by the Spanish viceroys of
New Spain less than a hundred years ago. There is in the possession of the
Odd Fellows' library of this city an engraved map of the world, published at
Venice in the year 1546, which is remarkable for its general accuracy and for
the beauty of its execution, but on this map, at the latitude of San Francisco,
the American continent is represented as sweeping around in a large circle,
and forming a junction with that of Asia, while the Colorado, the largest
river in the world, rising in the mountains of Thibet, and meandering through
a course of 15,000 or 20,000 miles, pours its vast volume of waters into the
Gulf of California. In the year 1588, a Spanish captain of marine, named
Lorenzo Ferrer Maldonado, published an account of a voyage which he pre-
tended to have made from the Atlantic Ocean, through the Northern sea, to
the Pacific, and thence to China, giving all its geographical details and personal
incidents. This apocryphal voyage proved a delusion and a stumbling-block
to historians and voyagers for more than two hundred years, and it was not
until the year 1791 that two Spanish frigates, sent out for that purpose by
authority of the king of Spain, by a thorough exploration of the extreme

26 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

northwestern coast, established the fact that a passage through the North Sea
did not exist, and that the pretensions of Maidonado were utterly false. It
is only within a comparatively recent period that the fact has been generally
received in modern geography that California was connected with the main
continent, and was not an island. In Ogilvie's 'America, being the latest
and most accurate account of the New World,' a most elegant and luxurious
folio, published in London in 1671, California is laid down as an island, ex-
tending from Cape St. Lucas, in the tropic of Cancer, to the 45th degree of
latitude, and including the famous New Albion of Sir Francis Drake. The
same map is reproduced by Captain Shelvocke, of the royal navy, in his ac-
count of his 'Voyage Around the World by way of the South Sea,' in his
Majesty's ship of war, published in London in 1726; and in a geographical
work published in London in the same year, by Daniel Coxe, Esq., an ac-
count is given of 'a new and curious discovery and relation betwixt the
river Meschachebe (Mississippi) and the South Sea, which separates Ameri-
ca from China by means of several large rivers and lakes, with a descrip-
tion of the coast of the said sea to the Straits of Uries, as also of a rich
and considerable trade to be carried on from thence to China, Japan and
Tartary." I can not ascertain that California was relieved of its insular
character among geographers until the publication of a map by Father
Begert, a missionary of the Society of Jesus, in an account of Lower Cali-
fornia which he printed at Mannheim in 1771, on his return to Germany
after his order had been expelled, in 1769, by order of the king of Spain,
from the missions which they had successfully established among the In-
dians of Lower California. Even after it was admitted that California was
not an island, but a part of the main land, the most indefinite notions pre-
vailed as to the extent to which the Gulf of California penetrated toward
the north ; and to the very last of the Spanish and Mexican dominion, when
any specific description was given to California in official documents, it was
spoken of as a peninsula."

ORIGIN OF THE NAME.

Professor Josiah Royce, of Harvard, Winfield Davis, and other his-
torians, now accept Edward Everett Hales's conclusion that the name Cali-
fornia was derived from an old romance and applied by Cortes to the

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 27

peninsula he discovered in 1535. Mr. Hale made his investigations in the
year 1862, while reading the old romance, "Serges Esplandian," by Garcia
Ordonez de Montalvo, the translator of Amidas. In this connection it is
worth while to give some of the statements of the eminent Doctor Hale,
for there have been a number of theories as to the origin of the
name. He says : "Coming to the reference, in this forgotten romance,
to the island of California, very near to the Terrestrial Paradise, I saw at
once that here was the origin of the name of the state of California, long
sought for by the antiquarians of that state, but long forgotten. For the
romance seems to have been published in 15 10 — the edition of 1521 is now
in existence— while our California, even the peninsula of that name, was not
discovered by the Spaniards till 1526, and was not named California till
I535-"

Soon after his discovery, Mr. Hale invited the American Antiquarian
Society to examine the evidence, and in March, 1864, he translated for the
Atlantic Monthly all the parts of the story that relate to the Queen of
California (Califia), and in 1873 he published a small volume on the
subject, in which he said : "The name California was given by Cortes, who
discovered the peninsula in 1535. For the statement that he named it, we
have. the authority of Herrera. It is proved, I think, that the expedition of
Mendoza, in 1532, did not see California; it is certain that they gave it
no name. Humboldt saw, in the archives of Mexico, a statement in manu-
script that it was discovered in 1526; but for this there is no other authority.
It is certain that the name does not appear till 1535. No etymology of this
name has been presented satisfactory to the historians. Venegas, the Jesuit
historian of California, writing in 1758, sums up the matter in these words:
'The most ancient name is California, used by Bernal Diaz, limited to a
single bay. I could wish to gratify the reader by the etymology and true
origin of this name; but in none of the various dialects of the natives could
the missionaries find the least traces of such a name being given by them
to the country, or even to any harbor, bay, or small part of it. Nor can I sub-
scribe to the etymology of some writers, who suppose the name to be given to
it by the Spaniards, on their feeling an unusual heat at their first landing here ;
that they thence called the country California, compounding the two Latin
words calida and foruax, a hot furnace. I believe few will think the adven-

28 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

turers could boast of so much literature.' Clavigero, in his history of Califor-
nia, after giving this etymology, offers as an alternative the following, as the
opinion 'of the learned Jesuit, D. Giuseppe Compoi' : He believes that the
name is composed of the Spanish word cala, which means 'a little cove of the
sea,' and the Latin fornix, which means 'the vault of a building.' He thinks
these words are thus applied, because, within Cape St. Lucas there is a little
cove of the sea, towards the western part of which rises a rock, so worn out
that on the upper part of the hollow is seen a vault, as perfect as if made by
art. Cortes, therefore, observing this cala, or cove, and this vault, probably
called this port California, or cala and fornix — speaking half in Spanish, half
in Latin. Clavigero suggests, as an improvement on this somewhat wild ety-
mology, that Cortes may have said Cala fornax, 'cove furnace,' speaking as in
the Jesuit's suggestion, in two languages." * * *

"Towards the close of this romance of the Sergas of Esplandian, the va-
rious Christian knights assemble to defend the Emperor of the Greeks and the
city of Constantinople against the attacks of the Turks and Infidels. In the
romance, the name appears with precisely our spelling, in the following pass-
age:

"Sergas, ch. 157: 'Know that, on the right hand of the Indies, there is
an island called California, very near to the Terrestrial Paradise, which was
peopled with black women, without any men among them, because they were
accustomed to live after the fashion of Amazons. They were of strong and
hardened bodies, of ardent courage, and of great force. The island was the
strongest in the world, from its steep rocks and great cliffs. Their arms
were all of gold ; and so were the caparisons of the wild beasts which they rode,
after having tamed them ; for in all the island there is no other metal. They
lived in caves very well worked out; they had many ships, in which they sailed
to other parts to carry on their forays.' "

The name appears in several distinct passages in the book. Mr. Hale
adds : "This romance, as I have said, is believed to have been printed first in
1 5 10. No copies of this edition, however, are extant. But of the edition of
1519 a copy is preserved; and there' are copies of successive editions of 1521,
1525, and 1526, in which last year two editions were published — one at Seville
and the other at Burgos. All of these are Spanish. It follows, almost cer-
tainly, that Cortes and his followers, in 1535, must have been acquainted with

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 29

the romance; and as they sailed up the west side of Mexico, they supposed
they were precisely at the place indicated, — 'on the right hand of the Indies.'
It will be remembered also, that by sailing in the same direction, Columbus,
in his letter to the sovereigns, says, 'he shall be sailing towards the Terrestrial
Paradise.' We need not suppose that Cortes believed the romance more than
we do; though we assert that he borrowed a name from it to indicate the
peninsula he found 'on the right side of the Indies, near to the Terrestrial
Paradise.' * * * In ascribing to the Esplandian the origin of the name
California, I know that I furnish no etymology for that word. I have not
found the word in any earlier romances. I will only suggest that the root Calif,
the Spanish spelling for the sovereign of the Mussulman power of the time,
was in the mind of the author as he invented these Amazon allies of the Infidel
power."

CABRILLO WAS THE REAL DISCOVERER.

Following the earliest expeditions, full of ambition to discover a world
of wonders and wealth, the viceroy, Mendoza, sent an exploration party to the
northward, but it failed. In June, 1542, however, the same viceroy dispatched
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo with two ships — the San Salvador and the Victoria
— and to Cabrillo belongs the glory of discovering what was long known as
Alta California, which is now California as distinguished from Lower Cali-
fornia.

Cabrillo was a daring and successful navigator. His expedition reached
as far north as the forty-fourth degree of latitude, on March 10, 1543, but his
lack of provisions forced him to abandon the country. Hittell says: "Ca-
brillo's death in the midst of his undertaking imparts a melancholy interest to
his memory ; and the touching solicitude for the prosecution of his enterprise,
exhibited in his dying injunctions to Ferrelo, justify posterity in rendering the
tribute of admiration to the heroic sense of duty that must have animated
him."

It may interest the reader to know that the Portuguese Union of Cali-
fornia proposes to erect a monument to Cabrillo, the first human being to sail
a vessel into San Diego Bay. The monument will, of course, be erected at
San Diego. The Union has seventy lodges in California, and each will con-
tribute to the construction of the monument. San Diego will give the site,
possibly a spot in one of the city's parks.

30 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

SIR FRANCIS DRAKE'S CAREER.

In the clays of adventure of the sixteenth century there was bitter hatred
between the English and the Spanish. Sir Francis Drake was undoubtedly
the boldest and ablest English freebooter and navigator. After suffering at
the hands of Spaniards in Mexico, in 1567, and barely escaping alive, he de-
cided to have revenge for his injuries. To this purpose he fitted out a priva-
teering expedition and sailed forth, in 1572, to punish his enemies and replen-
ish his coffers. After plundering the town of Nombre de Dios, on the Isthmus
of Panama, he returned to England with much treasure. Late in 1577 he
started on a voyage of exploration with five small vessels and 164 men. On
June 17, 1579, he landed on the Pacific coast near Point Reyes, and anchored
in the bay that bears his name. He remained there thirty-six days. Drake's
historian wrote that the natives thought the men of the expedition were gods,
so they worshiped and offered sacrifices to the white men, all this in opposi-
tion to the wishes of the exploring party. Drake took possession of the coun-
try in the name of Queen Elizabeth. Some of the entries made by the his-
torian show the wild character of the country, with its thousands of deer and
its simple people. There is a significant entry that tells of the existence of
gold and silver, of which there are. frequent accounts in all of the old chronicles
of the Spaniards. The historian said :

"Our necessaire business being ended, our General with his companie
travailed up into the countrey to their villaiges, where we found heardes of
deere by 1,000 in a companie, being most large and fat of bodie. We found
the whole countrey to be a warren of a strange kinde of connies, their bodies
in bigness as be the Barbarie connies, their heads as the heads of ours, the feet
of a Want (mole), and the taile of a rat. being of great length; under her
chinne on either side a bagge, into which she gathered her meate, which she
hath filled her bellie abroad. The people do eat their bodies and make great
accompt of their skinnes, for their King's coat was made out of them. Our
General called this countrey Nova Albion, and that for two causes : the one
in respect of the white bankes and cliffes which lie toward the sea ; and the
other because it might have some affinitie with our countrey in name, which
sometime was so called. There is no part of earth here to be taken up, wherein
there is not a reasonable quantitie of gold or silver. - ' Before he sailed away,
"our General set up a monument of our being there, as also of her Majestie's

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 31

right and title to the same, viz. : a plate nailed upon a faire great poste, where-
upon was engraven her Majestie's name, the day and yeare of our arrival there,
with the free giving up of the province and people into her Majestie's hands,
together with her highness' picture and arms, in a piece of fivepence of current
English money under the plate, whereunder was also written the name of our
General. It seemeth that the Spaniards hitherto had never been in this part
of the countrey, neither did discover the lande by many degrees to the south-
ward of this place."

It is highly improbable that Drake ever saw the Golden Gate, or knew of
the existence of the great Bay of San Francisco. This conclusion is disputed by
some investigators, but on insufficient evidence. All careful students of his-
tory now coincide with the opinion that the bay was unknown until many
generations afterwards. The coincidence of the name of San Francisco and
Sir Francis Drake is not evidence that the Bay of San Francisco was named
for him. The name Francis was common in those days, as now. It is not
probable that Drake ever heard of Cabrillo's prior visit to the country. Viz-
caino and other navigators applied the name San Francisco to the bay in 1769.
Royce says that Cermehon, who made a voyage to the Pacific and visited the
Philippines in 1595, first applied the name of San Francisco to a port on this
coast. He had run ashore near Point Reyes, a few miles above the present city
of San Francisco, and just beneath the bluffs overhanging the ocean at that
spot was the old port of San Francisco.

It should be said that Vizcaino touched Santa Catalina in 1602 and de-
barked on the mainland near Point Conception. By January, 1603, he had an-
chored in the old Port of San Francisco. His voyage gave the world a few
definite points of geography, but all attempts at civilizing and settling the
country then ceased for almost a century and a half — five generations.

An exception to this sweeping statement should be made by explaining
that there were attempts to civilize the eastern side of the peninsula of Cali-
fornia—under Antondo — in 1683. Soldiers, settlers, and many Jesuit priests
from Mexico, were located at several points, but these attempts to settle the
country were abandoned within a year. Mexico found the subjugation and
colonizing of Lower California impracticable by these methods.

32 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

JESUITS MAKE SETTLEMENTS.

In November, 1697, Father Salvatierra and others, under royal warrant,
founded the mission of Loreto, but on April 2, 1767, King Charles, of Spain,
issued a decree banishing the Jesuits from all Spanish territory. Captain
Gasper de Portala was detailed, with fifty armed men and fourteen Franciscan
monks, to expel and succeed the Jesuits. Force was not needed, however, for
the sixteen Jesuit fathers that occupied the country quietly departed from the
country on February 3, 1768. The famous Junipero Serra was at that time
appointed president of the missions of California. In April of the following
year he arrived and soon entered upon his successful career as the pioneer mis-
sionary of the territory that is now California. History says that Josef de
Galvez, who represented the Spanish monarch in the province, "had been in-
vested with powers to visit the missions of Lower California, and had a royal
order to send an expedition by sea to rediscover and people the bays of San
Diego and Monterey."

Winfield Davis and Secretary of State Curry have stated the facts of early
history thus : "Reaching the peninsula on June 6, 1768, Galvez determined to
send a land expedition to the north as well as the one by sea. This idea was
concurred in by Father Junipero, and they decided that three vessels should
sail to meet the expedition by land at San Diego. They agreed that three mis-
sions should be established — one at San Diego, another at Monterey, and a
third at San Buenaventura, now known as Ventura, in Ventura county. On
January 9, 1769, the vessel San Carlos left La Paz, and the San Antonio
sailed from San Lucas on the nth. A smaller ship, the Senor San Jose, left
Loreto on June 16th. On these vessels were loaded the ornaments, sacred
vases, and other utensils of the church and vestry, together with all kinds of
household and field implements and seeds, as well those of old as of new Spain,
and two hundred head of cattle. Galvez divided the expedition by land into
two parts so as to save one if the other was destroyed by the natives. Portala
was appointed commander-in-chief of the land expedition, and Captain Fer-
nando Rivera y Moncada, his second in command, was to take charge of the
first division. Moncada's division arrived at San Diego May 14, 1769, after
fifty-two days' travel from Loreto. The second division, under the charge of
Portala, with whom was Father Junipero, arrived on the first of July, after
forty-six days' travel. They found in port the San Antonio, which had ar-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 33

rived on the nth of April, and the San Carlos, which reached San Diego
twenty days later. The Senor San Jose not having been heard from it was
presumed that it was wrecked. On the arrival of the second section with
Father Junipero a salute was fired to commemorate the union of all the parties,
and the beginning of work of settlement, conversion, and civilization on the
soil of Upper California. July i, 1769, marks the era of this state. On the
16th, Father Junipero founded the Mission of San Diego at the port of that
name."

It will be convenient to show the dates of the founding of the missions of
California in the following order:

San Diego, in San Diego county, founded under Carlos III., July 16,
1769.

San Luis Rey, San Diego county, Carlos IV., June 13, 1798.

San Juan Capistrano, Orange county, Carlos III., November i,'i776.

San Gabriel Arcangel, Los Angeles county, Carlos III., September 8,
1771.

San Buenaventura, Ventura county, Carlos III., March 31, 1782.

San Fernando, Los Angeles county, Carlos IV., September 8, 1797.

Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara county, Carlos III., December 4, 1786.

Santa Ynez, Santa Barbara county, Carlos IV., September 17, 1804.

La Purisima Concepcion, Santa Barbara county, Carlos III., December
8, 1787-

San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo county, Carlos III., September 1, 1772.

Miguel Arcangel, San Luis Obispo county, Carlos IV., July 25, 1797.

Antonio de Padua, Monterey county, Carlos III., July 14, 1771.

La Soledad, Monterey county, Carlos IV., October 9, 1791.

El Carmel, or San Carlos de Monterey, Monterey county, Carlos III.,
June 3, 1770.

San Juan Bautista, Monterey county, Carlos IV., June 24, 1797.

Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz county, Carlos IV., August 28, 1791.

Santa Clara, Santa Clara county, Carlos III., January 18, 1777.

San Jose, Alameda county, Carlos IV., June II, 1797.

Dolores, or San .Francisco de Asis, San Francisco county, Carlos III.,
October 9, 1776.

San Rafael Arcangel, Marin county, Fernando VII., December 18, 1817.

34 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

San Francisco Solano, Sonoma county, Fernando VII., August 25, 1823.

The growth of the missions was very fast. By the year 1769 there were
nine in active operation within the limits of the southern district, and it is
estimated that there were at least 3,000 native converts by the beginning of
1780. In the year 1800 the missionary property was worth about one mil-
lion pesos. There are no trustworthy statistics as to the number of Indians
that existed in the country at any one period of the early days, for the
hunting and migratory habits of the native red man precluded the possibility
of a count or a reliable estimate. Alexander Von Humboldt estimated that in
1802 the number of white men, mestizoes (one of mixed Spanish and Indian
blood), and mulattoes living in the presidios or in the service of the monks
was but thirteen hundred. These were classified as the civilized or pacified
people of the country, in contradistinction to the wild natives, who were re-
garded as beasts. By Humboldt's estimate there were 13,668 Indians con-
nected with the missions in 1801.

It seems odd to read that the early fathers did all in their power to restrict
the white population. By their advice soldiers were not allowed to marry
without the consent of the Spanish sovereign, and the priests advised against
the giving of such consent. It is said that they preferred the docile Indians to
the uncertain tempered whites. A number of colonists came from various
parts of Spain, however, but they were obliged to get their land from the
fathers. Tracts some distance from the missions were about all that could be
obtained.

In all the struggles and growth of the missions there was really but one
disaster of any consequence — the destruction of the San Diego mission by fire
by warring Indians, in 1775. This loss was repaired without serious delay
and the growth of the missions continued without much interruption.

DISCOVERY OF SAN FRANCISCO BAY.

Hittell, Soule, and others have investigated the old evidences, and have
shown that the beautiful Bay of San Francisco was discovered by a squad of
Spanish soldiers, on November 2, 1769. Cabrillo, Drake, and all other naviga-
tors had missed it, but a land party in search of Monterey proceeded north-
ward some distance east of the coast until the beautiful spectacle of an arm
of the sea greeted their vision as they stood at an elevation in the foothills.

1 -

Photo by T;ibe

GOLDEN GATE FROM SAN FRANCISCO BAY

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 35

1339447

The discovering party consisted of Governor Portala, Captain Rivera y Mon-
cado, Lieutenant Pages, Engineer Costanso, Fathers Crespi and Gomez, Ser-
geant Ortega, and thirty-four soldiers, accompanied by muleteers and tame
Indians from Lower California — sixty-four persons in the entire company.

On October 17 they discovered and named the San Lorenzo river and the
city of Santa Cruz. On November 2, 1769, some soldiers of the party were
granted permission to wander from camp and hunt deer. Ascending a number
of eastern hills — doubless in what is now Alameda county — they beheld the
thrilling spectacle of an arm of the sea running inland as far as they could see.
It was as beautiful as the Bay of Naples, and its tides pulsed through the
Golden Gate before their entranced vision. Father Crespi's journal contains
an account of the soldiers' adventures, and this is no doubt the first mention
of the Bay of San Francisco to be found in the annals of Spanish adventure.
Hittell says it is remarkable, considering the many voyages that had been
made in its vicinity, and these by bold explorers, that the Golden Gate and the
Bay of San Francisco remained so long undiscovered; and it is a still more
remarkable fact that the importance of the discovery was so long unappreciated.
Not until the coming of Americans was the value of the discovery made known
to the world. It was not until the advent of Yankees that the advantages of
the spot as the site of a great city were adequately recognized.

The mission at Dolores, on the bank of a lagoon, was consecrated by the
building of an altar and the celebration of the first mass, June 29, 1776. The
formal founding of the mission, however, was not until October 9.

The mission of Santa Clara was founded on January 12, 1777, three
months after that of San Francisco. On November 29, 1777, the town of San
Jose, or El Pueblo de San Jose, was founded. In the spring of that year Gov-
ernor Felipe de Neve had noticed the beauty of the country surrounding the
Santa Clara mission, and it was he that selected the site of San Jose as an
eligible one for the pueblo, or village. Inducements were offered to people to
go from the presidio of San Francisco, and each person was supplied with oxen,
cows, horses, sheep, and goats. Sixty-eight pioneers thus founded the pueblo
or town of San Jose. It was the first authorized settlement in the state and the
very first town to be created and ruled under civil government alone. From
the beginning settlers had all the rights and immunities belonging to the
inhabitants of provincial pueblos, under the Spanish laws.

36 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

Under the same regime Los Angeles was founded, and it was the second
city tc be established under civil law. The date of its creation was in Septem-
ber, 1781. To the old mission fathers, however, belongs the credit of begin-
ning the colonization of California. There is some criticism to be passed on
the form of training they gave the Indians, and on their interference
with marriages, as already indicated, but their work was for the most part
beneficial to civilization. It should be remembered that they were not dealing
with an intelligent native people. Humboldt, Drake, and Father Michael alike
testify that the native Indians of this country were of a low order of intelli-
gence — about like the Hottentots, or the natives of Van Diemen's Land.
Venegas says their chief characteristics were stupidity, filthiness, impetuosity,
lack of reflection, sloth, and blind greediness for food. He found them weak
in both body and mind. Frank Soule, John H. Gihon, and James Nisbet, in
their excellent "Annals of San Francisco," say :

"The fathers found abundant profit in the labor and personal services of
the Indians, whom they left, as they perhaps found them, if they did not
transform them into moral beasts — tame, dull, silly, and dirty. Meanwhile, the
little independence, natural intelligence, and superiority of mind and character
which even the rudest savages possess over the lower creatures were gradually
sapped and brushed away, and the Christian converts were left ignorant, su-
perstitious, and besotted, having neither thoughts nor passions, strength nor
will."

SPANISH RULE IN CALIFORNIA.

The story of California's growth illustrates the wonderful power of
the Anglo-Saxon and outlines some of the reasons for his supremacy, for the
Spanish really retarded progress, as we now understand that word, and it was
not until the advent of sturdy Americans that the state took on the growth that
has made it what it is to-day. A glance at the olden days will give some of the
main outlines of the story, that the reader may see the advance that has been
made in modern times.

In an address delivered before the Society of California Pioneers of San
Francisco by Edmund Randolph, September 10, i860, was presented a lucid
review of the government of the state under Spain. The speaker got his in-
formation from the old Spanish archives, in the office of the surveyor-general,
at San Francisco. From this address it appears that ail functions, civil and

Photo by Taber

MISSION DOLORES, SAN FRANCISCO. ESTABLISHED 1776.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 37

military, judicial and economic, were united in the person of the commandante
of a presidio, in due subjection to his superior, and so on up to the king, an
autocrat, whose person was represented and whose will was executed in every
part of his dominions. In the archives is a rcglamento, which is a set of regu-
lations for the Californias. Its caption expresses that it is for the government
of the presidios, the promotion of the erection of new missions, and of the popu-
lation and extension of the establishments of Monterey. It was drafted at
Monterey by the governor in 1779, sent to Madrid and approved by the king
in 17S1. It adopts the royal reglamento for the government of all the presidios,
with such small variations as the circumstances of California required. The
manner in which pueblos are to be founded is given ; each settler to have his
building lot and sowing field of two hundred varas square ; the whole together
to have commons for wood, water, and pasturage; also a certain number of
horses, mules, oxen, cows, sheep, chickens, and farming utensils to be furnished
to each ; and the amount of pay — for a settler had his salary for awhile as well
as his outfit. For the first five years he was to be free from the payment of
tithes, but was required to sell the excess of his productions at a fixed price to
the presidios, and must keep a saddle horse, carbine, and lance, and hold him-
self in readiness for service to the king. The only trace of a political right
found in the reglamento is the allowance to the pueblos of alcaldes and other
municipal officers, to be appointed by the governor for the first two years, and
afterward to be elected by the inhabitants. These officers were to see to the
good government and police of the pueblos and the administration of justice,
to direct the public works, apportion to each man his share of water for irriga-
tion, and generally to enforce the provisions of the reglamento. As a check
upon the abuse of their privileges the elections were subject to the approval of
the governor, who had also the power to continue to appoint the officers for
three years longer if he found it necessary.

At first California formed a part of New Spain, and was governed directly
by the Viceroy of Mexico. In 1776 it was attached to the commandancia gen-
eral of the interna! provinces, which included also Sonora, New Mexico, Chi-
huahua, Coahuila, and Texas. Afterward it was a part of the commandancia
general of the internal provinces of the west, when Coahuila and Texas, New
Leon and the colony of New Santander had been erected into another jurisdic-
tion, under the title of the internal province of the east. This arrangement did

38 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

not last many years, and California reverted to the Viceroy. Laws came from
the king, in his council of the Indies, at Madrid, as orders are issued by the
commander-in-chief of an army, to the second in command, to wit : the Viceroy
of Mexico, from him to the next in rank, from him to the governor of Cali-
fornia at Monterey, and from him to the captain or lieutenant in command of
a presidio. They took effect only as they were published, spreading as the
courier advanced. They came slowly, but in time every order of a general
nature would find its way into the archives of every province, presidio, or
pueblo in North and South America under the dominion of the king of Spain.
When wars, or the accidents of navigation, or the urgency of the case inter-
rupted or rendered impossible communication with Madrid, each viceregent of
the king in his department exercised the royal authority. Therefore, in the
nature of things, the powers of every governor in his province were practically
despotic.

SPANISH GOVERNORS OF CALIFORNIA.

For purposes of reference it is well to submit a list of the Spanish gov-
ernors of California, as it appears from the records at the office of the secretary
of state. The very first was Gaspar de Portala, from 1767 to 1771. He was the
governor of Lower California dc facto but de jure his jurisdiction extended
over the territory to the north. It was not, however, until 1769 that he actually
visited Upper California and made his residence there.

Felipe de Barri, from 1771 to 1774. The first mention found of Barri as
governor is in a letter which he addressed in that capacity from Loreto to
Pedro Fajes, commander of the Presidio of Monterey, dated June 2, 1771.

Felipe de Neve, from 1774 to 1782. On December 28, 1774, Governor
Barri was succeeded by Felipe de Neve, and on July 20, 1776, Governor Neve
was ordered by the Viceroy to remove from Loreto to the Presidio of Monte-
rey, and he arrived there February 3. 1777. Neve died at Chihuahua in No-
vember, 1784.

Pedro Fajes, from 1782 to 1790. Fajes became governor September 7,
1782. He died in Mexico about 1796.

Jose Antonio Romeu, from 1790 to 1792. He was appointed governor
by the viceroy. Conde de Riverra Gigado, on September 1, 1790, was put
in possession on April 17, 1791, and died April 9, 1792.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 39

Jose Joaquin de Arrillaga, from 1792 to 1794. He became governor
ad interim on the 9th of April, 1792, on the death of Romeu.

Diego de Borica, from 1794 to 1800. He was appointed by the vice-
roy May 14, 1794. and sailed for Mexico in January, 1800, leaving Arril-
laga as his successor ad interim. Borica died in Durango, July 19, 1800.

Jose Joaquin de Arrillaga, from 1800 to 1814. He remained governor
during that period, and died at the Mission de Soledad in Monterey County.,
July 25, 1814.

Jose Dario Arguello, from 1814 to 1815, ad interim. Died in Mexico,
1828.

Pablo Vicente de Sola, from August, 1815, to 1822.

In 1822 news of the successful revolution in Mexico, under Iturbide,
reached Governor Sola, and he sent it to an assembly of ten delegates of
California in session on April 9 of that year. It was then declared that from
that date the province of California was dependent on the government of
Mexico only, independent of Spain and all other foreign powers.

Under Mexican control — from 1822 until 1846 — the province of Cali-
fornia was entitled to one delegate or representative in the Mexican Con-
gress. The governor of California was always appointed by the Mexican
government. There was a departmental legislature, and this was possessed
of limited powers to pass local laws. The judges of the various courts were
appointed by the central Mexican government.

Sola continued to act as governor until November 9, 1822. He was
also a representative in the Mexican Congress. He died in Mexico in 1827.
The archives show the following governors during Mexican control :

Louis Antonio Arguello, from 1822 to 1825. Died at San Francisco,
March 27, 1830.

Jose Maria de Echeandia, from 1825 to 1831. He arrived at Loreto
June 25, 1825, and gave notice to Arguello that he had been appointed gov-
ernor.

Manuel Victoria, from 1831 to 1832. On January 31, 1831, he took
charge of the government. On December 9, 183 1, Echeandia wrote to Gen-
eral Vallejo that Governor Victoria was disarmed, his forces scattered, and
that he was in a dying condition. On January 15, 1832, Echeandia wrote

40 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

to the President of the Departmental Assembly that Victoria had left Cali-
fornia for Mexico on the American ship Pocahontas.

Pio Pico, from 1832 to 1833. On January 11, 1832, Pico, being first
Vocal of the Departmental Assembly, became governor ad interim. The
ayuntamiento of Monterey in the meantime refused to recognize him as gov-
ernor, preferring that Echeandia should act until news should be received
from the supreme government. It would seem that there were two Gov-
ernors, Pico acting as first Vocal of the Assembly, and Echeandia appointed
by the ayuntamiento of Monterey.

Jose Figueroa, from 1833 to 1835. He was appointed by the Presi-
dent of Mexico in April, 1832; landed at Monterey January 15, 1833, and
on the 25th Echeandia submitted to him. Figueroa asked to be relieved
on March 25, 1833, and died at San Juan Bautista, September 29, 1835.

Jose Castro, from 1835 to 1836. Being first Vocal of the Depart-
mental Assembly, he was appointed Governor by Figueroa on the 29th of
August, 1835, and afterward became governor ad interim on the death of
Figueroa.

Nicholas Gutierrez, 1836. He acted as governor ad interim from
January 2, 1836, until May.

Mariano Chico, 1836. Took charge of the government May 3, 1836;
appointed by the President July 30th. He left the government in charge
of Gutierrez while on a trip to Mexico to represent the popular disturbances
caused by the ayuntamiento of Monterey.

Nicolas Gutierrez, 1836. Acted again as governor ad interim from
July for a few months.

Juan Bautista Alvarado, from 1836 to 1842. On November 6, 1836,
the Departmental Assembly declared California a free and independent
state, overthrew Gutierrez, who left the country, and Alvarado became gov-
ernor. On August 20. 1837, Antonio Carrillo wrote to Governor Alvarado
that his brother Carlos Antonio Carrillo had been appointed governor by
the President. In 1838 Alvarado was appointed governor ad interim by
the supreme government, and August 7, 1839. he was appointed perma-
nent governor by the President. He died at San Pablo. July 13. 1882.

Manuel Micheltorena, from 1842 to 1845. He was appointed by the

FORT ROSS — THE NORTH BASTIAN

BUILT BY THE RUSSIANS IN 1811

SONOMA COUNTY, CAL.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 41

President and entered on the duties of the office December 30. 1S42. Died
in Mexico, September 7, 1853.

Pio Pico, from 1845 to 1846. He became governor as first Vocal
of the Departmental Assembly February 15, 1845. Having been recom-
mended by the Assembly for the office in its session of the 27th of June,
1845, on September 3d of that year he was appointed constitutional governor
by the President ad interim of Mexico, and due notice of his appointment
was published April 15, 1846. Died at Los Angeles, September 11, 1894.

EARLY FOREIGN VISITORS.

Before leaving the subject of early times in California it will be well
to recur to the conditions that confronted the people of the state with ref-
erence to their relations to the world at large. Under the Spanish regime
commerce with the great world outside was forbidden, but ambitious navi-
gators began, early in the nineteenth century, to be attracted to the new
world, of which they heard glowing stories. La Perouse was the first for-
eign visitor. He arrived in 1786, and in 1792 Vancouver saw the coast.
In 1796 the Otter, a Boston ship, appeared at Monterey. In 1806 a Rus-
sian ship came from Sitka, Alaska, and anchored in the Bay of San Fran-
cisco. The vessel was under command of Rezanof, an officer of high de-
gree. He remained for some time and made himself popular by his cour-
teous manners. He became betrothed to the daughter of Arguello, com-
mandant of the presidio, and this close relation enabled him to do some
trading with the people, under a suspension of the prevailing rule
against such traffic, which was not permitted. Rezanof promised to
return and marry his fiancee, but he died on his way across Siberia. Miss
Arguello became the Dona Concepcion of a romantic tale, and Bret Harte's
poem has moved many readers. The young lady's name was Dona Con-
cepcion Arguella, and she waited patiently for the return of her lover
through many years of anxiety. At last word came that he had died in a hut
in Siberia, and Dona Concepcion. heart-broken as she had been for years, did
not enter into the affairs of life with any degree of spirit, but became a
nun and died at Benicia in 1857.

Rezanof's visit was followed, in 1812, by the coming of a number
of Russian pioneers whose purpose was trading rather than settling the

42 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

country permanently. Under the initiative of a large fur company they
founded a trading station about nineteen miles north of Bodega Bay, built
a fort that has always been known as Fort Ross, though its Russian name is
said to have been another word that sounds like the word Ross, and car-
ried on a pretty thriving trade with the simple aborigines as w r ell as with
the Spaniards. The station did fairly well until 1841, when it was aban-
doned. The Spaniards and Mexicans had always looked upon it with dis-
favor. All produce that the Russians either raised or traded for was sent
to northern Russian stations. The population, always under strict military
government, amounted to about 300 in 1840. It consisted of Aleutians,
Indians, and Russians.

When the Russians abandoned their fort they sold their holdings to
Captain John A. Sutter, an enterprising and successful Swiss pioneer, who
played an important part in the later history of the state, and on whose
property the famous Marshall discovered gold in 1848, as we shall see later
in this work.

But the going away of the Russians from Fort Ross did not mean
that Russians and other foreigners were to be seen no more in those times.
The Columbia and North American Fur companies pooled their interests,
and after that it was common to see trappers and fur traders throughout
the northern part of the state. The native population regarded all these
foreigners as intruders and looked upon their movements with grave sus-
picion. From time to time the Mexican congress passed stringent laws
against all foreigners. Despite these measures, however, population from
the outside gradually increased. Not many years passed before Americans,
English, and French had control of the bulk of mercantile pursuits. Soule
says : "Runaway seamen and stragglers from Columbia and Missouri
swelled the number of white settlers. The indolent Spaniards stupidly
looked on, while the prestige of their name, their wealth, and influence were
quickly passing into other and stronger hands."

In this connection it may be well to say that the only standard of judg-
ment applied by many historical writers is that of "fruit," or material prog-
ress, as measured by modern ideas of civilization. There are those, how-
ever, who dispute the statement that the old Spaniards lived a purpose-
less existence, some holding that they were greater philosophers than their

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 48

critics, and that the so-called indolent and stupid masses compared favor-
ably with the stupid and unscrupulous masses of their successors. In this
connection it is not amiss to remind the student of these times of the fact
that the better class of the Spaniards were cultured people, fond of liter-
ature, music, the arts, and the many pleasures of life. In an essay entitled
"Some Regrets," the immortal synthetic philosopher, Herbert Spencer,
says : "I detest that conception of social progress which presents as its aim,
increase of population, growth of wealth, spread of commerce. * * * A
prosperity that is exhibited in board of trade tables year by year increas-
ing their totals, is to a large extent not a prosperity but an adversity. * *
* But the ideal (material wealth) we cherish is a transitory one — appro-
priate, perhaps, to a phase of human development during which the passing
generations are sacrified in the process of making easier the lives of future
generations."

It is exceedingly doubtful whether the average of the new settlers ex-
ceded the average of the old residents in the higher qualities of honesty,
respect for neighbors, and general intelligence, though the new population
was moved far more strongly than the old one with the greed for material
possessions.

To resume the story of the territory's development, it may be said that
the idea of Americanization was in the air at an earlier date than is gener-
ally recorded in histories. In 1829 some unpaid soldiers at Monterey un-
dertook, with the aid of a handfull of native Californians, to put the coun-
try into Californian hands, though still professing allegiance to the central
Mexican government. One Solis by name, a convict ranchero, led the re-
volt. It had no general support, and soon collapsed.

Manuel Victoria became governor in 1830, succeeding Echeandia, but
he did not take charge until January, 183 1. Victoria proved arbitrary and
unpopular, and a successful revolt soon ended his career. Two men were
killed in a conflict near Los Angeles, and the fallen governor consented to
return to Mexico.

Governor Jose Figueroa succeeded Victoria, and he was an able and
popular executive, though the Hijar and Padres party put forth a coloniza-
tion scheme that resulted in a quarrel between the governor and Hijar re-
garding policies and authority. In 1835 the colonization plan collapsed;

il HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

it had, however, added about two hundred to the population of the coun-
try. Governor Figueroa died in September, 1835.

Jose Castro's reign followed immediately after Figueroa's death, but
the tenn was brief because the central government in Mexico soon ap-
pointed Mariano Chico as Figueroa's successor, ignoring Castro's claims.
Chico soon showed that he was unfit and unpopular, so the public denounced
him as a tyrant. He was forced to retire in July.

By this time the foreigners and Americans were becoming bitterly
opposed to Mexican rule and were beginning to feel that the country was
theirs. Like all other Anglo Saxons they became aggressive, and in many
cases highly ungrateful for the treatment they had received at the hands of
the better original Californians. In their opposition to Mexico they were
quietly aided by the holy fathers, for these religious devotees had suffered
wrongs at the hands of the Mexicans, who had stripped them of many of
their possessions. The fathers longed for the old Spanish days and really
welcomed a change from their oppressors' hands to the supervision of the
pale strangers. The people at large were ripe for revolt, and the Alvarado
revolution of November, 1836, was the result. By a display of force —
though without one drop of bloodshed — the insurgents got possession of
Monterey and at once banished Gutierrez, the ranking military officer of the
country, to Mexico. The territory was then declared a sovereign state. A
union with Mexico was really Alvarado's ambition as well as the popular idea,
but the task of conciliating the people of Santa Barbara and Los Angeles
required considerable diplomacy, likewise a show of real force. The con-
ciliation was effected, however, at Los Angeles, in January, 1837.

After some delays and parleying with Castillero, a Mexican commis-
sioner sent to pacify the country, and after successfully resisting Carlos
Carrillo, who had been appointed chief executive by Mexico, Alvarado found
himself in almost undisputed command of the country. He worked his
plans so successfully that he was soon confirmed by Mexico as the consti-
tutional governor of the country.

Alvarado ruled quite successfully and peacefully. In 1840 he quar-
reled with the eminent General Vallejo, his former partisan supporter.

During this same year nearly one hundred American citizens, British
subjects and others, were carried to Monterey after a forcible seizure. At

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 45

Monterey they were confined in prison for a brief period, though some were
mysteriously released without a word of explanation. Some were sent to
Santa Barbara under a close guard. Finally a few more were released with-
out explanation. Others were sent to San Bias or other Mexican villages,
but many died under the severe treatment. The last were released more
than fifteen months after their original capture. Some historians have cited
this as an extreme instance of Spanish cruelty. It is believed, however,
that the Mexican course had a reasonable justification, for the character of
some of the men was undoubtedly bad, and their actions were suspicious
with reference to their attitude toward the government. Probably one of
the purposes of Mexican harshness was to frighten foreigners away and
fill the minds of those about to come from the east with disgust and fear.
There is some evidence to sustain the charge that a few of the banished
men had been plotting against the government. One of the expelled men
was Isaac Graham, doubtless a great villain, as were a number of his com-
panions.

Mexico's last serious attempt to govern the new country without much
reference to the people's wishes was by the appointment of Governor Michel-
torena, a general, in 1842. He was a well-meaning executive, but his Mexi-
can recruits were highly unpopular. The people rebelled against his author-
ity in 1844. By 1845 Micheltorena abandoned the fight and Mexico recog-
nized Pio Pico as the lawful ruler of the country. There was some petty
quarreling, with many intrigues, after this, but the Mexican war soon intro-
duced a new factor in the controversy — and with the results of that factor
we shall deal hereafter.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

CHAPTER IV.

Habits and Amusements of the Native Californians of Early Times
— Americans Before the Conquest — Character of the Early
Trappers and Path-Finders — Captain John A. Sutter and His
Achievements — The Coming of Fremont — Ethics of the Con-
quest, and Other Thoughts.

So short a time ago as the year 1846 — short in the life of a state —
California was a far away and neglected Mexican province, a country lit-
tle known to the great world of commerce and adventure. In view of its
marvelous resources and its many forms of wealth — gold mines, forests,
ciimate — it is wonderful that it was so long regarded as worthless. At
the period under consideration — 1846 — the formerly prosperous missions
were all secularized and moribund, some of them in ruins.

The power of the church had waned and the mission Indians were
scattered, except those that had married soldiers, sailors, trappers, and others
of the early visitors to the country. Lucia Norman, a clear writer on this
phase of life, truly says :

'"'Life at the missions was wearisome to those who through all their
lives had been accustomed to roam untrammeled from one portion of the
country to the other; to climb in quest of game the snowy peaks of moun-
tains in summer, and in autumn to descend to the warm sequestered valleys
to pluck the ripened fruits for their winter store: and then, again, to stand
by the rapids of a mountain stream and spear the fish that came leaping
down, or to sit idly by the seashore and draw in their rude nets laden with
finny treasures. This excess of freedom must often have been remembered
with a sigh by these apparently thoughtless creatures, as they filed into the
church at dawn, and listened, without understanding a word, to the mo-
notonous tone of the priest as he said mass, or catechised them like so many
children, and then dismissed them to their breakfast of atole (a sort of gruel
made of corn). After which they toiled in the fields until dinner, at which
they were supplied with pozoli. After partaking of this meal they attended

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 47

mass, and then returned to the gardens or fields until vespers, when they
were again served with aiole, and dismissed early to their little adobe huts,
of each one of which the fathers kept the key.

"So the missions were conducted for a long series of years — the fathers
gradually becoming more and more selfish, and the Indians slowly decreas-
ing in numbers under this foreign rule. * * *

"The missions, meanwhile, were falling to decay. The priests, perceiv-
ing that all of the administrations concurred in desiring their complete re-
moval, grew disheartened and neglected their work, and soon left the coun-
try. In 1845 their final ruin came. Part of the missions were sold at
public auction, and the others were rented. The proceeds of the latter were
divided into three parts. The first paid the salaries of the remaining priests;
the second was given to the converted Indians; and the third was set by as
a Pious Fund for charitable purposes."

Early in the year 1846 the white population of San Francisco proper
was about two hundred, and these were chiefly colonists of an adventurous
spirit. They were from Spain and Mexico. By 1847 there were about two
thousand people in San Francisco and vicinity, including the settlements
around the bay. The city proper had but seven hundred inhabitants. Many
of the people were a peculiar mixture of Spanish and Indian, or Mexican
and Indian. Spanish customs and Spanish words were quite common.

It will be well to understand the peculiarities of the people and the
condition of the country before narrating the events that soon made Cali-
fornia the most famous land of the age.

The natives were a careless and free people, fond of sports, not am-
bitious for worldly goods, and given to indolence. They lived a life of idyl-
lic simplicity, somewhat after the fashion of many southern and island
people. They delighted in gay dress, as do negroes and many native races.
Their hospitality to strangers was remarkable, and when tradesmen were
afterward established among them — men from Boston and the east — it
was discovered that the Californians of that early time were honest, though
slow in settling their accounts. It will seem surprising to many that hides
were still the currency of the country.

It was an event of the age when ships arrived from eastern American
ports with "Yankee notions." The people welcomed the traders and their

4S HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

merchandise, much of which was of a character wholly new to the early set-
tlers of the Far West.

Early visitors say they were impressed that the natives were a proud
and boasting people. Their occasional insurrections years before were full
of swagger and declamation, but quite free from bloodshed and the hor-
rors of war.

The domestic lives of the masses were examples for their visitors.
Careful investigation compels the rejecting of the opinion set forth by Rich-
ard Dana and others to the effect that the women were of loose morals.
The men were inclined to be reckless about gambling,* given to peccadillos,
horse-racing, and like sports — but the women were quite true to the teach-
ings of the holy fathers. Yet the male folks were neither cruel nor ruffianly.
The frontiersmen of the middle west, the "bad man from Bitter Creek"
type were almost unknown to early California. They appeared after the
discovery of gold, and they were dealt with under a system of so-called pop-
ular justice with which this work will deal later. Fandangoes and bull-
fights, bear-baiting and lariating were the chief sins and the principal amuse-
ments of the populace.

In one phase of their character they were very much like the Ha-
waiians and Samoans, They spread feasts before visitors, never hesitat-
ing to give the new arrival the very best they could secure. The killing
of bullocks before the guest, that he might see the character of his meal,
was common. Jerked beef was a favorite dish, and in many parts of the
country the humidity was so slight that such meat soon "cured" itself in
the sunlight, or hanging from the limb of a tree. Beans in various forms
were an almost universal diet — and the Spanish dishes — heavy with cayenne
and other peppers — were popular then, as they are throughout California to-
day.

Church-going on Sundays was the prevailing habit, but after the sim-
ple services the people sought amusement. Guitar playing, singing, danc-
ing the fandango, and like amusements were very much enjoyed. Notice
should be made of the famous riders of the time — and the world has never
surpassed those primitive people in horsemanship.

*Note. — Monte was the favorite game of the people, enjoyed alike by men and women.
They accepted their good fortune without any lively demonstrations of joy, and their
losses did not disturb their composure. — Tuthill.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 49

Tuthill — the most accurate and interesting of all the early historical
writers — says that it was a poor man that owned less than a dozen horses,
but he that owned one saddle was rich. But such a saddle ! It was elabor-
ately carved and artistically made in every detail. In many a tile house
of one-story adobe there hung the proud owner's saddle. The house-wife
cooked tortillas (meal cakes) before an open fire, the smell of onions and
red pepper scented the air, and the vaquero polished his saddle and handled
it as carefully as a miser hoards his wealth.

A great event in those clays was the rodeo, or annual rounding up
and branding of cattle. For this purpose the animals were driven or herded
together in bunches, and branded. Each owner's brand was deposited with
the alcalde, whose judicial and advisory powers were almost absolute within
his field of jurisdiction.

Though the native loved his country and gave it up with deep re-
gret he was really nor progressive nor calculated to stand and fight his bat-
tles in the new time that was fast dawning. He was not mechanical, not
even a good sportsman, because never a good shot, and never much of an
agriculturist. His herds and his horses were his wealth and his delight,
and for more than two decades — between 1827 and 1847 — it is estimated
that Indian thieves stole more than ten thousand horses from the Cali-
fornians. Eands of Indian horse-thieves were the pest of the country.
They ate the flesh of the stolen animals.

AMERICANS BEFORE THE CONQUEST.

Few people remember one incident in the history of California before
the conquest, though it is mentioned briefly in nearly every volume that
treats of the subject. Reference is here made to the flurry caused by Com-
modore Thomas Ap Catesby Jones, who heard while at Callao an unfounded
report that the United States and Mexico had gone to war over the Texas
controversy; so he decided to seize the ports of California before he got
orders from the government. He landed at Monterey with his two ships
— the United States and the Cyane — on October 19, 1842. Meeting no
resistance from the surprised populace he at once hoisted the United States
flag ever the town, and declared California a part of the United States.
He next day received news which convinced him that he had acted precipi-

50 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

tately. He took down the flag, declared the whole proceeding a mistake,
and apologized handsomely to the frightened officials. The mass of the
people were disappointed at his speedy withdrawal, as they were ready to
welcome any government that would better their condition, by permitting
them to develop the resources of their country.

The first American ship to arrive in Monterey harbor, however, was
the Otter, in command of Captain Ebenezer Dorr. She flew the Ameri-
can flag, and Captain Dorr made a favorable impression on the people, for
he was a fine type of the old American commander.

In 1822 the Sachem arrived at Monterey from Boston. It carried away
a considerable quantity of tallow and hides, and thereafter it and other ves-
sels built up a thriving trade with the coast. The rulers soon grew shrewd
enough to impose pretty stiff customs duties on the traders — and it is sus-
pected that these duties never found their way to the home government
in Mexico. The American traders prospered so much that three or four
vessels took out licenses to do a coasting trade between San Francisco and
San Diego. It was customary to display attractive wares in show cases
on shipboard, and these lured the natives to part with their hides and tal-
low for the boots, shoes, calicoes, and like merchandise carried by the traders.
The principal imports from Mexico at that time were food stuffs such as
rice. It was easy to capture the native trade with the famous line of Ameri-
can wares that has led many simple-minded races to part with their wealth.

So far as can be learned, the Boston traders and the earliest of the
American trappers — even from as far back as 1828, when Jedediah Smith
arrived in California half famished from his overland journey — were men
of brains, energy, and more than average character. This exemplifies the
old rule that weaklings seldom leave home.

Many of the settlers that arrived between the years 1826 and 1846
became leaders, some of them prominent in the professions, as well as in
commerce.

Franklin Tuthill says that many of the two thousand Americans liv-
ing in upper California early in 1846 were retired trappers, though they
soon embraced other pursuits in which they succeeded. They had come
from over the mountains into the inviting climate west of the Sierras, had tar-
ried from vessels that stopped at the various harbors, or had drifted from the

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 51

Columbia river region. Trappers retiring from their hardy pursuits had
taken up their residence in valleys that suited their fancy, far away from
points of contact with the Mexican settlers, and in portions of the coun-
try that the missionaries had neglected. Though the friars universally
opposed the settling of strangers in California for more than a hundred
years, adventurers of a bold disposition now and then broke in upon the
isolation of the soldiers, fathers, mission Indians, and others of the remote
population.

One cannot study the remarkable fertility of resources and the rare pow-
ers of endurance of many of the pioneers of the early part of the nineteenth
century — from 1826 to 1846 in particular — without feeling that reverence
that all races have paid to heroes. The annals of those early times abound
in revelations of virtue, courage, skill, and remarkable vitality. Emerson
found inspiration and delight in the story of George Nidevir's contact with
a grizzly, and many a hero of battlefields has contended with less than con-
fronted the plainmen of the virgin west in the early forties. There is a
fascination in the stories of arduous life that come from that far-away era
of western history. Stories of those frontier times charm and hold one as
did the legends and Arabian tales of our youth.

It has been the observation of the later generations that the bold men
that first ventured from the older communities of the east to the regions
beyond the Sierras became rugged and generous. Their experiences made
them broad-minded and resourceful, good-natured and liberal if there were
any such tendencies in their character. The fathers of the early west were
noticeable for their frankness and generosity. Though their manners often
were unconventional, their good motives were seldom questioned. Their
open hospitality was known to all. The rugged path-finders and mountain-
climbers abolished greed, stinginess, and petty quibbling. For many years
their smallest measure of value was five times the sum paid for a loaf of
bread or a glass of beer in the east. The plentifulness of landscape, the
wastes of mountains and plains, and the grandeur of snowy peaks made the
early settlers liberal with their friends, bold in danger, and fearless in the
presence of mortal foes.

Unfortunately for the native Californians, unfortunately, also, for the
good name of our country, all men were not of the generous type here por-

52 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

trayed. There were vagabonds and quarrelsome men among the early set-
tlers, and at times they caused much trouble and delayed the coming of
good-feeling between the natives and the native population, after the con-
quest. To this day many of the descendants of the original Californians
abhor the memory of General John C. Fremont and his men. In this con-
demnation of his conduct they are joined by many of the pioneers, as well
as by some careful historians, notably by Professor Josiah Royce, professor
of philosophy at Harvard, who wrote a short history of the state for the
American Commonwealth series. These circumstances bring us to the con-
sideration of the conquest proper and of the events that immediately pre-
ceded it.

FREMONT AND THE CONQUEST CONSIDERED.

For the storm center that culminated in the conquest of California we
must glance toward the fertile Sacramento Valley, where a sturdy Ameri-
can settlement, starting in 1839, had become quite strong by 1846. Ow-
ing to the aggressive character of some of the settlers, as well as to the
presence of increasing numbers of foreigners, the Californians naturally be-
came suspicious of the colony. This suspicion was confirmed by the knowl-
edge that some of the people of the colony had really plotted for the over-
throw of the rather weak government. It is certain that many of the set-
tlers fretted under the tyrannical and shifting rule of Mexico. As many
had been awarded rich grants of land by the government, however, they
felt bound to support it. Captain John A. Sutter was one of the most re-
markable characters of this era. He was a Swiss, having been born in
1803. He was educated at a military academy at Bern, Switzerland. In
1S34 he settled at St. Louis, Missouri, but soon abandoned that place for
the west. In 1838 he went to Fort Vancouver, then to Honolulu, then
to Sitka, and finally to San Francisco, which he reached in 1839. In 1841
he obtained a large tract of land in the Sacramento Valley. This tract he
named New Helvetia, and cultivated it in wheat, raised cattle and em-
ployed hundreds of Indians and domestic laborers.

In 1844 he joined Governor Micheltorena with more than one hun-
dred men, and aided in opposing a rebellion led by Jose Castro, for many
years a leader of the disaffected. Castro finally triumphed, however, and
he was in power when Fremont and his men appeared on the scene. It

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 53

should be said that Sutter was not on good terms with the Mexican author-
ities after the success of Castro, because he had taken part with the los-
ing forces.

In January, T844, Sutter was visited by Lieutenant Fremont and a
party of army engineers. The party was well-nigh exhausted on its arri-
val at Sutter's Fort, and the hospitality of Sutter was greatly appreciated
and commented on eloquently in Fremont's report, a well written account
of the land, the people, and the hardships of path-finding. As a truth, how-
ever, the country was already well traversed by the trappers, though Fre-
mont's report first made it known to the outside world.

Fremont's best service to the people of the new territory was beyond
question the writing of a report that awakened world interest in California;
his worst service — from the native point of view — was the starting in mo-
tion a policy that led to the overthrow of the government, though the Mexi-
can war would inevitably have led to the same result.

The events that took place after Fremont's arrival are complicated and
in many aspects unfortunate, the mysteries surrounding the situation are
still quite inexplicable, and the entire truth is obscure to this day. The outlines
of the story should be given in such a way, however, as to leave the reader
free to decide the ethical points intelligently.

In spite of the bitter opposition of men like Abraham Lincoln, the
United States made active preparations for the war with Mexico, this as
early as 1845. Even as late as 1848 (when he was a congressman from
Illinois) Lincoln denounced the policy that had waged this war, and in no
unsparing voice he called it unconstitutional and sought to explain that the
unlawful acts of President Polk in declaring the war were not to be charged
to the country at large.

Alas, these prophetic words of Lincoln's have been forgotten in many
phases of history since they were uttered. It is extremely doubtful whether
the career of the mistaken but gallant Fremont can stand analysis in the
light of the Lincoln definition of right. The episodes connected with Fre-
mont's occupation of the territory that is now California have been dis-
cussed often, but it is doubtful whether a more careful analysis than that
of Professor Josiah Royce, of Harvard, has ever been made. Though the
Professor is loth to discuss California in these davs, his time bein°' taken

54 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

up with matters philosophical, his brochure on Fremont stands as a long-
drawn but careful analysis of the question. No writer can afford to over-
look his painstaking interviews with Fremont and his cautious conclusions.
Reduced to brief form his views would be acceptable to most all fair critics,
unless perhaps to such men as Professor W. C. Jones, of Berkeley, who in
his declining years has become a bitter expounder of Fremont and a de-
fender of everything that Fremont did.

In the formative times under consideration Buchanan was secretary
of state, Marcy of war, and Bancroft of the navy. Whatever plans occupied
the attention of the administration were doubtless kept a deep secret, and
years have hardly disturbed the secrecy of those old plans. That the idea
of acquiring California was uppermost in the minds of the country's political
leaders there is little or no doubt, but the outlines of the method have never
been made public.

Somewhere within the nebulous designs of the administration there was
the covetous idea that the California pear was about ripe to be shaken into the
laps of the expectant country, somewhat in the manner that Hawaii was
plucked and coveted by the aid of our minister in 1893. Details were not
fully outlined, but Washington believed that California would be one of
the prizes of the Mexican war — and it was not regarded as a capital prize,
either.

THE BEAR FLAG EPISODE INTERVENES.

Pending definite movements by any of the troops or authorized agents
of the United States a peculiar and rather unique revolution ensued in Cali-
fornia, an event that reminds one somewhat of comic opera — and this was
the famous Bear Flag Revolution, of which many strange accounts have
been written.

The Bear Flag men believed they were the victims of great injustice
at the hands of the government, and they fancied themselves a band of
Spartans. Doctor Semple, afterward editor of the Californian, wrote much
in justification of the revolution, but it is not clear that there was a per-
fect right to do what was done by the bear flag patriots.

When Pio Pico was governor — during the time now under considera-
tion — his commander-in-chief of the military forces was Jose Castro, whose
judgment was rather hot and impulsive. About June 1, 1846, he issued an

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 55

order to Lieutenant Francisco de Arce to remove a number of government
horses from the Mission San Rafael to his headquarters at Santa Clara.
Davis thus describes what then occurred :

"The officer, with a guard of fourteen men, proceeded to execute the
order, and was compelled to cross the Sacramento river at New Helvetia,
now Sacramento, the nearest point at which the horses could swim the
stream. On his way he was seen by an Indian, who reported to the Ameri-
can settlers that two or three hundred armed men were advancing up the
valley. .At this time Captain Fremont, with his exploring- party, was en-
camped at the Buttes, near the confluence of the Feather and Sacramento
rivers, about sixty miles above Sutter's Fort. It was inferred by the set-
tlers that the Californian force was marching north to attack Fremont. The
alarm was immediately spread throughout the valley, and most of the set-
tlers joined Fremont at his camp. There they met William Knight, who
stated that he had seen the party of Californians in charge of the horses,
and that de Arce had told him that Castro had sent for the horses for the
purpose of mounting a battalion of two hundred men to march against the
Americans settled in the Sacramento Valley and to expel them from the
country; that then he proposed to fortify the Bear River pass in the moun-
tains and prevent the further ingress of immigrants from the United States.
After consultation it was resolved that a force should pursue the Californians
and capture the horses, so as to weaken Castro and for the time frustrate
his designs. Twelve men volunteered for the expedition, and Ezekial Merritt,
the eldest of the party, was chosen captain. At daylight on the ioth of June,
1846, they surprised the Californians, who surrendered without resistance, and
the horses were taken. De Arce and his men were permitted to go on with-
out further molestation. The revolutionary movement on the part of the
Americans was then fairly commenced. The party being increased to thir-
ty-three, still under the command of Alerritt, marched to Sonoma, and on
the morning of the 14th of June captured and took possession of that town
and military post. They made prisoners of General M. G. Vallejo, his
brother Salvador, and Victor Prudon, and had them conveyed to Sutter's
Fort at Sacramento for safe-keeping. As nearly as can be ascertained, the
names of the members of the Bear Flag party are :

"From Sacramento Valley — Ezekial Merritt, Robert Semple, Henry L.

56 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

Ford, Samuel Gibson, Granville P. Swift, William Dickey, Henry Booker,
John Potter, William B. Ide, William Fallon, William M. Scott, Henry
Beason, William Anderson, James A. Jones, W. Barti, or 'Old Red,' and
Samuel Neal.

"From Napa Valley — Benjamin Dewell, Harvey Porterfield, John
Grigsby, Frank Grigsby, William B. Elliott, Ab Elliott, William Knight,
David Hudson, Franklin Bedwell, Joseph Wood, William Hargrave, An-
drew Kelsey, Horace Sanders, John H. Kelly, John Gibbs, Thomas Cowie,
and George Fowler.

"A garrison of about eighteen men, under the command of William
B. Ide, was left at Sonoma, and in a few days it was increased to about forty.
On the 18th of June, Ide, with the consent of the garrison, issued a procla-
mation setting forth the objects for which the party had gathered and the
principles that would be adhered to in the event of success. About the
same time the Bear Flag was hoisted by the revolutionists.

"Robert Semple. one of the members of the party, became editor of
the first newspaper published in California. The Californian, the initial
number of which was issued at Monterey on August 15, 1846. In the sec-
ond issue of his paper, on the 22nd, he commenced the publication of a se-
ries of articles on the history of the revolution, and in the issue of February
13, 1847, tne following, in part, appeared : 'On the 14th of June, 1846, a
party of Americans, without a leader, gathered and took possession of the
fortified town of Sonoma, on the north side of the bay of San Francisco,
and made prisoners of three Mexican officers — a general, a lieutenant-
colonel, and captain. On the same day there was a partial organization
under the name of the Republic of California, and agreed to hoist a flag
made of a piece of white cotton cloth with one red stripe on the bottom,
and on the white a grizzly bear, with a single star in front of him. It was
painted, or rather, stained, with lampblack and poke berries. Along the top
were the words, Republic of California.' "

The author of the present work has not seen so comprehensive an ac-
count in so compact a space elsewhere as in the foregoing. It covers the
field fully relative to the Bear Flag episode, but it may be well to give the
following from the great Tuthill, master writer on Californian subjects:
'•Fremont himself, accompanied by Kit Carson. Lieutenant Gillespie, and

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 57

half a score of others, crossed in a launch to the old fort near the presidio,
spiked its ten guns, and returned to Sonoma. There on the 5th of July,
1846, he called the whole force together, and recommended an immediate
declaration of independence. All present united to make such a declaration,
and with the same unanimity entrusted to Fremont the direction of affairs.
Thus the bear party was absorbed into the battalion, whose roll-call showed
one hundred and sixty mounted riflemen."

THE CONQUEST PROPER.

For many years it has been held by some writers that the Bear Flag
Revolution was a logical forerunner of the conquest proper, in the sense
that Fremont's secret orders were legitimate antecedents of all that fol-
lowed, a part of one plan, in fact. It would be a gross blunder to assume
that Commodore Sloat, who raised the American flag over Monterey on
July 7, was acting in concert with Fremont, or that he really knew what
Fremont's actions meant. Lucia Norman properly says :

"Colonel Fremont and Commodore Sloat, being ignorant of the actual
existence cf war between Mexico and the United States, and having acted
without direct instructions from Washington, were each inclined, should
any blame be attached to them, to throw the responsibility upon the other.
Colonel Fremont claimed to have acted in self-defense; Commodore Sloat,
from false ideas of Fremont's position, and also to guard the Californians
from the English, who had placed a squadron upon the coast to seize any
opportunity that might offer of adding the country to the possessions of the
crown."

There has undoubtedly been much falsehood concerning the purposes
of Admiral Seymour, referred to by Miss Norman. The presence of the
British admiral in Pacific waters, with the Collingwood, has been miscon-
strued, if we may believe the correctness of recent developments. The ad-
miral was not on the coast with aggressive intentions, nor was he dis-
patched to look for an opportunity to seize anything. And there is strong
evidence that Sloat and Fremont were working at cross purposes, neither
knowing anything of the other's instructions and plans.

The following conclusions seem to be based on sufficient evidence :
Fremont's primary conduct was unofficial, and until later developments in

5S HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

the course of the Mexican quarrel the California revolution had no color of
sanction from the central government. From the outset the navy was with-
out definite or even vague instructions to co-operate with Fremont. It has
long been held that Fremont received secret instructions from the govern-
ment authorizing him to do all that was done toward reducing the natives
to subjugation. The story runs to the effect that on the shores of the greater
Klamath Lake, in Oregon, Fremont was handed dispatches by Lieutenant
Gillespie, who had crossed the continent to convey a message that would
authorize the aggressiveness that followed. It is now known that the lieu-
tenant did bring messages and that, acting under instructions, he had com-
mitted them to memory — but it is also known — thanks to the indefatigable
energy ot Royce! — that the messages did not warrant what occurred. Gil-
lespie merely made Fremont acquainted with the contents of a message to
United States Consul Larkin, and there was never a message to Fremont
that authorized him to become a conqueror.

Royce and others conclude that the policy of the United States through-
out the conquest was tricky, infinitely petty and far beneath the dignity of a
great nation. Royce submitted all the evidence to Fremont himself in his
latter years, and after a thorough examination and refreshing of his mem-
ory the general was not able to extricate himself from the unpleasant po-
sition of having been a false hero this far — his acts were accidental and un-
authorized, and he and his men did the natives a grave injustice.

To recur to the revolution proper it may be stated briefly that, after
raising the American flag and issuing a proclamation on July 7, Commodore
Sloat almost immediately resigned his command at Monterey to Commo-
dore Robert F. Stockton, who had gone to Monterey on the frigate Con-
gress. Robert Ritchie thus summarizes for this work the main events of the
conquest from that time forward :

"To Stockton Fremont reported with his riflemen and ex-Independents
and by Stockton was created major of the band, which was known as the
California Battalion. Stockton abandoned the project entertained by Sloat
of making terms with Pico and Castro and determined to compel their sur-
render by force of arms. He therefore dispatched Fremont by sea to San
Diego, following himself with the Congress, which put into San Pedro
harbor.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 59

"Stockton treated contemptuously a message from Castro, praying for
terms, and with Ins force of marines and six small guns pushed on to conflict
with the Californians. But Castro and Pico fled without awaiting an at-
tack, and Stockton, after having joined forces with Fremont, entered Los
Angeles on August 13 and ran up the flag. All opposition to American
rule seemingly at an end, Stockton now created Fremont provisional gov-
ernor of California. Lieutenant Gillespie was left in command of Los
Angeles with a garrison of only forty men, a nominal garrison was sta-
tioned at Santa Barbara and Stockton and Fremont took their departure for
the north.

"Scarcely had the tiny army of occupation been withdrawn when Lieu-
tenant J. M. Flores of the native Californian forces broke his parole, organ-
ized a considerable body of malcontents and on September 23 attacked Los
Angeles and forced the capitulation of Gillespie. Santa Barbara was like-
wise quickly recaptured and the whole south was aflame with rebellion.

"A messenger, spurring his jaded steeds all the way from Los Angeles
to San Francisco without a day's rest, brought the news of the uprising to
Commodore Stockton. Opposed to the pitiful handful of men left to garri-
son the southern cities were from 1200 to 1400 armed and mounted Cali-
fornians, who were now complete masters of the country which had seemed
to be so easily subdued. Stockton and Fremont were a thousand miles away.
With their number of less than a thousand men and with no means of ob-
taining reinforcements from the east the new Territory of California seemed
lost to the Union.

"Lost it would have been had not Stockton and Fremont acted with
great promptness and daring. Stockton immediately dispatched Captain
Mervine with the frigate Savannah to stem the tide until he could appear on
the scene with fresh troops. Fremont was sent to Santa Barbara with 160
hastily enlisted troops, while Stockton himself set out for San Pedro. Fre-
mont failed to reach Santa Barbara when expected, but put in to Monterey
for more men. After a trying march over the Santa Inez Mountains in the
midst of winter, Fremont, with 50 men, again took possession of Santa
Barbara and pursued his march south.

"Stockton, meanwhile, had proceeded to San Diego, built a temporary
fort and was anxiously awaiting relief from Fremont. Help from an unex-

60 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

pected quarter came to him in the person of General Stephen \Y. Kearney,
who, having completed the subjugation of New Mexico, had pushed on to
California with a small force to assist in its conquest. Learning of the
state of affairs, Kearney had sent word to Stockton in San Diego, that he
wished to effect a junction with him. Meeting Gillespie and a small force
which Stockton had sent out to him, Kearney engaged the Californians at
San Pasqual, near San Diego, with disastrous results and had to be rescued
from his perilous position by a second relief force from Stockton.

"With their combined forces of about 500 men, Stockton and Kearney
set out for Los Angeles. But near San Gabriel on January 8, 1847, tnev
engaged in the final and most serious battle of the war in California. The
enemy with 600 mounted men and four field pieces attacked the American
force with all the despairing energy of a dying cause. Again and again the
beautifully mounted and utterly fearless vaqueros charged the American
squares, only to be mowed down by the steady, galling fire of the trained
marksmen. At last the Californians broke and fled. In their rapid retreat
northward they met the tardy Fremont, coming down from Monterey with
reinforcements, and to him surrendered on January 14. With the signing
of the articles of capitulation at the Rancho de Cahuenga there was closed the
only real war which has ever reddened California soil.

"The anomaly of two governors sitting in authority lasted until Colonel
Richard B. Mason arrived to supplant Kearney as head of affairs. The two
rival governors went east. Fremont was court martialed for mutiny and
disobedience and recommended for dismissal from the service. President
Polk sanctioned the sentence, but ordered the penalty of dismissal to be
remitted. Fremont, with his native high spirits, refused the indulgence of
the president and resigned his position as lieutenant colonel in the army."

The events of the conquest have been set forth in succinct order in a
paper by Honorable Winfield Davis, heretofore quoted. He thus sum-
marizes the genesis of government in California for the period immediately
following the conquest :

Commodore John D. Sloat hoisted the American flag at Monterey July
7, 1846, and by proclamation took formal possession of California in the
name of the United States government. Died on Staten Island, New York,
November 28, 1867.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 61

Commodore Robert F. Stockton, by proclamation dated at Los Angeles,
August 17, 1846. Died at Princeton, New Jersey, October 7, 1866.

Captain John C. Fremont, appointed by Commodore Stockton, January
16, 1847. Died at New York City, July 13, 1S90.

General Stephen W. Kearney, by proclamation dated at Monterey, March
1, 1847. Died at St. Louis, Missouri, October 31, 1848.

Colonel Richard B. Mason, by proclamation dated at Monterey, May 31,
1847. Died at St. Louis, Missouri, July 25, 1850.

General Bennet Riley became military governor April 13, 1849, and
served until the organization of the state government in December, 1849.
Died at Buffalo, New York, June 9, 1853.

News of peace between the United States and Mexico reached Califor-
nia August 7, 1848. A considerable population had been attracted to the
country by the discovery of gold at Coloma in January of that year, and
the laws of Mexico were found unsuited to the new conditions. The subject
of forming a civil provisional territorial government had been agitated from
the first of the year, but it did not assume an organized form until in De-
cember. On the nth of that month a large meeting was held at San Jose,
at which were adopted resolutions in favor of holding a convention to form
a provisional territorial government to be put into immediate operation, and
to remain in force until Congress should supersede it by a regular territorial
organization. The action of the meeting met with the approval of the people
of the northern and middle portions of the country. On December 21st and
22d, two public meetings were held at San Francisco, and resolutions were
passed concurring in the plan of action suggested by the people of San Jose.
Similar resolutions were adopted at meetings held at Sacramento on January
6th and 8th, 1849, at Monterey on the 31st, and at Sonoma on February 5th.
These five districts elected delegates to the proposed convention — the district
of Sacramento 5, Sonoma 10, San Francisco 5, San Jose 3, and Monterey 5.
But the five other districts — San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara,
Los Angeles, and San Diego — failed to concur in the movement. The San
Jose meeting recommended that the convention should assemble at that place
on the second Monday of January, 1849. The San Francisco meeting, be-
lieving that date too early to allow communication with the remote districts,
recommended that it should meet on March 5th, and that was concurred in

62 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

by the districts of Sonoma and Sacramento, and tacitly by San Jose. The
district of Monterey constituted its elected delegates a committee to confer
with those from the other districts to obtain a still further extension of the
time of holding the convention. The Corresponding Committee, appointed in
San Francisco, endeavored to spread intelligence of the action of the various
meetings, but the inclemency of the weather and the impassable condition
of the roads and streams had. up to January 24th, prevented all communica-
tion with the five districts that were unrepresented. On the last named date
the committee issued a recommendation '"'that the time for the proposed as-
sembling of the Provisional Government Convention be changed to May I,
1849." Twelve of the delegates that had been elected to the proposed con-
vention met at San Francisco early in March, 1849, ar >d issued an address
to the people, in which it was recommended that a new election be held for
delegates to meet in convention at Monterey on the first Monday in August,
and that the delegates "should be vested with full power to frame a state con-
stitution to be submitted to the people of California." To provide for their
immediate wants the citizens of Sonoma, San Francisco, and Sacramento
districts elected, early in 1849, district legislative assemblies. In June the
San Francisco assembly issued an address recommending the election of at
least twelve delegates from that district to attend a convention at San Jose
on the third Monday in August for the purpose of organizing a government
for the whole territory of California, such conditional or temporary State
government to be put into operation at the earliest practicable moment after
its ratiiication by the people, and to become a permanent State government
when admitted into the Union. Simultaneously with this action of the as-
sembly, though without any knowledge of it. General Riley issued at Mon-
terey a proclamation for the election of delegates to a constitutional conven-
tion.

Professor Royce holds that with July 7, the conquest was largely begun ;
that Sloat hesitated at Monterey when he heard of the confusion produced
by Fremont and the Bear Flag movement in the north, for the gallant old
admiral had expected to find a peaceful territory, whose people were eager
to become American citizens. Royce says : "Sloat seems to have been un-
willing to commit his government to the direct support of what naturally
appeared to be an irregular insurrection." Neither Sloat nor Consul Larkin

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 63

understood Fremont's instructions, and the mystery of his bold conduct per-
plexed them, as they had received no orders to do anything in violence.
After Sloat had raised the flag at Monterey he tried to ascertain from Fre-
mont the exact nature of the authority under which the latter had acted,
and the commodore was disappointed when Captain Fremont refused to
confide in the naval authorities or to explain why he acted as he did. Sloat
thought there should have been definite orders to warrant what Fremont
did in the Bear Flag revolt. History shows that there were no such instruc-
tions.

Note. — Some readers will desire a few more facts concerning the al-
leged unauthorized actions of Fremont, as charged by Professor Royce and
others. Careful students are referred to Royce's excellent history of the
state, which covers the period from 1846 to 1856, but an outline of his views
may be abridged here :

Royce holds that the evidence is definite that Fremont disobeyed his
orders and acted hastily and arbitrarily, also that Sloat desired a peaceful
revolution and even promised Pico that he would try to quiet the troubles in
the north; so, under the circumstances, Fremont was to the commodore a
disturbing force that it was difficult, even impossible, to control. Our au-
thor says : "Thus here, as through all the subsequent months. Captain
Fremont's conduct in the north remained effective as a serious hindrance in
the way of the true conquest of California. It delayed the raising of the
flag at Monterey a full week after Sloat's arrival, by making him uncertain
how to apply his instructions to the anomalous conditions: and when Sloat
had begun to act" the conduct of Fremont and his men in the Bear Flag epi-
sode was a great obstacle in the path of peaceful settlement. Sloat and
Consul Larkin realized that much had been lost by the ill-advised Sonoma
episode. Says Royce: "For Larkin. the man who, of all Americans con-
cerned with California during this crisis, best did his duty: the one official
whose credit, both private and public, is unstained by the whole affair; and
who personally, if dessert be considered, and not mere popularity, is even-
way by far the foremost among the men who won for us California, —
Larkin had not been idle, not before Gillespie came, and much less after-
ward. He had obeyed all orders. * * * As an intriguer, he was dis-
tinctly successful, and no drop of blood need have been shed in the conquest

64 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

of California, no flavor of the bitterness of mutual hate need have entered,
at least for that moment, into the lives of the two peoples who were now
jointly to occupy the land, had Larkin been left to complete his task. And
although Sloat's coming would have found the work still incomplete, it
would, without Captain Fremont's mischievous doings, have been well,
enough advanced to insure with almost perfect certainty the peaceful change
of flags."

It is then shown that two months before the Bear Flag absurdities
Larkin had so far developed his plans as to have the direct assurance of
Castro that he would aid the Americans in a plan to declare the country inde-
pendent of Mexico "in 1847 to 1848-" This information is in Larkin's let-
ters to Buchanan, and may be found in the archives of the Department of
State.

It is therefore concluded that Fremont had no just cause for his quarrel
with Castro ; that he could have had no trustworthy information of dangers
that threatened the settlers from Castro or the native Californians, for there
were no dangers; that Fremont had no secret message from Lieutenant Gil-
lespie authorizing his acts of violence — and that his operations were purely
aggressive, "and there will never again be a chance of making it appear
otherwise."

Royce. through the courtesy of Hubert Howe Bancroft, had access to
the original of the Gillespie dispatch, and, after calmly surveying every phase
of the question and reading the proof-sheets of his forthcoming history to
General Fremont, the Professor says : "Here, then, to sum it . all up, is our
country's honor involved in a violation of the laws of nations, under circum-
stances of peculiar atrocity : a war brought among a peaceful, and, in part,
cordially friendly people; anarchy and irregular hostilities threatened and
begun without any provocation, and with consequences that were bad
enough, as it happened, and that would have been far worse had not regular
warfare just then, by a happy accident, announced its robust and soon irre-
sistible presence. The irregular deeds are the immediate work of a gallant,
energetic, and able young officer, who thenceforth gets general credit as a
faithful secret agent of his government, and heroic defender of his country-
men, as well as savior to us of the territory of California. His reputation
gained in this affair nearly makes him president in 1856. The warfare in

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 65

question is also thenceforth publicly justified by unfounded reports of Cali-
fornian hostility. All this is authorized, as the story goes, by a government
that thus orders sixty men to distress a vast and ill-organized land, without
providing any support whereby the work of their rifles can be promptly util-
ized to found any new and stable government in place of the one that they
are commanded cruelly to harass, without warning to assault, and thus un-
lawfully to overthrow."

Royce concludes that Fremont's explanation, made to Royce himself,
"cuts off all hope that he has yet some entirely new and official revelation to
make that would plainly put the responsibility for his action elsewhere than
on his own shoulders or than on his father-in-law's." In spite of all, how-
ever, Fremont is considered by Royce as a mistaken hero, because his fame
came by either a wilful disobedience of orders, or a stupid misunderstanding
of his duties under the circumstances.

66 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

CHAPTER V.

THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD.

Wonderful Results of James Marshall's Accidental Discovery at
Sutter's Mill on January 24, 1848— How Towns and Farms 0?
California Were Depopulated — Great Influx of Pioneers from
all Parts of the World — The Transformation of a Wilderness
into an Empire was the Romance of the Nineteenth Century.

So long as men shall covet wealth under an industrial system that makes
money the key to power, the history of the accidental discovery of gold in
far-away California will appeal to mankind with the weird and luring fresh-
ness of romance: and the story of the finding of the first tiny particles by the
discoverer of 1848, the history of the ingots first smelted, and of the "dust"
first used — the fact that men actually feared that the precious metal would
become as common as iron — all this must ever remain the great romance of
the nineteenth century. It was the romance that made an empire of a wil-
derness, turned the heads of sturdy men of all nations, and worked won-
ders with humble families, lifting the lowly to lordly power, and placing the
cap of Furtunatus on the heads of many lucky pioneers.

The marvel of this entrancing and never tiresome story lies partly in
the fact that so many generations had passed before anybody learned that
what must often have been seen and handled was in fact the gold of which
all nations have dreamt since the dawn of civilization: that it remained for
a humble millwright to discover, quite by accident, in the glittering gravel of
a tailrace, that which had lain hidden through the ages of Spanish explora-
tion, and which was destined from that moment to revolutionize the history
of men and countries.

And more marvelous yet does it all seem when it is remembered that all
Spanish annals contained accounts of fabulous mines, supposed to abound
in the west. Had any one looked for it seriously almost any day from the
times of Cabrillo and Drake to the days of Sutter and Marshall gold must

Photo by Taber

OLD PLACER MINES, AMERICAN RIVER, FOLSOM, CAL.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 67

have been discovered somewhere in the hills where it lay hid and expectant
for the eye of man to behold it.

For many years it was supposed that gold was discovered by James W.
Marshall on January 19, 1848, and the date is so named in so reliable a his-
tory as that of Tuthill, published in 1865. The fact has since been estab-
lished, however, that the date was January 24, 1848. The settling of the
date belongs to the Pioneer Society of California, and the proper date is
celebrated each year by the society and others interested in commemorating
historical events of importance. The main outlines of the discovery may
be summarized briefly:

James W. Marshall, who discovered the first gold, was a native of New
Jersey, a good millwright, and an industrious and honest man. He was
generous, but his companions regarded him as a man of rather visionary
notions, without much balance or business acumen. His career showed that
he failed to profit by his discovery.

Marshall was selected by Captain Sutter to find a site for a sawmill, and
to superintend the work of building it. The location of the mill was in
the small valley of Coloma, forty-five miles from Sutter's Fort, from which
it was reached without trouble by wagon.

Early in January, 1848, this sawmill was almost completed. In the
language of Marshall, "the water had been turned into the race to carry
away some of the loose dirt and gravel, and then had been turned off again."
On the afternoon of Monday. January 24, Marshall was walking in the tail-
race, when on the rotten granite bed-rock he saw some yellow particles and
picked up several of them, the largest about the size of grains of wheat. He
told men at the mill, according to Hittell's version, that he had found a
gold mine, but his story was ridiculed. He hammered his new found metal,
and it was malleable. He compared it with a gold coin, and was con-
vinced that he had really discovered gold. Sutter tested the substance with
acids, after which the world soon knew the facts — the world of the west
in a few months, the wide world within a year.

The Pioneer, a newspaper published in San Jose more than a generation
ago, has a different version of the original discovery, and it is said to have
basis in truth. According to that version Marshall tried hard to keep the
discovery a secret, except from his employer. The account states that Sut-

68 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

ter and Marshall at once agreed to keep their secret, but they made the mis-
take of searching for more gold, this within view of many other working-
men. As the enthusiastic prospectors searched carefully together and gloated
over new evidences of their treasure, finding many rich deposits, their eager
gestures and looks betrayed their secret to a close-observing Mormon shoveler.
He followed them cautiously, and soon guessed, then knew the truth. Hav-
ing less reason than the original discoverer to keep his own counsel he at
once told his fellows, and in a day or two the neighborhood knew what had
happened. Soon the immediate vicinity was transformed into an eager band
of gold hunters.

A number of Mormon immigrants were nearing California by the South-
ern Pass through the Rocky Mountains, and they hastened to the spot of
Marshall's discovery. Within a week the immediate neighborhood swarmed
with diggers, and the excitement was intense. Within ten days more than
a thousand people were busy with spades, shovels, picks, wooden bowls, and
all manner of utensils that helped in the work of making the earth yield her
secrets. The news spread fast all over California, and the excitement grew
as the news got farther from home. Families were deserted by their male
members. Masters and servants abandoned workshop and field, husbands
and lovers went forth to dig ingots while wives and sweethearts dreamt of
nuggets and castles. Sutter's Mill was the watchword, gold the ambition
of all.

Yerba Buena and San Jose were then the chief towns of the territory,
and they were abandoned by all save a few. The ships in San Francisco
Bay were deserted by their crews, newspapers were suspended, and no enter-
prise of any importance was undertaken during the first flush of excitement
following the news of the discovery. Honorable S. O. Houghton passed
through San Jose in the fall of 1848, and he describes the town as desolate.
Grain and other crops lay unharvested save as cattle and horses ate it in the
fields, business was abandoned, and there were none to do the work of life
except women, children, and a few old men and cripples.

The first printed account of the remarkable discovery appeared in the
Calif oniiau of March 15, 1848 — an item to the effect that gold to the value
of $30 had been received in San Francisco. In all the years that have passed
since that date there has never been so significant a news item in any San

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 69

Francisco newspaper. Before the middle of June the entire country was
awakened by the cry of "Gold! gold!" By September, 1849, the reports of
fabulous amounts of gold in California had reached the Atlantic states, and
long before that time some of the Californians had begun to fear that the new
metal was to be as common as iron in Pennsylvania. There was no mint,
however, until J. S. Ormsby & Company established a private one in Sacra-
mento, late in the summer of 1849. Doctor Light, a dentist, was put in charge
at a salary of $50 a day. This mint coined five and ten dollar pieces, and they
bore the stamp of the mint. Miners and others were charged a royalty of $4
for each $20 coined.

We have it on good authority that San Francisco's population in the
spring of 1847 was about seven hundred, and in March, 1848, it had grown
to more than eight hundred. Two wharves were under construction, a pub-
lic school was doing good work, and various other enterprises were under
way. The atmosphere was that of a prosperous little American village.
Real estate sales were going forward under O'Farrell's survey. It is in-
teresting to know that lots north of Market street were selling for sixteen
dollars, and those south of that street were bringing twenty-nine. The
city embraced very little territory except Telegraph and Rincon hills.

Tuthill says that with the first news of gold San Francisco's streets
were deserted, its business was stopped, its infant commerce paralyzed. If
a pestilence had swept the Peninsula depopulation could scarcely have gone
on faster. Everywhere, and from other little villages, the people were fly-
ing eastward and northward to the rich foothills of the Sierra Nevada. It
is not surprising, therefore, that the Califomicm issued an extra in which
it apologized for the non-appearance of its regular number. "The whole
community," said the editor in his farewell, "resounds to the sordid cry of
'Gold!'"

In 1849 from 25,000 to 50,000 immigrants from the east and Europe
arrived overland or by sea. Charles Lummis, editor of Out West, estimates
the number at 47.000. The yield of gold during 1848 was about $5,000,-
000. but it reached $23,000,000 during 1849, $65,000,000 during 1853 and
to-day it is about $12,000,000 a year.

The transformations wrought by the great discovery in the lives and
fortunes of men from all parts of the globe were not greater than those

70 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

worked upon the small communities of the territory, upon the people them-
selves, and upon the great metropolis destined to grow where San Francisco
now stands.

The pitfalls of mining camps, the evils of suddenly acquired wealth,
the abandoning of the ordinary restraints and manners of men, these, and
the coming of gamblers and desperate characters, were some of the evils to
be met and dealt with. California was from that time "to be morally and
socially tried as no other community ever has been tried, and that trial was
to show both the true nobility and the true weaknesses of our national char-
acter."

But, on the whole, the real problems came rather slowly, considering
the magnitude of the discovery at Sutter's Mill. There were few miners
in the country, however, and not until Consul Larkin's report to Buchanan
and Colonel Mason's letter on mineral conditions — based on his investiga-
tions during June and July, 1848 — was there much confidence or much
excitement throughout the east. The awakening came with the records
of the revelation, and the character of the state to-day was formed very
largely by those that came during the yesterday, the golden yesterdays of '49.
On June 17 Governor Mason left Monterey to visit Caloma and oth-
er points on the American river for the purpose of verifying the reports
of gold discoveries, and by the time he had finished his researches he sent
a glowing account to the war department. In this he stated that the hills
had gold for the gathering. He said: "I have no hesitation in saying that
there is more gold in the country drained by the Sacramento and San
Joaquin rivers than will pay the costs of the late Mexican war a hundred
times over. * * * No capital is required to obtain the gold, as the
laboring man needs nothing but his pick and shovel and tin pan with which
to dig and wash the gravel, and many frequently pick gold out of the crev-
ices of rocks with their butcher knives, in pieces of from one to six ounces."
It is not strange that those who had opposed Polk's Mexican war policy
ridiculed the entire story as fictitious, yet the report was actually true. The
governor's report recited the well known facts about the desertion of towns
and ships, the rotting of the crops, the fabulous prices of flour and pro-
visions, the high wages of laborers, and all that goes with mining camp
days. In one place the sun shone warmly upon two hundred miners work-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 71

ing for gold — some using tin pans, some Indian baskets, and some rude
cradles. The people at work in another place were digging out from one
to three ounces a day. One man had made ten thousand dollars net in less
than a week. Men were abandoning wages of fifty dollars a day because
they could do better elsewhere by mining on their own responsibility.
Three miles above Sutter's the governor met a Mr. Sinclair, who employed
fifty Indians for five weeks and showed net proceeds worth sixteen thousand
dollars. About four thousand men — half of them Indians — were then work-
ing in the gold belt. Crime was then almost unknown. Men lived in open
tents with thousands of dollars worth of dust in their possession, yet they
were not molested. Robberies and murders were reserved for a later and
more civilized phase of existence.

It is not at all wonderful that such a report, presented to congress as
a part of the report of the secretary of war, stirred the country like an alarm
cry, and it is not wonderful that thousands got the "gold fever" and worked
themselves up to the belief that the precious metal existed not only in the
crevices but that it grew on the bushes. The grand rush to California be-
gan in earnest as soon as this news was published to the country.*

In 1842 Professor Dana, the eminent geologist, saw gold rocks and
veins of quartz near the Umpqua river, in Oregon, and he found pebbles
of similar character on the Sacramento river, but his discoveries were for
the most part inconsequential and were put to academic rather than to prac-
tical uses. None of his announcements in any way hastened the real dis-
covery of gold.

Within a month after Marshall's discovery, however, and before the
news of it had become general, an armistice was agreed upon between Mex-
ico and the United States, and a treaty of peace was ratified by both na-
tions by May. The news of this convention was celebrated enthusiastically
in California by illuminations, cannonading and gay processions.

*Note. — Though gold was discovered by Marshall, as stated, and though his discovery-
marked the real importance of mining, the reader should not imagine that gold and silver
were unknown at a far earlier period of history. Tuthill satisfied himself that gold was
discovered on the San Francisquito Canon, forty-five miles northward from Los Angeles,
in 183S. The mine was worked for ten years and it yielded an average of six thousand
dollars a year. He reports that silver was discovered in Alizal. Monterey county, in 1802,
and gold was found in San Isidro, San Diego county, in 1828. Hakluyt's account of Drake's
visit — 1579 — tells of large quantities of gold and silver, but the probability is that the stories
of that time were large exaggerated, though there may have been a basis for the assertion.

72 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

Within a few months after the ratification of the treaty the entire east
was aflame with the news, and enthusiasm for gold-hunting seized the peo-
ple like a fever of the blood. The call to round the Horn or cross the plains
was heard and responded to by all sorts and conditions of men, and even
conservative people sacrificed their homes, their business, or their posts of
duty to brave the unknown perils and fortunes of the great and compara-
tively unknown west. The desire to begin life anew permeated the breasts
of the most phlegmatic, and a few weeks filled the dusty roads of the mid-
dle west with hopeful thousands, who trudged their way toward the land
of the setting sun. It was usual to travel in companies, particularly when
overland parties were making the long journey.

Not only did the eager gold-seekers start by land, but all sorts of
craft — river steamers, old whaling vessels, and unseaworthy hulks, were
pressed into service for the voyage by sea. Thousands braved the perils of
the Isthmus of Panama, and thousands died of Chagres fever or from the
countless hardships of the undertaking. Those who reached San Francisco
hurried on to the mines, if they had money and grit, or found high wages
and prompt pay if they feared or were unable to venture farther. Twenty
and thirty dollars a day was common pay for ordinary work. Houses were
brought around the Horn in parts, and some of the residences in the Santa
Clara Valley, in San Francisco, and elsewhere are pointed to with pride
to-day as having made the tour around Cape Horn. The growth of San
Francisco was so fast that it was known as the "City of Magic."

The autumn of 1849 and the spring of 1850 was the free-and-easy era
of California history, the time when men in tents and rude cabins threw
off the "knapsack of custom" and rollicked in perfect abandon. Gambling
and other vices throve — and it was the conditions that grew up in these
times that made great problems for society to solve later.

Under these strange, new circumstances soon grew from a small vil-
lage a great city of industry. Tents and temporary houses sprang up like
mushrooms, and eager multitudes continued to rush in through the Golden
Gate or overland. Fortunes were literally made and lost in such periods as
a month, week, even in a day. Nuggets of varying sizes continued to be
found in large numbers for several years, but the severe search soon plucked
the richest bearings, and then the quartz mills began to thrive, as in later

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 73

years. Men settled down to the quieter callings of life, and the hot youth
of the great rush was spent.

One of the pathetic phases of the grand discovery is that neither Mar-
shall nor Sutter reaped any benefits from the revelation they made to the
world. Good-hearted, somewhat visionary and deficient men, they came
to want in their declining years. Lucia Norman thus portrays their fate:

"Strange to say, neither Marshall nor Sutter reaped any of the benefit
of the discovery of gold. Marshall was of a thriftless, unsettled, and some-
what dissipated disposition. Most of his life, after the discovery, he spent
in prospecting for new deposits of the precious metal. At the present writ-
ing (May, 1883), he is still engaged in that occupation, residing, in com-
parative poverty, in a rude cabin at Kelsey, a place six miles from Placer-
ville, El Dorado county.

"The discovery of gold ruined Sutter. It caused a stampede among his
employes, who fled into the mountains in search of gold, took his horses,
and left his crops to rot for want of harvesters, and his cattle to the mercy
of thieves. Sutter also caught the gold fever. He set those Indians that
remained with him — about two hundred — to dig for gold in the American
river, but the enterprise was not successful. It cost more to supply imple-
ments and provisions than the value of the gold he obtained. Gold-hunters
were generously fed by him by the thousands, as they pushed on to the
mines. His hospitality was, nevertheless, frightfully abused. He was rob-
bed again and again. It is said that in 1849-50, $60,000 worth of stock
was stolen from him by one party. The timber and grass on his lands were
cut and carried off without compensation to him. He was deprived of his
land by claimants who seized it 'under new laws and new circumstances,'
and he was never able to recover it through the courts. In 185 1 he ran
for governor on the Whig ticket, but was defeated, and he then retired in
comparative poverty to his Hock farm, a small and undisputed possession
on the west bank of the Feather river, with the empty title of a General of
Militia to comfort him. Afterward Sutter became a pensioner on the state,
receiving as such $250 a month, in recognition of his services and his sac-
rifices. But in 1868 the pension was stopped, and Sutter repaired to Wash-
ington to push his claims for compensation for the loss of his property be-
fore Congress. For twelve years he continued in the role of an unsuccess-

74 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

ful petitioner, and, overwhelmed by disappointment, died in poverty in June,
1S80."

Marshall's death, soon after the time spoken of by the writer, left lit-
tle but regret for his friends. Though his bronze monument will long
grace the parks and museums it is rather pitiful that his last years were
years of want and years of black memories.

In the bustling throngs that came west were many thousands whose
sole purpose was to make hostages with fortune, as Bacon says, and return
home. Throughout the east to-day one will find many old men who were
birds of a single season. The many thousands that remained — some be-
cause too poor to leave, others because too prosperous and content — were
the ones that had placed upon their shoulders the problem of founding a
state, and it was not long until they began to carve a government from the
rude surroundings and the mixed population. It is superfluous to say that
they brought the prejudices of northern and southern men, the passions and
prejudices of the time. In the building of the state the Democrats got well
under control by 1851, and remained in power until the war. In Benton's
speeches in the United States senate one gets an idea of the strange con-
ceptions of statesmen, for the immortal Benton went to great pains to
show that the gold mines would prove worthless, but he went to equal pains
to prove that if the territory of California should become a state it would
not disrupt the Union.

The first official act looking to the establishment of a state government
for California was the issuance of a proclamation on June 3, 1849, by
Brigadier-General Bennet Riley, U. S. A., the then military governor of the
territory, "recommending the formation of a state constitution or a plan
for a territorial government." The convention was made to consist of thir-
ty-seven delegates, to be chosen as follows: District of San Diego, two
delegates; of Los Angeles, four; of Santa Barbara, two; of San Luis Obis-
po, two; of Monterey, five; of San Jose, five; of San Francisco, five; of
Sonoma, four; of Sacramento, four: and of San Joaquin, four.

The election for delegates was held on August 1, 1849. The con "
vention met in Col ton Hall, in the town of Monterey, at 12 o'clock m. on
Saturdav, September 1, 1849, and adjourned on Saturday, October 13,
1S49. The convention admitted to seats quite a number of delegates in ex-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 75

cess of those contemplated in the proclamation of General Riley. On organ-
ization the following were chosen officers of the body: President, Robert
Semple; Secretary, William G. Marcy; Assistant Secretaries, Caleb Lyon
and J. G. Field; Reporter, J. Ross Browne; Sergeant-at-Arms, J. S. Hous-
ton; Doorkeeper, Cornelius Sullivan; Interpreter and Translator, W. E. P.
Hartnell; Clerk to Interpreter and Translator, W. H. Henrie. The Con-
stitution framed by the convention was adopted by the people at an elec-
tion held November 13, 1849.

Soon after the adoption of the sovereign law of the land the people of
San Francisco and other parts of the state — but of San Francisco in par-
ticular — were confronted with problems of disorder and anarchy that led
to the forming of the famous vigilance committees that have made the
country famous ever since the era when they administered a rude form of
popular justice. With those stirring events the following pages will deal.

76 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

CHAPTER VI.

THE REIGN OF DISORDER.

Antecedents of the Vigilance Committees of 185 i and 1856 — How
an Organization Known as the Hounds Caused the Organized
Forces of Society to Deal Summary Justice in Pioneer Days —
The Killing of James King "of William" — Preliminary Study
of Facts That Led to the Dealing out of So-Called Popular
Justice.

Much falsehood has gone abroad regarding the social life of California
— particularly of San Francisco — during the first decade after the discov-
ery of gold. It is known to all who have studied the question, even super-
ficially, that lynch law now and then ruled mining camps, often with a reck-
less hand; that mobs dealt from suddenly improvised courts quick and sum-
mary judgments on the misdeeds and alleged misdeeds of men, but it is
not known that the provocation was in some instances so great as to move
the most conservative citizens to indorse the irregular proceedings of those
perilous times.

That San Francisco startled the world with its vigilance committees
of 185 1 and 1856, also by its dealings with the ruffians of 1849, is like-
wise commonly known to the world. But the admitted facts have now and
then been so grossly misrepresented as to put the early builders of the city
and the state in the light of desperadoes, and it is to correct some of these
impressions, as well as to hold the committees responsible for some de-
linquencies, that the subject is introduced at this time. Let it be a consola-
tion to those members of the committees who still live and to their friends
and defenders that the calm and far-away verdict of some of the world's
greatest newspapers — and this in the conservative newspaper days of half
a century ago — inclined to justify much of that which was done off-hand,
and while the people were suffering from gross evils.

In the pages following these explanations Mr. Charles James King
gives a clear account of the Vigilance Committee of 1856, which was organ-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 77

ized to avenge the felonious killing of his father, then editor of the Bulle-
tin. Mr. King's interpretation of the events that have long been of im-
portant historical value is the interpretation of a strong defender of the
acts of the Committee. He could not, of course, argue otherwise than that
so great an outrage as the murder of his father merited speedy punish-
ment.

Following Mr. King's graphic description of the stirring and unfor-
tunate events that robbed him of his father is presented the other side of the
shield, the case as set forth by the late James O'Meara, a pioneer journalist
and a sharp critic of the Vigilance Committee. The double statement en-
ables the reader to have an impartial presentation of the great story of San
Francisco's struggles to establish respect for the laws.

In advance of reading either account, however, the reader should know
certain facts essential to an intelligent understanding of the situation that
preceded the drama enacted in 1856. It is, therefore, necessary to go back
nearly seven years — for the nucleus of later events found origin in pioneer
days.

The first uprising of any importance was in July, 1849. A band of
ruffians called the Hounds (and they named themselves) organized, as they
pretended, for self-protection in the mining districts. They announced that
they were opposed to cheap foreign and native laborers. To carry out their
alleged plans they established headquarters in San Francisco, where they
assumed the task of "regulating" society. Now and then they committed
deeds of violence, such as tearing down the tents of Chileans, beating inof-
fensive people, and carrying away goods and merchandise by force. July
15, 1849, ie N on Sunday, and that clay the Hounds became unusually bold.
Returning from a picnic in Contra Costa county, they boldly marched
through the principal streets to the Chilean quarters at Clark's Point. There
they tore down tents, beat the owners and occupants, plundered them, and
even fired upon their frightened victims.

The fair-minded public was fired to indignation, the alcalde called a
public meeting at Portsmouth Square, a popular part of early San Fran-
cisco. At that meeting Samuel Brannan, a hot-tempered leader of those
days, addressed the crowd. He urged that it was necessary to do some-
thing radical to suppress the Hounds. In truth everybody knew that the

78 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

purpose of the meeting was to take vigorous measures against that organ-
ization, and the members had already begun to take flight or to prepare to
leave on a moment's notice. As an evidence of their humanity the audience
subscribed a generous fund for the relief of the plundered Chileans, and
thirty men enrolled themselves as special constables to make a sort of man-
hunt for the Hounds. Before night twenty of the miscreants had been
arrested and locked up on the United States ship Warren, there to await
trial by the Committee. The defendants were tried before a popular judge,
ten of them were found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment, but the
judgment of the court was never put into execution. The result of the raid
and conviction was effective, however, for it broke up the organization
of Hounds.

Just here one obtains a clear idea of the unsettled state of society
when it is remembered that the Hounds, during the period of their un-
bridled strength, were in the habit of visiting stores and taking whatever
they desired. Old citizens often have told me that these ruffians would
walk away with merchandise, saying in an impudent tone, "Charge this
to the Hounds.'' It is not remarkable that there was a glad response to
the call to suppress the organization. It is also of passing interest to say
that these desperadoes were permitted to live in the sand dune region,
though they were known to be criminals from New York and various Aus-
tralian ports. That they feared the popular verdict was shown by their
cowardly flight toward San Jose when they realized that the public con-
science had experienced an awakening and that retributive justice was like-
ly to pursue them.

It should be said that there was a great fire in San Francisco in De-
cember, 1849. The burned district was soon rebuilt, however, and few
people were sorry that the conflagration had come upon the city. There
was a second fire on May 4. 1850. The losses were great, for the dis-
aster destroyed three million dollars' worth of stores and warehouses. A
third fire occurred June 14, and on September 17, 1850, there was yet
another serious blaze. By that time people were becoming suspicious of
incendiaries. On June 22, 185 1, there came a great fire that destroyed
many residences. It is known in history as the poor man's fire.

Now, from the outset many citizens believed that the fires were the

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 79

work of desperate criminals. In addition to this fact, there were many
mutterings that wretches were being allowed to go unwhipped of justice.
All the pioneers with whom I have talked are free to say that conditions
were bad. In a history published by the illustrious Anton Roman, though
he was not the author of it, these statements were made:

"The rapid influx of immigrants, of which thirty-six thousand are esti-
mated to have entered San Francisco in this single year, the loose state
of public morals and of government — rendered San Francisco a perfect
pandemonium. The sun rose upon vessels from every port discharging
their cargoes of miscellanous wares and of people. All day it beheld the
masses of humanity crowding the long wharves, filling the streets, strug-
gling, battling, drinking, and gambling wildly: looking with unpitying eyes
on a corpse covered with blood, joking with the murderer, or hurrying him
with frantic execrations to the jail. And at night the scene was scarcely
less strange. Men wandered up and down the sand hills, eagerly seeking
shelter: or gathered in the brilliantly lighted saloons, or, perhaps beggared
and forlorn, lay part thinking of home or breathing out their last sighs
unheeded.

"This was the daily and nightly life of San Francisco and of the dis-
tant mining camps. Still, withal there was some good in California: her
treasures were not all squandered in vice. Among so many, it would have
been strange if no men of wisdom and worth could be found. There were
a few ; and these became the saviors of San Francisco.

"Early in 185 1 the glaring abuses of the city government again at-
tracted attention ; and not even the excitement occasioned by rumors of dis-
coveries of great value at 'Gold Bluffs' and elsewhere could turn the pub-
lic from their local duties.

"Robberies and murders were far too frequent, and too openly winked
at by those in authority, to admit of longer delay.

"Over five thousand people collected around the city hall, declaring
that murder should no longer go unpunished. For thirty-six hours the
excitement continued, and the mob continually increased in numbers. A
jurv was impaneled, and several men were arrested, tried, and sentenced
to be hanged. They were, however, suffered to escape.

"Two or three months later, the Vigilance Committee again took the

80 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

power into their own hands. Daily murders, robberies, and incendiarisms
they considered demanded their interference with the slow and lenient
process of the law."

During this absence of justice. from the courts crime held its own, and
more than its own, in the city. On February 19, 185 1, a merchant of the
name of Jansen was assaulted, wounded, and robbed by two men. The
public and the press were indignant, for the attempted murder was the cul-
mination of a long train of like iniquities that had gone unpunished. The
Alta, a leading newspaper, said editorially : "How many murders have
been committed in this city within a year? And who has been hung or
punished for the crime? Nobody. How many men shot and stabbed,
knocked down and bruised; and who has been punished for it? How many
thefts and arsons, robberies and crimes of less note; and where are the
perpetrators? Gentlemen at large, citizens, free to re-enact their outrages."

When it is said that the Alta was considered a cool and very conserva-
tive publication one may understand somewhat of the temper of the times
and the provocations endured by the people.

The agitation bore fruit. The arrest of two men — one supposed to
be Stuart, one of the robbers — was the occasion of the organization of a
mob that tried to seize the prisoners in the court room, drag them to a post,
and hang them forthwith. The prisoners were saved by their guards, but
not until after a stubborn fight. But the desire for popular justice grew
fast, and by the next da}' a vigilance committee was formed. The episode
of the Hounds was remembered, and it was believed that a stern organiza-
tion would be able to banish criminals and suppress crime. The weakness
of this committee's cause at that moment lay in the fact that the supposed
guilty Stuart was in truth an innocent man of the name of Bardue. He
bore a striking resemblance to the real culprit, and the wounded merchant
thought the suspect was the man that had assaulted him.

On June 8, 1851, a call for a committee of safety appeared in the: Alta.
It is now known that the letter — then published without any name — was
from Mr. R. S. Watson, who has since admitted the authorship. On June
1 1 the movement for such an organization had become so popular as to
have the quasi indorsement of the Alta and of many of the best citizens.
The Alta remarked : "We understand that quite a large party banded them-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 81

selves together at the California Engine House for the purpose of punishing
incendiaries and other criminals." There was no direct indorsement, but the
editor took pains to explain that the meeting was not a mere mob.

A common thief, one Jenkins, was tried and convicted by the com-
mittee, which consisted of more than one hundred and eighty-four promi-
nent men. The trial took place between 10 and 12 o'clock one night. He
had been discovered stealing a safe on Long Wharf on June 10, and the ver-
dict to hang him — eighty or more men being on the jury — was unanimous.
Two hours after the finding of the verdict the man was dead. On June 12
the coroner's jury brought in a verdict that blamed two or three men of the
committee, whereupon a statement was published and signed by one hun-
dred and eighty-nine prominent citizens, and in this they freely confessed
that all whose names were signed were equally implicated in the hanging
of Jenkins. Nothing ever came of the confession, for there was no pub-
lic sentiment that would have strongly blamed or convicted the members
of the committee.

During June, July, and August, the committee was busy with simi-
lar work. It caught and hanged the true Stuart, and drove many ruffians
and Sydney "coves" from the state. In August the organization barely
missed an open collision with the authorities, but diplomacy averted this
trouble and the object-lesson of the committee's work is said to have been
a deterrent to criminals. It certainly made a deep impression on the minds
of the people at large. A study of the social evolution of San Francisco
compels the conclusion that the work of the first vigilance committee made
possible the organization and labors of the second, the famous committee
of 1856. Many of the members of the first organization were leading
spirits in the second — men like William T. Coleman, an active spirit in
both organizations.

By the autumn of 1855 San Francisco began to realize that much o£
its social life was still crude, even wicked. During 1855 there had been,
it is said, more than five hundred homicides in the city, and it is claimed
that the law was powerless to punish those who had committed these crimes
against life and society. Everywhere upright citizens denounced these
deeds, though few were found with the courage to denounce the criminals
by name.

82 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

Though it is probably true, as William H. Mills says, that any com-
munity that is obliged to establish a vigilance committee thereby indicts
itself for many sins of omission, the other truth remains that, in the case
at hand, ballot-box stuffing and other forms of corruption were exas-
perating beyond tolerance.

One should understand that the best business men were not in a mood
to blame themselves for the existence of grave wrongs. They forgot that
if juries were bad it was often because the eager desire to make money
absorbed men of affairs, who dodged jury duty and made way for bribery.
That there was much iniquity in high places, is doubtless true — and some
of this the honest citizen would have been put to his wits to remedy, yet
it can not be gainsaid that honest and able men like Judge Hager and Dis-
trict Attorney Byrne were in office— and one of the offenders that paid the
penalty in 1856, under "popular justice," was awaiting trial in Judge
Hager's court at the time the committee seized him and assumed superior
jurisdiction.

A clear-voiced call to rectify existing evils came through the San
Francisco Bulletin, then edited by a former banker, James King, or James
King "of William," as he signed his name. He established his paper in
October, 1855, and so vigorous was his policy that several enlargements
were required within a few months. His paper was popular all over the
state and he was looked upon as a brave deliverer of the people, one that
spoke words already long overdue. Though he made himself popular with
the best people, he was despised by the wicked.

The crisis that cost him his life and that plunged the community into
the perplexities of the vigilance committee days, came in May, 1856, when
King was shot down in the street by James Casey, then an editor, a super-
visor, and a man with much political power. Six days later King died,
and soon thereafter the great Vigilance Committee of 1856 was organized.
The story of its career, as told by Charles James King, surviving son of
the martyred editor, is in the pages that follow. Mr. King has made a
life-study of the events that culminated in the killing of his father, and the
account is interesting;.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

CHAPTER VII.

THE VIGILANCE COMMITTEES.

By Charles James King.

Interesting Reminiscences of the Son of the Martyred Editor of
the Old San Francisco Bulletin — How Desperate Men Put
the Law Aside and Transformed San Francisco Into a Despera-
does" Paradise — Inside Facts About the Great Uprising of Citi-
zens That Improvised a Committee to Try and Punish Men for
Their Crimes.

The history of the Vigilance Committee of 185 1 and that of 1856,
organized in the City of San Francisco, has no parallel in American history.

It was composed of American citizens, imbued with the love of coun-
try, and with that crystallized idea of the centuries, "that all men are cre-
ated equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable
rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

To properly understand the state of affairs that in an American city
demanded such action on the part of its citizens, we must look to the causes
that brought about this uprising on the part of a people so loyal to all the
traditions of their country.

I propose to show these, as seen by one who lived here through all
those exciting times, as I arrived in San Francisco in May, 185 1, when but
seven years of age, and was a witness of the events that took place then,
though those of 1856, when I was five years older, and because the com-
mittee's formation was on account of my father's (James King of Will-
iam) assassination, were more deeply impressed on my mind and life.

All that I remember of my father is confined to those five years, ex-
tending through the history of both the committees of 185 1 and 1856. I
was so young in 1848, when he left for California, that I remember scarcely
anything of him, until my arrival in San Francisco.

I could not have been with him more than I was, had I known how
few the vears were destined to be in which I was to see him on earth.

84 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

Every moment I could spare from school, I chose rather to be with
him than elsewhere. When he was a banker, I rode on my pony, each after-
noon after school, to meet him at his bank, on the corner of Commercial
and Montgomery streets, and was beside his buggy as he drove home,
which was then on Jones street, between Lombard and Chestnut.

When he was editor of the Bulletin, for seven months, until his as-
sassination, I used to visit his editorial rooms as often as I could go, and
he used to tell his friends who happened to be there, that I knew everything
in the paper, editorials, news and even the advertisements. Every even-
ing after dinner, when I had finished my recitation in Latin, to him, I
was accustomed with all the ardor of a youthful enthusiast to discuss, after
my own fashion, the subjects of his editorials, and thus knew and realized
the good cause of pure government in which he was engaged and for which
his life was sacrificed.

At the close of the Mexican war, California became a part of the
United States, by purchase, in the treaty of peace between the two coun-
tries. It was a long and weary journey of months to reach it from the
eastern portion of our country, either by land or sea. Quite a number of
Americans had already found their way here, so that in 1846 when the
country was taken, they were able to give great assistance to Fremont and
his men in its capture. The people readily acquiesed in the change of gov-
ernment, some like General M. G. Vallejo, contending that they had every-
thing to gain and nothing to lose by becoming a part of the American Union.

The natives led a simple life, without much excitement. No steamer
had ever yet ploughed the vast waters of the great Pacific Ocean. No
transcontinental railroad had been built, and no lines of telegraph or ocean
cable connected with Yerba Buena, now San Francisco, with any other part of
the world.

The white wings of commerce had not turned, as they were soon des-
tined to turn, toward the Golden Gate. One of our California poets thus
describes them, in those days (from which they were so soon to be awak-
ened), as follows:

Feeble and garrulous old men

Tell in the Spanish tongue
Of the good grand times of the Mission,

And the hymns that the Fathers sung;

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 85

Of the oil and the wine and the plenty.

And the dance in the twilight gray.
Ah ! these — and the head shakes sadly —

Were good old times in Monterey.

The discovery of gold by J. W. Marshall, on January 24, 1848, soon
changed all this, and thousands of men from all parts of the world came
here. The business which the necessity of these travelers caused gave an
impetus to commerce everywhere, and suitable inventions and contrivances
followed.

Ocean travel was improved by steam navigation, and the comfort of
passengers became more imperative from the sudden demand for transpor-
tation to this state. The demand also for abundance of food led to the can-
ning of fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, etc., in larger quantities than had
been required before, while eggs put down in lime, and butter, from the
dairies of New York state, helped to supply those necessary articles for the
home consumption.

Houses were built in sections, so as to be easily put together again,
and shipped around Cape Horn, to this city, where many of them made
comfortable residences for the accommodation of the early settlers.

While many good men of character and energy were here to make this
state what it became, they were at first so engaged in their business as
to take but little interest in politics. The drifting in of a large criminal
class, who had served their terms in jails in all parts of the world, our own
country included, soon became a menace to the peaceful business men.

They were called "the Hounds," and had control of all the offices
in their interest and for their protection. It thus soon became apparent
that there was no redress in the courts. Crime unblushingly held up its
head and was seldom punished because of the faithless administration of
justice.

Matters had come to such a pass, that the better class of citizens on the
8th of June. 185 1. organized the first Vigilance Committee by adopting
the following:

CONSTITUTION.

"Whereas. It has become apparent to the citizens of San Francisco that
there is no security for life and property, either under the regulations of so-
ciety as it at present exists, or under the laws as now administered: therefore
the citizens whose names are hereunto attached do unite themselves into an As-

86 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

sociation for the maintenance of the peace and the good order of society, and
the preservation of the lives and property of the citizens of San Francisco, and
do bind ourselves each unto the other to do and perform every lawful act for
the maintenance of law and order and to sustain the laws when faithfully and
properly administered; but we are determined that no thief, burglar, incen-
diary or assassin shall escape punishment, either by the quibbles of the law,
the insecurity of prisons, the carelessness or corruption of the police, or the
laxity of those who pretend to administer justice."

The signal for assembling when necessary, was to give three taps on
the bell of the California Fire Company.

The first alarm rang out in the night of June 10, 185 1.

A man named Jenkins was caught stealing a safe containing a large
amount of money. He looked for rescue at the hands of his confederates,
but instead was arrested and found guilty of various charges and was
hanged at half-past one o'clock the next morning.

Reverend T. Dwight Hunt, pastor of the First Congregational Church,
in a sermon suggested by the execution, said :

"I cannot censure a people, if, having been long and needlessly out-
raged by a gang of villains, they rise in their sovereign majesty and quietly
seize upon, try and condemn and execute one, even though they have to
set aside the authority they dare not trust with the culprit. It is sometimes
necessary to the existence of society thus to be its own lawyer, judge and
executioneer."

James Stuart was hanged on July 11, 185 1, for murder and other
crimes.

Whittaker and McKenzie, two other murderers, were hanged on Aug-
ust 24. 1 85 1. The committee then disbanded, after having issued sentence
of banishment against thirty desperadoes.

THE SECOND VIGILANCE COMMITTEE.

The second Vigilance committee of 1856, though in part composed of
some of those who served in 185 1, was a much larger body of citizens, and
assumed a vaster importance at the time, wielding a greater influence in
the years that followed, as the cause of its formation struck at the basic
foundation of things, and the very existence of the city itself as a place in
which to live and rear families.

It could not be called a revolution, as it was unlike any such that ever

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 87

took place. All other revolutions were a separation from the governments,
and because of oppression and wrongs inflicted upon the suffering people
that caused them to absolve themselves completely from the yoke that op-
pressed, and form a new state or nation.

This was a movement of the citizens to enforce the laws, which those
to whom this power was delegated utterly failed to carry out. It was,
therefore, a transcendency of the law rather than a violation of it. To com-
prehend this situation, it may be stated that the judiciary of the state was
held in too many instances by men from the criminal element, or in com-
plete sympathy with them, as shown by their own unlawful acts.

A few illustrations will suffice : Ned McGowan, who had served a
term in the Pennsylvania state prison, upon arrival here succeeded in being
made one of the judges of this city.

Hugh C. Murray, a corrupt and immoral man, was another.

Wra. B. Almond, through his friends " the Hounds," as. the roughs
and villains were called, secured another appointment.

One J. H. Hardy, judge of the 16th Judicial District, was indicted
by the grand jury for the murder of Samuel T. Newell.

David S. Terry was another instance of how the judiciary of Cali-
fornia was disgraced by the conduct of some of its leading members. He
stabbed Stephen Hopkins of the Vigilance Committee, afterward killed Da-
vid C. Broderick in a duel, and in later years followed Justice Stephen J.
Field around the state in the determined attempt to kill him, which was
frustrated by the United States marshal, who was too quick for him, and
Terry met his fate. Then the most gigantic frauds were perpetrated upon
the people at the polls.

The citizens voted, but their votes were not counted. The Vigilance
Committee afterward discovered that the ballot boxes had secret drawers
in them, in which the votes that were counted were deposited, and it usually
took several days to have all the returns in. It was always noticed that
those from the twelfth ward were several days late in being handed in, and
could always be depended upon to register sufficient votes to elect the party
in power ; although to do this, it was necessary to record more votes cast
than the resident population of that ward could number, including men,
women and children.

88 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

The leader in manipulating the polls was James P. Casey, supervisor,
and editor of the Sunday Times.

He had been elected supervisor without even going through the form
of a nomination and through the method -above shown. All officers, there-
fore, in the city and county of San Francisco, and all the appointees under
them, owed their election to James P. Casey.

So long and shamelessly had this state of affairs continued, that he
felt that he owned the city, and as will later appear, had no fear but that
in an emergency he could count on the support of all those who were in-
debted to him for their places, together with their friends, who were nu-
merous.

Crime, in the intervening years between the first and second Vigilance
Committee, held high carnival, and the wrong doer easily secured immun-
ity from his acts; so that the citizens soon learned that there was no pro-
tection for life or property. In walking the streets of the city, peaceful men
usually took the middle of the road, instead of the sidewalk, in order to
protect themselves as far as possible, from the unexpected attack of the
assassin. And so year after year this state of affairs occurred, until it is
stated that in the year 1855, the number of murders committed in this state
was 535. and that only seven of the perpetrators were executed by the officers
of the law. Arson, robbery, and other crimes were of constant occurrence, and
so seldom was punishment inflicted, that the law was held in contempt,
and men felt as they looked at each other, upon learning of some fresh out-
break, that the courts could offer them no protection at all ; because they
mould not.

On the 8th day of October, 1855, the Evening Bulletin appeared with
James King of William as its editor. He attacked corruption in high
places, and was in a short time, through the city and the mountains and
valleys of California, recognized as the champion of the people's rights.
The Bulletin became eagerly sought for each day for tidings of the war-
fare it was waging on their behalf. On the other hand, the paper had not
been three months in existence before it became universally understood that
it was "war to the knife" between it and the shoulder strikers. One side
or the other was now bound to go down. It was a struggle for the rights
of the people that has had no counterpart in the history of our land.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 89

On November 17, 1855, General William H. Richardson, the United
States marshal, was murdered by a notorious gambler named Charles Cora,
instigated by Belle Cora, a prostitute, whom he had taken to some place
of amusement, and whom the virtuous Mrs. Richardson had offended, by
simply conducting herself as a lady. Cora, after mutual friends had per-
suaded General Richardson to let the matter pass and take a drink with
Cora as an evidence of settling the dispute, turned in a brutal manner and
killed Richardson, as he unsuspectingly followed in the friendly act, which
he presumed would close the affair.

The gifted Colonel Baker, who afterward lost his life at Ball's Bluff,
was severely censured in those days, for using his forensic eloquence in
the defense of Cora, and succeeding in getting a disagreement of the jury
on his first trial. Forty thousand dollars had been raised by Belle Cora and
her associates to defend Charles Cora, and no hope was entertained by the
people that his dastardly crime would be punished.

The party in power, flushed by their long continued success in cheat-
ing the people at the polls, and running the courts to suit themselves, felt
no uneasiness about the final acquittal of Charles Cora. And now they
determined to reach out for one more victim, and that was the editor of
the Bulletin, James King of William. In council of these plotters, it was
agreed to cast lots to see who should do the shooting, and the lot fell to
James P. Case}-. He thought he had an easy job. To the many who were
indebted to him for office or place he felt he could confidently turn for sup-
port, and the courts gave him no concern.

He never dreamed of the uprising of the citizens, and felt with the
people's champion "under the sod" he would be free to continue his course
with none to say him nay.

The patience of the people had. however, now reached its limit, as
the events that followed the carrying out of the conspiracy to assassinate
James King of William soon showed.

A man named Bagley, who had fallen out with Casey, sent on to
New York and secured the documentary evidence which showed that James
P. Casey had served out a term in Sing Sing prison. Armed with these,
he carried them to the editorial rooms of the Bulletin.

James King of William, in commenting upon these papers, stated

90 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

in the Bulletin of May 14, 1856, '"that the fact that Casey had been
an inmate of Sing Sing prison in New York, is no offense against
the laws of this state; nor is the fact of his having stuffed himself through
the ballot box as elected to the board of supervisors from a district where
it is said he was not even a candidate, any justification for Mr. Bagley to
shoot Casey, however richly the latter may deserve to have his neck
stretched for such fraud on the people. These are acts against the public
good, not against Mr. Bagley in particular, and however much we may de-
test Casey's former character, or be convinced of the shallowness of his prom-
ised reformation, we cannot justify the assumption by Mr. Bagley to take
upon himself the redressing of these wrongs."

That was sufficient for Casey. He determined now upon the assassina-
tion of James King of William, and it was an open secret among his
friends, that the shooting would come off that afternoon.

Thomas S. King, James King of William's brother, who usually walked
home with him, happened to be in Natchez Gallery on Clay street having
his pistol cleaned, when he heard of it, and immediately started to prevent
it, but arrived too late. The shot had been fired. Casey had called at the
editorial rooms of the Bulletin to see James King of William. Instead of
attacking him then, and giving him a fighting chance for his life, he simply
found fault with what had been said in the Bulletin, and upon being asked
if it were true, and retorting that he did not want such things printed about
him, was shown the door and left muttering revenge.

Then in a cowardly manner he made all the arrangements for his at-
tack and escape, and, hiding himself behind one of the wagons of the Pa-
cific Express Company, standing at the corner of Montgomery and Wash-
ington streets, he waited for his victim to appear on the usual route he took
going to his home. As he stepped on the sidewalk, Casey quickly approached
him from the wagon and fired the fatal shot, without giving any warning.
Seeing he had inflicted a mortal wound, he retreated to a convenient hack
in attendance, with three of his chosen friends awaiting him, each of whom
had his revolver drawn to defend the murderer from any attack that might
be made by the crowd that soon gathered, and were driven to the jail where
his friend, David Scannell, the sheriff, was ready to protect him with all
that the city government could muster in his defense. Dr. W. O. Ayres

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 91

states in his personal recollections of this occurrence: "A carriage was
standing at the entrance to Dunbar alley, the rear of the police office. It
was undoubtedly about to start. I sprang on the step and as I did so, Dave
Scannell's pistol was thrust directly in my face. I looked in, and saw Casey on
the seat with Scannell with his pistol pointed out of the opposite window. The
driver started his horses, and I was thrown to the ground, but was on my
feet in an insant, and away with the crowd who were pursuing the carriage
at full speed, yelling with every breath 'Hang him ! Kill him !'

"The horses were, of course, too light-footed for us, but we all, how-
ever, knew their destination, the county jail. The building in Broadway
near Kearney was at an elevation, then, of about eight feet above the level
of the street, which had been graded down to that extent. On the bank
above stood every one of the most noted gamblers and shoulder strikers in
the city. Their faces were well known to me, Charley Duane, Dan Aldrich
and a host of others. There they stood; a dangerous looking company
quietly looking down on the angry crowd that filled the street and surged
back and forth in its intense excitement. How came those men to be
there ?

" I have no doubt they were there in position when the shot was fired,
and James King of William fell. I was waiting for the first pistol shot
which I well knew would be the prelude to a fearful scene of bloodshed,
when a man rushed past me, and began scrambling up one of the posts of a
balcony directly at my back. ■ I saw it was Thomas S. King, the brother of
James King of William. He at once began a harangue of almost delirious
frenzy and after a few words only, he shouted out, who will go with me
and drag the murderer of my brother from the jail ? He could not utter an-
other word. The fierce and savage yell, 'I,' T,' T,' from hundred of throats
was perfectly deafening, and the revolvers came out like magic ready for
sharp service.

"Thomas S. King leaped to the ground, and started with a rush, but
he had not crossed half the breadth of Broadway, before he stopped, and at
the same moment, the crowd began to grow quiet. Some one had touched
them on the back and whispered, 'The Vigilance Committee has organized.' "

On that afternoon I had gone out near the presidio to secure some shrubs
to plant in our garden at the home, then on the corner of Mason and Pacific

92 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

streets. While engaged in planting them, I noticed a number of people
entering the house. They came in such unusual numbers that I hastened to
see what could be the matter. Upon entering the house, I learned that my
father had been shot.

Those who were trying to break the news to my mother did it so
gently, that she at first did not realize how serious the situation was. Griffin
Dobson, a colored man, who had been porter in my father's bank, was
telling my mother, when I entered, that my father had been shot in the
arm. I immediately reasoned, that if my father had only been shot in the
arm he would have been home then, so taking Dobson aside, I asked him
where my father was, and he replied "at the office of the Pacific Express
Company."

This was on the northwest corner of Washington and Montgomery
streets, and without saying anything, I left the room and hurried down to
the express office. As I reached the corner of Kearney and Washington
streets I saw a large crowd blocking the street down to Montgomery.

A policeman, who recognized me, asked if I wished to see my father,
and I told him I did. He then piloted me through the crowd, until I finally
reached my father, who lay unconscious on a mattress, on the floors of the
express company.

Here, among strangers, I waited anxiously by his side until the arrival
of my mother, who in the meantime had been apprised of the true condi-
tion of affairs. After good counsel as to what to say to my brothers and
sisters, and to seme directions as to what to do in arranging some of the
household business in her absence, she bade me go home. I did so, returning
early the next morning, and was present when they removed my father
to Montgomery block.

During the days that intervened I was in attendance to go upon any
errand, and attend to such things as my mother needed.

The Vigilance Committee formed on the night of May 14th, 1856,
temporarily in the rooms of the Society of California Pioneers on Washing-
ton street, opposite the old Plaza. Some two thousand signed the roll that
night. The next morning larger rooms and accommodations were secured
on Sacramento street, near Front, and the following notice appeared in the
morning papers :

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 93

"the vigilance committee.
"Members of the Vigilance Committee in good standing will please meet
at 105J4 Sacramento street this day at 9 o'clock a. m.

By order of the

Committee of Thirteen.'"

Here fortifications were erected by filling gunny bags with sand, and
planting cannon to defend the place. It was called "Fort Gunnybags." In
less than three days five thousand names were enrolled as members.

These, were men, drawn from the business community, and those who
had the interest of the city at heart, and were as loyal a band of patriots
as the world ever knew.

The London Times said of them, upon their disbandment, "that they
had shown sufficient ability to found a state organization — a nation — if
circumstances had demanded its exercise."

On the enrollment of members, each man took his number, and was
known by it, instead of his name. Wm. T. Coleman was No. 1 and was
elected its president. No. 33 was Isaac Bluxome, the secretary.

Turn Verein Hall on Bush and Stockton streets served as an armory,
and the members being divided into companies of 100 men each, were
thoroughly drilled by competent officers.

A lot of 5,000 flint lock muskets in good order, belonging to Mr. George
Law, and stored in a warehouse, were at once hired by the committee. The
committee for convenience was divided into four departments, as follows :
Grand marshal, commissary, medical and police, and was organized into
four regiments of infantry numbering ten companies each, and two battal-
ions of cavalry, three batteries of flying artillery, one marine battery, one
pistol company. No one received any pay, except fifteen of the police force
of 300.

Notwithstanding this, the expenses necessarily incurred in maintain-
ing this organization were large, amounting to $250,000, which sum was
raised by voluntary subscription from the members, and those who sympa-
thized with them in the noble work in which they were engaged.

When the news of the assassination of James King of William was
flashed all over the state, the strongest expressions against the outrage came
from the mountains and valleys of California, with the offer of any help that
might be needed by the committee in the way of more men and means.

94 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

James King of William was shot on Wednesday, May 14th, 1856, and
lingered until Tuesday, the 20th, when he died.

In the days that followed the organization of the committee and during
the three months it was in existence, the most exciting events followed in rapid
succession.

• Before the committee had taken any action, their scouts brought in word
that "The Hounds" and their friends or sympathizers calling themselves "The
Law and Order Party," who many dubbed "The Law and Murder Party,"
were determined to do all in their power to prevent Casey and Cora being
taken by the Vigilance Committee, even going so far as to threaten to burn
down the city if such a thing were attempted.

Fearing that they might be called upon for an accounting in case the
committee should gain control of the affairs of the city and flushed by the
success with which their party had managed so long to defy the administra-
tion of justice, these men were determined to do all they could to ruin San
Francisco and keep it subject to their power.

On the next day, the 16th of May, it was discovered that a plot was
formed to call out the state militia.

Governor J. Neeley Johnson was in town, stopping at the Occidental
Hotel, and word was sent to William T. Coleman that the governor wanted to
see him.

An interview took place which seemed to settle matters, the governor at
its close slapping Coleman on the back and saying "Go ahead, but get through
as soon as you can."

Later in the evening the governor called at the rooms of the committee,
with William T. Sherman (afterwards famous in the Civil war). Coleman
noticed from his actions that he ignored his previous interview and started in
anew on the subject. The governor said that they had come to see if matters
could be amicably settled. Coleman replied that outrages were of common
occurrence, the people defrauded of their rights at the ballot box, and the
citizens shot down in the streets: and no redress was afforded by the courts,
and they would endure it no longer. The governor urged the laws taking its
course, saying that there was no need of the people turning themselves into
a mob.

Mr. Coleman emphatically stated that the governor himself knew that

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 95

it was no mob. It was a government within a government pulsating under
the poisonous effect of unrebuked villainy.

After a long discussion, it was finally agreed that the Vigilance Commit-
tee should have a specal guard stationed in the county jail, which was to be
withdrawn and due notice given the governor before any overt act should be
taken by the committee.

W. T. Sherman was appointed major general of the militia, and the gov-
ernor issued a proclamation declaring San Francisco in a state of insur-
rection. Sherman soon resigned his commission in disgust, and in his '
memoirs distorts the truth so much, as to make his work as far as a history,
to be so thoroughly unreliable as to be valueless. Besides endeavoring to en-
list the state militia against the Vigilance Committee, the effort to get the
United States troops at the presidio and Fort Point under General Wood, and
the United States navy under Captain Farragut to interfere proved
equally futile as did the appeal of Governor Johnson to President Pierce.

On Saturday, May 17th, the Vigilance Committee in force moved to their
headquarters at Fort Gunnybags, and had a large bell placed in the top of
their building to call the members together when wanted for an instant
emergency.

They had hardly reached their quarters before the governor's party cir-
culated the statement that the committee had determined on no overt act.

This incensed the committee to that extent, that they determined to have
no further communication with governor. The time for action had now
come. Their guard in the county jail was removed and the governor was
notified of the action taken.

Marshal Doane was notified to call out the entire membership and have
them in attendance at 8 o'clock the next morning, which was Sunday, May
18th. Colonel Olney with a command of sixty men who had seen service,
were delegated to watch the jail.

They came in at half past ten, in citizens dress, armed with pistols, and
so scattered as not to attract attention.

The main body of the committee was maneuvered so as to march in differ-
ent ways and upon reaching the block that surrounded the jail, to make the
juncture so complete that at exactly ten minutes past twelve when the order to
ground arms was given they should all come down at the same time. It was

96 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

carried out exactly, and the cannon loaded to the muzzle was aimed at the
door of the jail, the man with the lighted fuse, standing ready for the com-
mand to be given to "fire."

The marshal then approached the jail and demanded first that James P.
Casey be delivered up.

Upon this being reported to Casey with the added statement that if he
were not delivered up, they proposed to fire upon the jail, he turned to Scan-
nell and asked him if he could not defend it. Scannell replied that there were
thousands of men in front of the jail and it was useless to oppose them. Cole-
man and Truett from the war committee then demanded the surrender of
Casey.

Casey, fearing that he would be immediately executed, asked leave to
speak ten minutes. Upon being assured that he would be protected, he was
taken out, and placed in a carriage with Coleman and Truett. Upon his ap-
pearance, a murmur ran through the crowd, but the hand of Coleman raised
produced a silence throughout the ranks unbroken in the march to the head-
quarters of the committee.

A force had been left at the jail, and notice was given the sheriff, that the
committee would return for Cora.

This was done, and after some delay at the jail, Cora was also surren-
dered, and taken to Fort Gunnybags.

The New York Herald in commenting upon this event said "we cannot
read the account of the taking of Casey and Cora from the scoundrels' sanctu-
ary — the county jail — without a thrill of admiration for the nerve and cool-
ness of the armed citizens."

It is stated that as the committee were marching to the jail that Sunday
morning, a man on the sidewalk remarked to his companion, "When you see
these Psalm-singing Yankees turn out on Sunday, you can just reckon there's
hell to pay." The excitement, which became intenser each day, reached its
climax when on Tuesday, May 20th, it was announced that James King of
William had died. Thousands viewed his remains, which lay in Montgomery
block, and the city was draped in mourning.

In the meantime Casey and Cora were each given a fair trial with coun-
sel of their own selection, and had been found guilty as charged. Cora was
somewhat of a fatalist, and from the moment Casey assassinated James King

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 97

of William began to feel his doom was sealed. He, however, said if he had
been as ably defended on his first trial, as he was before the committee, that
he believed he would have been acquitted by the jury that then tried him.

The funeral services over James King of William were held Thursday,
May 22d, and he was buried in Lone Mountain, now Laurel Hill Cemetery.

As the funeral procession left the Unitarian church then located in Stock-
ton street between Clay and Sacramento, Casey and Cora were hanged from
the rooms of the committee in Sacramento between Front and Davis. Cora
made no remarks; but Casey was greatly agitated, and exclaimed several
times "I am no murderer, I did not intend to commit murder ; oh, my mother,
my mother!"

There were a great many hard characters whom the Vigilance Committee
were compelled to banish.

They had arrested some and taken them to Fort Gunnybags until they
should have a convenient method of sending them away. Among these were
Yankee Sullivan, who, being deprived of his usual rations of liquor, commit-
ted suicide on May 31, the cessation of his customary indulgence unseating
his reason, and with a knife wound inflicted on his own arm he accomplished
his exit from this life. Many persons were banished by order of the Vigilance
Committee, upon penalty of being hanged should they ever return. The
committee afterward, when good government was restored under the Peo-
ple's Party, revoked their order of banishment.

Of these Billy Mulligan and Charles P. Duane created much trouble
years afterward. Bill Mulligan was shot by policemen sent to arrest him at
the old Francis Hotel in Dupont street. He proved so dangerous that they
were compelled to shoot him. Charles P. Duane proved to be even a more
desperate man. He killed one or two men more; but made the boast which
he seemed to prove that he would never be hanged.

The so-called "Law and Order Party" were continually endeavoring to
stir up all the feeling they could against the committee. They succeeded in
securing at Sacramento some six cases of arms which were shipped on the
schooner Julia to San Francisco. Two notorious scoundrels, members of the
Law and Order Party, were deputized by that body to take charge of them on
the passage. They were Maloney and Phelps. On the night of June 20,
1856, John L. Durkee of the Vigilance Committee with twelve chosen men

93 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

succeeded in capturing die schooner and transferring her cargo to the head-
quarters of the Vigilance Committee.

In the meantime Maloney and Phelps, having been released, visited all the
saloons in the city, making threats against certain members of the com-
mittee whom they swore to shoot on sight. Sterling A. Hopkins with
four men was sent to arrest them, and meeting with more resistance than was
anticipated, returned for reinforcements. In again approaching the head-
quarters of the "Law and Order Party," a pistol was accidentally discharged
and Judge D. S. Terry of the supreme court of the state, who had aided and
abetted "The Hounds" and their followers, the "Law and Order Party," all
he could, turned suddenly upon Hopkins and stabbed him, with a large bowie
knife, and then escaped with his friends to the rooms above.

The bell of the vigilantes sounded, and quickly the headquarters of the
scoundrels was surrounded, and Terry captured and taken to the rooms of
the Vigilance Committee.

Had Hopkins died, the murder of Broderick would have not afterward
taken place, and the state would have not been further disgraced by the high-
handed conduct of a judge who ought to have been a peaceful citizen, instead
of the character he proved himself to be, as shown by the following sentence
which the Vigilance Committee, after Hopkins' final recovery and Terry's trial,
pronounced :

"That David S. Terry having been convicted after a full, fair, and im-
partial trial, of certain charges, before the Committee of Vigilance, and the
usual punishment in their power to inflict not being applicable in the present
instance,

"Therefore be it declared the decision of the Committee of Vigilance,
that the said David S. Terry be discharged from custody; and also resolved
that in the opinion of the Committee of Vigilance the interests of the state
imperatively demand that the said David S. Terry should resign his position
as the judge of the supreme court.

"Resolved, that this resolution be read to David S. Terry, and he forth-
with be discharged from the custody of the Committee of Vigilance on this be-
ing ratified by the Board of Delegates."

The release of Terry created such intense excitement that for his safetv

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 99

the Executive Committee sent him to Sacramento on the steamer Adams, and
thus closed the Terry incident.

One would have supposed that the most daring murderer would have
hesitated to commit any other like crime, during the existence of the Vigi-
lance Committee. It was reserved for Joseph Hetherington, who had killed
other men, to deliberately kill Dr. Randall at this time. He was immediately
arrested, as was also Philander Brace, a cold-blooded assassin who had made
away with quite a number of men in the years preceding, and had never been
punished for any of them. After a fair trial, in which these men were both
convicted and found guilty, they were on July 29, 1856, hanged by the Vig-
ilance Committee.

On August 14, 1856, just three months after their organizing, the com-
mittee disbanded and "Fort Gunnybags" disappeared from view. A public
procession through the streets of the city was made by the members of the
committee, in which there were nearly six thousand men in the ranks.

The New York Times on learning of this stated "It is due to these Vigi-
lance Committees, both the first and second, to say that in no one instance have
we discovered any abuse of their authority. We cannot learn that either of
them hanged any person who did not richly deserve hanging."

The Vigilance Committee of San Francisco is not to be compared with
those sudden outbursts in frontier towns that have sometimes taken place in
the history of our country. They are deserving of the highest praise for the
manner in which they performed their work.

Nearly fifty years ago this noble band of men risked their lives, and
pledged their honor one to the other to transmit to those who should follow
them a pure government, and for several years succeeding, under the rule of
the People's Party, no city in all the Union was better governed than San
Francisco. Later, beginning with the Civil war, and other events that fol-
lowed, the two great national parties again managed to divide the attention
of the voters, and the good work done by the committee was soon effaced by
the success of one or the other of the political parties which held sway over
elections throughout the land.

But these brave men have left an imperishable history, and have shown
what the American — anglo-saxon — has done in this continent to settle the

100 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

great issues that try men's souls. It is doubtless true no other people could have
clone what they have accomplished. For nearly six thousand years the
world has struggled for that true ideal of liberty which was only realized in
the promulgation of the Declaration of Independence.

The people who had to contend against the obstacles of nature, the wild
beasts of the forests, and the wilder denizens of the howling wilderness,
having wrenched liberty from their oppressors, pushed out as pioneers to
people and settle the great heritage their prowess had secured to them.

In their struggles with wild beasts and the Indians, they learned to be
expert marksmen, for it was often, if not always, their life or that of beast
or Indian who came suddenly upon them. It was this that led them to be sure
of their aim, and that told so fearfully under General Jackson at New Orleans
when opposed to the flower of the British army who were almost annihilated
in their onset against these yeomen. It was this that on sea and land has
shown the superiority of the American as a fighter. The victories of Dewey
and Schley can never be excelled, and before them fade away those of Nelson
into comparative insignificance because of results. It was this spirit that led
our California pioneers to overcome the obstacles in their way and to make
this state the wonder of the world. These pioneers were instrumental in
forming the Vigilance Committee, as it started in their rooms.

All honor then to these heroes who showed, only as an American popula-
tion could show, how to pioneer a city out of the condition into which San
Francisco had fallen, into that which to the student of history shall encircle
them with imperishable glory, for the success that crowned their efforts. As
we realize that in 1903 nearly a million emigrants came into New York harbor,
that in the last month of that year thirty-five thousand came to San Fran-
cisco, let us echo the universal California sentiment relative to the class of
men we desire to welcome to our Golden State, as expressed so eloquently in
the halls of national legislation by one who lies buried in Laurel Hill Ceme-
tery.

I would see its fertile plains, its sequestered vales, its deep blue canons,
its furrowed mountains, dotted all over with American homes, the abodes of
a free and happy people, with the sweet voices of flaxen-haired children,
and ringing with the joyous laughter of the maiden fair, soft as our clime

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 101

and sunny as our skies. Like the homes of New England, yea, better and
brighter far, shall be the homes to be builded in the wonderland by the sunset
sea. The homes of a race, from which shall spring the flower of men, to serve
as models for the mighty world, and be the fair beginning of a better time.

102 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

CHAPTER VIII.

VIGILANCE COMMITTEE CRITICISED.

By the Late James O'Meara, Pioneer Journalist.

There was no Call for the Committee, Because Justice was Obtain-
able in the Courts — Cora Much Sinned Against — How the Com-
mittee Shielded Murderers — Other Strictures.

[The late James O'Meara was a defender of the Law and Order party,
which opposed the Vigilance Committee. The editor obtained the manu-
script from a friend of the late James O'Meara, and quotations from it are
frequent in this chapter. — Editor.]

There have been two opinions of the work of the Vigilance Committee
of 1856 ever since the days of its activity. Though Mr. Charles James King
has presented the popular side quite fully it should be said, in justice to the
memory of Cora, that one jury composed partly of high, reputable merchants,
failed to find him guilty, and a second trial was hanging over his head at the
time he was tried and convicted by the Vigilance Committee.

Mr. George K. Fitch, the venerable retired journalist, who was for many
years editor of the San Francisco Bulletin, said to the author of this work
in January. 1904: "The killing of United States Marshal Richardson was
never clearly accounted for as to details. Of course Cora killed him, but
whether the men had quarreled has always been unaccounted for and was a
mystery during the trial."

Mr. William M. Hinton, one of the venerable publishers of San Fran-
cisco, formerly a supervisor, and the man who brought out Henry George's
"Progress and Poverty." said to the present writer in December, 1903:
"The facts concerning Cora's conviction by the Vigilance Committee have
never been published. The late Auditor Thomas Smiley, of San Francisco,
defended Cora before the Vigilance Committee, of which he was a member,
and Smiley told me there was a tie vote as to the accused man's guilt. A
member of the committee said, 'Suppose we settle it by the tossing of a half
dollar.' and Smilev is my authoritv for the statement that the committee

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 103

flopped a half dollar. The throw went against the accused, and Cora was
hanged on the chance verdict of the coin."

George K. Fitch said he could not credit the story, because, "the Vigi-
lance Committee was a body of very calm and temperate men of great delibera-
tion and a high sense of justice. For ten successive years after their work
the People's Party won every election, the Democratic and Republican parties
were side-tracked, and San Francisco was purified."

Coming to Air. O'Meara's criticism, and preliminary to direct quota-
tions from his manuscript, it should be said that he held that all publishel ac-
counts of the committee's work were by members or friends of that organiza-
tion. As for himself, he was neither a member of the committee nor of their
opponents, — the Law and Order Society, of which William T. Sherman
(afterward the famous general) was the president. However, he indorsed
and favored the work of the latter society. Here are Mr. O'Meara's criti-
cisms in his own words :

"First, as to the cause or pretense for the organization of the Vigilance
Committee : It is declared by its ex-members and supporters, or apologists,
that it was necessary for the reason that the law was not duly administered ;
that the courts, the fountains of justice, were either corrupted or neglectful of
their duties ; that juries were packed with unworthy men in important crim-
inal cases, that there were gross frauds in elections, by which the will of the
people was defied and defeated, and improper and dishonest men. some of
them notorious rogues, were counted in and installed in public office: and
that there was a class of turbulent offenders who had the countenance, if not
the support, of judges and officials in high places, and who, therefore, felt
themselves to be above or exempt from the law.

"Tennyson has well remarked that there is no lie so baneful as one
which is half truth. So it is in respect to these alleged reasons for the or-
ganization of that Vigilance Committee. It is not true that the courts were
corrupt, neglectful or remiss. Judge Hager presided in the Fourth District
Court, and his integrity and judicial qualifications, or judgments, have never
been questioned or impeached. Judge Freelon presided as county judge;
the same can be remarked of him. There was no material fault alleged
against the Police Court. It is true, however, that in important criminal
cases, and sometimes in civil suits, the juries were often packed. But why?

104 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

I will state: Merchants and business men generally had great aversion
to serve on juries, particularly in important criminal cases, which are usually
protracted; and the jury were kept in comparative close condition, because
their time was too valuable, and their business interests required their con-
stant attention. They preferred, therefore, to pay the fine imposed, in case
they were unable to prevail upon the judge to excuse them. Jury fees were
inconsiderable in comparison with their daily profits; but it was the loss of
time from their business which mainly actuated them.

"Yet these fees were sufficient to pay a day's board and lodging, and to
the many who were out of employment, serving on a jury was the means to
both. There is, in every large community, the class known as professional
jurymen — hangers about the court, eagerly waiting to be called. There
were men of this kind then ; there are more than enough of them still loitering
about the courts, civil and criminal. San Francisco is not the only city in the
United States in which defendants in grave criminal cases have recourse to
every conceivable and possible means, without scruple, to procure their own
acquittal, or the utmost modification of the penalty, by proving extenuating
circumstances, or that the indictment magnifies the crimes. This was true
of 1856, here, as elsewhere in the land; it is equally true now. Had the mer-
chants and solid citizens then drawn as jurors, fulfilled their duty to the cause
of justice, to the conservation and maintenance of law and order, they would
have had no cause or pretense for the organization which they formed.
The initial fault was attributable to themselves; the jury-packing they com-
plained of was the direct consequence of their own neglect of that essential
duty to the state, in the preservation of law and order; and they cannot
reasonably or justly shift the onus from themselves upon the courts.

" Concerning the frauds in election : yes, there were frauds, outrageous
frauds, at every election : repeaters, bullies, ballot-box stuffing, and false
counts of the ballots to count out this candidate and count in the one favored
of the 'boys.' More than one member of the Vigilance Executive Com-
mittee had thorough knowledge of all this, for the very conclusive reason
that more than one of them had engaged in these frauds, had not only par-
ticipated in them directly and indirectly, but had actually proposed them;
employed the persons who had committed the frauds, and paid these tools
round sums for the infamous service. The reward of these employers and

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 105

accessories before, during and after the frauds, was the office that was
coveted; and the 'Hon.' prefixed to their names was as the gilt which the
watch-stuffer applies to the brass thing he imposes upon the greenhorn as
a solid gold watch. Out of the committee, of the Executive Committee, the
detectives of that body might have unearthed these honorable and virtuous
purifiers and reformers; with them, perhaps others whose frauds were no
less wicked and criminal; but in business transactions, and not in political
affairs.

"One of the Executive Committee had served his term of two years
in the Ohio state prison for forgery; here in' San Francisco he had, during
two city elections, been the trusted agent and disburser of a very heavy
sack in the honest endeavor to secure the nomination, and promote the
election, of his principal to high office; yet this pure man was honored by
his associates of the committee, and became singularly active in pressing the
expatriation of some of the very 'ruffians and ballot-box stutters' he had
patronized and paid. He had learned that 'dead men told no tales.' This
pure character did not stand alone in his experience of penal servitude, as
birds of a feather, and he was under no necessity of exemplifying Lord
Dundreary's bird, to go into a corner and flock by himself. That some tur-
bulent offenders, and largely too many of them, defied the law, is likewise
true. But that they were countenanced or favored by the judges, is utterly
without truthful foundation. And it is remarkable that, of all the men
hanged or expatriated by the committee, only two had ever been com-
plained of or arraigned before the courts for any crime of violence; not one
of them all had been here accused or suspected of theft or robbery, or other
felony. This is more, as I have just above stated, than can be said of some
of the forty-one members of the Executive Committee. And among the
members of the rank and file of the five thousand or six thousand enrolled
upon the lists of the Committee — of natives and English-speaking citizens
or residents — there were scores of scoundrels of every degree, bogus gold-
dust operators, swindlers and fugitives from justice. Of the members of
other nationalities — some of whom had not been in the country long enough
to acquire English — I have no occasion to pass remark ; but the fear of com-
munism and disturbance, from the increase of its incendiary votaries in
our country, east and here, cannot be lessened or composed by the recol-

106 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

lection of the conduct of many of the same nationalities who then swelled
the ranks of the Committee troops.

"'Saturday, November 19, 1855, between 5 and 6 o'clock, the com-
munity was startled by the report that General Richardson, United States
marshal, had been shot dead by a gambler. The shooting occurred on the
south side of Clay street, about midway between Montgomery and Leides-
dorff streets. The fatal shot was fired from a deringer pistol by Charles
Cora. Cora was a gambler, yet he did not look the character. He was a
low-sized, well-formed man; dressed in genteel manner, without display of
jewelry or loudness; was reserved and quiet in his demeanor; and his man-
ners and conversation were those of a refined gentleman. I first saw him at
the Blue Wing, a popular rendezvous for politicians, on Montgomery street,
east side, between Clay and Commercial streets, and my impression then
was that he was a lawyer or a well-to-do merchant.

"General Richardson was a morose and at times a very disagreeable
man. He was of low stature, thick set, dark complexion, black hair, and
usually wore a bull-dog look. He was known by his intimate .friends to
be a dangerous man as a foe, and he always went armed with a pair of
deringers. The Thursday night prior to the shooting General Richardson
and Col. Jo. C. McKibben. afterward member of Congress, were at the
Blue Wing in company. After midnight Richardson went out for a moment
on the sidewalk. A man passed him, made a jocular remark and entered
the saloon. Richardson followed him in, and asked of Perkins his
name. He had been drinking heavily. McKibben prevailed upon him to
start for his home. It was on Minna street, near Fred Woodworm's, just
above Jessie street. Jo. accompanied him most of the way. Richardson
spoke to him of an 'in. ult' he had received from 'that fellow Carter' — as he
seemed to think the name to be — and declared his purpose to make him
answer for it. McKibben knew Cora, and that Cora was the man to whom
Richardson referred ; but he likewise knew enough of Richardson to not
correct him, and let him believe that 'Carter" was the name, in the hope
that, in his condition, he would either not think of the occurrence the next
day, or would not be able to recognize Cora if he did.

"The following Saturday afternoon a party of us — Jo. McKibben. John
Monroe, clerk of Judge Hoffman's Court. E. V. Joice, Pen. Johnston, Josh.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 107

Haven and myself — were in the Court Exchange, corner of Battery and
Washington streets. Richardson came in while we were there, and was in
drinking humor. He became sullen and, as we all know his nature, it was
quietly agreed among ourselves that we would leave and try to get him
away. He was devoted to his wife, whom he married in San Francisco.
McKibben and myself accompanied him on his way home, as far as the
old Oriental Hotel, within a few blocks of his residence. There he insisted
on a 'last drink,' and we left him — he to go straight home.

"It turned out that he did not. He brooded over the 'insult' of Carter,
as he still called him, and made his way to the Blue Wing to find him. Un-
fortunately he found Cora there. He called him out, and, as one man will
lead another by his side, walked with him around the corner into Clay street,
halting just in front of the store of a French firm — I do not remember the
name — and so managed as to put Cora on the iron grating of the sidewalk
inside, with his back to the brick wall of the store. Cora had not the
slightest idea that Richardson had taken offence at his remark on Thursday
night — for it was in no light offensive or insulting, but simply a bit of ordinary
pleasantry, and therefore, he was not aware of Richardson's object in ask-
ing him to come out from the saloon. But many of Richardson's intimate
friends, who felt his death keenly, and were at that time disposed to the
extreme penalty of the law upon the man who shot him, after due reflection
and deliberation came to the conclusion, that under the circumstances, stand-
ing as he was placed before Richardson, who stood with his hands in his
pockets, and a deringer in each pocket, pressing his demand on Cora, the
latter had one of two things to do ; either to kill Richardson or allow Richard-
son to kill him.

"There were not many on Clay street, near the fatal scene, at that
hour, but the discharge of Cora's pistol soon brought several to the spot.
Richardson's body was carried through the side-door entrance on Clay street,
into the drug store then on that corner of Montgomery street, and there hun-
dreds viewed it. Cora was taken in charge. Dave Scannell was sheriff.
That excitement over, the feeling increased every hour, and many urged the
summary hanging of Cora. Scannell had duly prepared for all this, and
order was preserved, although several hundred men formed in line and pro-
ceeded to the countv ia.il to force their way in, seize Cora and hang him

108 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

forthwith. Sunday morning the excitement had diminished in spirit of
violence, but had increased in volume and disposition to bring Cora to jus-
tice. Eminent lawyers, the personal friends of Richardson, had already vol-
unteered to assist in the prosecution of the man who shot him.

"The application of Cora's friends to several of the most noted criminal
lawyers in the city, to defend him, was in many instances declined. Cora
had one to his support, however, who proved more successful in engaging
counsel in his behalf. This was the woman known as Belle Cora, the keeper
of a notorious house, with whom Cora lived. She was rich and possessed of
indomitable spirit. She was devoted to Cora. In this connection I will re-
late that which Governor Foote imparted to myself and J. Ross Browne, on
a trip to Oregon, late in the summer of 1857. It was substantially this:
Belle Cora had gone herself to the law office of Colonel E. D. Baker, to en-
gage him as counsel for Cora, and had succeeded. The fee was to be $5,000;
one-half this sum was immediately paid to him. She then applied to Gover-
nor Foote to engage him to assist in the case. He declined, but assured
her that he should not appear for the prosecution. In a few days, on account
of the intense popular feeling toward Cora, and also because the law partner
of Colonel Baker had strenuously objected to his acting as counsel for Cora,
as it would greatly damage their professional business and their personal
standing in the community. Baker called upon Goyernor Foote and requested
him to see Belle Cora and apprise her that she must employ some other coun-
sel; that he felt that he must withdraw from. the case — the $2,500 already
paid would be returned to her.

"To extricate his professional brother from his unpleasant situation,
Governor Foote consented to undertake the disagreeable mission. The wo-
man was immovable in her determination to keep Colonel Baker to his en-
gagement. And she intimated in terms not to be misunderstood that she
was determined that he should fulfill his obligation. Colonel Baker was a
man of dauntless courage in facing dangers of human quality ; but he was in
constant fear at sea ; and it seems there was another quality of peril which
overmastered his intrepid spirit. When Governor Foote related to him
the result of his mission, he advised the colonel to see the woman himself.
Colonel Baker did go. Governor Foote accompanying him. The governor
said he had never witnessed such a manifestation of a woman's power and

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 109

irresistible influence. Belle Cora was inspired to the height of heroism, in her
devotion to Cora, her purpose to secure his acquittal and prevent his sacri-
fice. She first appealed, implored, begged Colonel Baker to stand by his en-
gagement. He making no response, and seeming not to yield, she com-
manded that he must, that he should. She would double his fee. She would
have him appear as Cora"s counsel, if he did no more than sit in court with
Cora near him, and speak no word at all. But go on in court and have it
known that he was Cora's counsel, he must. She was inflexible in this. And
when the day of trial came Colonel Baker did appear, together with General
James A. McDougell, Colonel James and Frank Tilford — as counsel for
Charles Cora, and it was on that trial that he made the most eloquent and
extraordinary argument and plea of his life in a criminal case.

"It was not a packed jury in Cora's case. Care had been taken to im-
panel only good respectable citizens, some of whom, a short time afterward,
became members of the Vigilance Committee, and in great or less degree par-
ticipated in the seizure of Cora from the county jail and in his condemnation
and execution. Three of the jury were prominent Front street merchants.
Notwithstanding all the feeling against Cora, the popular unrelenting preju-
dice, and the great preponderance of the foremost legal minds of the San
Francisco bar, to his prosecution, Alex. Campbell, General Williams, and
Colonel Sam Inge, U. S. District attorney, to assist the public prosecutor,
the jury disagreed, and of the jurors who held out against a verdict of
guilty of murder were three Front street merchants and others of equal high
standing in the community. Cora was held for another trial, and it was
while awaiting this that he was seized by the Vigilance Committee, taken
to their rooms and hanged.

"The excitement consequent upon the killing of Richardson did not
culminate in the formation of a Vigilance Committee, similar to that of 185 1,
but it influenced the public mind in that direction. It was the piling of
combustibles which required only the next spark from the electric battery
to fire and heat to consuming flame. There were still in the city a round
number of the early Vigilance Committee which had ridden San Francisco
of the 'Sidney thieves;' some who had also, in 1849, suppressed the
'Hounds;' and they were prepared again to meet violence and lawlessness

110 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

with the stronger arm of organized force, and the quick, sharp vengeance of
the lex taliouis.

"The occasion soon came. May 14, 1856, between 4 and 5 o'clock,
afternoon, James P. Casey shot James King of William on Montgomery
street at the corner of Washington. He fired only one shot. King was
facing Casey as he fired : he immediately staggered and fell. A crowd gath-
ered in a very few moments. Casey was taken into custody and Sheriff
Scannell hastened him to the county jail in a hack. The excited crowd fol-
lowed and clamored for his life; they wanted to hang him at once. Then fol-
lowed the organization of the Vigilance Committee, mainly directed by mem-
bers of the committee of '51. * * * * * * * *

"And the burning fact remains incredible that among the members of
the Executive Committee were some who had themselves obtained office by
bribery and corruption, by calling into play the stuffing of ballot-boxes and
by all wicked and infamous means which were at that time practiced. An-
other member was, as I have stated before, a felon who had served his time
in the Ohio state prison ; another, still living and a highly respectable church
member who professes holy horror of fraud, had in early years colluded
with his brother to get possession of valuable wharf property, of which the
brother was agent and care-taker by appointment of the owner, who had
returned to his home in the east, to be gone a year. The scheme of these
brothers was a fraud of villainous conception, but it was clumsy, and there-
fore failed. On his return the courts restored the property to the rightful
owner. I might go on and point out other members of the Executive Com-
mittee who had committed deeds which, had they been duly brought to an-
swer in the courts, would have put upon them the felon's brand and the con-
vict's stripes, in some instances ; in others, pilloried them as rogues and
swindlers, unworthy of trust, unfit for respectable association.

"But were one to trace the career of several others of that body the
tracks would be through the sloughs and conduits of shame and turpitude,
rascality and crime, and finally to self-murder. It was as bad — it could
hardly have been worse, except in numbers, proportioned to the greater nu-
merical force — as in the vigilance rank and file. It is against reason and
sense to expect that in a body of five thousand men. there will be none who
are not good and honorable : that there will be no base and disreputable char-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. Ill

acters, no rogues and scoundrels. Therefore, it is not strange that of the
committee's entire force, so many were of the vile stamp, notorious gold-dust
'operators' who robbed the honest miner of his 'pile,' by bare-faced fraud;
mock auction sharpers, high-toned frauds and swindlers of low degree; and
others who neither toiled nor spun, yet feasted and fattened. All these found
in the ranks of the committee their own security from the incarceration and
banishment enforced in the case of so many less culpable than themselves.
But the onus rests upon the Executive Committee — they constituted the head
and front of the grave offending of the very laws they usurped; they were
the counselors and administrators, the accusers and arbiters, of the fate of
their powerless victims. Theirs was a tribunal organized to convict — they
were the prosecutors, the jurors, the judges, from whose fiat of condemna-
tion there was no appeal : and defense was not allowed. Arrest meant death
or banishment. The accused were prosecuted by the promoter or participant
with them in the charged offense or crime, and convicted by the verdict in
which some who had been accessories were most strenuous for conviction.
It is a rule of law that the accuser shall come into court with clean hands.

"Ignoring this just rule and in defiance of law, in usurping the seat of
justice, the Executive Committee gave opportunity to several of its members
to 'compound for sins they were inclined to, by damning those who had
no mind to;' to sit in judgment on those whose testimony or confession in
a court of justice would have turned the tables and wrought the conviction
of their accusers, prosecutors and judges. But these strictures do not apply
to the greater number of the Executive Committee — to only about half a
dozen of its members. The committee was composed mainly of honorable
men, deservedly high in the community, in every walk and relation of life.
They doubtless acted from a conscientious sense of duty, and neither in-
tended usurpation of the law, violence to justice, nor any wrong whatever.
They believed it incumbent upon them to reform what they regarded as the
mal-administration of public affairs, and to cleanse the city of the corruption
which existed — as it has existed and always will exist in populous communi-
ties, agreeably to the sentiment of Jefferson, that 'cities are scabs upon the
body politic' And with the best of motives, they believed that the organi-
zation of the Vigilance Committee was the better and surer remedial agent
to these wholesome and commendable purposes. But their action was akin

U2 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

to that of the thousands of citizens who refrain from voting at primary elec-
tions, where the seed is planted which will produce its kind in the fruiting on
the day of the final "and determining election, and subsequently complain of
the incompetency or dishonesty of the incumbents whose election is largely
attributable to the neglect of these very citizens, to make it their special care
that only good and qualified and worthy men shall be elected at the pri-
maries."

Concerning the character of Casey, Mr. O'Meara avers that the slayer
of James King of William has been put in a false light. He thus describes
the man and his record :

"Now, as to Casey; he has been described as a ruffian and villain of
irredeemable depravity — desperate to the last degree. James P. Casey was
a young man of bright, intelligent and rather prepossessing face, neat in his
person, inclined to fine clothes, but not flashy or gaudy in his attire. He
was of low stature, slender frame, lithe and compact, sinewy, nervous and
very agile. His eyes were blue and large, of bold expression. His voice was
full and sonorous. He had served as assistant county treasurer for two years,
handled a large aggregate of money in that capacity, and his accounts
squared to a cent when he handed over the books to his successor. He was
twice supervisor. His record in that office will favorably compare with that
of any who have succeeded him. During his lifetime in San Francisco
he was never accused of crime; never suspected of criminal offense. Ballot-
box stuffing was charged to his account; also fraudulent counting in elec-
tions. Doubtless there was foundation for each charge. But there were
members of the Executive Committee who had been associated with him
in these gross wrongs, and at least one of them had gained place and profit
therefrom ; and these equally or more guilty men voted to hang their former
associate in evil deeds."

"It will serve to state the offense for which Casey was sentenced to
state prison in New York before he left for California. He had, the same
as many other young men, taken up with a girl of loose character, whose chas-
tity had been spoiled by another, and hired and furnished an apartment for her.
The two lived as man and wife — much as too many live in that same rela-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 113

tion, for they quarreled and separated. In his hot temper one day, he saw
her upon the street, and instantly the thought flashed upon his mind that
he would go to her apartment and have the furniture taken from it. He
still kept a key to the door. He hired a wagon, and carried out his de-
termination. The landlady supposed it to be all right. He had paid the
rent in advance, and she was that much the gainer. He took the furniture
to a second-hand furniture dealer, sold it and kept the money. As he
bought it, he felt that it was his to sell. On the return of the girl, the land-
lady told her what had occurred. In taking the furniture he had also car-
ried away some articles which belonged to the girl. She hurried to the
police court, made charge against him, and he was arrested. He made no
defense and was convicted. The sentence was eighteen months in Sing
Sing Prison. He served his time and came to California. This was the
damning record which James King of William had threatened to publish
in his Bulletin. He did not publish the facts of the case; but only the fact
of the indictment, the conviction, the sentence and the imprisonment. King
had been told all this by a man who had been clerk to the district attorney,
and was cognizant of all the facts. He was a prominent Broderick man,
hated Casey for having left that wing of the party and joined the other
wing, and adopted this means to blast him in reputation. Casey was mor-
bidly sensitive on the subject. He had been apprised that King intended
to publish the matter; and early in the afternoon of the day of the shoot-
ing he called upon Mr. King in his office, and warned him to desist from
the publication. King gave no heed to the warning; the matter appeared
in the Bulletin that day. Casey was exasperated to madness. He armed
himself, watched for King on Montgomery street, but did not conceal him-
self. It was King's invariable custom to leave his office in the small one-
story brick building which so long obstructed Merchant street on the east
side of Montgomery, soon after the Bulletin was issued, walk to the cigar store
on the northwest corner of Washington and Montgomery streets, and thence
out Washington street homeward. He usually wore a talma of coarse fabric,
loose and reaching to his hips. It was sleeveless, concealing his arms and hands.
As he came out of the cigar store, Casey hailed him. The distance between
the two was about forty feet. Casey shouted to him, "Prepare yourself!'
and fired. King tottered and sunk upon the sidewalk. He had frequently

1U HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

made notice in his paper that any whom he denounced in its columns had
the privilege of adopting their own mode of recourse; stated the route he
usually took to and from his office, and with the significant hint, 'Gold help
any one who attacks me,' defied that method of redress. Casey took him
at his word. King was borne to the room in Montgomery Block, in which
he died a few days afterward. The ball had penetrated his body from the
left side of his breast, just below the line of the armpit, and ranging up-
ward and outward to the back of the left shoulder. The surgeons pro-
nounced it a dangerous but not a mortal wound. Dr. Beverly R. Cole was
surgeon-general to the Committee Brigade, and a member of the commit-
tee. Months afterward he declared in a public statement of the case that
King died from the unskilful treatment of the surgeons, and maintained
that with proper treatment he would have recovered. Still it was the w r ound
which superinduced his death; and Casey had fired the ball which made it."

O'Meara says there is ample evidence for the statement that the work
of the famous committee of 1856 was not free from the bias, "pulls" and
like weaknesses of mankind. Among other instances he cites the follow-
ing:

"In the county jail at the time was Rod. Backus, a young man of good
family, cousin of Phil Backus, an auctioneer of considerable prominence in
mercantile and social circles. Rod. Backus had shot dead a man whose face
he had never seen until the moment before he shot him, a dozen paces dis-
tant. It was in Stout's Alley. It was a murder, a wanton murder, without
provocation, excuse, extenuation or palliation whatever. Rod. Backus was
a frequent visitor at a house of one Jennie French. As he came to visit
her one evening, at dusk, she was standing in the doorway, at the head
of the iron stairway which led to the entrance on the second floor. On the
opposite side of the alley, walking slowly toward Jackson street was a man
of ordinary appearance. As Rod. met her on the top platform, Jennie said
to him : 'Rod, that fellow has insulted me ; shoot him !' At the word, Backus
drew his pistol and fired. The man fell. He had turned his face the mo-
ment Backus fired. It was instantly a fatal shot. Backus had influential
friends among business men and politicians. The coroner held an inquest.
A jury to hold Backus blameless had been secured, but they overshot their
mark — the thing was too transparent, too bare-faced. The murdered man

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 115

was a German, much respected by his countrymen. They determined to
press the matter to justice.

"Backus was indicted, tried, convicted of murder and sentenced to death.
None of just mind questioned the righteousness of the sentence. But his
case was appealed, and at last he had his crime reduced in degree, and re-
ceived sentence of a short term — three or five years in San Ouentin prison.
This easy let-off did not satisfy him; he wanted a verdict of acquittal, and
expected still to get it. Accordingly he again appealed his case, and while
in the county jail awaiting the action of the supreme court upon his ap-
peal, the committee had seized and taken away Casey and Cora. He was
not molested, nevertheless his fear of consequences impelled him to with-
draw his appeal, submit to his sentence, and serve his term at San Quentin.
He even begged to be taken there at once, and he was. The explanation
made by the committee leaders for not taking Backus was that the law had
already passed judgment in his case, and the committee was not disposed to
interfere with the judgments of the courts. The explanation was puerile
and inconsistent with their action in the case of Cora, who was also in the
hands of the court, and awaiting another trial. A portion of the jury, among
this portion Front street merchants and other respectable business men, had
held him to be not guilty; and surely this was more than any juror had ex-
pressed in the case of Backus. Moreover Backus had himself demonstrated
his dissatisfaction with the very mild verdict in his last trial, and was, the
same as Cora, awaiting the issue of another trial. The common belief was
that Backus owed his exemption from the grasp of the committee and from
the dread penalty which Casey and Cora suffered, not to any doubt as to
his guilt, but solely on account of his relationship and his social standing. He
had been boon companion of many of the young men of the committee be-
fore he committed the murder in Stout's alley."

In conclusion Mr. O'Meara thus pays his respects to the committee:
"Colonel E. D. Baker had defended Charles Cora, at his trial, as I
have related. He was positive and unreserved in his denunciation of the
committee. Whether he was ever threatened with arrest I do not know;
but he likewise left the city and went into the interior northern counties
and there practiced his profession until September, when he entered into

116 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

the presidential campaign as chief orator of the Republican party, for Fre-
mont, and in November returned to his practice in San Francisco.

"The Vigilance Committee disbanded their military forces late in Au-
gust. The Executive Committee held to them for future emergencies, but
ceased their meetings. Fort Gunny Bags was dismantled. The rooms were
abandoned ; but as a closing scene a grand review of the military was held
near South Park, and the rooms were thrown open to the public. Thou-
sands, ladies and gentlemen and children went there, and looked at the stuffed
ballot-box, at the nooses and ropes used in the hanging of Casey and Cora,
of Hetherington and Brace, at the shackles and gyves, at all the other in-
struments and paraphernalia of the gallows and the cells, into the narrow
cells and their scant furniture, and at all the ghastly curios of these haunted
rooms of life and death, of mental torture and bodily suffering, of forced
suicide and the mocking of the crazed victim of his own despair and des-
peration. It was a remarkable sight for women, an astounding treat to ladies,
and such an example to children, boys and girls ! But comment is not re-
quired.

"The city and county election was soon to follow. The committee
men did not neglect the opportunity which their powerful organization had
given them. The Executive Committee became practically a self-consti-
tuted nominating convention. Their rank and file were not forgotten. Gen-
eral Doane was nominated for sheriff. For every other office Vigilance men
were named the candidates. None others had chance or hope. Their ticket
was elected. They obtained the reward of their services in the organiza-
tion, and profited accordingly. Thirty-one years have now passed since the
existence of the committee. Many of its executive members are numbered
with the dead. Some of them passed away in a manner to remain as an en-
during sorrow to their kindred and connections. A few have prospered and
occupy high places in community. A very few enjoy office bestowed by the
party they aided so much to destroy in 1856. On the monument erected over
the ashes of Casey is the scriptural admonition for all mankind 'Vengeance
is mine, saith the Lord, and I will repay.* Retribution is with God alone.
The generation of this period will best subserve the good of community by
conformity to the divine injunction. And this would never have been writ-
ten were it not for the many and frequent expcarte, and incorrect publica-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 117

tions which have been put forth as faithful and impartial accounts of the
Vigilance Committee of 1856, of the character of those who suffered death
and banishment at its hands, and of the causes which led to its 'organiza-
tion. The task is done. May another similar to it never be required. The
law of the land should suffice for every exigency. It sets no bad or danger-
ous example, but is always the conservator of the public welfare, the best
protector of all, the voice of the people in accordance with the laws of God."

In concluding this chapter it may be well to say that during the trial
of Cora there was no definite reference to the nature of the dispute between
General Richardson and his slayer. On the authority of Judge Oscar T.
Shuck, a prominent legal author, Cora was a sober man, and General Rich-
ardson was drinking and in a quarrelsome mood the night before the kill-
ing.

The fame of Colonel E. D. Baker grew after his able defense of Cora.
He was one of the greatest of California's orators. Here are two extracts
from his defense of Cora :

"The profession to which we belong is, of all others, fearless of pub-
lic opinion. It has ever stood up against the tyranny of monarchs on the
one hand, and the tyranny of public opinion on the other; and if, as the
humblest among them, it becomes me to instance myself, I may say with
a bold heart, and I do say it with a bold heart, that there is not in all
this world a wretch, so humble, so guilty, so despairing, so torn with aveng-
ing furies, so pursued by the arm of the law, so hunted to cities of refuge,
so fearful of life, so afraid of death; — there is no wretch so steeped in all the
agonies of vice and crime, that I would not have a heart to listen to his
cry, and a tongue to speak in his defense, though around his head all the
wrath of public opinion should gather, and rage, and roar, and roll, as the
ocean rolls around the rock. And if ever I forget, if I ever deny, that high-
est duty of my profession, may God palsy this arm and hush my voice for-
ever.

[Colonel Baker here went into a long analysis of all the evidence.]

"Mrs. Knight swears that Richardson had one arm raised. Two others,
for the prosecution also, say he had not. Remember that the raising of
his arm is life or death to us. If Cora killed him with his hands down,
it is murder; if there was a struggle, it was different. I believe Richard-

118 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

son was brave. I don't believe that the man lives who, twice in one day,
could back Richardson up against a door, and put a pistol to his bosom
and hold it there, while he, Richardson, cowered like a slave. Is there no
moral law to be observed? Is there no correspondence in the
nature of things? Did Richardson, as Mrs. Knight says, raise
his arms? Did he, as Cotting says, have his arms pinioned? Now,
before you go one step farther toward a conclusion, you must be
satisfied on that point, and you must all agree upon it. Again, a pistol,
cocked, was found near his hand. Now, I want to utter a word upon which
eternal things may depend. I ask you, was that pistol drawn before Rich-
ardson was shot? Can you believe he stood up in that doorway for four
minutes with a pistol cocked and say he was unarmed? Mr. Cook may have
been mistaken, but whether he was or not the pistol was there, the knife was
there. The were drawn; he drew them; they were drawn in combat; and
being drawn, it justified the utmost extremity of arms, before men or angels."

After a further analysis of the evidence in his own matchless manner
Colonel Baker reached his peroration. In part he said :

"That a woman should, in adversity and bitterness, and sorrow and
crime, stand by her friend in the dungeon, on the scaffold, with her money,
and tears, and defiance, and vengeance, all combined, is human and natural.
This woman is bad; she has forgotten her chastity — fallen by early tempta-
tion from her high estate; and among the matronage of the land her name
shall never be heard. She has but one tie, she acknowledges but one obliga-
tion, and that she performs in the gloom of the cell and the dread of death;
nor public opinion, nor the passions of the multitude, nor the taunts of angry
counsel, nor the vengeance of the judge, can sway her for a moment from
her course. If any of you have it in your heart to condemn, and say
'Stand back! I am holier than thou,' remember Magdalene, name written in
the Book of Life.

"I feel prouder of human nature. I have learned a new lesson. Hide
him in the felon's grave, with no inscription consecrated to the spot; and
when you have forgotten it, and the memories of the day are past, there will
be one bosom to heave a sigh in penitence and prayer, there will be one eye
to weep a refreshing tear over the sod, one trembling hand to plant flowers
above his head. Let them make the most of it. I scorn the imputation that

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 119

infamy should rest on him for her folly and her faith. Let them make the
most of it, and when the great Judge of all shall condemn, — when, in that
dread hour, you and I and she shall stand at the common tribunal for
the deeds done or aimed to he done at this day, — if this be remembered
against her at all, it will be lost in the record of a thousand crimes perpe-
trated by high and noble souls. Let a man who feels in his heart no re-
sponsive type of such traits of goodness, of truest courage in darkest destiny,
let that man be the first to put his hand to the bloody verdict.

"There is public opinion now ; there was no such thing as genuine pub-
lic opinion at the time of the homicide — it was bastard. It is now calm, in-
telligent, reflecting, determined, and just. If you mean to be the oracles of
this public opinion, in God's name, speak! If you mean to be priests of the
divinity which honest men may worship, answer! If you are the votaries
of the other, you are but the inflamed Cassandra of a diseased imagination and
of a prurient public mind. If of the former, I bow at your feet, in honor of
the mysteries of your worship. Against this man the public press, so po-
tent for good, so mighty for evil, inflames and convulses the public mind
and judgment. There is not one thing they have said that is in accordance
with truth and justice ; there is not one version they have given that is based
on testimony and facts."

Now, that the reader has had a fair report of both sides of the great
and world-famous Vigilance Committee he may judge whether San Fran-
cisco acted rightly or wrongly in her struggle for social order in the wonder-
ful era that followed the discovery of gold.

120 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

CHAPTER IX.
THE GOOD CITIZENSHIP MOVEMENT.

Just before the famous Vigilance Committee abandoned its organiza-
tion a number of public-spirited citizens, many of whom had been a part of
the Vigilance Committee, decided to organize an independent political party.
Their purpose was, as they said, to "rescue the city of San Francisco from
the clutch of irresponsible men." The result of their deliberations was the
People's Reform Party.

The opponents of the original Vigilance Committee have always main-
tained that the new reform party was really organized for the protection of
those who had participated in the affairs of the Vigilance Committee.

In August, 1856, at a spontaneous public meeting in front of the Ameri-
can Exchange, in San Francisco, Ira P. Rankin was elected chairman. Reso-
lutions declaring the unfitness of the old parties were adopted without delay.
To the old parties and their greed for spoils were attributed many of the
evils that had called for summary methods.

Twenty-one men, among whom were J. B. Thomas, E. H. Washburn,
Louis McLean, Frederick Billings, A. B. Forbes and T. O. Larkin, were ap-
pointed a committee to draw up resolutions recommending the election of
legislators pledged to reform. It was also part of their duty to see to the
nomination of city- and county officers.

A strange event occurred about an hour after the organization of the
meeting that meant the birth of the People's Reform Party, and that was the
fact that the Republicans gained control, and the purpose of the organiza-
tion was almost frustrated. To the masterful eloquence of E. H. Wash-
burn is attributed the fact that the committee was permitted to carry out its
work. In due time it submitted a reform ticket which triumphed at the polls.

The newly elected city and county officers are said to have been efficient
and patriotic. To this fact and the great watchfulness of the awakened
public may be attributed the infrequency of corruption and the reign of

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 121

economy that followed. So strict was the desire to save the public funds
that the judges of the nisi prius courts were reminded, when they asked for
stoves for their court rooms, that fuel was not needed in the land of per-
petual summer.

An immediate result of the new regime was the swift and certain ad-
ministration of justice, and a decrease of crime. There were not many
police, but they were efficient and were well backed up by public sentiment
and by judges not afraid to sentence criminals.

Under the reform movement almost every expense connected with the
administration of the city government was less than under the sparser pop-
ulation of Vigilance Committee days.

As the city of San Francisco prospered and set a good example to the
state, showing a remarkable recovery from the heat and excitement of earlier
years, so, too. the state itself prospered and the world beheld the spectacle of
"a might empire of pioneers" righting the ship of state at a time when many
critics feared that California and chaos were one.

Royce has aptly said that the race that has grown up in California as
the outcome of these early struggles, is characterized by peculiar qualities of
strength and weakness. The genesis of society accounts for much of the
free Americanism, the disregard of old social custom, and the free-hearted
generosity of the native Californian.

Within ten years after the conclusion of the work of the Vigilance Com-
mittee the gold fever had greatly abated so that men other than miners and
adventurers began to people the state. Even in the mines the demand was
for capital, inventors, skilful scientists to unlock the hidden treasures of the
mountains. Speaking of the mere fortune hunter, a writer in the San Fran-
cisco Chronicle aptly said some years ago :

"With the disappearance of the migratory element the population of
the state tended to become fixed, and California was now a home for her
people and not merely a treasure chamber to be rifled. The settlement of
land titles was a labor of immense complexity, and its gradual completion
gave rise to man)* heart burnings. The survey of the state went on apace,
and men began to recognize that gold was by no means the greatest of
California's products and that her true and permanent wealth was to be
found in her climate, of which the like was not upon earth, in the phenome-

122 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

nal fertility of her soil, and in the royal guerdon which she offered to those
who would call her mother, and who would place within her guardianship
their own future and the future of their families.

"It was not until the gold fever began to wane that California's perma-
nent resources become recognized, and even then the process of recogni-
tion was a slow one. California was believed to be a land in which to
get rich, but not in which to reside. Upon the very floor of the United
States Senate, California's representative had placed his ignorance upon rec-
ord by saying: T would not give six bits an acre for the best agricultural
land in California.' The immigration which eventually set in was of men
and women who came with peace and contentment in their hearts to a new
land, where seed time and harvest do not fail, and where a man shall cer-
tainly reap whatsoever he has sowed."

When the Civil war broke out California's geographical position made
it impossible for her to be a battlefield. Even if there had been an attempt
to lead her out of the Union, however, it must have failed for' her people
were with the cause that won. Though many citizens left California to
enter one side or the other of the great conflict, there was tranquillity at
home, and the close of the war found the state prosperous. A careful stu-
dent of the situation has put the case clearly, as follows :

"Although the conclusion of the Civil war with the tragedies which ac-
companied it was two thousand miles from her frontiers, California was not
unmindful of her pledge to freedom, the pledge which had sanctified the
hour of her statehood's birth, and in the election of i860 she upheld the
hands of Lincoln, and added her godspeed to the northern cause.

"From the commercial point of view the Civil war, which was so dis-
astrous to the Atlantic shore, enhanced the prosperity of the Pacific. Farm
produce from the west found a ready sale, and the foundations of California
agriculture were firmly laid. The necessity for communication between east
and west became pressingly manifest under the exigencies of the war, and
congress passed a bill to facilitate the building of a railroad from Missouri
to the Sacramento. Large numbers of people emigrated to California in
order to escape the miseries of the struggle, and as these were largely of the
moneyed class a strong impetus was given to building speculation and to
all real estate transactions. Hotels of unprecedented dimensions were

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 123

erected in San Francisco and elsewhere, and the water supply of the city
was extended and improved.

"The fever which had attended upon the discovery of gold was repro-
duced upon a smaller scale when the output of the Comstock silver mines
reached very large dimensions in 1863. The fever was, of course, followed
by corresponding chills and collapse when the limits of the lode were re-
ported to be within sight, and in the ensuing panic a very large amount of
wealth took unto itself wings and flew away. The winter of that year pro-
duced only ten inches of rain, and the grain crop of 1864 was, therefore,
the poorest upon record. Over a quarter of the farm animals throughout
the state died of starvation, and California agriculture received its first se-
vere check. None the less the treasure exports from San Francisco amounted
to $55,000,000, representing an increase of $15,000,000 since i860. New
arrivals into the state numbered 9,500, and over 1,000 new houses made
their appearance in San Francisco.

"During this time, and although so far removed from the theater of
war, California never relaxed her interest in the vital issues that were be-
•ing decided, never waned nor grew cold in the northern cause. In his
last message to the legislature, which met at Sacramento on December 7,
1863, Governor Stanford reviewed the situation existing in the state and
in the country at large, and declared that the illumination of education shone
upon the banner of the northern states :

" 'At the north the principle of education is the governing law and binds
into a solid phalanx that proud array of free communities. * * * The
north is united in battling for a principle which education has taught them
to be the very life of their institutions. Had the system of common-school
education that prevails in our northern states found an early entrance and
been nourished into life in those states that are now at war with the Union,
the civilization of the nineteenth century would never have been shocked by
the rebillion that now disgraces its annals.'

"The clergy of California were almost unanimous in support of the
Union, but the Reverend Thomas Starr King surpassed them all — not, per-
haps, in the earnestness of his conviction, but certainly in the beauty and
force of its expression.

"Arriving in California in i860, the lectures which he at once proceeded

124 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

to deliver on a great range of subjects attracted widespread attention for the
erudition which they displayed, as well as for the oratory and grace of dic-
tion which distinguished them. He acquired at once a power over the pop-
ular mind, which he exercised to the utmost, not only in support of the
northern cause, but to increase the ardor of public enthusiasm for its suc-
cess. Wielding an equal power over the learned and the unlearned, it would
be hard to overestimate the extent of his sway or the measure of his services
to the Union.

" Upon those who were politically undecided the effect of his oratory
was immediate and permanent, and there were certainly many who, through
lack of knowledge and information, were in need of the intellectual and
moral leadership which he was so brilliantly qualified to give. Traveling
through the state, the latent fires of patriotism sprang into a hot flame be-
hind him, and the intensity of the feeling which he aroused was magnificently
proved by the immense sums of money which, in answer to his appeals, were
poured out for the beneficent work of the Sanitary Commission.

"His labors were, however, beyond his strength, and the efforts which
he poured forth so prodigally proved a fatal drain upon a physical constitu-
tion which was never robust. In March. 1864, Rev. Thomas Starr King
died of a throat affection, at less than forty years of age, and the state has
rarely witnessed so great an outburst of popular grief. During the four
years of warfare the national flag had never been lowered from the walls
of his church, and he lived long enough to see that flag raised to the posi-
tion which it will occupy forever over the destinies of his country."

Following the early years of the great Civil war California's progress
became one of the great commercial facts of the age. The building of the
transcontinental road that scaled the high Sierras and was the engineering
feat of the age assured the future of the Golden State. That marvelous
moument of human industry and foresight united the far-away west with
the civilization of the world. Its influence on the Pacific coast cannot be cal-
culated for the results have not yet borne their complete harvest. The story
of the railroad is told elsewhere in this volume in an eloquent chapter con-
tributed by one of the most charming writers on the coast.

It should be said that there was a second gold excitement in California
following the building of the transcontinental railroad.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 125

In 1875, during Pacheco's administration, reports of fabulous wealth in
the Consolidated Virginia mine, on the Comstock lode, produced a frenzy
of speculation that made California famous again, led to quick and vast
fortunes, followed often by pauperism and distress. The speculations of
1875 and 1876 were even more intense than those of previous years. The
new bonanza was expected to yield $1,500,000,000 to $2,000,000,000 a year,
and popular excitement ran so high that credence would have been given to far
more fabulous figures.

A writer who knew much of the distress as well as much of the success
of the times — Mr. Horace Hudson — thus describes the situation :

"The chief organizers of the Consolidated Virginia were Flood, O'Brien,
Mackay and Fair, and their manipulations raised the speculative mania to
a point where it became uncontrollable. Crimes were committed to obtain
the money necessary for gambling in shares, and a fresh chapter was added
to the record of brutality which has so often constituted the story of min-
ing. General ruin followed the inevitable crash. The stocks fell like lead,
and only the manipulators escaped and those few who had been sufficiently
astute to foresee the end. The fiasco was not, however, without its re-
deeming features, nor entirely calamitous to California. Capital and energy
were attracted in no small measure, of which San Francisco was ultimately to
feel the benefit, both in its financial and in its commercial life."

An account of the times would be incomplete without some mention of
the social discontent that culminated in the labor movement of 1877, when
the dissatisfaction of the laboring classes, led by Dennis Kearney, culminated
in the so-called Sand Lot riots. In July, 1877, William T. Coleman, leader
of the famous second Vigilance Committee was once more called to the lead-
ership of the friends of good order. On the 25th of the month there was
a sharp conflict between the rioters and the citizens. In an attempt to pre-
vent the destruction of property a number of men were killed and wounded.
The turbulent element was driven off and the Committee of Safety retired
from its labors. The weapons used by the members of the committee were
borrowed from the government, an incident that shows the confidence that
existed in the character of the opponents of the rioters.

Dennis Kearney, a working man of brains, force, and native eloquence
became the leader of the dissatisfied. He had been in the state ever since

126 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

1868 and he became the orator of the Workingman's party, which became
known as the Sand Lot party, however, and was seldom called by its real
name.

Kearney was fierce in the denunciation of existing- conditions. His
campaign was, in truth, a forerunner of such socialist movements as now
characterize many industrial centers. At a meeting on September 21,
1877, he declared that every workingman should bear a musket and use
it in the assertion of his rights. Kearney is still living, having been up and
down in finances since those years. He does not interfere actively in poli-
tics, and the years have made him conservative. He has little faith in the
stability of workingmen's views.

Despite these troubles and some earlier ones, the prosperity of San Fran-
cisco and the state were for the most part uninterrupted after the comple-
tion of the great railroad connecting the two oceans. Barring a slight real
estate panic and a set back here and there progress was the order of the
age. By glancing at the following from the San Francisco Chronicle's his-
tory one will see how matters fared with the wonderful state in early days :

"Governor Low's message to the legislature of 1867-68 shows the
financial condition of the state to be highly favorable. While the total debt
was over $5,000,000, there was every prospect that it would be wiped off
within ten years. The governor signalized his speech by a courageous
recommendation that Mongolian and Indian testimony be received in courts
of justice, and that juries be allowed to exercise their own discretion in esti-
mating its value. He congratulated the people of California on the marked
advance in the moral and intellectual life of the state, which had so strik-
ingly accommpanied its commercial and agricultural progress. Steam com-
munication was now established with Hawaii, as well as with China and Ja-
pan, and California had become an important link in the traffic chain of the
world.

"The real estate market, which had been becoming more and more ex-
cited with the approach of the railway, showed symptoms of delirium in
1868. The sales in San Francisco increased to $27,000,000, and speculation
became irresponsible and unrestrained. The railway would certainly be fin-
ished before 1870, and the impetus to immigration was so strong that the
gain to the state within the year was no less than 35,000. The railway was

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 127

already completed between Vallejo and Sacramento, from Adelaide to Sus-
col, and from Sacramento to Marysville, and this rapid work and the pros-
pect of many further extensions added materially to the real estate boom.

"Agriculture was now becoming an ever more vital factor in the prog-
ress of the state. A succession of abundant rains had not only produced
phenomenal crops upon the lands already under cultivation, but the area of
tillage had enormously increased, as the permanent wealth of the land be-
came continually better understood. The arid lands in the San Joaquin val-
ley, which had hitherto been accounted nearly worthless, were now found to
be extraordinarily prolific, and ground which had hitherto failed to find a pur-
chaser at $1.25 per acre could now hardly be bought at $20 per acre. With-
in two years Stanislaus county had risen from the position of the seventeenth
to that of the first wheat-producing county in the state, with a harvest of 2,-
300,000 bushels.

"Governor Haight's message of December, 1868, once more reflects the
general prosperity of the state. Crops were abundant and labor was well
paid. Means of communication were increasing, and commerce and man-
ufactures were healthy. The geological survey was going on apace, and
charitable and educational institutions were doing well their appointed work.
With regard to immigration, the governor believed that the state should set
asfde an appropriation for the purpose of making known what California had
to offer to farmers, mechanics and laborers in order that her resources might
no longer remain undeveloped for lack of human brains and human hands.
In a subsequent message we find the governor referring in laudatory terms
to the efforts of the California Immigrant Union to promote immigration
to the state, efforts which were undertaken in a spirit of patriotism and
without other reward than the sense of accomplished duty. The work thus
begun has been continued with constant, unselfish and patriotic devotion, not
only by those who have specially devoted themselves to so laudable a labor,
but also by every resident of the state who realizes and endeavors to make
known the prodigal bounty with which nature has surrounded him."

Today social order is well established throughout California, her in-
dustries are going forward on a large scale, and the fruits of the early strug-
gles of the sturdy pioneers are within reach of the present generation. The
fulness of the harvest, however, lies far beyond the grasp of persons now
living and is to be the reward of posterity.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

CHAPTER X.

GROWTH OF NEWSPAPERS.

From Early Times California Has Been a Great Country for News-
papers and Periodical Literature of All Varieties — Great Bold-
ness of Early Editors, Who Took Large Risks and Made Good
Profits by Doing So — Printed Matter That Cost a Small For-
tune Each Issue in the Days When Paper was Worth Fabulous
Prices — Extraordinary Fertility of the Journalistic Field in
Early Sacramento — Modern Papers and Their Methods, With a
Sketch of Some of the Leading Journals of Northern Califor-
nia.

Though at the extreme western rim of the American continent, and
though often supposed to be far beyond the influences of high culture, es-
pecially in pioneer times, California has a brilliant record in journalism and
literature, as intimated by President Jordan, of Stanford University, in his
chapter of the present volume.

The land that produced Joaquin Miller, Bret Harte, Mark Twain, Henry
George, Arthur McEwen, and like men of the pen need not be ashamed of
its record. Even in pioneer days San Francisco and Monterey, the centers of
population, had a powerful press. The isolation of the country and the
absence of world news inevitably led to a high order of writing. Mediocres
would have run to village gossip, but the men at the helm in those times
were men of talents, so they wrote a high class of editorials, a good type of
stories, and a rich class of humor.

By the year 1876 San Francisco had eighty well known publication, and
in modern times the output runs far into the hundreds, and the range covers
every variety of journal imaginable, some being published in Chinese. San
Francisco has ever been an inviting field for publishers, but, like every other
large city, it has a good-sized newspaper graveyard.

The first paper published in the territory was the Califoniiau, at the
historic town of Monterey. Volume 1, number 1, bore date August 15, 1846.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 129

Walter Colton and Robert Semple were its proprietors. The paper was
printed from long primer type and the press work was done on an old Ramage
press that had seen service in the Mexican war, having been used by the
Mexican governors in the printing of their edicts.

Second in the list of papers comes the California Star, a weekly, which
was established in San Francisco by S. Brannan, on January 9, 1847, an d
E. P. Jones was its editor. On April 17, 1847, E. C. Kemble, later of the
Alta, succeeded Jones and was for a long period the senior editor in the
state.

In May, 1847, the Caiiforniam removed from Monterey to San Francisco
and became a competitor of the Star. When the gold era dawned journalism
suffered a severe blow. The fever for gold raged so high by the spring of
1848 that all the printers deserted for the mines. Both the Star and the
Californian were compelled to suspend publication, so that from May 26,
1848, until the latter part of June there was not a newspaper in California.

By August, 1848, the Calif omian resumed its career, this time under the
management of H. I. Sheldon. In September of the same year E. C. Kemble
bought both the Star and the Calif ornian and consolidated them under the
name Star and Calfomiam. It might be said here that such consolidations
were very common in California from that date on to the end of pioneer
times. It is noticeable, even to-day, that the state has many such consolidated
publications.

The Star and Calif orman went out of existence in December, 1848, and
on January 1, 1849, Kemble, Hubbard and Gilbert established the Alta
Calif omian, which was published for more than a generation. From January
4, 1850, until its suspension it was a daily.

On April 28, 1849, E. C. Kemble, who had gone to New Helvetia, issued
the first copy of the Placer Times. More concerning this will appear under
the heading of Sacramento journalism, for New Helvetia became Sacramento.

On August 25, 1849, Falkner & Leland established the Pacific Nczvs
in San Francisco, though paper was then worth $60 a ream. Their publica-
tion was issued on many sizes and colors of paper — white, butchers' brown,
tea wrappers, or on whatever could be obtained. It was a tri-weekly.

On January 18, 1S50, the Journal of Commerce was established by W.
Bartlett. It is still issued, being one of the oldest papers in the west.

130 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

The Stockton Times was established on March 16, 1850.

In June, 1850, Toy, Nugent & Company founded the San Francisco
Herald.

July 1, 1850, Crane & Rice launched the California Courier.

August 3, 1850, the Evening Picayune was established in San Francisco.
It did not last long.

On August 6, 1850, the first copy of the Marysville Herald was issued,
thus giving Yuba county a record running back almost to the beginning.

On September 1. 1850, the California Illustrated A r cics appeared.

Under a summarized statement the careers of a number of early papers
may be thus exhibited :

The Weekly Calif ornian, Monterey, August, 1846.

The Weekly Star, San Francisco, January 9, 1847.

Alta California, weekly, January 1, 1849.

Alta California, daily, January 4, 1850.

Placer Times. Sacramento, April 28, 1849.

Pacific Nezcs, San Francisco, daily, August 25, 1849.

Journal of Commerce, weekly, San Francisco, January 23, 1850.

Stockton Times, weekly, March 26, 1850.

Sacramento Transcript, daily, April 1, 1850.

Stockton Journal, semi-weekly, June 19, 1850.

California Courier, daily, San Francisco. July 1, 1850.

Sonoma Weekly Herald, Sonoma, July 4, 1850.

San Francisco Evening Picayune, August 3, 1850.

Marysville Herald, weekly, August 6, 1850.

Illustrated California Nczcs, semi-monthly. September 1, 1850.

Gazctte-Republicainc. tri-weekly, San Francisco, September, 1850.

Late in 1855 James King, of William, and C. O. Gerberding, established
the San Francisco Bulletin, which is still in existence. (A graphic account of
the killing of James King, of William, and of the part the Bulletin played
during Vigilance Committee days, appears in the chapters devoted to the
Vigilance Committees.)

George K. Fitch and Loring Pickering secured the Bulletin in 1850, and
under their mangement it became famous. Men like Nesbit, Bartlett, Barnes,
Tuthill and Avery added luster to its columns in the day of its power and
glory.

The San Francisco Call was first issued on the morning of December

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 131

i, 1856, under the management, as announced, of "Associated Practical
Printers." It grew in size and favor from the outset, and by 1869 Messrs.
Pickering & Fitch had bought it. Under their management it soon became
a power and was for many years supreme under their direction.

On October 7, 1863, the Democratic Press was established in San
Francisco, and by June 12, 1865, it became the Evening Examiner, with Will-
iam S. Moss as publisher and B. F. Washington as editor. For several years
William S. Moss, Phil Roach and George Pen Johnston were its owners.
Until secured by United States Senator George Hearst, in the eighties, it
was a highly chaste and non-sensational journal. After Senator Hearst's
death the paper went to his son, W. R. Hearst, and under his control it has
been conspicuous for its aggressive sensationalism.

On December 4, 1871, the San Francisco Evening Post was introduced
to the public under the proprietorship of Messrs. Hinton, Rapp & Co., with
Henry George as editor. Mr. George afterward became famous as the au-
thor of "Progress and Poverty."' and apostle of the single-tax school of politi-
cal economists. S. Seabough, a brilliant editor, L. E. Crane, and J. T.
Goodwin, who introduced Mark Twain into journalism, were famous writers
for the Post during its early history.

The Daily Report was established in 1863, and was issued with success
by Bunker and Heister for many years. It suspended in 1901.

The history of the San Francisco Call and of the San Francisco Chron-
icle appear in independent sketches, furnished by their present proprietors.

The following facts are taken almost wholly, though not in his language,
from an excellent article by Mr. Joseph A. Woodson, for many years the
brilliant editor of the Sacramento Record-Union :

On the 28th of April. 1849, at Sutter's Fort, the first Sacramento paper
was issued. E. C. Kemble and Company were its founders, and from the
seed they planted, sprang all the journals which have been started in the
Sacramento Valley since that date. Their paper was the Placer Times, which
vvas an offshoot of the Alta Calif ornian- of San Francisco, and its success en-
couraged those who conceived the idea of a paper at the Fort. The merchants
of the vicinity guaranteed the owners against loss. An assortment of old type
was picked up from the Alta office, an old Ramage press was repaired, Span-
ish foolscap was secured and the entire outfit was shipped to Sacramento by

132 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

water. An office was built near what is now 28th and K streets. It was a
mixture of adobe, wood and cotton cloth, but it answered the purpose. The
paper was 13x18 inches and the title was cut from wood with a pocket knife.
Everything about the office was pioneer-like and the crudest imaginable.

The Times appeared on Saturdays until chills and fever drove the editor
to San Francisco, after which Per Lee conducted the paper for two weeks,
but. being a tyro, he abandoned it and H. Giles took charge for the owners
of the Alta. In July the office was moved to Front street, where it flourished
for a time, though the editor growled about the ingratitude of people who had
promised to give- him a lot.

Subscriptions were ten dollars a year. In November, 1849, after a brief
period of reduction in size, the paper resumed its old shape and was removed
to Second street between K and L streets. On April 22, 1850, it began to ap-
pear as a tri-weekly and J. E. Lawrence became its editor. In July, 1850,
it was enlarged one-third and on October 8th it was bought by Loring Pick-
ering, J. E. Lawrence and L. Aldrich for $16,000.00, which sum included the
cost of the building and two lots. LTp to this time the paper had been inde-
pendent in politics, but inclined toward Democracy. In June, 185 1, the
Times was consolidated with its rival, its last issue being June 15, 1851.

It is interesting to recall that the Sacramento of those times contained
about 100 buildings, though there lay along the river front many barges, brigs
and deep water vessels, on some of which many people lived. An ordinary
wooden hotel twenty-five by fifty-five feet then cost $100,000 and rented for
$5,000 a month. Beef was worth about $3.00 a pound, cheese $1.50 per pound
and milk $1.00 a quart. Carpenters earned $16 a day and laborers $1.50 per
hour. A ball in those days could muster but eighteen women from the region
extending from Marysville to the San Joaquin, and more than 250 men were in
competition for the "first dance," after having paid $32.00 for a ticket of
admission. This was the era of the hurdy-gurdy, the revolver and the bowie
knife. Under such social conditions the founders of the first newspaper began
their career.

On April 1, 1850, the Sacramento Transcript made its appearance. It
was the same size as the Times, but it appeared as a tri-weekly and it was
the first paper to issue in interior California more frequently than once, a
week. The proprietors were George K. Fitch, S. C. Upham, J. M. Julian, H.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 133

S. Warner, Theodore Russell and F. C. Ewer. Mr. Fitch and Mr. Pickering
of the Pioneer Times and Transcript were afterward proprietors of the
Bulletin and the Call of San Francisco. Mr. Ewer became an eminent Epis-
copal clergyman and was for some years pastor of one of the greatest churches
of New York city.

Professor Josiah Royce, now of the Chair of Philosophy at Harvard
University, whose excellent history of California has been referred to through-
out the present history, found the files of the Transcript invaluable to him
during his researches. This need excite no wonder, for it was a good news-
paper, carefully edited, and of a high degree of literary excellence. Fifth in-
terests in the paper sold the summer after it started for as much as
$5,000. G. C. Weld bought the interest of Mr. Upham for $10,000
very soon after the paper was founded. In July, 1850, the Transcript was
enlarged and the rivalry between it and the Times became very warm. The
Transcript was an independent publication at the outset, but it became Demo-
cratic in December, 1850. On June 16, 185 1, the Times and Transcript
were united and issued as one paper under the joint title, the first double-
headed paper in California. George K. Fitch had become state printer and
Loring Pickering had the city printing. These contracts formed the basis
of the fusion, Mr. Fitch retaining a half interest in the printing and Picker-
ing and .Lawrence holding the other half.

The editors were Pickering, Fitch and Lawrence, and they found a rival
in the State Journal. In June, 1852, the Times and Transcript left the field
and went to San Francisco, where it was published by the old firm and subse-
quently published by George Kerr, B. F. Washington, J. E. Lawrence and J.
C. Haswell. It passed from them to Edwin Bell and next to Vincent E.
Geiger & Co. Pickering, Fitch & Co. meantime had acquired the Alta Cali-
fornian and on December 17. 1854, they bought back their old Times and
Transcript, which the Alta absorbed immediately.

On October 30, 1850, the Settler's and Miner's Tribune was started to
champion the cause of the Squatter's Association and was noted for the active
part it took in the Squatter riots of 1850. Doctor C. L. Robinson, who sub-
sequently became the Free State Governor of Kansas, was its editor, and
James McClatchy, afterwards of the Bee, and L. M. Booth", were associate
editors. Cyrus Rowe brought the printing material from Maine. The publi-

134 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

cation was daily except Sundays, for one month, after which it became a
weekly and in another month gently gave up the ghost and became the first
contribution to Sacramento's famous newspaper graveyard.

The Sacramento Index, established December 23, 1850, was the first
Whig newspaper of the valley. It was started by Lynch Davison and Rolle,
practical printers. J. W. Winens, afterwards a prominent San Francisco
lawyer, was its editor, assisted by H. B. Livingstone. It was issued from the
Times office and was the first afternoon newspaper. It relied for support upon
Ihe Whigs, but found political contributions very weak, so it took its posi-
tion against the actions of the Vigilance Committee in hanging a gambler.
After that ill-timed stroke, it lost ground and died quietly on St. Patrick's
Day, 1851, having lived three months. It was noted during its brief but
brilliant life as a paper of rare literary ability, of great vigor and originality
of expression, and as a paper of high ideals.

About this time competition between the Times and the Transcript be-
came so warm that it was ruinous to business. Printers became discouraged
en account of low rates, so they resolved to establish a new paper and they se-
cured Dr. J. F. Morse as editor. They sent to San Francisco for stock, rented
rooms at 21 J street and on March 19, 185 1, they launched the Sacramento
Daily Union. The proprietors were Alexander Clark, who subsequently went
to the Society Islands; W. K. Keating, who died afterwards in an insane
asylum; A. C. Cook, Job Court (who was burnt to death at the Western Hotel
fire in 1874) ; E. G. Jefferis: Charles L. Hansicker, F. H. Harmon, W. K.
Davison and Samuel H. Dosh. Mr. Dosh was afterward editor of the Shasta
Courier. During its long and successful career the Union, afterward the
Record-Union, and now the Union again, has played a great and important
part in the journalism of northern California. Many brilliant editors have
graced its columns with wit and wisdom, and have contributed in no small
degree to the instruction, the amusement and the upbuilding of the public
character.

On February 5, 1852, the Democratic State Journal appeared with V.
E. Geiger and B. F. Washington as editors. It was a Democratic paper and
it opposed the reign of popular justice organized as the famous Vigilance
Committee of 1856. Its career was not successful, and on June 24, 1858, it
breathed its last.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 13f

TJie California Statesman was founded on November 13, 1854. It was a
morning paper edited by Henry Meredith, straight out Democratic and sup-
ported W. M. Gwin for re-election to the United States senate against Bro-
derick. In March, 1855, the publishers were involved in legal .difficulties and
they suspended the Statesman in consequence.

The California Farmer and Journal of Useful Science began its publica-
tion in Sacramento in May, 1855, having already appeared in San Francisco a
year before. The publishers were Warren & Son and J. K. Phillips & Co.
Dr. J. F. Morris was the editor for one month. It was a weekly paper and
remained in Sacramento until July 18, 1856, when it was removed to San
Francisco, where it appeared for many years. Colonel Warren was a wonder-
ful character, having been the proprietor of a famous resort at Brighton, Mas-
sachusetts, known as Nonantun Vale. There he kept a register which con-
tained the names of eminent men who had visited the place. The Colonel
died in San Francisco about ten years ago, having attained the ripe age
of one hundred years. He was of considerable ability and culture and in
his declining years he took great pride in showing his register which con-
tained the names of such celebrities as Webster, Clay and Calhoun, and in
exhibiting preserved pumpkins, squash and other vegetables that he had in-
troduced into California as editor of the old California Farmer.

Dr. J. F. Morse and S. Colville in March, 1854, issued the first and only
number of a monthly magazine entitled the "Illustrated Historical Sketches of
California, with a Minute History of the Sacramento Valley." Mr. Joseph
A. Woodson says the bad management of the business department caused
the early death of the publication, but others say the name killed it.

March 13, 1854, J. M. Shephard and Co. issued the Sacramento Daily
Democrat. It was edited by R. C. Mathewson. It was printed from the
material of the defunct Benicia Vidette. After a sickly career of three
months, it suddenly gave up the ghost.

The Pacific Recorder appeared July 15, 1854. edited by E. J. Willis. It
was to champion the cause of the Baptist Church. It was a semi-monthly,
and in July, 1855, it became a weekly. In March, 1856, its rather feeble life
began to ebb and it met its death with Christian fortitude.

The California Almanac and Register was a pamphlet which appeared

136 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

from the State Journal office in December, 1854. Alas, its first was also its
last appearance.

On June 8. 1855, the State Tribune reached the surface as a morning
paper. It was edited and published by Parker H. French and S. J.
May. On August 1st, J. M. Estill became editor of the Tribune and op-
posed John Bigler and the Democracy with such vigor as to draw bitter op-
position from many other journals. Subsequently the partners quarreled and
soon thereafter two Tribunes appeared, each with the claim that it was the
real and the only Tribune. The twins soon died, the last on June 1, 1856.

• From the ashes of the last Tribune the California American soon sprang.
It was a radical No-Nothing journal. It died in February, 1857, having
never succeeded at any moment of its existence.

The Water-Fount and Home Journal was started on December 15, 1855,
by Alexander Montgomery & Co. It was the official organ of the Sons of
Temperance. It survived but nine months.

On December 6, 1855, George H. Baker and J. A. Mitchell established the
Spirit of the Age. In June, 1856, it changed its name to the Sacramento Age
and enlarged. In the summer of 1856 it was sold to the No-Nothing party
and it survived until after the election of 1857.

December 24, 1855, A. Bedlam & Co. started the Daily Evening Times,
but it breathed its last in March, 1856.

December 11, 1856, C. Babb and W. H. Harvey began the publication of
a daily morning independent paper entitled the City Item. P. Codgins was the
editor and the paper lived seven months.

Cornelius Cole & Co. began the Daily Times, a morning paper on August
15, 1856. It was Republican in politics, but it entered its tomb on January 24,
i8 5 7-

The Chinese News was started in December. 1856. Ze Too Yune, alias
Hung Tai, was editor and publisher and he displayed much skill in his dual
capacity. It was first a daily, then a tri-weekly, then a weekly, lastly a
monthly, and after a two years' lease of life, it entered Chinese heaven.

The Temperance Mirror was a monthly, commenced January, 1857, by
O. B. Terrell with \Y. D. Taylor as editor. It was issued once in Sacramento,
after which it was removed to San Francisco, where it died in March of the
same vear.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 137

The Daily Morning Bee began its life February 3, 1857. It was in-
dependent in politics and was edited by J. R. Ridge and S. J. May. A more
complete sketch of this journal has been furnished by the publishers and the
reader will find it elsewhere in this volume.

In July. 1857, the Star of the Pacific, a religious journal, was removed to
Sacramento from Marysville. It died in the fall of 1858.

The State Sentinel was issued July 23, 1857, but it died early in 1858.
The Eye Glass appeared in August, 1857. No second number was ever
issued. The Covenant and Odd Fell outs' Magazine, a monthly journal, began
August 31, 1857, and died in June, 1858. The Temperance Register began
in September, 1850, and died December 12, of the same year. On December
20, 1857, the Herald of the Morning, a paper devoted to Spiritualism,
had an experience of four weeks on earth, after which it passed
to ' Beulah Land. The Phoenix, afterward the Ubiquitous, began as
an occasional in the autumn of 1857, was issued as a' weekly during
the winter of 1858, and died in the summer of 1858. It was an abusive sheet
and few mourned its loss. The Watch Dog lasted from January until March,
1858. It was a full twin of the Phoenix. The Sacramento Visitor began in
March, 1858. and died in June of the same year. The Sacramento Mercury
was established as a Democratic paper in March, 1858, and ceased in October.
The California Statesman (number two of the name) was started May, 1858,
and died in June. The Calif omian (number two of that name) saw the light
in July, 1858, and died after a week. The Baptist Circular was issued from
August, 1858, until the spring of 1859. The Morning Star was a small
daily for a few weeks. It expired in March, 1859. The Daily Register
appearing during 1858 and 1859. The Daily Democratic Standard was pub-
lished from February 26, 1859, until the autumn of i860.

In June. i860. Henry Biddleman & Co. founded the Daily Democrat,
but it died with the fall election of that year. On June 24, i860, the Daily
Morning Newts appeared and lived for nine months. The Evening Post was
begun in October, 1850, as an independent paper and was discontinued in
September, 1861. The Rescue, a organ of the Good Templars, was started
as a monthly in February, 1854, and was issued until late in the 70's. The
Evening Star was a daily started May 25, 1864, and it lived three months.
The California Republican, a Democratic morning paper, existed from Janu-

•138 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

arv 4, 1863. until the spring of 1865. The Golden Gate, a spiritualist weekly,
lived for a few weeks during the spring of 1864. The Advertiser existed
during the winter of the same year. The California Express was published
from Decemher 23, 1866. until July. 1867, having been issued as a morning
paper.

The Sacramento Daily Record first appeared as an independent evening
paper, February 9, 1867. It was published by an association of printers com-
posed of J. J. Keegan, John L. Sickler, J. P. Dray and R. E. Draper. Draper
was the first editor and in about a month was succeeded by W. S. Johnston,
who remained about one year, and was succeeded by J. B. McQuillan, who
remained a few months and was succeeded by R. A. Bird. Subsequently it
was purchased by W. H. Mills and A. D. Wood. Mr. Mills was long the
manager of the Record-Union, and a portion of the Record editorial staff, as
also a portion of the Sacramento Union then and subsequent editorial staff
long composed the Record-Union staff. The Record became a morning paper
December 2, 1867. In the beginning it was a small five-column sheet, but
through successive enlargements soon grew to the present size of the Record-
Union. During the winter of 1871-2 the Record distinguished itself by the
fullest and most elaborate stenographic legislative reports ever published in
the United States, frequently printing morning after morning nineteen col-
umns in solid nonpareil of the proceedings of senate and house. For several
years the Sacramento Union had published annual statistical sheets and in
January, 1873, tne Record entered the same field and surpassed its rival by
issuing the largest holiday paper ever published in the United States. It was
the first daily paper to maintain a semi-weekly edition. After a bitter rivalry
the Record and the Union were consolidated as the Record-Union in Febru-
ary, 1875.

The Expositor was published from July 23, 1867, until September of the
same year. On February 26, 1864, Richard Bowden established the Young
American, which lasted a number of weeks. During this era a number of
weekly papers of local character were published in Sacramento, such as. My
Paper, Pioneer Blusterer, the Anti-Ofpce-Seeker, The Sunday Times, the
Hesperian, Student's Repository, and others.

In the winter of 1864 Charles DeYoung, afterward one of the founders
of the San Francisco Chronicle, began the publication of the Dramatic

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

Chronicle, which was removed to San Francisco in about nine months. Its
subsequent history appears further along in this chapter.

Other papers of the period were the monthly railroad Gazetteer, State
Capital Reporter, Sacramento Democrat, the Loco-motive, Semi-weekly Joturnal
(German), the Valley World, the Evening News, the Sunday Free Press, the

Sacramento Valley Agriculturalist, the Occidental Star, and like papers.

The Winning Way was devoted to women and sociability.

Common Sense was a reform journal from 1873 to 1874. Other papers of
this period were the Mercantile Globe, California Teacher, State Fair Gazette,
Evening Herald, Enterprise, a Sunday morning paper, the Seminary Budget,
and the Business College Journal.

In recapitulation the ups and downs of journals may be exhibited quite
clearly by the following obituary tablet.

Name of Paper. Began. Ceased. Term.

Placer Times April 28, '49 June 15, '51 26 1/2 mo.

Transcript April 1, '50 June 15, '51 Merged

Times & Transcript June 16, '51 June 16, '52 1 year

S. & M. Tribune Oct. 30, '50 Dec. 20, '50 2 months

Sac, to Index Dec. 23. '50 May 17, '50 3 months

Journal Feb., 1852 June 24, '58 6 1/3 years

Banner Aug., 1852 Aug., 1853 1 year

Californian Nov. 17, '52 July 30, '53 4 months

Baptist Journal Aug., 1852 Few months

Statesman Nov. 13, '54 Mar. I, '55 3 1/2 months

Illustrated Cal Mar. 10, '54 One issue

Democrat (No. I.) Mar. 13, '54 Few months

Recorder July 15, '54 Mar., 1856 20 months

Cal. Almanac Dec, 1854 One issue

Farmer May, 1855 July 14, '56 Removed

Tribune June 8. '55 June 1, '56 1 year

Tribune (No. 2) Oct. 16, '55 Oct. 30. '55 2 weeks

American June 2, '56 Feb., 1857 9 months

Water Fount Dec. 15, '55 Sept., 1856 9 months

Spirit of the Age Dec. 6, '55 Feb., 1857 26 months

Evening Times Dec. 24, '55 Mar., 1856 3 months

Item Dec. II, '56 June, 1857 7 months

Times Aug., 1856 Jan. 24, '57 5 months

Chinese News Dec, 1856 Nov., 1858 2 years

Star of Pacific July, 1857 Sept., 1858 14 months

State Sentinel July 27, '57 Feb., 1858 7 months

Eye Glass Aug. 22, '57 One issue

Covenant Aug. 31, '57 June, 1858 10 months

Temp. Register Sept., 1S57 Dec 10, '57 3 months

Herald of Morning Dec 20, '57 Tan., 1858 4 weeks

■Phoenix Sept., 1857 July. 1858 8 months

Watch Dog Jan. 1, '58 Mar. iS, '58 3 months

Visitor Mar. 26, '58 June 1, '58 2 months

Mercury Mar. 28, '58 Oct. 12, '58 5 1/2 months

Statesman (No. 2) May. 1858 June 24. '58 1 month

Californian (No. 2) July 9, '58 July 15, '58 1 week-
Baptist Circular Aug., 1858 April, 1859 9 months

Morning Star Nov. 2, '58 Mar., 1859 5 months

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

Name of Paper. Began. Ceased. Term.

Standard Feb. '26. '59 Oct., 1859 8 months

Democrat (No. 2) June, i860 Sept., i860 3 months

News June 24, '60 Mar., 1861 9 months

Coast Oct., i860 Sept., 1861 11 months

Republican Jan. 24, '63 Sept., 1863 9 months

Evening Star May, 1864 June, 1864 5 weeks

Young America Feb.. 1864 April 24, '64 11 weeks

Golden Gate April, 1864 May, 1864 6 weeks

Chronicle April, 1864 Removed 4 months

Express Dec. 23, '66 July, 1867 7 months

Expositor July 23, '67 Sept. 9, '67 I 1/2 months

My Paper

Anti-Office Seeker

Pioneer

Footlight Brief

Blusterer

Olive Branch

Reporter Jan. 12, '68 July 30, '72 4 1/2 years

Evening News Mar. 29, '69 July, 1869 3 months

Democrat (No. 3) A "g- 3. '71 Sept. 5, '71 1 month

Locomotive

Champion Spring, 1873 Summer, 1874 16 months

World Spring, 1873 Fall, 1873 6 months

Free Press Feb., 1873 1 week

Occidental Star Jan., 1873 May, 1873 6 months

Winning Way Sept.. 1873 Feb., 1874 6 months

Common Sense Dec. 1873 Mar., 1874 4 months

Enterprise Aug. 29, '75 Oct., 1875 9 weeks

Total deceased publications, 66.

Average deaths to the year, in excess of 2 and less than 3.

The following interesting history of the San Francisco Chronicle, one
of the great newspapers of the country, was prepared by one of the Chronicle
staff, under direction of Mr. George Hamlin Fitch :

The transformation of a little seed into a remarkably large product is
a common enough performance in the field of horticulture in California, but
it is rare in the domain of journalism, the San Francisco Chronicle being
the most striking example in the state of such a feat. The Chronicle, now
one of the largest and most influential newspapers in the nation, was as tiny
a sheet as there was in the land at the commencement of its existence. Janu-
ary 16. 1865. It was then hardly more than a playbill, nine by fifteen inches
in size, and it was dubbed the Dramatic Chronicle. That Charles de Young
the elder brother, and M. H. de Young were born newspaper-men was evi-
denced by the career of the Chronicle from its very start. They began with-
out experience, for M. H. de Young was only seventeen years of age at that
time and Charles de Young was not much older. These youthful journalists
had no financial backing, hut with light hearts as well as pockets, and ready
wits as well as hands, they gathered advertisements, prepared the other neces-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 141

sary matter, put it into type, turned the crank of the printing machine, and
attended to the distribution of the paper.

Had they not possessed uncommon talents for the newspaper business
they would have failed as did many other publishers, who, better provided
with money, were for a period their competitors, and whose names with
those of their papers are forgotten. So quick and continuous was the Chron-
icle's process of development that ere long it shed the word "Dramatic," and
in 1868, it became a regular daily newspaper. From the inception of their
journalistic work the proprietors had broad plans. In the opening announce-
ment in the very first number of the Dramatic Chronicle, they said "We
shall do our utmost to enlighten mankind of the actions, intentions, sayings,
doings, movements, successes, failures, oddities, peculiarities, and speculations
of us poor mortals here below," which compact statement has expressed the
purpose of the Chronicle from that day to this — its constant aim, in other
words, having been and still being to get and give all the news, despite diffi-
culties.

So notable has been the Chronicle's success that some readers of the
present time, unfamiliar with its history, may suppose that luck favored
it or that it had an easy road to travel when it once got on the journalistic
highway, but instead it long had to face the opposition of the strong, to en-
dure the contumely which meets the ambitious, and to struggle incessantly
as it grew. Numerous, indeed, have been its battles. It struck strong
blows at its foes, and did not go down to defeat and ruin because generally
these foes were the foes of the people. The history of the Chronicle involves
much of the political history of the state. It has been foremost in some of
the hottest contests which have been waged in California. It is said now
and then that the people are ungrateful, but the career of the Chronicle in-
dicates that it is not unprofitable to be their champion. In the first issue of
the daily paper which was put forth by the de Youngs in 1868, they stated
that the Chronicle would be a strictly anti-monopolist journal and would be
subservient to no money interest and to no railroad corporation.

The importance of this principle and of sticking to it may not be fully
appreciated by persons who are unaware of the part which certain wealthy
corporations played in directing the government of California for a genera-
tion. Assailing monopolies became the policy and habit of the Chronicle,

142 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

and that the people approved its course in this respect was demonstrated by
the support given it, enabling it to thrive while the newspapers which — to
use a phrase that was often employed in California politics, "Were subsidized
by the corporations," languished and died. The fate of the Alta California,
for example, was a contrast to the prosperity of the Chronicle. That paper
was one of the earliest which appeared in San Francisco, antedating the
birth of the Chronicle. In an exciting conflict between the corrupt elements
in San Francisco and the great body of the people in the first epoch of the
city, it spoke for the cause of the people, and it gained renown and revenue;
but in later years it became the mouthpiece of the corporations against whom
a spirit of popular antagonism had been aroused, and notwithstanding its
established credit and the good name it had formerly won, it declined and
finally perished. The Chronicle has always kept its anti-monopoly sword
unsheathed, for monopolies keep springing up in California as elsewhere
and there is usually an opportunity for an opponent of them to keep busy.
The Chronicle has attacked them under the Sherman anti-trust law and the
laws of the state, and has materially aided in breaking up such combina-
tions.

Displays of enterprise in getting the news are interesting episodes of
the Chronicle's history. Even when at the beginning it was run as a theat-
rical sheet, depending on advertisements for the necessary funds to keep
going, its proprietors sought to give as much local news as possible, and it
was the first paper in San Francisco to afford the public information about
the assassination of Lincoln in 1865. The custom of most newspapers then
was to print the bare facts about an event, and the details were seldom fur-
nished. The young proprietors of the Chronicle reasoned that newspaper
readers ought to have as many details concerning interesting occurrences as
were obtainable, and they had a chance to put this notion into effect soon
after the Chronicle became a daily. The Great Earthquake, as it is still
called, rocked the city on October 22, 1868, and the de Youngs with every
one of their employes went forth to scour the streets and get all the infor-
tion procurable about the results of the terrifying shake. As fast as details
were secured the men hurried back to the office and put them in type, and
three extras were issued in the afternoon, the last one giving all that there
was to be told. This enterprise was a novelty for the town, and it gave the

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 143

paper local fame. The same spirit was shown as the Chronicle grew,
always the desire to outdo its rivals in the race for news being uppermost.
Space does not permit a resume of its many "scoops." It became known
as "the live paper," and its business kept increasing to such an extent that
after moving several times to larger quarters the de Youngs erected a
building on the northeast corner of Bush and Kearney streets, then the largest
newspaper structure in San Francisco, and published the paper there in 1879.
In the business office in this building Charles de Young was shot fatally in
April, 1880, by Isaac M. Kalloch, at present an attorney-at-law in San Fran-
cisco, the shooting being the outcome of political conditions.

After Charles de Young's death M. H. de Young alone conducted the
paper, and made it even a greater power and more remunerative property
than it had been before. Such was the increase of its circulation that about
1890 Mr. de Young found it necessary to move again so as to secure more
room, and he erected the present home of the Chronicle, at the junction of
Market. Geary and Kearney streets. This was the first tall, fire-proof building
constructed in San Francisco. Previously it was feared that tall structures
would be cracked or overthrown by earthquakes, but Mr. de Young's experi-
ment, which was undertaken after he had studied the construction of strong
steel-frame buildings in eastern cities, showed that this fear was groundless,
and then high office buildings became quite numerous in California's metropo-
lis. The junction of the streets mentioned is now known as "Newspaper
Corner," the other morning papers having buildings on other corners, which
were put up after Mr. de Young's, his being opened in June, 1890. The
monetary value of the Chronicle is now estimated to be about $5,000,000,
as it is supposed to be earning a fair rate of interest on that big sum. while
aside from his newspaper Mr. de Young is reputed to have holdings which
are worth millions of dollars. He is a sagacious business man and a keen judge
of real estate, and it is generally understood that his investments for a con-
siderable number of years have yielded large profits. What a great oak has
been developed from the little Dramatic Chronicle acorn!

The Chronicle is the only daily newspaper in San Francisco which has
been under one management from the beginning. The proprietorship of each
of the others has changed more than once. Of all the men now engaged in
the newspaper business in San Francisco, Mr. de Young has been in it longest.

U4 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

He knows every detail of the business from the top floors where the contents
of the paper are written, the pictures are prepared and the matter put in
type, to the basement, where the swift presses throw off the printed pages in
the early morning hours. He knows how an editorial should be written and
what point should be made by it; what should be the form of the local and
telegraphic news and what the relative value of important news where ma-
chinery and ink and paper and all other materials should be bought; and
what every man on his long pay-roll is doing daily. The complexities of the
advertising department were mastered by him long ago. In short, the Chron-
icle is essentially M. H. de Young's paper. He and it have grown up to-
gether. His travels abroad benefit the Chronicle as well as himself, for on
his trips to eastern cities, where he is well known, and to Europe, where
also he has many distinguished acquaintances, he notes whatever new ideas
arise in newspaperdom, and the Chronicle gets the advantage of them. His
knowledge of the world enables him to judge as to the news of the world,
and as to how it should be obtained. Some years ago George P. Rowell, an
advertising agent of New York, who was known all over the country, and
who made a study of the newspapers of the United States so as to decide
wisely where to place the advertisements of his clients, said "The San Fran-
cisco Chronicle is the best conducted paper in the United States," and since
then its merit has not decreased. The general verdict concerning the Chron-
icle in California at this day is that it supplies all the news, discusses the ques-
tions of the day intelligently and ably, and is about as fair as a daily news-
paper can be.

Mr. de Young has for many years represented this state on the board of
directors of the Associated Press, but the Chronicle had to fight hard to gain
admission to the Associated Press, and until 1876 its San Francisco rivals,
who were receiving the telegraphic news sent by that eastern organization,
succeeded in keeping it out. For its independent telegraphic service it had to
pay comparatively heavy tolls, and as it strove to be foremost in the eastern
and foreign news fields its special dispatches entailed large outlay. After it
got the Associated Press service, it continued its special telegraphic service
which has never been excelled. The Chronicle was the first paper to teach the
California public to expect extensive accounts of important events from dis-
tant places. It also began the custom here of celebrating special occasions

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 145

with large editions. When type, machinery, and paper were not so easy to
procure in San Francisco as they are now, these mammoth editions were
notable.

When at home Mr. de Young, millionaire though he is, goes to his
office daily, and gives personal attention to every department of his paper.
When away from San Francisco he keeps informed as to what is going on
at the Chronicle office. He has engaged at times in political strife and has
served with energy and ability on World's Fair Commissions, but he has
allowed nothing to lessen his devotion to the Chronicle. For eight years he
represented California on the Republican national committee, of which he
was vice-chairman, and he was a delegate to several Republican national con-
ventions. He was a candidate for United States senator in 1892, and re-
mained in the balloting for nearly two weeks, when he withdrew so that the
deadlock might be broken. It was thought that Governor Markham would
appoint him to fill a vacancy in the senate, but Senator Perkins was named
instead. In 1898 when reports that he was an active candidate for senator
were printed, Mr. de Young made a public announcement, in which he said :
"I am not a candidate for United States senator. I have in past years been
an aspirant for the United States senatorship; but realizing that the questions
to be settled for this government by the Republican party are of more im-
portance than the private ambitions of any individual, I am anxious for the
success of the Republican state ticket, and shall bend my energies exclusively
to that result, as I hope every Republican will during the ensuing campaign."

In 1889 Mr. de Young's interest in World's Fairs began, he being ap-
pointed in that year as commissioner from California to the Paris Exposition.
Afterwards he became a member of the National Commission for the World's
Fair at Chicago, and he was chosen vice-president of that commission and
placed on the board of control. His perceptive faculty and ability to dispatch
business quickly were shown in these positions. Then he conceived the plan
of the California Midwinter International Exposition, the project being
announced by him on May 31, 1893, at Chicago. The exposition opened in
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, on January 1, 1894, and, to the surprise of
those who deemed the undertaking rash, it proved a success under Mr. de
Young's direction, over $1,260,000 being taken in and a surplus being left
after the payment of all expenses. Subsequently he was appointed by the

146 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

governor as Commissioner-General to represent California at the Omaha
Trans-Mississippi Exposition and in 1900 President McKinley named him as
a member of the National Commission to the International Exposition at
Paris. He was chosen president of this National Commission by his asso-
ciates, and the president of France conferred on him the decoration of the
Legion of Honor.

The last service rendered by Mr. de Young as a member of a public
body was in 1903, when President Roosevelt visited California. He was
chosen chairman of the committee of citizens that arranged for the reception
and entertainment of the president in San Francisco, and after the president's
departure the committee tendered Mr. de Young a dinner at the Palace Hotel,
and there presented him with a loving cup, bearing this inscription: "A
souvenir from the Citizens' Executive Committee to the Hon. M. H. de Young,
in acknowledgment of his executive ability and the masterly and successful
manner in which he handled the functions given in honor of the visit of
President Roosevelt to San Francisco, May, 1903."

Appreciation of the Chronicle proprietor was also shown by the Interna-
tional League of Press Clubs, which first elected him as its governor and then
as its president.

The following story of the San Francisco Call's origin and development
was written by Mr. Hugh M. Burke, of the Call editorial staff, who is one of
the most competent and best known editors on the Pacific coast.

Fair knowledge of a newspaper's influence in the upbuilding of a state
may 1)e found in the history of the San Francisco Call. This journal was
founded by practical newspaper men who had a true estimate of the value of
enterprising service in the collection and presentation of news, but who still
possessed appreciation of the fact that a newspaper owes something more to
the public than is ordinarily paid for in the publication of news. The obligation
of the press to stand for the rights of the people and to promote the moral and
national advancement of the state was full recognized by the able founders of
the Call.

The first number of the Call was issued December 1, 1856, by Peter B.
Foster, Lew Zublin. J. J. Avers, Charles F. Johnson and W. L. Carpenter. It
gained public confidence at the outset because the people had faith in the char-
acter and integrity of its founders. Subsequently ownership of the paper was

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 147

acquired by Loring Pickering, George K. Fitch and J. W. Simonton. The
prosperous career of the paper under the management of these capable men
demonstrated beyond doubt that the people had faith in their judgment and
confidence in their integrity. January 8, 1895, John D. Spreckels purchased
the Call. The people of California had long regarded Claus Spreckels as the
foremost citizen of the state in the field of industrial expansion, and the in-
telligence that a representative of his family had purchased the famous news-
paper property was received with a felling akin to joy. The elation did not
spring from any sense of distrust of the preceding management, but had its
source in the profound belief that John D. Spreckels had the strength in re-
serve as well as the determination in hand to achieve for San Francisco, what
the people had so long and earnestly desired — the building of a competing
trans-continental railway.

A history of journalism in California would be incomplete without ref-
erence to the fact that every journal which up to that time had proclaimed with
spirit and vigor for the construction of another railway line across the conti-
nent had been silenced or driven from the field of newspaper prestige. The
first comment on the change in all circles was something of this meaning:
"Now we will get a competing railroad. Spreckels will win the fight if he has
to build the road himself." The battle for the people was fought and won.
Public sentiment in favor of the competing enterprise which the Call awakened
and strengthened had a powerful influence in the accomplishment of the great
achievement.

Extension of the Call news service, purchase of improved mechanical
equipment of the plant, and the installation of an Art department were subjects
that at once engaged the attention of Mr. Spreckels upon his acquisition of the
famous newspaper property. The establishment was removed from its old
home on Clay street into a building on Stevenson street, near Third and
Market. A large and rapidly increasing circulation demanded additional press
facilities, hence new presses of the most approved style were added to the
plant. The Art Department of the Call was placed under the direction of
competent artists and means were provided to render the department of illus-
tration complete and modern in every detail. The Call is recognized far
and wide as the best illustrated daily newspaper in the United States. The
news service of the Call is probably not surpassed in the world. Agencies es-

148 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

tablished on the Pacific coast when J. W. Simonton was at the head of the
Associated Press continue to supply the paper with news. The Call holds
a regular franchise in the Associated Press, the great news-collecting agent of
the world. Exclusive right to a special service of world-wide renown is also
maintained.

The Call possesses one advantage as a news collector which perhaps no
other paper in the United States holds. In every city of the globe the vast
commercial and shipping interests of the Spreckelses are represented by a
resident agent. It occasionally happens that the agent gets information hours
ahead of the most alert special correspondent. As an illustration of news-
paper enterprise the incident cited that the Call displayed a bulletin announc-
ing the practical declaration of war by Japan two days before the reception
of the news through the ordinary channels. One of the local achievements
brought by the paper was on the occasion of the return of the First California
Regiment from the scene of war in the Philippines. The Marconi System of
wireless telegraphy was employed to signal the coming of the transport. Op-
erators of the system were placed aboard a ship stationed outside the Heads,
one of the signals was flashed through the fog to receiving instruments at the
Cliff House. In this manner the immediate home coming of the transport
Sherman was made known to the legions assembled in San Francisco to cele-
brate the event some time before the ship was sighted by the lookout of the
Merchants' Exchange. The San Francisco Call gave to the reading constitu-
ency of the Pacific coast the first accurate account of the battle in Manila Bay.
The graphic description of the engagement was wired by special correspond-
ent Stickney, who was aboard Admiral Dewey's flagship Olympia throughout
the memorable battle.

The Call published exclusively the first intelligence given to the civilized
word of the great Samoan battle in which American and British marines were
ambushed and slain by the native warriors. The special message of 200 words
was cabled from Auckland to San Francisco at a price approximating $2.00 a
word. The special correspondent was a purser of the Oceanic Steamship
Company.

The Call has always taken an active interest in political affairs. The
owner of the paper is a Republican of the independent type, but he reserves
the right to resist the election of an unworthy nominee of his own political

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 149

faith. He has represented the Republican party in the state and national con-
ventions and has served as the representative of California in the Republican
national convention. The political alignments and conditions in California
have at times been somewhat peculiar. Contests within a party have been nf
greater significance than battles between the leading political parties, one
aligned against the other. A record of journalistic achievements or events
cannot be fairly made without reference to the memorable campaign con-
ducted at Sacramento by the San Francisco Call in 1899. Those people of
the state that were elated over the prospect of industrial emancipation urged
the Call to enter the battle for political freedom. The state had just gone
Republican by a large majority and the acknowledgment of the Call's able
leadership in the fight was universal. Then came at once an expression of
public sentiment or a spontaneous demand that the members of the legislature
representing the dominant party should be guided by the judgment of the
voters, rather than by the desires of a great railway corporation in the selec-
tion of a United States senator. From every county in the state came the as-
surance that the Call's leadership would be welcomed. In the contest which
ensued the journalistic enterprise displayed by the Call challenged the ad-
miration of the newspaper world.

A large staff of expert telegraph operators, special correspondents, artists,
reporters and stenographers was stationed at the state capitol. A dwelling
house on H street, and a commodious office on K street were rented for the
convenience of the staff. The fight hinged on the proposition "caucus or no
caucus." The so-called organization of the party representing the corporate
power resolved that the contest should be adjusted in caucus. The stalwart
Republican representatives maintained that the battle should be fought to a
finish on the floor of the joint convention. Day after day the legislature met
and voted but no choice resulted. The regular session came to an end with the
deadlock unbroken. At an extra session the battle was renewed and culmin-
ated in the choice of a senator whose election was accomplished contrary to
the orders of the corporation.

Prominent citizens of every city, town and village of the state were
interviewed as to what course their representatives should pursue. All in-
terviews were carried by wire. The special wiring of fifty thousand words
a day was not unusual. Fast train service was employed daily. The trains

150 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

from San Francisco to Sacramento were run at such high speed that the
members of the legislature received the papers at 6 a. m. On other occasions
the fast train service was extended to Los Angeles, Stockton, Santa Cruz,
Santa Barbara and other cities.

Sensational features which are frequently presented in modern journalism
to attract fleeting attention to the columns of a daily newspaper are not char-
acteristic of the Call, as the management is guided by a purpose to exclude
scandals from the pages of the paper. When public necessity of the require-
ments of civilized society demand plain speaking on the part of the press,
the Call is neither silent nor timid. With a fearlessness almost startling the
reading public, this journal exposes wrongs and delinquencies in high places.
Careless and corrupt methods in the administration of state and municipal in-
stitutions are reviewed. Even the courts have been criticised in the interest of
public justice. As a result of this fearless fidelity to the cause of right, libel
suits calling for damages in the aggregate of $1,500,000 were at one time on
the court calendars. Actions, other than civil suits, were also instituted.
Juries, weighing the testimony presented, have uniformly entered verdicts
commendatory of the newspaper.

Many writers of eminent ability contribute to the pages of the Call.
In the old days, Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), was a Call reporter. Pren-
tice Mulford, Joaquin Miller, Charles Warren Stoddard, Daniel O'Connell, E.
W. Townsend, George E. Barnes and Ina D. Coolbrith were contributors.

John McNaught became general manager of the Call on October 1, 1903.
He had been identified with the paper as an editorial writer since 1895, hav-
ing taken the editorial chair when Charles M. Shortridge acquired the prop-
erty. Mr. McNaught was a lawyer and literary man in early life and he
brings to his duties ripe experience, wide acquaintance and a lovable tempera-
ment. Under his regime the paper is assured a long and prosperous life. He
is generally regarded as one of the most accomplished writers and public
speakers in San Francisco. In his managerial capacity he exhibits the for-
bearance and sense of justice that belong to minds of large caliber, and the
personnel of the staff look upon him as the kind and considerate head of a
large and growing journalistic family.

Mr. Fremont Older thus describes the aims and purposes of the San
Francisco Bulletin:

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 151

The Bulletin, under its present management, is a spirited, outspoken
newspaper of the modern type. It is Republican in national politics and usu-
ally in state politics, but is an independent rather than a strict party journal.
In municipal campaigns the Bulletin picks out and supports good men on any
ticket. The Bulletin's doctrine is that what the city needs and should
have is honest, competent public officers, and not party men. This independ-
ent attitude toward the politicians has given the Bulletin very great authority
and the paper is said to have a powerful influence on public opinion.

When there is nothing especial to be said about politics or public affairs,
the Bulletin prints, instead of heavy editorials, light essays on matters philo-
sophical, scientific or social, even when most earnestly advocating one side
or the other in a political matter the Bulletin invariably publishes accurate
news reports of the doings on both sides. This policy of stating both sides
of the case fairly is a marked characteristic of the Bulletin. Partisanship is
not permitted to color the news narratives.

The Bulletin is a consistent, earnest and vehement champion of munici-
pal improvements. The paper supported the charter movement, the bond
issues for parks, streets, sewers, schoolhouses and other betterments and is
willing to take up any reasonable and feasible project for beautifying San
Francisco, extending the city's reputation, and increasing its population or
its commerce.

The Bulletin is not tied to any politician, but stands fast by the non-
partisan principle in municipal administration. It will praise a public officer
for doing right and blame him for doing wrong. This impartial disregard
of persons and firm adherence to a principle has kept the political course of
the paper in a straight line and, together with sane and enlightened manage-
ment, has given the paper remarkable prestige.

One of the oldest, best known and most interesting newspapers of Cali-
fornia is the Sacramento Bee. It dates back almost to the days of the pioneers,
its first number having appeared as early as February 3, 1857. Thus the
period of its publication covers nearly half a century, which is a great age for
a journal of the Pacific coast.

Great changes have occurred in the state since the Bee first saw the
light, and from the beginning it has exerted a powerful influence for progress
and development. It has always given marked attention to the utilization of

152 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

the industrial resources of California, and has stimulated enterprise and the
investment of capital in all legitimate industries. But most of all it is dis-
tinguished for fearless and uncompromising devotion to what it believes to be
right, in political, social and all other matters that receive editorial attention.
It has fought many a good fight for its principles, and often sacrificed what,
for the time being at least, appeared to be its own business welfare. But the
reputation it has gained for honesty, public spirit and unflinching devotion to
its standards has built up for it a great clientage, and the relatively great
circulation and business patronage it enjoys are the direct results of its bold
and straightforward policy, joined to superior business enterprise and ability
in every department of the paper. The prosperity and prominence attained by
the Bee show that, despite all said to the contrary, it pays to be honest and
public spirited in the publication of a public journal.

The Bee was first brought out by a partnership of printers as a morning
paper, but since April 6, 1857, it has been an evening journal Its original
editor and real founder was the late James McClatchy, a man whose rugged
force of character, ability and stalwart patriotism have left a strong impress
on the history of the state, and may be traced in much of its earlier legislation
for the public good. He always stood up manfully for the rights of the peo-
ple, and in opposition to special privileges for favored classes. No one was
ever at a loss to know his position, as reflected in the Bee, upon any public
question. During the dark days of the Civil war he was a tower of strength
for the Union cause, and early in 186 1 he gave timely personal warning to
the government at Washington of the existence of treachery in the command
of the Federal troops in California. That information has been declared by
competent authority to have saved the state from falling into the hands of the
Confederacy. And throughout the great conflict the Bee dealt sturdy blows
for the preservation of the nation.

James McClatchy was a native of Ireland, coming to America in 1842.
Having experienced the curse of Irish landlordism he soon became identified
with land reform in this country, and was the first public man in California
to take up the cudgels against land monopoly He came to this state with
the early gold seekers, and had poor luck in the mines before he took up his life
work as an editor in Sacramento. One of his friends was the late Henry
George, whom he encouraged to write the famous "Progress and Poverty,"

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 153

after first starting him upon his newspaper career in San Francisco, where
for a short time Mr. McClatchy edited the Times of that city.

In its first number the Bee struck the keynote of the policy it has since
pursued by a declaration of independence. It has never been the organ of
any party, clique or individual, supporting men and measures upon their
merits and opposing what it believes to be bad, regardless of party considera-
tions. It is unceasing in its fight for good government, local, state and na-
tional, and denounces every form of corruption.

At an early period, when agriculture was comparatively in its infancy in
this state and the cattle interests were powerful, the Bee, under the conduct
of its late veteran editor, began an agitation for the "no-fence law" that was
eventually passed by the legislature, for the protection of the farms against
injury from stock, making the owners of animals responsible for trespass.
This law was a great help to the development of agriculture.

The Bee also led the great struggle of the people of the Sacramento Val-
ley against the threatened ruin of farming lands, towns and cities by hy-
draulic mining debris. The mine owners were rich and powerful, and claimed
prescriptive rights to discharge tailings into the streams. But while at first
the fight for defense of the valley lands and homes seemed almost hopeless,
public sentiment was educated to the need of battling for their preservation.
Suits were brought, organization of valley interests was effected, and eventu-
ally victory was gained in the courts, so that the farms and homes were
saved.

In many other vital matters the Bee has fought boldly for its constitu-
ency, but the mere mention of them would occupy much space.

Since the death of its founder, in 1883. this journal has been owned and
conducted by his two sons who have followed closely in the footsteps of their
father and adhered to his policy of independence — C. K. McClatchy being the
editor of the paper and V. S. McClatchy the publisher. Under their man-
agement the paper has kept pace with the latest improvements in every
branch of publishing and journalism. Its plant is one of the most complete
and up-to-date to be found on the Pacific coast. The Bee is printed on a
three-deck, Scott, color, perfecting press with a speed capacity of 26,000
copies an hour, which contrasts strikingly with the old Washington hand
press on which the first issues of the paper were struck off.

154 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

The Bcc building is one of the most pleasing and substantial in Sacra-
mento. It is of steel, brick, terra cotta and stone, three stories high and com-
pletely equipped for its purposes. It stands as a fitting monument to the
founder of the paper, and in its vestibule the visitor reads the inscription :

"And The Sons Builded a House to Their Father's Name."

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

CHAPTER XL

THE BUILDING OF THE CENTRAL PACIFIC RAILROAD.

By A. J. Wells.

The last spike in the great pioneer road across the continent was driven
May 10, 1869. The first Mission in California was founded at San Diego
July 16, 1769. In the century that rolled between these two dates, the Old
California began and disappeared, and the new was born. One of the youngest
of the states of the Union, California's history is marked by three distinct
epochs. The Spanish occupation gave us a pastoral age, in which the silence
of the great sunny empire was broken only by the sound of Mission bells, and
the quiet stirred only by the unheralded and infrequent arrival of a sailing
vessel trading in hides and tallow. It was a slumberous land, "where it seemed
always afternoon." Then Marshall's discovery in 1848 gave us the Days of
Gold, and the world broke into the meditations of the padres with the rush
and roar of a mountain torrent. But after ten years, there was no promise of
a permanent community based on the hazards of mining, while the exhaustion
of the placers, the more abiding character of the quartz lodes and the deep
gravel beds, and the growth of business and population necessitated the culti-
vation of the soil and the development of herds and flocks.

The era of agriculture came silently, with no flourish of trumpets, but it
quickly took possession of the land, and presently the farms of California were
telling of the richness of the soil and the beneficence of the climate.

The mines contributed $600,000,000 in a few years to the world's wealth,
but not until farms were mapped out and business began to build on other
foundations than that of adventurous industries, were the necessities of an
organized society seriously considered.

The bottom industry of society is agriculture. It abides, and in all coun-
tries civilization is built upon the farm. The pastoral days would never have
created a railroad ; it did not want one. The mining industry in time would

156 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

have organized to secure local transportation, but would hardly have under-
taken a railroad across the continent. But it was inevitable that the very dawn
of the abiding and permanent life of California should be signalized by the
demand for just such a line, providing at once for rapid communication with
the homes left behind, and with the industries in the east, which for a time
must supply the necessities of the west. Men were now here to stay; business
must expand ; the resources of a region rich in everything that tends to make
a prosperous and independent community must be developed, and rapid and
adequate transportation was a matter of necessity. This was the foundation.

THE GROWTH OF THE IDEA.

The evolution of a great enterprise is slow. It may start into being sud-
denly; but back of it are long years of preparation. There are dreams. All
the temples and the statues in them : all the galleries of art and the paintings
hanging there, all the dramas and lyric poems, all the great reforms and
material triumphs of the blossoming ages were first dreams.

"We figure to ourselves
The thing we like, and then we build it up
As chance may have it, on the rock or sand."

There is a wide interval often between the dream and the task. Many
never get beyond the conception. Over and over again visionaries planned the
great road in airy projection. There are always pioneers, forerunners, voices
in the wilderness, the crying of men who want to be heard ; who are full of
ideas, convictions — men in advance of their times, the prophets of a new day,
eager spirits who outrun Progress itself.

Dr. Samuel Barton was one of these in 1834. and Hartley Carver in
1S35. and J onn Plumbe in 1836, and Asa Whitney in 1845. J°hn C. Fre-
mont, building paths in the western wilderness, meditated a road to Califor-
nia, a land he loved, and, dying, called his home. Thomas H. Benton, the
father of Jessie Benton Fremont, in 1849 became the advocate of Fremont's
route. This proviso was in the plan : the road was to be a railway "wherever
practicable." Until now the difficulties of the adventure had hardly been
dreamed of. Fremont's road was to be driven as far as possible, and horses
and carriages were to bridge the gaps — a giant highway one hundred feet

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 15 7

wide, and free of toll or charge. In one of his speeches on the subject, the
great senator said : "There is a class of topographical engineers older and
more unerring than mathematics — the wild animals; buffalo, elk, deer and
bear. Not the compass, but instinct seeks the correct passes, the shallowest
fords, the best practicable routes. There are migrations back and forth.
Indians follow, pioneers and lumbermen come, and finally the railroads of
civilized man."

What these creatures of the wild were to the actual route, the dreams of
Carver, Whitney, Fremont and others were to the realization of the great
scheme itself. They started discussions, resolutions, legislation in Congress and
elsewhere, and prepared the way for the actual builders.

It is a curious and interesting study now to recall the reasons which ap-
pealed to men. The discovery of gold turned all minds toward California,
and the need was felt, of course, for providing for the surge of travel and
traffic. But Whitney anticipated this emigration. He was in China when he
read of the first experiments in rajlroad building in England, and he began
to speculate upon the possibility of a railroad across the American continent.
His chief thought seems to have been the trade with China, Japan and India,
and he never rested until he had obtained a hearing before Congress, and well
nigh secured a land grant for his project. The first appropriation made for
surveys, made in 1853, was due almost wholly to Whitney's persistent efforts,
and he only retired, baffled and discouraged, when his private fortune was ex-
hausted and his hope worn out. But his idea of a vast oriental commerce had
fastened itself in the public mind, and this became the real objective point in
subsequent discussions. Senator Benton expressed the hope that he might
"live to see a train of cars thundering down the eastern slope of the Rocky
Mountains, bearing in transit to Europe the silks and spices of the Orient."
When the road was actually completed, at the driving of the last spike, Gen-
eral Dodge said in his address : "Accept this as the road to India," and Bret
Harte, moved by the picture of the two engines :

"Pilots touching head to head,
Facing on the single track,
Half a world behind each back,"

makes the Western engine say :

15S HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

"I bring the east to you:
All the Orient, all Cathay,
Find through me the shortest way,
And the sun you follow here,
Rises in my hemisphere."

The Far East, and not way traffic, the development of the vast territory to
be traveled was not in any one's mind, save, perhaps, as a contingency. "The
main thing," Sidney Dillon said, "was not to develop the country and make
it hospitable, but to get across it as quickly as possible."

Then presently a new factor arose. In those days events moved swiftly,
and the east and the south in the shadow of the dark days just at home, lost
sight of the question of traffic, and bickered jealously over the route to be
chosen. Then another question arose with the breaking out of Civil war. It
was no longer the Orient and its trade, but an undefended and imperilled
western coast. The south was out of the contest, and a central and direct
route was demanded by the political situation. The Pacific coast was im-
perilled. The "Trent Affair" had aroused fears of a war with England, whose
Asiatic fleet found convenient harbor at Victoria, Vancouver's Island, while
in the Pacific itself, the Confederate Admiral Semmes had destroyed nearly
a hundred whaling vessels belonging to the north. It was felt to be a critical
time, and that the nation might easily lose her Pacific coast states for want of
a railroad. The wealth of the nation would not suffice to supply a large army
on that coast in the event of a foreign invasion, in the absence of quick over-
land transportation facilities.

Meanwhile, California was not idle. Sacramento at this time was but a
small inland town of 12,000 people. It had a little river traffic with San
Francisco, but its chief dependence was upon its mountain commerce, and
great mule teams threaded the defiles of the Sierras, and crossed even to. the
silver lodes of Nevada. These freighting teams, straining on the dusty roads,
were objects of picturesque interest, but slow and poor substitutes for the lo-
comotive and the shuttling train behind it. And Sacramento, at least, was
ready for the railroad idea.

But the difficulties were immense. It was more than 2.000 miles to the
nearest railroad in the middle west. Two great mountain ranges had to be
crossed, and intervening deserts. The route would traverse from the west

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 159

but a few acres of arable land. Not a navigable river ran between the Sacra-
mento and the Missouri. There was no immediate and but little remote
prospect of way business ; the common estimate was that of a rough country to
be traversed, and not capable of being developed; the expense of building
would be enormous, and the completed line might be "as unproductive as a
bridge."

Then there were the hopeless and the unbelieving. They are always in
evidence. Human nature has not changed since Nehemiah rebuilt the walls
of Jerusalem in the face of the jeers of "Sanballat the Horonite" and his as-
sociates. The story of the opposition which the great idea encountered in the
country most to be benefited is told in the newspapers of the period. Two
musty scrap books in the archives of the Southern Pacific are alternately irri-
tating and comforting, humorous and pathetic in the light of to-day, but
they tell of a time of storm and stress that rocked the young commonwealth.
"The voice of the people is the voice of God!" No, there are times when
the convictions of one man must be taken against the hostility of ten thou-
sand. A crowd is not wiser than the wisest man in it. The Boston town
meeting, Curtis says, was not more sagacious than Sam Adams. Antagonism
to the railroad was but part of the history of all progress — the history of the
printing press, the cotton-gin, the power loom, of agricultural machinery in
England, of the conservative in the face of reform, of the old striving to
strangle the new. But here in those days, men might well doubt the wisdom
of attempting to scale the Sierras with a locomotive. A railroad had never
been built under such conditions, driven to success in the face of such ob-
stacles, and by a community so feeble. It was a task without a parallel. Un-
usual ability, unusual courage, indomitable will must confront the difficulties
and push a way through the uncharted wilderness.

THE MEN FOR THE HOUR.

As early as 1856 a railroad had been projected from Sacramento to
Placerville, and a young engineer called from Connecticut. His name was
Judah, and he was to build the first railroad in California. That he was fa-
miliar with the idea of a trans-continental road is clear, for when called to
the west he said at once to his wife, "I am going to California to be the pioneer
railroad engineer of the Pacific coast, to know the country and to help build a

160 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

great railroad." Even earlier than this he seems to have had some premoni-
tion of his future. "The railroad," he said, "will be built, and I shall have
something to do with its building." Was he a man of Destiny? He was a
man for the hour, and the history of the Central Pacific cannot be written
without recognizing the place and the importance of this man in the con-
ception and execution of the great work.

Always a great work waits until the man is found to do it. Always the
man strikes the hour. From Watts and Stephenson pondering the locomo-
tive, to Field laying the Atlantic cable, and Judah surveying the passes of the
Sierras for the first overland line ; from Washington at the birth of the nation
to Lincoln in the crisis of its history, always a man for a definite and neces-
sary work is found. God, the poet tells us,

"Could not make
Antonio Stradivarius violins
Without Antonio."

And the Central Pacific railroad could not get over the Sierra Nevada
without Theodore Judah. It waited for the inspired engineer.

No matter where his inspiration came from, or how his convictions grew
mto power; they did grow until they mastered him; and perhaps the man
whom the people called "railroad crazy" was the one man fitted by his en-
thusiasm, his poetic spirit, his professional skill and natural ability, to cope
with the difficulties of the incipient legislation and the actual construction of a
road across the Sierras.

The Sacramento Valley road did not get far. The cost of materials
and labor, and the exhaustion of some of the placer fields of the region stopped
the work at Folsom; but during its progress Judah pondered the problem of
the greater road across the defiant mountains at whose feet he was toiling.
He studied the topography of the range, the canyons and water sources and
climatic conditions, and he settled, as firmly as the granite bases of the
mountains, his convictions that a practicable route could be found over their
summits.

There is a curious electrical quality in some men. It communicates itself
to other men. Judah had a fine intelligence, nobleness of spirit, the enthusiasm
of the poet backed by the- solid furnishings of the civil engineer; had an un-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 161

conquerable will and the qualities of a leader, and it followed as the night the
day that other men should be fired by his convictions and drawn into the circles
of his sympathies and activities.

The editor of a Sacramento journal became the voice of Judah, uttering
his convictions, rehearsing his plans, "putting his whole heart into Judah 's
enterprise," and presently the Railroad idea had taken possession of certain
merchants in Sacramento who caught the engineer's enthusiasm, and saw as
he did, "the great thing beckoning to them across the mountains." The
names of these men were then almost unknown, and are now forever linked
with the history of the enterprise which they carried, through storms in the
Sierras, and storms of calumny in the plains, to a triumphal end. Their names
are part of the history of the state and the nation. They were Leland Stan-
ford, Collis P. Huntington, Mark Hopkins and Charles and E. B. Crocker.
They were young men, and untried, "shop-keepers" as England would call
them, and without riches. Perhaps the wealth of these men combined did not
exceed one hundred thousand dollars, but they had character and so had
credit ; they had youth, health, ability, — organizing, executive, financial ability,
— unknown to themselves the qualities of leadership. They have been called
"foundation men of our coast," and it is impossible to look over the cities and
plains of California without recalling the men whose energy and enterprise
underlie the fair structure of the commonwealth.

In 1859 a meeting of citizens was called in San Francisco to discuss "the
Railroad," its route over the Sierras, and measures for securing congressional
action. The route by way of Dutch Flat and Donner Lake was chosen, and,,
because Judah was an engineer, with personal knowledge of the route, — he
was sent to represent the wishes of the convention before Congress and the
Cabinet. Armed with plans and with definite and positive information, the
engineer went to Washington hoping to secure the passage of a bill that would
provide for grants of lands and funds sufficient to insure the building of a
transcontinental road. But in spite of heroic labors the bill did not pass.
Congress, in i860, was alive to the importance of a western road, but it was
a time of excitement and much sectional feeling, and the heart of the nation
was troubled and afraid.

Mr. Judah accepted the situation without complaint, wrote a report of
his fruitless mission, and though his personal expenses, apart from his time.

162 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

were over $2,500 he presented no bill to the convention, and unshaken in pur-
pose returned to work. "Facts and figures, backed by my own honest con-
victions, will convince them next time," he said, and with a determination to
be at the next Congress he took up the difficult work of deciding beyond ques-
tion the best route across the Sierras, and was soon surveying among the wild
canyons and spurs in the heart of the mountains.

In June, 1861, in advance of any action by Congress, and in the face of
the Civil war, Juclah called a meeting of the citizens of Sacramento, and the
Central Pacific was organized under the laws of California, with a nominal
capital of eight million of dollars. Leland Stanford was chosen president,
Collis P. Huntington, vice president, Mark Hopkins, treasurer. James Bailey,
secretary, and Theo. D. Judah chief engineer. The board of directors included
those just named and E. B. Crocker, John F. Moore. D. W. Strong and
Charles Marsh. The subscriptions to the capital stock were not large.

Perhaps never in the history of railroading has a gigantic and expensive
undertaking been faced with so little capital and so much courage and hope.
The physical and financial difficulties were enough to daunt the stoutest heart.
When the little group of men whose names now are historic were actually en-
gaged in the work of construction, an experienced railroad builder, then
freighting across the mountains, said of the men behind the movement, and
said it in testifying before the Senate committee : "Well, the men who were
constructing the Pacific railroad were a little off — yes, that is what we all
thought." It was the general conviction that such fortunes as the projectors
had would be sunk in the canyons of the Sierras, and the scheme abandoned
as hopeless. Judah said that the route was practicable, but if his associates
had been trained railroad men, they would have hesitated, refusing assent to
his judgment. They were all young men, the adventurous spirits of a land of
adventure, and enthusiasm may have outrun prudence, but the sequel showed
that they were men of good judgment, clear-sighted, far-sighted men, whose
intelligence pierced to the heart of difficulties, whose courage was equal to
any strain, and they ventured fortune and reputation not as speculators, but
as men of business, on a proposition which their judgment approved. They
made five preliminary surveys and knew the difficulties of the situation. They
anticipated the aid of the government, but went ahead without it and much
work was done while as vet there was no certainty of government action.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. Ifi3

Judah spent August and September in the mountains studying, making pro-
files, mapping the surveys, and in October, armed again with specific in-
formation, went to Washington. If " the stars in their courses fought
against Sisera," they fought for Judah. Sargent was the newly elected repre-
sentative from California, and he traveled eastward in company with the ar-
dent engineer. The sea voyage of more than three weeks made Sargent fa-
miliar with the mountain routes, the engineer's maps being studied by day, and
the subject talked over on the deck in the warm still nights, and when the new
member at last got the Pacific Railroad bill before the House, he made an
impressive presentation. The breaking out of the Civil war had prepared the
way, and Congress was ready to act. Three thousand millions more were to
be spent before the close of the war, and it seemed an unfavorable time to
consider the expenditure of a hundred millions more for a railroad, but it
was a time of excited feeling, the building of the road was "a war measure,"
and it was important to bind the east and the west together. On July 31,
1862, Congress passed the Pacific Railroad bill, and the Central Pacific and
Union Pacific were authorized to construct the first trans-continental road.
Judah returned at once to California, reported to the company, and the gov-
ernment was notified immediately of the acceptance of the provisions of the
bill.

In the east capital shrank from the undertaking. It was a thousand
times more promising than in the west, but most people looked upon the
scheme as visionary, and nothing was done beyond effecting an organization
until two years after actual work had been begun in California.

In 1864 the charter was amended, the land grant doubled and the bonds
of the government made to issue to the company on the completion of twenty
miles instead of forty as at first proposed. The Central Pacific was limited
to 150 miles east of the California boundary, a curious discrimination being
thus made in favor of the eastern company. When Mr. Huntington saw
this, he said, "that ought not to have gone into the bill," and he added with
characteristic positiveness. that he "would take that out as soon as he wanted
it out" and he did. The roads were to build toward each other, and the
length of each line would be determined by the meeting place,— a good ar-
rangement to develop rivalry and ill feeling, and a bad one if the equities of

164 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

the case are considered. For the eastern end of the line had much level
country and good arable land, and the promise of way traffic, while the west
had the giant wall of the Sierras and the deserts of Nevada and Utah.

Meanwhile in October, 1863, Mr. Judah had started to Washington
again, but in Panama was stricken down by fever, and seven days after land-
ing in New York he dropped forever the great work to which he had given
the ardor of his youth and the energies of his whole being. It is idle to say
that but for this man the road would not have been built. It might have
been delayed a little, but a transcontinental road was inevitable, and some
other man would have come to the front. But any other man must have
had Judah's convictions, his quenchless enthusiasm, his courage, his persis-
tence in the face of discouragement, his indomitable will, and because Judah
had these qualities, he saw the great undertaking well begun, and the glory
of its final triumph belongs largely to him. One who knew him well, Judge
C. C. Goodwin, said of him, "When the names of the strong men and the
great men who found California a wilderness and then caused the transfigura-
tion which revealed a glorified state, are called over, close to the very head
of the strong list should be the name of Theodore Judah."

Mr. Huntington took up Judah's duty before the congressional com-
mittees; S. S. Montague was made chief engineer, and the quartet of giants
in the west buckled down to their chosen work. "Circumstances make the
man," we are told. Yes, true; but it is equally true that the masterful man
antedates the circumstances. Difficulties but call out unsuspected forces. It
was so with these pioneer railroad builders in California's infancy. Hunt-
ington in the east and Stanford in the west looked after finances and legal
questions. Crocker proved a great organizer and had the push of one of
his mountain locomotives ; Hopkins was a man of judicial mind, forceful but
careful, the balance-wheel of the organization. Mr. Huntington said of
him, "I always feel sure of a thing when I have Hopkins' judgment in its
favor."

These men took their places not by chance, not by caprice, nor by force
of circumstances, but by divine right of foresight, by strength of character,
by ability to lead, and sagacity to interpret Opportunity when it came.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 165

THE BATTLE WITH THE MOUNTAINS.

In January, 1863, the first shovelful of earth was thrown, Leland Stan-
ford, being the governor of the state.

It was a time of rejoicing, and the people seemed to be of one mind.
But the)' put little money into the great undertaking, and presently were
broken up into factions, and railing at the enterprise as "a great swindle."
After the ceremony of "breaking ground" came the struggle. Men had to
be gathered and organized, money provided, material accumulated, diffi-
culties surmounted. Everything save cross ties had to come around the
Horn and then be reshipped at San Francisco. No government subsidy bonds
were available, but by the sale of stock, by using their own individual funds
and their credit, the four determined builders began to climb the foothills
of the Sierras. The political situation, the necessities of commerce, the ex-
igencies of the company itself, which must build far toward the east or have
a profitless road, — all called for rapid work. But from the first hour a thou-
sand difficulties sprang into being, and when Newcastle was reached, 31
miles from Sacramento, the company's treasury was depleted, and work had
to be suspended. It was not an auspicious beginning, and must have seemed
to the men most interested as " the hour and power of darkness." For all
the hostility which had been directed toward the undertaking now found
voice. "I told you so" was in all the air. It was in the press. The oppo-
sition that had been outspoken and half vindictive — that gathered bitterness
as the work went on, now rejoiced openly.

There were troublesome complications. Certain cities and counties of
California delayed or refused their aid. San Francisco went into the courts
on the question. Placer county sent a committee to examine the books of
the corporation on the absurd charge that the grants made to the Central
Pacific were made to the individuals named in the act as incorporators, who
in turn had sold their rights to the corporation for paid capital stock, amount-
ing to several million dollars. The committee went back satisfied, — perhaps
ashamed, but suspicion had been engendered, and suspicion is often deadly.

About this time another rumor was set afloat. A whisper at first, it
soon grew into a roar. Before the incorporation of the Central Pacific, the
principal members of the company were promoters of local mail routes, and

106 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

had built a toll-wagon road from Dutch Flat to Reno and Virginia City.
There were opposition toll roads, and so it was asserted that the Central
Pacific was not headed for the east, that it did not intend and never had in-
tended to build an overland road, but merely a local "feeder" to the Dutch
Flat Wagon Road. This was the origin of the hostile epithet, "The Dutch
Flat Swindle," thrown at men who had always been honorable. It became
the cry of the populace, and the head lines of bitter editorials, and under this
opprobrium Stanford and his associates rested for many months. But though
graders' camps were abandoned, and construction trains stood still, the com-
pany was not idle. With iron resolution these men borrowed money on their
personal security ; they endorsed paper in the east to one party to the ex-
tent of $1,250,000, and this enabled them to procure funds for their own
enterprise; counties and cities that had subscribed for stock proposed to
surrender it and issue bonds for a lesser amount, and as these bonds were
negotiable, fresh capital accumulated, and work was resumed. Up to this
point California, in spite of opposition, may fairly be said to have been pay-
ing for the railroad. Certainly there was no abatement of interest or paraly-
sis of purpose on the part of its organizers.

Then came the amended act of 1864 which enlarged the land grant,
modified the conditions upon which the government bonds were issued, and
virtually made the United States an indorser of the company's bonds, and
presently it was impossible to get men enough to drive the road as fast as
the condition of the treasury warranted. Then coolies were imported.
Miners were drifting about, but they were unreliable. These sons of excite-
ment found the routine of railroad work distasteful; stories of great strikes
were in the air; on each side of the route lay the great placer fields of Gold
Run and Iowa Hill, and before the allurement of the "new diggings" about
which rumor was continually rife crowds of men melted away into the hills
and were lost to the company. Coolie labor was a necessity. This pres-
ently became a new source of hostility to the company, and demagogues
sought to make capital out of it. The railroad was not the friend of "honest
labor;" it had introduced for its own enrichment "Chinese cheap labor," and
long after the completion of the road this flame of anarchy was blown about
the sand lots of San Francisco by every windy orator who could gain a hear-
ing from the idle or the vicious.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 167

The building of the railroad created a demand for laborers which could
not be met. That this demand hastened the coming of the Chinese, no one
doubts, but so did the discovery of gold. The opportunity to work aban-
doned placer mines brought many a Chinaman to California, and the man
who thinks that the problem of Asiatic labor could have been avoided, in
the absence of laws expressly framed to exclude them, has not studied the
situation very deeply. The Burlingame treaty opened the door wide, and
the coming of Chinese to the Pacific coast was among the inevitables. The
building of the railroad only offered immediate employment. After the
passage of the Amended Act of 1864, Governor Stanford was enabled short-
ly to say that "The financial problem has been solved," and with improved
finances the" company quickly became independent, and gathered in stock in-
stead of selling it. They dismissed sub-contractors, organized a construc-
tion company under the name of Crocker & Company, and thus saved the
profits arising from construction for their own treasury. It was a wise stroke,
but made necessary by the general skepticism as to the outcome. Contract-
ors would not take the work. Meantime the victories of endeavor were tell-
ing and the public sentiment was turning toward the builders. When the new
road had passed beyond Newcastle to where Colfax now stands, the speaker
of the House of Representatives, Schuyler Colfax, making the trip across
the continent, stopped at Virginia City and made an address. "When men
paid by the government talked about the amount of money the road would
cost. I said, it is not an iota in the balance in comparison with its national
benefits. It will pay back to our national treasury far more than the bonus
which may be given for its construction; it will add to the national wealth."

Samuel Bowles, the editor of the Springfield Republican, was here the
same year and wrote a stirring appeal back to his paper. "The new road
would create a new republic; it would marry to the nation of the Atlantic
an equal if not greater nation of the Pacific. Here is payment of your great
debt ; here is wealth unbounded, but you must come and take them with the
locomotive."

Out of San Francisco came a voice, not quite solitary, but sufficiently
strong to be heard at this juncture. Rev. Dr. Horatio Stebbins expressed the
best thought of the city, the sanest and noblest life of the young metropolis,
when he said to his congregation : "As the condition of a noble social life

168 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

and progress we need an unbroken and swift communication with the places
which we still fondly call home. The longing for this comes like the sigh
of the night wind over the habitations of men. When the continental rail-
way is complete we shall be nourished by the blood of the heart of the world.
Intelligence will be increased, society liberalized by intercourse, and extem-
porized adventure driven out by better industries. No great impulse of hu-
man affairs having breadth, and height, and depth of permanent and en-
during progress, can be felt here until the great highways are opened over
sea and land, and the world, the many sided world of industries and arts,
of commerce and letters are imported to us. And the people of California
can make no better investment of their time, their talents, their money and
their public spirit, than in turning all the power of the state to overcome the
barriers which lie between her and the nation's hearthstone, between her and
the heart of the world." These were weighty words, backed by a vigorous
and commanding personality, and if heard in the heights of the Sierras
would have heartened the engineers and the energetic men behind them.
The difficulties of construction were enormous. At Cape Horn, where the
present day tourist from a solid road-bed looks down 2,000 feet into the
blue canyon of the American river, the engineer found an almost perpendicu-
lar mountain, a great circular precipice-face with no foothold even for a
survey. Men must be let down by ropes and a place to stand picked out
of the rocks while swinging above the depths, and then a pathway slowly
and laboriously constructed along the sheer walls of the crags. It was
treacherous rock, loose and shaly in places, and the road-bed must be pro-
tected from slides from above. At a point beyond a similar formation was
found and when the road-bed was constructed the hillside slid in and obliter-
ated it. For weeks gangs of men were kept at this point while construction
was pushed on ahead.

Many tunnels had to be constructed, and the granite framework of the
Sierras was hard. The Burleigh drill and the high explosives of today were
unknown, and the work' was slow. Nitroglycerine was manufactured by the
company at a camp on the summit, but it was too dangerous for general use
and reliance was had upon common black powder. The hard rock shot out
the blast again and again like a cannon. Winter came to add to the dangers
and difficulties of the work. The road must get on — on over the mountain

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 169

barrier, on over the deserts of Nevada, into the Salt Lake Valley, or be
handicapped fatally for want of traffic, and this compelled work to go on in
stormy mountains in the face of cold and under great depths of snow. Re-
taining walls in the canyons were built, roadways constructed, and ties and
rails laid in the snow, and sometimes under it. A dome or archway was
shoveled out of the white mass, a shaft lifted up through it, and material
lowered from above to the buried workmen. Snowslides were frequent, an
avalanche on one occasion burying forty-two Chinamen, killing half their
number. It was security to be inside the rock and men were set to tunnel-
ing, but before this could be done another slide swept over the men and
eight or ten white laborers were killed. Combs of frozen snow curved over
the precipices in great masses, and when they could be reached were blown
up and their menace averted. The faces of rock to be pierced were reached
by tunneling through the snow, and then the borings went on. On the
heights of the Sierras and its slopes fifteen thousand men were sometimes
at work and it was no small task to keep this industrial army officered, organ-
ized, efficient, and to keep the commissary at the front as they went on-
ward.

The camp and the terminal remained at Cisco for two years.

Water in the desert was hauled over long distances — at one place forty
miles. Much money was spent in boring for water, and at one point it was
piped eight miles. The maximum haul for ties was six hundred miles, and
the longest for rails and rhaterials was 740 miles.

In the inter-mountain region but little wood could be found for fuel,
and much had to be carried forward from the Sierras. Not a coal bed on
the line was then known.

In the mountains, snow sheds had to be constructed to keep the tracks
from being buried under drifts. About forty miles had to be thus protected,
665 million feet, board measure, of lumber being used, and 900 tons of bolts
and spikes. All that entered into the construction of the road was expensive.
" Five years later," the engineers testified before the commission, " The work
could have been done for from 30 to 75 per cent cheaper." The average
price of rails in New York was eighty dollars per ton. Freights to San
Francisco averaged $17.50. Insurance ranged from 5^ to 17 per cent.
Material came around the Horn, or across the Isthmus, and had then to be

170 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

transported to Sacramento by boat and sent forward on tbe line. Rails laid
down by the graded track cost $125 per ton. One locomotive by way of the
Isthmus cost $8,100 freight. The first ten cost over $190,000, the second
ten $215,000, an amazing price, compared to today.

Material for a year's construction was constantly in transit, and the
company had stock for the road on the ocean most of the time valued at
from one to three millions, at interest of from 12 to 15 per cent.

Wages were high, and provisions. Hay cost over the mountain $120
per ton, oats and barley $200 to $500 per ton, and all other supplies in pro-
portion.

By 1866 the two companies were approaching each other, the Central
Pacific building from the west, the Union Pacific from the east. The fight
for a meeting place had begun, and the eyes of the world were being drawn
to the mid-continent. The great difficulties of the Central Pacific had been
surmounted, and the work was driven ahead with great speed. The value
of the road would be enhanced by every mile traveled, and the goal was Og-
den. It became certain that the Union Pacific would reach there first. The
Central Pacific had been authorized to continue its road eastward in a contin-
uous line until it should meet the Union Pacific line. By 1867, it was a race for
the trade center of Utah, and for bonds and lands. It was a race of giants.
The Central had escaped from the mountains, had ample means and a well
organized force of laborers, while the Union Pacific had still some expen-
sive work to do east of Ogden. How keen was the rivalry is seen in one
circumstance, and the reprisal which followed. The Union Pacific sought
to anticipate a meeting point by pushing a force of graders 500 miles west
of Ogden, to what is now Humboldt Wells. There 80 miles were graded
and laid with track, but it cost the company a million dollars, for the gap
between that portion and the continuous track east of it was never filled.
The Central played the same game, but more successfully. It sent graders east
of Ogden, filed a map of its route to Echo Summit with the Secretary of the
Interior, made a demand for the two-thirds of the bonds due on completion,
and by sheer force of argument, persuaded the government to issue $2,400,000
in United States bonds for this portion of the road. Some delay ensued in
the transfer of the bonds, and but half of them were delivered. There was
no over-issue of government bonds ; they had been issued in accordance with

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 171

the law and the facts, and on the opinion of the attorney-general. This was
the testimony before the Senate committee, and though the Secretary of
the Interior sought to evade the delivery of the bonds, he yielded to the
persistence of Mr. Huntington, and turned them over, saying " You seem
entitled to them under the law." This success was of vast consequence to
the future of the Central Pacific. To be shut back in the midst of a bar-
ren country with a short and difficult piece of road to operate, would have
placed the Central Pacific at the mercy of the longer line. It would have
put the control of the trans-continental traffic in the hands of men whose
interests were all east of Salt Lake, and not in harmony with the interests of
the Pacific coast.

As it was, the point of junction could not be made at Ogden, as the
Union Pacific had already passed that point, and the Central Pacific was
still seventy miles west of it. It was sought to secure a legal right to make
the junction at Ogden, but Congress would not consent. Strenuous en-
deavors had been made to drive the completed, line to Ogden, but the diffi-
culties were insurmountable. Laborers could not be obtained in the west.
Negotiations were opened with a firm of Mormon contractors, who under-
took to build two hundred miles in a given time. But Mormon labor had
been secured by the rival road, and the Mormon contractors were handi-
capped. Wages went up point by point, until shovelers were getting $3 a
day and board, and still the supply was short. It was a work of magnitude
to keep the camp provisioned in that uncultivated heart of the continent.
Shifts were worked day and night and overtime; superintendents and even
officials did manual labor at times with the rest of the men.

In the summer of 1868, the two companies were equally distant from
the Great Salt Lake. They had between them 25,000 laborers and 6,000
teams — an army of conquest, but in the interests of peace. As the roads drew
together, the excitement mounted until it was at white heat. Men vied with
each other in feats of strength and in endurance. Six miles of track were
laid in one clay by the Central Pacific. The Union Pacific accepted it as a
challenge, and laid seven miles. But the Central Pacific forces were organ-
ized to move with the precision and regularity of a machine, and its officers
were born leaders. They had mastered untold difficulties. Their triumph
in the heart of the Sierras was the wonder of the nation. Thev could not

172 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

be defeated now in a mere track-laying contest. A day was set. Officials of
the west-bound road were invited to be present. Superintendents, foremen,
laborers, faced the east. Eight picked men handled the rails, lifting that day
704 tons of material. Others handled the ties, and others the sledges and
shovels, and by night, ten miles of track was laid.

The road had long since passed Humboldt Wells, and had paralleled
the abandoned grade of the Union Pacific for miles. The wild momentum
of the work could not last, and presently the two lines met at Promontory
Point, fifty-three miles from coveted Ogden. The date was April 28, 1869,
and the ten miles of road were laid on that last day.

The dauntless leaders of the west were not content. They offered $4.-
000,000 for the Union Pacific line to Ogden. It was refused. Congress
was appealed to. and a joint resolution finally provided that the terminus
of the roads should be at Ogden, or near it. The Central Pacific secured
at cost price the Union road from Promontory to within five miles of Og-
den. and subsequently acquired that link by lease.

On the morning of the 10th of May, 1869, a hundred yards of track
remained to be laid. The Wahsatch mountains were greening with the
spring; nearly a thousand people had been drawn from the east and west;
a fringe of Indians being on the outskirts, dumbly pondering over their
destiny in the face of the white man's daring. Over the grassy plain be-
tween the green hills came trains from the east and the west with garlanded
and bannered engines, and with saluting whistles drew up on opposite sides
of the unrivaled space. Contractor Strobridge, who had been in charge
of the Central Pacific work since the laying of the first rail at Sacramento,
advanced from the west with his drilled corps of placid Chinese laborers,
who marched and maneuvered as one man. Eager white laborers, their
faces shining, advanced from the east to meet the stolid Mongolians. The
space was quickly covered by the two hosts, and that last rail and tie waited
to complete the girdle that ran gleaming from east to west. California had
furnished a polished laurel tie, having in its center a silver plate, bearing
the names of the officers of both companies, and that memorable spike of
gold ; Nevada was there with a spike of silver, and Utah with a spike of
gold, silver, and iron. Then the gleaming laurel tie was laid, the gold spike
set in a cavity made to receive it. and President Stanford, with a silver sledge,

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 173

drove it home, each blow being recorded on a hundred instruments all over
the land, so that bells rang and whistles blew and cheers swelled out on the
Atlantic and Pacific shores, on the consummation of the great and memor-
able event. Prayer was offered, addresses made, congratulatory telegrams
read. Then the Union Pacific train ran over the connecting rails and re-
turned to its own track; the Central Pacific repeated the ceremony and re-
turned with its face to the front. Cheers and music and banquetting fol-
lowed. Half a dozen passenger coaches for the Central Pacific arrived next
morning from New York, and part of these were attached to the president's
car and taken to Sacramento, being the first train across the continent, the
precursor of the electric lighted Overland Limited of today.

Thus the long dream of years was realized; the slow movement of evo-
lutionary forces reached another stage, and Puck's girdle around the world
in forty minutes was more nearly an actual fact than ever before. For the
telegraph had kept pace with the advance of the track, and the east could
now speak to the west without waiting the slow and perilous movements
of the Pony Express or the Overland Mail.

THE PERIOD OF CONSOLIDATION.

The rejoicings at Sacramento and San Francisco were hearty and loud.
It was sincere. The work was too important to California to be ignored,
and skepticism was now dead in the presence of the accomplished fact. The
road was finished, but still not complete. The indomitable men who built
the Central Pacific saw at once that no trans-continental railway could long
stop at Sacramento. The road must reach the Bay of San Francisco and
be able to touch directly the commerce of the ocean. When the Western
Pacific attempted to build from San Jose to Sacramento via Stockton, and
got into difficulty, the Central Pacific bought and finished the road, and
so had a connecting line from San Jose to Ogden. Then the Central was
consolidated with the short line running from the Bay of San Francisco to
Niles, where it connected with the Western Pacific, and this brought the
great pioneer line into San Francisco. Efforts were made to secure Goat
Island for a terminus, but this failing, the road was projected into the shal-
low waters of the bay, a depot erected and a line of ferries established.
Steam ferry boats of immense capacity carried freight cars directly to the

174 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

yards of the company south of Market street, and the terminal advantages
of the company were at once adequate and not likely to be excelled by any
other line.

In 1868, the state, out of its tide lands, granted sixty acres to the Cen-
tral and Southern Pacific railroads near the south water front of San Fran-
cisco, and this now constitutes the great business terminal of the company.

The charter of the Southern Pacific was for a line through the coast
counties. It was built but a part of the way and stopped, but the southern
end was pushed on from Santa Barbara, and a line extended down the San
Joaquin Valley through Los Angeles. Arizona and New Mexico, and finally,
by purchase or construction, going into New Orleans, thus making a new
trans-continental line. It is necessary to refer to this, because the build-
ing of the Southern Pacific has been severely criticised by those who imag-
ined it to be a rival to the Central Pacific, and built to wreck the aided line
and throw it into the hands of the government. On the contrary, it was
built to serve the Central Pacific. Without it. the pioneer road would have
been destroyed. How? Why? By the competition of other roads, by the
building of other trans-continental lines, by the construction of the Suez
Canal. It was not expected that other roads would be aided until at least
the obligations of the original road to the government were discharged.
There was no promise not to do so, and the Central Pacific has always recog-
nized that it was a wise policy so far as the government and the people were
concerned, to aid other lines, but the earning capacity of the Central Pacific
was "almost totally destroyed.'* The dreams, as we have shown, were for
a large Oriental traffic, but De Lesseps opened the ancient canal, and short-
ened by thousands of miles the water line from Asia, and the dreams were
nearer realization. Then the company, with a generalship seldom equaled,
built up lines in California and elsewhere and saved their credit. They built
interior lines to strengthen the trunk line. They built to secure the trade
of the south and of southern California, and to protect the main line. It
was legitimate, it was honorable, and it was magnificent generalship. But
when the attention of the public was called to the advantages of the south-
ern route, many thought it a scheme to build up that line at the expense of
I he Central Pacific. It is safe to say that no man who knew the integrity of
the men who built the Central Pacific thought so for a moment. It is safe

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 175

to say that no man who knew the facts thought so. The best part of the
long- and complex history of this company's railroad management in Cali-
fornia is the unchallenged integrity of the men who organized the Central
Pacific. What Creed Haymond said before the select committee of the
United States Senate in 1888, can be repeated after years have elapsed, and
all the actors in the great enterprise have passed away: "This company dur-
ing all its existence performed every obligation which it undertook to per-
form. Its projectors have been railroad builders and not railroad wreckers.
They have given employment to industry, not plundered it by stock jobbing.
No road constructed by them has ever defaulted in meeting its obligations.
No person has ever lost in any manner a dollar at their hands, nor have they
ever had one the)- did not honestly obtain. They have developed an em-
pire, but no broken promises have been left in their path."

The busy citizen of today observes that the Central Pacific is no longer
in evidence, and that in place of it the Southern Pacific is everywhere visible
and active — the dominating system on the Pacific coast — and he wants to
know how the change came about. The Central Pacific controlled many lines
that were in separate ownership. They sought leave of Congress to con-
solidate in one company. The anti-railroad feeling in California was at its
height, and a hostile resolution was passed by the legislature. Congress
was asked not to permit consolidation. Then the Southern Pacific Company
of Kentucky was chartered under the laws of the United States — not the
railroad company— but a separate corporation, with a large capital stock.
"The roads took that stock and became in fact that corporation," and the
new organization leased all of the roads for ninety-nine years, and became
virtually the owners. It owned the stock and held the lease, and for all
practical purposes, was the owner. This was in 1885. The Southern Pa-
cific took the place of the Central Pacific, agreeing to discharge the annual
obligations imposed upon the Central Pacific Company by the acts of Con-
gress. The indebtedness of the Central Pacific to the government matured in
1898, principal and interest, amounting to $50,812,715.48. The agreement
entered into finally provided for the payment of the whole within ten years,
in equal semi-annual installments, with interest at three per cent per an-
num. In order to create the necessary refunding mortgage gold bonds, the
financial affairs of the company were reorganized, the new plan providing

176 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

for the retirement of all outstanding securities of the company, and for the
organization of a new company with a sure capital of $20,000,000 4 per
cent cumulative stock, and $67,275,500 common stock, with authority to is-
sue $100,000,000 first refunding mortgage bonds and $25,000,000 secured
mortgage bonds, the first at 4 per cent gold, the other at 3^ per cent. These
bonds bear interest from 1899, free of taxes and run not less than forty-
five years. They are secured by mortgage on all the railroads, terminals,
and equipments owned by the Central Pacific. The new company was the
Southern Pacific, which offered to purchase the entire issue of common
stock, and agreed to guarantee unconditionally the payment of principal and
interest of the refunding mortgage gold bonds at the stipulated rate of in-
terest.

Thus this great feature of the first great experiment of the government
in aiding to build a difficult and expensive road was satisfactorily adjusted
without loss to the government, and without involving the honor or integ-
rity of the men whose money, whose energy, and whose reputations went
into the undertaking.

It has been called "unrivalled as a wonder of railway engineering
achievement, and the best existing example of daring constructive enterprise
and skillful execution." Forty years have seen but few changes in the
road, and the general testimony has been that it was well built. They de-
termined to build for that day a first-class road. Not a surface road, but a
road of the lowest grades and the highest curvature the country would ad-
mit, and this not through any excess of virtue, but as a business proposition,
such a road offering the greatest commercial value.

It is difficult now to understand the hostility that followed the builders
of this pioneer road almost to the last. The antagonism and abuse for
years was very bitter. These men, it was said, had become rich at the
expense of the government. Suppose it were true. If builders got more
profit out of the enterprise than was expected, were the material interests
of the government less fully subserved ? Every obligation was kept, and the
courts have usually decided that the company rightly interpreted the law.
But they did not grow rich at the expense of the government. When the
road was completed, they had expended all their means, all the aid they could
obtain from the sale of lands, and were more than $3,000,000 in debt. And

Photo by Taber

CHINATOWN — SAN FRANCISCO

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 177

they were personally liable. Their equity in the road was represented by
their stock, but this stock could not have been sold for one-third enough
to pa)- off their personal unsecured obligations. It was shown before the
Senate committee that after the consolidations the Crockers sold all their
stock to their associates at thirteen cents on the dollar, and on credit at that.
That later, these associates had to return this stock, because they were un-
able to carry it. That still later, Huntington, Hopkins and the Crocker
brothers offered on the market all the stock they held for twenty cents on
the dollar, and no one would buy. "It was not until about 1880 that the
stock had a market value, but it then represented not the aided lines, but
all the valuable property, branch lines and terminals which the directors had
brought in, which constituted, on the basis of its earnings, two-thirds of the
value of the whole system." In the testimony gathered by the government,
a witness said that "at the time this aided line was consolidated" with other
and more valuable lines, "there was no one who would touch a share of the
Central Pacific stock if he had to pay for it."

The general public knew little of the peril in which these men stood
for years. The Union Pacific was forced into the hands of receivers in 1893,
being burdened with obligations in excess of its earning capacity, and only
the wisest generalship, by one of the greatest railroad managers, saved the
Central Pacific from a like fate. The creation of the Southern Pacific was
in absolute terms the largest achievement of Mr. Huntington and his asso-
ciates, but it was born of necessity and not of greed. The project of a road
through Texas to the coast aided by large grants had to be blocked or be-
come a menace to the Central Pacific. The Northern Pacific and the Oregon
Short Line on the north, and the Texas road on the south would have de-
prived the Central Company of a large part of its through business and
destroyed the road. The Coast Line lay unfinished, — a great gap in it mid-
way — because all the resources of the company had been expended in block-
ing the Texas Pacific and getting control of the business of southern Cali-
fornia, the southwest and the south, but this business saved the original line.
It was out of the new properties which the directors had created and not
out of the aided line that two-thirds of the dividends of nineteen years was
earned. The original Central Pacific was not quite "as unproductive as a
bridge," but if no other lines had been created by the management they

178 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

would have been thrown into bankruptcy. The}' were enabled to create the
Southern Pacific — the greatest transportation system in the world — because
they had built successfully, out of weakness and in the face of enormous dif-
ficulties, the Central Pacific, and had reputation and credit as well as ex-
perience, skill, and iron will. Of all their assets "their credit alone was
available, and that alone bridged the chasm of bankruptcy open before them."

THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC AND CALIFORNIA.

It was a thorn in the side of fools that "the Railroad" should "go into
politics." No doubt some evil was wrought. The railroad was there to
fight fire with fire. It was there for self-protection. That is a law of na-
ture which, the principle, "turn the other cheek also," will never supersede.
What are the facts? They are stated briefly and forcibly by John P. Irish,
— who is not and never has been in the service of the company. "Cali-
fornia's new constitution issued out of the Sand Lot period, and was the
product of a spiteful attack upon property, a mixture of statute and stump
speech. It made two provisions which gave the railroad the chance of go-
ing into politics or going into bankruptcy." These two provisions were a
State Board of Equalization and a Railroad Commission. The first had
authority to assess railroad property without notice and without appeal, and
the second was empowered to fix transportation rates, and in all controversies,
civil or criminal, its decisions were to be deemed conclusive, just and reason-
able. Tbese committees were made elective by the people and at once you had
the evils of politics thrust into the private business of a corporation. It
does not matter that this corporation held the relations of a common carrier
to the public. The aim of the Railway Commission from the first has been
to determine the profit which capital should derive from an investment, and
the courts have always held that neither Congress nor state' constitutions,
nor any committee under either can exercise any arbitrary or despotic pow-
er. To fix rates and decide upon their justice, and so limit arbitrarily the
earning power of money legitimately invested, is opposed to the supreme law
of the land which guarantees to every man and every corporation the right
to manage its own business.

"The Railroad" did not go into politics. It was thrust in. The state
had devised "a process of raising taxes and reducing income" and on the

■ HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 179

point of this echelon, to use Mr. Irish's military figure, the railroad was
in danger of being impaled. It needs no special insight to see that at the
angle of contact where the two processes approach a common point, lies
bankruptcy, and "politics" for the imperiled company was simply self-de-
fensive.

California, it was said again and again, should have ten millions of
people. The inference was the railroad rates kept them out. But how
many of the states have one-half of ten millions? Production and wealth in
California have increased with railroad mileage, and if we have occasion to-
day, in contrast with the past, to recognize a New California, we owe it to
the courage, the faith, the energy and wisdom of the men who organized
the Central Pacific. Commerce, agriculture, business of all kinds, the in-
crease of population, the growth of morals waited upon the coming of the
first trans-continental road, and the growth of property values has been
enhanced by every mile of track laid on the coast and in the interior valleys.
Practically the United States is twice as large as it was, and California, that
would have halted in spite of its charms and the bounty of its fields, is to-
day one of the richest sections of the Union and with the promise of the
densest population. This promise is based upon the fertility of the soil
and the beneficence of the climate. Irrigation is to be the chief feature of
the agricultural life of the state, and this means an era of small farms and
intensive culture. It means a population as dense as that of Italy.

Men have been slow to see the splendid promise of the country-side of
California. They did not in the days of the padres, when Mexico gave away
the land by leagues. Nor did they when the mines began to fail and they
turned to the soil for subsistence. Even the railroad people did not appre-
ciate the worth of California soil. When the Central Pacific was offered the
land grant of the Western Pacific, which covered part of the Upper San
Joaquin Valley, they declined it. It was offered for $100,000.00 and was
actually worth millions, but in that day it was considered valueless.

So in " the eighties," when southern California broke out in orchards,
and land in the lifetime of a child sold for a thousand dollars an acre that,
before water was turned on it. was a part of the desert, central California
remained undiscovered and the rich Sacramento Valley continued to grow
wheat, men not seeing the magnificent future that was opening even then.

ISO HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

But now all this is changed. It is a new day. The general government is
behind the great movement to water the arid lands of the west, and under
this stimulus the great sunny plains of California are to double and treble
population and production. The natural conditions make it the fairest of
all the farming regions of the world. And as if anticipating the coming
greatness of the state, its pioneer railroad builders have provided an al-
most unrivalled system of transportation. They built costly roads in ad-
vance of population. If they occupied the best ground for railroads that was
only natural sagacity. The man who would not do likewise has not ability
to serve himself and will only make a mark in the dust. But back of this
business foresight, this common sense, was the conviction that California
would draw to herself a great population, develop her vast resources, and
become one of the great states of the Union. And they cherished this prophetic
anticipation to the last, cherished it when there were not half a dozen peo-
ple to the square mile, held fast to it while development lagged, and long
lines of road ran through homeless tracts, and they died, like Moses upon
Pisgah, seeing the Promised Land only from afar, but seeing it, and never
doubting the coming greatness of the land they served and loved.

Was it self-interest which moved them? Doubtless. It is the great
mainspring of human life. But he who uses his powers honestly and to
the utmost, can hardly help serving others; and certainly between the rail-
road builder and the state there is community of interest. What gives rail-
ways their value? The fact that they are public highways, indispensable
means of inter-communication. They enhance the value of all property;
they make markets accessible; they promote the settlement of the country;
they develop the waste places, and the very deserts disappear from the map.
This in turn increases the value of the railroad; every business house, ev-
ery orchard and farm, every orange grove and field of grain and green
meadow, every canal and irrigating ditch helps to increase the income of the
transportation company, so that the wealth of the state is in its railroads,
and the wealth of the railroads is in the developed and populous state. It
is in its source and origin common wealth. This cannot be emphasized too
strongly in this state. If California had been Greenland, would the Cen-
tral Pacific have been built? If it had been less rich in its climate, less
inviting in its fertile plains and valleys, would even the courage of these

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 181

men have faced the mountains and the alkali plains beyond? California ex-
plains the railroads, attracted them, made them possible as a business propo-
sition. It was California's promise, the glory shining on its broad valleys,
the Gospel of Farms and Homes preached by the Sunshine and the fat-
ness of its fields, that led to the laying of the first rails, and was the inspira-
tion which sustained the courage and produced the money which started the
highway of steel over the frowning Sierras.

There are railroads and railroads. They have their distinctive history,
and back of them their own personality. They are pioneers and ■ they are
inheritors of other men's labors. They are in advance of population, and
are at the beginnings of growth and development, and they come in when
the struggles of the earlier years are past, and share in the prosperity which
comes with population and developed resources.

The Central Pacific belongs to the first of these classes. It was here
when the state was young. It was here in advance of the people. It was
here before way business was profitable, when few were seeking homes in
California and travel across the continent was limited. Now this land be-
yond the west, once remote, isolated, unknown — a land of dreams out of
which strayed tales of incredible richness, of perfect climate and glorious
scenery, has been made the world's neighbor, and tourists have found a
new playground, artists a new beauty, and farmers a land of comfort, while
California fruit, California wheat, and wine, and oil, go to feed half the
countries of Europe. The Central Pacific has to all intents and purposes
doubled the area of the United States, and the nation is richer today, and
California more desirable for residence, because the men who planned and
executed the great enterprise, fought their battle successfully in the face of
envy and detraction. There are two classes of people, capitalists and those
who want to be capitalists. Any man is at liberty to attempt a voyage on
the River Pactolus if he think he can paddle his own canoe, and keep his
head in the rapids. These men did, and we are all richer for their success,
not only in our personal holdings, but in our ethical standards. The air
is clearer today than when these men were here in the dust and smoke of
the struggling rivalries of life, and our eyes are not blinded 'as once by the
mists of passion and prejudice. The whole railroad management of the
country is nobler, cleaner, more dignified because of the history of the first

182 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

trans-continental road. Principles have been evolved in the hard school of
experience. Wall Street itself testifies that "the railroad president" now
finds "pride in acting fairly by his stockholders and directors." and Cali-
fornia is honored by the integrity of the men who built railroads, but never
wrecked them, who found California a mining camp and left it a common-
wealth, rich in a thousand developed resources.

Photo by Taber

ORANGE GROVE, LOS ANGELES

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 188

CHAPTER NIL

TWENTY YEARS OF IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA.

The Story of the Great Fight for a System of Irrigation to Make
Lands Valuable Reads Like a Chapter From the Arabian
Nights — Troubles in the Way of Those Desiring to Reclaim
Lands Unfit for Use Because of Lack of Water — The Problems
of Legislators — How the Fight for a Good Law Was Won, but
not Until Much Bitterness and Many Appeals Had Been Taken
From Lower Courts.

In the year 1884 a great legal war was being waged over the respective
rights of riparian proprietors and those who sought to divert the water from
the natural streams and apply the waters so diverted to irrigation. The
agitation of this question finally culminated in the case entitled "Lux vs.
Haggin," in the supreme court of this state. The question there presented
was, as stated by that court, "Can a private corporation divert the waters of
a watercourse and thereby deprive the riparian proprietors of all use of the
same, without compensation made or tendered to such proprietors?" and the
court held in answer to this question :

First : That the owners of land by or through which a watercourse
naturally and usually flows have a right of property in the waters of the
stream.

Second : This property may be taken for a public use, just compensa- ■
tion being first made, or paid into court.

Water to supply "farming neighborhoods" is a public use, and it is
for the legislature to determine whether, in the exercise of the power of
eminent domain, it was necessary or expedient to provide further legal ma-
chinery for the appropriation (on due compensation) of private rights to
the flow of running streams and distribution of the waters thereof to public
uses.

Third : But one private person cannot take property from another,

184 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

either for the use of the taker or for an alleged public use, without any com-
pensation made or tendered.

Fourth : Riparian owners may reasonably use waters of a stream for
purposes of irrigation.

By the foregoing decision on riparian rights it was thought that irri-
gation interests in California had severely suffered, and the best thought of
the state was directed to some solution of the problem as to how waters
needed for irrigation purposes might be diverted and appropriated for irri-
gation purposes. Such was the legal situation.

The contestants in the above entitled case, however, subsequent to the
rendition of the foregoing decision, settled all their differences by comprom-
ise, which rendered any further controversy between them unlikely. The
respective sides had represented contending forces, and when the plaintiffs
and defendants in that case had settled their differences, those whom they
had so represented respectively were at a loss to know what course to pur-
sue in the premises. The right of the private corporation or other land
owner to divert the waters of a watercourse for irrigation purposes had. by
the above decision, been denied. The statutes prior to this time had appar-
ently fully authorized such diversion. A title of our Civil Code provided
that the right to the use of running water flowing in a river or stream might
be acquired by appropriation, provided that the appropriations were for use-
ful or beneficial purposes.

The simple process by which this diversion might be made consisted in
the requirement that a notice of appropriation should be posted in a con-
spicuous place at the point of intended diversion, and that the claimant
should state therein the amount of water claimed by him ; the purposes for
which he claimed it. and the place of the intended use; the means by which
he intended to divert it, and the size of flume, ditch, pipe or acqueduct in
which he intended to divert it. and that a copy of the notice must, within
ten days after being posted, be recorded in the office of the recorder of the
county in which it was posted.

After taking these preliminary steps, the claimant was required to com-
mence work within sixty days, which work he was required to prosecute
diligently and uninterruptedly to completion, unless temporarilv interrupted
by snows or rain.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 185

It had been thought, prior to the decision of the case of Lux vs. Hag-
gin, that these provisions of the statute authorized the appropriation of wa-
ter for irrigation purposes in California, and that the doctrine of riparian
rights, as defined in said case, had no existence. The future welfare of the
state depended upon the right to use all available water for irrigation
purposes. The right to have the water flow in its accustomed channel to
the sea, according to the common-law doctrine, it was thought, did not exist.
In fact, it had become the commonly accepted belief in California that the
statutory enactments to which I have called attention, were sufficient author-
ity for the diversion and use of the waters of any stream as against any
and all riparian claims. But this decision put a new phase upon the irriga-
tion situation.

Many important irrigation enterprises had been launched ; large canals
and other works essential for the diversion of water had been constructed in
various portions of the state. In many instances these systems had been
operated for a sufficient length of time before this decision was announced
as to have acquired a right to the use of the water theretofore diverted by
them by prescription, or statute of limitations. Some of the largest irriga-
tion systems of the state were so protected. But while vast amounts of
money had been expended in the building up of such systems, the area cov-
ered by the water supplied by them was insignificant when compared with
the entire area requiring irrigation. It might be safely said that not one-
twentieth part of the irrigable land in California had been supplied with
water for irrigation purposes at the time this decision was announced. When
we speak of irrigable land, we mean lands that were scarcely worth having
unless supplied with water for irrigation. Such is the character of the land
throughout the great San Joaquin Valley, except in favored spots lying along
the bottoms of certain rivers. The same may be said of the lands in the Sacra-
mento Valley, which are for the most part of little value in their natural
slate.

The conditions in southern California were even worse, because the lands
in that locality are more desert-like in character than are those in the San
Joaquin and Sacramento valleys. California was essentially an irrigation
state. Its lands were scarcely worth t-he government price unless they could
be supplied with water for irrigation. It is true that the coast lands, such

186 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

as are found in portions of Ventura, San Luis Obispo, Santa Cruz, Santa
Clara, Napa and Alendocino counties, do not in general require water for ir-
rigation. The rainfall in these localities is generally in excess of the rainfall
in the interior, and the added dampness by reason of proximity to the sea
renders them reasonably profitable for agricultural purposes without the
artificial use of water for irrigation, but the great preponderance in area was
situated as above noted. How this might be supplied with irrigation, within
the requirements of the decision of Lux vs. Haggin, was a problem to be
met.

The court had decided, as we have seen, that "farming neighborhoods"
were entitled to exercise the right of eminent domain. In other words, that
water to supply "farming neighborhoods" was a public use, and that this
public use authorized the invocation of the right of eminent domain. But
how should this be accomplished? The "farming neighborhoods" consisted
of an aggregation of farmers, each of whom was a private individual, and
whose interests were separate and distinct from those of his neighbor, and
a single farmer was not authorized to join with his neighbors in a common
cause of action because their interests were distinct and separate and there-
fore the exercise of the right of eminent domain did not lie within the reach
of either the single farmer or of the many farmers.

The court, it will also be seen, had significantly suggested that it was for
the legislature to determine whether, in the exercise of the power of emi-
nent domain, it was necessary or expedient to provide further legal machinery
for the appropriation (on due compensation) of private rights to the flow of
running streams and the distribution of water thereof to public uses. No
other recourse seemed possible under this decision than the organization of
these "farming neighborhoods" into public corporations, having the semblance
of municipalities who would thereby become possessed of the right of emi-
nent domain in behalf of any interest which they, as such public corporations,
might have.

When the legislature of 1887 met such was the existing condition. Vast
areas of land in the San Joaquin Valley which might be made exceedingly
profitable with irrigation were without the needed supply, and without the
means of acquiring it. It was absolutely beyond their reach for the reason
that any attempt to take it from the streams would be met by riparian claims,

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 187

and it was beyond their reach for the further reason in many instances that
an organization could not he perfected which would be sufficiently powerful
to command the funds with which to construct needed works. Such being
the situation, the irrigation district law of California was suggested as a so-
lution of the problem. It afforded to the farming neighborhoods the oppor-
tunity of organizing themselves into public corporations wherever the need
might exist, and of uniting to the end that they might divert the waters of
any stream to supply their lands with needed irrigation.

Inasmuch as this was the first attempt to meet the situation under the
decision of Lux vs. Haggin, it will be interesting to note what the features
of this act are, and some of the efforts that were made to apply it, and with
what success.

THE IRRIGATION DISTRICT LAW OF 1887.

As a means of availing themselves of the provisions of the district law,
a "farming neighborhood" might present to the board of supervisors of a
county a petition signed by not less than fifty freeholders who should be own-
ers of land susceptible of one mode of irrigation, from a common source, and
by the same system of works.

It was required that this petition, together with a notice of its presen-
tation to said board, should be published for at least two weeks before the
time of its presentation, and that it should set forth and particularly describe
the boundaries of the proposed district, and should contain a prayer that the
same might be organized into a district, under the provisions of said act.
It was also required that the petitioners should accompany the petition by
a good and sufficient bond to be approved by the board of supervisors, in
double the amount of the probable cost of organizing such district, condi-
tioned that the petitioners would pay all such costs in case such organiza-
tion should be effected.

This provision was of the greatest importance. The object of it was to
empower the board of supervisors, whenever a petition might be presented to
them, to employ all necessary engineering talent to determine the feasibility
of the district asked for; as to whether it had an ample water supply; as
to whether the lands were so situated that the entire area would be benefited
by irrigation; whether the cost of the system would be such as the land

18S HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

owners would be able to meet, and generally to determine the feasibility from
the standpoint of profit to be realized from the organization of the district.

The board of supervisors were thus empowered to determine every fact
necessary to be determined as to whether or not the petition should be, or
should not be granted, and the cost of determining this question was prop-
erlv placed upon the petitioners. In case the petition should be granted of
course the expense would be met by the district, if organized; but in case
the petition should be denied, or if having been granted the farmers failed
to organize it, the cost would be met by the petitioners.

This provision afforded ample means of avoiding any mistakes in the
organization of any district, and if the boards of supervisors throughout the
state had faithfully carried out this provision, in accordance with its spirit,
no mistakes would ever have been made. No district would have been or-
ganized which had not an ample water supply. No district would have been
organized, the lands of which were not susceptible of irrigation by one sys-
tem, and from the same source. None would have been organized where
the cost of constructing the works exceeded the amount which the farmers
could afford to pay.

The act provided for the holding of an election in pursuance of an order
of the board of supervisors in case they should determine that the district
was feasible, and if at the election two-thirds of all the votes cast were in
favor of the organization of the district, it thereby became a public corpora-
tion authorized to do the very things which it had been denied the indi-
vidual to do, or the private corporation to do, by the decision of Lux vs.
Haggin.

The act provided that such a district should have a board of five directors,
an assessor, a collector, and a treasurer, offices corresponding to those of any
other public corporation in this state. It also provided in detail what their
duties and functions and powers should be; how these offices might be filled
in case of vacancies, and for regular elections for the election of officers.

The district, by means of such organization, became possessed of all
powers essential to carry out the object for which it was formed. The first
duty consisted, of course, in determining what works were needed as a means
of diverting and supplying waters essential to be used. Having determined
what works were essential, it provided that plans and specifications of such

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 189

works should be prepared, and should be adopted by the board of directors
of the district.

To meet the exact condition created by the decision of Lux vs. Haggin,
the act provided that the board of directors should have the right to acquire,
either by purchase or condemnation, all lands and waters and other property
necessary for the construction, use, supply, maintenance, repair, and im-
provement of canals and works, including canals and works constructed and
being constructed by private individuals, lands for reservoirs for the storage
of needful waters, and all necessary appliances. Thus it was thought to en-
tirely overcome the difficulty which had been met with in the decision of the
case of Lux vs. Haggin.

The "farming neighborhoods" had been granted the right to organize
themselves into a public corporation with the right to avail themselves of the
benefit of the law of eminent domain. They had also been given the power
to choose from such neighborhood five officers who should control all the
affairs of the district; they had been given the power to select an assessor who
should assess their property; a collector who should collect necessary assess-
ments, and a treasurer who should be the custodian of the funds. It presented
indeed a case of Home Rule to the last degree.

For the purpose of constructing irrigation works, the board of directors
were authorized, as we have above seen, to cause to be prepared plans and
specifications for all needed works, and to determine the cost thereof. Hav-
ing determined this question, they were authorized to call an election at
which should be submitted the question whether or not bonds should be
issued in the amount necessary for the completion of said works. Complete
provision was made for the issuance of bonds; the time for which they
should run; how payment therefor should be provided, to the end that upon
the final payment the district would own unincumbered a complete system of
works, whereby it might for all time be provided with water for irrigation,
had at the bare necessary expense of constructing its works.

In short, it provided for the organization of "farming neighborhoods"
into municipal corporations with a single purpose. It differed from other
public corporations in no other feature. It was given no extraordinary
power; no power not exercised by other public corporations. Counties,
cities and towns from time immemorial had exercised without challenge all

190 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

the powers conferred on irrigation districts, and many others in addition
thereto.

SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF THIS ACT.

The law having been enacted, the people of the state in various locali-
ties proceeded to organize under its provisions. Very many districts were
organized ; some advisedly and others inadvisedly. The safeguards provided
to insure only the formation of such districts as would be practicable in their
operation were ignored by the boards of supervisors in many instances, and
districts were allowed to be organized by such boards without a single in-
quiry as to the conditions surrounding them. In many instances districts
were permitted to be organized that had no water, or the opportunity of ob-
taining any. In other instances impracticable schemes were allowed to be
consummated whereby the lands included within the border of a proposed
district were either not susceptible of irrigation at all or not susceptible of
irrigation by water from the same source, or by the same system of works.
Of course in such instances failure necessarily followed. These failures were
charged to the district law, instead of to the mal-administration of it.

The fight against the validity of the law was vigorous and protracted.
The holders of large bodies of land, as a rule, were opposed to its enforce-
ment. Land speculators were determined not to pay irrigation assessments
upon extensive bodies of land which they held for speculation only, and
which they could not hope to subject to a system of irrigation. The bankers
of the state, as a rule, were firmly set against the law because many of them
held large bodies of land which they had been compelled to take on mort-
gages and trust deeds. They were in no position to provide their lands with
irrigation, because they simply held them as a speculation or as a means of
making good the moneys which they had loaned upon them.

In this manner almost unlimited capital was engaged in the attempt to
have the law declared invalid. Notwithstanding these Herculean powers
arrayed in opposition to the law, it passed through all the courts, and was
finally determined to be constitutional by the Supreme Court of the United
States in a remarkably exhaustive and well written opinion.

The best example of the practical operation of the law may be seen in
the large districts known as Modesto district, Turlock district and Alta
district. The first two named are situated mainly in Stanislaus county.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 191

They are the best examples of the practicability of the provisions of the law
where proper conditions exist. In both of these districts an abundant supply
of water is got from the Toulumne river, and distributed over about 256,000
acres of land. The Turlock district has an area of about 176,000 acres, and
the Modesto district has an area of something over 80,000 acres. The works
of the Turlock district cost a little in excess of $1,200,000. The cost per
acre was a little less than $7.00 and the irrigation assessment, to pay interest
on its outstanding bonds and the current expenses of conducting the affairs
of the district, has not exceeded on the average thirty-five to forty cents
per acre. It will thus be seen that when the principal has been paid off, the
final cost of maintenance and carrying on of the system will be a mere trifle.
About the same may be said of the Modesto district. There is, perhaps, no
other system known by means of which water may be furnished as cheaply as
the figures above indicate.

In many parts of southern California as much as $20.00 per acre per
year is paid for water for irrigation. Under private corporations a common
price for a mere water right has been about $20.00 per acre, with an added
annual payment for the water itself of something like $1.50 to $3.00 per
acre.

It will thus be seen that water for irrigation by the district system,
where conditions are right, may be had at a mere pittance compared with the
price to be paid where it is obtained through the intervention of private cor-
porations.

The California Irrigation District law is somewhat extensively discussed
above, for the reason that it constituted a new departure in the field of irri-
gation, and was the first effort ever made to mould into form a system for
farming neighborhoods, the suggestion of which grew out of the case of
Lux vs. Haggin. The controversy over its validity was continued until the
decision was rendered by the Supreme Court of the United States. This
was decided on November 16, 1896, and it was thereby determined that the
irrigation of arid lands under the California District law is a public pur-
pose, and that the water thus used is put to a public use. The great point
to be gained was that of furnishing farming neighborhoods with the right
of eminent domain. This was fully accomplished by the District law, since,
as construed by the Supreme Court of the United States, the use of water

192 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

for irrigation purposes by farming neighborhoods constituted a public use.
. To reach this end required over eight years of litigation, and during all of
this time anything like systematic operation of the District law was impossible.
Furthermore, the contention over the validity of its provisions resulted in the
impossibility of selling bonds issued by districts, and work thereunder was
wholly suspended until such time as confidence could be created under the
final determination of the courts that such districts were valid. No general
attempt to operate the districts throughout the state was ever undertaken, but
in certain localities, which we have pointed out, they have been and are being
operated with great success.

The District law, therefore, may be deemed an important incident in the
history of irrigation in California, and its future is likely to be attended with
very important results. As the districts already operating show the prac-
ticability of its provision, and its high utility as an economic measure, it
will undoubtedly grow in favor and become operative in many portions of the
state, where at this time no attention is paid to it.

While controversy over this law was in progress, irrigation along other
lines by no means languished in this state. Systems already begun were en-
larged, and the area subject to irrigation was greatly increased. The most
beneficent results followed the practice of irrigation wherever attempted. It
is a most interesting study to note the great contrast brought about by the use
of water for irrigation in any portion of California, when compared with ad-
jacent lands not irrigated. In Riverside county, for example, irrigated lands
have grown to enormous values, while lands immediately adjacent, for which
no water supply has been provided, although equally good lands in other
respects, are of practically no value whatever. There are hundreds- of thou-
sands of acres of land in southern California of the most fertile quality
which are absolutely desolate-like in character, and will so remain unless
a water supply can be provided for them. The vast wealth of Riverside, San
Bernardino, Orange and Los Angeles counties has been almost wholly created
by means of their irrigation systems. In fact, lands are scarcely habitable
for agricultural purposes in any portion of southern California without the
use of water for irrigation. The worthlessness of land without a water
supply has resulted in most heroic efforts to promote irrigation enterprises,
and millions of money have been expended in the creation of systems under

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 193

extremely hard conditions, and where irrigation in almost any other portion
of the world would not have been undertaken. The result has justified the
faith of those who have made these efforts. While water, under all these
circumstances, is worth almost fabulous prices, the use of it is extremely
profitable. The late ex-Governor Waterman once stated, in a public ad-
dress, that water for irrigation purposes in southern California had a mar-
ket value of two thousand dollars per miner's inch, and while this may be in
excess of present market rates, it is not greatly so.

In central California, where the water supply is much more abundant,
and where the areas to be covered are largely in excess of those in southern
California, water is furnished at a much cheaper rate, where furnished at all.
Great systems have grown up in Kern, Tulare and Fresno counties. These
are operated, in the main, by private corporations. Some of them furnish
water for sale, but the greater number are merely used to supply lands owned
by the corporations operating the systems. The great wealth of the last
named counties is based almost wholly upon the use of water for irrigation.
Lands without the artificial use of water are of very little value. Yet their
fertility is such that, with the added use of water for irrigation purposes, they
become highly productive, and of great value. Fresno county has become
celebrated the world over as a producer of fine raisins. This product is wholly
the result of irrigation systems existing in that county. The same may be
said of its orchards. What has been said with respect to Fresno may be
equally said as to Tulare and Kern counties. These counties have become
famous as producers of all kinds of fruits. The actual results attained by
means of their irrigation systems are astonishing in the extreme.
And yet these systems are only in their infancy. They have been
compelled, thus far, to rely wholly upon the natural flow of the streams..
No water has ever been impounded for irrigation purposes in any part of the
.San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys. They have rivers which have an
annual flow, if all their waters could be utilized, to afford an ample supply
for the irrigation of all the lands in' these great valleys. Kern, Kings, San
Joaquin, Merced, Tuolumne and Stanislaus rivers each have an immense an-
nual flow, which in the aggregate would easily serve all the lands in the San
Joaquin Valley. It is most gratifying, indeed, to those who are interested
in irrigation, to know that the general government has entered upon the plan

V3i HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

of impounding waters for irrigation purposes, and we have no doubt that
this system will be carried out to the extent of utilizing all the waters of all
the rivers wherever the same can be used for irrigation purposes. The gov-
ernment can very well afford to do this because it merely advances the neces-
sarv funds to be returned to it with absolute certainty, since the security af-
forded by the lands covered by the systems to be served is many times more
than ample as security. It is not too much to hope that many of the present
generation will live to see all the lands in California, which are so sus-
ceptible to irrigation, supplied with ample water for that purpose,. by means
of the impounding system, which has been entered upon by the government.
Heretofore twenty times the water supply actually used in irrigation pur-
poses passed on through the natural channels to the sea, without benefit to
either the riparian owner or the appropriator. Such condition of things, it is
not at all likely, will be permitted to exist.

The effects of the use of water for irrigation purposes may be studied
with interest in those portions of the San Joaquin Valley where water has
been recently furnished. It has not been many years since farming in those
localities consisted in wheat-raising exclusively. For the support of a single
family, the natural conditions existing in that valley required the use of
several sections of land, and then farming had to be carried on with the
utmost regard for economy. In those localities, where water has been re-
cently furnished land has been quickly subdivided into twenty to forty acre
tracts, and twenty homes may be found where but one existed before.
There is, indeed, a bright future for irrigation in California, and prosperity
heretofore unknown within its boundaries.

Photo by Taber

VINEYARD, LIVERMORE, ALAMEDA CO., CAL.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

CHAPTER XIII.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF VITICULTURE.

By Honorable Andrea Sbarboro.

California the Land of the Vine — What the Old Padres Did —
Possibilities of Wine-Making — Markets for California Wines
— Purity of California Wines — Exportation of California
Wines — How They Should Be Used — Other Interesting Facts
About Grape-Growing.

The good padres who first came to California for the purpose of civiliz-
ing the wild Indians of the west are not only deserving for this good meri-
torious work, but the people of the new El Dorado are also greatly indebted
to the good friars for having discovered the fact that California was the land
of the vine.

That necessity is the mother of invention was once more verified in this
manner.

The Holy Fathers were not only accustomed to their flask of ruby
wine at their meals in their mother countries, Spain, France and Italy, whence
they came, but in the celebration of the holy sacrament of the mass wine was
indispensable.

These learned men soon discovered to their joy that grape vines were
growing everywhere along the creeks and embracing and climbing oak trees
one hundred feet, high, and were not long in importing from Spain the Vita
Vinifera, or the vine which produces the true wine grape.

Around their Missions they set out grape cuttings, and at the end of
the third year gathered the grapes from which they squeezed the healthy and
exhilerating beverage which makes all wine-drinkers healthy, happy and
merry persons without "stealing away their brains," like is done by the strong
alcoholic beverages used in our modern times, unfortunately by a large
number of the American people.

At the Mission of Santa Barbara may yet be seen one of the original

106 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

grape vines planted by the padres more than one hundred years ago which
covers an immense arbor and from which over one ton of grapes are gath
ered yearly.

The friars soon commenced wine-making in the primitive manner, as
was done by the Romans before the Christian era, that is to say the grapes
when matured were thrown into tubs, which were carved by the Indians
from large Sequoia trees, and into these tubs the Fathers would have the
Indians, both male and female, dance barefooted until the grapes were turned
into juice. This juice was then removed and placed into kegs, which had
brought oil from Spain, and there allowed to ferment. After the proper
fermentation the wine was tested and found, to the joy of the Fathers, that it
was the identical beverage which they had been accustomed to imbibe in their
mother country.

So soon as European immigration commenced to pour into the state,
upon the discovery of gold, all those coming from the Latin race, tasting the
good wine produced by the friars, soon set out vines around their mining
camps and commenced wine-making for their own consumption. From this
small beginning originated the viticultural industry of California which is
in time destined to be not only the largest industry of this state, but the most
profitable and greatest industry of the entire United States, the same as wine
is the principal industry of France.

As early as 1850 small vineyards could be seen growing in several
parts of the state, but it was only in i860 that wine-making for commerce
was commenced in earnest.

The first wine-makers of Sonoma, Napa and Santa Clara valleys were,
as might be expected, natives of Italy, France and the Rhine. The industry
increased year by year and soon became of such importance as to attract the
attention of the members of the legislature, who, observing the adaptability
of California soil and climate as a fine wine-producing country, made a
liberal appropriation to develop the industry.

Colonel Harazthy was sent to Europe for the purpose of bringing to Cali-
fornia the choicest varieties of grape cuttings suitable for producing fine
wines. The Mission grapes introduced by the missionaries were soon sup-
planted by the Zinfandel from the Rhine, the Reisling, the Burgundy and
other fine varieties of grapes imported from France, Italy, Spain and Ger-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 197

many. The quality of the wines thus improved from year to year, both by
the introducing of the better varieties of grapes and by the experience ac-
quired by the wine-makers, so that in the year 1870 the large quantity of
wines which had been imported monthly from Europe was gradually di-
minished and substituted by the use of California wines.

In 1 88 1 was organized, by experienced wine-makers, the now famous
Italian-Swiss Colony, and in less than ten years this corporation sent its
wines to the world's exhibition in Europe where to the amazement of the
European and the great satisfaction of the California wine-makers, Cali-
fornia wines were tested side by side with the fine wines of Europe, received
the greatest praises and were awarded gold medals for their superior quality.
From that time the wines produced in California commenced to be shipped
not only throughout the United States, but also to England, Switzerland,
Germany and the South and Central American republics, where they have
now obtained quite a foothold.

THE POSSIBILITIES OF WINE-MAKING IN CALIFORNIA.

The quantity of wine which can be produced in California is only lim-
ited by the demand for the same. This great state is nearly as large as
France and larger than the Kingdom of Italy. Its climate and soil is identi-
cal with that of the Italian peninsula. It has been proved that every variety
of grapes grown in France, Italy and Spain thrive in California just as well
as, and in some cases better, than they do in the mother country.

In the northern part of California are produced the dry wines of Bur-
gundy, Sauterns, Reisling, Sauvignon and Cabernet of France, the Barollo,
Barbera, Chianti, Grignolino of northern and central Italy. In the central
and southern parts of the state the grapes for the producing of the sweet
wines such as Port. Sherry, Muscat and Marsala thrive just as well as they
do in Spain and in the southern part of Italy.

The rich virgin soil of California gives such large quantities of grapes
to the acre that the wines can be produced as cheaply as in any part of the
world, therefore, whilst the quantity of wines now produced in California is
only about 40 million gallons per annum, whilst France and Italy each
produce over one billion gallons per annum, the time is sure to come when
the Golden State will eventually produce as large quantity, as it is now pro-

198 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

during as good quality of wine, as is produced in the largest wine producing
countries of the world.

MARKET FOR CALIFORNIA WINES.

The future of the wine industry of California is assured by the almost
unlimited market for its consumption. Whilst a few million gallons of or-
dinary wines are produced in the different states of the union, it is a well
known fact, as has been officially reported by the Italian viticultural expert,
Cav. Rosatti of New York, representing the Vrticultural Department of the
Italian government in the United States, that the Vita Vinifera (the true
wine grape) does not grow in any part of the United States with the ex-
ception of the state of California, where on account of its soil and climate
this famous grape grows as vigorously as it does in the wine producing
countries of France, Italy and Spain.

Now, therefore, the state of California has first for its customers the
eighty-five millions of inhabitants of the United States. It is true that the
Americans are not as yet a wine-drinking people, but the time will certainly
come when the intelligent, practical, bright, well-to-do people of the United
States will eventually become educated to the use of this healthy beverage
at their meals.

Wine has been used by all civilized people from time immemorial. In
the fortunate countries where the grape grows to perfection and wine can
be produced in large quantities, the industry has been carefully cherished
both by the people and the government, as in some of them viticulture
forms the most important industrial part of the state. It is a well known
fact that France was only enabled to pay the enormous war indemnity placed
on it by Prince Bismarck after the Franco-Prussian war from the money
derived by viticultural industry. When a few years later the grape vines
were destroyed by the phylloxera, the country immediately spent millions
of francs in order to restore its vineyards, which it succeeded in doing,
although it is said that the grapes grown on the resistant vines do not pro-
duce as fine quality of wines as the grapes produced directly from the Vita
Vinifera.

The wine industry has now become of such vast magnitude in California
that both the state of California and the Federal government have appro-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 199

priated, this year, large sums for the purpose of fully developing and pro-
tecting the industry.

It is a most remarkable fact which is acknowledged by all people who
have traveled throughout Europe, that in the wine-drinking countries of the
world, such as France, Italy and Spain, where every man, woman and child
use wine at their meals, intoxication is almost unknown.

Wine-drinking, therefore, seems to be the true and only remedy for the
cure of the curse of drunkenness which causes so much misery in the non-
wine drinking countries of the world. It seems that man requires stimulants
of some kind, and that if he does not take it in a mild form such as wine,
he will take it in the stronger form such as brandy and whiskey. Wine used
in moderation is not intoxicating but invigorating, while the stronger drinks
are intoxicating and ruinous to the body and soul.

The curse of drunkenness exists to such a large extent in Russia, where,
of course, grapes do not grow and wine is not made, and therefore only
consumed by the nobility and wealthy classes, and is so deplored by the
government that means have been taken to make alcohol undrinkable. The
imperial minister of finance has just offered a price of 50,000 rubles ($25,-
750) to the person or persons who will invent some way of making alcohol
undrinkable. Pamphlets giving the exact requirements have been printed
in the French language and sent to the Russian consulates in foreign coun-
tries.

To-day in the wine-drinking countries of Europe there is consumed
50 gallons of wine per capita per annum, while in the United States only one-
half gallon per capita per annum is used. There is. therefore, room for an
enormous increase of wine-drinking by the American people and when they
will become accustomed to this healthy beverage and consume, say ten
gallons per capita, and our country will soon contain one hundred million in-
habitants, California will supply its legitimate market, the United States,
with one billion gallons of wine per annum.

PURITY OF CALIFORNIA WINES.

Until recently a prejudice has existed in the minds of the wealthy
American people against the use of California wines because it was thought
that it was only the proper thing to serve imported wines at banquets and at

200 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

the homes of the rich when visitors called, but recently this foolish, unrea-
sonable fad has been done away with. All American wine-drinkers are now
serving with pride California wines on their tables.

By the enforcing of the Pure Food law passed by Congress last year it
has been found, to the astonishment of the American people, that more than
sixtv per cent of the wine imported from Europe was adulterated. That many
bottles of wine had never been near a vineyard, and as Professor Allen, sec-
retary of the National Pure Food Association has tersely put it. the Ameri-
can people "have been buying labels."

Now, there is nothing in California with which wine can be made
cheaper than by the juice of the grapes, consequently the person who puts a
bottle of true California wine on his table is sure that he is paying for the
wine and not the label.

The law passed by the last Congress protects the people from bogus
wines from Europe. The Pure Food law which has already passed the
lower house of Congress this year. — and it is fervently to be hoped that it
will also be approved by the senate, — will also protect the wine-drinkers from
drinking bogus wines which may be made in the fifth story brick vineyards
of some large city of the eastern states. Heretofore it has been the universal
custom to brand these bogus wines California wines, and to put up our fine
California wines in bottles labeled with French labels which were sold at
fabulously high prices. The new law does away with this dishonest practice,
therefore the wine-drinkers will hereafter be assured that when they buy a
bottle of wine bearing the California label they will drink the pure juice of
the grape. This unquestionably will greatly increase the consumption of our
wines by our own people.

EXPORTATION OF CALIFORNIA WINES.

The people of Europe, who are generally connoisseurs of wine, who
have no prejudice but desire to have the best for the money, are becoming
large consumers of California wines. The great firm of Grierson. Oldham &
Co.. Ltd., Waterloo Bridge. London, has introduced California wines
throughout the world, sold only in bottles, and has adapted for their trade
mark "The Big Tree Brand," each bottle being plainly labeled "California
Wine." These wines both white and red are sold for the reasonable price

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 201

of from two to three shillings per bottle, and they may be found on the wine
list of every first-class hotel, club, dining-room and on the table of wine con-
sumers in every city and town of the British possessions.

Every drop of wine contained in these bottles is imported by this en-
terprising firm from California in barrels. On its arrival it is stored under
the vaults of Waterloo Bridge, where an immense warehouse has been built
under these enormous arches. The wine is allowed to rest for months after
its arrival. It is then bottled and labeled with the most modern appliances,
worked by hundreds of neat, bright girls and thousands of cases shipped
daily throughout all parts of the globe. Thus this wine is advertising Cali-
fornia wines throughout the world.

If our people had any doubts as to the true merits of California wines
these doubts should be removed by the fact that the wine connoisseurs of
Switzerland. Belgium, right near France and Italy where wine is cheap and
abundant, prefer our California wines and are willing to pay the higher price
for it caused by the expense of freight and duty. Germany consumes a
large quantity of California wines not only for its consumption but uses
considerable in blending its inferior wines so as to bring them up to a fairly
good standard.

USES OF WINES.

In order to become accustomed to the use of wine, children and new
wine-drinkers should commence using wine at the table by mixing one-half
glass of wine with one-half glass of water. A little sugar for the beginner
will perhaps further please the palate. White dry wines are generally used
at the commencement of a meal with oysters and fish. Clarets, burgundy
and chianti should be used with roasts and meats. A little sherry goes well
with the dessert, especially where no champagne is served. Sherry wine is
also frequently used and highly recommended by physicians to convalescents
with a beaten egg. This is also invigorating and good for people of weak
constitutions. A glass of port with cake is a healthy and pleasant beverage
and should be substituted for the use of tea at "Teas." It is so served in all
parts of Europe among ladies and children, who also when out shopping in
the city stop at confectioneries where they take cake and wine to invigorate
them for their further tramping.

In the heat of summer nothing is more pleasant and healthier than a

202 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

large glass of wine mixed with aerated water. It is invigorating and will
quench thirst. White wine with aerated water is a pleasant substitute for
champagne, is not so expensive and is not intoxicating, whilst it is efferves-
cent and delicious.

For the curing of colds there is nothing more sure and at the same time
pleasant, than a hot bowl of water and wine, about one-half each with a
few cloves, cinnamon and sugar.

Sweet wine, such as sherry and port, drunk warm before retiring, are
also excellent remedies for colds.

CALIFORNIA PREPARED TO SUPPLY ALL DEMANDS FOR ITS WINES.

The grape-grower and wine-maker of California have the greatest faith
in this growing industry. Already one hundred million dollars have been
invested in this great enterprise. Whilst this is not a small sum, it is confiden-
tially expected that one hundred times this amount will be invested in the wine
industry of California in years to come. Vineyards are being set out yearly
in most all parts of the state and wineries are being built with all modern im-
provements. There was a time in California when lawyers, merchants and
professional men went into the business of wine-making without any experi-
ence except the use of a guide book. Useless to say that they soon made a fail-
ure, went out of business and now the industry is principally in the hands of
experienced and practical wine-makers. Large capitals have been combined
for the exploitation of this great industry. This enables the wine-makers not
only to make wine in the most careful manner but to properly age the wines
in adequate vessels.

Many wineries in California are built in subterranean caves where the
temperature is always equal. In this state may be found the largest wineries
in the world, many containing from two to five million gallons each.

At the winery of the Italian-Swiss Colony in Asti, Sonoma County,
which has a capacity of five million gallons, may be found the largest wine tank
in the world. It contains 500,000 gallons of wine. In this cellar in 1897,
after it was first emptied of its lake of ruby liquid, a ball took place at which
were invited two hundred representative ladies and gentlemen from San
Francisco, who danced to the tune of a military band inside of the wine
tank, the first instance of the kind in the history of the world. On the cover

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 203

of this great tank, which is eighty-four feet long and thirty-four feet wide,
twenty-five feet deep, lately stood and were photographed the members of
the American Bankers Association who visited Asti during their recent an-
nual convention held in San Francisco.

In this same cellar may also be found hundreds of wine tanks contain-
ing from 25,000 to 40,000 gallons each and several tanks made of concrete
lined inside with glass holding 25,000 gallons each. In these casks is kept
for aging the finest wines ; everything being as clean as a huge glass bottle.

Most of the California wineries are built alongside of the railroad track
so that they can load the cars from inside of their wineries with barrels of
wine which are shipped in locked cars and arrive at the door of the customers
throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico in the identical condition
in which they left the wine cellars in California. This guarantees the purity
of the wine and that it has not been trifled with.

GRAPE GROWING.

Grape growing has become a fascinating and interesting industry in
California. This great industry is bound to increase year by year as the
demand for California wines increase. The profits made by the grape-grower
are generally very large. The grape commences to produce small crops after
the third year, at the fifth year it produces a fair crop and thenceforth an
average of five tons of grape to the acre. The price of grapes has varied in
California from as low as five dollars per ton to as high as thirty dollars
per ton, but since the industry has been placed on a paying basis and con-
trolled in part by large moneyed interests the price of grapes may be safely
put down at an average of fifteen dollars per ton. This will give the grape-
grower about $75.00 per acre for his grapes, which, after deducting say
$15.00 per acre for working the land, will leave him $60.00 per acre net
profit. The occupation is pleasant and healthful, and the women and chil-
dren find grape-picking delightful exercise.

Besides grape-growing, the farmers can grow fruit or any other article
which may be adapted to the locality in which he settles. The climate of
California is salubrious and pleasant. We never have excessive heat or ex-
cessive cold. On the tops of only a few mountains do we ever see snow, and

20i HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

I think, I say everything when I assure the reader that in most any part of
California can be grown the orange, olive, fig, and the vine, the rose and the
pomegranate and everything that is grown in the sunny land of Italy.

A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

Recently a movement has been started by some public benefactor for the
purpose of eliminating all license for the sale of pure table wines. If a law
to this effect could be passed by Congress, what a blessing it would be to
the people of the United States. In a short time the curse of drunkenness
would be removed, for, as has been shown, those who drink wine at their
meals have no desire to visit saloons where intoxicating beverages are
sold.

The custom of the saloons was introduced into the United States
before it was a wine producing country, but in late years it has been clearly
demonstrated that fine American wines can be produced in California of as
good a quality and in some cases superior to those imported from Europe.

A few years ago the French government, noticing the enormous in-
crease of alcoholism and insanity, appointed a commission of professors and
medical men to study the cause of this evil and report its remedy. The com-
mittee after due investigation reported that the cause of the increase of
drunkenness and insanity was due to the scarcity of wine, as many vineyards
had been destroyed by the phylloxera, and that the people who could not ob-
tain their accustomed bottle of wine were using instead strong alcoholic
beverages. In order to correct this evil the government of France imme-
diately removed all license and tax on the sale of wines, whilst it increased
the burden on the dealer in strong alcoholic drinks, which had the required
effect.

Thus it will be seen that by removing or reducing to a minimum the
license of the sale of pure wines our people will gradually accustom them-
selves to the use of this healthy and non-intoxicating beverage, and will
eventually become temperate, healthy, happy and better citizens.

Photo by Tuber

AN OLIVE GROVE, SAN GABRIEL, CALIFORNIA

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 205

CHAPTER XIV.

Horticultural Development.

No history of the California of the new time would be complete without
more than a passing reference to the achievements of modern horticulture,
led by Luther Burbank, known everywhere as the wizard of the vegetable
world. A California correspondent of an eastern publication put the case
right when he said :

"Luther Burbank is the most famous citizen of California. This is not
saying that he is famous in California, for to say that would not be strictly
true. Everybody has heard of the Burbank potato, and millions have eaten
that product of this man's genius, but that is all they know about it. Those
who know that the best potato in the world bears the name of the man who pro-
duced it are content to let their knowledge rest there. They do not know, and
probably they do not care to know, that Luther Burbank has improved nearly
all the varieties of the chief horticultural products of California — that he is
wise in the production of valuable hybrids and combinations, and that he is
constantly experimenting for the production of things that will please and
benefit his fellow man. Luther Burbank is little known in his own parish,
but abroad he is honored as a benefactor and reverenced as a supreme au-
thority in the work that he is doing. Thus is the prophet not without honor,
save in his own country."

Despite the fact that there is much truth in the writer's conclusions,
Luther Burbank's work has had a far-reaching effect throughout California
and the west, and his example has encouraged many undertakings of wide
importance. Much of the enthusiasm of horticulturists today owes its origin
to the fact that Burbank lives in California and here works his miracles
with the forces of nature; that in this genial home of growing things he is
freed from the rigors of winter and the excesses of humid heat. That his
work has been taken up and aided with earnestness by the Carnegie board,
and that he will be free to pursue his work without the interruptions of
business augurs much for the future of horticulture in California.

206 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

While California was still a Mexican province David Douglas, a fa-
mous Scotch botanist and plant discoverer, found and described some of the
wonderful wild bulb-gardens of the Pacific coast. This was as long ago as
1827. and from that time to 1833 he found many bulbs and sent them to
England. They were grown and exhibited at fairs, where they were admired
and regarded as very wonderful. Not much was done for a long time,
however, toward studying and classifying the plants of the country. The
condition has been aptly described by Charles Howard Shinn in an article
in "the Land of Sunshine," from which we are permitted to quote, thus:

"These glowing expectations were doomed to a long disappointment,
for there was then no Carl Purdy to study the habits and surroundings of the
native bulbs, week in and week out, at all seasons, in all parts of California,
and so to master his subject as to be able to simplify their undoubtedly diffi-
cult culture, finally making it practicable in both Europe and America to
grow these most beautiful plants as easily as anemones, tulips and hyacinths.
Importation after importation had failed utterly, and European gardeners
had given up the effort until hardly a catalogue ventured to list these shy,
wild bulbs of California: even when a few species appeared, it was without
cultural directions, and at prices which kept them beyond the reach of the
average purse.

"Now, this was not a small matter, though it might easily seem so to
a casual observer. Here was a neglected industry: here was a very large
group of many genera and species of bulbous-rooted plants, natives of the
Pacific coast, quite lost sight of. while the bulb-flora of regions like South
Africa was receiving all possible attention from collectors, dealers, growers
and plant-breeders.

"The work of making this neglected class of plants widely known re-
quired peculiar qualities, a combination, in brief, of the equipments of field-
botanist, horticulturist and business organizer. During the last twenty years,
a very interesting Californian, Carl Purdy of Ukiah, has built up connec-
tions all over the world, has created a trade in Pacific coast bulbs, has made
an enviable reputation at home and abroad as a specialist upon their culture
and botany, and is now working, with Luther Burbank of Santa Rosa, to
develop new races of California hybrid and cross-bred lilies. More than
this, he is steadily developing unthought-of possibilities in the way of culti-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 207

vating species of exotic bulbs here, so that California, under his guidance,
bids fair to become more of a world's bulb-garden than Holland or the Chan-
nel Isles — and bulb-growing represents one of the very highest arts of in-
tensive horticulture.

"Carl Purdy was born at Dansville, Michigan, March 16, 1861. His
ancestors on both sides were among the first settlers in colonial Connecticut.
When he was only four years old, his parents 'crossed the plains' by the old
emigrant trail, stopping for a time at Truckee Meadows, Nevada. But in
1870 the family settled down in fertile and beautiful Ukiah Valley, in the
heart of Mendocino count}-, and here the boy grew up, fought his way to a
fair education, was for a time a school teacher, married a very helpful and
attractive wife, and little by little took up his life work, this new bulb-culture,
which may possibly prove to be the occupation of his family for several gen-
erations to come.

"The first distinct view that we obtain of this tall, gray-eyed California
boy, back in the seventies, is that of a faithful little toiler, 'making garden' for
an elder sister, and visiting a famous old Glasgow Scotchman, Alexander
McNab, who had made his home in the valley and was a notable flower-
lover, receiving rare plants and seeds from every part of the world. The
broad, thinly-settled valley and the dull, narrow-hearted village seemed to
offer little or nothing to keep any boy there; others left to look for wider
activities. But this boy held on. quietly, patiently, weaving his web of life
in the land where he belonged, and that, as I take it, is much to his credit. At
the age of eighteen he was teaching a small country school.

"About this time (1879) some American firm of seedsmen wrote to Mr.
McNab asking if native bulbs could not be obtained. He turned the letter
over to the young school teacher, and the latter sent a pressed Calochortus
flower, and afterward sold "a hundred bulbs for $1.50," the beginning of a
business that gradually increased until by 1888 school teaching was given up,
and at the present time Mr. Purdy gives most of his attention to the business,
distributes yearly something like a quarter of a million native bulbs to Eu-
ropean and American wholesalers, employs a number of assistant collectors,
and has become recognized as the greatest living authority on Pacific coast
bulbs. Nevertheless the bulk of his business is done with a few large firms,
and he sells few bulbs in California, for as vet there is hardlv anv demand

20S HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

at home. Our own bulbs are too different from the old florist types, but
flower-lovers are beginning to recognize their value.

"At the present time the Californian bulbs known to planters consist of
about one hundred and forty-five distinct varieties and species. The Bro-
disas, handsome, hardy bulbs with showy, long-keeping flowers in umbels,
chiefly white, blue, purple, yellow, lilac or pink in color, include about thirty
species grouped by Purdy in six sections. The Calochorti, which include
some of the most graceful as well as some of the most showy flowers in the
world, consist of about forty species and varieties, arranged by Purdy in three
sections and a number of minor groups and strains. This family represents
one of the most difficult of known assemblages of species for the botanist to
classify, on account of remarkable variations resulting from natural crosses
and hybrids through ages past. It is only a tireless field-botanist who is
capable of writing a monograph on the great Calochortus family with its
lovely "star tulips" (once called cyclobothras) ; its "sego lilies" from Utah; its
dazzling scarlet species of the desert (C. Kennedyi) ; its superb yellow "cla-
vatus" forms, and its hardy and vigorous types of the true Mariposas, or
"butterfly tulips." These and many other forms growing wild, closely ap-
proach each other by gradations of the most interesting character which in the
end bring to grief the mere closet-botanist who is always in danger of clinging
too closely to his type specimen. Besides these families of bulbs, there are the
Camassias, food-bulbs of bears and Indians ; the exquisite Erythroniums (dog-
tooth violets) ; the Fritillarias, Bloomerias and Trilliums, the fine Clintonias
of our redwood forests, and many other beautiful bulbs which are becoming
favorites in distant lands.

"The wild lilies collected by Mr. Purdy include about fifteen species, ar-
ranged by him in four groups. Some resemble the well known tiger-lily; some
are white, yellow or pink, and, taken collectively, they form one of the most
promising of beginnings for the plant-breeder. It is in such lilies that Luther
Burbank has made an especially interesting ' new departure.' Some of the
California wild lilies, as they grow in the mountains in localities adapted to
their finest development, form wonderful masses of color and motion. I
have seen L. Humboldri at its splendid best on a spring-fed mountain slope be-
side the American river, where an acre of tall plants in full carnelian-red
splendor stood with stems a handsbreadth apart, under giant conifers, mov-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 200

ing, flashing, in the Sierra wind and sun. But no one has yet succeeded in
finding the wholly satisfactory kind of lily to endure drought and trying con-
ditions of the average garden. Therefore years ago Mr. Purdy and Mr. Bur-
bank began to work upon the interesting problem — one, by choosing hardiest
stock and native hybrids; the other by crossing and raising thousands of
seedlings. Finally, after much selection from these, the best were sent to a
natural lily garden in the mountains between Mendocino and Lake counties,
where Mr. Purdy watches and works to improve them still further. There
is no other lily-garden in the world that holds more promise of improvement
and more hardy types than this. Color, shape and habit of growth have all
developed surprisingly, and the end is not yet.

"It is probable that these two men will here in ten years produce more
new and desirable varieties of lilies than have been produced by all the lily-
growers in the world during the last century.

"Summing up Mr. Purdy's work for California horticulture, it can truth-
fully be said that he first made the collection and sale of wild bulbs successful
by studying and systematizing their culture in his own Ukiah garden, after
collecting them in their native places. He then devoted special attention to
lilies and calochortuses, selecting and introducing the best strains. It only
remained for him to develop general bulb-culture, and this is now one of his
most important lines of work. He believes that nearly all the profitable spe-
cies of bulbs grown for market in the older centers of horticulture can be
grown quite as well here as in France or Holland. In some respects we have
advantages over the classic bulb-growing regions, and Air. Purdy is now
growing daffodils and other bulbs expecting to ship the future crop to bulb-
merchants abroad.

"Daffodil culture heretofore has been only a flower industry in Cali-
fornia. Nearly all the daffodil gardens are close to the Bay of San Francisco.
The largest and oldest is situated near Niles, but as that is a family affair, it
would hardly be proper to expound its advantages here. All daffodil gardens
are glorious when in bloom, and are favorites of art and literature. Central
and northern California seem better suited to the large-scale culture of daffo-
dils, jonquils and other species of Narcissi than do the southern counties.

"Daffodils grown in the valleys are not so early as those grown on the

210 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

hillsides, and thus it happens that the finest daffodils that the wealth and fashion
of San Francisco are able to wear come from a most excellently kept garden,
that of Mrs. Ivy Kersey, at Haywards, Alameda county. This lady has long
collected the leading species and varieties of daffodils — those that Barr and
others have found, and that Burbidge, Englehardt and others have hybridized,
cross-bred and improved almost beyond reckoning. She certainly takes high
rank among daffodil-growers of California, and is also doing good work
with Spanish and English irises and other genera of bulbs. Like Mr. Purdy
she believes it possible that California will become a leading bulb-producer,
and is trying experiments with cross-breeding varieties. But as long as the
flowers are in such demand, bulb-gardens near San Francisco will continue
to supply chiefly the flower markets. Some of these days if our plant-
breeders produce sufficiently improved varieties of the Irises, Gladioli or
Narcissi, whole carloads of California-grown bulbs may go forth to the utter-
most bounds of civilization.

"There is already a large and increasing demand for California-grown
seeds of vegetables and flowers and trees. Some of the most beautiful garden-
acres that the wide earth has to show are in Los Angeles. Ventura, Santa
Barbara, Santa Cruz. Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Rafael. Alameda, Hum-
boldt and other counties for the production of 'out-door' seeds, which are
larger, heavier, more highly vitalized than seeds of corresponding species
and varieties gathered in Europe, often from pot-grown plants under arti-
ficial conditions. Even the 'novelties' of the modern seed catalogue do not
always come from Europe. But the story of California as a seed-growing
land, though one of the most attractive chapters of modern horticultural his-
tory, must be left until 'a more convenient season.' Every one of our fa-
mous seed-growers, here as elsewhere, is shaking pollen dust on opening
pistils and sowing seeds of promise. Thus it has come to pass that there is
now as much need of a book upon California floriculture as there ever was
for books on fruits and vegetables."

Mr. Shinn writes entertainingly of the work accomplished by the Wiz-
ard of the garden, and it is sufficient to say that much of California's horti-
cultural history is merely the story of Burbank's life-work. He writes as
follows :

"Let us sum a few of the results of the remarkable work of this great

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 211

plant-breeder, Luther Burbank, in recent years: " In 1887 he introduced five
new varieties of Japanese plums, not seedlings, but valuable and the parents
of many useful sorts. In 1888 he introduced twelve more varieties. In 1893
he sent out six fine seedlings of his own, besides new walnuts, quinces,
blackberries, raspberries and useful hybrid berries. A beautiful dwarf calla
and a giant one, both now grown in all the leading nurseries of the world;
also new poppies, myrtles, and tomatoes were among his other successes.
In 1894 and 1895 the world received more plums and quinces, besides
prunes, berries of exquisite flavor and of unprecedented size and beauty, the
famous blackberry-raspberry hybrids (40,000 hybridized seedlings were de-
stroyed in successive 'rogueings' by Burbank's unerring hands in order to
leave as the last survivor his 'Paradox'). New clematises, callas, roses, and,
more than all, an army of cross-bred lilies, were included in the triumphs of
this period. These lilies are still being developed by Mr. Burbank and Mr.
Carl Purdy, the leading Californian bulb authority.

"The new plums sent out in 1898 and 1899, 'Apple,' 'America/ 'Chalco,'
'Pearl,' 'Climax,' 'Sultan,' 'Bartlett.' and 'Shiro,' and the 'Sugar' and
'Giant' prunes, were all acquisitions to horticulture. Not all are of equal
commercial importance, but all are finding places in gardens and orchards,
and some are doubtless destined to supplant other varieties. Modern horti-
culture demands many more varieties than formerly, to suit different locali-
ties, markets and seasons. It is fortunately impossible to bind up all ex-
cellences in one fruit, and it is the especial glory of Burbank that he has
succeeded in producing so many new flavors, so many fruits suited to va-
rious purposes and to different climates. His Wickson plum where it suc-
ceeds best, and especially in southern California, is perhaps the finest of
the earlier Japanese crosses; his Sultan, which is a cross between Wickson
and Satsuma, is a superb plum ; his Sugar prune, which by analysis contains
when fresh nearly twenty-four per cent of sugar (the average of the French
prune being about eighteen and one-half per cent), is being commercially
tested in all the prune regions of the world.

"Many of Burbank's greatest achievements have been with flowers
which, after all, lie nearer to his heart than any fruits. He has improved a
large number of things for the seedsmen of Europe and America. One
hardlv knows how manv modern 'strains' of flowers came from his wardens.

212 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

One silved-lined poppy, new, I think, this season, is a lovely selection. His
gladioluses certainly occupy a place of their own, and so do his cannos,
roses, and clematises."

Mr. Shinn's story should here be interrupted to say that Burbank has
introduced a host of improved poppies, also a strain of perennial peas into
which there is likely to be injected the fragrance of the best sweet peas. He
has also taken up the brilliant Mexican Tigridias, and has already produced
much finer flowers in new, gladiolus-like hues. His new Amaryllises are
wonderful in their park and field possibilities. Mr. Shinn says :

"The Amaryllises are a vast group of species of brilliant cape bulbs
of growing popularity, even where their culture must be in greenhouses. In
California gardens they justly take very high place. Now Burbank, by hy-
bridizing species, has produced a type which has flowers measuring nearly
a foot across, and four or five such flowers are in a cluster. There are thou-
sands of seedlings of this new giant Amaryllis, and the varieties are being
selected and made more permanent. Lastly, for there must come some sort
of an end to this list, we have already the new 'Field Daisy,' which was pro-
duced by hybridizing the well known and common American wild species
with the large, coarse European species, and the result with Japanese spe-
cies. After this, rigid selection for years has given the gardens of the
world what Burbank names 'Shasta Daisies.' The very abundant flowers of
the purest white are often four inches across. There are several rows of
petals, and the type is breaking into other forms and colors, and is beginning
to 'come double.' This new 'perennial candidate' for election to garden
honors from the Gulf of Mexico to Hudson Bay (so wide is its range of
climatic endurance) was, as noted, developed from coarse, ill-smelling and
rowdy weeds.

"The published writings of Luther Burbank are comparatively few.
He furnishes his own descriptions of novelties, and he has occasionally con-
tributed to horticultural journals. He read a striking paper before the Sac-
ramento session of the American Pomological Society, January 18, 1895,
and another paper is soon to be published by the American Association for
the Advancement of Science. He read an essay before the California Fruit
Growers' Association in San Jose in 1898. It is not likely that we shall
ever have a book from his pen, but his notes, journals, registers and scrap-

Photo by Taber

COMBINED HARVESTER, THRESHER AND SACKER
ORANGE VALE, SACRAMENTO CO., CAL.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 213

books will some day possess unique value, and should belong to one of the
California universities. The recent publications of the Department of Agri-
culture contain much material furnished by Mr. Burbank.

"One of the best illustrations of the esteem in which Burbank is held
'among those who know' is furnished by the recent action of the Royal
Horticultural Society of London, which was established in 1804, and holds
unquestioned primacy in its field. This great society, in 1898, planned a
'Hybrid Conference,' which took place in July, 1899, and whose results
were published in 1900. The call was for a conference on 'Hybridization
(the cross-breeding of species) and on the cross-breeding of varieties,' and
the Society then sent out special invitations to one hundred and twenty-five
distinguished 'hybridizers,' nine of whom were Americans (four of them,
however, from the Department of Agriculture at Washington). Only one,
Luther Burbank was selected from the western half of the continent. He
did not attend ; he was too busy even to send an essay, but Professor Bailey
of Cornell, and others, alluded in glowing terms to his success in producing
'new values in fruits and flowers.' "

214 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

CHAPTER XV.
Manufacturing in California.

Several circumstances have hastened the movement that is fast trans-
forming California from a country of grazing, agriculture and primitive min-
ing into a highly complex society of varied manufactures. Within the last
ten years the discovery of vast oil fields has gone far toward solving the fuel-
question, but the long-distance transmission of electric power promises to
multiply every form of mechanical activity. The falls of the Sierra are des-
tined to turn the wheels and spindles of industry in many distant centers of
population.

Mr. Andrea Sbarboro, president of the Manufacturers' and Producers'
Association, thus sets forth some of the main points in the story of the de-
velopment of our manufactures :

We need go back less than fifty years to find the beginnings of manu-
facturing in California and it is needless to say that these beginnings were
generally of the crudest character. Until the discovery of gold the only pro-
ductions of consequence that reached the outside world were hides and tal-
low.

With all of its productive capabilities, the state could not in its early
days furnish those who came in search of gold the things which were neces-
sary to satisfy their most ordinary wants. With many thousands of cattle
ranging the great Spanish ranchos, butter in firkins must be brought from
the east, as well as hams and bacon, and dried apples hung on strings and
then packed in barrels according to the old way.

The needs of the newcomers required to be supplied from the outside.
For a time it occurred to no one to make or grow anything. The only thought
of all was to dig out gold and then to return to the good things of civiliza-
tion. In due time, however, the most imperative needs of manufacture on
the spot began to assert themselves. First, perhaps, was lumber for shelter
and for mining purposes. Gradually other much needed manufactures fol-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 215

lowed in rough form anil the possibilities of natural production began to
force themselves to the notice of those who had time to consider them.

All of this was followed by a development which has not had its equal
upon any other spot in the world in rapidity of growth, in accomplished re-
sults and in great future promise. California is not only self-supporting in
numerous manufactured as well as natural products, but it exports many of
its manufactures and it stands as one of the great factors of the countries of
the globe in the supply of articles of food to the people of the world.

Arriving in San Francisco in the early fifties, it was indeed very inter-
esting to me, as it must have been to all early comers, to see, one by one, the
articles of product from the soil and manufacture from raw material replac-
ing those formerly imported from all parts of the world. Well do I remem-
ber how the first flour produced from the Lick mills at Alviso replaced the
musty flower imported from Chile and New York via Cape Horn and sold
as high as from $20 to $40 per barrel.

Sugar arrived from New York usually in a sweated condition, which
caused much complaint by the dealers, yet it brought from 25 to 30 cents
per pound. I was then in the grocery commission business, supplying the
mines with all kinds of provisions. I remember how difficult it was to
introduce a new California product or manufactured article on the market.
People had been so long accustomed to the imported goods that they had then,
as unfortunately, some few people have now, a prejudice against our own
home-made articles, although in most instances everything that we produce
or manufacture is far superior to that from abroad.

Little by little many of the imported articles were driven out of the
market. Who could have foreseen that in less than fifty years the tables
would be turned and that we would ship in enormous quantities back to the
countries from which we originally obtained our supplies those very things
that we had lately been importing from them? California flour may now
be found in all parts of the globe; our sugar is supplying all the other states
west of the Rocky Mountains.

Our wines are now greatly appreciated, not only by our own people,
but are highly prized by connoisseurs in England, Germany and all parts of
the world. California in 1902 produced over 40.000.000 gallons of wine,
valued at over $12,000,000. This state is the onlv one in the Union where

216 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

the true wine grape grows to perfection and, therefore, we can produce here
as fine wines as are produced in any part of the world. So far, Americans
are not wine-drinking people. They only use one-half gallon per capita per
annum, as against fifty gallons consumed by all men, women and children in
Italy, France and Spain, and in these wine-producing countries intoxicated
persons are seldom seen.

Our fruits, both fresh, canned and dried, are exported to all parts of the
globe, and the low prices at which they can be furnished to consumers bring
them within the reach of the poor as well as the rich.

Our citrus fruits have replaced the imported, and we can raise sufficient
to supply not only the inhabitants of our own country, but also many other
parts of the world. Most people will be surprised to know that recently
several hundred boxes of navel oranges were shipped from California to
Italy by order of the government of the famous citrus fruit-producing coun-
try of Italy. Prunes, which we used to receive in large hogsheads from Ger-
many and France, arriving generally in a moldy condition, are now pro-
duced here, and are shipped back to these countries in fancy boxes, which, ar-
riving in splendid condition, command the highest praise from consumers.

The raisins which we used to receive from Spain are now raised in
this state in sufficient quantities to supply the world and. by the genius of
the Californian. John Forsythe, the seeds are removed, to the pleasure and
happiness of the housewife.

California is the largest shipping point on the earth for salmon.

Even seeds have assumed such an importance that they are supplied all
over the United States and return the growers over $3,000,000 per annum.

Baking powder was one of the most difficult articles to introduce in
California. All the early settlers from the east had been accustomed to use
the Preston & Merrill brand and when Mr. Donnelly first introduced his
California baking- powder, although it was superior and a pure article,
housewives refused to use it because they did not know its good qualities.
To-day the great baking powder manufacturing establishments of Schilling.
Folger and Tillman & Bendel ship large quantities of the article throughout
the United States.

In manufactures we have been a little slower in making progress. The

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 217

cost of steam was formerly against us, but now fuel oil and water power
put us on a level with the world.

The first boots and shoes were made in a small factory employing hand
labor in i860. There are now over thirty factories in the state, operated
mostly by modern machinery.

The old Wells, Fargo & Co. building on the corner of California and
Montgomery streets and several other of our oldest buildings, erected in the
early '50s, used granite brought from China. The old postoffice building
contained granite brought from Ouincy, Massachusetts. Large granite quar-
ries are now developing in several parts of the state and furnish proper ma-
terial for the most modern buildings. Roofing slate is now also furnished
from quarries in the state.

The manufacture of rubber hose, belting and molded goods from rubber
prepared in the east began in San Francisco about eighteen years ago. Its
manufacture from crude rubber, imported at San Francisco from South
z\merica and India, began about eight years ago. These goods are now
shipped to the east in carload lots.

Shipbuilding on the Pacific coast dates back to the time of Cortez, who
established a shipyard at Zacatula on the west coast of Mexico in 1524.
Later he built ships at Tehuantepec and at Acapulco to push northward for
greater discoveries. From that time on, commercial, warlike and other
causes have led to the building of ships and boats of wood along the coast
of California and about Puget Sound.

As early as 1850 nine coasting schooners were built in a yard at North
Beach. The first ocean steamer was turned out at San Francisco in 1864.
The manufacture of iron ships on a commercial scale was not attempted until
April, 1883. To-day shipbuilding is one of the great manufacturing indus-
tries of the state, employing thousands of wage-earners in over forty ship-
building establishments. Every condition of ship-building required by the
government and by the merchant marine can now be met here. Our Olym-
pic and Oregon have proved that we can build as good fighting ships as are
built in the world.

The manufacture of trunks, valises, etc.. was established in San Fran-
cisco thirty-six years ago. Its products now embrace every kind of trunks.

21 S HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

valises, handbags, etc., and are supplied to the Pacific states and export
trade.

Our clothing manufacturers, who began to work on a small scale in
1865, are now producing most of the material used in the state, thus giving
work to thousands of deserving girls and women.

Cordage manufacturing was one of the earliest industries, having been
established in 1856. Its equipment now includes one of the two largest cable
machines in the world, and its product commands a large home and foreign
market.

Gas engines began to be built in the '80s. Since gasoline came into
use this manufacture has increased rapidly, until now engines of this class,
made in California, have the highest reputation, being supplied to all Pa-
cific Ocean countries and even to some countries of Europe.

Leather tanning had a beginning in the early '50s at Santa Cruz. There
being no lumber available at that point, tanning vats were constructed by
felling some of the big trees in that locality and scooping them out for use
as vats. To-day we have some of the best equipped tanneries in the world
with a value in products ranging from ten to twelve million dollars. The
California oak-tanned leather is famous for its high superiority in strength
and wearing qualities.

Portland cement, of which so many millions of barrels have been im-
ported from Europe, is now supplied in this state of as good, if not su-
perior, quality to that imported.

One recent discovery which may become of great importance to the
state has been that made of an asbestos mine located at Copperopolis in
Calaveras county.

Asbestos rock for wall plaster and fireproofing columns in buildings
and fire-proof floors is a very valuable acquisition for our new fine build-
ings. It is light in weight and grayish in its natural color. The long fibers
are also used to make asbestos steam pipe covering. It can be used on the
outside of buildings by adding one part of Portland cement and two parts
of asbestos plaster. It becomes as hard as marble.

An interesting test of this new fire-proof wall plaster was recently
made in the presence of Chief Engineer D. T. Sullivan of the San Francisco
Fire Department, Captain Comstock of the Underwriters' Patrol, represen-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 219

tatives of the Board of Underwriters and many of the prominent architects
and builders of this city. The ordinary wall plaster was found to burn in
five minutes, while the new asbestos plaster continued to withstand the fire.
After fifteen minutes water was turned on and the wall found to be intact.

This article, if found in sufficient quantities, may revolutionize our
building materials and materially reduce fire insurance. It will also prove a
valuable protection to life in theatres and public hotels and buildings.

Many new industries and products are yet in their infancy in this state.
While we produce a large quantity of olives and can produce sufficient to
supply the world, still that industry is not yet on a paying basis generally.
Olives are grown in that part of the world where labor is cheap. Most of the
picking is done by women and children and, consequently, olive oil can be
imported to-day into California much cheaper than it can be produced here,
but as the state becomes more densely populated and the women and children
of the farmers will find enjoyment in the healthy exercise of picking olives,
then we will be able to compete in prices, as we do compete in quality, and
make this industry a very profitable one to our farmers.

This is another industry which has passed the experimental stage. It
has been demonstrated that silk worms can be raised and the raw silk pro-
duced in California more advantageously than in other parts of the world, as
the state is practically exempt from the storms in the spring which frequently
kill the worms in Europe. This industry requires cheap labor.

The raw material is now imported from China, Japan and Italy, and
the American people pay every year fifty million dollars to those countries
for raw silk. This is a work which occupies about sixty days in the spring-
time when the farmer has little to do. If families of men, women and chil-
dren would congregate as they do in Europe and feed the little growing silk
worms, they would find this a very profitable industry. In Europe farmers
depend upon it for their pocket money, many families earning, during these
two months, from fifty dollars to five hundred dollars each.

The field of its immense resources has only yet been scratched over,
but whether these industries will be developed in the near future, or in years
to come will depend greatly on the increase of population and the labor
market. It is well known that large manufacturing industries depend for
their profits on large productions, frequently their margin of profit is a very

220 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

small percent of the cost of the manufactured article. Here labor is a large
factor in the industry.

A rise or fall in wages makes a large difference to the manufacturer.
We can produce a great many articles which we now import from other coun-
tries, but we cannot dispose of them at a profit on account of the difference
in wages. Living is as cheap in California as in most parts of the civilized
world. Laborers can work here all the year round which cannot be done in
other parts of the world. Therefore, the laborer can, if he use thrift and
frugality, which unfortunately for him is not always the case, save more in
California than elsewhere.

Our laborers have the facilities and generally profit by them of procur-
ing homes for their families by the payment of small monthly instalments
through the home building and loan societies. These institutions, when
properly and honestly managed, have been pronounced to be the best financial
institutions for wage earners ever invented by man. They have already
helped many thousands of laborers to procure homes for their families, and
the young man, be he laborer, clerk or mechanic, who has put a part of his
monthly wages in these institutions, has found himself possessed, after a few
years, of a snug little sum which in many instances has enabled him to lay
the foundation for future independence.

California is nearly the largest state and has more advantages than any
other state in the Union. The time will come, therefore, when it will be the
most densely populated state in America. Whether this will be soon or late
will depend greatly upon the enterprise, prudence and sagacity which will be
shown by the present generation.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

CHAPTER XVI.
Growth of the New California.

One of the most marked features of modern industrial and social life in
California is the remarkable immigration movement of the last few years.
Though there had been a following of the star of empire toward the west
ever since the days of the Argonauts, the movement was not organized by
Californians until the beginning of the California Promotion Committee.

Mr. Hamilton Wright has summarized the story of that organization as
follows :

The California Promotion Committee is a disinterested society, sup-
ported by public subscriptions and kept alive through the work of its mem-
bers and officers who give their services gratuitously. The movement for an
organization of this character started in April, 1902, but it was not until
September of 1902 that it was placed on a good running basis and not until
the middle of October that the work began to show effective results. Since
September, 1902, the results of the Committee's work have proved cumula-
tive. Its influence and reputation have constantly widened. The number of
inquiries from all parts of the world have increased and the committee recog-
nized as a public institution devoted to the welfare of the state has sent un-
biased information to thousands of persons who have now settled and are
owning homes and farms as the result of correspondence with the committee.
The fund for carrying on the work came through popular subscriptions in
amounts varying from one to fifty dollars monthly for the period of one
year. The movement was very popular from the first, for there were those
who recognized its necessity to such an extent that they were willing to con-
tribute funds, although the benefits which accrue to them are those in which
they share with the rest of the state and the community at large. Many or-
ganizations are established to bring colonists and develop other interests of
the state. Comparatively few succeed to such an extent that enthusiasm in
the work is manifested in continued financial support. Why, then, has the

222 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

California Promotion Committee been successful and what are the methods
under which it has attained success? One answer is sufficient for both
queries. The California Promotion Committee has been managed through-
out on the principles which apply to a reliable, up-to-date business concern.
The work has been impartial, it has been vigorous, and more than all it has
been effective. Other states contemplating or already engaged in develop-
ment work have sent their representatives to California to study the methods
of the Promotion Committee and have expressed themselves as profiting with
the knowledge gained. In fact, the secretary of the Merchants' Association
of Honolulu, H. T., came to San Francisco, studied the work of the Cali-
fornia Promotion Committee, returned to Hawaii, and now in Hawaii there
is the Hawaii Promotion Committee. A Texas organization has had its rep-
resentative here studying California methods of advertising, while a New
Orleans commercial body has adopted the methods of the committee.

The Promotion Committee has brought, in results traceable, thousands
of people to California and these people have settled down into the work of
the community, purchased property and are a substantial and progressive ele-
ment. These families have settled in different portions of the state accord-
ing to their needs and according to the ability of each section to give them
that for which they seek. It is a tribute to the sagacity of the business men
who support the committee that the territory sought to be colonized is of far
greater extent than the locality from which the immediate profits of their
business are derived. It is generally recognized that, however earnest, no
amount of promotion work can ever create an oasis of prosperity amid a
desert of financial or agricultural stagnation, and that the general level of
prosperity must be raised in order that one section shall prosper. The com-
mittee thus takes a broad attitude and discourages invidious comparisons be-
tween different sections of the state. The committee has advertised in the
best magazines and these advertisements have brought inquiries in answer
to which more than 300,000 pieces of literature in regard to California have
been sent. The committee has sent lecturers through the east, California
farmers have gone through eastern farming districts. Articles on California
have been spread abroad through eastern newspapers and magazines. In
connection with the California fruit growers the committee has done work

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 223

in the east with the view of assisting in harvesting and caring for the fruit
crop.

One feature about the work of the California Promotion Committee is
that every letter to an interested easterner is answered personally and not,
as is often done, by printed circulars which do not give the thought and indi-
vidual attention which is necessary not only to explain to a man why it may
be desirable for him to locate in this state, but to give him the specific in-
formation which he seeks. The same state or commonwealth will appeal to
no two men in precisely the same manner, and thus a circular on general lines
will not constitute the direct appeal which a personal letter will when you
give a man just the information he desired.

This personal plan of work is a factor in the success of the California
Promotion Committee as an agent to develop this splendid state. The com-
mittee has had in the field a number of representatives, sometimes as many
as six, who have lectured and talked personally to the easterner upon what
California has to give him. The committee's representatives have been men
who are intimately acquainted with the agricultural and industrial condi-
tions in California, who have themselves engaged in building up the state
and are therefore able to speak convincingly.

The National Magazine, of Boston, Massachusetts, has the following to
say of the committee :

"The work of the state development has reached an advanced stage in
California, where the leading commercial bodies, boards of trade and cham-
bers of commerce have formed themselves into a central organization known
as the California Promotion Committee. The Promotion Committee is de-
voted exclusively to promoting the settlement and development of the state
at large. Its purposes are wholly public and its members are representatives
of the local organizations. The success of the committee has been remarkable.
During the past year and one-half it has brought thousands of settlers to the
state and located them through the farming and fruit-raising districts. The
committee has been instrumental in bringing a great amount of capital and
inducing industrial establishments to locate in California. Considering that
it is the only organization of its kind in the world, and that it has no ulterior
purpose to serve, the innovation has been worthy of its support. If the

224 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

commercial bodies of the other states can combine with like success they will
do well to follow California's example."

The success of the work of the California Promotion Committee is a
revelation of the enthusiasm which has been displayed in all sections of the
state and the co-operation which is the greatest factor in the work for greater
California.

One of the foremost results accomplished by the committee since its or-
ganization has been the success attending its efforts in dividing up large
tracts of agricultural land, so that this land would be open to small settlers.
Already the California Promotion Committee has heard from more than
fifty of the largest land owners in the state, that they will be willing to sell
their lands to intending purchasers in blocks of one, five, ten, fifteen and
twenty acres. In all cases the terms are favorable to the settler, and in many
instances wage for work is taken in lieu of cash payments. Almost all of
the settlers are possessed of some means, and already many have taken ad-
vantage of this splitting up of great tracts. Formerly much of the best land
in the state was not available to the settler, because it was held in great blocks
and managed on a large scale, the workers being merely transient. These
large holdings were due partly to the fact that many of the holdings came
through large Spanish land grants and this new management on a large
scale continued long after the grants had been confirmed and had passed into
other hands. Now, however, the settlers are getting more from the land
than ever before, because they are farming it in small blocks and are estab-
lished permanently. They are not transient laborers, but are permanently
settled in the country and are a most valuable addition to the wealth of the
state.

The California Promotion Committee has been instrumental in securing
several important conventions to the city and in assisting in bringing many
others. During the visit of the German Agriculturists to California last May
the committee was in charge of the itinerary of the party and had the visit
of these important people lengthened from three to eight days. The German
Agriculturists visited all portions of the state and upon their return to Ger-
many their views of California were printed and widely disseminated. The
committee is now co-operating with the California Creamery Operators' As-
sociation with a view of securing the convention of the National Butter

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 225

Makers' Association in 1905. The convention will meet in St. Louis in
October, 1904, and will then determine on the convention city for the succeed-
ing year. Inasmuch as about 8,000 butter makers from all parts of the
United States attend this convention, it is very important that it should come
to California. Correspondence and personal work has already been done to
secure this convention, and the Creamery Operators' Association are prepar-
ing for a good exhibit at the World's Fair as a part of the work of getting the
Butter Makers' Association convention to come to California.

The committee is conducting an efficient campaign for tourist hotels in
many sections of the state, and it is shown from experience that an increase
of hotels in desirable localities create an increase in the number of tourists.
California has infinitely greater diversity and scenic attractions than Switzer-
land. The amount of money raised annually from industries supported by
tourists alone in Switzerland exceeds $40,000,000, and there is no reason that
a greater amount should not be expended in California. The state is already
equipped with some of the finest tourist hotels in the world and those who have
visited hostleries state that in both accommodations and rates, California
compares favorably with Switzerland. There is room, however, for many
more tourists than those who now come here.

From the start the success of the California Promotion Committee has
been remarkable. There was a firm determination, which has been strictly
observed throughout the work of the committee, to exclude all "boom mat-
ter," to present in a comprehensive and accurate manner the actual resources
of the state, the opportunities for settlers, the price of land, etc. It is for this
reason that the efforts of the committee in advertising the state in the east
have brought remarkable results. Although the committee has advertised on
a most extensive scale, yet their advertising has not been of a "boom" nature.
No exaggerated statements have been disseminated, and only facts have
been given, so that the prospective seller has not been disappointed upon
coming here. At the start of the committee's work display advertising -was
taken in prominent eastern magazines, having an aggregate circulation of
12,000,000 copies. The purpose of this advertising was to call the attention
of those interested in California to the fact that by writing to the California
Promotion Committee they could secure reliable and unbiased information
upon all portions of the state. In addition to the display advertising the com-

226 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

mittee then inaugurated a press campaign throughout the United States and
illustrated articles averaging 2,000 words in length were printed in publica-
tions having an aggregate circulation of more than 15.000,000 copies. Spe-
cial California numbers even of prominent eastern magazines have been is-
sued at the suggestion of the committee and so great has been the interest of
the east in California that these articles and California numbers have been
published without cost to the committee.

Another feature in which the press campaign of the committee in the east
has been strengthened is in the wide reviews given its publications. The Cali-
fornia Promotion Committee has already issued four publications. "San
Francisco and Thereabout," "San Francisco and Its Environs," "California
To-day," and "California Addresses by President Roosevelt." These books
have been reviewed by eastern publications having an aggregate circulation
more than 10,000,000 copies, and as far as the committee knows — so say its
members — there is not a single instance of one unfavorable review.
The tone of the reviews has been of approbation concerning not only the me-
chanical appearance but also the conscientious manner in which these publica-
tions have been issued. The circulation of the book "San Francisco and
Thereabout" has been close to 20,000 copies, which is remarkable for a book
of this nature, and the papers of the east have commented on the enterprising
and unique manner in which California does its advertising, as shown by the
fact that the books are printed in handsome form and written in a most
creditable literary style. Another volume of the California Promotion Com-
mittee is "California To-day." by Charles Sedgwick Aiken. This book treats
on all portions of the state. It contains 191 pages of matter, 61 of which are
full-page illustrations. A year was taken in its compilation, and information
such as prospective settlers would desire is accurately given therein. "Cali-
fornia To-day" is distributed free of charge at home and on receipt of six
cents in postage it is sent to any part of the world. In addition to these four
books the Promotion Committee has printed a great many pamphlets, folders,
etc. Another feature of the work of the committee in the east has been the
telegraphing of San Francisco temperatures to a very large number of cities
throughout the United States. In fact San Francisco ranks third in the num-
ber of cities in which these daily temperatures are posted. The Promotion
Committee arranged for bulletin boards upon which these daily temperatures

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 227

might be displayed. The committee has recently arranged with the United
States Department of Agriculture for the distribution of the weather bureau
bulletins "Climatology of California," by Prof. Alexander G. McAdie. This
bulletin is most valuable to everyone and is of special value to the farmers
and agriculturists. A limited edition of 2,500 copies was issued by the gov-
ernment at a cost of $4,000. Before the plates were destroyed, however, the
government, by arrangement with the committee, has printed a thousand
extra copies which will be distributed at the price of 50 cents each, the money
being refunded to the government. This is without doubt the most complete
book on the climatology of any state.

The work of the committee has been personal as well as through the
press. The committee has sent seven experienced lecturers through the east.
These gentlemen have been competent to deal with the state. They have dis-
tributed thousands of circulars upon California and have held meetings in
which stereopticon views of the state were exhibited. They have made cam-
paigns from farm to farm in buggies and have personally talked with thou-
sands of people. The result of their work has been directly shown by the
number of people who have come to California with whom they have had di-
rect correspondence. The enthusiasm in this branch has been great and promi-
nent people of the state have been glad to offer themselves fdr this patriotic
service.

An interesting department of the California Promotion Committee has
been the Employment Bureau, which has sought for reliable help for farmers
and orchardists who have not had a sufficient labor supply in marketing their
crops. Nine hundred and seventeen persons came to California last spring as
a result of the committee's Employment Bureau, and there have been many
thousands of whom no record was kept, but who have been satisfactorily em-
ployed through the bureau. It is a singular fact that the bureau has been the
means of interesting many people of property in California farms in the
east and who have been engaged in harvesting the crop while getting the
lay of the land and seeing what portions of the state were best suited to their
demands. As an instance of this may be mentioned a fruit grower of Texas
with the sum of $6,000 who, with his family, engaged in the fruit packing
houses and in the orchards and who finally bought a fine place in the northern
portion of the Sacramento Valley, and who is now doing well.

228 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

In all more than 84,000 people came to California last year and many of
them invested and engaged in various businesses.

After all is said and done, the work of the California Promotion Com-
mittee has resulted in much good to California and more will follow.

Mr. Wright's story of the work of the committee shows how the New
California is growing. Further details in the form of transportation figures
are of interest.

Within four years the Southern Pacific Company has brought into Cali-
fornia 139.884 prospective residents, and has expended in improving its rail-
way system $86,603,938. These are two big items, among many small ones,
which tell what "The Railroad" — familiarly so-called since the days of the
building of the first overland line — has done lately for California. Figures
like these tell their own story, but the details of what they represent cannot
but interest Californians. The lesson of the work behind these figures is that
if all the great forces that stand for the promotion of the state's best interests
would only co-operate and do proportionately as much as the Southern Pacific
Company has done and is doing, the year is not far away when California
will reach the twenty million mark in its population, and that doesn't mean
any jostling of elbows within California's tremendous area. Statisticians and
scientists elsewhere in this New Year "Chronicle" of promise and hope will
point out to you that twenty millions of people can live more comfortably and
happily here in the valleys of the Sacramento, the San Joaquin, Sonoma. Napa,
San Gabriel and hundreds of other fruitful vales than they can in the valley of
the Ohio, the Susquehanna, the Housatonic, the Rhine, the Po. or the Danube.

That is all settled; scientists backed by experience have demonstrated
these facts of social and climatic economy. Most Californians. as they la-
ment the state's lack of desirable population, recognize such truths and they
write letters and mail newspapers and send illuminated post cards as far afield
as individual inclination and pocketbook will permit. This all helps. But
more helpful, because greater and more widespread, are the efforts of a big
corporation like the Southern Pacific, not only to tell the world about Cali-
fornia, hut to bring a good slice of the earth's population out this westward
way. There is not a quarter of the space here to tell the story. The work is
too great, the letters are too long, the world is too wide, people are too many,
and life is too short to subdivide and paragraph and interline the narrative

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 229

of the company's unceasing labors that all lead to one result — FOR CALI-
FORNIA. Advertising in a thousand ways, attractive, alluring, wide-awake
and insistent; constructing new lines and rebuilding old ones; new depots,
new cars, new locomotives ; the marshaling of an army of indefatigable agents
in all the corners of the earth ; the equipment of independent, free-lance lec-
turers with lantern slides ; reproductions of attractive California photographs,
and in many cases with ready-made lectures, too — all these are only the
black-letter headings of the story that will tell you of what "The Railroad"
to-day is doing in a very systematic and successful manner. The figures
above speak as only figures can. They tell of the year and the four years
past ; the figures for the three years to come, according to present plans,
should make these look as insignificant by comparison as the White Moun-
tains of New England are insignificant when compared to California's Sierra
Nevada. How is it all done? How? When? Where? These are questions
interesting to the average reader which can be answered only briefly here.

The colonist movement, as it is known to railway men, the selling of a
low-rate ticket to a householder to permit him to come into a new country to
spy out the land with view to removing his residence here, has been thus far
most successful in attracting travel Californiaward, and will continue. It
was this movement which was largely responsible for building up Kansas,
Nebraska, Iowa, and other middle western states. Seeing is believing, in
cases where the country is worth seeing. The visit to California of one ob-
serving man influential in his neighborhood is worth more than a ton of
pamphlets. When John Jones of West Cornwall, Connecticut, returns home
after spending two or three months in California, he is able to tell some con-
vincing story concerning the possibilities and opportunities of this section of
the nation, and can hold his audience more effectively than many printed pages.
He knows because he has seen, and his arguments are unanswerable. The
far-reaching effect of 139,884 human documents like John Jones — that is the
grand total of colonist tickets sold by the Southern Pacific agents 1900-1903 —
cannot be stated adequately. The records show that the issuance of colonist
rates for California met a popular demand in the spring of 1900, when these
tickets were first issued, though only 6,439 were sold, while 39,616 were sold
in the spring of 1903. The year's total. 1903. reached the surpassing figure
of 76.068. The issuance of these low one-way rates each spring and each

230 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

fall is a settled movement which is widely advertised. Small pamphlets, tell-
ing of these rates and California's attractions, twenty, thirty or fifty thousand
of them, according to demand, are distributed broadcast in all the centers of
population of this country and Europe. Agents everywhere, not only of
this company, but of connecting railway and steamship lines, are kept in-
formed ; advertisements are inserted in all the principal newspapers and maga-
zines, and in this way the colonist round-up is effected.

MISCELLANEOUS LITERATURE.

Helpful to the colonist movement, as well as stimulating ordinary travel,
is the miscellaneous literature printed and sent out. This published matter
includes not only Abroad, a European monthly publication, and Sunset Magcf-
sine — but hooks, pictures, folders, maps and pamphlets of all descriptions.
This list includes books describing the Sacramento and San Joaqin valleys, the
Big Trees, Yosemite. and a primer telling of California prunes and the way
to cook them, besides California For Everybody, a pamphlet containing short
signed articles by residents of California, speaking from experience. This
printed matter is distributed by agents all over this country and in Europe and
in the Orient, as well as by agents of connecting lines. The daily mail brings
often between one and two hundred inquiries about California, and these
letters are all promptly answered with the necessary supply of literature.

Within the past three years the Sunset Magazine, published by this com-
pany, has grown from a small pamphlet of thirty-two pages to a publication
of 208 pages, with a monthly circulation of over 40,000. In excellence of
typography, artistic illustrations, and entertaining value of text, it is the
equal of any magazine of its general literary character. Its avowed object
is to picture by words and text the wonders of the west, and each number
contains a hundred or more half-tone engravings made from the best pho-
tographs obtainable, drawings by California and western artists, and stories,
descriptive matter, and poems, by the best of western writers. The maga-
zine is in no sense an advertising publication — that is. advertising its pub-
lishers. Its matter is to advertise simply California. Oregon. Arizona. Xew
Mexico. Utah, Nevada, and all the far western states, to tell and to show
non-residents faithfully and entertainingly just what there is to be found
here. It tells of the products of the brain, of the works of painters and of

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 231

writers, of scientific achievement, as well as of the products of the soil and
of the mine. The publication has met with such widespread appreciation
that it now goes, by annual subscriptions, to more than 15,000 homes in
all parts of the world, while more than this number of copies are distributed
by the American News Company and its branches. Jack London, Joaquin
Miller, Gelett Burgess, W. C. Morrow, Luther Burbank, John Muir, Flora
Haines Loughead, Eleanor Gates, and a hundred other writers of prominence
are represented in its pages. Editorial sheets, with clippings from the maga-
zine suitable for reprinting, are sent out each month to every newspaper of
prominence in the United States. Between five and ten thousand artistic
posters showing in color some striking figure characteristic of the west, and
calling attention to the contents of the magazine, are distributed and dis-
played throughout this country and Europe. The magazine carries over
one hundred pages of advertising, most of it relating to California and the
west, telling of products of soil or factory, or setting forth the claims of
health resorts of the advantages of special counties or towns. Words of
praise and appreciation for this magazine are numerous, and its great value
in up-building the state by reason of the class of readers which it commands
is impossible to estimate.

The London agency of this company prints monthly and distributes wide-
ly its monthly publication, abroad, devoted exclusively to telling of Califor-
nia and adjacent states. It is given out by the many agents and sub-agents
of the company throughout Europe, Asia and the Orient, and is growing
constantly in effectiveness and influence.

Rufus P. Jennings, executive officer of the California Promotion Com-
mittee, furnishes the following facts regarding the new time in Califor-
nia :

It is a great human interest story, this of the coming of home-seekers
to a new country, of the tilling of unfilled fields, of the turning up of virgin
soil by the plow. It is a story of hope, of courage, and should be a history
of substantial progress in the development of each locality.

"Our Unpeopled West" is more than a catchy phrase. Those who
have noted the findings of the twelfth census have certainly observed that
the center of population has moved but slowly westward and that a large
portion of the population of the United States occupies a portion less than

232 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

half its eastern area. The progress made in the development of irrigation
in our states ranked as arid and semi-arid has thrown a vast extent of now-
tillable lands open to settlement and gives greater promise for the future.
In the city of Chicago alone there are more people than there are in the
entire state of California. California has a seaboard greater than all the
New England coast. In size it is second only to Texas, yet it has a popula-
tion of but 1,500,000.

In California we have an organization known as the California Promo-
tion Committee. Its object is to settle and develop the state. We work
on the principle that though there is no one section which will suit every-
body, there are localities in the state fitted to the needs of every home-seeker.
When we find someone who is interested in California we try to present, in
an unbiased manner, the resources of every portion of the state. Should
we find that the prospective settler prefers any one region we furnish spe-
cific information on that particular locality. We believe that in a new coun-
try men of the right sort are needed more than money. Money without the
application of human brain and brawn will not develop natural resources,
nor will it make two blades of grass to grow where one has grown before.

The California Promotion Committee represents the leading commer-
cial organizations of the state of California. The committee was organized
about a year and a half ago, and in that time it has expended $50,000, with
the result that thousands of home-seekers have been satisfactorily settled.
I believe that by an organization on broad lines, covering the entire state,
and all sections working in harmony, much greater results have been achieved,
not only for the state at large, but for each section and from the standpoint
of those who have come to California — and this is most important of all —
I believe that they have been more honestly and satisfactorily located than
if we had endeavored to impress them with any particular section and
"knock" other localities. In fact, if a man writes about another state — Ore-
gon or Washington, for instance — we always refer him to the proper -sources
of information in those states, firmly believing that a man rightly settled
will become a producer: but if unwisely settled he himself not only fails to
prosper but the entire community feels the setback resulting from his "hard
times."

An important industry in our state, and one which we consider offers

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 233

exceptional opportunities to the man who is familiar with this pursuit, is
dairying. The value of dairy products in California is more than $18,000,-
000 each year, and yet $1,500,000 of dairy products are annually imported
into the state. With 300,000 acres planted to alfalfa, California ranks sec-
ond only to Colorado. Our climate permits cattle to graze the year round,
without housing or being fed in winter. California butter is of fine quality
and has a large export. Our cheese is said not to be as good as eastern
cheese, which is imported, but the dairying industry is as yet nascent in this
state. It is only a few years ago, probably not more than ten or twelve
years at the utmost, that modern dairy methods and machinery, cream separa-
tors and their like, came into anything like general use. The industry needs
only more experienced, scientific butter-makers to make it one of the most
important in the state. We possess all the natural qualifications in our dairy
products to make cheese which shall be second to none, and as this industry
develops, California cheese will assume a high place in the world's markets.
Another industry in California which has become of immense import-
ance in the development of the state is the raising of citrus and deciduous
fruits. This product amounts to more than $40,000,000 each year, exclusive
of home consumption, and the raising of small fruits, such as berries, etc.
The fruit harvest in California is unique. The rapid development of this
industry, which was of comparative unimportance eighteen years ago, has
called forth the most highly systematized organization of an army of 250,-
000 workers, to each of whom is allotted some special task. The two in-
dustries, dairying and fruit raising, each present opportunities to the set-
tler. But the opportunity in each for any incoming home-seeker must be
gauged by the capital he has to invest, his previous training and his natural
inclination, and other things being equal, including the important personal
equation, by the period that he can await returns. It takes several years
of patient labor and the investment of some capital to get an orchard — lem-
on, olive, fig. apple, cherry, peach, pear, quince, etc. — into bearing where
it will yield an income. Often the returns are exceedingly large, consider-
ing the acreage, giving an income per acre of from $200 to $500 annually,
but the newcomer must have ability and patience to hide his time. On
the other hand, a dairy farm will yield more immediate returns. In fact,
it may become productive of an income from the first month of its estab-

234 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

lishment. It requires more assiduous care throughout the year, although
even in the "idle months" the prosperous fruit grower will give time and
attention to his orchard.

Chicken raising is an industry which in California has attracted much
attention from home-seekers. It is a curious fact that out of more than
60,000 letters received by the California Promotion Committee, more than
one-half have inquired about the opportunities in this industry. The most
notable chicken-raising town in California is Petaluma, in Sonoma county.
In the first four months of this year I am informed that 1.484,441 dozen
eggs were sold in Petaluma for shipment and cold storage alone.

"At an average price of 25 cents a dozen," says a press dispatch, "the
income to the egg ranchers for this period exceeded $375,000. In addi-
tion, more than $15,000 worth of chickens were shipped from Petaluma.
The annual egg output of Petaluma has been estimated at 2,200.000 dozen,
but it is said that 5,000,000 dozen will not be too high an estimate for 1903."
Petaluma has a population of 5,000. The twelfth census showed that there
were 850,000 white leghorn fowls in Petaluma. exclusive of other breeds.
There are many other sections of the state in which poultry raising is car-
ried on on a wholesale scale. Even so. there is an importation in California
of several million dollars of poultry products yearly.

Diversified farming and trie raising of small fruits are industries which
appeal to many and in which the rural population of California derives a
large living. The success in cultivation of small plots of land under irriga-
tion is one of the greatest of all factors in the state's progress. Thousands
of newcomers to California engage in diversified farming and small fruit
farms with success. As the California Promotion Committee, we find that
the publication of what has been done, giving names and addresses of parties,
is effective. In publishing such matter without comment the prospective set-
tler is able to judge for himself whether the industries mentioned appeal
to him. It is a method which in my opinion is beneficial, not only to the
state, but is of advantage to the prospective settler.

One of the most notable instances of success in small farming is that of
Mr. Geek of Orland, who has lived on a single acre of land for twenty-five
years, and from it has made enough to support himself and wife and put
money in the bank almost everv vear. In fact Mr. Cleek has accumulated suf-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 235

ficient capital from this plot to be able to loan money. Thomas Oats has an
orchard two miles from Sacramento, from which he realizes $1,200 an acre
for Royal Anne cherries. Florin, in Sacramento county, is noted for its
strawberries. Up to August 5th last year. Florin shipped 1,095 tons °f
strawberries, having a value of $131,400. Robert Barneby, at Florin, rented
five acres of land on equal shares. The patch yielded 2,900 crates, from
which Mr. Barneby received as his half, after paying for all crates and bas-
kets, $1,026. I have names of about thirty others at Florin, which possesses
a railway station, a country store and some other scattered buildings, who have
done as well. Margaret and Lizzie McMurray, at Fair Oaks, off a quarter
of an acre of phenomenal and Logan berries, sold $300 worth of berries net,
besides $144 worth of plants. Wing Stewart of San Diego, five hundred
miles south, has forty bushes of guavas on a patch of ground 30 by 68 feet
in size, from which he picked 2,000 pounds of fruit; before the season closed
in February, he picked another thousand pounds. J. E. Hayden this year
tells me he sold $500 worth of strawberries from one acre of ground. The
output of berry farms is not included in statistics of the state's fruit crop.

When an inquirer wishes to know either about dairying or fruit-rais-
ing and wishes to balance the relative merits of each, these are presented to
him in the fullest manner possible; he is informed of the conditions and
opportunities in each industry in the localities with which he is most im-
pressed, and the decision is left entirely to him without any attempt to
influence his choice, either directly or by an unfair presentation. To supply
this information requires a large and competent staff. Over 200 letters
are sent from the Promotion Committee daily, in answer to inquirers from
all parts of the world. The committee maintains a headquarters in San Fran-
cisco. These headquarters, by the distribution of great quantities of litera-
ture, etc., help to arouse an interest among Californians in regard to their
own state, as well as to furnish a convenient opportunity for visitors to ob-
tain information. In fact, the work done at home, in the commonwealth
itself, must be the foundation of all real success in the upbuilding of the
state. What one organization can accomplish singly is infinitesimal when
compared to the results obtained when all citizens are aroused to enthusiasm
and lend their co-operation in seeing that home-seekers are satisfactorily
established in the new land. California has been conspicuously successful

236 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

in advertising its resources. The state has now reached a period of steady-
industrial growth and this advertising has taken on a sober, honest tone.
The publication of glittering generalities is frowned down upon. In the
entire history of California, embracing that period since agriculture and in-
dustrial enterprises have come to vie in commercial importance with min-
ing, I know of only one large colonization project where the intending set-
tlers have been willfully misinformed as to the opportunity awaiting them.
Needless to say, this project is a total failure. Co-operation is the watch-
word in California's progress. The man who cultivates the soil should have
the best we have to give. I believe we are giving him our best.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 237

CHAPTER XVII.

The Public School System.

By Professor John Swett and the Author.

How the Pioneers Made Early Provision for a Fund That Would
Provide Educational Facilities on a Generous Scale — Govern-
ment Lands Formed the Basis for an Extensive System of In-
struction, With Libraries in Every Schoolhouse — San Fran-
cisco's First Schoolhouse and First School Teacher — An Out-
line of the Evolution of the State's Plan of Instruction —
Normal Schools.

Throughout the civilized world, wherever those that teach are inter-
ested in the great problem of education, California is known as one of the
most liberal states in the Union in educational matters, and her generous
system of public instruction has been the model and the wonder of many
countries.

The fathers builded well, and they laid deep the foundations of the
present public school system soon after the Argonauts of '49 had made
the rich country of the Pacific their home. The foundation of the public
school system of the country was laid in the constitutional convention at
Monterey, in September, 1849.

The select committee from the state convention reported in committee
of the whole, in favor of appropriating the 500,000 acres of land granted
by Congress to new states for the purpose of internal improvements to con-
stitute a perpetual school fund. At the outset there was a provision in
the report that the legislature might divert the fund to other purposes, if
exigencies should arise. Semple, of Sonoma, was chief debater in the de-
feat of that provision by a vote of 18 to strike it out to 17 against the propo-
sition. It was by this close vote that a perpetual and inviolable fund for
schools was secured. Semple, whose ideas on the subject were matured and
far-reaching, argued in elaboration for a uniform system and for grade
schools.

238 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

A section providing that a school must be in session at least three
months every year to secure the fund, was adopted. When Article IX of
the Constitution was under discussion (this relates to education) it was
found on the ground that it created a large school fund, and that this fund
would be a source of corruption. The article recites that "a general dif-
fusion of knowledge is essential to the preservation of the rights and liber-
ties of the people." Under this article free schools are created in every dis-
trict, public school taxes are provided, and the sale of lands is arranged for
the creation of a perpetual fund.

When the provisions of this article were assailed Semple again became
the champion of the liberal provisions, and his views won. He had clear
ideas on educational matters and is really the founder of the public school
system.

About the close of the first session of the legislature, at San Jose, 1849-50,
Mr. Corey, of the committee on education, got a postponement of school
taxation, on the ground that the other taxes of the state formed a burden
already.

Though the foundation for the schools of the state was thus laid early
and well, San Francisco, independently of the general law, established the
first school by an ordinance of her common council. On April 8, 1850, H.
C. Murray drew and got passed an ordinance that authorized John C. Pel-
ton to open a public school in the Baptist chapel of the new town of San
Francisco. This was the first public school in California. The hours of
teaching were from 8 -.30 a. m. until noon and from 2 to 5 p. m. The school
age was established at from 4 to 16 years, and the membership was limited
to 100 pupils.

It should be stated that before this public school was organized, Thomas
Douglass opened a tuition school. This was in April, 1848. He had but
six pupils and he taught in a small schoolhouse that had been built in Octo-
ber. 1847, b. v °rder of the town council. The school was in one sense under
direction of the council. On April 1, 1848, the population of San Francisco
was about one thousand and there were in the vicinity some sixty school
children, or children of school age. In May the Douglass classes embraced
thirty-seven pupils, but it was not long until the gold excitement cut the
number to eight pupils.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 239

During a part of the year 1847 a Mr. Marston, a Mormon of consider-
able enterprise, opened a private school and he was so popular that he se-
cured twenty pupils, a considerable number for those times.

In April, 1849, Reverend Albert Williams opened a private school
and succeeded in getting twenty-five pupils. His school was in session
until September of the same year.

On October 11, 1849. John C. Pelton and his wife arrived from Bos-
ton with books and furniture to open a school on the New England plan.
They began in December, 1849, with but three pupils, but their enterprise
was soon made a free public school, as before stated.

The first state school law, under the provisions of the constitution, was
passed in 1851. It was cumbersome and in many ways defective, but it was a
start in the right direction. David C. Broderick, afterward famous in national
politics, was a member of the legislature when the school bill was under dis-
cussion. He supported the educational plan of the administration warmly
and did much for the cause of the schools. The law of 185 1 provided in
a crude way for a survey and sale of school lands, but in a manner so im-
practicable that no lands were ever sold under its provisions. There were
many other defects that were remedied thereafter.

The first school ordinance passed under the measure known as the
state law of 1851 was that of San Francisco, which was adopted in Sep-
tember, 185 1. It provided for a board of education of seven members, a
city superintendent of schools, and other officers, and appropriated $35,000
to carry out the educational plan. Thomas J. Nevins, father of the ordinance,
was the city's first superintendent of schools. The first schools organized
under this law were the Happy Valley School, of which James Denman was
the first teacher, and the Powell Street School, of which Joel Tracy was
the first teacher. These schools opened on December 17. 185 1. Washing-
ton Grammar School was opened on December 22. 185 1. with F. E. James
as principal. During the year 1852 the following schools were organized:
Rincon, January 28, Silas Weston, principal; Spring Valley Grammar.
February 9, Asa W. Cole, principal ; Union Grammar, June. Ahira Holmes,
principal: Mission Grammar, May, Alfred Rix, principal.

The average daily attendance of all these schools during the year 1852
was 445. and the average attendance during 1853 was 703. It is noted that

240 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

among the teachers employed during 1853 were: Ellis H. Holmes, prin-
cipal of the Washington School; John Swett, principal of Rincon School;
Joseph C. Morrill, principal of Spring Valley School. The salaries of prin-
cipals in San Francisco during 1853 was but $1,500 a year.

The first superintendent of public instruction of the state was John G.
Marvin, and his first report to the legislature was on January 5, 1852. He
recommended the repeal of the defective law of 185 1, asked for the sum
of $50,000 for the schools and for a tax rate of five cents on the $100 for
the purpose of raising a school fund. He also requested that the office of
county superintendent of schools be created for each county in the state.
Another highly important recommendation — one that has become an im-
portant part of the law — was that school libraries be established. He also
desired that the proceeds of the sale of all tule lands — chiefly overflowed
and once tide-water lands — be applied to school purposes. From these
sources he estimated that there would be a school fund of $9,975,400.

In an appendix to his report, Mr. Marvin gave extracts from letters
of inquiry addressed to him by various county officers and to postmasters.
A few extracts from these will show the educational condition of the state
at that time : Butte county had 50 children, but no school ; Calaveras county,
100 children, and no school: Colusa, 75 children, with some prospect of
a school next year; El Dorado county, 100 children, but no school; Contra
Costa county had some 400 children. Postmaster Coffin, of Martinez,
wrote: "There are nearly 150 here. There is but just the breath of life
existing in the apology for a school in the town. I presume it will be de-
funct ere one month passes away." Marin county had 60 children, and a
mission school at San Rafael; Mariposa county, 100 children, "no school
organized ;" Mendocino county. 70 children, and a school of 20 pupils on
Russian river; Monterey county, 500 children — two schools of 40 pupils
each in the city — 179 at San Juan, and no school: "morality and society in
a desperate condition;'' Napa county had 100 children, and three schools
in the county, one of which was at Napa City, and numbered 25 scholars:
Nevada county had 250. and four schools, two of which were at Nevada
City, one at Grass Valley, and one at Rough and Ready; Placer county
had 100 children, and one small school at Auburn; San Joaquin county had
250 children, and two schools, both at Stockton. Mr. Rogers, the teacher

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 241

of a private school at Sacramento, reported that there were 400 children
in that county, and no schools except two primary and one academy, a high
school in the city of Sacramento, all private.

He says : "This city has never spent a cent for elementary instruc-
tion. My sympathies are with the public free schools, but in their absence
I started a private school."

Santa Cruz county had 200 children, and two schools, both in the town,
numbering 65 scholars.

Santa Clara county had 300 children. The Young Ladies' Seminary,
at San Jose, in charge of the Sisters of Charity, had 90 pupils; and the
San Jose Academy, Reverend E. Bannister, principal, had 60 pupils. Through
the exertions of Hon. George B. Tingley, a subscription of five thousand
dollars was raised for the benefit of this academy. There were two primary
schools at Santa Clara, with 64 scholars, and two other schools in the town-
ship, numbering 35 scholars.

Santa Barbara county had 400 children, and one public school in the
town, under supervision of the common council, who paid the two teachers
together seventy dollars per month. There was also a small school at Santa
Inez.

Concerning San Francisco it is reported : "In May last, the common
council, under authority of the charter, authorized the raising of $35,000
as a school fund for the present year. In September, 185 1, the same body
passed the present excellent school ordinance, and appointed Aldermen Ross,
Atwell, John Wilson, and Henry E. Lincoln, to form the board of educa-
tion. These gentlemen chose T. J. Nevins superintendent."

Three public schools were organized at that time — Happy Valley School,
No. 1, 163 scholars, James Denman, principal; District No. 2, Dupont
Street School, 150 pupils, Mr. Jones, principal; Powell Street School No.
3, 60 pupils, Joel Tracy, principal.

Among the private schools the principal were as follows : San Fran-
cisco Academy, Rev. F. E. Prevaux, 31 pupils; Episcopal Parish School of
Grace Church, 40 scholars, Dr. Ver Mehr; Wesleyan Chapel Select School,
^^ scholars, Mr. Osborn, instructor; St. Patrick's School, 150 children, Fath-
er McGinnis, principal; Church of St. Francis School, 150 pupils, Father
Langlois, principal.

242 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

Sonoma count}- had 5 small schools, and 250 children, Solano county,
200 children and one school, at Benicia, half public and half private ; Trinity
county, 125 children, and one school of 50 pupils, at Uniontown; Tuolumne
county, 1 50 children and no school ; Yolo county, 75 children and no school ;
Yuba county had 150 children, and one school in Marysville, of 30 scholars,
taught by Tyler Thatcher and his wife.

From these rough materials Mr. Marvin estimated the number of chil-
dren in the state between 4 and 18 years of age to be about 6,000. There
was then no organized state school system, and most of the schools men-
tioned in the preceding items were private schools supported by tuition.

At the third session of the legislature, held in Vallejo and Sacramento,
1852, Hon. Frank Soule, chairman of the Senate Committee on Education,
made an able report in favor of common schools, and introduced a revised
school law much more complete than the law of 185 1.

Hon. Paul K. Hubbs, of the senate, afterward superintendent of pub-
lic instruction, State Superintendent Marvin and Mr. Pelton, assisted Mr.
Soule in framing the bill.

A select committee of the assembly on the Senate bill (Mr. Boggs,
chairman) reported strongly against many features of the bill; thought that
parents could take care of their own children; that the senate and the coun-
ties were in debt ; that taxation ought not to be increased — the standing argu-
ment of Mr. Corey — and therefore recommended that the bill be postponed
one year, and yet had the unblushing impudence to wind up their report by
declaring themselves faithful friends of common schools and loyal lovers
of children!" Finally a committee of conference was appointed, on which
appear the names of J. M. Estell, Henry A. Crabb and A. C. Peachy, who
reported in favor of the bill with the sections relating to the sale of school
lands stricken out, to be amended and passed as a separate bill. It was pro-
posed by Mr. Soule and others who assisted in framing the bill, that the
500,000 acres of school lands should be located by the State Board of Educa-
tion, and held until the land should sell for a reasonable price.

But there was a big land speculation in the eyes of some members of
the legislature: and so the policy prevailed of disposing of these lands at
$2.25 per acre, payable in depreciated state script. The total amount finally

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 213

realized from this magnificent land grant was only about $600,000. It might
have been made two or three millions.

FIRST STATE SCHOOL TAX.

The bill was passed, and a provision was inserted in the revenue law
levying a state school tax of five cents on each one hundred dollars of tax-
able property of the state. This school law made a provision for a State
Board of Education, consisting of the governor, surveyor general and super-
intendent of public instruction; made county assessors ex-officio county su-
perintendents: three school commissioners in each district, elected for one
year; constables to be school census marshals; the school year to end Octo-
ber 31st; state school fund to be apportioned to districts according to the
number of census children between five and eighteen years of age; state
school fund to be used exclusively for teachers' salaries, and fifty per cent
of county fund for the same purpose; that no books of a denominational or
sectarian character should be used in any common schools; defined the
duties of county superintendents, and of the state superintendent and school
commissioners : authorized the common council in incorporated towns to
raise a school tax not to exceed three cents on a hundred dollars; to pro-
vide for examination of teachers; to make rules and regulations for govern-
ment of schools ; authorized counties to levy a school tax not exceeding three
cents on a hundred dollars; provided that no school should receive any
apportionment of public money, unless free from all denominational and
sectarian bias, control or influence whatever; and closed by giving permis-
sion to teachers to assemble at Sacramento, once a year, on the call of the
superintendent of public instruction, to discuss and recommend improve-
ments in teaching. Approved May 3, 1852.

In his second annual report. Mr. Marvin stated that the number of
children between four and eighteen years of age was 17,821; that by a
blunder of the enrolling clerk, the section creating the office of county su-
perintendent was omitted, and the duties were specified without creating the
office, and in consequence thereof the State Board of Education had not
been able to apportion the state fund, which at that time amounted to $18,-
289, of which $14,874 was received from the five cent revenue tax; that the
sales of school lands had amounted to 150,000 acres, yielding $300,000 on

244 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

interest at the rate of seven per cent per annum. He recommended that
the county assessors be made ex-ofncio county superintendents; that trus-
tees be required to report to the state superintendent as well as to county
superintendents; that the Catholic schools be allowed their pro rata of the
public fund; that no necessity existed for a normal school, as the supply
of teachers was greater than the demand; that the number of organized
public schools was 20, the number of children attending public schools 3,314,
and the total expenditure as reported, $28,000.

The report embraced twelve mission and church schools in various
parts of the state, including 579 children in attendance.

SALE OF SCHOOL LANDS.

The law regulating the sale of 500,000 acres of school lands, passed
May 3, 1852, authorized the governor to issue land warrants of not less than
160 acres, nor more than 320 acres; the state treasurer was authorized to
sell said lands at two dollars per acre, and to receive in payment controller's
warrants drawn upon the general fund, or the bonds of the civil debt of the
state; and to convert all moneys and all state three per cent bonds or con-
troller's warrants so received by him into bonds of the civil funded debt of
the state, bearing interest at seven per cent per annum, and to keep such
bonds as a special deposit, marked "School Fund," to the credit of said
school fund.

Under this provision the sales of land in 1852 amounted to 150,000
acres, yielding $300,000.

SOME AMENDMENTS.

At the fourth session of the legislature, 1853, the school law was
amended by the following provisions : That controllers warrants received
for school lands, should draw interest at seven per cent, the same rate as
civil bonds ; that the state treasurer should keep a separate and distinct ac-
count of the common school fund, and of the interest and income thereof,
and that no portion should be devoted to any other purpose; that county as-
sessors should be made ex-ofncio county superintendents; that all county
school officers should be paid such compensation as allowed by county su-
pervisors; that cities should have power to raise by tax whatever amount

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 245

of money was necessary for school purposes ; that counties should have power
to levy a school tax not exceeding five cents on a hundred dollars ; that re-
ligious and sectarian schools should receive a pro rata share of the school
fund.

The provision allowing the Catholic schools a share of the school fund
was as follows:

"Sec. 7. Article five of said act (1852) is hereby amended by adding
after section two the following additional sections :

" 'Section Three. The county superintendent may and is hereby em-
powered in incorporated cities, to appoint three school commissioners for any
common school or district upon petition of the inhabitants thereof requesting
the same.

" 'Section Four. Such schools shall be and are hereby entitled to all the
rights and privileges of any other city or common school, in the pro rata
division of school money raised by taxation, and shall receive its proportion
of money from the state school fund in the annual distribution ; provided,
they are conducted in accordance with the requirements of this act.' "

This provision gave rise to the formation of the so-called "ward schools"
of San Francisco.

Paul K. Hubbs, who had been a member of the last previous legisla-
ture, was elected as successor to John G. Marvin, and took office on the
first of January, 1854. In his very brief annual report, January 24, 1854,
he stated that the school fund, from the sale of school lands, amounted to
$463,000, on which the annual interest was $32,000; that the sale of school
lands had entirely ceased, and that there remained unsold 268,000 acres
of the 500,000 acre grant. He dwelt on the necessity of reserving all sales
of the sixteenth and thirty-sixth sections for township funds exclusively.
Mr. Hubbs further recommended that the school fund be apportioned ac-
cording to the average attendance on school, instead of the number of cen-
sus children, and urged the establishment of a state university.

No tabular statistics whatever were published with this report.

In the fifth session of the legislature, 1854, it was provided in the
Revenue Act that fifteen per cent of the state poll taxes should be paid into
the school fund. A well prepared school law was introduced by Hon. D.
R. Ashley, which, among other things, repealed the sections allowing sec-
tarian schools a pro rata share of the school fund. It met with strong oppo-

2±G HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

sition, finally passed to engrossment, but was buried in the rubbish of un-
finished business at the end of the session.

Superintendent Hubbs opened his second report with the statement,
"that though the average attendance on school had increased from 2,000
in 1853 to 5,751 in 1854, the report nevertheless exhibited the lamentable
fact that the children of our state are growing up devoid of learning to
read and write." He recommended the establishment of a state industrial
school; that school commissioners be elected for three years, one annually;
that the office of county superintendent be abolished, as tending to unneces-
sary expense; that township treasurers be elected, to report to the state su-
perintendent; argued in favor of township school funds; stated that no
income had ever been derived from 'escheated estates,' though it had been
estimated that millions belonged of right to that fund; and urged a state
university. A crude and confused tabular statement was attached to this
report.

During the sixth session of the legislature, 1855, Hon. D. R. Ashley
introduced a school bill which was in substance the same as that defeated
at the last previous session'. After some opposition, with a few amend-
ments it became a law, approved May 3, 1855.

This revised law enlarged the powers of school trustees; provided for
the election of county superintendents, and defined their duties; and em-
powered the common councils of incorporated cities to raise a school tax
not exceeding twenty-five cents on a hundred dollars; to collect and dis-
burse school moneys; to establish school districts; to provide by election or
by appointment for city boards of education, and city superintendents; to
establish schools on petition of fifty heads of families, provided that no sec-
tarian doctrines should be taught therein, and that such schools be under
the same supervision as other schools.

It provided that no school should be entitled to any share of the pub-
lic fund that had not been taught by teachers duly examined and approved
by legal authority, and that no sectarian books should be used,
and no sectarian doctrines should be taught in any public school
under penalty of forfeiting the public funds. The stringent pro-
vision settled then, and probably forever, the question of an American
system of public schools in this state, free from the bitterness of sectarian

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 247

strife and the intolerance of religious bigotry. The public schools are free
to the children of the people, and free from the influence of church or sect.

This law of 1855 also provided that controller's warrants paid into the
treasury for school lands should draw the same rate of interest as civil bonds,
and that the state treasurer should indorse on such warrants, "Common
School Fund," and that no portion of such securities should be sold or ex-
changed, except by special act of the legislature; it authorized counties to
raise a school tax not exceeding ten cents on a hundred dollars, to apportion
the same on the same basis as the state fund, and to appropriate the moneys
so derived for building houses, purchasing libraries, or for salaries. This
law contained many excellent provisions, and was a very great advance on
all previous school bills. Its main features are retained in the school law
of the present day.

Superintendent Hubbs renewed his recommendations for the sale of
school lands, and put in a special plea for township funds; recommended
that all school lands and school funds be placed under the control of the
State Board of Education; asked a direct appropriation of $100,000; con-
sidered the new school law behind the age; recommended that the office of
county superintendent be abolished, and that the district township system
be adopted ; that the school fund be apportioned according to the average
daily attendance.

This report was accompanied by inaccurate statistical tables.

The last report of Superintendent Hubbs was a brief one, without any
statistical table whatever — not even the number of census children in the
state.

He urged all his previous recommendations concerning school lands,
and township lands in particular, the establishment of a grand university,
with an agricultural department, and a military school; a legislative re-
quirement that a uniform series of elementary books be used in all the pub-
lic schools; entered his protest against certain "partisan and sectional" text-
books sent him from the east : and closed by a eulogy on the English lan-
guage and the Anglo-Saxon race.

Paul K. Hubbs was succeeded in office, in 1857, by Andrew J. Moulder.

Mr. Moulder's first report opened as folloAvs :

"The number of schools has increased in four years from 53 to 367 —

248 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

nearly sevenfold; the number of teachers, from 50 to 486, nearly tenfold;
the number of children reported by census, from 11,242 to 35,722 — more
than threefold, whilst the semi-annual contribution by the state has dwindled
from $53,511.11 to $28,342.16, or nearly one-half; and the average paid
each teacher, from $955 to $58.32 — that is to say, to less than one-sixteenth
of the average under the first apportionment.

"I will not waste words on such an exhibit. If it be not con-
vincing that the support derived from the state is altogether insufficient,
and ought to be augmented, no appeal of mine could enforce it.

"But this I may be permitted to say, that we have no such thing as pub-
lic schools, in the full acceptance of the term — that is to say, schools at
which all the children of the state may be educated, free of expense. That
$9.72 per month to each teacher, contributed by the state, never can main-
tain a public school; that the contributions by parents and guardians to
keep up the schools are onerous, oftentimes unequal, and must, in time, damp
their ardor in the cause of education; that our 367 schools are compara-
tively in their infancy, and now, above all other times, should be cherished
and encouraged by the state. Lacking such fostering care and encourage-
ment, it is to be feared they will languish and gradually lose their hold upon
the popular favor. Is it not worth more than an ordinary effort to avert
such a calamity?"

He recommended that the maximum rate of county school tax be in-
creased from ten cents to twenty cents on a hundred dollars; that no war-
rants should be issued by trustees on the district funds, unless there was
cash in the treasury to pay them ; and that all funds coming into the treas-
ury during one school year should be used exclusively for the payment of
expenses of that year; asked an appropriation of $3,000 for teachers' insti-
tutes: favored the establishment of a state industrial school; recommended
that all school lands be placed under the immediate charge of the State
Board of Education, with power to locate and sell at one dollar and twenty-
five cents per acre; that the proceeds of the sales of the 16th and 36th
sections of township lands be consolidated into one general school fund, and
that a state military institute be established.

The following extract will illustrate his views on a state university :

"Ours is eminently a practical age. We want no pale and sickly schol-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 249

ars, profound in their knowledge of the dead or other languages and cus-
toms. We need energetic citizens, skilled in the arts of the living, and
capable of instructing their less favored fellows in the pursuits that con-
tribute to the material prosperity of our state. For what useful occupa-
tion are the graduates of most of our old colleges fit? and not of ours alone,
but of the time-honored universities of England. Many of them are bright
scholars, ornaments to their alma mater — they are perhaps all that the sys-
tem under which they have been instructed could make them; they are
learned in the antiquities of nations long since gone; they are eloquent in
Latin ; they may write a dissertation on the Greek particle ; be masters of the
rules of logic and the dogmas of ethics — all valuable acquirements, it is true;
but when, after years of toil, they have received their diploma, their edu-
cation for practical life has just commenced. They have still to study for
a profession — are still dependent upon their parents.

"This may do for old settled communities, but it will never answer
for California. A young man at seventeen, eighteen or twenty years of age,
in this state, must expect to start in life for himself. He must have some
occupation that will maintain him. Longer dependence is not to be tolerated
or expected.

"To fit our youth for such occupations, to end this dependence, must be
the object of our university.

"I would therefore urge that such professorships only shall be estab-
lished at first as will turn out practical and scientific civil engineers, min-
ing engineers, surveyors, metallurgists, smelters, assayers, geologists or
scientific prospectors, chemists, both manufacturing and agricultural; archi-
tects: builders, and last, but not least, school teachers.

"Let me call your attention, however, to the necessity of educating a
class of our young men in mining engineering.

"The character of mining has undergone great changes since eighteen
hundred and forty-nine and eighteen hundred and fifty. Enterprises are
now conducted on an extensive scale. Tunnels of great magnitude, with
labyrinthine galleries, are run into the mountains, deep shafts with far-
stretching drifts are sunk, quartz works and mills are multiplying. In all
these enterprises a skilful engineer would be a valuable acquisition; and
as thev progress in magnitude, his services would become indispensable. It

250 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

is from the want of such directing intelligence that we so often hear of
accidents in the mines. Our state has scarcely started in the work of in-
ternal improvements. None offers more inducements — in none will more
he needed. For these we shall require 'civil engineers and surveyors, and
all such will, in a few years, find employment."

The statistical tables accompanying the report were very brief, em-
bracing only the number of census children and the average daily attendance.

The legislatures of 1856 and 1857 did not trouble themselves about the
school law, and no amendments worth mentioning w-ere made..

The legislature of 1858 made an advance in school legislation by pro-
viding that school districts, by a vote of the people, could levy a district
tax for the support of schools or for building schoolhouses under the restric-
tions that the district must have maintained a school four months; that
the public money must be insufficient to defray one-half the expense of
another term; that a tax for supporting a school and for building a school-
house could not both be levied the same year, and that the trustees con-
sidered the tax advisable. This law was not well drawn, and great difficulty
was experienced in collecting the taxes voted under it, the heavy taxpayers
who chose to resist it generally escaping without payment. As a necessary
result, comparatively few taxes were voted under it, and not till 1863 was
a liberal and effective law passed whose provisions were as binding as those
regulating the collection of state or county taxes.

The legislature of 1856 passed a concurrent resolution instructing their
representatives in Congress to use their influence to secure the surveys of
the 1 6th and 36th sections of township school lands, and also to secure a
law authorizing townships in the mineral districts to locate two sections
in lieu thereof on the agricultural lands of the state.

The legislature of 1858 passed a similar concurrent resolution.

A law was passed providing for the sale of the remainder of the 500,-
000 acre grant, and the 72 sections for a state university, which provided
that the governor should appoint a land locating agent in each land dis-
trict of the state, who should locate in tracts not exceeding 320 acres; that
purchasers should pay $1.25 per acre or, if they preferred, twenty per cent
down, and interest on the remainder at ten per cent per annum, in advance;
that said agents should also locate lands in lieu of occupied 16th and 36th

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 251

sections, at the request of the county supervisors; that the State Board of
Examiners, whenever it should appear that more than $10,000 had been re-
ceived by the state treasurer as purchase money for such lands, should pur-
chase bonds of the civil funded debt of the state after advertising, at their
lowest values; that such bonds should be marked "School Fund," and held
in custody of the state treasurer ; that at the expiration of one year the State
Board of Examiners should take and use $57,600 of any money belonging
to the school fund and purchase bonds, which should be marked "Seminary
Fund," and that all interest on said fund should also be invested in bonds.

An act was also passed repealing that of 1855, and providing for the
sale of the 16th and 36th sections of township lands by the boards of super-
visors.

This was one of the longest and ablest of Mr. Moulder's reports. He
opened with the statement that the schools of California were not credit-
able to the state, and showed the necessity of an immediate appropriation
by the state of $100,000. Concerning this, he goes on to say:

"A classification and analysis of the reports of full 2,000 school officers
of this department show that there are 40,530 children in the state between
4 and 18 years of age; that the whole number attending school during the
year 1858 was 19,822, and that the daily average attendance was but 11,183.
It follows that 20,708 children have not been inside of a public schoolhouse,
and that 29,347 have, in effect, received no instruction during the year.

"If this state of things is 'very good for California,' and we do not take
instant and effective means to remedy it, these 29,347 neglected children
will grow up into 29,347 benighted men and women; a number nearly suf-
ficient at ordinary times, to control the vote of the state, and, in consequence,
to shape its legislation and its destiny!

"Damning as the record is, it is yet lamentably true that during the
last five years the state of California has paid $754,193.80 for the support
of criminals, and but $284,183.69 for the education of the young!

"In other words, she has paid nearly three times as much for the sup-
port of an average of four hundred criminals as for the training and cul-
ture of thirty thousand children.

"To make the point more forcible, the figures show that she has ex-
pended $1,885 on every criminal and $9 on every child!"

252 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

He recommended that districts should be required to maintain a school
six months instead of three, to entitle them to apportionment; that the
authority of examining teachers should be transferred from trustees to a
county board; that the maximum county tax should be raised to twenty
cents on a hundred dollars; that county treasurers should not be allowed a
percentage for disbursing state school moneys; that county superintendents,
marshals, and trustees should be paid out of the county general fund; and
that negroes, Mongolians, and Indians should not be allowed to attend the
schools for white children, under penalty of the forfeiture of the public
school money by districts admitting such children into school.

He reported that he had prepared a volume of "Commentaries on the
School Law," containing suggestions on school architecture and extracts
from the best authors on education. He argued at length the policy of con-
solidating the proceeds of the sales of the 16th and 36th sections into a state
fund.

This report closed by urging a military institute, and attached to the
tabular statements, which were better arranged than those of any preced-
ing report, were the reports of county superintendents.

In this report Mr. Moulder renewed several of the recommendations
of his previous report; recommended the establishment of a state normal
school; the organization of state and county boards for examining teachers;
the increase of the maximum county school tax to twenty-five cents on a
hundred dollars, an appropriation for paying the expenses of state in-
stitutes, an appropriation for traveling expenses to enable the state
superintendent to deliver lectures and visit schools throughout the state;
that the township school funds should be consolidated into one common
fund, which question he argued conclusively, supporting his position by let-
ters from land commissioners at Washington, and from various state su-
perintendents, and concluded by an elaborate argument in favor of a mili-
tary institute to be established at Monterey.

Several important amendments were made to the school law by the
legislature of i860. The maximum rate of county school tax was raised
from ten cents to twenty-five cents on a hundred dollars; the state super-
intendent was authorized to hold a State Teachers' Institute annually, and
an appropriation of $3,000 was made for payment of expenses; the state su-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 253

perintendent was authorized to appoint a State Board of Examination, with
power to grant state teacher's certificates, valid for two years, and the
school funds of any one year were required to be used exclusively for that
year; county superintendents were authorized to appoint County Boards of
Examination, consisting exclusively of teachers, with power to grant teach-
er's certificates, valid for one year; the State Board of Education was auth-
orized to adopt a state series of text-books, and to compel their adoption,
under penalty of forfeiting the public school moneys, to go into effect in
November, 1861 ; and an appropriation of $30,000 made for building a state
reform school at Marysville. This report opened as follows :

"It is apparent from an inspection of these statistics, that the amount
contributed by the state to the cause of education is wretchedly insufficient.
It is a pittance almost beneath contempt. It amounts to about one dollar
and forty cents per annum for the education of each schoolable child in
the state.

"With all the aid derived from local taxes, rate bills, and private sub-
scription, it pays only an average of sixty-six dollars and seventy-two cents
per month to each teacher in the state. A first-class bootblack obtains al-
most as much.

"I am almost disposed to believe that no teacher at all is better than
an ignorant or unlettered one; but how can we expect to secure the services
of highly educated and accomplished teachers for the pittance of sixty-six
dollars and seventy-two cents per month?"

He further urged a state normal school, and a direct state appropria-
tion for common schools; again urgued in favor of consolidating town-
ship funds, and closed by stating that he had already exhausted argument in
favor of a military institute.

Early in the session of 1861, Hon. John Conness introduced a bill in
the house, which was passed, providing for the sale of the sixteenth and
thirty-sixth sections of school lands, and that the proceeds should be paid
into the state school fund. Thus, after many years of impracticable legisla-
tion, in which each successive legislature tinkered on a township land bill,
a plain and practicable law was passed, under the provisions of which, in
less than a year, nearly 200,000 acres were sold, and the proceeds applied
to the state school fund.

254 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

In his eleventh annual report State Superintendent Moulder asked for
five thousand dollars for a state normal school; reported that the state insti-
tute had been successful; asked the legislature to make provision for school
libraries, and prophesied hopefully regarding the development of the school
system.

The legislature of 1862 passed an act establishing a state normal school
in San Francisco and appropriated three thousand dollars therefor.

In his twelfth annual report Mr. Moulder dealt with questions pertain-
ing to school funds. During the legislation of that year the senate com-
mittee on education referred the subject of revising and codifying the school
laws to Superintendent of Public Instruction John Swett. Many useful pro-
visions were incorporated in the act, particularly with reference to the as-
sessment and collection of taxes for building purposes and for the support
of free schools.

During 1864. still further supplementary and amendatory bills for
strengthening the public school system were passed. In the report of the state
superintendent following this legislation the position was taken that liber-
ality in educating the people is the true economy of states.

During the work of 1866 and 1867 a large fund was raised and sub-
stantial progress was made in developing the schools. The superintendent
said in his second biennial report : "I am glad that in this, my last official
report, I can say that a system of free schools, supported by taxation, is an
accomplished fact." During the two years named the school law was again
revised and improved. The school library system provided by the law of
1866 was soon in successful operation and has been a leading feature of the
educational system of California ever since.

During the period from 1868 to 1872 considerable progress was made
in unifying the system and the first provision for uniform text books was
so amended as to compel San Francisco and other cities, as well as the
country districts, to use the state series of text books that had been arranged
under the earlier laws.

From 1872 to 1876 the chief efforts of the department were toward
enforcing the laws already in existence and securing a better class of
teachers than the state had been able to secure.

After 1876 the progress of the school system was toward uniformity,

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 255

thoroughness and a high grade of teaching. Views of the state's liberality
had by that time spread throughout the world and there was a large influx
of competent teachers. From that time forward until today it has been
the effort of all state superintendents of instruction and leading educators
to produce results worthy of the state's liberal expenditure and far-reaching
provisions. _ In addition to the regular schools much encouragement has
been given to the subject of caring for the feeble-minded, deaf, dumb and
blind. Few states in the Union have been more generous and thorough
in these directions. As will be shown hereafter, the educational leaders
have consistently bent their energies toward embracing all classes of citizen-
ship and enforcing compulsory attendance of children of school age.

As will appear hereafter, one of the chief concerns of the state's educa-
tional authorities has been to develop a high class of teachers. To this end,
as will be shown in detail later, a number of normal schools have been
established and are flourishing throughout California. Every effort has
been made to train native teachers to the highest possible point of efficiency.

A study of educational matters in the state shows that progress has
been marked during the last few years. Superintendent Kirk says there has
been marked progress in material equipment and fuller conception of the
aims and possibilities of the public school system. All over the state many
scores of new buildings have been erected and thoroughly equipped for
school work. The friends of the public school system have never been more
numerous than they are to-day.

With the advanced and advancing ideas and demands of the times for
more skill and better training there is a greater desire for high schools of
strong character, for they are needed as a link between the grammar schools
and the university. There is no doubt that the state will soon recognize
high schools as part of its educational system and that they will be better
and more numerous than ever before.

California has done great things in many special lines of education.
The school for the deaf and the blind, at Berkeley, has pursued its beneficent
work successfully for many years.

The state has done much in the way of establishing and maintaining
normal schools for the training of teachers. Though there are schools of
this character at Los Angeles and San Diego, as well as in the northern part

256 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

of the state, this work deals only with the north. The following brief his-
tory of the State Normal School at Chico is by President C. C. Van Liew,
president of the school.

"The California State Normal School at Chico was established by an
act of the legislature in 1887. Before the location was decided upon, a
committee was sent north to visit the various places competing for the
school. Marysville, Red Bluff, and Chico were regarded as the three most
desirable spots for its location. Chico seemed to be most centrally located
and to possess the most attractive and healthful surroundings. These ad-
vantages, combined with the gifts of its citizens, secured the location of the
school at Chico.

"General John Bidwell gave the state eight acres of his best land, imme-
diately adjoining the city of Chico, for the site, and the citizens gave $10,-
000 to be applied toward the building fund.

"The first board of trustees was composed of Governor R. W. Water-
man, Superintendent of Public Instruction Ira G. Hoitt, John Bidwell, F. C.
Lusk (president), T. P. Hendricks, A. H. Crew, and L. H. Mcintosh. As
soon as possible after the organization of the board, work was begun on
the building. Though not completed, work was sufficiently advanced by
September, 1889, to permit the opening of the school. The board had
selected as president of the school E. T. Pierce, at that time superintendent
of schools at Pasadena, California. Other members of the first faculty were
M. L. Seymour, professor of natural sciences; Carlton M. Ritter, professor
of mathematics; Emily Rice, preceptress and instructor in English; and E.
A. Garlichs, instructor in music.

"At the opening of the school there were eighty students. The course
at that time required but three years. Only two classes were formed, one
beginning the work of the junior year and the other beginning the work
of the second or middle year. At the end of the first year one hundred and
ten students had been enrolled.

"The second year the faculty was increased to nine members, and
courses in drawing, physical geography, and history were added. A train-
ing school was also established, for a time under the supervision of Wash-
ington Wilson. The legislature of 1889 appropriated $25,000 to finish the
building (making a total, both by subscription and appropriation, of $130,-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 257

ooo for the original construction and equipment), and a liberal sum was
allowed to equip the library, science department, and museum.

"During the thirteen years of its activity the faculty of this Normal
School has increased from five to twenty-one. At present (June, 1902),
the work is organized in eight different departments, as follows: (1)
Psychology, Pedagogy, and Education, including Kindergarten; (2) Eng-
lish; (3) Mathematics; (4) Physical Science; (5) Biological Science; (6)
History and Political Science; (7) Art and Handicraft; (8) Music.

"The total enrollment for each year since the opening is :

..no 1893-94. .. .218 1896-97. ... 160 1899-00. .. .377

1890-91.... 137 1894-95.. ..232 1897-98.... 255 1900-01.... 344

1891-92.... 1 75 1895-96.... 216 1 898-99.... 327 1901-02.. ..369

1892-93 196

"The number of graduates to July, 1902, is 457.

"During the past three years (1899- 1902) the Training School has had
an attendance of from 250 to 275. Four years ago a kindergarten was
established in connection with the institution. Eight students have elected
this course in addition to the regular normal course, and two have received
kindergarten diplomas. The work of this department has steadily increased
in popularity, and it is regarded not only as a department by itself, but also
as an organic factor in the life of the whole school.

"The institution has had four presidents: Edward T. Pierce, four
years; Robert F. Pennell, four years; Carlton M. Ritter, two years; and
Charles C. Van Liew, who has just completed his third year.

"The museum of this school is of unusual interest and merit. Most of
its specimens have been prepared by students ; many others have been donated.
Under the supervision of Professor M. L. Seymour, who was for twelve
years connected with the school, it reached a development and excellency
rarely found in an institution of this size.

"The grounds belonging to the institution are among the most attrac-
tive properties of the state. They contain a large athletic campus, and tennis
and basket-ball courts.

"While the work at present requires considerable attention to the gen-
eral academic equipment of its students, they are yet from the first brought
to feel- that all work is in the direction of the profession of a teacher. As

258 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

will be seen from the catalogue of 1902, the instruction in general culture
lines is shaped with a view to the needs of the teacher, who stands in the
position not only of the trainer of childhood and youth, but also of an inter-
preter of life's best. It makes more and more in the direction of professional
training, which culminates finally in the practice work of the Training
School. From the beginning and throughout the course the effort is made
to eliminate all candidates for future graduation who give no promise of a
fair natural fitness for the function of the teacher."

In 1857, just eighteen years after the first normal school in the United
States was founded (at Lexington, Massachusetts, in 1839), the city of
San Francisco established a normal school. It was called the Minns Even-
ing School and its sessions were held weekly. All teachers in San Fran-
cisco were required to attend. George W. Minns was principal and John
Swett, Ellis H. Holmes and Thomas S. Myrick were assistants. The school
continued until 1862 and turned out fifty-four alumni, all of whom were
women.

From 1853 until 1857 the only approach to a normal school was in the
form of a monthly meeting of principals for the discussion of school prob-
lems. After 1862 there were monthly teachers' meetings, under the direc-
tion of the San Francisco Board of Education, but these died out in 1869,
but in 1872 the board of education established another evening normal
school. This lived for two years.

State Superintendent Moulder recommended a state normal in his report
of 1859 and again in i860, but the truth is legislators did not know much
about the subject, so they paid little attention to the recommendation. Presi-
dent Morris E. Dailey, of the San Jose Normal School, thus gives the his-
tory of that institution, and incidentally of the growth of normal schools
in general :

"In May, 1861, at the first State Teachers' Institute, at the suggestion
of State Superintendent Moulder, a committee of three reported in favor of
a state normal school and asked the legislature to appropriate $5.00x2 for
such a school. The legislature in May, 1862, established the school and ap-
propriated $3,000 for five months' support. The State Board of Education
and the city superintendents of schools of San Francisco, Sacramento, and
Marysville were made, by the enacting measure of the legislature, an ex-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 259

officio board of trustees. The members of this board were Governor Leland
Stanford, Surveyor-General J. F. Houghton, State Superintendent A. J.
Moulder, City Superintendent George Tait of San Francisco, City Superin-
tendent G. Taylor of Sacramento, and City Superintendent Fowler of Marys-
ville.

"The school was opened Monday, July 21, 1862, in a room on the ground
floor of the high school building on Powell street. Six pupils were present.
Ahira Holmes, of San Francisco, was principal. From the first, a great
amount of care was taken to keep the school in close touch with the entire
state. The school was limited in attendance to sixty, though it was pro-
vided that each county could have at least one student. The opening of the
school was advertised in San Francisco, Sacramento, and Marysville papers.
Those who would not certify to an intention to engage to teach permanently
in the common schools of the state were charged a tuition of $5 per month.

"At the end of the first term thirty-one students were registered. Of
these a number were deficient in the common branches and had been admitted
on probation. Another source of difficulty was irregular attendance. A
model class, the germ of our present training department, was organized
October 31. 1862. At the end of the first year, in Ma)', 1863, a class of
four, all young ladies, graduated. These were Bertha Comstock, P. Augusta
Fink, Nellie Hart, and Louisa A. Mails. Three of the class engaged in
teaching. The fourth, Miss Mails, died soon after graduation.

"Of the faculty of the school, the principal, Ahira Holmes, taught 'all
the solid branches'; G. W. Minns taught natural philosophy. Besides these
there were special teachers : Professor Elliott, teacher of music ; Professor
Burgess, of drawing; and M. Parot, of calisthenics. Dr. Henry Gibbons
gave, without charge, lectures on botany. There was an examining com-
mittee, consisting of S. I. C. Swezey, John Swett, and Superintendent George
Tait. This committee conducted a final oral examination previous to gradua-
tion. The students belonging to the first, or highest, division were required
to conduct exercises before the committee in the model school.

"Such were the beginnings of the State Normal School at San Jose.
The early period of the normal school, running up to the time when the
school was removed to San Jose, was a formative period. There were many
changes in the principalship. Ahira Holmes was succeeded by George W.

260 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

Minns. The latter held the place but a short time, as he took a leave of
absence at the end of his first year of service. While absent, Mr. H. P. Carlton
acted as principal. Principal Minns having resigned in 1867, Mr. George
Tait succeeded him. Mr. Tait, however, did not serve the year out, but
resigned in February, 1868, Mr. Carlton being elected principal to serve
until the end of the year. In 1868 William T. Lucky became principal of the
school. He served until he was succeeded by Professor Charles H. Allen,
in August, 1873.

"The second period, the period of growth and expansion, commences
with the principalship of Charles H. Allen. He straightway began to
gather about him a strong corps of teachers, men and women of strong
personality and in thorough sympathy with normal school work. Among
those who, during this second period, devoted the best part of their lives to
the training of teachers for the California schools were: Mary J. Titus,
Cornelia Walker, Lucy M. Washburn, J. H. Braly, Helen S. Wright, Ira
More, Mary Wilson (now Mrs. Mary W. George), Mary E. B. Norton,
Lizzie P. Sargent, C. W. Childs, George R. Kleeberger, A. H. Randall, and,
standing next to the principal himself, who worked as a veritable steam
engine, the magnetic Henry B. Norton.

"The Normal School opened at San Jose with as many students as it
had in San Francisco, and with a two years' course.

"In 1873-74, with Charles H. Allen as principal, the faculty consisted
of J. H. Braly, vice-principal; Miss E. W. Houghton, preceptress; Miss Lucy
Washburn; Miss M. J. Titus, principal of the Training School. Miss
Cornelia Walker was elected in November, 1873.

"Changes took place rapidly. Regular practice work for students was
begun in the Training School. Rooms were fitted up for the museum. Stu-
dents from other states and territories were the following year received
without tuition. The new building, being ample in size, competitive exam-
inations for entrance given by county boards were abolished.

"In 1874-75 there were at one time three hundred students in the nor-
mal classes. The Training School was made a tuition school, and soon be-
came self-sustaining.

"In 1876-77 the course was extended to three years. Students who sue-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 261

cessfully completed the second or middle year were granted an elementary
diploma (second grade certificate). This diploma was abolished in 1880.

"In 1876-77 the legislature increased the appropriation to meet the
running expenses of the school to $24,000 annually.

"On the morning of February 10, 1880, the beautiful building took fire
from a defective ash chute, and burned to the ground. A large part of the
library and a portion of the furniture were saved. Books of reference, the
museum and herbarium, and furniture, valued altogether at $18,000 were
lost. The total loss to the state was estimated at $304,000. Through the
courtesy of San Jose citizens, the school at once took up temporary quarters
in the San Jose high school building (now the Horace Mann Grammar
School) on Santa Clara street. In a short time the present substantial brick
building was erected by the state on the site of the burned building, at a
cost of $149,000. In 1891-92 a well-equipped building, at a cost of $47,500,
was erected for the accommodation of the Training School.

"In 1888 important modifications were made in the course of study.
The school year was divided into three terms instead of two. The courses
were made uniform in the normal schools throughout California. A grad-
uate course of one year was also introduced, but as the student received no
substantial credential on its completion it did not develop.

"In 1887 a room was fitted up for manual training, and the instruction
given by the regular teachers. In 1888 a regular teacher was employed.
The work was at first elective, but later it was required, and has so con-
tinued down to 1 901.

"C. W. Childs, who succeeded Charles H. Allen as principal in 1889,
was succeeded by A. H. Randall in 1896. Professor Randall remained
at the head of the school for three years, and in 1899 was succeeded by James
McNaughton, who. after an administration of one year, was succeeded by
Morris Elmer Dailey, the present head of the school.

"The demand for a higher standard of scholarship among teachers was
met in the year 190 1 by placing admission to the San Jose State Normal
School upon a university basis. In September, 1901, none but high school
graduates and teachers were admitted. At that time the course of study was
made largely professional, and two years' practice teaching and observation
work were required.

262 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

"Since the organization of this Normal School 3,219 students have been
graduated. More than 1,200 of these are now teaching in the public schools
of California."

The State Normal School at San Francisco was established by act of
the legislature on March 22, 1899. I ts work has gone on without interrup-
tion ever since, and there are those who say that its efficiency is as great as
that of any school in the United States. It has been the aim of the founders
and instructors to do good work, and much attention is given to the person-
ality of those it selects as teachers who are to go forth with its credentials.
President Frederick Burk thus outlines the purposes and methods of this
institution.

"The faculty determined, in the first place, that the school should give
no courses in general scholarship, to do which is already the function of the
public school system, but should direct its energy exclusively into the chan-
nels of technical preparation for teaching. A normal school is a technical
school, ranking in character with schools of medicine, engineering, law, and
trade-learning. The public school system is expected to provide pupils with
that kind of general knowledge, culture and training which concerns life
common to all people, whatever their occupations may be. The technical
school obtains students after this general education and training are accom-
plished, and its only concern should be to determine the stage of academic
instruction at which students may be recruited into its special service; or, in
short, to set a standard of academic knowledge requisite for admission.

"The San Francisco Normal School is located in the midst of a large
number of the best high schools in the United States, and therefore the re-
quirements for admission were made identical with those for admission to
the State University. These requirements demand graduation from an ac-
credited school with a special recommendation from the high school principal.
Thus the San Francisco Normal School stands for a sharp distinction be-
tween general or academic scholarship and the technical or professional
training special to teachers. No courses whatever are given in purely aca-
demic studies, and the school centers its energies exclusively upon profession-
al training, in which term are included studies in the grouping and adaptation
of the material of the various subjects to the special uses of the class-room."

PB^^^WI

^^^

' 5v •

Photo by Taber

LICK OBSERVATORY, FROM EAST PEAK

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

CHAPTER XVIII.
The State University.

Freeminent among institutions of learning in California, and occupying
a dignified place among the great universities of the United States, is the
University of California, the principal buildings and headquarters of which
are at Berkeley, in Alameda county, though the Lick Observatory, the Hast-
ings Law College and other branches of the great work are not carried on at
Berkeley.

Geographically and climatically the location of the state's highest place
of learning is superb, for Berkeley escapes the fogs and stiff sea breezes of
the immediate coast and particularly of the peninsula which comprises the
city and county of San Francisco. It is also far removed from the extremes
of summer that make the San Joaquin and the Sacramento valleys too hot
for comfortable studying.

The town of Berkeley now exceeds twenty-five thousand inhabitants,
the community being one of the most orderly and free from crime of any
city in the west. The site of the university comprises about two hundred
and seventy acres, rising at first in a gentle, then in a bolder slope from a
height of two hundred feet above sea level to one not far from a thousand.
Back of it a chain of hills continues to climb a thousand feet higher, affording
an inspiring outlook over the bay and city of San Francisco, over the neigh-
boring plains and mountains, the ocean, and the Golden Gate. As before
said, the climate is exceptionally good for uninterrupted work throughout
the year.

The following is a brief summary of the history of the great institution
of learning, given as a prelude to more specific data :

"In 1869 the College of California, which had been incorporated in
1855 and which had carried on collegiate instruction since i860, closed its
work of instruction and transferred its property, on terms which were mu-
tually agreed upon, to the University of California.

264 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

"The university was instituted by a law which received the approval of
the governor March 23, 1868. Instruction was begun in Oakland in the
autumn of 1869. The commencement exercises of 1873 were held at Berke-
ley, July 16, when the university was formally transferred to its permanent
home. Instruction began at Berkeley in the autumn of 1873. The consti-
tution of 1879 made the existing organization of the university perpetual.

"The University of California is an integral part of the public educa-
tional system of the state. As such it completes the work begun in the public
schools. Through aid from the state and the United States, and by private
gifts, it furnishes facilities for instruction in literature and in science, and in
the professions of law, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, and art. At Berkeley
are its Colleges of Letters, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, Commerce,
Agriculture, Mechanics, Mining, Civil Engineering and Chemistry ; at Mount
Hamilton is its graduate Astronomical Department, founded by James Lick ;
in San Francisco are its Colleges of Law, Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy
and Art. The university's endowment is capitalized at about eleven mil-
lion dollars; its yearly income is about seven hundred thousand dollars; it
has received private benefactions to the amount of nearly eight million dol-
lars. The fourteen buildings in which the colleges at Berkeley are at present
housed have been outgrown. The university is indebted to Mrs. Phoebe A.
Hearst for permanent building plans upon a comprehensive scale. In pur-
suance of these plans, three buildings are now approaching completion; the
president's house; the Hearst Memorial Mining Building, given by Mrs.
Hearst for the College of Mining of the university and as a memorial to
the late Senator George Hearst ; and California Hall, for which an appropria-
tion of $250,000 has been made by the state legislature. A fourth building
has been completed — the beautiful Greek theater, <an open-air auditorium,
patterned after the classic structure at Epidaurus, and given to the university
by William Randolph Hearst. The fifth of the new buildings will be the
library, for which generous provision was made by the late Charles F. Doe,
of San Francisco. At Berkeley there are one hundred and seventy-five offi-
cers of instruction distributed among thirty-six departments: twenty-seven
hundred students; a library of one hundred and thirteen thousand volumes;
an art gallery: museums and laboratories : also the agricultural experiment
grounds and stations, which are invaluable adjuncts of the farming, orchard

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 265

and vineyard interests of the state. In San Francisco there are one hun-
dred and fifty officers of instruction, besides demonstrators and other assis-
tants, and six hundred students. Tuition in the colleges at Berkeley, during
regular sessions, is free to residents of California; non-residents pay a fee of
$10 each half-year. In the professional colleges, in San Francisco, except
that of law, tuition fees are charged. The instruction in all the colleges is
open to all qualified persons, without distinction of sex. The constitution of
the state provides for the perpetuation of the university, with all its depart-
ments."

Going back for a moment to beginnings, we find the idea of a State
University a fixed part of the plans of the builders of the state, for as early
as 1849 brave and far-seeing men of brains were making plans for the higher
education of young men and women yet unborn, laying deep the founda-
tions of the present vast and growing institution.

From 1849 to 1869 the discussion of ways and means in the develop-
ment of the great educational idea was a part of the mental activity of the
times, the ambition to achieve something of permanent value being ever
foremost in the minds of the rugged pioneers.

To Thomas H. Greer, state senator from Sacramento, belongs much of
the honor of the initiative in the matter of building of the university. At
the very first session of the legislature he gave notice that he would intro-
duce a bill to establish and endow a state university. During the interim
between the first and second sessions of the legislature the senator's mind
was full of the projects of starting a university. In New York, where he
was visiting in November, 1850, he planned the outlines of his scheme for
the state's chief educational institution. In January, 185 1, he submitted to
the legislature much of his data and correspondence on the subject. This
awoke general interest and enthusiasm and won to the support of his ambi-
tion many able and influential men.

For many years able leaders like Sherman Daw, an influential man of
the times, labored for the founding of a university on broad and permanent
lines; and in March, 1868, under the leadership of the Reverend Samuel P>.
Bell, representing Alameda and Santa Clara counties in the senate, a law
was passed establishing the university.

This bill was but the culmination in legal enactment of plans previously

266 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

urged with force and eloquence by many men of the type of Robert C. Rodg-
ers, of San Francisco, and Charles E. Mount, of Calaveras — all pioneered,
however, as before said, by Senator Greer.

Former President Kellogg, of the university, aptly said that the insti-
tution was not the offspring of any one mind, however, nor the result of any
single legislative step. It was a product due to a combination of forces,
setting steadily from the first toward the one great issue.

The College School at Oakland, established in i860, with the Reverend
Isaac Brayton in charge and the late Frederick M. Campbell as vice-principal,
teacher of literature, etc., was the nucleus to which was built the university
itself. When the College at Oakland was fully ready to burst from its chrys-
alis into the State University, John W. Dwindle, one of the master spirits
of the time, and a lawyer of note, was chosen to prepare the charter, and
the organic law governing the institution was drawn by him.

The inception of the work of building the university fell to Governor
Haight, who was ex-ofncio president of the Board of Regents. Governor
Haight appointed regents without delay. He and they met and organized on
Tune 9, 1868. On June 25th of the same year we find Regents Doyle, Dwin-
dle, Stebbins, Moss and Felton digesting plans for the organizing of col-
leges, and it has always been held by friends of the institution, as well as by
educators who have investigated the question, that they drew their plans
well and laid deep the foundations of the University of California.

On December 1, 1868, a number of professors were elected, among
them the illustrious John Le Conte. The others were Professors Kellogg,
Fisher, Joseph Le Conte — afterward world-famous — and others. Professor
John Le Conte arrived in California in March, 1869, and soon thereafter
he arranged the courses of instruction, set the requirements for admission,
and issued a prospectus for the coming year. On June 14, 1869, in the
absence of the president, Professor John Le Conte was appointed to dis-
charge the duties of the office of president. Later his brother, Joseph Le
Conte, became one of the strongest and most beloved professors of the
university, to which he was devoted unto the day of his death. Much of
the fame of the university is due to his illustrious career.

During the early years of the institution its curriculum was necessarily
meager, but instruction was thorough so far as it went. Each year of the

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 267

growth of the university the work has been broadened and made more com-
plete. Under President Benjamin Ide Wheeler, its present able executive,
no one can predict the limit of its growth and influence.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

CHAPTER XIX.

Stanford University.

By George A. Clark.

Interesting Facts About the Great Institution of Learning Found-
ed by the Late United States Senator Leland Stanford — Facts
About the Grounds, the Curriculum, and the Manner in Which
it is Fulfilling its Mission.

Leland Stanford Junior University is located at Palo Alto, California,
about thirty-five miles southeast of San Francisco and eighteen miles north-
east of San Jose in the Santa Clara valley. The university campus com-
prises 9,000 acres of land, partly in the level of the valley and partly rising
into the foothills of the Santa Moreno mountains which separate it from
the Pacific ocean, thirty-three miles distant. The Bay of San Francisco lies
in front at a distance of three miles, and beyond it are the mountains of
the Diablo range. In addition to the Palo Alto ranch on which the univer-
sity is situated, its landed endowment comprises the Vina ranch of 59,000
acres in Tehama county and the Gridly ranch of 22,000 acres in Butte
county.

The university was founded by Senator Leland Stanford, and his wife,
Jane Lathrop Stanford, as a memorial to their only son who died in Italy in
his sixteenth year. The founders desired that the university should give a
training primarily fitted to the needs of young men. Both sexes are admitted
to equal advantages in the institution, but the number of young women who
attend at any given time has since 1899 been limited to 500. This number
has not yet been reached, but when it is the limitation will be made to apply
first to special and irregular students, and afterward as need arises to the
freshmen and sophomore classes. It will therefore be many years before
any young woman need be actually excluded from at least two years of uni-
versity work at Stanford.

The object of the university as stated by its founders is "to qualify

Photo by Taber

MAIN ENTRANCE, NORTH SIDE, LELAND STANFORD, JR. UNIVERSITY

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 269

students for personal success and direct usefulness in life," and to "promote
the public welfare by exercising an influence in behalf of humanity and
civilization, teaching the blessings of liberty regulated by law, and inculcat-
ing love and reverence for the great principles of government as derived
from the inalienable rights of man to life, liberty and the pursuit of happi-
ness." The university is pledged to nonpartisanship in politics and non-
sectarianism in religion. In the words of the founder, it "must forever be
maintained upon a strictly nonpartisan and nonsectarian basis. It must nev-
er become an instrument in the hands of any political party or any religious
sect."

The endowment grant establishing the university was made in Novem-
ber, 1885, under an act of the legislature of California passed for this pur-
pose. The cornerstone of the institution was laid in May, 1887; and the
university was formally opened to students on October 1, 1891. The atten-
dance for the first year numbered 559, and included all college classes, with
a number of graduate students. The university graduated its first class of
thirty-eight in May, 1892. The original faculty numbered thirty-five pro-
fessors, instructors and lecturers. David Starr Jordan, a graduate of Cor-
nell University, was selected president of the new university and still re-
mains at its head.

The architecture of the university buildings is patterned after the old
Spanish missions of California and Mexico. The buildings are of buff sand-
stone with red tile roofs. They form two quadrangles, one within another,
with detached buildings grouped about them. The inner quadrangle con-
sists of twelve one-story buildings, connected by a continuous open arcade,
facing a paved court three and one-quarter acres in extent, diversified with
beds of semi-tropical plants. Connected with this quadrangle at various
points by corridors, and completely surrounding it, is the outer quadrangle
of twelve buildings, for the most part two stories in height above the base-
ment. This outer quadrangle is again surrounded by a continuous open
arcade. The interspaces between the two quadrangles are to be beautified
by lawns and shrubbery.

In the inner quadrangle are the departments of law, of the different
languages, and mathematics, and the administrative offices. In the outer
quadrangle are the scientific, engineering and geological departments; those

270 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

of history, economics and English; the library and assembly hall, the latter
seating r,700 people. In the rear of the quadrangles are the central lighting,
heating and power plant and the laboratories and shops of the engineering
departments. The dormitories, one for young men and another for young
women, with their gymnasia and athletic grounds adjacent, are located at
some distance to the east and west. In front, two on either side of the
main driveway, are detached buildings for the department of chemistry, the
art museum, the new gymnasium and library, the two latter in course of
erection. The museum is a memorial to the son and is the outgrowth of his
own idea, one of its most interesting rooms being an exact duplicate of a
museum room arranged in the Stanford home by him and containing the
collections made in his early travels. The museum contains besides an exten-
sive collection of pictures, the Di Cesnola collection of Greek and Roman
antiquities from Cyprus. The library building will contain shelves for
1,000,000 volumes and ample seminary, lecture and reading rooms. The gym-
nasium, a stone building to cost about $500,000, will be one of the most
complete of its kind in the country.

Most striking among the architectural features of the university build-
ings are the Memorial Arch and the Memorial Church. The former is 100
feet in height, ninety feet in width and thirty-four feet deep, with an arch-
way of forty-four feet spanning the main entrance. A sculptured frieze
twelve feet in height, designed by St. Gaudens, and representing the prog-
ress of civilization, surrounds the arch. The Memorial Church opens from
the inner court and is opposite the main entrance. It is of Moorish-Roman-
esque architecture, its spire rising to a height of 188 feet.

The church, erected by Mrs. Stanford in memory of her husband, is
adorned within and without with costly mosaics, representing, as do the
beautiful stained glass windows, biblical scenes and characters. It has a
splendid organ of forty-six stops and 3,000 pipes and a peel of sweet toned
bells, which ring the quarter hours. The church is nonsectarian in char-
acter and method. Religious services are held each Sunday morning and
afternoon. A permanent chaplin has charge of the congregational work,
and outside clergymen of the various denominations are invited from time
to time to occupy the pulpit. There is a week-day vesper service and a
daily concert on the organ at the close of recitations.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 271

The students live in dormitories and club houses on the grounds, or
in private boarding houses in the town. The city of Palo Alto is situated
a mile distant from the university buildings, and has been built up by a com-
munity interested in educational matters since the opening of the university.
The' professors live in houses provided on the grounds or in their own homes
in Palo Alto. The town has an excellent sewer system and owns its own
water works and lighting plant. Twelve Greek letter societies for young
men and five for young women occupy chapter homes on the campus.

In the government of the students "the largest liberty consistent with
good work and good order is allowed. They are expected to show both
within and without the university such respect for order, morality, personal
honor and the rights of others as is demanded of good citizens. Students
failing in these respects, or unable or unwilling to do serious work toward
some definite aim, are not welcomed and are quickly dismissed."

The University Council consists of the president, professors and asso-
ciate professors of the university faculty. To it is entrusted the determina-
tion of requirements for admission, graduation and other matters relating to
the educational policies of the institution. It acts as an advisory body on
questions submitted to it by the president or trustees. The routine work of
the faculty is divided among various standing committees with power to
act, and responsible primarily to the president. Departmental affairs are in
the hands of subordinate councils consisting of the instructing body in each
department, a member of which is designated by the president as presiding
officer.

The general control of the university's affairs was by special provision
in its charter reserved to the founders or either of them during their life-
time. A board of trustees was chosen by the founders, their duties at first
being nominal. This provision remained in force until July, 1903, when
under a special act of legislature passed for the purpose, Mrs. Stanford, the
surviving founder, finally turned over to the board of trustees the full au-
thority and control over the university. The original board of trustees, chos-
en for life, numbered twenty-four, a number decided to be too large and
since reduced to fifteen by leaving vacancies unfilled. In the future, mem-
bers are to be elected for a term of ten years. In educational matters the presi-
dent of the university has the initiative, his acts being subject to the con-

272 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

firmation of the trustees. The board through a treasurer and business man-
ager, one of their own number, administers directly the financial affairs of
the institution.

The endowment of the university comprises, besides the landed estates
already mentioned, the Stanford home in the city of San Francisco, together
with other real estate in various parts of California, and interest-bearing
securities, the whole amounting to about $30,000,000, about two-thirds of
which is at present productive of income. For the present, this income is
devoted largely to the completion of its buildings.

In its requirements for admission the university recognizes twenty-nine
entrance subjects, comprising those commonly included in the secondary school
curriculum. These subjects have different values according to the time de-
voted to them in the preparatory schools. The unit of value is a full year
of high school work in any given subject, and any fifteen units, with certain
limitations, chosen from accepted list constitutes preparation for full entrance
standing. The university has no list of accredited schools, but considers
on its merits the work of any reputable school. The student chooses a major
subject, the professor in charge of which becomes his adviser. To this sub-
ject he is required to devote one-fourth of his time, his remaining time being
occupied by courses chosen under the advice and direction of the major pro-
fessor. Fifteen hours of recitations per week throughout four years consti-
tutes the regular course leading to the A. B. degree. Students are gradu-
ated when they have completed 120 hours of university work and have ful-
filled the requirements of their major subject. Degrees are conferred in
May. September and January of each year.

The university grants the undergraduate degree of A. B. in all courses.
The degree of A. M. and Ph. D. are given for one and three years' work
respectively beyond the undergraduate requirements. The LL. B. degree in
law and that of engineer in the engineering departments are granted for
graduate work. The university grants no honorary degrees.

The work of the university is grouped under the following departmental
heads : Greek, Latin. Germanic Languages. Romanic Languages, English
Literature. English Philology. Philosophy. Psychology, Education, History.
Economics. Law, Drawing. Mathematics. Physics. Chemistry. General Bot-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 273

any, Systematic Botany, Physiology, Hygiene, Zoology, Entomology, Geo-
logy and Mining, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering.

The university library contains 75,000 volumes. The attendance for
the year 1902-03 was 1,483, of which 998 were men, 485 women. The fac-
ulty numbers 130 teachers. Tuition is free to California students. Those
from other states pay a registration fee of $10 per semester. Of the 1,483
students in 1902-03, 1,171 were from California, representing forty-four
counties, 505 being from Santa Clara county. The 312 students from out-
side of California represented thirty-eight states and territories of the Union
and Japan, Canada, England, Mexico, India and Sweden.

274 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

CHAPTER NN.

Santa Clara College.

By Dennis J. Kavenaugh, S. J.

Interesting Facts Concerning the Early Missionary Educators and
the Great College of Santa Clara — the Early Mexican Policy
— Romance of the Old Days — Some Illustrious Graduates of
the Old School — Heroic Ambition of the Founders — How
Skillful Teachers Direct Their Charges in a Picturesque Lo-
cation — Facts About the Passion Play as Produced by Students
— the Surroundings a Palm Garden and Olive Trees — Facts
About the Buildings.

From the day when, for purposes best known to itself, the Mexican
government secularized the Franciscan missions of California, the historian
must trace the gradual decay and final collapse of some of those glorious
monuments, the primitive adobe buildings, which marked the path of Chris-
tian conquest and dawn of civilization in the rugged wilds of the west. With
the secularization came greed, in many cases cruel greed, and the work
of the Padres came to a dead halt. Their buildings scattered through Ser-
raland began to crumble in the dust and had not the more tolerant spirit of
Americanism been wafted to these shores in the early fifties, there would
be nothing now, but heaps of adobe mingling with fragments of red tile, to
tell the story of self-sacrifice and devotion to noble enterprises with which
California was subdued. Had the work of secularization been unimpeded,
the future of all the missions would have been the same: razed to the
ground, they would have presented but a chaotic heap of debris, or if an
occasional arch stood out from the ruins, it might have served for an artist's
sketch, but beyond that it would have been lost to historic research.

But American tolerance made it possible to preserve some of those prim-
itive structures, and zeal, similar to that of the early Franciscans, preserved
them. Such at least was the case with Mission Santa Clara, founded in
1777 by Fathers Junipero Serra, Murguia and de la Pena, and taken in

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 275

charge by the Jesuit priest, John Nobili, in March, 1851, as the first Ameri-
can college of the west. By diligent repairing the mission building was pre-
served and stands today, in great part, as it stood well-nigh one hundred
years ago, as a trophy snatched from the devastating influence of irreligion
and neglect. Well-nigh one hundred years ago, we say, because the present
building was not begun until 18 18, after a severe earthquake had weakened
the former church and cloister, built in 1781, and had made further use
somewhat hazardous.

What now remains was fortunately exempt until 1836 from Mexican
control; for though it was in 1828 that the congress passed their act of liber-
ating the Indians, — that is of liberating them from Mexican influence, a
rather doubtful form of liberation as was subsequently made evident, — it
was not until 1836 that the scheme was carried into effect at Santa Clara.
As elsewhere the flourishing community of Christian Indians died away, the
fields were neglected, and the buildings, exposed to the corroding influences
of the weather, had taken on a somewhat tottering aspect. Some time during
the period of devastation, William Cullen Bryant passed through Santa
Clara and he has given us in his book, "What I Saw in California," a
pretty faithful picture of the havoc caused by Mexican rule.

"The rich lands surrounding the Mission of Santa Clara," he writes,
"are entirely neglected. I did not notice a foot of ground under cultivation
except the garden enclosed, which contained a variety of fruits and plants
of the temperate and tropical climate. From want of care these are fast
decaying. The picture of decay and ruin presented by this once flourishing
establishment, surrounded by a country so fertile and scenery so enchanting
is a melancholy spectacle to the passing traveler and speaks a language of
loud condemnation against the government."

Such, then, is the history, in brief, of the buildings which in 1851 were
converted into Santa Clara College. For several years previous to the actual
beginning of education on the coast, attempts had been made to secure some
Jesuits from the Rocky Mountains where the sons of Loyola had some very
flourishing missions among the native tribes. Accordingly in 1849 Fathers
Accolti and Nobili left their missions in Oregon to comply with the request
of Father J. M. de F. Gonzalez, who was anxious to have some co-workers
in this part of the vineyard. The treaty of 1848 had already confirmed

276 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

American possession of California and so the two Jesuits were but changing
their field of labor, not the conditions of living. Reaching San Jose, the
then capital of the state, they were given charge of the Pueblo church, where
they worked together until in the middle of 1850, Father Accolti, recalled
to the northwest, left his companion alone in a strange land, surrounded by
the rough and uncouth elements of border life. There was now no hope
of establishing a college and, as we would be inclined to judge from our
present position, no demand and no possibility of profit.

When there was question, about the same time, some fifty years ago,
of establishing a university in Ireland, people were heard to say on all sides
(so we are told by Cardinal Newman) "Impossible! How can you give de-
grees? What will your degrees be worth? Where are your endowments?
Where are your edifices? Where will you find students? What will the
government have to say to you? Who will acknowledge you?" These, and
similar questions must have occurred to the solitary Jesuit who in 185 1 was
commissioned by the Most Rev. Joseph Sadoc Alemany, archbishop of San
Francisco, to open a college at Santa Clara. But that he answered them suc-
cessfully and to his own satisfaction, we may judge from the fact that,
having been commissioned by his superior, he set out for Santa Clara at once
and took possession of the old mission buildings. It was on March 19th that
the college was declared ready to receive students and that twelve young-
sters enrolled their names on the register of California's first institution of
learning. Father Nobili began his work with a capital of one hundred and
fifty dollars, with two assistant professors, an Indian cook and a woman ser-
vant. The four last named were to receive salaries and though one month
would almost exhaust the treasury, the pioneer educator went on with his
work nothing daunted.

The history of the primitive days is romantic. The college buildings
were, as we have seen, in a tumble-down condition; the adobe walls were
cracked; the tiles of the roof shattered and loose, so loose in fact, that the
rain poured freely into the rooms, making life therein at once miserable
and unwholesome. We cannot imagine the difficulties that had to be sur-
mounted, but if we had seen the first president of Santa Clara, himself a
graduate of the Roman College and a brilliant physicist, mathematician and
litterateur, going from class-room to class-room and then, when the day's

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

277

work of teaching was over, supervising and taking personal part in the work
of reconstruction and general cleaning, we would readily admit that the
college was in truth begun under difficult circumstances. Under Father No-
bili's direction the roofs were patched, the walls strengthened and the entire
cloister given a general living aspect after the slumber of fifteen years.

Such devotedness could not but win esteem for the man and respect
for an institution which in all other regards was extremely despicable. As
a matter of fact it did attract the attention of the then inhabitants of Cali-
fornia, so that at the close of the first scholastic year, the college register con-
tained as many as forty-five names.

It will be of historic interest to give these names here inasmuch as some
of the families represented and the young men themselves are well known
in the pioneer and subsequent history of the state.

Non-Resident Students.
John Burnett,
Charles H. Forbes,
Miguel Forbes,
James Forbes,
Joaquin Arques,
Alpheus Bascom,
Joaquin Hernandez,
Dolores Miranda,
William Menton,
Ignacio Alviso
John Hulbert,
Armstead Burnett,
James Alexander Forbes,
Frederick Forbes,
Luis Forbes,
Dolores Sunol,
Andronico Dye,
Jose Maria Miramontes,
Hugh Menton,
Carl Wampach,
Jose Pinero.

Resident Students.
Martin Murphy,
Manuel Varela,
Henry A. Cobb,
Bernard Murphy,
Emilio Carpenas,
Andres Martinez,
John Hulton,
Enrique Davini,
James Fuller,
Edmund Munfrey,
Israel Levy.
Lemuel Jones,
Patrick Murphy,
Adolphe Servatius,
Frank W. Grimes,
John Thomas Colahan,
Edward Hulton,
Charles Martin,
William Brown,
Andrew Roland,
Nathan Levy,
Thomas White,
Edward Johnson.

With such a goodly number the first year of Santa Clara came to a
close contrary to the adverse predictions of some few wiseacres. It was
some time in February that the perpetuity of the good work was feared for.

278 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

Whether doubts were expressed by letter or in a printed article we have not
been able to ascertain : all we know is that the first president wrote to the edi-
tors of the Picayune reassuring them of the solid basis on which his institu-
tion rested. "We do not claim for it," he writes, "even the name of a col-
lege, but have looked upon it merely as a select boarding and day school;
the germ only of such an institution as we would wish to make it and as
the wants of the community will require. We have issued no regular pros-
pectus nor did we intend doing so until we should be able to enlarge and fit
up the establishment so as to put it on an equal footing with the other colleges
of the order. * * * With us the good of our pupils, not their money, is
a primary object. * * * We have at present fourteen boarders and
fifteen days scholars. * * * The rule of prepayment was not rigidly
enforced in the past year during which time it is well known that our cur-
rent expenses far exceeded the income derived from our pupils. You need
have no fear as to the college's permanency. Had pecuniary profit been our
object in its establishment, it mould have run its course and ceased to exist
many months ago. We commenced and carried it out at a great sacrifice.
No effort on our part shall be spared to conduct it in such a manner as to
justify the hopes of our friends and merit the confidence of the public."

This letter, besides showing the broad principles on which Santa Clara
College was built, manifests a nobility of character which the historian can-
not well pass over in silence. The name of the Rev. John Nobili is one of
which California may well feel proud. True he was a Jesuit, and a Catholic
priest, but so were Marquette and Joliet. We have other famous names in-
timately connected with California's history; but we have not so many that
we can afford to forget our pioneer educator. John Nobili was born in
Rome, April 8, 1812; he entered the Roman College at the age of thirteen,
whence he was graduated with honors some seven years later. While still
a young man he published in his native Italian language several works on
physics and mathematics and later, at his own request, was sent by his
superiors to labor among the Indians of Montana and Oregon. In 1849, as
we have stated above, he came to California and founded Santa Clara College
of which until his death in 1856 he was the actual president. Zeal for souls
was Father Nobili's characteristic trait. In the class-room, on sick-calls, in
supervising his own improvements he always had some motive of zeal to

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 279

animate him, some high principle to guide him. Unsparing of self, though
of delicate health, he was as gentle as a lamb to those with whom he had to
deal. The students recognized this, and while dreading him as their master
they revered and loved him as a father.

Such was the man who founded Santa Clara College and who alone
amid innumerable difficulties guided it safely through its first six months
of existence, attending all the while to the work of two parishes, San Jose
and Santa Clara, teaching three, sometimes four hours a day, straightening
out the complicated legal title of the mission property and sleeping in the
students' dormitory by night. But he was not destined to continue the work
alone for any great length of time. Early in February, 1852, and almost
unexpectedly, there arrived from Oregon three fellow- Jesuits, Fathers de Vos,
Goetz and Veyret. Like Father Nobili these men had left their native land
for missionary work and like him they were ready for whatever hardships
that work entailed. The four labored together like pioneer champions, as
they were, and succeeded in putting the newly established college on a solid
footing, so solid, in fact, that Father Accolti, who visited Santa Clara toward
the close of 1852, was able to give his impressions of the institution in very
glowing terms. "Although this college was in those times" (he is referring
to the date of his 'visit), "in a state of rudimentary formation, still all that
could be desired was taught; English, French, Spanish, Latin, Greek,
Mathematics, Physics, Surveying, Music, etc. And the pupils profited so
well that their public examinations and exhibitions amazed those who were
present, and our new college of Santa Clara has so increased in reputation
that the best families, even Protestant, have no objection to send their chil-
dren to it."

In view of this reputation the student body continued to increase and
in 1855 the state legislature endowed the institution with the charter of a
university, giving power of conferring academic degrees. This privilege
increased the number of pupils and before the year was well begun there
were as many as one hundred and eleven on the college register. Fortu-
nately the teaching staff had been increased by the timely arrival of sixteen
young Jesuit professors. These new arrivals were for the most part Italian
exiles who, driven from their native land before the social and political
storms of 1848, sought refuge in America and having studied English in

280 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

eastern colleges of the Jesuit order, came westward to devote their life and
energies to the work of instructing the young generation of California. It
is well that this fact be borne in mind, for as we advance in this narrative
we shall find that nearly all the men to whom Santa Clara owes its progress,
are of Italian birth and education.

In 1855, then, the school year opened with twenty teachers and one
hundred and eleven pupils, and up to this time there were no additional build-
ings! How could so many pupils and professors be accommodated? This
is a question to which the historian has sought an answer but without any
satisfactory results. They were not accommodated at all, seems to express
the real state of affairs. They were pioneers and the life of a pioneer has
its inconveniences and romance; it has, and needs must have, its incommodi-
ties. Any one who understands the nature of a mission quadrangle will
readily anticipate the inconveniences necessarily connected with the first years
of Santa Clara. A long one-story quadrilateral with a church on one side,
a wall opposite and on the two remaining sides rooms facing into the inner
garden formed the primitive college. These rooms were divided as best
they might into four dormitories, a kitchen, a dining-room, a study hall and
private rooms for the fathers and secular professors. Two of the Jesuits,
Fathers Masnata and Messea, were not so blessed as to have a private room
and were wont to sleep on the benches of the study hall, or even, when the
weather permitted it, on the porticos beneath the stars. They did not suffer
from the hardship, however, for they both lived to be octogenarians, Father
Masnata, indeed, dying at the age of eighty-two, and Father Messea reach-
ing his eighty-sixth year. But for class-rooms, play-rooms, and the thousand
other conveniences of a modern college? We can do no better than run
through the day's horarium to give an answer to these questions and an idea
of those primitive times.

A little hand bell is sounded at 6 a. m. and the students aroused from
healthful slumbers roll out for the day's work, though some have already
been up since five, studying by candle light. [Note. — The writer has been
informed by an old pioneer father, that D. M. Delmas. now one of Cali-
fornia's first orators, made it a constant practice to arise at five, and with
the aid of his candle prepare his daily lessons.] Their time is limited, and
in less than fifteen minutes a crowd of youngsters with dishevelled hair is

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 281

seen trooping to a water-fount in the center of the inner garden. Morning
ablutions finished in this crude fashion, the bell announces the hour for
church services, and one and all they betake themselves to the old Mission
Church for mass and rosary. Breakfast is served by Philip, an old Indian
cook, whose culinary experiences are not very extensive. He does his best,
however, and the students, as much imbued with the pioneer spirit as the
Fathers, are satisfied with their humble fare, and after a short recreation they
prepare themselves for class. Class, — where is it held? If the weather
permits, professor and students find out some quiet corner of the garden and
begin the work of the day; otherwise the pupils are called into the private
rooms and listen to the lecturer who has converted his bed into a desk.
Thus the day passes ; recreation, class, regular meals, and now that darkness
has set in all are gathered in a bare hall, huddled together almost, at a
common desk, each supplied with a candle, each intent upon his next day's
tasks. At nine they retire to sleep the sleep of satisfaction.

Such was the actual program until the end of the school year '54-'55-
The next year saw many additions, both in building and educational ap-
pointments. The principal addition in the line of building consisted in the
purchase of the "California Hotel." The Fathers were jubilant over the
successful purchase of this secular edifice that had been built almost in
the very shadow of the mission sanctuary. In the college catalogue of
1855, they announce the purchase thus: "In the course of last year a large
structure, containing eight spacious classrooms and a well ventilated dor-
mitory, one hundred and ten feet long and forty feet wide, was added to the
college buildings."

Together with this material expansion, humble though it was, there
was a marked growth in another and more important direction. A library
of some ten thousand volumes, the largest in the state at the time, had been
added to the college. The books were principally of educational value : a
complete set of the ancient classics, a respectable collection of English literary
works, several scientific treatises and reference books in abundance. To-
gether with the library a physical cabinet had been fitted out "with apparatus
comprising all recent improvements," which were brought all the way from
Paris. Nor was the moral element neglected. A chapel begun in 1854 was

282 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

rapidly approaching completion, though owing to the death of Father Nobili.
it was not finished until 1856.

The Rev. Nicholas Congiato succeeded Father Nobili, and an able suc-
cessor he was in all truth. The life of this second president reads like a
novel. He was a man of extensive and exceptional experience; he had been
vice president of the Jesuit College of Nobles, Sardinia, and of the College
of Freiburg, Switzerland, and was imprisoned by the Italian revolutionists
of '47 for his profession of Jesuit vows. Released the same year, he came
to America and crossed the plains for the Indian missions in Oregon in 1848.
Later, having been ordered by superiors to Bardstown, Kentucky, he re-
traced his steps alone and unacquainted with the country, and after some
six months reached his destination, where he was, to his chagrin, for he
preferred missionary life, given charge of St. Joseph's College. Soon after-
ward he obtained permission to return to the west and again crossed the
prairies to act as Superior General of both the Californian and the Oregon
Jesuits. It was even while fulfilling this difficult office that he was chosen
to succeed Father Nobili as president of Santa Clara College. The work
and responsibility of such an appointment would have been too much for
an ordinary man ; but the Rev. Nicholas Congiato was not an ordinary man.
Even at the advanced age of eighty, when in retirement at the Sacred Heart
Novitiate, Los Gatos, he was loath to be idle, and till within a few months
of his death he utilized his time by teaching his younger brethren in religion.
His funeral, which occurred in May, 1897, was a memorable event in Santa
Clara Valley. All the old pioneer settlers and hundreds of the younger gen-
eration turned out to pay their last tribute of respect to one who had spent
so long a life for the betterment of his fellow-men.

We have seen how the College had advanced during the first years of
its existence, further developments under the circumstances seemed impos-
sible, but with energetic activity Father Congiato kept up the progressive
spirit. It was during his incumbency that the Literary Congress was in-
augurated. This Congress is a debating society unique in the annals of
education in America. Originated at Santa Clara it has since been intro-
duced into several eastern colleges and universities. Composed of two co-
ordinate branches, the Philalethic Senate and the House of Philhistorians,
it is in form and method of procedure modeled after the Congress at Wash-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 283

ington, the president of the College filling ex-ofhcio the place of the execu-
tive. That this system has worked successfully is evidenced from the fact
that the most of Santa Clara's prominent alumni, of whom we shall have
occasion to speak later, began their career as orators in the Philalethic Assem-
bly Hall. Other events marked the presidency of Father Congiato, short
though it was, of which the mere mention is sufficient. He instituted a
system of public examination for such as sought academic honors {Note:
At one of these examinations Thomas Bergin, whose subsequent success in
the law has made him famous, presented himself before the public and the
board of examiners, "Prepared on twenty-four books of the Iliad") ; he
brought Father Nobili's Chapel to a finish; he erected an Auditorium on
the campus, crude indeed and humble, but rendered famous by the names
of Clay M. Greene, John T. Malone, and Carolton, who won their first
dramatic honors in that same humble theatre.

While Father Congiato was thus working to make the college a fit
home for education, he had other serious duties to attend to, for, as we have
seen, he was Superior General of the whole Jesuit community in the west.
Stress of business, therefore, and failing health compelled him to give the
charge of the college into the hands of the Rev. Felix Cicaterri. The new
president was, like his predecessor, an exile of Italy. Born in Venice in
1804, he received a liberal education in his native city, entered the Society
of Jesus in the twenties, taught literature, Italian and Classical, for four-
teen years, and in 1848 was elected president of the Jesuit college at Vienna.
He had hardly begun his work, however, when the storm of persecution
against the Jesuits broke violently throughout the Peninsula and forced him
to seek refuge in other lands. For several years prior to his arrival in
California he taught at St. John's College, Fordham, and at Georgetown
University. He was chosen president of Santa Clara a year after his arrival.

The completion of the Physical Cabinet was the chief feature of Cica-
terri's presidency. Science in the fifties was not what it is now; scientific
apparatus were not easily obtained, but with European ideas of what a
college ought to be, the early Fathers sent to Paris for all the articles neces-
sary to complete their cabinet. We read in the college catalogue of 1856-57
the proud announcement that "A complete Philosophical and Chemical
apparatus from the best manufacturers in Paris, which cost the institution

284 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

nearly ten thousand dollars, and a large collection of specimens of minerals
imported from Paris" had been added to the already well furnished labora-
tories. The apparatus contained twenty-eight instruments for experiments
in mechanics, twenty-five for hydraulics, fifty-two pneumatics, sixty for
heat, fifty for electricity, fifty-nine for experiments in galvanism and mag-
netism, sixty-nine for optics, and a complete Daguerreotyping apparatus.
It was indeed a complete apparatus for the time and it is doubtful whether
any other institution in the country could have boasted of a better supply.

The expense thus incurred is a sufficient explanation of the comparative
standstill in the building direction. Already California was making rapid
strides toward the wealth and influence which has since characterized this
western state; but Santa Clara was developing along other lines. The
regents having to choose between the essentials of education and merely
subsidiary improvements, chose the former. They might have put whatever
little money they had into buildings and accommodations; they might have
attended to outward appearances before giving their establishment inner
worth ; but accustomed as all the regents and professors were to solid mental
training, they were lavish in procuring the more important articles before
attempting what, though good in itself and even necessary now, had from
an educational standpoint no value other than show and eclat. And so they
continued, these early Fathers, procuring books and scientific necessaries and
competent professors, with no other hope, no other reward than that of
helping their students to increase in wisdom and grace before God and man.
Indeed, no marked advance was made in building, until the arrival of the
Rev. Burchard Villiger in 1861. Father Villiger tells us in his own words
the nature of the improvements which he made:

"Perceiving," he writes in an autobiographical sketch, "that arrange-
ments were making for the Southern Pacific Railroad to pass through the
town I said to the Fathers : 'We shall never be able to get out of debt unless
we first run deeper into debt and give the College a decent external appear-
ance.' All agreed unanimously. Plans and bargains were made; a great
number of mechanics and laborers were employed to begin and finish the
work in the least possible time. And so it was done to the astonishment of
the town and the surprise of the travelers of California. * * * First we
raised a front building 200 feet in length and over 40 feet in width, three

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 285

stories high, with a center portion of four stories. Then the front of the
old church was renovated with a fine portal and two tasteful towers and a
large public ornamental square was laid out in front of the church. Next
came an elevation of the western wing 240 feet in length with rectangular
return toward the church of 100 feet. Finally we reared a separate build-
ing as a precaution against conflagration. This building has a front to-
ward the town in the west, 100 feet in length, with two rectangular wings
decorated with verandas and stairways for each of the three stories. The
center is surrounded by an elegant belfry 100 feet in height."

Father Villiger was the first of the presidents, and the only one until the
appointment of the Rev. Robert E. Kenna, in 18S3, who was not an Italian
exile; but like his predecessors, and most of his successors, he too was a
fugitive from revolutionary hatred. The difference between his career and
that of his Italian brethren is that Father Villiger escaped with greater dif-
ficulties because the revolutionists of Switzerland were more diligent in
searching out and imprisoning the Jesuits, than were the revolutionists of
Italy. But he escaped none the less and embarked for America in 1848.
For twelve years he was Superior of eastern colleges, and backed by the
experience thus acquired he came to Santa Clara as we have seen, in 1861.
Besides the material improvements mentioned above, Father Villiger was
untiring in perfecting the interior discipline of the College. One of the
noteworthy incidents of his presidency was the presentation of a drama for
the benefit of the wounded soldiers of the Civil war. The drama was well
attended, and though the College was deeply sunk in debt it was able to
contribute in its humble way toward relieving the heroes of the war.

As the College had taken such gigantic strides under Father Villiger,
his successor, the Rev. Aloysius Masnata, had little or nothing to do except
keep up the high standard which the College had already reached in studies
and general discipline. The next president, however, a man of indomitable
energy, the Rev. Aloysius Varsi, was not content with what had been already
accomplished. The rapid growth of this country consequent on the opening
of the railroads demanded similar developments at Santa Clara. People
were flocking westward and great prospects were open to the College if it
could offer suitable accommodations. Father Varsi took in the situation
and began the stately edifice since known as the College Hall. It was a

286 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

magnificent structure for the time, though at present it cannot compare with
our educational buildings scattered so lavishly through the state.

In 1 87 1, while Father Varsi was still president and under his patron-
age, the California Historical Society was founded at the College. On
June 6 the members assembled for the first time and in the assembly were
to be counted California's most prominent men. Among those who re-
sponded to the first call of Father Varsi were John T. Doyle, John W.
Devineville and Tiburcio Parrott, while Hubert H. Bancroft, Hon. C. T.
Ryland, W. W. Palmer, Horace Davis and others signified by letter their
desire of being identified with the society. Father Accolti, as the oldest
pioneer present, presided at the meeting, while Henry C. Hyde acted as secre-
tary. H. H. Bancroft allowed the free use of his magnificent library in
San Francisco and did all in his power to further the success of the under-
taking which Father Varsi had set on foot.

In view of the improvements of the past few years we might be in-
clined to conclude that there was money in the education business, as indeed
in former years people actually did conclude. "The Santa Clara regents
have wealth whencesoever it comes," was the common opinion, and consider-
ing the enormous cost of labor and material prior to the opening of the
railroad, we can readily understand how reasonable such a conclusion was.
The fact is, however, the inner history of Santa Clara during those years
of progress is peculiarly unintelligible. The Jesuits were flying in the very
face of bankruptcy, their debts were increasing, but so long as they re-
mained within payable limits they cared not. What if bankruptcy did come?
Their present expenditures were wise because necessary, and provided there
remained the wherewithal to satisfy their creditors their personal interests
mattered little. They came to California poor and homeless, could they not
repeat the process and return whence they came? But there was no such
danger; their creditors were wealthy men who, while trusting the Fathers,
hoped to see Santa Clara College emerge from her debt glorious and
triumphant. " What gave the Fathers credit," says an early historian, "was
their solid piety and goodness of life, their eminent and known learning,
their progress even in the modern sciences, mathematics, physics and chem-
istry, especially in their accurate and reliable assays and analyses of minerals,
to determine the exact amount of silver, gold or other element contained in

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 2S7

the specimens offered for examination, — an affair of the highest interest for
California at that period of time." But whatever the willingness of bene-
factors to lend, the Fathers were anxious to free the College from the burden
of debt and so from 1875 till the present time all their surplus money has
gone toward liquidation. In 1873 the debt was $118,279.46. Father
Brunengo, the seventh president, reduced it to $98,703.03 by 1876, but it
remained above ninety thousand until in 189 1, under the administration of
Father Kenna, it was reduced to the manageable sum of $14,000. Since
that time it has never gone far beyond this mark, though unfortunately even
to this day there is a debt on the institution.

We are now prepared to continue our narrative of events from Father
Varsi's time. His two immediate successors had enough to do in grappling
with the financial problem, though both Father Brunengo and Father Pinasco
did much to improve the general appearance of the College and to perfect
internal discipline. It was not, however, until Father Kenna's first presi-
dency that affairs began to improve. With the debt practically removed
Father Kenna was enabled to attend to further material progress. In 1884
he addressed a letter to the former students, many of whom he had known
personally, for he himself was a Santa Clara alumnus, and in his letter he
expressed a desire to erect a College chapel which should be a fit memorial
and a substantial proof of the affection which the "old boys" bore toward
their alma mater. It was an appeal for contributions and the response was
both immediate and generous, and in 1888 the memorial Chapel of Santa
Clara College was dedicated under the invocation of the Immaculate Virgin
Mary. It is a magnificent structure and, though not as yet fully complete,
an apt place for the present and future students to beg from the Father of
Light inspiration in their studies and guidance for their after life.

In giving this brief outline of the men and the doings of the last thirty-
nine years, for we have now reached 1889, we have said nothing of the
subordinates, of the men who were not raised to the dignity of command,
merely because they were needed elsewhere, in the class-room or the lecture
halls. Some of the presidents may not be known outside the College circles ;
but there are some who, having identified themselves with the history of
Santa Clara, have for their learning and intellectual caliber gained a world-
wide reputation. Of these we could mention a long list of names, and add

28S HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

to each name a long list of achievements. Among the dead we could name
Veyret, the scientist and mathematician; Pascal, the classical scholar and
litterateur: White, the playwright and poet; Pollano, the philosopher and
theologian; Bayma, the man of universal powers, the scientist, the mathe-
matician, the classical scholar and the English author all in one; Young, the
rhetorician; Shallo, the poet and philosopher; Caredda, the disciplinarian
and musician. These among the dead; still among the living we can point
to Fathers Neri, Leonard, Cichi, Traverso, all octogenarians, but with the
exception of Father Leonard, full of vigor and life. The rough pioneer days
agreed with them.

The list would be too long for our purpose; a brief mention of some
few will suffice. Joseph Bayma was a man of most varied attainments.
His epic poem "Christopher Columbus," in the octava rima of Tasso, is of
recognized merit and marks him as a poet. His five volumes of mathematics
written and published at Santa Clara justify us in calling him a mathe-
matician. As a philosopher and scientist, his "Treatise on Molecular
Mechanics," highly commended and much studied at Oxford and Cambridge,
is a sufficient guaranty of unusual ability. Besides this treatise he has
written a complete course of philosophy, and during his residence at Santa
Clara his regular contribution to American magazines gained for him a
reputation as an English scholar, a rare gift for one who did not begin the
study of English until his thirty-second year.

Side by side with Bayma lived and labored the Rev. Edmund Young,
who, if he has left no printed books to testify to his ability, has a sufficient
recommendation in the men he trained in oratory and English composition.
The Hon. D. A. Delmas is one of his pupils; Stephen M. White is another
and a great number of like orators and statesmen can and do date back their
inspiration and success to the humble Jesuit who for several decades directed
the Literary Congress and taught English literature at Santa Clara.

Nor must we omit the name of Father Caredda. His life was not of
such a nature that his reputation could go far beyond the walls, and yet
there is not one of the 13,700 students who during the past fifty years studied
at Santa Clara, who does not remember and remembering feel a warm affec-
tion for the dear old man who during the long period of thirty-four years
(1855-89) acted as prefect of discipline and general musical director; and

HTSTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 2S9

in this latter capacity he continued to be of active service till 1890. Father
Caredda, like the other Italian Fathers to whom the existence and preserva-
tion of Santa Clara College is due, was a victim of the religious persecution
of 1848 when to be a Jesuit, in Piedmont at least, was to be an enemy of all
things patriotic and just.

This brings us up to the last decade, to the presidency of Father Riordan
and the second term of office of Father Kenna. Father Riordan's energetic
character did much in a dull time to keep up the prestige of the College,
while Father Kenna's second term of office has been made memorable by
the Golden Jubilee celebration of 1901. This celebration following so
closely on the fiftieth anniversary of the discovery of gold, of the admission
of California into the Union and other pioneer events, caused not a little
stir in the west. People were made to realize that side by side with the
early settlers in California was a body of men laboring for something more
enduring than gold. The Jubilee year of Santa Clara, besides doing this,
brought together the former students old and young, and if one observed, he
would have been astonished by the great number of worthy alumni. We
shall give but a brief statement of the names of the more prominent men
who had gathered around their alma mater on that occasion. Nearly every
walk in life was represented. Clay M. Greene, Valentine and Charles Mc-
Clatchy, Franklin K. Hitchborn and Charles Jessen were among the liter-
ary men who were present. The Hon. D. M. Delmas, Hon. James D.
Phelan, Hon. William Lorigan, Hon. James Campbell, J. J. Barrett, John
O'Gara, were some of the orators who returned to pay their tribute of re-
spect to Santa Claca.

The production of the "Passion Play of Santa Clara College," a sacred
drama written for the occasion by Clay M. Greene, an old student, and dedi-
cated to the Rev. R. E. Kenna "gentle playmate of the author's tender years,"
added greatly to the success of the Jubilee. This play has been received with
more than usual applause and on two different occasions; it has been con-
sidered by competent critics as equal and by some superior to the famous
Oberammergau drama: it has been in demand ever since the Jubilee and
was reproduced in 1903. It will be presented at the World's Fair at St. Louis,
1904.

We have thus traced the history of Santa Clara College up to our

290 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

own times. To-day the work of education is still going on within its walls
and the College rests on the same broad basis of self-sacrifice which character-
ized the early Fathers. Without endowments, without wealth, without an
oversupply of modern accommodations, it has a proud name and reputation
as an institution where knowledge is imparted and the moral elements in man
are not neglected. In view of this name and repute, we shall describe the
college as it stands to-day. Humble though it is outwardly, it has a cer-
tain inner worth which should not be overlooked

The stranger entering in through the faculty building to the inner
court finds himself in a magnificent garden, luxuriant in date palms and
the choicest growths of Santa Clara's fair vale. Looking about him from
the center of this court, he is attracted by the unusual appearance of the
lower story of the surrounding building. It is of adobe, a remnant of mis-
sion days; the walls, some three feet thick, are either ivy-covered or of a
beautiful green tint corresponding to the verdure of the garden plants, which
in winter as in summer retain their vitality and beauty. If the visitor is
fortunate enough to obtain a guide, — and as a rule he is so fortunate, for
the members of the faculty, if not engaged in class work, act as guides,—
he is taken through the college grounds and buildings and notices, as he
proceeds, a wonderful combination of antiquity and modern improvements.

Passing from the garden into what is known as the vineyard, — it
was a vineyard once and retains the name, — he is shown a little grove of
olive trees and some few fig trees, ranging in age from one hundred to one
hundred and thirty years. At the far end of this vineyard there is an hetero-
geneous collection of small buildings and articles of unknown import. It
is Father Ricard's weather bureau and observatory, not actually completed,
but for ordinary astronomical work quite sufficient. There is, besides the
sidereal clock connected with Lick Observatory, an eight-inch equatorial
telescope, supplied with incandescent lamps which throw a subdued light
on the verniers and render work at once easy and effective. Then there
is a complete set of weather indicators all supplied with electrical recorders,
by means of which the Rev. Professor is able to give seldom failing weath-
er forecast to the daily papers of San Jose.

The visitor is next conducted to the main library, where he finds some
eighteen thousand volumes of all ages and conditions. He is told that this

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 291

Commentary on the Psalms was printed in 1492, that this quaint looking
work is a relic of the old Douay College, that such and such a volume was
used by Cardinal So and So in the Council of Trent; and if curious to
learn the source of such book rarities, he is easily satisfied. The early
Fathers, exiled from colleges of great age and great prestige, took care
to secure whatever in the line of hooks they could conveniently take with
them across the ocean, fearing that the marauding persecutors would con-
vert their time-honored libraries into sleeping rooms or dancing halls for
the revelling socialistic soldiers, and throw the valuable volumes into the
waste piles. Thus the library at Santa Clara was enriched with rare speci-
mens of books. But these ancient volumes do not make up the entire pres-
ent collection; there is besides a department for modern publications, where
we find the best works of poetry, fiction, oratory, history, science and all
that modern research had added by way of commentaries to the ancient
classics, from the Delphini professors down to Andrew Lang. It is a con-
trast marked and interesting to the student and, if from these books he directs
his attention to the beautifully wrought Carara marble statues of Grecian
and Roman celebrities, he feels that he is indeed in an atmosphere of learn-
ing. The building is in itself despicable, but all that thirst for knowledge
could supply is there and there in lavish abundance.

The building connecting this Library with the College proper is known
as the infirmary, where students convalescent or ill receive private rooms,
together with nurse and medical attendance. At the extreme end of this
building the visitor is introduced into the " Redwood " office, the sanctum
of the College magazine, where a regular monthly publication, averaging
sixty-five pages, is managed and edited by the students. This " Redwood,"
which has a fair reputation among College journals, is the outgrowth of
" Owl," the first College magazine west of the Mississippi, a paper which
was published monthly by the students of Santa Clara as early as 1870.

This editorial office looks out on the College campus, an extensive piece
of property covering several acres and surrounded on all sides by buildings
of various shape and age. The large dining hall is the first attraction for
the visitor. It is capable of accommodating 225 students and is at present
filled to its uttermost.

If the visitor makes the circuit of buildings from left to right he is

2H2 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

first brought through the class rooms, ordinary for the most part except in
the commercial department. Here the work is conducted in a practical
manner and all the contrivances necessary for practical work are in evidence.
For this purpose the hall has been fitted up with well appointed offices repre-
senting the more important lines of business, such as Importing, Jobbing.
Forwarding, General Agency. Merchandise Emporium, Banking, etc. These
offices are ranged along the wall, while the central part of the hall is occu-
pied by standing desks for general commercial business. Adjoining this
department is the art studio, where the students who apply themselves to
architectural, mechanical or artistic drawing, have appropriate fixtures and
a complete stock of apparatus. It seems to have been customary for many
years to select a masterpiece of the term and as a reward of merit hang it
on the walls of the studio, where at present there are some rare specimens
of painting and drawing.

The next point of interest is the Scientific building; elegant though old
and time-worn. Here the visitor finds besides a chemical and a physical
laboratory a well appointed physical cabinet, complemented by a paleontolog-
ical and mineralogical museum. The cabinet contains a valuable collection
of instruments, the museums have several thousand conchological specimens,
fossils, petrefactions, volcanic matter and so on, and the chemical laboratory
is furnished with all the necessary instruments for assaying, chemical analysis,
and general research. (Note: I was informed before my visit to Santa
Clara that the present professor of science, Rev. Richard Bell, S. J., was
rivaling Marconi in wireless telegraphic work. I of course doubted very
much that any great success in this matter would result from individual and
unaided research. It was indeed incredible and yet at the time of ray visit
1 found the reverend scientist busy at his newly constructed instrument.
These instruments were for the most part of his own construction. I exam-
ined them and asked if any results were obtainable. I was answered in a
very practical way; Professor Montgomery, Father Bell's assistant, conducted
me to a distant lecture hall which was separated from the cabinet by some
three brick walls. Here I received through the telephone ear-piece distinct
ilnts and clashes, as distinct, in fact, as those produced by the ordinary
telegraphic recorder. The successful working of the contrivance made me
determine to bring the professor before the public as a greater Marconi, but

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 293

when I heard that the same effects were had between Santa Clara and St.
Ignatius College, San Francisco, a distance of fifty miles overland, which is
equivalent to over four hundred on sea, I thought it more advisable to leave
his well merited fame to the near future when it is sure to place California
before the scientific world as it already is before the literary world as a
progressive and original state.)

Leaving the scientific building and crossing the College campus to the
senior Library, the visitor finds a spacious hall equipped with all the facili-
ties imaginable for indoor recreation : billiard tables three in number, and a
variety of parlor games which engage the students during rainy or other-
wise inclement weather. Separated from this room there is a reference
library and a wealth of current magazines. Like the Gymnasium and Social
Hall this reading room is under the supervision of the students, who impose
fines for any thoughtless breach of rule and when necessary even suspend
members who fail to comply with the rules. The College auditorium which
adjoins this building has a seating capacity of two thousand. The stage
setting is elegant, though the visitor's attention is chiefly drawn to the
Passion Play Scenery, rich in oriental colors and designs and of an artistic
touch rarely met with even in the larger threatres. The light system, too,
arranged by the College electrician, Dr. George Montgomery, is for variable
effects peculiarly unique and effective. Beneath this auditorium is a spa-
cious dormitory, which like the three other sleeping departments is under
the supervision of members of the faculty. But this dormitory, together
with the gymnasium and social hall, are of the ordinary. The next attractive
feature is found in the " Congressional Building " attractive inasmuch as
it is the old " California Hotel " built some eighty years ago, and also
because for the last thirty or more years it has been used as the assembly
hall for the Literary Congress of Santa Clara College. The inauguration
of this debating society and its methods have already been mentioned. What
remains here is to examine its present standing. Each of the two branches
has its own hall decorated with the pictures of former " Senators " and " Rep-
resentatives." The president's desk is on an elevated platform, and on either
side are the desks of the principal officials. All in all it is a pretty good minia-
ture imitation of the Congress at Washington; but the resemblance is
greater in the conduct of business. At the weekly meetings there is always

294 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

some important question discussed, and the method of procedure is that of
approved parliamentary law.

The Memorial Chapel, so called to perpetuate the generosity of the
alumni, who in response to an appeal from the Rev. Robert E. Kenna sent
donations lavishly and willingly, is the last but not the least feature which
the visitor admires. It is a building of moderate proportions, crude and
incomplete exteriorly, but with the exception of a few columns beautifully
finished within. The altar-piece, a work of artistic beauty, the stained-glass
windows and the statues, reprsenting some particulars of Catholic dogma
or Catholic history, all unite to impress the students with a sense of devo-
tion and religious fervor as well as with the importance of moral education
in this age of material tendencies.

Such would be and such were, in the case of the present writer, the
impressions left by a hasty visit to the college as it is to-day. The peculiar
contrast of outward poverty and inner worth is very striking, but it was
thus from the beginning and from the beginning success crowned the efforts
of the devoted professors. There is some talk of a new Santa Clara College
of larger and more modern buildings. When they are erected, as they will
be in the near future, the name of Santa Clara will attract students, who
are now deterred by the absence of exterior accommodations; and in num-
bers, as even now it is in successful training, the College will stand among
the first of our educational institutions, not as a rival, but as a worthy
co-worker in the cause of intellectual and moral culture.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

CHAPTER XXI.
Libraries of California.

One of the marked features of social life in California is seen in the
many public libraries of the state. Not in the cities alone, but throughout
the rural areas, libraries abound. In striking contrast to many prevailing
conceptions of it is a fact that California is not a country of Indians and
untutored pioneers, for every school has a library, almost every village con-
tains an organization of book-lovers.

Close in the wake of the Argonauts came the founders of the public
school system, and this was the original stimulus that started men to build-
ing libraries. John G. Marvin, the pioneer superintendent of public schools,
took an early stand for libraries, and in 1863 Professor John Swett reechoed
the high recommendations of Superintendent Marvin. From these persons
the high school and district school libraries were the nucleus of the sentiment
that led to the starting of village libraries.

The generous interest, thus outlined, which California has ever shown
in the widest education of her young people by culture through books, has
extended to her cities and towns. In 1878 a general library law was passed,
supplemented by the more complete statute of 1880, providing by local taxa-
tion for the establishment and support of free libraries and reading rooms in
all incorporated cities and towns, the maximum rate allowed being one mill
on the dollar.

Under this statute nearly all of the existing free libraries of California
have been founded. The exceptions are a few libraries operated under mu-
nicipal charters.

Mr. W. P. Kimball, of San Francisco, has given the situation in northern
and central California considerable attention. He thus sets forth the condi-
tion as it exists in many towns adjacent to the Bay of San Francisco :

Alameda. Upon the eastern shore of the bay is located one of Cali-
fornia's most interesting cities, Alameda, a favored place of residence for

296 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

business men. Its library was organized in 1877, and was soon placed
under the general law. Later years have been marked with constantly grow-
ing prosperity, especially since 1893, when direct access to the shelves was
begun. During 1894 the circulation increased from 58,000 to 101,000
with a loss of but 39 v., and with no additional library force. With 24,000
v., a population of 16,000, its circulation the last year has been 138,000,
and is rapidly increasing. The library occupies excellent quarters in the
city hall building, and has an income of $7,400. A valuable lot belonging
to the city, and centrally located, is designed for the future home of the
library.

Oakland. The geographical position of Oakland to San Francisco
is similar to that of Brooklyn to New York. Oakland is a city of churches,
an important manufacturing center, the terminus of the transcontinental
railway (with the expected entrance of another in a few months), and has
thousands of beautiful homes. Its population is estimated at 75,000. The
library was founded by membership plan in 1868, adopted by the city 1878,
has now 28,000 v., sustains five branches, reports an income of $16,000,
and a circulation of 160,000. It sadly needs a new building in place of
the frail structure now occupied. Oakland's taxable wealth is assessed at
$50,000,000.

Berkeley. There is but one Berkeley, and from the windows of
its public library one may look out upon that "road of passage and union
between two hemispheres" — the Golden Gate. Here is located the State
University, whose future never seemed more promising than at present. With
these inspiring surroundings there is no room for surprise to find in this
place of 8,000 people a library of 6,500 v.. with a circulation of 43,000,
income of $5,000, and steadily increasing public appreciation.

San Rafael. At a point a few miles distance from the bay. lying
at the base of Mt. Tamalpais. is the little city of San Rafael, having 3.500
inhabitants, splendid drives, and an outlook on interesting scenery. Its
library was adopted by the city in 1890, has an appropriation of $1,500,
about 3,500 v., with a circulation of 17,000 v., and will soon occupy a
room in the high school building now being erected.

Santa Rosa. In the prosperous inland city of Santa Rosa, 50 miles
north of San Francisco, possessing 9.000 inhabitants, is a library of 8.500

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 297

v., which is doing a good work, especially with the schools. Unfortunately
a heavy load of city indebtedness seems to prevent anything beyond a nar-
row income at present.

Sacramento. After an early beginning in 1852, the Sacramento li-
brary passed through its initial life of prolonged combat for existence, and
was adopted by the city in 1879. It now owns 28,000 v., has a circulation
of 80,000 v., and an. income of $8,000, and is doing a service capable of
great extension with ampler means. Residents of Sacramento are allowed
access, for reference, to the State library, with its wealth of 104.000 v.
The city has 30.000 inhabitants.

Stockton. In the city of Stockton the library enjoys the distinction
of occupying a beautiful home of its own. The timely legacy of $70,000
from the late Dr. W. P. Hazleton erected a tasteful marble structure, and
provided $15,000 for books. Established in 1880, it now has an income
of $7,500, an aggregate of 30,000 v.. and circulation of 106,000, and its
work with the schools, women's clubs, and the community, is rapidly ex-
panding. A classified catalogue for school use has been published by the
board of education.

Other creditable free libraries exist at Haywards, Livermore, Petaluma,
Napa, . Saint Helena, Vallejo, Woodland, Marysville, Eurelia, and San
Jose.

No report of the smaller libraries of the state would be adequate with-
out explicit mention of the library organization of the employes of the great
Wells-Fargo Express Company. The association was founded in 1890.
In 1893 its privileges were opened to express agents of all the coast states,
and in 1894 employes of the Southern Pacific Railway were admitted to
membership. There are almost 5,000 v., and they circulate as far north as
Portland, as far east as Ogden, and to the towns of New Mexico on the
south. There are now nearly 700 members.

It is regrettable to say that two of the greatest libraries in California
are inaccessible to the public — the Sutro collection of some 200,000 quaint
volumes, and the inestimable private shelves of the great Bancroft library.
The latter collection contains many valuable original historical documents.

The Sutro collection is said still to rank fourth among great Ameri-
can libraries. Almost 220.000 hooks and manuscripts are to be found

298 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

within its walls. It is a warehouse of unexplored material, a true "mother
lode" of literary gold. Ellen Armstrong Weaver, of the Sutro library,
contributes an interesting sketch outlining its principal features. She says:

"Its great practical strength lies in works on mechanics, natural sciences,
Mexican and Spanish books and manuscripts, books and files connected with
the history of journalism, and curiosa of many kinds.

"The collection was begun in 1883. A year latef 335 cases of books,
gathered by Mr. Sutro and his staff of English and German experts,
reached San Francisco. This nucleus was placed temporarily on ranges in
the upper floor of 107 Battery street, where it still awaits the march of
events. Later on, accessions came from the libraries of the Duke of Dahl-
berg, the Duke of Hamilton, the Duke of Sunderland, and from Dr.
Clay's library near Manchester, England. From the monastery of Buxeim
and the Royal state library at Munich, which latter had absorbed the li-
braries of all the monasteries of Bavaria besides other valuable works,
came a rich accession of 4,000 incunabula, said to be one of the best collec-
tions in existence.

"The incoming tide of books, manuscripts, etchings, engravings and
scrolls was so great that an overflow became necessary to Montgomery
block, where a large branch is housed at the present time.

"When the monasteries were confiscated in Mexico, whole libraries
fell into the hands of the government. A national library was at this time
established in the City of Mexico, and many duplicates and other works not
claimed by the state found their way to bookdealers. Mr. Sutro afterward
described to a friend his experience in visiting a warehouse in the City
of Mexico, about 1889, where he walked "waist-deep" in stacks of books,
and, realizing their importance, purchased the entire lot of old Spanish
books and -manuscripts.

"In the Orient Mr. Sutro bought a Semitic library, Persian, Arabic,
Sanscrit, and Japanese manuscripts and books, which have never been pro-
nounced upon by scholars. The Hebrew collection includes about 300
printed books and 187 scrolls and manuscripts. Many of these books are
incunabula, and are valuable as such. The gem of this collection is a Yea-
man manuscript of the Medrash Hagadol of the eleventh century, the only

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 399

complete copy known to exist. It is of incalculable value, and is the treas-
ure, par excellence, of the library.

"Books of science and travel are scattered throughout the two branches
of the library, promising rich returns to the investigator. The classics
fill several ranges. German literature includes the classics, historians, and
some interesting volumes in old German, printed in blinding text that gives
the impression there must be something worth searching for, else it would
not be so carefully veiled from the ken of ordinary mortals. The French
ranges are rich in 92 v. of the Moniteur universe!, relating to current history
in the time of the French revolution, the earliest date being 1790. There is
a fascinating French quarto, date 1628, on the art of fencing — L'Espee —
embellished with fine steel engravings of the art and its votaries in heroic
attitudes, and an astrological chart indicating under what sign of the zodiac
it is wise to stand in order to make a thrust at an opponent with the best
hope of success. Under the head of art there is a choice collection of Louvre
prints, and copies of originals in the British museum, Dresden gallery, National
library in Paris, a portfolio of Italian and Sicilian art, published by Griggs
& Sons, Pompeiian and Herculanean art reproduced in color by Zahn;
Journal of Indian art, published by Griggs, engravings and woodcuts by
old masters, reproduced in facsimile under direction of Dr. Fred Lipp-
mann, and a fine series of engravings and etchings on industrial art and archi-
tecture. Picturesque Journeys through Sicily and Malta, with sepia-washed
copperplate engravings, Jean Houel, 1789, is a feast for the eye. There
may be nothing especially unique in the department through which we
have skimmed, but there is enough cream on every shelf to feed the brains
of California genius and rouse the ghost of originality to leave the shades
and come to action.

"A browse through the English department offers pastures green to
booklovers. The enthusiasm and abandon of a bibliomaniac on a tour of
discovery in the Sutro library is equal to all the pleasures of the chase com-
bined. The Religion of Nature, by Wollaston, we handle reverently when
we learn that Ben Franklin's own hands set the type, when he was a com-
positor working at the case in Palmer's printing office in London, 1726.
A quaint Elizabethan song book, printed by Wm. Byrd in 1589, is most
fetching, with its songs of sundry natures.

300 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

"Of Bibles there are a goodly number in all languages, in manuscript
and print. There is a ponderous old Vinegar Bible from the celebrated col-
lection of John Dent, printed by John Baskett in 171 7, and sometimes called
Basketful of printers' errors. The type is perfect, and steel engravings of
exquisite fineness illustrate the pages. It is little wonder that it was im-
possible to suppress the edition in spite of errors. A Breeches Bible, cele-
brated because of the announcement that Adam and Eve made to themselves
breeches rather than fig-leaf aprons, is bound in calf, with brass corners, and
has reached the ripe age of 284 years. Charles II. 's own copy of the Prayer-
book and Psalms is bound in oak, richly carved and clasped with royal arms
wrought in brass. James I.'s own copy of the Psalms, also bound in oak,
elaborately carved and clasped with the royal crest, is said to be the very
book given by the Earl of Sunderland to Charles II. as he entered Temple
Bar in 1660, after the Restoration. In the cover of the volume is a printed
slip bearing this odd couplet :

"'Buy, reade and judge;
The price do not grudge;
It will do thee more pleasure
Than twice so much treasure.'

"A trio of royal missals is completed with George III.'s Prayer-book
and Psalter, a folio bound in blue morocco, bordered with gold tracings,
with the royal arms in gold on the covers. It is a fine copy, ruled through-
out with red lines, with a brilliant front of St. Paul's cathedral. It carries
its age of years remarkably well, nor do there seem to be any royal thumb-
marks upon this direct inheritance from England's royal household.

"There is great historical value in the old Bailey court proceedings, and
among the 20,000 pamphlets relating to the Commonwealth times is a per-
fect old Diurnal, giving a contemporary account of the execution of
Charles I.

"We find also a set of the Gentleman's Magazine, covering a period
of 100 years; the library of the secretary of the London Chemical Society;
a collection of parliamentary documents and proceedings dating from the
year 1000 A. D., and extending to our own times, once the property of Lord
Macauley, and used by him in writing his histories, and the codified laws
of England from Lord Cairns' library.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 301

"The Shakespeare collection, although limited, is of high quality. It
includes a set of the first four folios, printed in 1623, 1632, 1664, and 1685,
all the publications of the Shakespeare society, and a large quantity of mis-
cellaneous Shakespeariana. In addition to the complete first folio in the
set there is a curious old stray, without history or antecedents, a fragmen-
tary edition of a first folio, bought as a tangled mass of leaves from a Lon-
don bookseller and patched up and restored until eighteen complete plays
have shaped themselves together. The precious complete first folio of the
set is in fairly good condition — as first folios go at this epoch of their his-
tory ; a few pages were missing which have been supplied by facsimiles.
This copy evidently went through the great London fire, and its edges still
show the marks of that ordeal. A special providence seems to have rescued
'The Tempest' and 'The Merry Wives of Windsor' just before the hungry
flames had passed the margin line.

"In this collection is the original rent-roll of Shottery Medow, Strat-
ford-on-Avon, written on 16 leaves of vellum in a fine old English hand.
It is interesting to trace the names of Thomas Combes, Joe Smart, and Bar-
tol Hathaway.

"Come forward, thou little snip of a volume; who art thou, pushed
back almost out of sight? By heavens! The Doctrina Christiana, Mexico,
1546 — oh, delight of my eyes — and beautifully dressed in pale yellow levant
by Jenkins and Cecil. Devoutly I thank the providence which sewed my pock-
ets up ere I entered this deserted edifice, for verily, otherwise, I might not
depart guiltless. And here are the California incunabula, five of the extant
six printed before 1840, modest, thin-bodied shapes — four probably unique!
And here are ten fat bundles stoutly wrapped in manila paper — bless me, all
manuscripts relating to the acquisition of Texas, unknown to historian,
uncollated, uncalendared even, not mentioned in any printed account of the
Bancroft collection.

"And other thousands of manuscripts: Zumarraga's Pastoral, 1534;
the nine priceless volumes of Thomas O. Larkin's records and correspond-
ence at Monterey; Alvarado's narrative, slowly penned during feeble health
in the dull hamlet of San Pablo; Bandini's chronicle, persuasively distrained
from his unwilling widow in dusty Los Angeles; the pathetic record of the
venerable and ever-courteous Gen. Sutter, dictated in his last moments in

302 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

Lititz, Pennsylvania; the personal memoirs by hundreds of pioneers who
helped to establish states on these western shores; the invaluable Historia
by Gen. Vallejo, drawn forth through innocent artifices by the genial, subtle
Ceiruti, who played with delicate touch upon the unresponsive chords of
this portly seigneur of Lachryma Montis; and the volumes collected by
Judge Hayes, illustrated with inserted photographs and views of inestima-
ble worth, one containing manuscripts by Padres Serra and Lasuen.

"We sometimes speak of the soul of a book. Ah, if the souls of these
books had but tongues, what strange, romantic, incredible tales could they
narrate !

"This imperial folio of Gregory's Moralia, on vellum, illuminated, deli-
cately adorned, penned by some patient, tireless monastic hand in the south
of Germany; a love-gift by the abbot to some Spanish ecclesiastic of high
station; the precious freight of some frail caravel westward across the
stormy waters of the Atlantic: immured for two centuries within some
quiet sanctuary in New Spain; the prize of some pilfering sacristan; the
booty of bibliophile Andrade; sold on credit to Maxmilian; carried mule-
back with a thousand unhappy companions to Vera Cruz, and hastily ship-
ped to a dingy Leipzig auction room: the cynosure of a score of anxious
bidders; and, finally, back again over sea and land to its present seclusion
on the foggy edge of sunny California. Where next?

"The collections of Andrade. Ramirez, Squier, Elwood Evans, Alphonse
Pinart, Castro, dishing, Brantz, Mayer, Brasseur de Bourbourg, Placido
Vega., and others, are stored in the unpretentious brick building far out on
Valencia street, San Francisco. They were gathered with infinite patience,
unwearied search, lavish expenditure, and in times propitious to the col-
lector of such material, but now forever gone. For ten long years these
precious books and codices have languished, imprisoned in the dark, un-
read, unheeded, untouched save by moth or worm. Ten unproductive
years! Their enlightened owner has utilized their resources in the full ac-
complishment of his prodigious task; nor will to him ever return the desire
to open those familiar pages again. Where next?"

"Old family names in the great dramatists' family." This choice bit
of Shakespeariana left England under a strong protest from the library
world.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 303

The department most interesting to Californians is the famous Spanish
collection, which Professor Burr, of Cornell, has called the best col-
lection in America, both as to quality and numbers of books of the Fifteenth
century. Andrew D. White, famous as Cornell's president, justly classified
the collection as the best extant and the library as fourth in importance
of any in America.

In the Spanish collection there is a vast amount concerning the early
voyages and explorations of the Spanish on this coast. The Geographical
Society of the Pacific has obtained valuable material from the shelves of
this great library. From one of the old books was first learned of the res-
cue and return to Mexico of the wrecked people of the San Augustine, a
vessel that was wrecked somewhere between Point Reyes and Bolinas Bay,
in 1596, times that go well back to the origin of our American history.

The story of the Mexican governors, the history of printing in Mexi-
co, and the original constitution of the University of Mexico, are some of
the treasures to be seen.

There are also well preserved specimens of printing from the press of
Guttenberg, Caxton, and Elrich Zell, the master of Caxton. An extraordi-
narily valuable and rare specimen is of early printing in Roman letters by
Nicholas Jason.

Illuminated manuscripts on vellum and paper, the work of painstaking
monks "who wrought their hearts into exquisite missals, Bibles, cate-
chisms" and philosophy, are of the number. Many an old cloister has yielded
its secrets to enrich the collection.

The Great Bancroft Library.

Far out on Valencia street in San Francisco, a large, plain brick build-
ing, two stories in height and having iron shutters, stands in the midst of
ample grounds. Within, arranged upon a mile of shelving, are the 60,000
printed and manuscript volumes, with a vast number of periodicals, pam-
phlets and maps, which constitute the Bancroft Library, itself one of the
surprises of California.

The gentle Franciscans, who, at the close of the eighteenth century,
clotted this distant province of Spain with missions; the men of strong arm
and clear brain, who, in the middle of the nineteenth century, wrested gold

304 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

from the hills and made California an American state, — these are favorite
themes of the historian and novelist; but that in so young a commonwealth
the care for intellectual things should have scored a literary achievement
almost impossible to the scholarship of older communities is hardly under-
stood, even here at home. Yet this is the meaning of the unpretentious
Valencia street structure and the precious collection housed behind its
heavy iron doors.

The Bancroft Library is the only existing depository of the entire lit-
erature of the western half of North America. Not only is it thus distinct
from other collections, but for many reasons it can never be duplicated.
Such libraries are not found in the market, ready made. Their develop-
ment depends upon favoring conditions of time and place and requires a
large expenditure of labor and money. The material of this collection was
assembled when the history of the Pacific Coast was still a virgin field.
Entire libraries, the treasures of famous Spanish families, were transferred
by purchase to its shelves. Great masses of government and mission arch-
ives were incorporated, either in the originals or in copies made by scores
of clerks during many years of toil. More important still, hundreds of
actors in the events preceding and contemporary with the establishment of
American dominion up and down the coast — Spaniards and Americans,
Englishmen and Russians, Indian traders, agents of the Hudson's Bay
Company, Alaskan missionaries of the Greek church — contributed narra-
tives of their own experiences. Many of these men, makers of history in a
double sense, even compiled or dictated complete manuscript annals of par-
ticular localities or periods and of important transactions.

These pioneer leaders are now no more, but their invaluable testimony,
secured in the nick of time, is here preserved. No other state or section
anywhere in the world has been so fortunate. What luck for Massachu-
setts, for Virginia, for New York, had there been a Bancroft to collect the
printed and spoken story of their founders! What good fortune for the
nation, had such a collector, endowed with ample means, intelligence and
zeal, given his life to rescuing from oblivion the recollections of the actors
in the American Revolution, the makers of the Constitution, the hardy
pioneers who first crossed the Alleghenies and won the Mississippi Valley
to the young republic! These things were attempted too late if at all. The

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 305

opportunity for a full and systematic chronicle of the most important events
in the country's history was forever lost.

The Bancroft Library thus stands apart from all others in being the
largest and fullest existing collection of books, maps and manuscripts relat-
ing to a special territory, time or subject. Larger masses of historical data
are of course to be found in the great library centers of the world, but they
are general, covering all lands, peoples and periods. Not only is the Ban-
croft collection superior as a whole but its superiority obtains in each of its
parts. Here, for instance, may be found more complete data for Mexican
history, for Central American history, for Pacific United States history,
than exist elsewhere. The library contains a better collection on Alaska,
on Costa Rica, on Texas or Colorado or Utah, than can be had in any other
public or private institution, and in the case of California especially it is re-
garded by experts as incomparably superior to any state collection now
formed or that could now be formed in all the United States or Europe.
Thus Mr. Bancroft has accomplished for his country a work that in com-
mon practice would have been left for historical societies and specialists to
attempt at a later date, when the actors had wholly passed away and most
of the original materials had perished.

The history and method of this collection are characteristically Ameri-
can, or rather western. Its assembling was not the work of a scholastic
recluse burrowing in the dim alcoves of the Bodleian, nor of the familiar
American millionaire who buys books at random because they are ancient,
nor yet of the agents of a government or institution, but of an intelligent
California business man who aspired to become the historian of the Far
West and whose success as a progressive, money-making bookseller and
publisher made his bibiographical and literary undertakings practicable.
Thus the collection, designed for practical ends, has been put to practical and
systematic uses. To facilitate his work of history writing, the collector had
the entire library indexed and digested as one would index and epitomize
a single volume. Nowhere else has so vast an amount of crude historical
data been worked over, thoroughly winnowed and every important fact
brought within reach for instant reference. This was done not only for
the printed and manuscript books but for the newspapers as well, nearly a
fhousand files of which, equivalent to many thousand bound volumes, form

306 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

a valuable part of the collection, being often the only contemporary record
of important events. These indexes and summaries employed many men
for years. Having served Mr. Bancroft's original purpose in aiding his
historical writing, they are still a noteworthy feature of the library, whose
availability they double.

Hubert Howe Bancroft came to California from Ohio in 1852, at the
age of twenty. Failing as a gold-seeker, he established himself in San Fran-
cisco as a bookseller. Success came soon and before the outbreak of the
Civil war he was at the head of the largest book and publishing house on
the coast. But for money as an end he cared nothing, and instead of labor-
ing to pile up wealth he devoted his surplus income to the purchase of Pa-
cific coast books. At first his only motive was curiosity. As some men pur-
sue riches for mere love of money, so he sought books for the love of ex-
ploring the past. California, her history and the annals of her neighbors fas-
cinated him. The towns of the entire coast and the shops of eastern cities
were searched for books printed here or referring to the coast. In 1862
and 1866 Mr. Bancroft made his first book hunting tours of Europe, spend-
ing many months in ransacking the book-marts of Spain, Italy, France, Ger-
many and England. By his direction experts prepared a complete index
and digest of all material on the Pacific coast countries from Panama north-
ward that was to be found in the British museum and other national libraries
of Europe. Many thousand additions to Mr. Bancroft's collection resulted
from these early tours, and in 1869, as he tells us in his charming auto-
biography entitled "Literary Industries," his library contains 16,000 volumes.

It was at this date that the bibliophile's determination to become a writer
of Pacific coast history was formed. His business house in San Francisco
was now so well organized and prosperous that he counted upon it to afford
the material support needed for many years of severe and expensive literary
labor. Hard times, indeed, came later, and losses by fire and by the in-
solvency of others put greater burdens upon the merchant-author than any
but a real master of trade could have borne, but, throughout a long period
of stress, the business, in the hands of agents trained by him, never failed
to supply the means for his further collecting and to meet the demands of
his large staff of library assistants or the still heavier cost of publishing his
series of great historical works. In this combination of business acumen

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 307

with literary ability Mr. Bancroft's career presents a remarkable contrast
with those of the majority of famous authors. Doubtless the plan to remain
at the head of a large and intricate business while devoting his attention to
the historical undertaking was not, a priori, eminently practical, and in com-
menting on this in his autobiography Mr. Bancroft tells a story of the Cen-
tral Pacific :

"'How dared you undertake crossing the Sierra?' the pioneer railroad
men were asked.

" 'Because we were not railroad men,' was the reply."

This chapter is less concerned with Mr. Bancroft's writings than with
the library which made them possible, and a mere mention of their titles must
serve to indicate the character of his works, which were published between
1874 and 1890: "The Native Races of the Pacific States," 5 vols.; "His-
tory of Central America," 3 vols. ; "Mexico," 6 vols. ; "North Mexican States
and Texas," 2 vols. ; "California," 7 vols. ; "Arizona and New Mexico," 1
vol.: "Northwest Coast," 2 vols.; "Oregon," 2 vols.; "Washington, Idaho
and Montana," 1 vol. ; "British Columbia," 1 vol. ; "Alaska," 1 vol. ; "Utah,"
1 vol. ; "Nevada, Wyoming and Colorado," 1 vol. ; "Popular Tribunals," 2
vols.; "California inter Pocula." 1 vol.; "California Pastoral," 1 vol.; "Es-
says and Miscellany," 1 vol. ; and "Literary Industries," 1 vol.

Upon the publication of "The Native Races," W. E. H. Lecky, the
eminent British historian, declared it "a noble monument of American en-
ergy as well as of American genius," and added: "I was talking of the
book the other day to Herbert Spencer, and was gratified to hear him speak
so warmly of the help he had found in it in writing his present work 'Prin-
ciples of Sociology.' * * * The book will take a very high place among
the earliest works of great learning America has produced."

Meanwhile the library grew apace. Indeed, between 1869 and 1880
the work of collecting and collating materials occupied more of Mr. Ban-
croft's time and that of his expert assistants than could be given to the prep-
aration of matter for the press. Visits to Europe, to Mexico and Central
America, to Oregon and British Columbia, yielded splendid results. Many
of his bibiographical adventures are recounted in the "Literary Industries."
For example, in 1869 was sold in Leipsic, London, and other foreign cities
the notable library collected by Don Jose Maria Andrade, the famous Mexi-

308 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

can bibliophile. Andrade had sold this great collection to the unfortunate
Emperor Maxmilian, who designed it as the foundation of a Biblioteca Im-
perial de Mejico. But when Maxmilian was shot, Andrade, fearing his
treasures might be seized by the republican authorities, packed the books off
on the backs of two hundred mules to Vera Cruz, whence they were ship-
ped to Europe. The bulk of the library, when it fell under the hammer,
was bought by Mr. Bancroft, who thus gained some 6,000 volumes of the
rarest books and manuscripts relating to his subject. "A sum five times
larger than the ,cost of the books," he exclaims, "would not have taken them
from me, for I never could buy any considerable part of them again at any
price. Their use has taught me that these works included foreign books of
the highest importance."

A few years later the sum of $30,000 was paid at a London auction to
enrich the library with the choicest works collected by Don Jose Fernando
Ramirez, president of the Emperor Maxmilian's first ministry. Ramirez, a
learned and discriminating bibliographer, had acquired his prizes from the
Mexican convents after the suppression of the monastic orders. Of the
prices which these books fetched at public sale Mr. Bancroft writes: "I
had before paid hundreds of dollars for a thin i2mo volume, but a bill
wherein page after page the items run from $50 to $700 is apt to call into
question the general sanity of mankind. * * * My chief consolation
was that if the books were worth these prices, my library would foot up a
million of dollars."

The accessions from these and other celebrated Mexican libraries in-
cluded specimens of the earliest American printing — the products of the
press at Mexico as early as 1534; the valuable manuscript "Concilios Prov-
inciales Mexicanos," in four large folios, constituting the original record of
the first ecclesiastical councils of the church in Mexico, held between 1555
and 1588; certain costly originals on the aboriginal languages, preserving
the laws, tribute rolls and biographies of rulers and nobles, written in the
Aztec hieroglyphics on strips of metl or agave paper; a copy of the report
of Andagoya in 1534 on inter-oceanic communication across Panama, and
many other rare and even unique books and MSS. from the time of Cortes
to that of Maxmilian.

During Mr. Bancroft's travels in Mexico he obtained valuable dictations

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 309

from leading actors in the stirring history of that country during the war
with the United States and the civil conflict growing out of the French inter-
vention. Thus, with the aid of native stenographers, he procured a detailed
narrative of the career of Porfirio Diaz, now president of the republic, from
the lips of General Diaz himself, — a manuscript which throws light on the
most brilliant period of American history.

Profitable trips were made by Mr. Bancroft's agents to the Central
American capitals, where many valuable originals were collected and where
the authorities lent aid to the work of copying or digesting the historical
records. For this region an important acquisition was the library of Mr.
E. G. Squier, formerly United States minister to Central America and author
of many works on ethnology and history. His collection was rich in Cen-
tral American books and MSS., ancient and modern; in newspapers of the
country, in important portions of the library of Alexander Von Humboldt,
and in transcriptions from the archives of the Spanish government relating
to early Central American history.

Nearly a score of other large and important collections, with twice as
many minor ones, were at different times added by Mr. Bancroft. One of
the former was the library of Alphonse L. Pinart, a wealthy French scholar,
who spent several years on the Pacific coast from Alaska to Central America,
making investigations and gathering materials. In the same class were the
collections of the French abbe Brasseur de Bourbourg, resident of Spanish
America for twenty-five years and author of several works on Mexico; Placido
Vega, general commanding under the Mexican President Juarez during the
Maximilian period, and Don Juan Osio, governor of Lower California and
author of an historical manuscript containing much information regarding
times and events of which there is no other chronicle.

In early California history, one of the noteworthy acquisitions was the
library of the late Benjamin Hayes of San Diego, formerly district judge
at Los Angeles and an indefatigable collector. "Judge Hayes," Mr. Ban-
croft writes, "performed for posterity a work beside which sitting upon a
judicial bench and deciding cases was no more than catching flies. * * *
His collection was formed with a view of writing a history of Southern
California, but this purpose was defeated by age and ill health."

Mr. Bancroft received great if not always ready aid from many fa-

310 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

mous actors on the Mexican side in the events that ended with the trans-
fer of California to the United States. That typical Spanish Californian,
General Mariano G. Vallejo, commander of the outpost of Sonoma under
the Mexican regime, long held aloof, and the extended course of diplomacy
required to obtain his co-operation is described with delightful humor by the
author of "Literary Industries." At last the gallant old soldier yielded, and
forthwith became the most enthusiastic worker for the library. From hid-
ing places unsuspected came forth treasures the very existence of which
had been denied in the name of all the saints. Books and MSS. not only
unique but of immense historical value were produced, and for several years
the general busied himself in preparing a memoir of his times and in gather-
ing from the missions and early California families more than 10,000 his-
torical documents.

This distinguished convert to the cause of history was also an efficient
proselyter and aided in recruiting many of his compatriots. Thus in time
the library acquired the papers and recollections of many old Hispano-Ameri-
can families : Arguello, Alvarado, Coronel, Estudillo, Castro, Pico, Bandini,
Arnaz and Ortega in this state: Bonilla, Altamirano, Corona, Barrios and
fifty others of Lower California, Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala, all be-
ing rich in unique manuscript documents and memoirs. The purchase of the
collection of Thomas O. Larkin, United States consul at Monterey prior
to the acquisition of California, gave the library a valuable mass of undupli-
cated documents and official correspondence during the important period,
1844 to 1849.

The papers and records of Isaac Bluxome, executive officer of the San
Francisco Vigilance Committees of 185 1 and 1856, whose identity long re-
mained concealed under the dread signature, "33 secretary," were acquired
in the face of great opposition. The anxiety of many actors in these periods
of strangulation and forced expatriation to remain unknown hampered the
historian's effort to procure the secret records of the popular uprisings
against the lawless element. Better judgment, however, prevailed in the end,
and thus Mr. Bancroft was enabled to obtain the full history of the commit-
tees, which he has told in the two important volumes entitled "Popular Tri-
bunals."

After all the aid that private collections could give, there still remained

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 311

the vast tangle of California archives preserved in the different offices of na-
tion, state and county, at San Francisco, Sacramento, San Jose, Los Angeles
and other towns, constituting more than 500 bulky tomes, besides loose pa-
pers, in all not less than 300,000 documents. They are the official records
of the successive rule of Spain, Mexico and the United States from 1768 to
J850. and California history could not be written without them. By em-
ploying a large auxiliary force. Mr. Bancroft substantially transferred their
contents to his library. Every paper of the 300,000 was carefully deciphered;
noteworthy documents were copied in full; the less important were stripped
of their Spanish verbiage and abridged. The same process gave the library
the data contained in the mission archives, mostly in the possession of the
Archbishop of San Francisco, who cordially placed these treasures at the
disposal of the historian.

To complete this wonderful store of information on the making of
California were gathered all important newspapers and the personal narra-
tives of every man still living who had taken a prominent part at the time
of the American occupation and settlement. Some of these memoirs cover
only a few pages, others fill volumes. Indeed, whole histories were some-
times written in this way, where the man and his information were deemed
of sufficient importance. Thus General Vallejo, already mentioned, and
Juan B. Alvarado, last Mexican governor of Alta California, each wrote in
Spanish, at the hand of an amanuensis furnished by Mr. Bancroft, an inde-
pendent and noteworthy "Historia de California," the two works filling six
folio manuscript volumes, which occupied several years in preparation.

This rapid summary of Mr. Bancroft's Californiana will elucidate his
assertion that in no other country or period have historical materials been
gathered so abundant and so valuable as those that readily rewarded his ef-
forts in California during the fortunate decades of the sixties and seventies.
His success will doubtless never be paralleled on this continent.

The same thorough methods that made the Bancroft Library a com-
plete magazine of Hispano-American history were applied with success, if
with less voluminous results, to the states and countries of the northern coast.
In Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Alaska, every public or pri-
vate collection yielded its data, either in originals or in copies and every
pioneer who could tell a story worth recording was visited and his narra-

312 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

tive written out. Among the important accessions were the collection of Ell-
wood Cooper, lawyer of Olympia and author of an unpublished "History of
Oregon,'' which came with his library; the records of several Hudson's Bay
Company posts from the Columbia river to Alaska; the library of Sir James
Douglas, the Hudson's Bay Company's governor of British Columbia, con-
taining among many other unpublished MSS. the adventures of Simon
Fraser in his exploration of the Fraser river; and Russian materials from
Innokentie metropolitan of Moscow; Iohan Veniaminof, missionary to the
Aleuts; Admiral Liitke, and Etholine, formerly governor of the Russian
possessions in America. One of Mr. Bancroft's secretaries, Ivan Petroff,
the well known authority on Alaska, made two trips through that country
on behalf of the library, and subsequently spent two years at Washington
in copying important unpublished documents in the office of the secretary of
state, where had been deposited all the records in the hands of the Russian
authorities in Alaska at the time of the transfer of sovereignty.

Thus it is seen that the Bancroft Library is a collection of libraries —
the work not of one man but of many men, laboring independently to gather
and preserve the history of an area equal to one-twelfth of the earth's sur-
face, whereon is planted a civilization that is becoming every year more im-
portant in the affairs of the world. This does not detract from the magni-
tude and value of Mr. Bancroft's achievement in assembling the results of
these many labors under one rcof, in systematizing the whole and making it
available for use in historical writing, of which his own admirable volumes
are only the first fruits.

It is estimated that the Bancroft collection has cost its owner upwards
of $500,000, to which must be added half as much more, spent in preparing
indexes and digests and otherwise making it ready to the hand of the in-
vestigator. Having served Mr. Bancroft's purpose for his historical series,
it is to be hoped that the library may never be broken up, a catastrophe that
would destroy its value as a unit and waste its costly apparatus of aids to
the student. Rather, if none of California's millionaires is wise enough
to provide for its preservation here, let it go intact to the Library of Con-
gress or to the New York Public Library, which, through its Astor and
Lenox collections, is already rich in Americana relating to the eastern half
of the continent. Thus, in connection with eastern collections, it may event-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 313

ually become the basis of an Institute of American History, of which the
nation would be, to all time, the grateful beneficiary. Such use would best
commemorate its founder's zeal for truth and his singleness of purpose.

One of the old and famous libraries of San Francisco is the Mercantile,
which has for many years been popular, though its membership is not so
large as some others. So long ago as 1876 this library had 41,563 volumes.
It was established in 1852, and has 80,000 volumes now. Three thousand
were added during the year 1904.

For more than half a century the Mechanics' Institute Library, of San
Francisco, has been popular and prosperous. Its funds come from income
of property, from dues and rents. It has 116,000 volumes.

The San Francisco Public Library was incorporated in 1850 by an
act of the Legislature and was opened to the public in June, 1879. By
1884 the library was so well patronized that 325,828 books were issued.
In 1888 new quarters were provided in the city hall and branches were estab-
lished throughout the city. So rapid has been the growth of the institution
that in 1902-3 the total use of the books (library and home) exceeded one
million calls.

There are now six branches throughout the city, and all are prosperous.
From 20,000 volumes in 1880 the list has grown to a total of 152,881, of
which 122,579 are in the main library.

One of the greatest libraries in the country is the California State
Library located at Sacramento. It was created by an act of the legislature
in 1850. The necessary funds for the maintenance of the library were
acquired by requiring every state officer, civil and military, to pay five
dollars on receipt of his ■ commission. In addition to the funds thus col-
lected there was reserved five dollars from the pay of each member of the
legislature for each session, and by a supplemental act approved May 11, 1853,
all fees of whatsoever character collected in the office of the secretary of
state were reserved for the use of the library.

The State Library occupies quarters on the east side of the Capitol
building. This entire section of the building is occupied by the library, the
law department being on the first floor, and above it the general collection.

314 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

The rooms are all heated by steam and lighted by electricity, thus protecting
the books from any injurious effects of gas. A system of telephonic com-
munication between the departments adds to the efficiency of the service
and saves much time and labor. Owing to the circular construction of the
building, there is ample light at all times.

The library contains a greater number of volumes than any other state
library in this country excepting the New York state library. The collection
now contains 125,000 volumes and many pamphlets, and the library is in
need of more room for further extension. The map collection contains
about 375 maps, special attention being paid to securing the latest official
county maps of the state. The library also receives copies of all the maps
issued by the United States government.

The original design in creating the library was merely to meet the
needs and requirements of the state government and of the legislature dur-
ing its sessions ; and while it is intended for reference purposes only, with
the exception of certain works from the law department, its use is not
restricted to members of the state government, but is extended to the general
public, and every one has the opportunity and privilege of using it as a
reference library. The entire collection is open to the public, both on the
main floor and in the adjacent rooms and galleries. Many of the cases are
kept locked, however, and are opened only upon application to an attendant.
Small tables are placed under the windows in the alcoves for the use of
readers, affording opportunity for quiet study.

The library is now supported by fees received by the secretary of state
for filing articles of incorporation and other documents. The money so
received is paid into the state treasury each month, and a certain fixed amount
of that sum is credited to the State Library and constitutes the state library
fund. Out of this fund all the running expenses of the library are paid
except the salaries of the librarian and two deputies, who are paid by an
appropriation made by the legislature.

The law department, which is one of the greatest in the country, con-
tains 28,000 volumes and includes reports from the highest courts of every
state in the Union, the session laws of every state from its organization to
date, and the compiled laws and codes of all the states. The collection of
text-books is very complete, and all new publications of this nature which

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 315

are of real value are secured as soon as possible. All the important legal
periodicals, both American and foreign, are received, and in many cases the
library has a complete file. The California Supreme Court Records consist of
3,331 volumes, which contain the complete record of every case on appeal
in the Supreme Court of California. These volumes are fully indexed, so
that any case can be referred to without delay, and are accessible within six
weeks after a decision is rendered. The department of foreign law contains
the early statutes of England in folio volumes which were published in the
sixteenth century. These volumes are quaint in appearance, and are valu-
able on account of their antiquity, there being very few copies in existence.
The reports of all English courts from a very early period may be found,
many of them containing opinions rendered by the noted law-givers Coke,
Blackstone, and others. The several dependencies of Great Britain, Scot-
land, Ireland, India, Canada, and Australia, furnish almost complete sets of
statutes and reports. The collection contains many works that are valuable
on account of their age and rarity, one of the most curious of these being
the Connecticut laws from 161 5 to 1750, commonly known as the Con-
necticut Blue Laws, which are noted for their severity and stringency.

The department is used a great deal by the legal profession of the city
and of the state, for provision is made whereby judges of the superior courts
may grant requisitions on the law department for a period of two weeks to
attorneys requiring books that can not be obtained elsewhere; the judge
assuming the responsibility for their safe return, and the attorney paying
transportation charges both ways. By this arrangement the books are made
available to the legal profession throughout the state.

The California department contains all of the works in the library that
refer to California and all books by Calif ornian authors. In addition to in-
numerable works pertaining to the state there are nearly 3,000 bound volumes
of California newspapers.

James L. Gillis, the librarian, has recently issued a historical sketch of
the library, together with a description of the various departments. Re-
ferring to the newspaper index, one of the great features of the collection, he
says :

" In making an index of a file of California newspapers from the earliest
date at which a paper was published in the state down to the present day, the

316 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

library is undertaking a task which is not carried on to so great an extent
by any other institution in this country, so far as known. The earliest
paper indexed was the Calif ornian, first published in Monterey, August 15,
1846. This was the first newspaper published in the state. It was printed
with Spanish type on paper that came wrapped around cigars. Following
it in the order of indexing came the California Star, and then the Alta Cali-
fornia. The latter is now indexed up to July 1, 1879, and at the same time
the current files of the San Francisco Chronicle are being indexed. There
are still about twenty-two years, from July 1, 1879, to August 31, 1902, to
be done; but the most valuable part of the file, so far as early California
history is concerned, has already been completed. There is very little record
of conditions and events in California in the early days except what is con-
tained in the newspapers, and to students of early history this index is invalu-
able. Its usefulness has already been proved on many occasions, and will
increase as time goes on. Aside from being an index to a particular file of
papers, it is in a way an index to all papers of the same period for the sub-
jects indexed, for having found a reference in the indexed file, and so having
ascertained the date, it is comparatively easy to consult other papers for
additional information. Everything relating to California is indexed, whether
it be historical, personal, political, or whatever relation it may bear to the
state. The fund of information in regard to persons and events which could
not be found elsewhere is prodigious, and is available to any one upon appli-
cation. So far the index comprises about 65,000 typewritten cards of stand-
ard size (7.5 by 12.5 centimeters). These cards are grouped under appro-
priate headings and subheadings for convenient reference.

" Ninety-eight different newspapers are bound, there being at least
one from each county in the state except Alpine county, where no paper is
published. These bound volumes are all arranged in order in a room specially
shelved for them, and they are consulted constantly."

Concerning the great reference rooms and their valuable storehouse of
the world's great authorities, Mr. Gillis writes as follows:

" The main reference department occupies the central portion of the
library on the second floor. The desk is placed in the center of the room,
thus enabling the attendant to maintain supervision of the alcoves, which
extend from the wall in radial form. The classes of biography, literature,

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 317

and the fine arts occupy the alcoves nearest the desk, while the current news-
papers and periodicals and the general reference works are placed in an ad-
joining room. Among the many valuable works of reference in the library
may be mentioned Audubon's Birds, large folio edition, Challenger Expedi-
tion publications, Jesuit Relations, Bartholomew's Physical Atlas, Sargent's
Silva of North America, Harris's Fishes of North America, Sowerby's Eng-
lish Botany, Winsor's Narrative and Critical History of America, de luxe
edition, Sabin's Dictionary of Books Relating to America, Kingsborough's
Mexican Antiquities, Boydell's Shakespeare, Galeries Historiques de Ver-
sailles, Racinet's Le Costume Historique, Description de l'Egypte, Early
English Text Society publications, Spanish Colonial Architecture in Mexico,
many complete sets of periodicals of various kinds, sets of the transactions
and proceedings of associations and learned societies, and a large number of
valuable government publications, state and national. The best new books
are constantly being added to the collection, so that the student may avail
himself of the latest sources of information. It is desired to make the
library as useful as possible to the people of California, and any informa-
tion or assistance which can be furnished will cheerfully be given. During
the hours that the library is open there is an attendant at the reference desk,
whose duty it is to furnish all needed assistance and advice."

318 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

CHAPTER XXII.
Architecture in the West.

It is usually in old countries that we look for striking developments
in architecture, or. rather, for examples of the greatness of architecture, as
exemplified in modern replicas of ancient masterpieces.

California's principal cities, however, are showing good examples of
modern architecture, especially in the field devoted to commercial struc-
tures. San Francisco has set the example for smaller cities, but it is within
the last twenty years only that large buildings of modern design have sup-
planted the old structures of mining days. In fact, for many years it was
erroneously believed that larger structures would be unsafe owing to occa-
sional earthquakes. As there has never been a destructive earthquake in the
state since the temblor of 1868, which hurt all parts of the United States,
that objection has lost its validity.

Architects assure the commercial public that the great steel frame build-
ings of to-day will withstand earthquakes even better than the smaller struc-
tures, so sky-scrapers are now quite common in San Francisco and are
destined to take the place of inferior buildings in other cities.

Some of the great architects object to the cheapness of many buildings
now under way. Though the old-fashioned low residence has given way to
modern apartment houses, the latter are often cramped for room and the
structural part is built for profit only : but the same statement is true of other
cities where commercialism predominates. The calculations of interest,
wear and tear and general utility modify and curtail designs and cheapen the
work.

The one distinctive type of California architecture is to be seen in the
missions of the olden days. Many of them still stand as glorious ruins of a
former thriving era, and the mission type has afforded an example for many
beautiful buildings of to-day. A study of the missions is fraught with deep
interest to the historian as well as to the student of architectural designs.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 319

Mr. Alex F. Oakey, one of San Francisco's best known architects,
contributes the following to the History:

In architecture the chain of cause and effect is unbroken as in every-
thing else. The prime causes are: Natural resources, climatic conditions,
and social conditions.

The natural resources of California in every kind of building material
are perhaps more varied and more unlimited than anywhere else in the
world. There are inexhaustible deposits of the highest grade of glass sand,
of clays and koalins for the manufacture of the coarsest terra-cotta, or the
finest porcelain — vast quantities of stone for the making of cements, marble,
granites, limestones and sandstones; all the metals, and a greater variety of
woods than can be found in any equal area in the world — given greater
facilities in transportation, which will be provided when a denser population
requires them, and the first requisite of extensive and permanent building
operations is satisfied.

The climatic conditions are also peculiarly favorable to the development
of all the arts.

By social conditions, of course we mean the constitution of the whole
social fabric; the increasing competitive struggle; "When each, isolated,
regardless of his neighbor, turned against his neighbor, clutches what he
can get, and cries mine! and calls it peace because in the general cut-throat,
cut-purse scramble, no steel knives but only a far cunninger sort- can be
employed." Such conditions inevitably produce ephemeral social relations,
and make flats, apartment houses and hotels essential. People who can
afford to build houses do so less to live in than entertain in. These facts
are not peculiar to California: the tendency is the same everywhere: and
the question is not whether these conditions are good or bad, but whether
they have had a radical effect upon architecture for better or worse. One
result is undoubtedly bad that by the commercial necessity of economizing
space, the relative number of openings is increased to the destruction of an
expression of repose. Certainly repose is the most important expression of
architecture; it is synonymous with dignity, with peace, and with perma-
nence. Hence the modern sky-scraper can only be imposing in size. The
confession of rent-grabbing is frankly made by its innumerable windows,
with no restful expanse of wall, or deep embrazures to give the assurance of

320 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

solidity. Tacking on details of the glory of Rome when available spots can
be found, will not restore the monumental character sordidly sacrificed.

Naturally California adopts such developments in architecture as appear
in older and more populous communities ; and we all know too little of metal
to say whether the steel frame is more than a passing commercial experi-
ment — some conservatives believe that these ingenious devices must ulti-
mately fail from several causes : vibration, corrosion, electrolysis, etc. If
this belief should prove warranted by the collapse of some of this type of
building, a general revival of what is meant by architectural design would
certainly follow. It may be on the other hand that the steel frame and
the elevator are to be the means of developing new and beautiful things.
But as their avowed purpose is to make money regardless of esthetic consid-
erations the prospect is not encouraging.

Society is incapable of building a great architectural monument, such
as a cathedral at present. It prefers to spend its energies and resources in
something that pays better. Some sacrifices are made, some tribute paid in
the form of fine art, to the name of religion or science; but the personal
element is so ostentatious as to make the results mere advertisements, how-
ever beautiful the design or perfect the workmanship. The unconscious
honesty of purpose that has given the old missions of California their ex-
pression of repose, of being indigenous, cannot be assumed. Be it in paint-
ing, music, poetry, architecture or philosophy, the author cannot do more
than disguise his real motive. The real character of the motive will inevit-
ably determine the importance of whatever he attempts. It is not surprising
that there should be no distinct tendency in architecture during the suprem-
acy of such conditions. During the last fifty years we have seen a Gothic
revival, a Queen Anne craze, a Romanesque period; and now because it is
the fashion to study architecture in Paris, we must submit for the time being
to the constant assertion of modern French Renaissance, whether we want
a theatre, a home or a church.

If it were not for the civilization of Greece and Rome our jurisprudence
could not be what it is — nor could we have such libraries as we enjoy, but
for the monasteries of the middle ages; and yet we find a court house more
like a monastery than anything else, and a library trying to look like a
Florentine palace. We are only pleading for a little discrimination — no

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 321

amount of money can buy good things without. We have heard it said
that we have nothing to do with musty tradition and should stand on our
own feet, working out our own salvation in art as in everything — so be it!
But then we should logically throw away our photographs, our picture
books and our histories and forget them, evolving our own forms from our
necessities, and indeed under different social conditions, we might, like the
old Padres, do something individual.

As to what has actually been accomplished in architecture in California
since it became one of the United States, we must admit that considering the
opportunities, what has been clone is quite as good, and quite as bad as could
be expected. We see an increasing number of expensive buildings for all
conceivable purposes, and of excellent workmanship, in which all sorts of
scientific contrivances are liberally provided for comfort and convenience;
but when we consider the design of such structures as a whole or in detail,
there is seldom any true reason for their existence — association of ideas
seems entirely lacking.

It would seem that as Moliere is the father of the modern theatre, it
should to some extent be a reminder of the Louis XIV. period. But we
are as likely to find the theatre a weak reminder of the Alhambra in Grenada
in all its details, while next door one of the pavilions of the palace of Ver-
sailles stands on sheets of plate glass to sell dry goods in. From all these
passing whims and fashions future generations will thrash out something
that shall have a character of its own, as expressive of the life and character
of modern civilization as any style of architecture ever was of the civiliza-
tions we have superceded. Such a style must be born of other social con-
ditions than we have yet established.

California is only beginning to perceive that her geographical position,
her natural resources and her climate may make the center of such a civiliza-
tion by the time she is an hundred years older, and what is more to our
immediate purpose in this direction, the commercial classes are beginning
to appreciate that the best fine art has a tangible commercial value.

Mr. Lowell once said that after all there are some things the heavy
roller of Democracy cannot quite flatten down, and we may congratulate our-
selves on the fact that the greatest achievements in fine art have hitherto
been coeval with the greatest commercial prosperity.

322 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

We need hardly take the arguments against luxurious living seriously
because the world will not listen to them, and if it did life could easily be
reduced to a pot of dried peas and a blanket. The greatest force in the
world is an idea, and the greatest art is to adequately express it. We may
remind those who like practical results, and are still skeptical of the import-
ance of fine art to any but the leisure classes, that on more than one well
authenticated occasion Ruger de Lille beat the Austrians with his Mar-
seillaise hymn.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

CHAPTER XXIII.
Some Scenic Wonders.

Wherever the name of California is spoken visions of scenic glory
fill the mind, for the climate of the far west is not more celebrated in song
and story than are the wonders of Yosemite, the glory of the big trees, and
the inspiration of peak and canyon.

For these reasons a brief history and description of the wonderful val-
ley are a proper part of the story of California, particularly as each year
brings more visitors than the year previous to the wonderland of the west.

Mr. W. S. Pladwell has made a careful study of Yosemite, and to him
the author is indebted for much of the valuable matter contained in this
chapter. He says :

The Yosemite Valley, situated in the core of the high Sierra, has an
area of about 36,000 acres, and is described as a cleft or gorge in the gran-
ite peaks of the Sierra Nevadas, in the county of Mariposa, at the head
waters of the Merced river. The territory embraced within the boundaries
of the valley comprises the whole of the valley proper and extends back from
the edge of the precipice for an average distance of one mile, all picturesque
country, surpassed in natural curiosities and grandeur of scenery only by
the beautiful Yosemite itself.

In the early fifties the white settlers of this region living among the
foothills on the edges of the Sierra and on the plains of the great San Joaquin
Valley, found it impossible to exist in peaceful relation with the scattered
Indian tribes, which had been for centuries in undisputed possession of the
land and regarded the invasion of the white men with fear and aversion. A
number of depredations were committed and atrocities perpetrated before
the white settlers banded together to drive them out of the country. Several
battles and skirmishes were fought: the Indians, in accordance with their
usual tactics lying in ambush, but they were repulsed after which they re-
treated farther into the fastnesses of the hills, where it was ascertained thev

324 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

had a stronghold and foraging ground to which they could take refuge in
time of need and remain indefinitely without fear of famine or discovery.

In the spring of 185 1 the "Mariposa Battalion, - ' as the settlers styled
themselves, under command of Captain Boling, determined to explore the
mountains and route the Indians from their refuge. While engaged in
active pursuit of the enemy they followed them into a wonderful gorge,
where an engagement ensued. The Indians were defeated in pitched battle,
a number killed and the remainder put to flight. Thus were the wonders
of the beautiful Yosemite, until then unknown and untrodden by the foot
of the white race, first disclosed to their enchanted gaze.

The attention of the general public was not attracted to the valley,
however, until 1S52, when the experience of Captain Boling and his party
was published and the charm of the place, discovered under such peculiar
circumstances, depicted in colors so glowing that lovers of nature flocked
to the spot, and their enthusiastic endorsement soon brought the tide of
travel slowly in that direction.

In one of nature's cataclysms, a mighty upheaval of the ages, was
chiseled this wonderful gorge, a cleft among gigantic boulders. The soften-
ing hand of time bevelled the face of the rude rocks and covered the floor
of the valley with soft tracery of foliage from her choicest storehouse.
Against the radiant arch of the sky, gleaming like a translucent blue pearl,
rise clustering peaks and stately domes, flashing with multi-colored lights
from summit to summit. Down the sides of the majestic rocks twinkle
the beautiful falls and cascades which make Yosemite unique and unlike any
other valley under the sun. The exquisite Bridal Veil, so aptly named, with
traces of tears mingling with happy leap of its waters plunges over the
granite wall to an abyss of over nine hundred feet. Here and there the
wind playfully catches up large fronds of the snowy, lace-like spray, throw-
ing off myriads of glittering diamonds, in its descent to the dark abyss be-
low. The Indians call it "Pohono," "Spirit of the Evil Wind." The water
at the base twists into a thousand tortuous and fantastic shapes, veiled in
the eternal swirling mists which, added to the deep, hollow roar of the dash-
ing spray, calls into play all the weird superstition of Indian natures, and
they people the place with gnomes and spirits of evil and would suffer torture
sooner than approach it.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 325

Vernal, Nevada and Yosemite Falls deserve separate descriptions. Each
has its individual merits — none is like the other, and they are all unlike any
other fall in the world — surrounded as they are by wild and beautiful scen-
ery. When the Vernal Fall catches the sunlight it becomes a cascade of glit-
tering diamonds. The Ribbon Fall is a delicate gossamer spray, rippling
over the side of the gleaming rocks for two thousand feet. The great Yo-
semite plunges in three vast leaps, before being consigned in its writhing
course to the deep canyon below, while the broad Nevada, a magnificent
cataract of virgin white, surrounded by domes, pinnacles, peaks, precipices
and spires, majestically and eternally wends its way onward, playing its part
in the panorama of this wonderful scene.

From Inspiration Point, a magnificent view bursts upon the sight.
When Emerson saw it he said it was "the only place that came up to the
brag." The hills stand out in bold relief against an azure sky, cloud shad-
ows veil the slumbrous but transparent atmosphere, softening the gorgeous
coloring of mosaic russets and yellows. The daring points of Cathedral
Spires are grandly outlined and look like a replica of some ancient Gothic
cathedral. Built of massive irregular boulders of nature's own manufacture,
in the midst of a scene so impressive as to defy description, it is a fitting
altar for her worship. Who has not heard of El Capitan, the stately guard-
ian of the valley, the majestic domes, beautiful arches and towering peaks
that form the mural architecture of this wonderful storehouse of beauty?

The floor of the valley is covered with choicest of foliage, flora and
the finest specimens of the forest, amid whose protecting shelter gentle crea-
tures lurk. Here and there exquisite lakes mirror the surroundings, en-
hancing the beauty of the scene. Springs and cascades leap laughingly
from grim old rocks as if by enchantment, their rippling course ending in
softly flowing streams of crystal purity. A sylvan fairyland is disclosed in
all the wild pristine beauty of nature's handiwork. One glances upward, and
everywhere, in such great profusion as to almost tax fhe senses, stand out in
bold relief the magnificent vision of sculptured chasm and cliff, their stern
sublimity and rugged aspect softened by the lights and shadows which
play over them, the exquisite colorings of nature's brush and the sparkling
cascades and cataracts which leap from their sides everywhere in prodigal
array. The gleaming great Half Dome, burnished like copper, the Royal

326 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

Arches, Sentinels, infinite variety and limitless compass of cave and cavern,
crag, precipice, canyon, gorge, toned and idealized with sky effects above and
the dainty carpeting of nature below in soft tender greens and oases of lakes
and purling streams. This is the Yosemite Valley, reposing within the
bosom of California, unequalled anywhere, and wanting but the guiding
hand to bring the world to its feet in homage and admiration.

In 1864 certain influential citizens of California and lovers of nature
generally, fearing the beautiful spot would be given over to pre-emption and
settlement, thus causing its division into small holdings and depriving the
public of a place of resort and recreation, interceded with congress to grant
to the state the land comprising the valley and its approaches. Congress
being so moved, did by an act grant to the state of California the "cleft or
gorge in the granite peaks of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, situated in the
county of Mariposa, in the state of California, at the head waters of the
Merced river, with its branches and spurs, in estimated length 15 miles
and an average width one mile back from the main edge of the precipice."

This grant to the state of the land described was made upon the express
condition that the premises should be held for "public use, resort and recrea-
tion" and should be inalienable for all time, but leases not exceeding ten
years may be granted for portions of the premises. All income derived from
these leases or privileges to be expended in the preservation or improvement
of the property or for roads leading thereto. Boundaries to be established
at the cost of the state by the United States surveyor general for the state
of California, whose official plat, when affirmed by the commissioner, shall
constitute evidence of the "Locus, extent and limits of the cleft or gorge."
The premises to be managed by the governor of the state, with eight other
commissioners appointed by him, who shall receive no compensation.

Section 2 of the same act granted to the state the tracts of land em-
bracing what is known as the "Mariposa Big Tree Grove, not to exceed the
area of four sections and to be taken in legal subdivisions of one quarter
section each, upon the same stipulations and provisions that govern the
Yosemite Valley."

Frederic F. Low, then governor of California, on September 28, 1864,
issued a proclamation reciting the act of congress granting Yosemite Valley
and Mariposa Big Tree Grove, to the state, and appointed the eight other

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 3a?

commissioners, to whom was confided the management of the valley, and
warns and commands all persons from committing any "trespass, acts of
destruction or devastation" within the boundaries of the grant.

Thereafter the commissioners formally took possession of the prem-
ises.

The surveys necessary to establish the boundaries of the grants in
question as required by the act of congress were made in the autumn of
1864, and the official plat of the work was approved by the commissioners
and accepted by the commissioner of the general land office; thus the "locus,
extent and limits" of the grants of the Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Big
Tree Grove were determined.

This grant of congress was formally accepted by the legislature of
California on behalf of the state, by an act approved April 2, 1866. This
act appears in form "To ratify the appointment by the governor of the
eight commissioners mentioned in the proclamation," and directs that their
title shall be known in law as "The Commissioners to manage Yosemite
Valley and the Mariposa Big Tree Grove" and defines their powers and
duties.

It will thus be seen, by the enactment of these laws the state of Cali-
fornia became vested with full title to the "cleft or gorge" known as the
Yosemite Valley, together with the land within the boundary described in
the act, and the land known as the Mariposa Big Tree Grove.

The commissioners hold this property for the uses and purposes men-
tioned in the act creating the grant, and the Supreme Court of California,
in the case of F. F. Low, governor, H. W. Cleveland, et al., commissioners,
vs. J. M. Hutchings, cited in the 41 California Reports, Page 34, the opinion
being written by Mr. Justice Crockett, from which no dissent was made, de J
clares that so long as the powers of the commissioners remained unimpaired
and the trust remains in force under which the state holds these lands, the
right of the commissioners to their possession cannot be successfully resisted,
and declares that the attempt of the state legislature to make a grant of a
portion of these lands to the defendant Hutchings, would be an open and
flagrant violation of the trust in which these lands were conveyed to the
state, and therefore void.

The Supreme Court of the United States, at the December term, in

328 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

1872, on appeal taken by defendant Hutchings, cited in the 15 Wallace, Page
•/•/, Mr. Justice Field delivering the unanimous opinion of the court, sus-
tained the decision of the supreme court of California, that the act of con-
gress of June 30, 1864, granting the Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa
Big Tree Grove to the state of California, passed the title of those premises
to the state, subject to the trust specified therein and to be "held for public
use, resort and recreation and be inalienable for all time."

By these decisions of the courts of last resort, the title of the state to
the lands described in the act of congress was confirmed, subject to the
trust specified and to be held for public use and recreation forever.

Commissioners for the management of the Yosemite Valley have been
in charge since the appointment of the first board bv Governor Low in
1864 to the present time, a period of forty years. The gentlemen appointed
from time to time to this important office have been selected from among
our best citizens, men of culture, refinement and education, eminently quali-
fied to adorn this important position, who are lovers of nature and deeply in-
terested in the development of the state. These gentlemen have put forth
their best efforts in all these years, with the limited appropriation made by
the legislature, to improve the conditions in the valley, building roads and
trails of approach, clearing the underbrush, erecting habitations for the en-
tertainment of tourists and advertising the natural wonders of the valley.
Every report made by these commissioners since the beginning recites to
what degree and extent they are hampered by the lack of sufficient funds
to carry on much needed improvements and provide for the steadily increas-
ing influx of tourist travel. Some legislatures have been very niggardly,
others more generous, but the generosity always inadequate to fulfill the de-
mands. The total appropriations for the care and management of the Yo-
semite Valley since the cession to the state has been $495,442.83, including
traveling expenses of the commissioners, salary of guardian and $60,000.00
appropriated to pay claims of the so-called squatters within its precincts.
$40,000.00 of these moneys was applied to the necessary adjunct of a hotel,
but the amount was insufficient to erect one of adequate size and accommo-
dation, or furnish it with modern appliances to meet the requirements of a
discriminating public. $25,000.00 was used for the installation of an elec-
tric lighting plant.

^3 ; i&j3

JWk

W J"'-

•^wifek-i^

• v *^

■

fel

V±J*

»-...'

W 1

Photo by Taber

WORLD'S FAIR TREE, MAMMOTH FOREST, CAL.

MEASURES 99 FEET IN CIRCUMFERENCE AND 312 FEET IN HEIGHT. SUPPOSED
TO BE NEARLY 3000 YEARS OLD.

• HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 329

A visit to Yosemite without staying over at Wawona and the Big Trees
is like going to Rome without seeing the Vatican.

Muir has fitly described the Big Trees as the kings of the world's
conifers; the noblest of a noble race. The elevation of the Big Tree belt
is from 5,000 to 8,000 feet above the sea. From the American River Grove
to the forest on King's river, the trees are found only in small, isolated
groups, in some cases as far as 40 miles apart. D. J. Foley's Guide quotes
from John Muir as follows :

"But from King's river southward, the Sequoia is not restricted to
mere groves, but extends across the basins of the Kaweah and Tule rivers
in noble forests, broken only by deep canyons. Advancing southward, the
giants become more and more irrepressibly exuberant, heaving their massive
crowns into the sky from every ridge and slope. But though the area occu-
pied by the species increases from north to south, there is no marked in-
crease in the size of the trees. A height of 275 feet and a diameter near the
ground of about 29 feet, is about the average size of a full-grown tree
favorably situated. Specimens 25 feet in diameter are not rare, and a few
are nearly 300 feet high. In the Calaveras Grove there are 4 trees over
300 feet in height, the tallest of which, by careful measurement, is 325 feet.
The largest I have yet met in my wanderings is a majestic old monument
in the Kings river forest. It is 35 feet 8 inches in diameter inside the bark
4 feet from the ground.

"Under the most favorable conditions, these giants probably live 5,000
years or more, though few of even the largest trees are more than half as
old. I never saw a Big Tree that had died a natural death; barring acci-
dents, they seem to be immortal, being exempt from all the diseases that
afflict and kill other trees. Unless destroyed by man, they live on indefinitely
until burned, smashed by lightning, cast down by storms, or by the giving
way of the ground upon which they stand. The age of one that was felled
in the Calaveras Grove, for the sake of having its stump for a dancing floor,
was about 1.300 years, and its diameter, measured across the stump. 24
feet inside the bark. Another that was felled in the King's river forest, a
section of which was shipped to the World's Fair at Chicago, was nearly
1,000 years older (2.200 years), though not a very old-looking tree. The
colossal scarred monument in the King's river forest, mentioned above, is

330 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. ■

burned half through, and I spent a day in making an estimate of its age,
clearing away the charred surface with an ax, and carefully counting the
annual rings with the aid of a pocket lens. The wood rings in the section I
laid bare were so involved and contorted in some places that I was not able
to determine its age exactly, but I counted over 4,000 rings, which showed
that this tree was in its prime, swaying in the Sierran winds, when Christ
walked the earth."

Wawona, the beautiful mountain retreat that enchants travelers, is the
ideal viewpoint and starting point for sightseers. Foley's delightful Guide
says :

"Within a radius of 10 miles about Wawona are to be found more
interesting, varied, and inspiring scenic attractions than in any similar com-
pass the world over. Eight miles to the southeast is the great Mariposa Big
Tree Grove, in which are many of the largest trees in the world. This is
the state's grove, and is managed by the Yosemite commissioners. Noth-
ing more delightful and inspiring can be imagined than a picnic jaunt to
these wonders. Eight miles westward Signal Peak looms up like a grim
sentinel, guarding this peaceful nook. Five miles off to the northeast are
the Chilnualna Falls, that would be famous wonders any other place than in
this land of big things, while off in the same direction is beautiful Crescent
Lake, only 12 miles away, and alive with trout. There is also good fishing
in the South Fork of the Merced, which flows within a stone's throw of the
hotel.

"A good road and trail enable the visitors to reach the Chilnualna Falls,
so that they can enjoy their 300 feet of descent and the sparkling, roaring,
foaming cascades below. Rev. John Hannon says that 'Capitol Dome, a
towering mass of granite, takes the Chilnualna in its hands, and with its
rocky fingers is giving out from its cascades a music of magnificence and
beauty nowhere else to be found.'

"Wawona is the Indian name for big tree, and it takes its name from
the Mariposa Grove near by. In early days it was known as Clark's, or the
Big Tree Station. At one time it was owned by Mr. Galen Clark, formerly
guardian of the Yosemite, whose home is now there. Wawona is about
26 miles from the Yosemite and 40 from Raymond, the nearest railroad
point, the present terminus of the Yosemite branch of the Southern Pacific.

Photo by Taber

BALD ROCK, FROM MERCED RIVER, WAWONA.
A. D. 1890.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 331

It is 4,000 feet above sea-level. Here are the headquarters of the Yosemite
Stage and Turnpike Co.. the largest and most complete now on this coast.
To give the visitor some idea of what it costs to operate this stage line, we
will mention just one item of expense, and that is, that it takes about 500
horses to stock this road for the season of travel. To get the roads in good
condition usually means an outlay of from $3,000 to $5,000. During a year
when much snow has fallen, it has frequently to be shoveled out of the entire
road between here and the Yosemite. Big drifts of it are sometimes blown
out by blasts of black gunpowder.

"The Washburn Bros, not only know how to please their patrons, but
they also do it. No wonder, then, that Wawona is yearly becoming more
popular. An electric road from Raymond is all that is now necessary to
make this one of the greatest resorts of the world. Such a road will, no
doubt be built at an early date.

"Signal Peak is one of the many interesting points of view in and
around Wawona. It has an altitude of 7,500 feet above the sea. There is
a good wagon road completed to within a few rods of its summit. Signal
Peak stands out alone, above all its surroundings. Seemingly it was pitt
there to guard the beautiful glen below, and so near by, Wawona. From
its summit, the view is almost as complete as in mid-ocean. The radius of
this great circle is about 200 miles, so that over 1,200 square miles are to
be seen from here, and there is not an uninteresting square mile in this vast
area. There is no other point on this western coast where one can see so
much territory at once as from here. 'The rugged, snow-clad peaks of the
High Sierras, the towering walls of the Yosemite, the heavily-timbered slopes
of the nearer mountains, the vast valley of the San Joaquin, and the far-off
summits of the Coast Range melting away in the distance, all combine to
form an entrancing panorama, which will never be effaced from the memory
of any true lover of nature who has once gazed upon it.' So wrote a visitor
in the hotel register at Wawona some years ago. He put it in the same class
as the Yosemite and the Big Trees — more can not be said."

Standing within the shadow of the Big Trees one feels a sense of the
world's age such as no other scene inspires. To behold giants that were old
almost before historic epochs, to hold converse with such heritages of the
past takes one nearer to the origin of the world than he can get by any other
earthly experience.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

CLAUS SPRECKELS.

Claus Spreckels, of San Francisco, is a man of national and world-wide
reputation, and his operations in industry and commerce place him among
the noted Americans of this and the past century who by force of sheer
industry, shrewd business ability and foresight and unexampled executive
powers have assumed directing command of the commerce and industrial
production of the world and wield a power and influence beside which the
regal potentates and vain-glorious military chiefs of the past were mere
shadow puppets in the play of history.

The life of Claus Spreckels is one of the interesting and absorbing
personal histories of which America is so proud. He was born in Lam-
stedt, Hanover, Germany, July 9, 1828. At the age of twenty, in 1848,
he came to Charleston, South Carolina, where he was employed in the
humble capacity of grocery clerk, at small pay. Right here his genius for
executive management and commercial control soon became apparent, for
after a year and a half- he bought out his employer with a promise to pay,
and in one year was able to meet all his debts and have the store for his
own. In 1855 he sought a larger field in New York city, where he estab-
lished a wholesale and retail grocery. He soon afterward purchased a
grocery business in San Francisco from his brother, and in June, 1856, he
started for California. In 1857 he established the Albany Brewery in San
Francisco, and after conducting both enterprises for a time, sold the store.
His next concern was the establishment of the Bay Sugar Refining Com-
pany, but two years later he sold this and went to Europe to study more
thoroughly the production and refining of beet sugar. While in Europe he
entered a beet sugar factory as a workman, and thus became familiar with
all the details of the industry. He discovered that beet sugar could not at
that time be manufactured in the United States with profit, and he accord-
ingly returned to California and started the California Sugar Refining Com-
pany, which has grown to such proportions that it is now a landmark of
San Francisco.

Mr. Spreckels, in the course of some visits to the Sandwich Islands,
was impressed with the possibilities of sugar-cane culture and leasing twen-
ty thousand acres of land for his purpose from the government, he devel-
oped it and made cane-growing one of the foremost industries of those
ocean realms. This enterprise not only profited himself, but was of untold
benefit to the islanders, in recognition of which King Kalakaua made him
a knight commander of the Order of the Kalakaua.

Mr. Spreckels was one of the organizers of the Independent Electric
Light and Power Company and of the Independent Gas Company in San
Francisco, being the first president. With the immense fortune acquired
through his varied enterprises he has been one of the most liberal men of
California, and many public and charitable institutions have reason to be
grateful that such a liberal and broad-minded captain of industry exists,

//Gfy^L

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 333

not only as one of the pillars upholding the financial and industrial world
of to-day, but as one who dispenses wisely the profits which his life of dili-
gence and high ability have accumulated.

JOHN D. SPRECKELS.

John D. Spreckels, son of Claus and Anna D. Spreckels, has for a
number of years co-operated with his famous father in the various enter-
prises with which the Spreckels name is identified, and his individual inter-
ests, especially those concerned with the Pacific steamship traffic, show that
he has inherited all the financial and organizing ability of his father and is
fully capable of assuming the responsibilities and carrying out the business
policies which the senior Spreckels inaugurated.

Mr. J. D. Spreckels was born in Charleston, South Carolina. August
16, 1853. He was educated in Oakland College, California, and in the
Polytechnic Institute of Hanover, Germany. On leaving school he at once
entered business with his father, but in addition to the business interests
which have been noted in the above sketch of his father, he has developed
enterprises of his own. In 1880 he organized the J. D. Spreckels and
Brothers, a company with two millions dollars capital, whose purpose was
to establish a trade line between the United States and the Hawaiian Islands.
They began with one sailing vessel, the Rosario; now they control two
large fleets of sail and steam ships. This firm also engaged extensively in
sugar refining, and became agents for leading houses. Much of the credit
for the development of the trade and the promotion of the commercial inter-
ests between the United States and Hawaii is due to this firm.

In 1 88 1 Mr. Spreckels founded the Oceanic Steamship Company, which
at first chartered vessels, but now owns and operates a first-class line of
mail and passenger steamers between San Francisco and Hawaii. In 1885
this company's operations were extended by the Pacific Mail Company's
going out of the Australian trade, and now this company is the only one
flying the American flag on a regular line between San Francisco, Honolulu
and Australia, and New Zealand. Mr. Spreckels has been president of the
company from the first, and in this connection has done much for the com-
mercial interests of San Francisco.

In 1887 the Spreckels Brothers Commercial Company established in
San Diego the largest coal depots, warehouses and wharves anywhere along
the coast, the coal capacity being fifteen thousand tons. Mr. Spreckels holds
much of the stock in the Coronado Beach and Hotel Company, which has
one of the finest properties of the kind in the world. He is the owner of
the street railway and ferry system of San Diego, and is connected with
many other enterprises. He is president and active manager of the Olympic
Salt Water Company, which has placed a system of water mains under the
city, conveying salt water from the pumping station on the beach to the
Lurline Baths in the heart of the city ; in the building numerous small baths
are maintained and an immense swimming tank is kept filled with salt
water.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

He is president of the Beaver Hill Coal Company, supplying coal to
San Francisco from the mines in Oregon; was one of the founders and
builders and now a director of the San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley
Railroad, which is one of the most important enterprises undertaken for
the local development of California; is manager of the extensive real estate
holdings of the Spreckels family in San Francisco, comprising some of the
finest office and business buildings in the United States; is owner and pub-
lisher of the San Francisco Call, one of the most successful and profitable
newspaper properties in the west ; is president of the Western Sugar Refin-
ing Company ; president of the Western Beet Sugar Company ; president
of the Pajaro Valley Railroad Company and the Coronado Beach Company;
is also interested in the Hutchinson Sugar Plantations Company and the
Hakalan Plantation Company of Hawaii; and many other concerns.

Mr. Spreckels is an earnest Republican, and for a number of years
has been one of the most influential in the councils of the party in this state.
He has been chairman of the state central committee, and in 1896 was dele-
gate at large to the national convention and California member to the nation-
al committee. He has often been mentioned for the office of governor or
United States senator, but has never sought such distinction, and his desires
all tend toward private life and the caring for his business interests.

Mr. Spreckels married, in 1877, Miss Lillie Sieben. of Hoboken, New
Jersey. They have four children: Grace, Lillie, John D., Jr., and Clans.

WILLIAM FLETCHER McNUTT. M. D.

Dr. William Fletcher McNutt, physician and surgeon of San Francisco
and the author of valuable works and essays upon medical and surgical
subjects, is accorded a position of distinction as a member of the medical
fraternity of California, not only by the general public but also by his
professional brethren. Strong purpose and laudable ambition underlie every
successful career and they have been the foundation upon which Dr. Mc-
Nutt has builded his fame and prosperity.

A native of Nova Scotia, William Fletcher McNutt was born on the
29th of March, 1839, a son of William and Mary (Johnson) McNutt. At
a very early epoch in the colonization of the new world the McNutt family
was established in America, and in 1743 the great-grandfather of Dr. Mc-
Nutt removed from his home in Virginia and settled in Nova Scotia upon
land granted by George II of England, obtained through his brother. Colonel
Alexander McNutt. of the British army. Successive generations of the
family have resided in Nova Scotia down to the present time.

Dr. McNutt pursued his primary education in the public schools of his
native country and supplemented his early school privileges by a course of
study in the Presbyterian Seminary of the Lower province, now the Uni-
versity of Dalhousie. With a broad literary knowledge to serve as an ex-
cellent foundation for professional learning he took up the study of medicine
in 1S59, under the direction of Dr. Samuel Muir. of Truro, Nova Scotia,
and later he attended lectures at the medical school of Harvard University,

CALL BUILDING, SAN FRANCISCO. CAL.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

during- the spring, summer and winter terms of 1861-2. He then matricu-
lated in the medical department of the University of Vermont, where he re-
mained through the regular school year, and was there graduated with the
class of 1862. He did not regard his professional education as completed,
however, and entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New
York, where he remained through the scholastic year of 1862-3. He was
also in the Philadelphia Hospital for the annual term of 1863, and then
entered the United States navy and was two years in the west : was at the
siege of Vicksburg and was with Admiral Porter and General Grant. Then
going abroad, he spent the year 1864-5 as a student in Paris. In the spring
and summer of 1865 he. continued his scientific investigation at Edinburg.
and London, and won diplomas from the Royal College of Surgeons and
the Royal College of Physicians, at Edinburg. in 1865. He profited by
the instruction of many of the most renowned medical educators and spe-
cialists of the old world, and thus splendidly equipped for his chosen calling
entered upon his professional duties upon his return to America.

Dr. McNutt served as a surgeon in the United States navy in 1863 and
1864. He afterward passed an examination for the British army when in
London, in August, 1865. He engaged in the practice of medicine in 1866-7
in Nova Scotia, and came to California in 1868, remaining here contin-
uously since. He was not long in demonstrating his ability that had been
won through comprehensive study at home and abroad, and a constantly
growing practice has rewarded his efforts. He is a valued member of a
number of the leading societies of the profession, including the International
Medical Congress, the American Medical Association, the Medical Society
of the State of California, the San Francisco County Medical Society, and
the San Francisco Gynecological Society.

His professional labors outside of the practice of medicine and surgery
have been of a varied and important character, he being well known as an
educator and author. He has been professor of the principles and practice
of medicine in the medical department of the University of California, oc-
cupying the position from 1879 until 1899, and was professor of diseases of the
heart and kidneys in the post-graduate department of the same university
from 1894 until 1898. He was president of the board of trustees of the vet-
erinary department of the University of California; was consulting physi-
cian and surgeon to St. Mary's Hospital, of San Francisco, and also to the
Children's Hospital for several years; while for four years, from 1878
until 1882, he was a director of the state prison.

Dr. McNutt's contributions to medical literature are many and include
a text-book on "Diseases of the Kidneys and Bladder," published by Lip-
pincott, of Philadelphia, 1893. He is the author of a chapter on appendi-
citis, published in the American System of Medicine, A. L. Loomis, M. D.,
editor, in 1895 ; a paper on "Cremation, the Only Sanitary Method of Dis-
posing of the Dead," published by the California State Sanitary Association,
in June, 1894: "Vaginal Hysterectomy for Cancer — Twenty-three Cases,"
appearing in the Pacific Medical Journal of 1894: "Vaginal Hysterectomv
for the Pregnant Cancerous Uterus," in April. 1893. He has also delivered

336 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

a number of public addresses, including one on "Jute Culture," given on
Canadian day before the Mid-winter Fair at San Francisco, in 1895 ; a re-
port on the mineral and thermal springs of California, delivered before the
Internal Medical Congress in 1887; a paper on Medical Education, read
before the Medical Society of the State of California, in April, 1902; and
many others. His writings, covering many topics and presenting a com-
prehensive view of the subjects treated, have won for him distinction and
awakened deep thought among the members of the medical fraternity.

In 1 87 1 Dr. McNutt was united in marriage to Miss Mary L. Coon,
an only daughter of Hon. H. P. Coon, M. D., of San Francisco. They have
two sons and two daughters : Mary Louise, now. the wife of Lieutenant
Potter of the United States army; Maxwell, an attorney-at-law of San
Francisco; W. F., Jr., who is practicing medicine in connection with his
father; and Ruth, at home.

Aside from his profession and its kindred duties and labors, Dr. Mc-
Nutt has been active and influential in community affairs in San Francisco.
He was a member of the board of freeholders for making the first charter
for the city and county of San Francisco in 1882. and served as police com-
missioner in 1899-1900. He was one of the six organizers of the New
United Republican League, an association whose object is to do away
with all factional parties in Republican politics, and labor solely for the
organization and its principles and not for the individual. Socially he is
identified with St. Andrew's Society, the British Benevolent Society, the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Masonic order, in which he has
attained the Knight Templar degree. Honored and respected in every class
of society, he has been an influential factor in fraternal, political and profes-
sional circles, and his labors have ever been actuated by fidelity to principles
and promoted by an earnest desire for progress and improvement.

' ' GEORGE A. KNIGHT.

George A. Knight, of San Francisco, has for a quarter of a century
figured prominently in the legal and political affairs of California and his po-
litical activity has also gained for him a prominent place in national history.

George A. Knight is descended from Revolutionary ancestors and was
born in New England, his birth occurring in Worcester, Massachusetts, in
1851. George H. Knight, his father, was a native of Providence, Rhode
Island : and his mother, Elizabeth McFarland, of St. Andrews, New Bruns-
wick, her people being early settlers of New Brunswick. In 1853, George
H. Knight, who was a prominent merchant in Providence, Rhode Island, dis-
posed of his interests there and. accompanied by his family, wife and two
sons, Fred S. and George A., came to California, making the journey via the
Isthmus of Panama. They located in Eureka, Humboldt county, where Mrs.
Knight's two brothers, Alexander and George McFarland, had settled in
1849, and Mr. Knight was jointly interested in mining properties with them
for a number of years, until his death in 1858.

At the time the Knight family took up their residence in California

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 337

George A. was a small child. His education was obtained in the public schools
of Humboldt county and in Oakland College. During his school days he
sold newspapers and worked in the printing office of the Humboldt Times,
which paper was then edited by Judge Van Dyke, now associate justice of
the supreme court. Leaving school at the age of eighteen, he entered the of-
fice of Judge J. E. Wyman in Eureka -and took up the study of law. He was
admitted to practice in the supreme court in 1872 and that same year was
elected district attorney of Humboldt county, an office to which he was
twice re-elected, and served in all six years. At an early age his interest in
political affairs was most enthusiastic, and as he grew older his influence was
directed along lines that helped materially to advance the interests of his
party. The campaign of 1879 was one in which he made no less than sixty-
two Republican speeches. He visited many places on his campaign tour that
year in company with Senator Perkins, who was at the election which fol-
lowed made governor of the state of California.

Mr. Knight practiced law in Eureka until 1880, when he removed to
San Francisco. That year he was the Republican nominee for Congress in
the northern district, but, as 1880 was a year of Democratic victory in Cali-
fornia, he was defeated by Campbell P. Berry. After his removal to San
Francisco Mr. Knight formed a partnership with General Thomas J. Clunie,
under the firm name of Clunie & Knight, which association continued for a
period of five years, since. which time Mr. Knight has practiced with Charles
J. Heggerty, the firm being Knight & Heggerty. In 1882 he was appointed
state insurance commissioner, under Governor Perkins, which office he filled
four years. In 1888 he was honored by Governor Markham with appoint-
ment to the position of judge advocate on his staff, with rank of lieutenant
colonel. Also by Governor Markham he was appointed attorney for the state
board of health, a position to which he was also appointed by Governor Gage.
Five times Mr. Knight has been a delegate to the Republican national con-
vention, first, in 1884, when James G. Blaine was nominated, and again in
1892, 1896, 1900, and 1904. The last-named year he was chairman of the
convention, and when President McKinley was nominated Mr. Knight, at
the request of Mr. McKinley, seconded the nomination. He was likewise one
of the foremost orators at the convention of 1904.

Mr. Knight has a wife and two sons. He married, in 1870, Miss
Frances H.. daughter of Judge J. E. Wyman. Judge Wyman came to Cali-
fornia in 1850, from Woburn, Massachusetts, his native place, and was for
many years judge of the superior court at Eureka. The Wymans, like the
Knights, are descended from Revolutionary stock, and Mrs. Knight is a
member of the Daughters of the Revolution and the Colonial Dames. She
is a native of Humboldt county, California. Their two sons are Fred S. and
Charles E., the former a stock and bond broker of San Francisco, and the lat-
ter a national bank examiner.

Fraternally Mr. Knight is identified with the Pacific Union Club, the
Bohemian Club, all the branches of Masonry and the Odd Fellows. He is
past grand of the I. O. O. F.

33S HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

CHARLES J. HEGGERTY.

Charles J. Heggerty, of San Francisco, stands to-day as one of the
foremost representatives of the bar of California. From humble surround-
ings he has made his way to large success through the open door of personal
opportunity which is the pride of our American life. Choosing as the field
of his labors a profession wherein advancement depends entirely upon indi-
vidual merit and ability, he has worked his way upward until, entrusted with
most important litigated interests, he has won for himself the admiration
and respect of the general public as well as of the members of the profession
who judge his work from a more strictly technical standpoint.

Mr. Heggerty is one of California's native sons, his birth having oc-
curred in Smartsville, Yuba county, December, 27. i860. His father, Mor-
ris Heggerty, was a native of Ireland and in 1849 crossed the Atlantic to
New York, whence in 1853 he came to California, settling in Yuba county.
He was a blacksmith, having learned the trade in Paisley, Scotland. His
death occurred in 1873, when he was forty-five years of age. His wife, who
bore the maiden name of Mary O'Donnell. was born in County Donegal. Ire-
land, and emigrated to America with three sisters, arriving in New York
in 1 85 1. Three years later she started for California and took up her abode
in Smartsville, Yuba county, where she gave her hand in marriage to Morris
Heggerty. She survived her husband for about a year and died at the age
of forty-five. There were but two children in the family. One died in
infancy.

Charles J. Heggerty, the surviving member of the family, was but
fourteen years when left an orphan. He acquired his early education in
the public schools of Yuba county and in St. Mary's College of San Fran-
cisco, and completed a course in both the commercial and collegiate depart-
ments, the former in 1878, the latter in 1880. In the latter year he won the
degree of Bachelor of Arts. Following his graduation Mr. Heggerty took
up the study of law with Geo. A. Knight in 1881, and later read with the
firm of Clunie & Knight. He was admitted to the bar before the supreme
court of the state in 1889, and the following year entered into partnership
relations with Geo. A. Knight under the firm name of Knight & Heggerty,
a relation that has since been maintained. In 1903 he was admitted to prac-
tice before the United States supreme court. He has engaged in a general
law practice, and the legal interests entrusted to his care have been of a
very important character. The first important case with which he was
connected was that involving the right of the hydraulic mining claims of
Yuba county to work their mines by the hydraulic process and deposit the
mining debris in the Yuba river. Mr. Heggerty represented the Golden
Gate Consolidated Hydraulic Mining Company, whose mine was situated
at Smartsville, about a mile and a half from the Yuba river. His next im-
portant case concerned the estate of Judge Solomon Heydenfeldt, who was
one of the justices of the supreme court of the state of California and a
very celebrated mining lawyer. He left an estate valued at seven hundred
and fiftv thousand dollars, and his will, bein°- contested by some of his chil-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. H39

dren, the estate became involved in a mass of litigation which was in the
courts from 1890 until 1902. when it was finally decided in favor of Mr.
Heggerty's clients.

At the time of the death of Senator James G. Fair, in December, 1894,
Mr. Heggery was representing the son, Charles L. Fair; for seven and a
half years the litigation over that estate was pending in the various courts
of California and was finally concluded in May, 1902. Upon its settlement
Charles L. Fair and his wife, Caroline D. Fair, left California for a trip to
Europe and both were killed in an automobile accident near Paris, France.
Upon their death the estate again became involved in extensive litigation,
which is now pending in the courts of California and New York. In this
litigation Mr. Heggerty represents Herman Oelrichs as administrator of
the estate of Charles L. Fair and Joseph Harvey and Charles S. Neal, as
administrators for the estate of Caroline D. Fair. The Fair case involved
the most extensive probate and general litigation that has ever come before
the courts of California, the estate of Senator Fair being valued at thirty
millions of dollars.

In September, 1890, Mr. Heggerty was united in marriage to Miss
Annie M. Cashin, a daughter of John and Grace Cashin, who were pioneer
residents of Nevada City, Nevada count}-, California, coming to this state
about 1850. Her father was interested in mining in early days and subse-
quently in banking and stock-raising in Nevada county. The only child of
Mr. and Mrs. Heggerty died in infancy. Their home is at No. 2319 Scott
street, which was completed in the spring of 1903. His politcal allegiance
is given the Democracy, and he is a popular representative of several local or-
ganizations of a social nature, including the Native Sons of the Golden West,
the Young Men's Institute, the Hibernians, the Press Club and the Olympic
Club. Of strong mentality, developing his talents through use and adding
to his native ability that which comes as the result of thorough preparation,
he has made for himself an enviable name in legal circles and his name is
to-day by no means limited by the boundaries of city or county, but extends
beyond the limits of the state.

HON. S. D. WOODS.

Hon. S. D. Woods, a leading lawyer of the San Francisco bar and ex-
congressman from the second California district, has also the distinction of
being one of the pioneers to the state, having come among the original for-
ty-niners during the days of his childhood. He has followed out a most
able and honorable career, having established a solid reputation as a lawyer
of integrity and unusual qualifications for his profession, and has acquitted
himself well in all his relations as a private citizen and in public station.

Mr. Woods was born in Maury county, Tennessee, in 1845, a son °f
Rev. James and Eliza (Williams) Woods, the latter a daughter of a promi-
nent South Carolinian. The history of the Presbyterian church in Cali-
fornia could not be written without recording the prominent part taken in
its establishment and organization by the late Rev. James Woods, one of

340 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

the most conspicuous of those pioneer figures, who, in the face of many
obstacles and the indifference of hurrying commercialism and gain-seek-
ing, sought to bring the power of religion to the new western seats of civ-
ilization and give to the church of the Pacific coast the same power and
influence it had in the east. He was a descendant of a sturdy Welsh fam-
ily that came to Massachusetts during the Puritan times. He had espoused
the ministry as his profession, and in 1849 ne was one 0I tne three chosen
by the Presbyterian church to go as missionaries and establish churches in
the Eldorado of the west. He left New York with his wife and three chil-
dren, on May 17, 1849, on the sailing vessel Alice Tarlton, which, on ac-
count of storms and head winds, was eight months in rounding the Horn
and reaching San Francisco. He and his two fellow ministers formed the
first presbytery of California, and he took a foremost part in all the church
work of the state during those early days. He preached the first installa-
tion sermon in this state, was the first moderator of the synod on the Pa-
cific coast, and he preached in every town of California. The first Pres-
byterian church of the state was organized by him. His ministerial labors
were carried on in Stockton for many years, and his death occurred in 1882.
His work entitled "Recollections of Pioneer Work in California" is one
of the most interesting books dealing with the pioneer times of Califor-
nia and contains much valuable information from an historical standpoint.

Mr. S. D. Woods was reared in California, and after his common
school training began the study of law with Hon. John Saterlee, the first
superior judge of San Francisco. Since his admission to the bar he has
risen rapidly to a front rank among the eminent jurists of the common-
wealth, and at the same time he has given without stint his influence and
untiring effort for the upbuilding and development of his state, in which
he has done as much as any other man. He has organized and helped build
a number of railroads, and is now counsel for the Sierra Railway Company
of California.

Mr. Woods is a stanch Republican, but is in no sense a politician. In
1890 he was prevailed upon to accept the nomination to Congress from
the second district, to fill out an unexpired term and a full term and in the
face of a normal majority of six thousand for the opposite party was
elected with twelve hundred votes to spare. He refused to become a can-
didate for election at the next congressional election.

M. H. de YOUNG.

M. H. de Young, editor and proprietor of the San Francisco Chronicle,
is one of the hest-known newspaper men in the country. In his chosen voca-
tion he has achieved a success such as has fallen to the lot of but few men.
Mr. de Young was born in St. Louis in 1849, anc l when a lad removed with
his family to San Francisco. In that city he grew up and very early mani-
fested a predilection for journalism. He and his brother Charles made sev-
eral essays, more or less amateurish in character, and finally started a paper
known as the Dramatic Chronicle. It made its first appearance on tiie 16th
f January, 1865, and was a success from the beginning. It was a diminu-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. Si L

tive four-page sheet, but the news instinct asserted itself in the first issue,
which, in addition to a record of affairs theatrical, contained several inter-
esting bits of intelligence and some well-written comment on current matters.

The first publication office of the Chronicle was a cramped room on a
narrow down-town street, but after a short career of prosperity a suitable
building was erected on Kearny street, which was the leading thoroughfare
of the city in 1879.

In 1880 the death of his brother, Charles, left M. H. de Young the
sole editor and proprietor of the Chronicle, positions which were assumed
with so much ability and such readiness to successfully cope with every
problem, that before the decade had passed it became evident that the quar-
ters at Bush and Kearny streets would soon prove inadequate, and that more
extensive accommodations were an imperative necessity. Steps were ac-
cordingly taken to meet the emergency, the result being that in June, 1890.
the present magnificent building at Market, Kearny and Geary streets was
occupied, thus giving the Chronicle the finest newspaper building west of
Chicago, and affording ample room for the rapid growth that now, as al-
ways, rewards the energy and enterprise with which it has been conducted,
and which has made the Chronicle the universally acknowledged leader in
Pacific Coast journalism.

But besides devoting himself to the upbuilding of his great journal Mr.
de Young has found time to render many public services of no small impor-
tance. A thorough-paced Republican from principle, and believing that the
principles of his party are best adapted for the welfare and growth of his
country, he lias at all times, both through his paper and by personal endeav-
or, sought to advance the best interests of the party. He was chosen as
delegate-at-large to two national Republican conventions, and served twice
as a member of the Republican national committee. He was vice-chairman
of the latter body during one term, and was greatly esteemed by his asso-
ciates for his energy and suggestiveness.

At the session of the California legislature in 1892 Mr. de Young's
political services were recognized by the bestowal upon him of the honor of
the nomination for the United States senatorship, as successor of the late
George Hearst. His friends stood stanchly by him, but after balloting for
nearly two weeks Mr. de Young withdrew his name from the contest and
gave his strength in support of Charles N. Felton, thus ending the prolonged
deadlock and giving that gentleman the coveted honor.

In 1889 he was appointed commissioner from California to the Paris
Exposition, and he devoted much time to a study of that affair. His criti-
cism of the manner in which this country was represented, or rather mis-
represented there, attracted much attention, and at the same time enabled
him and others to perceive what would be necessary to make our own expo-
sition a success. He left no detail of construction, arrangement or plan un-
studied, and consequently, when appointed a member of the National
World's Fair Commission, he brought to the task a thorough knowledge
of what was essential. This was quickly recognized, and he was made a
member of the board of control, and subsequently chosen vice-president of

342 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

the National Commission. In igoo President McKinley appointed him as
a national commissioner to represent the United States at the French expo-
sition in that year. He was chosen as president of the commission by his
associates and at the conclusion of the fair received the decoration of the
Legion of Honor from the president of the French Republic.

He made his mark at the outset when the question of classification
came up. He saw at a glance the fatal defects of the system proposed and
that was on the point of being adopted by his colleagues, and lost no time
in pointing them out and exposing their faults. Challenged to produce a
better system of classification, he quickly did so, and so successfully ex-
plained its valuable features that it was adopted. California can, therefore,
claim with just pride that the classification system of the fair is due to one
of her own citizens, and to him should be awarded the honor of having
been primarily instrumental for whatever success was achieved.

The next matter that engaged his attention was the grouping and ar-
rangement of the various principal buildings. It is now a matter of his-
tory that this, too, as originally proposed, was defective in the extreme.
The experience of Mr. de Young enabled him to suggest a remedy in this
direction also, and his plans were adopted and carried out.

The California Midwinter International Exposition owed its concep-
tion to M. H. de Young. On May 31, 1893, he disclosed his plan to a
number of leading Californians in the California Club at Chicago. It met
with instant favor. Reports of the meeting were sent all over the continent.
Organization was begun at once. The project was looked upon as a daring
piece of impudence, and found at first the least encouragement where it was
to do the most good. It was revived in Chicago by the originator of the
idea. Thousands of dollars were raised at once. The people of San Fran-
cisco took it up again. Mayor Ellert appointed preliminary committees of
organization, and after a few weeks of active work a permanent board of
directors was chosen, with M. H. de Young as president and director-gen-
eral of the exposition.

He was then in Chicago, but went at once to San Francisco, where he
assumed control of the great enterprise. Aided by his experience in sim-
ilar undertakings, particularly as vice-president of the Columbian Exposi-
tion, he soon had the Winter Exposition well on the road to realization.
All the great mass of details necessary to the administration of an interna-
tional exposition was at his command, and advancement was made more
rapidly than had been done in any other similar enterprise ever undertaken.

The director-general drafted the rules and regulations to govern the
exposition, made the classification of all exhibits, and superintended every
step in the enterprise, which proved successful in every particular. The
exposition was opened on the 1st of January. 1894, in Golden Gate Park,
300 acres of which were set aside for the purpose, and over 150 buildings
for the housing of exhibits and other uses were erected at a cost of nearly
S2. 000.000. The exposition lasted six months, and during the time it was
in progress it was visited by 904,018 persons. On some days the attendance
reached 90.000. The total receipts from all sources were $1.263, 1 12.19.

Photo by Taber

THE NEW CHRONICLE BUILDING
CORNER MARKET AND KEARNY STREETS, SAN FRANCISCO

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 343

At the conclusion of the exposition, when all accounts were settled, the
director-general was able to turn over to the park authorities property valued
at $194,051.49. This surplus served to create an enduring monument in
the shape of the Midwinter Fair Memorial Museum, which is now one of
the attractions of the city.

It was the verdict of competent critics that the California Midwinter
Exposition took high rank as a world's fair, meeting all the requirements
of such an undertaking. Its exhibits represented the best productions of the
leading nations of the globe. There were 758 medals awarded to foreign-
ers, in addition to a large number obtained by domestic exhibitors, and the
enterprise enjoys the unique distinction of being the only affair of the kind
which absolutely paid its way, and left a surplus to forward a project de-
signed to benefit the people who had given the exposition their encourage-
ment and support.

The- success achieved by Mr. de Young in his conduct of the Midwin-
ter Exposition caused him to be selected by Governor Budd as commission-
er-general to represent the state of California at the Omaha Transmissis-
sippi Exposition.

Mr. de Young has for over twenty years been a director of the Asso-
ciated Press, and has always since his active connection with that bodv de-
voted a great deal of attention to its workings and contributed not a little
to its successes.

Besides his phenomenally successful newspaper business, Mr. de Young
has been fortunate in other ventures in which he has engaged, and long
since had earned the right to be classed among the millionaires of the Pa-
cific Coast. But the possession of large wealth has not divorced him from
the energy and attention to detail which gave him that wealth, and every
department of his great business is still subject to his personal attention.
He exercises close supervision over the columns of the great journal which
he has built up. and every issue bears the impress of his individuality and
strength of character. That it will continue so to do, and that it will grow
in importance and influence under his management for many years to come.
is as certain as is the fact that it has attained its present unrivaled position
under his control.

JAMES HERBERT BUDD.

James Herbert Budd, loyal in citizenship, is one of the distinguished
citizens of California whose life record forms an integral part of the history
of the state, and his energy and genius have left an impress upon its rapidly
developing civilization. He stands as a high type of American manhood,
having attained success in his profession which is indicative of close appli-
cation and superior ability, while at the same time he has found opportunity
to devote to the public welfare, to thoroughly inform himself concerning the
vital questions and issues of the day and to spread in effective manner those
principles which he believes contain the best elements of good government.

Mr. Budd was born at Janesville, Wisconsin, on the 18th of May, 1851,

344 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

and is descended from an honorable ancestry. On both the paternal and ma-
ternal sides he belongs to families that were represented in the Revolutionary
war and the war of 1812. His parents were Joseph H. and Lucinda M.
(Ash) Budd, both of whom were natives of New York. The ancestors
were of English and French extraction in the paternal line, and Mr. Budd
was also descended from one of the old Knickerbocker Dutch families of the
Empire state. His father was a graduate of Williams College, Massachu-
setts, and after practicing law for a number of years in Wisconsin came to
California in 1858, making the journey by way of the Isthmus of Panama.
Settling in San Joaquin county he resided there until his death, and for many
years was a prominent and distinguished member of the Stockton bar. He
was also elected judge of the superior court and held that position for a long
period, up to the time of his demise, which occurred in 1902 when he was
eighty-two years of age. His widow still survives him.

James Herbert Budd accompanied his mother and brother to Califor-
nia not long after the arrival of Judge Budd, and in the public schools of
Stockton pursued his early education. Subsequently he attended the Bray-
ton school at Oakland, preparatory to entering the University of California,
in which he completed a course by graduation with the class of 1873, the de-
gree of Bachelor of Philosophy being then conferred upon him. The fol-
lowing year his brother was graduated in the same institution with the de-
gree of Bachelor of Arts. When his university course was terminated Mr.
Budd took up the study of law in his father's office and in 1874 was ad-
mitted to the bar. Of a family conspicuous for strong intellects, indomitable
courage and energy, he entered upon his career as a lawyer, and such is his
force of character and natural qualifications that he overcame all obstacles
and wrote his name upon the keystone of the legal arch. He continued in
active practice until 1882. when he was elected to Congress, and when he had
served for one term he was unanimously renominated by his party, but declined
to accept the renomination, desiring to confine his course to the law. Again
he became a member of the Stockton bar, but in 1894 was called once more
to public life, being elected on the Democratic ticket to the office of governor
of California. He became the chief executive of the commonwealth in
January, 1895, and served until January, 1899. His official record is a mat-
ter of history and is creditable to the state. He retired from office as he had
entered it — with the confidence and good will of the majority of California's
citizens and then once more entered upon the practice of law, in which he
has continued with excellent success. He has a large clientage, connecting
him with much of the important litigation in the courts of the state, and
he takes rank as an able and successful lawyer.

In 1873 Hon. James H. Budd was married to Miss Inez A. Merrill, a
native of Connecticut, and a daughter of M. H. and Celinda A. Merrill, who
were also born in the Charter Oak state and were representatives of old Ameri-
can families. Socially Mr. and Mrs. Budd are well known in California.
His only fraternal relations are with the Zeta Psi. a Greek letter societv,
with which his brother is also identified. Although Mr. Budd is well known
throughout the state and has been prominent in its public life, he adheres to

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

the old views of professional ethics, which discountenance all manner of
advertising and self-adulation. He is a public-spirited citizen, always ready-
to support real reforms of existing abuses in the law or its administration,
and to encourage and support institutions calculated to aid his fellow men.
There is no effort on his part to become a leader, and yet he has been called
to the highest office within the gift of the people of California. His ambi-
tion, however, is greater in behalf of his friends than for himself, and to
them he is ever loyal. His tastes lead him to choose a quiet life of work in
his profession and study. His home, his profession and the questions of the
day. covering a wide range of study, absorb him, and in these he finds his
greatest enjoyment. Few men have a more intimate knowledge of the his-
tory of the country or its public men, or have devoted more time to the
study of the social and economic questions of the times.

FRANK MATTISON.

Frank Mattison, member of the state board of equalization from the
fourth district of California, and whose residence is at 15 Ocean View ave-
nue, Santa Cruz, is a Californian by birth and rearing, and has been identi-
fied with the agricultural, mercantile and political life of the state for many
years. Being energetic, progressive and public-spirited, he has been success-
ful in his own private ventures and has done much for the welfare of his
county and state in the public offices with which his fellow citizens have en-
trusted him.

Mr. Mattison was born near Santa Cruz, California, February 5, i860.
His father, John S. Mattison, was born in England, and in early life came
to the United States and located in Chicago, where he was a manufacturer
of boots and shoes. He was an original California forty-niner, making the
trip across the plains, and he engaged in mining for awhile after reaching
the Eldorado of his dreams. He then turned his attention to the manufac-
ture of saddles, and later settled on a farm near Santa Cruz. He died in
Santa Cruz in 1889. In the early days he was associate judge of the county, and
throughout his life was a prominent and influential factor in every community
in which part of his career was passed. His wife was Lila Miles, who was
born in Pennsylvania of an old American family of English descent. She
died in 1896, and two sons survive her, Frank and Ralph, the latter being
engaged in farming near Santa Cruz.

Mr. Mattison received his education in the public schools of Santa Cruz
county and also had some private teaching. He began farming on his father's
place when he was fifteen years old and later on property of his own in Santa
Cruz county, being engaged in that occupation altogether for twelve years.
He was next in the grocery business in Santa Cruz for three years. His
public career began in 1890 when he was elected to the office of county as-
sessor, and the people showed their appreciation of his services by keeping
him in office for three four-year terms. In November. 1902, he was elected
a member of the state board of equalization from the fourth district, for a
term of four years. To the taxpayers of the state, this is the most impor-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

tant official board of the commonwealth, and Mr. Mattison's election is a
high tribute to his knowledge of property values and his sense of fairness in
apportioning and equalizing the burdens of taxation.

Mr. Mattison has been active in the interests of the Republican party
since coming to majority, and has attended the state conventions and was
chairman of the county central committee. He is at present a member of
the board of trustees of the Monterey custom house, having been appointed
by Governor Gage in 1902. Fraternally he belongs to the Native Sons of
the Golden West, and was grand president of the order in 1899. He also
affiliates with the Elks, with the commandery and Mystic Shrine of the Ma-
sons, is past chief patriarch of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, etc.

Mr. Mattison was married at Soquel, Santa Cruz county, California,
November 6, 1883, to Miss Carrie A. Peck, a native of New York state and
a daughter of E. G. Peck, who came to California in pioneer days and was a
farmer in Santa Cruz county. Two daughters have been born to this mar-
riage, Lila E. and Ruth.

FISHER AMES.

Fisher Ames, leading lawyer of San Francisco, has been practicing in
California for over thirty years, during which time he has not only risen to
a prominent place at the bar and among his associates but has been a public-
spirited citizen and foremost in advancing public enterprises in his adopted
city. He is a man of unusual capability, broad-minded and in sympathy
with the higher life, and in his home, and place of business, and before the
public eye, holds a place of dignity and affection and is honored and esteemed
everywhere.

Five generations of the Ames family have resided in and been leading
factors in the community life of New Hampshire and northeast Massachu-
setts. Mr. Ames was born in Holderness, New Hampshire, February 8,
1844, a son of Thomas Jefferson Ames, a native of Guilford, New Hamp-
shire, and of Louisa (Ellison) Ames, of Holderness, New Hampshire. He
received his early education in the common schools of Campton, New Hamp-
shire, during the fifties, and then went to Plymouth Academy and Kimball
Union Academy at Meriden, New Hampshire, where he prepared for col-
lege. He entered Dartmouth College in 1865, and was graduated in 1869.
This excellent educational equipment was largely self-acquired, for while in
academy and in college he taught school for eight terms in his own state
and in Massachusetts, in order to gain funds for his next course. He had
taught a term of school before he was seventeen years old.

From Dartmouth College Mr. Ames entered the LJniversity of Albany,
where he was a student in the law course, and was graduated in 1870. in
the same year he was admitted to practice in all the courts of the state
of New York, but did not choose to remain in the east for his professional
career. He came to California in 1870. and began practice in San Francisco.
In 1872 he entered the office of the city and county attorney, and in 1874
was appointed special counsel for the collection of delinquent taxes. In

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 347

1875 he was elected a member of the board of education, and held office for
two years. He was chosen a member of the second board of freeholders for
the framing of a charter for the city and county of San Francisco, and dur-
ing six and a half years was a member of the board of fire commissioners.
September 20, 1870, Mr. Ames was married at Campton, New Hamp-
shire, to Miss Erailie Narcissa Morrison, a native of Plymouth, New Hamp-
shire. A daughter was born to them, but she died in 1875. Mr. Ames is
a member of the Alumni Association of Dartmouth College and of the Delta
Kappa Epsilon Association of the Pacific Coast.

HON. FRANK L. COOMBS.

While the disposition to do honor to those who have served well their
race or their nation is prevalent among all enlightened people and is of great
value everywhere and under all forms of government, it is particularly ap-
propriate to and to be fostered in this country, where no man is born to public
office or to public honor or comes to either by inheritance, but where all men
are equal before the law, where the race for distinction is over the road for
public usefulness and is open to everyone who chooses to enter, however
humble and obscure he may be. and where the advantageous circumstances of
family and wealth count, in the vast majority of cases, for but little or noth-
ing. In an enumeration of the men of the present generations who have won
honor for themselves and at the same time have honored the state to which
they belonged it is imperative that distinct recognition be accorded Hon.
Frank L. Coombs, for he is one of the distinguished citizens of California
and has figured prominently not only in the state but also in national and in-
ternational affairs. He is a native son of California and among those who
have known him from his youth up he has won the recognition which is only
accorded to sterling worth and upright American manhood.

Mr. Coombs was born in Napa on the 27th of December, 1853. His
father, Nathan Coombs, was a native of Massachusetts and crossed the plains
to Oregon in 1842, several years before the discovery of gold on the Pacific
slope was attracting thousands to this section of the country. In 1843 he came
to California and was identified with early farming interests in Napa county.
He married Miss Isabel Gordon, a native of New Mexico, and a daughter
of William Gordon, who in 1823 crossed the Rocky Mountains into New
Mexico, where he married into one of the old Spanish families ; later he came
to California, and it was here that his daughter became the wife of Nathan
Coombs. The surviving children of this marriage are Frank L., of this re-
view ; Levy, who is a resident farmer of Napa county ; and Eva, the wife of
John M. Coghlan, congressman from the third district of California in 1871.

The early boyhood days of Frank L. Coombs passed somewhat unevent-
fully in the usual manner of lads of the period. At the age of ten he entered
the public schools of Napa and subsequently was a student in the Dorchester
high school of Boston. Massachusetts, which he entered in 1871, pursuing
his studies there for two years. He prepared for the practice of law as a stu-
dent in the Columbian Law College at Washington. D. C, where he was

348 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

graduated on the completion of a two years' course with the class of 1875.
Being this well equipped for the practice of law, he returned to California,
locating in his native city of Napa, and since that time, when not engaged
with official duties, has given his time and energies to the practice of his
profession. Upon the Republican ticket he was elected district attorney of
Napa county for two terms and filled the office in a most acceptable manner
from 1879 until 1885. In 1877 he was chosen to represent his district in the
California legislature and was re-elected in 1889, 1891 and 1897. During
the assembly sessions of 1891 and of 1897 he was speaker of the house, and
presided over its deliberations with marked impartiality, showing a com-
prehensive knowledge of parliamentary law and a fearlessness in defense of
his position that accorded well with the dignity of the place and the power
that was conferred upon him. He won the respect of the leaders of both
parties, and his fair and impartial rulings during his first terms caused his
re-election on the second occasion. In May. 1892, Mr. Coombs was ap-
pointed minister to Japan and served until August, 1893, filling out the un-
expired term of John F. Swift. In April, 1899, he became United States
attorney for California and served until March, 1901. In 1890 he was elected
to Congress, and in the national halls of legislation proved a capable work-
ing member, showing thorough familiarity with many of the leading ques-
tions which came up for discussion and giving his support in unfaltering
manner to every measure which he believed would contribute to the welfare of
his country.

On the 27th of September, 1879, Mr. Coombs was united in marriage
to Miss Isabel Roper, of Boston, a daughter of Foster H. Roper, of that
city. Three children have been born of this marriage: Nathan Coombs, now
twenty-two years of age, left college in 1902 and at present is connected with
a commercial enterprise in Washington. D. C. Amy Louise and Dorothy
May Coombs are at home with their parents.

The great social prominence which always comes in recognition of indi-
vidual worth, culture and refinement has come to the Coombs household,
which is noted for its hospitality, and it is the scene of many a delightful
social function. Mr. Coombs is an enthusiastic member of the order of the ■
Native Sons of the Golden West, and is also a prominent representative of
the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He has made for himself an
enviable reputation as a representative of the legal profession and' in public
office. Well prepared for his profession he at once entered upon the prac-
tice of law, and from the beginning has been unusually prosperous in every
respect. The success which he has attained is due to his own efforts and
merits. The possession of advantages is no guarantee whatever for profes-
sional advancement, which comes only through hard labor, integrity and
ability. These qualities Mr. Coombs possesses to an eminent degree, and he is
faithful to every case committed to his charge. Throughout his whole life
whatever his hand finds to do. whether in his profession or in his official
duties, or in any other sphere, he does with all his might and with a deep
sense of conscientious obligation.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 349

JOSEPH CRAIG.

Joseph Craig, president of the Yolo County Consolidated Water Com-
pany, and one of the most prominent and influential residents of Woodland,
has lived in California since infancy, for over fifty years, so that not even a
native son of the Golden state could be more thoroughly imbued with the
dominant western spirit of enterprise than Mr. Craig. For a number of
years he was one of Yolo county's most successful lawyers, and his individ-
ual career has been marked with high achievement and prosperous material
results. Public enterprises have of late years come in for a good share of
Mr. Craig's time and attention, and the one of which he is at the head will
in the near future be regarded as the fountain head of much of the county's
prosperity as an agricultural and fruit-raising center, and the energies and
executive ability of a man like Mr. Craig could not be directed to a more
laudable and important undertaking.

The Yolo County Consolidated Water Company is engaged in putting
into operation one of the largest irrigation systems in the state. The com-
pany was organized in 1903 for the purpose of consolidating all the indepen-
dent water systems of the county and making one network of co-operating
and efficient irrigation lines. In a short time one hundred and twenty thou-
sand acres in Yolo and Solano counties will be supplied from this source.
Clear Lake serves as the storage reservoir, supplemented by the two forks
of the Cache river. When completed it will deliver five hundred cubic feet
of water per second. The total cost of the system will be one million dol-
lars. Ninety-nine miles of ditch have been constructed and fifty more will
be added. Nineteen thousand horsepower will be developed, and will be
used for electric roads, lights, etc. The officers of the company are Joseph
Craig, president; L. D. Stephens, secretary; and the Bank of Woodland,
treasurer. The directors are N. A. Hawkins, L. D. Stephens, C. Q. Nelson,
John L. Stephens. J. J. Stephens, Joseph Craig and J. S. Craig.

Mr. Craig, who is thus prominently connected with Yolo county's finan-
cial and industrial interests, was born in Clinton county, Missouri, in 1849,
and was brought to California in 1852 by his parents, who first settled in
Nevada county and afterward went to San Francisco. He attended the
schools of Nevada county and of San Francisco, and took up the study of
law with the intention of making it his life occupation. He was admitted
to the bar in 1874, and was engaged in practice nearly twenty years, only
retiring from his professional duties when his other affairs demanded all
his time. He came to Yolo county in 1878, and his interests have been
largely identified with this section of the state ever since. He and his wife
own jointly three thousand acres of the finest land in the state, and on it
are raised large crops of alfalfa, fruit and also high-grade cattle and sheep.
They are also large stockholders in the Bank of Woodland.

He was married in Woodland in 1874 to Miss Kate S. Stephens, a
daughter of John D. Stephens, a prominent and well known Californian,
and founder of the Bank of Woodland. They have three children : Tohn

350 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

S.. who is cashier of the Bank of Woodland; Mary A. and Cassie B. Mr.
Craig's fraternal affiliations are with the Masons and the Odd Fellows.

JOHN G. DOWNEY.

Wherever men go forth to build cities and states, wherever they achieve
greatness • and honor in the vast empire of human industry there is the
necessity of leadership. Particularly is this true of the Golden West and
of all states where the early struggles of the pathfinders were more or less
hindered by lax morals and chaotic social conditions.

California is a pre-eminent example of the righting of social delin-
quencies after an era of disorder such as caused the organizing of vigilance
committees and the administration of justice by the rough processes of
mining camps and public-square meetings.

But California was peculiarly fortunate during her troublous eras, for
she seemed to produce sturdy men of action and honor who grasped the
situation with firmness and directed the affairs of state with wisdom. Not
only did such men as the immortal Thomas Starr King thunder the les-
sons of right living from the pulpit, not only did such editors as James
King of William rouse the people to action by the power of pen and type,
hut men like Governor Downey held back the cohorts of corruption by giv-
ing the people strong and honest administrations in the hour of need.

The story of the lives of the founders is always interesting, for their
achievements give faith in the power of our fellow men, affording an illus-
trious example to the youth of the land, inspiring the belief that what man
has done man can do.

The particular charm that dwells in the story of Governor John G.
Downey's life is the fact that he came to America a young Irish lad. de-
scended from scholarly ancestors, carved his fortune from the opportuni-
ties at hand, crossed the isthmus in the days of the Argonauts and helped to
the utmost of his superb abilities to build California into a great state. Be-
ginning his career as a young man amid the excitement and temptations of
soeculation, he ever preserved that coolness of judgment and those Chris-
tian virtues that make his name revered by the younger generation, for he
was beloved of the people, who knew his worth and have preserved the story
of his life.

John G. Downey, the fourth governor of California, was born in Cas-
tle Sampson, county Roscommon. Ireland, on June 24. 1827. . His parents
were Dennis and Bridget Downey, whose ancestors were distinguished lead-
ers of their fellows not only in the higher fields of human endeavor, but
on the field of contest as well. The early youth of the man that afterward
had an important part to play far from the scenes of his birth lay amid the
inspiring natural scenery immortalized by the masters. The fields and
brooks where the lad played were the same made famous in song and story
by Burns, Moore and Goldsmith, and by such orators as the illustrious
Henry Grattan. He started in life amid influences that stirred partiotism
and chivalry.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 351

In the national schools of lhs native land he got a fair rudimentary
education, and what was probably of more importance in the end he learned
to work with his hands, familiarizing- himself with agriculture and the in-
dustries common to his people. At the age of fourteen he came to America,
whither the other members of his family had preceded him. In Charles
county, Maryland, he studied Latin under John Corcoran, an illustrious
teacher. The lad applied himself with marked industry and made great
progress in his work, learning, also, the habit of application under the tute-
lage and example of the eminent instructor. At the age of sixteen years
young Downey was forced to abandon his school and go forth to battle for
his livelihood. This was a grave disappointment to his family, who had
hoped he would finish his studies and become a priest, as many of his fam-
ily had taken up that calling. It is doubtful, however, whether so robust
and ambitious a nature, endowed with rare gifts of business management
and the genius of organizing and directing men, would ever have been sat-
isfied with the more circumscribed lines of the priesthood. After leaving
school the young man soon found employment at the nation's capital, where
he studied pharmacy with John F. Callan, one of the greatest apothecaries
of Washington. Young Downey remained with Callan until 1846. He
next went to Cincinnati, where he soon became the partner in the drug
business of John Darling, a Scotchman and a leading apothecary of Ohio's
metropolis. He was not destined to remain long in the older settlements,
however, for his adventurous spirit longed to seek new fields of larger op-
portunities. When the lure of gold led men to follow the star of empire in
its westward course Downey was one of the sturdy group that made the
tour to better his fortunes. Unlike many others, whose ambition was to
make quick fortunes in the mines, Downey made the trip with a view to
making his money from the soil and the people. He had faith that Califor-
nia was destined to be a stable commonwealth, and his knowledge of agri-
cultural values stood him in hand when he reached the west. He was in
no particular hurry to reach his destination, so he stopped for a time in
Vicksburg, where he was connected in business with Oliver Woodman, a
gentleman of culture and business attainments.

Fortunately for the young man all his associates in business and in
life had been men of good character and attainments. Every influence that
surrounded him w r as uplifting and helpful. This fact, together with his
innate desire for square dealing, developed his character along strong lines,
so that when he came into the excitement and turmoil of the Golden West
where many men fell, temptation did not lure him from the path of rectitude.

Leaving Vicksbnrg he crossed the isthmus, remaining at Havana and
New Orleans for some time before he ventured farther. In 1849 ne landed
in California with ten dollars. He was not idle long, for he knew the drug
business thoroughly and was hired at once by Henry Johnson & Company,
who were on Dupont street, San Francisco. Observing an opportunity to
better himself, by a stroke of good luck he made the purchase of a stock
of drugs at about twenty per cent below cost, and took his purchase to Los
Angeles, going by schooner and consuming three weeks in the voyage. At

352 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

Los Angeles he went into partnership with Dr. McFarland, of Tennessee,
was successful, and at the end of three years young Downey found himself
worth about thirty thousand dollars. From that time forward his fortunes
prospered. In 1856 Downey was elected to the legislature, having endeared
himself to the people of his vicinity by his ambition, his patriotism and hon-
esty. He had already served as councilman, superintendent of lighthouses,
and later as distributing agent of the United States treasury. So well did
his political fortunes prosper that in 1859 he was nominated for lieutenant
governor by the Democrats, and was elected by a handsome majority.
Soon after this election Governor Latham resigned to become a United
States senator. This left Downey at the helm as governor of the- state.
His record was brilliant in the trying era of the Civil war. As commander-
in-chief of the forces of the state he did much, in conjunction with public-
spirited citizens in private life, to keep California in the column of states
that were for the Union. He was instrumental in raising a regiment from
California and Arizona, and that regiment went forth and fought gallantly
for the Union.

It was the inflexible honesty of Governor Downey that prevented a
band of corruptionists from looting the treasury and stealing from San
Francisco her water front. He promptly vetoed the " Bulkhead " bill that
would have plundered the commerce of the port, routing every sign of cor-
ruption wherever he got a chance to deal it a killing blow-. So delighted
were the people that the supervisors of San Francisco adopted resolutions
of confidence and respect, paying a high tribute to the honesty and ability
of their governor. Prominent citizens and leading merchants presented the
governor with resolutions that praised him in the highest terms for his un-
swerving fidelity to duty in the hour of trial. When the governor arrived
in San Francisco soon after his famous veto the entire population was at
the ferry to meet and salute him. When he arrived the cheering was thun-
derous. His carriage awaited him, but the crowd unhitched the horses and
drew the carriage in triumph through the streets of the city. Never in the
history of California has there since been, nor had there been before, so
tumultuous a tribute to manly worth and fidelity to duty.

After his term had expired Governor Downey retired full of honor to
his home in Los Angeles, where he was loved and respected during his re-
maining days and where his memory is revered to-day. He died March 1,
1894, in Los Angeles. In 1869 he built the Downey Block, one of the great
buildings of Los Angeles. He had meantime started the first bank in Los
Angeles and had established a large ranch, with Downey City, named in
his honor, as its market place. In those early times there were few small
tracts of land. Governor Downey was the first to set the example of cut-
ting up large tracts into small farms for the men of small means. Anaheim
colony was the fruit of his plans.

Governor Downey married the daughter of Don Rafael Guirado. a
S panish ge ntleman of Sonora. She was killed in the Tehachapi disaster
in 1883. Some years later he was married to Miss Rosa V. Kelly, a well

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

known Los Angeles lady. In his domestic and social relations, as well as
in his public life, he was ever a kind Christian gentleman.

mark l. Mcdonald.

Hon. Mark L. McDonald, a California!! of forty-five years' standing,
has been identified with the financial and industrial interests of the state for
many years and is accounted one of the foremost citizens. He has been very
successful in his private business, and from a beginning comparatively insig-
nificant has become the possessor of a large property and gained a place of
prominence among the financiers of the Pacific coast. Mr. McDonald is a
broad-minded character, with an energy and enterprise which influences ev-
erything and everybody with whom he has relations, and he has also been
identified with much that has made for the public welfare of his city and
state. Santa Rosa will, in particular, always hold him in esteem for the
many enterprises of a public nature to which he has given his aid or been
foremost in conducting.

Mr. McDonald was born near Mackville, Washington county, Kentucky,
May 5, 1833, and was a son of Colonel James and Martha (Peters) Mc-
Donald. His father was a farmer and stock-raiser in the noted bluegrass
regions of Kentucky, and was a prominent man in local and state affairs.
Mark L. McDonald was reared on his father's place, and after completing
his education in the local schools went to Union College, at Schenectady,
New York. In 1859 h e brought his parents across the plains to California,
and his identification with the state has been continuous since that year.
Both his parents died in California, his father in Sacramento, and his mother
in 1883, in San Francisco.

His first work on coming to this state was with a railroad company
from which his brother had a contract for building grades across the moun-
tains. He served in the capacity of engineer for his brother. He later
came to San Francisco, and became a stock broker in the stock board. The
brokerage firm of McDonald and Whitney was for twenty years one of the
best known of its kind in San Francisco, and had a prosperous existence.
Mr. McDonald was also a member of the state board of horticulture, and is
at present a member of the state board of trade.

At the time of the Columbian Exposition at Chicago he was appointed
by President Cleveland a national World's Fair commissioner at large, and
was a member of the committee on permanent organization. He helped
organize the board of lady managers, which took such a prominent part in
the fair, and it was due to his efforts that each state secured representation
on this board. He appointed Mrs. Potter Palmer a member of this board,
and she was elected its president.

Mr. McDonald has a magnificent home in Santa Rosa. It is situated on
a hundred and sixty acre tract just outside the town limits. Twenty-five
acres are devoted to fruit, trees, and he has on his place trees from all parts
of the world, each state and country being represented by a characteristic
tree.

35+ - HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. '

Mr. McDonald built the water works of Santa Rosa, and also laid out
an addition to the city of one hundred and sixty acres. He also built the
street railroad in Santa Rosa. Fraternally he affiliates with the Masonic or-
der, and has taken the Knight Templar degrees.

He was married in 1864 to Miss Ralphine North, a daughter of Judge
R. North, of Natchez, Mississippi. They have five children: M. L., Jr.,
mentioned below; Stewart McD., Mabel. Edith May and Florence.

M. L. McDonald, Jr.. was born in San Francisco. June 6. 1868, and
attended the Urban and Trinity schools of that city. He graduated in the
class of '90 from Princeton University, and then returned to Santa Rosa.
He attended to some interests at the World's Fair, and then returned to
Santa Rosa in July, 1894. He is now engaged in fruit-packing, and is at
the head of one of the important establishments of this nature in Sonoma
county. He is also president of the Santa Rosa Water Company, and in
many ways manifests his public spirit and enterprise.

He was married in 1896 to Miss Juillard, a daughter of C. F. Juillard.
of Santa Rosa. They have one child. Juillard McDonald.

TRUMAN REEVES.

Honored and respected in every class of society, Truman Reeves has
for some time been a leader in thought and action in the public life of Cali-
fornia, and his name is inscribed high on the roll of its foremost citizens, his
honorable career adding lustre to the history of the state. Faithfulness to
duty and strict adherence to a fixed purpose in life will do more to advance
a man's interests than wealth or adventitious circumstances. The successful
men of the day are they who have planned their own advancement and have
accomplished it in spite of many obstacles and with a certainty that could
have been attained only through their own efforts. This class of men has
a worthy representative in Truman Reeves, who began life amid unfavoring
circumstances upon an Ohio farm.

Mr. Reeves was born at Chardon. Ohio, August 17, 1840, a son of Will-
iam C. Reeves, whose birth occurred in Bridgewater, Somersetshire, Eng-
land. He was a tanner by trade and came to America in 1825. He married
Miss Clara Northway of Cardiff. New York, who was of Scotch descent,
her ancestors having come to the new world prior to the war of the Revo-
lution, while her father was a soldier of the war of 1812. William C.
Reeves died in 1872, but the mother is still living on the old homestead at
Orwell. Ohio, at the age of ninety years. In the family were the following
named: Calvin: George Phippen: Charles, deceased; Truman; Edwin:
Maria Jane : Callings, deceased : Edward : Andrew Isaiah, deceased : and
Emery Alvaris.

Mr. Reeves attended the district schools in the winter months and in
the summer seasons worked upon his father's farm. He afterward enjoyed
the advantages of some school training in Orwell Academy in Ohio. In
1858 he was apprenticed to learn the watch-maker's trade with the firm of
King & Brothers of Warren. Ohio, and remained in their employ until the

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 355

time of the Civil war in 1861, when, prompted by a spirit of patriotism, he
enlisted as a private and by promotion in recognition of meritorous service
attained the rank of lieutenant. He was acting brigade commissary sergeant
with General Kilpatrick's brigade in 1863. In January, 1864, he re-enlisted
for three years. During his service he was wounded three times, the last
time at the battle of Cold Harbor, Virginia, during General Grant's advance
on Richmond, and thereby lost his left arm, this ending his service in the
field.

After his return home Mr. Reeves was appointed postmaster at Orwell,
Ashtabula county, Ohio, and occupied that position until 1868. In the fall
of that year he was elected recorder of Ashtabula county and served in the
latter capacity for six years in a most commendable manner.

In 1875 Mr. Reeves came to California, settling first at San
Bernardino. There he began work at his trade, and it is said that
he is the only successful one-handed watchmaker in the world.
By the use of ingenious appliances which he has invented to take the place of
his left hand he has been enabled to do all kinds of watch work that is usually
done only by the most skilled workmen. Mr. Reeves set out and planted one
of the first orchards in southern California at Redlands, containing orange,
apricot and peach trees. Ten acres were devoted to these fruits, and by his
labors he demonstrated the possibilities of that section of the state as a fruit-
producing district.

In 1867 Mr. Reeves was united in marriage to Miss Marion E. McCon-
key, of Oberlin, Ohio, a daughter of Addison and Mary McConkey, of Cuya-
hoga county, Ohio, early settlers of that locality. They have two children,
Clarence H. and Clara B. The latter resides with her parents in Sacramento
and the former entered the ministry in 1891 at the age of twenty-one years.
He went to China as a missionary and after six years died in that country
of smallpox in 1897.

Mr. Reeves is fraternally connected with the Odd Fellows and the Grand
Army of the Republic. He gives his political allegiance to the Republican
party, and has been honored with positions of distinctive preferment in this
state. From 1882 until 1886 he represented San Bernardino county in the legis-
lature, and in the spring of 1890 was appointed by the United States gov-
ernment to assist in taking the recorded indebtedness of the sixth congres-
sional district of California. In the fall of the same year he was elected treas-
urer of San Bernardino county, holding the office by re-election for eight
years and during the last four years also serving as tax collector. In 1898
he was elected state treasurer by a majority of 23,400 votes on the Repub-
lican ticket. In 1902 he was re-elected to the office by a plurality of 47,884.
His is a sturdy American character and a stalwart patriotism. He has the
strongest attachments for our free institutions and is ever willing to make
personal sacrifices for their preservation.

ULYSSES SIGEL WEBB.
An enumeration of the men of the present generation who have won
success and public recognition for themselves and at the same time have

356 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

honored the state to which they belonged, would be incomplete were their
failure to make prominent reference to the one whose name initiates this
paragraph. He holds distinctive precedence as an eminent lawyer and states-
man, as a man of broad attainments and as a valued and patriotic citizen.
He has been and is distinctively a man of affairs and one who has wielded
a wide influence. A strong mentality, invincible courage and a most de-
termined individuality have so entered into his makeup as to render him a
natural leader of men and a director of opinion. He has, moreover, not yet
attained the prime of life and undoubtedly the future holds for him greater
successes, for his talents and powers will develop still more with the advanc-
ing years.

Mr. Webb was born September 29, 1864, in West Virginia, a son of
Cyrus Webb, a representative of an old Virginia family and a captain in the
Civil war. In 1869 the father removed to Kansas, where he engaged in
farming and stock-raising, spending his remaining days in that state. His
death occurred in 1899. when he was seventy-three years of age. His wife,
who bore the maiden name of Eliza Cather, was also a representative of an
old Virginia family and is still residing on the family homestead in Kansas
at the age of sixty-nine years. By her marriage she became the mother of
five sons and two daughters, and with the exception of the subject of this
review all are yet residents of the Sunflower state.

Ulysses Sigel Webb was a mere lad when taken by his parents to Kan-
sas, and in the public schools of Augusta, that state, he pursued his early
education, while later he became a student in the normal school at Fort
Scott, Kansas. He finished his own course in 1885 and then engaged in
teaching school for a short time, after which he became connected with
journalistic interests in Augusta, editing a weekly paper in that city until
1887. In the meantime, however, he had determined to enter upon the
work of the legal profession and took up the study of law in Augusta, dili-
gently pursuing his reading. In the spring of 1888 he came to California,
locating in Ouincy. Plumas county, where he entered upon the practice of
law, being admitted to the bar soon after his arrival in this state. The po-
litical positions he has held have been in the line of his chosen calling. In
1890 he was elected district attorney of Plumas county, and served so ac-
ceptably that he was three times re-elected, his term of service therefore
covering twelve years, had he not resigned in the summer of 1902 on being
appointed attorney general for the state in order to fill a vacancy. At the
Republican convention held in that year he was nominated for the office and
was elected at the succeeding election for a term of four vears, so that he is
now at the head of the legal department of the state. While engaged in the
general practice of law he conducted a number of very important mining
interests. As a lawyer he is sound, clear-minded and well trained. The
limitations which are imposed by the constitution on federal powers are well
understood by him. With the long line of decisions from Marshall down,
by which the constitution has been expounded, he is familiar, as are all
thoroughly skilled lawyers. He is at home in all departments of the law.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

from the minutiae in practice to the greater topics wherein are involved the
consideration of the ethics and the philosophy of jurisprudence and the
higher concerns of public policy. But he is not learned in the law alone, for
he has studied long and carefully the subjects that are to the statesman and
the man of affairs of the greatest import, — the questions of finance, political
economy, sociology. — and has kept abreast of the best thinking men of
the age. He is clear in argument, thoroughly in earnest, full of the vigor of
conviction, never abusive of adversaries, imbued with highest courtesy, and
yet a foe worthy of the steel of the most able opponent.

In October, 1895, was celebrated the marriage of Ulysses S. Webb and
Miss Grace Goodwin, a native of California and a daughter of Judge J. D.
and Martha Goodwin, of Ouincy, Plumas county. They have three chil-
dren. Hester, Sigel Goodwin and Grace. Mr. Webb belongs to the Masonic
and Knights of Pythias fraternities, and to the Union League Club. While
undoubtedly not without that honorable ambition which is so powerful and
useful as an incentive to activity in public affairs, he regards the pursuits
of private life as being in themselves abundantly worthy of his best efforts.
His is a noble character, one that subordinates personal ambition to public
good and seeks rather the benefit of others than the aggrandizement of self.
Endowed by nature with high intellectual qualities and well versed in the
line of his profession, he merits the honor which has been conferred upon
him by his election to the highest office in the law-enforcing department of
the state.

CHARLES FORREST CURRY.

The name of Charles Forrest Curry is honorably inscribed upon the
pages of California's history, and in molding the public policy he has had
due regard for the general welfare, his course ever being marked by a pa-
triotic devotion to the general good. He is now serving as secretary of state,
and his course in official life is in harmony with his record as a business man
and a private citizen, distinguished by fidelity to every trust reposed in him
and by prompt discharge of every duty that devolves upon him.

Mr. Curry was born March 14, 1858, in Naperville, Illinois, a son of
Charles H. M. Curry, who was a native of England and in his childhood days
was brought to America by his parents, who settled in Wisconsin, becoming-
early residents of that state. In the year 1873 Charles H. M. Curry came to
California and embarked in the jewelry business in San Francisco, becoming
a representative merchant of that city. He was for fifteen years grand secre-
tary of the Knights of Honor for the state of California, and he died in San
Francisco in 1896 at the age of sixty-three years. He was a man promi-
nent in public affairs and served as a delegate to various municipal and state
conventions of the Republican part)-, being recognized as one of its leaders in
local ranks. He married Emma J. Kimball, who was born in Illinois and
was of Scotch and English descent. Her parents were of an old American
family, established in New England at an early period in the colonization of
the new world. Her ancestry in the paternal line can lie traced back to the

358 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

arrival of the Mayflower with its little band of Pilgrims who made the first
settlement in New England. The parents of Mrs. Curry were of Massachus-
etts and Virginia families. She still survives her husband and is now living
in Sacramento at the age of sixty-six years. In her family were three sons
and three daughters, of whom Charles Forrest is the eldest. The others are
now deceased with the exception of Annie M., the wife of James Peterson,
and Minerva.

Charles Forrest Curry began his education in the public schools of
Mineral Point, Wisconsin, where his father was filling the position of su-
perintendent of public instruction. He afterward benefited by a year's study
in the University of Washington at Seattle, but at the age of seventeen years
put aside his text books and became an active factor in business life. Return-
ing to San Francisco lie accepted a position as salesman in the Methodist
Book Depository, where he remained during the years 1875 and 1876. On
the expiration of that period he embarked in the jewelry business in connec-
tion with his father and continued in that trade until 1890, when he was ap-
pointed superintendent of station B of the San Francisco postoffice, serving
in that capacity until 1894. In the fall of the latter year he was elected county
clerk and filled that position from 1894 until 1898. His name was then
placed upon the ticket of the Republican party in connection with the candi-
dacy of secretary of state, and, being elected, he entered upon a term of
service that has continued through re-election up to the present time in
19O-I. and he will remain as the incumbent in the office until 1906. He had
represented his district in the general assembly of California in 1886, having
been chosen for a term of two years.

In 1892 occurred the marriage of Mr. Curry and Miss Lillie A. Sieperly,
a native of California and a daughter of F. W. and Sarah A. Sieperly, both of
whom were natives of New York. Mrs. Curry died in 1898, leaving two
children : Florence A. and Charles F., both of whom are students in the
public schools of Sacramento.

Mr. Curry is prominent and popular in fraternal circles. He is con-
nected with the Masonic lodge, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the
Knights of Honor, the Woodmen of the World, the Fraternal Order of
Eagles, and has been a member of the supreme lodge of the Knights of
Honor for the past ten years. He has also been a member of the grand lodge
of the Ancient Order of United Workmen for seventeen years, and at present
is a member of the arbitration committee. He is the first vice president of
Aerie, No. 9, of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, of Sacramento. A resi-
dent of California since fifteen years of age, his record is well known espe-
cially in the central part of the state, where his sterling worth has commanded
for him the confidence and regard of those with whom he has been associated.
His public career is commendable and has reflected honor upon the state
which has honored him. Throughout his whole life whatever his hand has
found to do, whether in his mercantile career or in his official duties or in any
other sphere, he has done with all his might and with the deep sense of con-
scientious obligation.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 359

WILLIAM W. SHANNON.

William Wigmore Shannon, state printer of California, has through-
out his entire business career been engaged in this department of business
and has made steady and consecutive progress in keeping with the modern
business spirit. "Well qualified therefore for the duties which now devolve
upon him, he was elected superintendent of the state printing office in 1902,
and in his administration of its affairs has manifested the same enterprising
spirit which characterized his control of individual business interests.

Mr. Shannon, born at San Francisco, on the 30th of May, 1858, is a
son of Michael and Mary (Wigmore) Shannon, the former a native of Hali-
fax. Nova Scotia, and the latter of Fermoy, Ireland. In his childhood days
the father accompanied his parents on their removal from Halifax to Bos-
ton, Massachusetts, where he remained until March 3, 1854, when he started
for California, making the journey by way of the Nicaragua route. Prior
to his removal to the Pacific coast he had worked at the cutlery business and
at copper plate printing, and after reaching San Francisco he sought and ob-
tained employment in the printing office of Frank Eastman, with whom he
remained as a journeyman until 1878, when he was admitted to a partner-
ship under the firm name of Frank Eastman & Company. This relation was
maintained until the death of Mr. Eastman in 1890, when Mr. Michael Shan-
non succeeded to the business, of which he is now the senior partner. The
old firm name has been retained, and this is the pioneer printing establish-
ment of California, having been started in 1850, and having had a continuous
existence greater than that of any similar enterprises in the state. That the
business has been profitable its long existence plainly indicates.

William W. Shannon pursued his education in the public schools of San
Francisco and is a graduate of the Lincoln grammar school of the class of
1872. On putting aside his text-books he entered the employ of Bacon &
Company, printers and publishers, with whom he remained two years. After
a year spent in the employ of the Bancroft Company, he entered the service
of Frank Eastman & Company, in the fall of 1874, and was foreman of the
book department for many years, and his ability as a competent and faithful
workman was so thoroughly recognized and appreciated by Frank Eastman
& Company, that in 1898 be was admitted a member of the firm and con-
tinued his active connection with the business until his election to his pres-
ent position of superintendent of the state printing office in 1902. He stands
as one of the leading representatives of his line of business in California.- He
has given special attention to artistic work, has kept in touch with the
latest processes and methods introduced into the business, and his own prac-
tical and original ideas have found exemplification in pleasing work that has
given general satisfaction and which won for the house in which he was a
partner a very desirable patronage. His course in office has been commend-
able and he has proved a worthy custodian of the printing interests of the
state.

In t88o Mr. Shannon was united in marriage to Miss Annie Dwyer, a
native of The Dalles, Oregon. Two children were born to them, Austin F.

360 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

and William W. The wife and mother died in 1891, and in 1899 Mr. Shan-
non was again married, his second union being with Miss Annie Louise Fell,
a native of San Francisco and a daughter of William Fell, who was a mem-
ber of the firm of Gleason & Fell, dry-goods merchants of San Francisco.

Mr. Shannon is particularly prominent as a member of the Native Sons
of the Golden West. He has filled all the chairs of California Parlor No. 1,
has been a delegate to the grand parlor fifteen times, and in 1891 was elected
a grand trustee of the order. He is one of the charter members and was
the first chief ranger of Court Eldorado, A. O. F. ; belongs to Manzanita
Grove, Order of Druids; the Woodmen of the World; Benevolent and Pro-
tective Order of Elks, and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. He is a past presi-
dent of San Francisco Typographical Lhiion No. 21, and was a delegate to
the International Typographical Union, held at Atlanta. Georgia, in 1890.
He belongs to the Union League Club and to the Press Club of San Fran-
cisco, and is well known throughout the state to representatives of the "art
preservatives of all art." He has been a resident of Sacramento since his
election to office, and in this as well as the city of his birth has gained a_wide
and favorable acquaintance.

HON. GEORGE C. PERKINS.

Hon. George C. Perkins, present United States senator from California,
for many years prominent in the business and public affairs of the state of
California, with many of his industrial and commercial interests and opera-
tions attaining a world-wide scope, has had the career of a typical American
captain of industry, with all the interesting phases of early struggles, a ma-
turing business judgment and foresight, a widening of interests and a gaining
control of extensive enterprises, and then permanent success and power in
commerce and industry and political and public life.

His life began in the rather humble home of his parents at Kennebunkport,
Maine, in 1839. His earliest ancestors had come to Maine from England
some generations before his birth. He was reared in hardy and thrifty sur-
roundings on his father's farm, attending in season the common schools.
But at the age of thirteen years he slipped from the parental nest and went to
sea as a sailor before the mast, for the following four years visiting nearly all
the climes and ports of the world. He returned home at the age of fifteen and
spent six months in school, when he once more went on the watery highways
and worked before the mast. In the course of these journeyings he arrived
in San Francisco in 1855, on the clipper ship Galatea.

He went to Sacramento and then to Butte and Plumas counties, and for
two years tried his luck in mining, with poor success. Teaming and lumber-
ing were his next ventures, then working in a store. He became interested in
the Bank of Butte County, built the Ophir flour mills, acquired mining inter-
ests and constructed sawmills, and after the hard and meager returns of his
youthful years began to develop rapidly into the master of many and impor-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

tant enterprises. In 1872 he formed a partnership with Captain Charles
Goodall, the firm known as Goodall, Nelson and Perkins, from which Captain
Nelson retired in 1876, and it has been known as Goodall, Perkins and Com-
pany to this day. This firm has been one of the leaders in developing the
transportation interests of the state, and has for a number of years controlled
the most extensive business on the coast, extending from Alaska to Mexico
and employing two thousand men. The firm is largely interested in the
Pacific Whaling Company and other corporations. Mr. Perkins is also largely
interested in other lines of enterprise. He is a director of the First National
Bank of San Francisco, a director of Central Trust Company and Central
Bank of Oakland, director of the Bank of Butte County, of the Pacific Steam
Whaling Company, of the Arctic Oil Works, etc. He has been successful,
and is a man of moderate wealth, wielding a large influence in all the business
circles of the west.

Senator Perkins is one of the foremost Republicans of the west, and has
been prominent in politics from his early years in the state. He has served
two terms in the state senate, having been elected both times from a Demo-
cratic district. As the representative of the people and in his business he has
done much to advance the welfare of his state and has promoted many enter-
prises bearing directly on California's prosperity and growth. In 1879 he
was elected governor of California by a majority of twenty-two thousand.
In 1893 he was appointed by Governor Markham to succeed United States
Senator Stanford, deceased; in 1895 was elected to serve out that unexpired
term, and on January 13, 1897, was elected to the senate for the full term
expiring in 1903. In January of the latter year he was again re-elected on
the first ballot for the term of six years, receiving every vote of the Republican
members of the legislature. On motion of a Democratic member his election
was made unanimous. Senator Perkins is a fair speaker and a good reasoner,
and these qualifications combined with his personality are further sources of
his power as a man of affairs.

In addition to his steamship and other interests and his long political
career, Senator Perkins has been identified with many public and charitable
institutions. He has been for twenty-two years president of the Boys and
Girls' Aid Society; for two years was president of the San Francisco Art
Association; president of the Chamber nf Commerce in 1878; a trustee of
the Academy of Sciences since 1886.

He is one of the prominent Masons of the state; was grand junior warden
of the Grand Lodge, F. & A. M., of California, in 1871 ; grand senior warden
in 1872; deputy master in 1873; grand master in 1874, by unanimous vote.
He has been through all the offices of the commandery up to grand commander
of the Grand Commandery the Knights Templar of California, in 1882, and
held that office during the triennial conclave held in San Francisco, and at
which meeting he was elected grand junior warden of the grand encampment
of the Knights Templar in the United States.

Senator Perkins was married in Oroville in 1864 to Miss Ruth A. Parker,
and they have three sons and four daughters.

362 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

FREDERICK W. HATCH, M. D.

Dr. Frederick Winslow Hatch, of Sacramento, who has been a resident
of California for more than half a century, has attained to an eminent posi-
tion in his profession through the exercise of his native talents and acquired
ability, and in recognition of his prominence he has been appointed for the
second time by the governor of the state to the position of general superin-
tendent of state hospitals. Devoted to his profession and actuated by broad
humanitarian principles which prompt his best possible service for the relief
of the sick and suffering, he is well qualified for the arduous and responsible
duties which devolve upon him in connection with the office.

Dr. Hatch, born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on the 4th of December, 1849,
is a son of Frederick Winslow and Sarah R. Hatch, the former a native
of Virginia and the latter of New York. The Hatch family is of English
origin and the first of the name in America crossed the Atlantic during
colonial days, settling in Massachusetts. Later generations of the family,
however, removed to Virginia and there the grandfather of Dr. Hatch
labored for the spiritual welfare of his fellow men as a minister of the Epis-
copal church, and later went to Washington, D. C, where he twice filled the
part of chaplain of the United States senate. Dr. Frederick W. Hatch, Sr.,
became a practicing physician and in the year 185 1 made his way to Cali-
fornia, locating in Sacramento, where he engaged in the practice of medi-
cine and surgery up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1883. He
was not only active in his calling but took an active part in many public
measures which promoted the general welfare of the county and state. He
was secretary of the state board of health for a number of years, filling
that position at the time his life's labors were ended. He was also a member
of the Sacramento school board and county superintendent of schools, taking
a deep interest in education and putting forth effective effort, the result of
which is still manifest in the present excellent school system of the city.
It was owing to his efforts that the first high school building of Sacramento
was erected, and his influence was likewise potent in other lines resulting
to the good of the community. His family numbered five children : Thur-
ston B., who died at the age of thirty-five years; Frederick W., of this re-
view: Mrs. A. L. Blanchard; Frank and Henry.

It was in 1853 that Dr. Hatch, whose name introduces this record, was
brought to California, together with the other children of the family, the
journey being made by way of the Nicaraguan route. Reared in Sacramento,
he attended the public schools and then the high school of this city, con-
tinuing his studies until he reached the age of eighteen years, when he as-
sumed the duties and cares of a business career. He first followed civil
engineering in the employ of the Central Pacific Railroad Company for two
years, when, determining to enter upon the practice of medicine as a life
work, he began reading in the office and under the direction of his father,
while his collegiate training was received in Jefferson Medical College, of
Philadelphia, in Avhich institution he was graduated in 1873, his degree being
at that time conferred upon him.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 363

Dr. Hatch then returned to California and practiced for a few years in
Sacramento. In 1879 he was elected second assistant physician of the Napa
State Insane Asylum, remaining there until the fall of 1889, when he was
elected superintendent of Agnew's State Asylum, filling that position in a
most capable manner until 1897, when he was appointed by Governor Budd
to the office of general superintendent of state hospitals under the new lunacy
law. which had just gone into effect. He was reappointed by Governor
Gage, and is now serving for the second term. His previous experience as
superintendent of asylums for the insane, added to his comprehensive and
accurate general knowledge of medicine and surgery, well qualified him for
the position, and his course is one which has given eminent satisfaction to
the public, the profession and the administration.

In 1882 occurred the marriage of Dr. Hatch and Miss Florence Fol-
lansbee, a native of California and a daughter of one of the pioneer residents
of northern California, who located in the state when it was the scene of
wild mining excitement and when the commercial and industrial activity
for which it is now famous had scarcely been instituted. Dr. Hatch and his
wife have one daughter. Dr. Hatch gives his political allegiance to the Re-
publican party, and is strong in his advocacy of its principles, but has sought
or desired no political preferment outside the strict path of his profession.
Socially he is identified with the Elks and the Masons. Well known in
California where almost his entire life has been passed, he takes great pride
in the achievements of the state, in its marked and rapid progress, and its
present leadership in many lines of activity, and he is numbered among
those who have always upheld its intellectual and professional status.

JOSEPH STEFFENS.

Joseph Steffens, prominently identified with business interests as a bank
director and president of the Chamber of Commerce in Sacramento, is hon-
ored and respected by all. His position in the public regard, however, has
not come merely as a tribute to his success, but is in recognition of his per-
sonal worth and the honorable and straightforward methods that he has ever
employed in his business career.

A native of Canada, Mr. Steffens w^as born in 1837, his parents being
Joseph and Mary Anne (Graham) Steffens, both of whom were natives of
that country. In the year 1840 the father removed to Illinois, settling in
Carroll county, where he engaged in farming. His wife died in her native
country soon after the birth of her son Joseph, who was the youngest of a
family of eight children. The father afterward married again and by the
second union had eight children, who were reared in Illinois.

Joseph Steffens was reared upon the family homestead in Illinois, early
becoming familiar with farm work in its various departments. The summer
months were spent in the fields and during the other seasons of the year he
attended the district schools until he had mastered the elementary branches
of English learning, when he became a student in the Mount Morris Semi-
nary at Mount Morris, Illinois. Subsequently he pursued a business course

364 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

in Bell's Commercial College of Chicago, graduating with the class of 1858.
He afterward went to Freeport, Illinois, where he entered upon his business
career as a clerk in the employ of G. M. Clayton & Brother. He was re-
tained in the services of that firm for three years, when in 1862 he gave up
his position in order to come to California, crossing the plains with a team
of horses. He arrived in San Francisco on the 9th of September, 1862 —
admission day. Here he entered upon a business connection with the firm
of Fuller & Heather as a bookkeeper. In 1868 the firm consolidated with
Mr. Whittier under the style of Whittier, Fuller & Company, and Mr. Stef-
fens continued with the house in San Francisco until the following year,
when he came to Sacramento to take charge of the branch establishment in this
city. In 1874 he was admitted to a partnership in the business and retained
his connection therewith until the spring of 1892, when he disposed of his
interests and retired from the firm. He then became an active director in
the. California State Bank and has continued as such to the present time.
For ten years he was president of the Sacramento board of trade and is now
the president of its successor, the Sacramento Chamber of Commerce.

In 1865 occurred the marriage of Mr. Steffens and Miss Louise Symes,
of Hoboken. New Jersey. They have four children, Joseph Lincoln, Louisa,
Lottie and Laura. The son has taken up literary pursuits and is on the edi-
torial staff of McClure's Magazine, being one of the best known writers in the
country. Mr. Steffens holds membership relation with the Masonic fraternity
and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, while his political affiliation is
with the Republican party. For seven years he was a member of the board of
management of the Stockton State Hospital, to which position he was appointed
by Governor Markham, and by Governor Gage he was appointed a trustee
of the state library, which position he is now filling. Endowed by nature
with high intellectual qualities, to which have been added the discipline and
embellishment of culture, his is an attractive personality. While he has won
marked success in business he has at the same time kept in touch with the
thinking men of the age and is thoroughly informed upon many of the sub-
jects which concern the general interests of society and the welfare of the
nation.

THOMAS B. HALL.

Thomas B. Hall is senior member of the firm of Hall, Luhrs and Com-
pany, of Sacramento, which is the largest wholesale grocery concern in
the city, and which, through the indefatigable industry and business man-
agement of its proprietors, has been built up to its present prominence from
unimportant beginnings and a small amount of capital — if by capital is meant
money. From porter to proprietor would aptly characterize the business ca-
reer of Mr. Hall, and every successive step of progress has been earned by
his earnest and diligent efforts. The hazard of speculation has never figured
in his life. He has simply devoted his whole energies to grasping the de-
tails of the business of his choice, and each increase in his prosperity has
been the logical result of some previous well defined business policy, so that
his large enterprise is founded on the rock of substantiality, financial integ-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 365

rity and reliability, and since its establishment has never -suffered from the
storms of financial calamity without or injudicious management within.

Mr. Hall was born in the state of Illinois, January 5, 1853, a son of
Richard and Frances (Hague) Hall. In that same year his father joined in
the rush across the plains to the new Eldorado, and brought his family and
located in the city of Sacramento, where he secured work on the Folsom and
Placerville Railroad, the first ever constructed in California. The only un-
pleasant feature of this employment was that he never received compensa-
tion for his work, the projectors evidently considering that the glory of
working on the first railroad was sufficient pay. For these reasons
he soon became dissatisfied and concluded to abandon frontier life for civili-
zation. With his family he started to return east, via the Panama route,, on
the ill-fated steamer Yankee Blade, which in the course of the voyage was
wrecked off the coast of Santa Barbara. The family had a hard struggle
to reach the coast five miles away, where they were finally picked up by the
steamer Brother Jonathan (which was recently wrecked in northern waters),
and were taken to Los Angeles. After remaining there one week they re-
turned to San Francisco by another steamer. Richard Hall concluded that
the fates opposed his return to the east, and he accordingly went back to Sac-
ramento, where he remained until 1856, and then bought a farm in Solano
county, where he successfully tilled the soil until his death, in 1889. He was
a native of Ireland and of English descent. His wife was a native of Eng-
land, and came from an old English family of prominence. She emigrated
to this country in girlhood, and was married to Richard Hall in St. Law-
rence county, New York. Her death occurred in 1868. She left two sons
and six daughters. William, the elder son, and two daughters have since
died, and the daughters now living are : Mrs. Nancy Bloom, of Dixon,
Solano county; Mrs. Bertha Goe, of Trinity county; Mrs. Amelia Frahn, of
San Francisco ; and Mrs. Jane Lemoine, of Texas.

Thomas B. Hall spent his early days on a farm, became familiar with
all the labor and discipline incident to the tilling of the soil, and the training
which he received there has remained with him as a valuable asset through-
out his commercial life. He has always retained his interest in agriculture,
and has operated a farm in addition to his mercantile business. He received
his education in the public schools of Sacramento, and in Silveyville, Solano
county, graduating in 1868. For the following year he attended the Pa-
cific Business College of San Francisco. With all the aspirations of a boy
of sixteen, and the vigor and rugged constitution of a boy fresh
from rural life, he came to Sacramento in 1869 and secured a position
as porter in the wholesale grocery firm of Milliken Brothers. Seven years
from that time he had mastered all the details of the business and risen to
a place of confidence and responsibility with the company, so that in 1876 he
succeeded his employers in the business and established the Hall. Luhrs and
Company, which has continued without change of name or partnership ever
since. The first location was at the corner of Third and K streets, but by
1883 the increasing volume of trade made it necessary that more commo-
dious quarters be secured, so that the present location on Second between I

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

and J streets was selected, where the firm has had an uninterrupted course
of prosperity ever since and is now doing the largest wholesale grocery busi-
ness in the city.

Mr. Hall was one of the organizers of the Mount Shasta Mineral Springs
Company of Siskiyou county, and his firm held the controlling interest un-
til the enterprise was well started, and then sold to other parties. He is a
Republican, and has taken such interest in politics as is consistent with the
busy life of a merchant and good citizen. He was one of the freeholders
and a framer of the city charter, and as a member of the chamber of com-
merce for man}- years has done much work of a public nature, and has been
repeatedly called upon to act on committees having charge of public works
and enterprises. He was very active in the organization of the Orangevale
colonization project, which was carried to a happy and successful conclu-
sion and was an enterprise of great importance to the city and county of Sac-
ramento. It had the effect of settling up large tracts of land with desirable
people, and the work is one to which all the men connected therewith can
point with pardonable pride. Mr. Hall was president of this company from
its inception to the end. When the auditing board to the commissioner of
public works was first organized, Mr. Hall was appointed a member by Gov-
ernor J. H. Budd, and served on it six years, until it was wiped out of exis-
tence by Governor H. T. Gage and a new board organized.

Mr. Hall has had quite a military career, and as a result of it carries the
title of captain. He joined Company E, of an artillery regiment, in 1885,
and soon after his enlistment was made a corporal. Shortly thereafter he
was elected captain of Company G, of the same regiment, and held that posi-
tion for ten consecutive years, until 1896. when he concluded that he had
served his country long and faithfully and desired to give someone else a
chance to secure the title. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and is
the present eminent commander of the Sacramento Commandery No. 2, K.
T. and is also a Noble of the Mystic Shrine.

Mr. Hall was married in Sacramento, March 25. 1876, to Miss Selina
A. Govan, a native of Philadelphia and a daughter of James and Elizabeth
Govan, of Scotch and English families, and descending from a long line of
stonemasons, marble-cutters, contractors and builders. Two children have
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hall : Ward E., now cashier of the firm of Hall,
Luhrs and Company; and Miss Ethel B.. a student at Stanford University.

GENERAL JOHN H. DICKINSON.

General John H. Dickinson is one of the most conspicuous figures in
the history of jurisprudence in San Francisco, having gained distinctive
preferment at the bar of the central portion of his state. He entered upon
practice in 1873 and his success came soon, for his equipments were unusually
good, he having been a close and earnest student of the fundamental prin-
ciples of law. Nature endowed him with strong mentality and he developed
that persistent energy and close application without which there is no suc-
cess. His advancement has been continuous and commendable, and to-day

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 367

he is recognized as one of the leaders of his chosen profession in his adopted
city.

General Dickinson was born April 8, 1849, i n Parkersburg, Virginia,
and is a son of Josiah S. and Mrs. (Jackson) Dickinson. The father was a
merchant and came to California in pioneer days in the development of this
state, arriving in the year 1850. The following year he removed to Oregon,
where he engaged in merchandising and in agricultural pursuits. He attained
the advanced age of eighty-three years, but his wife died when the subject
of this review was only about nine months old.

General Dickinson was in his infancy when brought by his father to
the Pacific coast. His education was acquired almost entirely by studying
at home, his going to school being all comprised within a period of one
year. In 1868 he located in Benicia, California, and there became military
instructor and teacher in St. Augustine's College. He occupied that posi-
tion until July, 1873, an d in the meantime took up the study of law, which
he pursued so assiduously that he passed the supreme court examination and
was licensed to practice in the spring of 1873. In August of that year he
entered upon his professional career in San Francisco and gradually worked
his way upward until he has now a distinctively representative clientage.

The interests which have made claims upon the time and co-operation
of General Dickinson have been those for the betterment of mankind, and the
improvement of his city or the welfare of his state receives his endorsement
and assistance. In April, 187 1. he became a member of the National Guard
of California, joining Company B of the First Regiment, at which time he
was made captain. He was chosen colonel of the First Infantry on the 28th
of June. 1880, and was twice re-elected to that position, continuously serving
in that capacity until 1891. In 1891 he was made brigadier general of trie
Second Brigade and was retired as such in May, 1895, an d in February, 1898,
was appointed major general, commanding the entire National Guard of
California, a position which he still holds. He has been equally prominent
in political circles and in 1879 was elected state senator, serving during the
first two sessions held under the new constitution. He was also elected to
represent Marin and Contra Costa counties in the sessions of 1895 and 1897.

On the 1st of January, 1875, General Dickinson was married to Miss
Annie Shipman, a daughter of Mrs. S. O. Putman, of San Francisco. To
General and Mrs. Dickinson has been born one son, Reginald H, who is
now conducting a ranch at Skagg's Springs, California.

General Dickinson is prominent in the Masonic fraternity, being past-
master of California Lodge No. 1, F. & A. M., and also belonging to Golden
Gate Commandery, K. T., and also to the Mystic Shrine. His political
allegiance has ever been given to the Republican party, and as the promoter
of its interests he has left the impress of his individuality upon the political
history of his adopted state. He took an active part in the incorporation of
Sausalito and was president of its board of trustees during the first eight
years of its existence. In the various positions of prominence in which he
has been found his course has been characterized by a masterful understanding
of the problems presented and by a patriotic devotion to those measures

36S HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

which he lias believed conducive to the public good. He is popular among
the political leaders of the Golden state, and at the same time in professional
circles in San Francisco he occupies a position of distinction.

BEHREND JOOST.

Behrend Joost is one of the leading representatives of the business
interests of San Francisco, and there is in the city probably no man who has
done more for the business development and substantial upbuilding of this
part of the state than has Mr. Joost. He certainly deserves great credit for
what he has accomplished, as he started out in life empty-handed, possessing
no capital in money but having a rich store of determination, of strong pur-
pose and integrity. Upon these qualities as a foundation he has constructed
his success and as the architect of his own fortunes has builded wisely and
well. His career is certainly one well worthy of emulation and he belongs
to that class of representative American citizens who while promoting their
individual interests have also advanced the general welfare and public pros-
perity.

Mr. Joost was born in a small village, Amt Lehe, in the province of
Hanover, Germany, a son of Martin and Anna Dorothea (Borchers) Joost.
In the family were five brothers and two sisters, the subject of this review
being the sixth in order of birth. His parents undoubtedly never dreamed
that their son would one day become a leader in the business world of one
of the metropolitan centers of America, but his own strong purpose and in-
domitable energy have won him the enviable and honorable position which
he to-day occupies as a foremost figure in business circles of San Francisco.
His education was acquired' in the village school of Kohlen, Provinz Han-
over, Germany, and he displayed special aptitude in his studies.^ He was
reared upon his father's farm and received training there in habits of indus-
try, economy and honesty. When fifteen years of age, however, he bade
adieu to' home and native land and sailed for the new world. His father and
mother paid his steamship passage and gave him pocket money amounting
to ten dollars in United States gold. It was with this capital that he started
out for himself. He had hoped to meet his eldest brother, Tonjes Joost, in
New York. The brother had left home many years before and was supposed
to be engaged in business in the eastern metropolis, but to the boy's surprise
when he arrived in the American port he learned that his brother had dis-
posed of his business interests there and had joined the emigrants who were
then making their way to California. Accordingly, the following year Mr.
Joost made preparations to come to the far west, and through the aid of a
friend accomplished the journey, landing at the "Long wharf" in San Fran-
cisco on the ist of April, 1857. He had made the journey by steamer by
way of Panama, and it was not long ere he found his brother, who was then
doing a prosperous business in San Francisco.

Mr. Joost entered his brother's employ in the capacity of a salesman,
and during the two years which he thus served he saved from his earnings
one thousand dollars. With this capital he began business on his own

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 369

account. He opened a grocery store on the old Mission toll road, and started
in this business a few days before Christmas of 1859. The land which he
purchased at that time is now the site of Joost Brothers' hardware store at
the corner of Eleventh and Mission streets. Mr. Joost continued in the
grocery business for eighteen years and often conducted two or three stores.
His business methods were such as would bear the closest investigation and
scrutiny, and as he always carried a good line of staple and fancy groceries
and put forth every effort in his power to please his patrons he developed a
business that soon reached profitable and extensive proportions. One of the
secrets of his success, perhaps, is that he never paid rent for any property, but
always made it his plan to buy wherever his business was located. As time
and opportunity afforded he thus made judicious investments, and having
retained in his possession many pieces of choice property he is to-day the
owner of valuable realty holdings, including some of the most desirable busi-
ness locations in the city. Although he continued in the grocery trade for
many years he did not find this pursuit entirely congenial, especially disliking
the liquor feature of the trade, and in 1887 he disposed of his grocery stock
in order to deal in hardware. At that time he entered into' partnership rela-
tions with his brother, Fabian, who was the first of the family to come to
California, and who was engaged in mining at the time of the arrival of
Behrend Joost on the Pacific coast. Their hardware enterprise proved very
successful from the beginning and has since been conducted. About 1893
the business was incorporated under the style of the Joost Brothers Com-
pany, and the trade has now reached a large annual figure. Mr. Joost de-
voted his entire attention to his hardware store until a few years ago and
even now gives several hours daily to the business.

A man of resourceful business ability, he has been very active in many
lines and has become a co-operant factor in a number of important concerns
in San Francisco. Many men, desiring to engage in business, sought his
financial support and counsel, and in a number of these cases Mr. Joost has
made investment, but has always refused to enter into any great business
undertaking in which he could not be the directing spirit. He has never
placed himself in a position to be ruled by the opinions and actions of others.
He was organizer of the first home loan and building association in the state
of California, became one of its directors at that time and acted in that
capacity until the affairs of the company were closed out. He was also
one of the first stockholders in the California Savings & Loan Society.
When the Panama canal project was first undertaken by Mr. De Lesseps
Mr. Joost became one of the organizers of a company to contract for four-
teen million dollars to be expended in dredging. This enterprise proved a
financial success, Mr. Joost's profits amounting to eight hundred and fifty
thousand dollars in fourteen months. With the property he secured in early
life and the dividends from the Panama canal he began to operate in outside
real estate, becoming one of the city's heaviest and most successful dealers
in outside lands. He now has large offices on Montgomery street and is
president of the Clarendon Heights Land Company and several other com-
panies, including the Sunnyside Land Company. One of his greatest enter-

370 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

prises has been the establishment of the San Francisco & San Mateo Electric
Railway system, covering over twenty-one miles of track. In 1889 he
secured a franchise for the electric railway to extend from the foot of Market
street in San Francisco to the Baden stockyards in San Mateo county. Work
was begun and the road was completed April 14, 1891. This is the first elec-
tric railroad to cross the hills, and thirty cars are now in operation. The
cost of the road was one million six hundred thousand dollars, and Mr. Joost
became the first president ol the company, acting in that capacity for four
years, when the road passed from his control. He afterward devoted his
attention to the hardware and real estate business, in which he has continued
to the present time.

In 1874 Mr. Joost was united in marriage to Miss Anna Miller, a native
of Wisconsin and of German descent. They had six children, but lost one,
the others being: Martin B. ; Maria, the wife of J. Frank Walter; Anna
Dorothea, who is a graduate of the California University and a dentist by
profession ; Behrend A. ; and Wesley. Mr. Joost is a member of the old
Dutch Reformed church and his political allegiance is given to the Repub-
lican party. He is devoted to his family, finding his greatest pleasure at his
own fireside, when not occupied w ith the duties connected with his extensive
business interests. While "the race is not always to the swift nor the battle
to the strong." the invariable law of destiny accords to tireless energy, indus-
try and ability a successful career. The truth of this assertion is abundantly
verified in the life of Mr. Joost, who, though he has met many difficulties and
obstacles, has overcome these by determined purpose and laudable endeavor,
working his way steadily upward to success.

JOHN ALDEN ANDERSON.

John Alden Anderson, present lieutenant governor of California and
one of the most prominent Republicans of the state, is practically a native
sen of the state which has thus honored him, for, although born during a
visit of his parents to the east, lie has had his home in the Golden West all
his life, and is thoroughly imbued with the spirit and elan of the country.
He has for nearly a decade been prominent before the Republican bodies
of the state, and his public career has been both creditable and extremely
useful, as the present responsible office of which he is incumbent would
indicate. In business affairs he has been equally successful and prominent,
and from an early age has been devoted to the great fruit-growing industry
which in modern times is California's chief claim to world fame. He is
interested in both the practical and theoretical sides of fruit culture, and
finds his greatest pleasure in work in his orchards near his home in Suisun,
Solano county.

Air. Anderson's ancestors, on both sides, came to America in colonial
times and participated in the Revolutionary war. He is a son of Mr. and
Mrs. J. Z. Anderson, respected and pioneer residents of San Jose, Santa
Clara county. J. Z. Anderson was born in Crawford county, Pennsylvania,
September 26. 1829. and was educated at Kingsville Academy. Ohio. He

OCt^c^y^ ^-7^

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 371

came to California in 1852, but in 1857 returned to Meadville, Pennsylvania,
where he married Miss Sallie E. Sloan, and whence they soon afterward
came to California.

Ten years after their marriage these parents returned for a visit at
Meadville, Crawford county, Pennsylvania, and while there on October II,
1867, John Alden Anderson was born. Three months later he was brought
to California by his parents, who settled in San Jose, which they have made
their home to the present time. Mr. Anderson's early education was ob-
tained in the public schools of San Jose, and he was afterward a student
in the University of the Pacific. After leaving college he became identified
with the fruit-shipping business, and worked for his father until 1886, at
which time he commenced business for himself, raising fruit and later
shipping it. He was engaged in packing and shipping fruit under his own
name until 1898. when he organized the Alden Anderson Fruit Company,
at Suisun, which concern deals extensively in dried fruits in different parts
of the state. In 1902, when the fruit-shippers of California organized an
agency for the better and more efficient distribution of their products, Mr.
Anderson, because of his extensive experience and thorough business quali-
fications, was induced to accept the management of the organization, which
is known as the California Fruit Distributors, with headquarters at Sacra-
mento. Mr. Anderson is still at the head of this association, and is likewise
president of the Alden Anderson Fruit Company and of the Concord Fruit
Company at Concord, Contra Costa county. He still retains his interest in
orchards and some small fruit concerns, and makes fruit culture a close
study.

Mr. Anderson's political life began in 1896, when, after a keenly con-
tested fight, he was nominated for the nineteenth assembly district, consisting
of Solano county, and was victorious at the election by a handsome majority.
At the succeeding Republican convention of 1S98 he was the unanimous
nominee for the assembly, and was elected by a still larger majority. In
1900 he was again induced to stand for election, and ran several hundred
votes ahead of his ticket and was chosen by an overwhelming majority. He
gained wide prominence in the thirty-third session of the legislature, being
elected speaker in January, 1899, during the memorable senatorial deadlock.
He served through the severe ordeal of the long session and through the
special session, and became noted as a parliamentarian of absolute impartiality,
fearlessness and justice, and gained the confidence and good will of all the
factions over which he presided.

At the convention of the California League of Republican Clubs at
Los Angeles in April. 1900, he was honored by unanimous election to the
presidency, and again at the great convention of League Clubs in San Jose,
in April, 1902, where over twenty-five hundred delegates were assembled,
Mr. Anderson's ability as a presiding officer, his strength of character and
his activity in behalf of the interests of the Republican party were recog-
nized, and his nomination for the presidency met the endorsement of every
congressional district of the state. At the Republican state convention held

372 HISTORY OF THE NEW" CALIFORNIA.

in Sacramento in August, 1902, he was unanimously nominated for lieu-
tenant governor, and was elected by a flattering majority.

Air. Anderson is a public-spirited citizen, and a man of deeds rather
than of words. He is foremost in movements for the advancement and
welfare of the state, and he is the more valuable as an adviser and co-adjutor
because of his close interest in the industrial, commercial and rural life of
the state and each locality. He has made an enviable record in both public
and private life, and his career is without blemish.

Mr. Anderson was married at Rockville, Solano county, March 2,
1893, to Miss Carrie Lois Baldwin, the youngest daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. J. M. Baldwin, pioneer residents of the county and now living in
Suisun. Mr. .Anderson and his wife and little daughter live in simple style
in a comfortable residence in Suisun. He is a lover of home and the house-
hold penates, and in his wife he has a companion who takes a lively interest
in all that concerns the welfare and progress of her husband. They both
enjoy the society and friendship of many friends, but his business duties
necessarily deprive him of many joys of a social nature. In his home town
he is a genial and everyday man, and evinces an interest in the welfare of
his neighbors and public improvements.

Air. Anderson affiliates with Islam Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., at San
Francisco; Naval Commandery No. 19, K. T., Vallejo; Solano Chapter No.
43. R. A. M., Suisun; Suisun Lodge No. 55, F. & A. M. ; Suisun Chapter
No. 2, O. E. S. ; Suisun Lodge No. in, K. P.; Vallejo Lodge No. 559,
B. P. O. E. ; and Solano Camp No. .524, W. O. W.

THOMAS B. W. LELAND, M. D.

Dr. Thomas B. W. Leland is among the younger representatives of the
medical fraternity of San Francisco, but his years seem no bar to his progress
and prominent position in connection with his chosen calling. He was born
on the 19th of September, 1870, in Jamestown, Tuolumne county, California,
and is a son of Gustavus A. and Fanny (McPhillips) Leland. The father
was a native of Massachusetts and was of English lineage, his ancestors set-
tling in the old Bay state in the seventeenth century. In the year 1850, at-
tracted by the opportunities of the great and growing west where the re-
cently discovered gold mines were also leading to the development of many
fields of business activity, he came to California, settling in Jamestown, where
he conducted a mercantile enterprise for a short time. He afterward became
proprietor of a bakery, which he also conducted for a brief period, and then
turned his attention to mining operations. He still resides upon the old fam-
ily homestead and is now seventy -three years of age.

Dr. Leland is the youngest in a family of five children, three sons and
two daughters. At the usual age he began his education in the public schools
of his native town, where he pursued his "studies until at the age of sixteen
yenrs he entered the state normal school at San Jose, California, being therein
graduated with the class of June. 1890. Following the completion of his
literary course he engaged in teaching school for two years in Merced county,

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 373

but regarded this merely as a preliminary step to other professional labor. In
1892 he entered the medical department of the University of California, and
while pursuing his studies in that institution through the day he spent his
evenings as a teacher. He was graduated in 1894 with the degree of Doc-
tor of Medicine, and spent the succeeding year as house physician in St.
Luke's Hospital, thus adding to his theoretical knowledge broad practical ex-
perience. He was also for one year resident physician and surgeon at the
Railroad Hospital in Oakland, California, and throughout this period he was
teaching in an evening school in San Francisco, becoming principal of the
Hamilton Evening School, in which capacity he served until 1896. In that
year he turned his attention to the duties of a private practice as a member
of the medical profession of San Francisco, where he has remained to the
present time. In 1896 he also was adjunct to the chair of physiology in the
medical department of the University of California and was assistant to the
chair of Medicine in the Post-graduate school of the University of Cali-
fornia. He was appointed professor of internal medicine in the Post-graduate
school, which position he still holds. As an educator he has gained high rank,
and holds the esteem and good will of his students. In 1899 ne was a P~
pointed autopsy surgeon to the coroner of San Francisco, and upon the death
of Dr. Cole, the coroner, he was appointed to fill the vacant office. In 1900
he was elected to that office, this incumbency continuing from 1901 until
1903. when he was re-elected for a further term of two years. He has a
large private practice and has gained success from a professional standpoint.
In 1897 Dr. Leland was united in marriage to Miss Florence McMahon.
a native of San Francisco, and a daughter of P. P. McMahon. one of
the pioneer settlers and native sons of California. The Doctor and his wife
have two children, Dorothy and Sherman. He is identified with a number
of the leading fraternal and social organizations of San Francisco, including the
Native Sons of the Golden West, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
the Eagles, the Druids and the Foresters. He belongs to the Naval Militia
of California, was first lieutenant in command of the first division and was
afterward commissioned by Governor Pardee as chief surgeon with the rank
of lieutenant commander. Dr. Leland in his professional service has been
prompted by a laudable ambition for advancement as well as by deep sym-
pathy and humanitarian principles that urge him to put forth his best efforts
in the alleviation of suffering. He has gained recognition from the profes-
sion as one of its able representatives, and the trust reposed in him bv the
public is indicated by the liberal patronage accorded him.

JULIUS KAHN.

Julius Kahn, whose varied career has brought forth activity in many
lines of usefulness and of benefit to his fellow men, was born in Germany on
the 28th of February. 1861, and is the eldest child of Herman and Jeanette
(Weil) Kahn. who are also natives of Germany. The father was reared and
educated in his native country and in 1865 came to America, settling in
Calaveras county, California, where he turned his attention to agricultural

374 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

pursuits. Later he removed to San Francisco, where he conducted a bakery
and restaurant. In 1866 Mrs. Kahn joined her husband in the new world,
having remained in the fatherland until he had established a home for her
at Mokelumne Hill in Calaveras count}-. Mr. Herman Kahn is still living
at the age of seventy-one years, but his wife passed away in 1900 at the
age of sixty-three years. They were the parents of six sons and one daughter.

Julius Kahn was brought to America by his mother when a little lad of
five years, and was educated in the public schools of Calaveras county, also
of Stockton, San Joaquin county, where he attended school for a year, and
in the public and high schools of San Francisco. He put aside his text books
at the age of sixteen years and entered upon his business career in a clerical
capacity in a commission house. At the age of eighteen years, possessing
much histrionic talent, he went upon the stage and as a representative of
that profession traveled extensively throughout the country, supporting such
famous actors as Edwin Booth, Joseph Jefferson, Tomasso Salvini, Mr. and
Mrs. W. J. Florence and Clara Morris. In 1890 Mr. Kahn left the stage
and took up the study of law. In 1894 he was admitted to practice in the
supreme court. He has since been active as a representative of the legal
profession and now has a good clientage in San Francisco, the extent and
importance of his practice continually increasing. While he has become
well known as a lawyer he has at the same time been prominent in public
affairs in other walks of life. In 1892 he was elected to represent his dis-
trict in the state legislature, and served in the assembly for one term, while
in 1894 he declined a nomination for the state senate, preferring to do his duty
in advancing the best interests of the commonwealth as a private citizen. In
1898, however, he was elected to represent his district in Congress and was
re-elected in 1900, thus serving for four consecutive years, but in 1902 he
was defeated for the position. He became an active factor in developing and
managing the financial interests of the enterprise known as the Mid-winter
Fair, and was appointed secretary of the finance committee, his labor con-
tributing in large measure to its success.

On the 19th of March, 1899. Mr. Kahn was united in marriage to Miss
Florence Prag, a native of Salt Lake City, Utah, and a daughter of Conrad
and Mary Prag. Her father was a pioneer settler of California, arriving in
this state in 1848. Mrs. Kahn received her education in California, and
following her graduation from the State University she engaged in teaching
in the high school of San Francisco up to the time of her marriage. Her
mother, Mrs. Mary Prag, has been largely interested in educational work in
the state and is at present at the head of the history department of the
girls' high school of San Francisco. To Mr. and Mrs. Kahn has been born
one son, Julius, whose birth occurred on the 14th of March, 1902.

Mr. Kahn is very prominent and influential in social circles. He be-
longs to the Masonic fraternity, to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
to the I. O. B. B., to the Eagles, and is a life member of the Actors' Order
of Friendship. He is likewise a member of the Union League Club and
the Press Club of San Francisco, also the Green Room Club of Xew York.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 37 5

His travels and varied experiences have made him a man of the world in
the best sense of the term, a man familiar with the political and social con-
ditions of life, with its art and educational interests and with the various
elements that contribute to the progress and prosperity of his home city.
Courteous and affable in manner, the circle of his friends is constantly
broadening and he enjoys the high regard of all with whom he comes in
contact.

DONALD McLEOD.

Among the honored pioneer citizens of San Joaquin county is Donald
McLeocl, who has made his home in California since 1863. He is, there-
fore, familiar with many of the events which shaped the early history of the
state, has witnessed much of its transformation and growth, and in all these
years has been loyal to its best interests. He is now residing on Roberts
Island near the San Joaquin river, devoting his energies to agricultural pur-
suits. He was born in Cumberland county, Nova Scotia, on Christmas day
of 1841, his parents being Norman and Eunice (Grattu) McLeod. His
father was a native of the highlands of Scotland, while the mother's birth
occurred in Nova Scotia, and she too was of Scotch extraction.

In the place of his nativity Donald McLeod was reared, and in his youth
he attended the early subscription schools of his locality. He had few of the
advantages afforded young men at the present day, but his early privileges
were supplemented by the knowledge and training gained from practical ex-
perience in a busy life. When a youth of but thirteen years he went to sea on
a coasting vessel plying between Nova Scotia and American ports. He fol-
lowed the sea at intervals for a number of years, until 1862, when he left
the water and turned his attention to other callings. In 1863 he came to
California by way of the isthmus route and continued his journey to San
Joaquin county, where he arrived in the month of March. He has resided
here continuously since. For a time he lived on Union Island, and was en-
gaged for a number of years in the raising of cattle and sheep. In 1889
he removed to his present farm on Roberts Island, bordering the San Joaquin
river. Here he has forty-one acres of land under a high state of cultivation.

For a number of terms Mr. McLeod has served as a trustee of the Fair-
child school district and is now serving as a trustee of Reclamation district
No. 524. In his political views he is a Democrat who keeps well informed
on the questions and issues of the day. He belongs to Morning Star Lodge,
F. & A. M., at Stockton, and he has a wide acquaintance throughout this part
of the county.

In September, 1876, occurred the marriage of Mr. McLeod and Miss
Sarah Burnett, who was born in Stockton, California, and is a daughter of
William Burnett, formerly of that city. Mr. and Mrs. McLeod are both well
known in San Joaquin county, having long maintained their residence within
its borders. What to many others are matters of history and record are
to him matters of experience and of personal observation, and he has taken
a just pride in what has been accomplished in this section of the state.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

JOHN LACKMANN.

Much has been written concerning corruption in public office, and while
there are instances of this, much to be lamented, it is the exception and not
the rule. Abraham Lincoln said " You can fool all the people some of the
time, some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all
the time." This truth is especially manifest in politics and as long as the
attainment of public office depends upon popular suffrage so long is trust to
be placed in the common sense of the American people, who will not retain
in the public service those whom they have no reason to trust. There is in
the history of San Francisco county no record more clean and commendable
than is that of John Lackmann, who is now serving as sheriff and who in
former years and in other offices discharged his public duties with such
fidelity and promptness that he won the unqualified trust and confidence of
the entire public. At the three last elections held in this county he has re-
ceived the largest vote given any candidate on the Republican ticket — a fact
which indicates an unblemished official career and the warm regard and
friendship entertained for him throughout the community.

Mr. Lackmann is a native of Germany, his birth having occurred in
the fatherland on the 27th of February, 1863. His parents were Henry and
Elizabeth Lackmann, both natives of Germany and the former a farmer by
occupation. In the family were five sons and two daughters : Frederick,
deceased; John; Henry; Herman; Ernest; Elizabeth, the wife of H. Rippe;
and Annie, the wife of F. Rippe.

John Lackmann was a student in the public schools of Hanover, Ger-
many, between the ages of six and fourteen years. He then put aside his
text-books and has since been dependent upon his own resources for a liv-
ing. He came to America in 1878, when fifteen years of age, landing in
San Francisco on the first of September of that year. Soon he secured a
clerkship in a grocery store, where he worked industriously and energetical-
ly. His fidelity won him promotion, and saving his earnings he was in 1885
enabled to embark in business on his own account and opened a grocery
store, which he conducted with success until 1900, when he disposed of his
stock.

In the meantime Mr. Lackmann had become deeply interested in politi-
cal affairs, having for fifteen years been a recognized leader in the local
ranks of the Republican party in San Francisco. He was frequently chosen
a delegate to the city, county and state conventions of his party, where his
opinions carried weight. He was first called to public office in' 1896. when
elected to the position of supervisor for a term of two years. He discharged
his duties with such capability that in 1898 he was re-elected, receiving "the
endorsement of all the people. He had served for one vear when the new
city charter went into effect, and he was then elected sheriff of the county in
1800 for a term of two years. Again bis fidelity in the discharge of duties
won him re-election. At the last three elections since 1898 he has headed
bis ticket with the largest number of votes. In 1900 in a Democratic year
he was elected sheriff by over eight hundred majority, his majority being- as

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 377

great as that given to all the rest of the Republicans together, yet his com-
petitor was an old-time Democrat, who was held in high esteem by the peo-
ple. He believes in conducting his office upon an economic basis and to
show no favoritism. He discharges his duties in a most conscientious man-
ner and is prominently spoken of for re-election.

In April, 1891. Mr. Lackmann was united in marriage to Miss Eliza-
beth Schortemeier, a native of San Francisco, and a daughter of Henry H.
and Mary Schortemeier, who were early pioneer residents of California.
Mr. and Mrs. Lackmann now have one daughter. Mary, who is attending
the public schools. He is a well known Mason, belonging to the Knight
Templar commandery and to the Mystic Shrine. He is also connected with
the A. of F. Throughout his entire life he has followed the ancient maxim
of " Honesty is the best policy." and this characterizes his official as wtll as
his business career. His public course is indeed worthy of emulation. When
serving as supervisor he labored earnestly to prevent all fraud and made a
creditable record on the water and gas questions. He is not a politician in
the common acceptance of the term, but an honorable and active business
man who brings to his official duties the same fitness, energy and enterprise
which characterized him in a mercantile career.

ALFRED PRESSLY BLACK.

On the roll of capable attorneys at the San Francisco bar appears the
name of Alfred Pressly Black, and the extent and importance of his client-
age is an indication of the confidence reposed in his professional skill and
ability. He was born in Butler county. Pennsylvania, November 26, 1856,
and is a son of James Black, who was likewise a native of the Keystone
state, born in 1808. The family is of Scotch-Irish descent and was estab-
lished in America about the middle of the eighteenth century, the grandfather
having located in Pennsylvania in 1769. James Black was a farmer by oc-
cupation and also engaged in the undertaking business for many years. He
married Miss Nancy A. Russell, a native of the north of Ireland, and in her
girlhood days she was brought to the United States by her parents, the fam-
ily home being established in Philadelphia about 1S24. In the year 1874
James Black came with his family to California, settling in San Jose, where
his remaining days were passed, his death occurring in 1901. To him and
his wife were born ten sons and a daughter, of whom Alfred Pressly Black
is the youngest.

In the common schools of Butler county. Pennsylvania, Mr. Black ac-
quired his early education, which was supplemented by an academic course
in Franklin, Venango county. Pennsylvania. His own literary education be-
ing completed at the age of eighteen years, he then engaged in teaching school
for the following term in the Keystone state. In 1875 he came to Califor-
nia, joining his parents in San Jose. He afterward engaged in teaching
school in Fresno. Santa Clara and Alameda counties for a period of seven
years. In the fall of 1882 he came to San Francisco and entered the Hast-
ings Law College, from which he was graduated on the completion of a

37S HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

three years' course with the class of 1885, at which time the degree of Bach-
elor of Law was conferred upon him. Entering upon his professional career
he has since remained in active practice. He was appointed by William S.
Barnes in 1891 as assistant district attorney of San Francisco., and served un-
der him for seven years, while in 1899 he was appointed by Judge D. J.
Murphy as first assistant district attorney, filling that position until 1900,
when the new charter of San Francisco went into effect, and he retired
from the office as he had entered it, with the confidence and good will of all
concerned. During his term of service, particularly during the six years
which he spent in connection with Judge Wallace, the percentage of convic-
tions was much larger than under any former administration. Among the
notable cases which he tried and obtained conviction were those of Becker &
Creegan, the Navada bank forgers — a case of world-wide fame.

On the 25th of August, 1887. occurred the marriage of Mr. Black and
Miss Fannie Jean Lyne, a native of San Francisco and a daughter of Will-
iam and Catherine Lyne, who were early settlers of California. Her father
was of English lineage and her mother of Scotch descent, having been born
in Kinross, Scotland. They have three children who are yet living: Emma
F., Alfred Harold and Marion Alice. Mr. Black belongs to the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows and is a past grand of San Francisco Lodge No. 3.
His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, but while he is
deeply interested in the success of the party, believing that its principles con-
tain the best elements of good government, he has never been an aspirant for
offices outside of professional lines. His success in a professional way af-
fords the best evidence of his capability. He is a strong advocate with the
jury and concise in his appeals before the court. His appeals have been
characterized by a terse and decisive logic and a lucid presentation rather
than by flights of oratory, and his power is the greater before court or jury
from the fact that it is recognized that his course is to secure justice and not
to enshroud the case in a sentimental garb or elusions, which will thwart the
principles of right and equity involved.

GEORGE STONE.

The march of improvement and progress is accelerated day by day and
each successive moment seems to demand a man of broader intelligence and
a keener discernment than the preceding. The successful men must be
live men in this day, active, strong to plan and perform and with a recogni-
tion of opportunity that enables them to grasp and utilize the possibilities
of the moment. Such a ciass finds a worthy representative in George Stone.

A native of Delaware county. New York, Mr. Stone was born May 30,
1843, anc l i s a son ot Robert Stone, who was born in Connecticut and repre-
sented an old American family whose history in America dates back to the
seventeenth century, the first ancestor coming from England. Robert Stone
was a farmer by occupation and when at an early age removed to Delaware
county, New York, where he died at the age of forty-nine years. He had
married Caroline Griffin, who was a native of Dutchess county, New York,

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 379

and was of Holland Dutch lineage. Her father was a musician in the war
of 1S12. Airs. Stone passed away in 1876 at the age of sixty-seven years.
In the family were six sons and rive daughters.

George Stone pursued his early education in the public schools of Dela-
ware county. New York, attending through the winter months while in the
summer seasons he clerked in a store. He put aside his text-books, how-
ever, at the age of fourteen years and was employed in a country store from
that time until the outbreak of the Civil war, when, in response to his
country's call for aid, he enlisted as a private in July, 1861, becoming a
member of Company E, Third Regiment of New York Cavalry. He was
promoted to first sergeant in August, 1861, became second lieutenant on the
25th of December, 1862, and first lieutenant of the Fourteenth New York
Cavalry in June, 1863. He was on duty in New York city during the great
draft riots, in command of the headquarters guard and patrol. He went with
his company to New Orleans in August, 1863, and was appointed lieutenant
colonel of the Eighty-third Regiment of the United States Colored Troops
in December of that year, thus serving until February, 1864, when he re-
signed. He was reappointed first lieutenant and commissary in the Four-
teenth New York Cavalry and was attached to the staff of General Lucas,
commanding the Cavalry Brigade. In the Red River campaign he was
taken prisoner in the battle of Mansfield, April 8, 1864, and was incarcer-
ated at Camp Ford in Tyler, Texas, until the following November, when
he was exchanged. In the same month he was appointed a captain in the
Eighteenth New York Cavalry, and was detailed for service in General
Canby's staff as ordnance officer of the Department of the Gulf. He was in
command at the San Antonio arsenal on the staff of General Wesley Merritt
from September, 1865, until June, 1866, when he was mustered out of serv-
ice. He participated in a number of important battles, including the en-
gagements at Ball's Bluff, Berryville, Winchester, Kingston, Tarborough,
Washington, North Carolina, Summit and Greenville, Mississippi, Fort De
Rossey, Alexander, Fort Jessup, Sabine Crossroads and Mansfield.

Following the close of the war Mr. Stone was engaged in civil engin-
eering on the Union Pacific Railroad until its completion in 1869. The
following year he came to California, where he has since continuously made
his home, and has been actively engaged in railroad construction as super-
intendent or contractor, doing work on the Union Pacific, the Denver &
Rio Grande, the Burlington & Missouri River, the Chicago & Rock Island,
the Oregon Shortline, the Rio Grande Western and the Southern Pacific
railroads. The work which he did on the Southern Pacific as contractor ex-
tended from Santo Marguerita to Elwood, this portion of the coast line
being all constructed by him and requiring nine years for its completion.
In this connection he has contributed largely to the development of the state,
for there is. perhaps, no other one agency that has done as much for general
progress and the opening up of any district as the building of railroads.

In 1 901, in connection with two or three local citizens, Mr. Stone organ-
ized the Pacific Portland Cement Company, establishing a factory in Solano
county, which has been in operation since August, 1902, with the capacity

3S0 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

of 350,000 barrels of cement annually. Mr. Stone was chosen president of
the corporation which controls the first industry of this kind established on
a large scale in California. Chronologically it is the second cement works
in the state, a small one having been in operation at Colton, San Bernardino
county. The output of the plant is fourteen hundred barrels in twenty-four
hours, and the factory was erected and equipped at an expense of three-
fourths of a million dollars. Heretofore nearly all of the cement used in
California was imported from European points, and the establishing of this
industry has supplied a long-felt want in this direction, placing upon the
market an article equal in grade to the European product. Mr. Stone is
likewise interested in extensive mining operations in Nevada and Amador
counties of California.

In May, 1873, in Oakland, California, was celebrated the marriage of
Mr. Stone and Miss Annie Burr Jennings, a native of Connecticut, and a
daughter of John S. and Mary (Wheeler) Jennings, representatives of a
prominent family of Connecticut, the paternal ancestry being traced back
to the sixteenth century. To Mr. and Mrs. Stone have been born three
daughters, Marea, Leona and Louise. In his fraternal relations Mr. Stone
is a Mason, and he also belongs to the Loyal Legion and the Grand Army
of the Republic. He holds membership with the Bohemian Club, the Union
League, the Sutter Club, the Merchants' Club of St. Louis, Missouri, and
the Hamilton Club of Chicago, Illinois. He was department commander of
the Grand Army of the Republic for California and Nevada in 1902, and
in 1903 was chairman of the general and executive committee having entire
charge of the arrangements for the national encampment held in San Fran-
cisco in that year. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party and
he is one of its distinguished leaders in this state. He is past president
of the National League of Republican Clubs, past president of the State
League of Republican Clubs, has been a member of the Republican state
committee for six years and served two years as its chairman. He has
studied closely the conditions existing in political circles with a view to the
success of his party, and has so directed the work in various parts of the
state that the combined forces of the leaders in different districts have con-
tributed to the general success, thus reflecting credit upon his management
and keen foresight. He is also well known in military circles and was en-
gineering officer on the division staff of Generals Diamond and James. He
was also appointed adjutant general of the National Guard of California in
January, 1902. His leadership has been manifest in many lines, and he has
seldom failed of accomplishment in whatever he has undertaken. He stands
to-day as one of the strong men of California, strong in his honor and his
good name, in the extent of his influence and in the result of his accomplish-
ments.

WILLIAM HENRY LANGDON.

Professor William Henry Langdon. superintendent of the public school?
of San Francisco, is one of the young men of the west of marked ability and
enterprise whose progressive spirits are bringing about the rapid develop-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

merit of this section of the country. Holding advanced ideas concerning
education and methods of teaching, during his incumbency as superintendent
of the San Francisco schools he has introduced many methods which are
proving of the most practical value in making the school what it ever should
be — a preparation for the responsible duties which devolve upon every in-
dividual after reaching maturity. His course has received the approval of the
most progressive citizens of San Francisco, and he has enlisted the co-opera-
tion of his teachers to such an extent that great harmony prevails and the
concerted action is attended with excellent results.

Professor Langdon is a native son of California, his birth having oc-
curred in Alameda county, on the 25th of September, 1873. His father, Will-
iam Langdon, was born in the state of New York and was of Irish descent.
In his boyhood days, however, he accompanied his parents on their removal
to Illinois, where he was reared to the age of nineteen years, when he left
the middle west for California, arriving in the year 1856. He first settled at
Oakland and afterward engaged in farming at San Leandro, while subse-
quently he removed to Dublin, where he was extensively engaged in agricul-
tural pursuits, operating one of the largest farms in Alameda county. He
died in 1878, at the comparatively early age of forty years. In early man-
hood he had married Annie Moran, a native of Ireland, who came to America
with a sister when only twelve years of age. They first settled in New York,
and in 186 1 Mrs. Langdon came to California, locating in Oakland, where
she was married. She is still living on the old homestead farm. In the
family were three sons and five daughters.

Professor Langdon pursued his early education in the schools of Ala-
meda and Contra Costa counties and was graduated from Haywards' high
school, following which he pursued a course of study in the San Jose Normal
School, in which he was graduated with the class of 1892. He then engaged
in teaching at San Leandro for a short time and was made vice principal of
that school in August, 1892, continuing to occupy that position until Sep-
tember 25, 1893, when he resigned and went to Fresno, California, to accept
the proffered principalship of the Center school of that city. There he re-
mained until the 8th of June of the following year, when he resigned and
returned to San Leandro, acting as principal of the schools there until De-
cember 20. 1902. In November of the same year he was elected superin-
tendent of the common schools for the city and county of San Francisco, and
in January entered upon his duties in this city.

In the meantime — in 1896 — Professor Langdon had been admitted to
practice law in all the courts and entered upon the active work of the legal
profession in San Francisco and Alameda. In 1897 he was elected to the
position of teacher in the public evening school of this city and after a few
months was chosen principal of the school, acting in that capacity until the
abolishment of the evening school in 1899. He was then made vice prin-
cipal of the Hamilton evening school, and filled that office up to the time
of his election as superintendent of the common schools.

In conducting this office Professor Langdon has taken many progres-
sive steps. He has abolished all political tendencies in connection with the

3S2 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

conduct of the schools, and has appointed men to serve under him because of
their merits and peculiar fitness and not because of any party allegiance. He
went outside of the San Francisco school department for his deputies, select-
ing- one from each university, each one holding a chair in the educational de-
partment of the respective institutions with which they are connected. Since
taking the office of principal Professor Langdon has abolished written ex-
aminations for promotion of pupils from grade to grade; has taken steps to
establish a truant school; to introduce an ungraded class in each school; has
established grade meetings of teachers, held bi-monthly in which instruction
in methods and practice of teaching is given by the superintendent and his
deputies — which is a new department in the school work of San Francisco ;
and has reduced the sizes of the classes, so that the maximum is fifty-five pupils
in the grammar grades and fifty in the primary grades. Thus the labors of
Professor Langdon have assumed practical form, and already very beneficial
results have followed his work, and the schools have made satisfactory ad-
vance under his guidance.

Professor Langdon is widely and favorably known in fraternal and social
as well as educational circles. He belongs to the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks, the Knights of Columbus, the Woodmen of the World and
the Native Sons of the Golden West, and has represented the local parlor in
the grand parlor. He is also connected with the Eagles and the American
Order of Foresters. In 1894 he was president of the Alumni Association of
the San Jose Normal school, and in 1897 was v ' ce president of the Califor-
nia Teachers' Association. His reputation in the line of his profession has
gone abroad throughout the state, and he is accorded a foremost position in
the ranks of the public school educators in California.

HON. FRANK McGOWAN.

Hon. Frank McGowan, a valued member of the state legislature of Cali-
fornia, now practicing law at the bar of San Francisco, has spent his entire
life upon the Pacific coast, and the enterprise and the progressive spirit which
are the dominant qualities in the development of this section of the country
are manifest in his professional career. He was born on the 4th of Septem-
ber. 1S60, in Steilacoom. Washington. His father. Terrance McGowan,
was a native of Ireland, and became one of the pioneer settlers of the terri-
tory of Washington. He was a merchant tailor by trade, following that
business for many years in order to provide for his family. At the time of
the Civil war, however, he put aside all business and personal considerations
in response to the call of the president for men to aid in the defense of the
Union. He joined the army, serving from 1861 until 1865. He married
Miss Ann Rigney, also a native of the Emerald Isle. Coming to America
she settled in Maine, and it was in the Pine Tree state that Mr. and Mrs.
McGowan were married. Their union was blessed with a family of seven
sons and two daughters.

Frank McGowan pursued his education in the public schools of San
Francisco, coming to this city in early boyhood days. He was also a student

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 3j>3

in the public schools of Humboldt county, California, and when sixteen years
of age put aside his text books to enter upon a business career. His father
had died the year previous, and it was necessary that Mr. McGowan pro-
vide for his own support. He continued his studies, however, for some time
under private instructors, for it was his desire to enter upon the practice of
law and he wished to make thorough preparation before beginning his pro-
fessional career. When he had broadened his literary knowledge in this way
he entered upon the reading of law in 1881 under the direction of J. D. H.
Chamberlm, who remained as his preceptor until he was admitted to the
bar before the supreme court in 1883.

Mr. McGowan entered upon his professional career in Humboldt county,
California, where he opened a law office and continued in active practice
until 1886. In the meantime he had become a recognized leader in political
circles in his locality, and his fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth and
ability, nominated him for the office of a representative in 1886. At the
election it was shown that he was the choice of the public for the position
and he became a member of the assembly of California. In 1888 he was
elected to the state senate and was re-elected in 1892 and again in 1896.
He proved a capable member of the law-making body of the commonwealth,
giving to each question which came up for settlement his earnest considera-
tion and supporting strenuously every act which he believed would con-
tribute to the general good. Fie held the office of chairman of the judiciary
committee during six years of his service. He was the author of the county
high school law. also of the law giving preference in appointments to ex-
soldiers of the war of the rebellion, and the author of the pure butter law,
designed for the protection of the dairy interests of the state. He was also
identified with the passage of bills in behalf of the labor classes, and his
service in the house and senate awakened high commendation throughout
California. He is a recognized leader in the ranks of the Republican party
in this state, and has taken an active part in campaign work since 1882.
Throughout these years he has served as a delegate to local and state con-
ventions, and was an elector on the Republican presidential ticket in 1900.
Mr. McGowan took up his abode in San Francisco in 1896 and entered upon
the practice of law at that time, since which he has been an active representa-
tive of die legal interests of .this portion of the state. He is now actively
connected with the profession which has important bearing upon the progress
and stable prosperity of any section or community and one which has long
been considered as conserving the public welfare by furthering the ends of
justice and maintaining individual rights. He was identified with the defense
in the celebrated criminal case of Cordelia Bodkins, and has been connected
with other important litigation of both the criminal and civil courts. He
has been attorney for public administrator John Farnham.

In September, 1889. was celebrated the marriage of Mr. McGowan and
Miss Lena Blum, a native of Humboldt county, California. Her parents
were pioneer settlers of this state, having, located here when the work of
progress and improvement along modern lines had scarcely been begun. To
Mr. and Mrs. McGowan have been born two children : Blaine, who is now

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

eleven years of age; and Gertrude C, a maiden of eight summers, both being
pupils in the public schools of San Francisco. Mr. McGowan belongs to the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, to the Sons of
Veterans, to the Improved Order of Red Men and to the Masonic fraternity.
The favorable judgment which the world passed upon him in his early years
has never been set aside nor in any degree modified. It has on the contrary
been emphasized by his careful conduct of important litigation, his ability
and fairness in the presentation of a case, his zeal as an advocate and the
generous commendation he has received from his contemporaries who united
in bearing testimony to his high character and superior mind.

WILLIAM IRELAN, Jr.

William Irelan, Jr., a mining and consulting engineer, was born on the
7th of August, 1842, in Wilmington, Delaware. His father, William Ire-
lan, was a native of New Jersey, and was a sea captain. He came to Cali-
fornia in January, 1850, at the time of the great emigration toward the
Pacific coast and engaged in ship building. He was the inventor of hydraul-
ics under water, demonstrating this by raising the treasure of the vessel
Golden Gate, which burned and was sunk off the coast of Mexico. He saw
military service in the Mexican war, and in community affairs in California
in an early day he was prominent, active and influential. He married Miss
Elizabeth Hancock Clark, a native of Pennsylvania, and like her husband
she was descended from old Revolutionary stock. In the family were four
sons and four daughters.

William Irelan, Jr., pursued his early education in Hyatt's Select Acad-
emy at Wilmington, Delaware, was a graduate of the Delaware Military
Academy, also the Royal College and School of Mines in London, England,
and the Royal College of Chemistry at Leipsic, Saxony. His excellent edu-
cational opportunities well equipped him for the important duties which
have devolved upon him in his business career. His work has been of a
very important character as a co-operant factor in the development of the
rich mineral resources in the state, which have added so greatly to the
wealth of California and to the world. In the fall of 1870 he came to Cali-
fornia, whither his parents had removed in the meantime, and became here
engaged in mining and scientific research. He also conducted a school in
mining chemistry, metallurgy and kindred sciences, thus giving to his stu-
dents a practical knowledge that would prepare them for labors in the min-
eral regions of the west. Retiring from this field of labor in 1885 he was
made president of the state mining bureau, and in 1886 he resigned that
position in order to accept the position of state mineralogist, in which in-
cumbency he remained until 1893; in 1890 he was also made state engineer,
filling both positions in an acceptable manner until 1893. While state min-
eralogist he compiled from ordinary field notes the accepted geological and
mineraiogical map of California and also six volumes on maps and mining
in California. He resigned to take charge as manager of the California min-
ing exhibit at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. At the same

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 355

time he was made assistant general manager of the entire state exhibit and
during the progress of the fair became general manager, succeeding the first
incumbent in that office. After installing the exhibit and making the display
of California one of the most attractive on the exposition grounds Mr. Ire-
Ian resigned and was appointed one of the commissioner of awards for the
world's mining exhibit, acting in that capacity as judge of appeals.

Following the close of the exposition Mr. Irelan returned to California
and again entered upon his chosen field of labor as a mining and consulting
engineer, which work occupies his. time and attention at the present time.
Few men are better prepared for such a work. His extensive research and
investigation along scientific lines, bearing upon his specialty, have thoroughly
equipped him for the arduous and important duties of his chosen calling,
and to-day Mr. Irelan is largely regarded as authority upon the subject
of mines and metallurgy, his ability in this direction gaining him distinction
throughout the entire country.

Mr. Irelan was married in Leipsic, Germany, to Miss Linna Vogel, a
daughter of Col. Guido Vogel, and a grandniece of Bismarck. The wed-
ding was celebrated November 14, 1870, and has been blessed with one son,
Oscar. Mrs. Irelan's people were among the founders of the University of
Leipsic in the year 1550. She is descended from an ancestry honorable and
distinguished. She has become known in art circles far beyond the bor-
ders of California. She has the distinction of having operated the clays
of California and established the first art pottery, manufacturing the first
wares of the kind west of Ohio. She has won gold medals in exhibitions
under the name of the Roblin Art Pottery and has a most extensive knowl-
edge of pottery wares and manufacture. Her writings include a work on
the use of clays and the manufacture of pottery in California, and she has
been a frequent contributor to many of the leading magazines upon the sub-
ject of her specialty and is acknowledged as a pioneer in this line of indus-
trial art in the great west. Her writings have not been confined entirely to
pottery, but have covered many scientific subjects, including a paper on the
World's Geological Society and the Society of Natural and Applied Sciences
of Europe. As an artist in oils and water colors she has attained distinction,
receiving the highest awards at the California state and other state exhibi-
tions for her still-life paintings. She was also the first to introduce the
leather plasticque or modeled leather now so much in favor in the European
centers and in America. That Mrs. Irelan has an inherited taste and talent
for her work in pottery lines may be imagined from a knowledge of the fact
that her ancestors were the founders of the world famous Royal Meissen
China Works of Saxony. The labors of Mr. and Mrs. Irelan have certainly
had marked effect upon the industrial and manufacturing interests of Cali-
fornia and they have given to the world valuable literature along the lines
of their scientific research and industrial efforts. Their circle of acquaint-
ance may perhaps be termed rather select than large, and yet in various parts
of the world they have gained the warm friendship of distinguished scien-
tists and art lovers.

38G HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

EDWARD LANDE.

Edward Lande, a practicing attorney at the bar of San Francisco, was
born July 21, 1859, in Independence, Polk county, Oregon. He is a son of
Raphael and Maria (Josephi) Lande, who were both settlers of the west,
locating in Oregon at an early period in the history of that state.

When two years of age Edward Lande was brought by his parents to
San Francisco and when a little youth of six summers he entered the public
schools, wherein he continued his studies until he had completed the course
in the boys' high school by graduation at the age of sixteen years. Desiring
that his life work should be along professional lines, he then entered a law r
office and took up the study of law and of stenography. He became official
reporter for many famous trials in this city and was also official reporter for
the first commission created by the legislature of California to inquire into
the effect of hydraulic mining in the mining sections of this state upon the
agricultural interests. Mr. Lande studied law under the direction of W.
W. Morrow, United States circuit judge, and was admitted to the bar in
1880. He then entered upon the practice of his profession, with which he
has since been actively engaged up to the present time. In 1894 he formed
a partnership with Thomas D. Riordan, under the firm style of Riordan &
Lande. This is now one of the representative law firms of San Francisco,
conducting a general practice. In the meantime in 1888-9 Mr. Lande spent
a year and a half in completing his education and adding to his general
knowledge by study and travel in Europe, visiting the many places of mod-
ern and historic interest in the old world. To an understanding of acuteness
and vigor he added a thorough and conscientious preparatory training for
the bar, while in his practice he has exemplified all the high elements of the
truly great lawyer. He is constantly inspired by an innate inflexible sense of
justice and while his fidelity to the interests of his clients is well known he
never forgets that he owes a higher allegiance to the majesty of the law.
His diligence and energy in the preparation of his cases as well as the earn-
estness, tenacity and courage with which he defends the right as he under-
stands it challenges the highest admiration of his associates. He invariably
seeks to present his argument in the strong clear light of common reason-
ing and sound logical principles.

Mr. Lande is a stalwart Republican in his political views, never waver-
ing in his allegiance to the narty. He belongs to the LJnion League Club of
San Francisco and in Masonry has attained high rank, being a thirty-second
degree Mason of the San Francisco Consistory and a life member of the
Mystic Shrine. He is well known in this city where almost his entire life
has been passed and w-here he has attained a creditable position as a citizen
and lawyer.

HENRY F. FORTMANN.

This name at once suggests a power in the world of trade — a power
which to a large degree directs the salmon canning interests of the west and
is a most important factor in the commercial and shipping interests of the

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 387

world. The day of small undertakings, especially in cities, seems to have
passed, and the era of gigantic enterprises is upon us. In control of mam-
moth concerns are men of master minds, of almost limitless ability to guide,
of sound judgment and keen discrimination. Their progressiveness must
not only reach the bounds that others have gained, but must even pass beyond
into new and' broader, untried fields of operation, but an unerring foresight
and sagacity must make no mistake by venturing upon uncertain ground.
Thus continually growing, a business takes leadership in a special line,
and the men who are at its head are deservedly eminent in the world of com-
merce, occupying a position that commands the respect while it excites the
admiration of all. Mr. Fortmann is president of the Alaska Packers' As-
sociation, and stands as one of America's representative business men control-
ling business interests of gigantic proportions which have largely been de-
veloped through his efforts.

Mr. Fortmann was born in San Francisco, in 1856. His father, Fred-
erick Fortmann, was a native of Hanover. Germany, and in 1852 came to
San Francisco, which then served largely as a means of egress and ingress
from and to mines of the interior. Frederick Fortmann established the Pa-
cific Brewery and conducted a business of importance which brought to him
a most gratifying success. His death occurred in 1889.

Henry F. Fortmann acquired his early education in the schools of San
Francisco, and between the years 1868 and 1874 attended the schools of
Stade and Hildesheim, Germany, thus completing his literary course by ad-
vanced collegiate training. Upon his return to San Francisco he became
associated with his father in the brewing business, with which he was con-
nected until the father's death, when the plant was sold. In 1884 he entered
into partnership with prominent business men of San Francisco in organizing
the Arctic Packing Company, formed to conduct a salmon packing business.
In 1893 the Alaska Packers' Association was organized with Mr. Fortmann
as president, a position he has since occupied. This concern is capitalized
for five million dollars and employs eight thousand men and utilizes one hun-
dred sea-going vessels, the largest fleet in number flying the American flag
employed by any one shipping institution : and packed one million three hun-
dred thousand cases of salmon in 1903, the output being valued at six mil-
lion dollars. This constitutes about forty per cent of the total output of the
world. The company not only does a most extensive business, but one which
involves much labor and a thorough understanding of many lines of indus-
trial activity. Their employes take the fish from the water, prepare them,
can them and ship them to all sections of the world. Most improved labor-
saving inventions have been utilized in the manufacture of tin cans and also
in the packing department. The company owns its own patents and modern
canning machinery. This is the largest salmon canning company of the
world, and the business has been reduced to a scientific basis. Every means
possible has been used to simplify the work and to secure maximum results
with minimum effort, and the extent and value of the business is indicative of
the splendid powers of management and executive force and enterprise of Mr.
Fortmann. He is likewise a director of the California Safe Deposit and

3S8 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

Trust Company of San Francisco and is identified with other financial insti-
tutions of the city. He is also largely interested in the ownership of ships
engaged in the coasting trade.

Mr. Fortmann was married to Miss Julia Schindler, and they have two
daughters, Emma and Stella, the former the wife of Dr. W. E. Stevens, of
San Francisco. Mr. Fortmann is an active Democrat, studying the political
situation of the country from the standopint of practical business man and
giving his support to the principles which he believes produces the best con-
ditions for the great majority. His career is notable even in a country where
so many rise to prominence in commercial, industrial and professional life.
Steadily pursuing his way. undeterred by the obstacles and difficulties in his
path, he has achieved a position of which he, perhaps, even did not dream
two decades ago. Stead)' application, careful study of business methods and
plans to be followed, close attention to details, combined with an untiring
energy, directed by a superior mind, — these are the traits of character which
have brought to him success and made him one of the foremost men of the
Pacific coast.

TIREY LAFAYETTE FORD.

Tirey Lafayette Ford is general counsel for the United Railroads of
San Francisco and stands to-day as one of the distinguished representatives
of the bar of California. In the " learned " professions advancement is
proverbially slow and comes only in recognition of inherent talent, acquired
ability and unfaltering devotion to the interests of litigation intrusted to
the care of the individual. Patiently persevering, possessed of an analytical
mind and one that is readily receptive and retentive of the fundamental prin-
ciples and intricacies of the law, gifted with a spirit of devotion to weari-
some details, quick to comprehend the most subtle problems and logical in
his conclusions, Mr. Ford is rarely gifted for the achievement of success
in the arduous and difficult profession of the law.

A native of Missouri, his birth occurred in Monroe county on the 29th
of December, 1857. The family was established in America about 1650 by
French Huguenots, who, crossing the Atlantic, located in Virginia. The
great-grandfather of Mr. Ford was with General George Washington at
Yorktown when the surrender of Lord Cornwallis occurred. His grand-
father. Jacob Ford, was with General William Henry Harrison in the Indian
campaigns which made the hero of Tippecanoe famous. Jacob Harrison
Ford, the father of our subject, was born in Monroe county. Missouri, on
the 2 1 st of August, 1821, and has spent his entire life there. For many
years he was actively identified with agricultural pursuits, but is now living
retired in his native county at the advanced age of eighty-two years. His
wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Wynn Abernatby, was a native
of Boone county, Missouri, and was of English lineage. Her ancestors
came to America during the seventeenth century and settled in Virginia,
whence representatives of the name removed to Kentucky and subsequently
the family was established in Missouri at an early period in the nineteenth

L/-t'^-2 ^\ . v^7 -*^z-5*f.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 3S9

.century. To Jacob Harrison and Mary W. Ford were born lour sons and
five daughters.

Tirey Lafayette Ford is indebted to the district schools of his native
county for the early educational privileges he enjoyed. He afterward at-
tended the Paris high school in Monroe county, Missouri, pursuing his edu-
cation in the winter months, while in the summer seasons he worked upon
his father's farm, assisting materially in the work and cultivation of the old
home place. He put aside his text-books altogether at the age of eighteen
years and the following year came to California, arriving in February, 1877.
Locating first in Colusa county, he secured a position on a ranch, where he
worked for three years, when, determining to enter upon a professional
career and deciding upon the practice of law, he made arrangements whereby
he became a student in the law office of Col. Park Henshaw in Chico, Butte
county, California. There assiduously pursuing his studies he mastered the
principles of jurisprudence which enabled him to successfully pass an exami-
nation for admission to the bar in August, 1882.

Mr. Ford entered upon his professional career in Oroville, Butte county,
California, but after about three years removed to Downieville, the county
seat of Sierra county, California, in January, 1885. There he practiced law
with good success, securing a clientage that connected him with much im-
portant litigation here in the courts of his district. In the year 1888 he was
nominated and elected district attorney for Sierra county and discharged his
duties so capably that he was re-elected in 1890. While residing there he
was also chosen to represent his district in the state senate in 1892, and in
1895 was appointed attorney for the state board harbor commission. Still
higher political honors awaited him, for in 1898 he was elected attorney
general of California for a term of four years, but resigned in 1902 in order
to enter upon his present connection with the United Railroads of San Fran-
cisco as general counsel. His knowledge of railroad law as of other depart-
ments of jurisprudence is comprehensive and accurate, and he stands to-day
as one of the foremost representatives of the legal interests of California.
The United Railroads of San Francisco cover over two hundred and fifty
miles of track and employ over three thousand men. It is one of the finest
systems in the world, and Mr. Ford as general counsel has the legal responsi-
bility of looking after millions of dollars of investment in this line.

In February, 1888, Mr. Ford was united in marriage to Miss Emma
Byington, a native of California, and a daughter of Hon. Lewis and Cath-
erine (Freehill) Byington, the former a native of Connecticut, and the lat-
ter of Ireland. Her parents were both settlers of this state, arriving in Cali-
fornia in the early '50s. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Ford have been
born three children: Relda, who is now fifteen years of age and is attend-
ing high school in San Francisco; Lewis, who at the age of thirteen is a
student in the grammar schools of this city; and Tirey L., a little lad of five
summers.

Mr. Ford is well known in fraternal and social circles. He has attained
high rank in Masonry, belonging to Golden Gate Commandery, K. T., and to

390 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

the Mystic Shrine. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
and the Ancient Order of United Workmen and is the president of the
Missouri Society of California. He belongs to the Pacific Union Club, the
San Francisco Club, the Union League Club and the Press Club. He is a
member of the California Miners' Association, and to him was entrusted
the work of looking after necessary legislation in Sacramento and in Wash-
ington, D. C. He is a man of distinct and forceful individuality, a broad
mentality and mature judgment, and without invidious distinction he may
well be termed one of the foremost citizens of San Francisco.

JOSEPH G. MANSFIELD.

Though newspapermen do not like the word journalist as applied to
active workers in the ranks, we are inclined to think the word has the right
meaning and dignity if it is conceived to embrace the definition of a man
who thoroughly knows the business of making newspapers and who has,
also, the higher purpose of making the calling his serious life-work. In
such a sense Joseph G. Mansfield, city editor of the San Francisco Call, and
for many years prior to holding that position one of the best known report-
ers and special writers on the Pacific coast, is a representative western jour-
nalist, familiar with the smoke and strife of hot competition as a news-
gatherer, competent as a director of reporters and other workers, and ambi-
tious to achieve success in the higher lines of his profession. Mr. Mans-
field is one of the best known ami liked newspaper men in the west, having
a large circle of close friends all over the coast. His name is known even-
where, for his career has been varied and successful, calling him to mingle
with all classes.

Joseph G. Mansfield was bom at Leavenworth. Kansas, on the iSth
of August, 1866. His parents, who are still living, are Charles ami Myra
Mansfield, who was Miss Myra Clark McGranahan. His father was a printer
and publisher in his early years and is to-day an active newspaper man.
When Joseph was eight years of age his parents, filled with visions of the
Golden West, moved to San Francisco, and the subject of this sketch received
his education in the grammar and high schools of San Francisco.

Soon after leaving school he was seized with the ambition to become
a printer, and he learned Ins trade in the Bulletin office under "Deacon"
Fitch, famous as the owner of the Bulletin for many years. Not only did
he get his union card, which he has never had occasion to use as a journey-
man, but he learned a great deal about the pressroom and other depart-
ments of the paper. Hugh Burke was city editor of the Bulletin in the
days of Mansfield's apprenticeship. One day there was need of help outside
of the regular staff of reporters. Mansfield was pressed into service to help
report a high school commencement. Disheveled and covered with ink. he
hurried away and got his "copy" to press. That was the first "story" he
ever wrote, and it set him aflame with ambition to be a reporter. Like a
fever oi" the blood the ambition seized him and his career was from that time

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 391

settled, and under Burke and Frank Sawyer, Burke's successor, young
Mansfield wrote copy for many years.

Later he toured the northwest as far as Seattle, writing boom stories
that made a hit and extended his acquaintance and his horizon. Then he
did a session of the legislature at Sacramento for the Associated Press and
the Sacramento Bee. E. B. Willis, afterward managing editor of the Rec-
ord-Union, of Sacramento, was then a reporter. After the legislature ad-
journed R. M. Wood, who had just become city editor of the San Fran-
cisco Post, sent for Mansfield to become a reporter on that publication. He
remained on the Post for some years, under T. T. Williams, C. O. Ziegen-
fuss and others. During this time he reported the famous Choynski-Cor-
bett prize fight, one of the most noted sporting events in the history of the
ring. Next, when E. B. Willis became managing editor of the Sacramento
Record-Union, Mansfield was sent for and for four years he filled a respon-
sible position as chief reporter at times and later as director of the local
news forces.

Coming to San Francisco he served on the Chronicle with such men
as Charles Dryden, Thomas B. Sullivan — now of the Call — and Thomas
Garrett, then city editor of the Chronicle. In the famous Durrant murder
case he made a brilliant record and was later sporting editor, Avhich posi-
tion he held on the Chronicle for two years. From the Chronicle he went
to the Examiner when the Chronicle's city editor was called to the Exam-
iner. After serving for several years there he was called to the work of
reporting the Corbett-Fitzsimmons fight at Carson, this for the Call. He
began his work on the Call in February, 1897, and in September of that
year he was made city editor, which position he has held with marked suc-
cess ever since that time. As a reporter Mr. Mansfield achieved many noted
scoops, as in the great Koveley murder case, the Bellew murder, the Dur-
rant case, and on the federal details which he covered with great skill.

Some fifteen years ago Mr. Mansfield led Miss Mamie Gallagher, a
charming lady, to the altar. A son and a daughter bless the union. De-
spite the urgent calls for a busy newspaper man Mr. Mansfield loves do-
mestic life, and his little home is inviolate from the call of telephones and
the annoyances of business. The thing of which he is most proud, aside
from his family, is that no man can say he ever betrayed a friend. His
heart is large, his word unimpeachable.

JOHN PERRY, Jr.

John Perry, Jr., is one of the noblest examples of California business
ability, of well balanced judgment and perseverance that in all his immense
financial transactions have never failed without soon recouping the losses, of
high integrity and extreme philanthropy of character, and all in all of virility
and symmetry of manhood such as are without example on the Pacific coast.
He set forth on his journey of life nearly ninety years ago, and from the date
of the beginning of his business career at the age of sixteen, under the rapidly
shifting skies of success and adversity, from commercial activity in the east

392 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

during the early years to deeds of high emprise on the golden shores of the
Pacific in the latter half of life, and through years burning with intense
energy and devotion to the manifold affairs of his life, he has come to these
closing years with undimmed alertness and clearness of mentality and judg-
ment, and rejoices that he can still carry the burden which would overwhelm
most men of half his years. The history of his active career begins with a
beautiful resolution, and nobility of purposes and strength of character have
marked his life to the end.

John Perry. Jr.. was born in 1815. in Stafford county. New Hampshire,
being the second of nine children born to John and Abigail (Kimball) Perry.
His ancestors were among the first settlers of New Hampshire and came
from England. His father was an industrious farmer, and his mother was
one of the women of strong common sense and evenness of temper who seem
destined to give birth to great sons.

John. Jr., lived at home and worked on the little farm until he was six-
teen years old, and in March, 183 1. with twenty-five cents in his pocket, made
his first venture into the wide world of industry and business. His father
was not overly prosperous on the little farm, having much to do to maintain
his large family in decent comfort, and there was besides a mortgage on the
home place which hung as an incubus over their content and happiness. John,
as one of the oldest children, resolved to pay off this debt before he had
reached his eighteenth birthday, and at Andover, Massachusetts, he obtained
employment at one hundred dollars a year and board, and by his industry
and economy he cleared the mortgage before the set time, and as long as his
parents lived he provided for their comfort and welfare.

In April, 1832, he went to Boston and obtained employment in a whole-
sale store at a salary of one hundred dollars per annum, and he later secured a
position in Charleston, South Carolina, at a salary of six hundred dollars per
annum, where he was doing well until the panic of 1837 broke up the firm, and
he then returned to Boston. He had a few hundred dollars and plentv of energy
and enterprise, and he decided to enter the brokerage business, putting out
his first sign at the age of twenty-two. In 1839, through the influence of
some gentlemen of Boston who had been attracted by his business tact and
manifest ability, he became a member of the Boston board of brokers, which
then contained sixty members of wealth and position. By 1842 he was worth
thirty thousand dollars. But in that year a false rumor to the effect that
Great Britain had declared war on the United States caused a panic in the
stock markets of New York and Boston, and in a single dav he lost all he
had and found himself in debt several thousand dollars. He retained his
seat on the board, however, and was. soon again prosperous, but in 1849 he
lost and this time was unable by about thirty thousand dollars to liquidate
his indebtedness. He assigned all his property to his creditors and received
a discharge from the Insolvent court.

Then, with fifty dollars in his pocket, after his passage was paid, he
joined the gold-seekers, and on April 15. 1850. sailed for Panama. When
he reached the isthmus he found that tickets for San Francisco were selling
for enormous prices, and he at once invested his entire capital of six dollars

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA: 393

in a bulletin board, rented an office, and as a ticket broker, charging com-
mission to both buyer and seller, soon made thirty-five hundred dollars. Ar-
riving in California, he went to the mines and for a few months was engaged
in the unsuccessful venture of store-keeping at Ophir. He soon afterward
went to San Francisco and made the beginnings of his long career as broker.

In those early days the expenses of both state and city were defrayed
by an issue of scrip bearing interest at three per cent a month. In the spring
of 185 1 the state had seven hundred thousand dollars and the city one mil-
lion five hundred thousand dollars of this paper on the market, but no taker
could lie found because money was bringing a higher rate in ordinary trans-
actions. Air. Perry saw and grasped the opportunity. He made arrange-
ments with Page, Bacon and Company to advance the money, then opened
the first brokerage office in San Francisco on the corner of Montgomery
and Merchant streets, and within eighteen months had purchased more than
three-fourths of the entire scrip issue of city and state, which was funded into
bonds of city and state. The city scrip sold as low as twenty-five per cent
and the state" as low as forty per cent. The legislature of 1850 and 185 1 had
paper bills to fund the city scrip into ten per cent bonds, payable in twenty
years, and the state into seven per cent bonds, nearly all of which Mr. Perry
placed in the Boston and New York markets at nearly their par value. All
these bonds were ultimately paid by both city and state at their face value,
leaving a large surplus in both city and state treasury. At the same time Mr.
Perry made a fortune for himself before he had been on the coast two years.
One of the first uses that he made of this money was to pay off his creditors in
the east, although he had been legally discharged of all obligations to them,
and he paid both principal and interest. He also opened a banking house
in San Francisco, and realized large profits during the early days from mer-
cantile loans, exchange and dealing in gold dust.

In 1853 he left his flourishing business in care of an agent, and went
east with the intention of making a European tour. While in Philadelphia as a
guest of General H. M. Naglee he met Miss Sallie C. Green, a lady endowed
with many rare gifts of mind and heart and with a singular purity and ele-
vation of character. They were married within six weeks, and then returned
to California and began a wedded life of unalloyed happiness for more than
thirty years, terminated only by her death in 1885.

Soon after his return from the east Mr. Perry lost another fortune.
But in 1861, during the mining excitement in Nevada, Mr. Perry's experience
as a broker in both the east and west was taken advantage of by his asso-
ciates, and the Old Board, or Big Board, was brought into existence in San
Francisco, and he was its first vice president and continued his connection
with it until 1876. During this time his transactions were very large and
his profits corresponding, at times making as high as $15,000 per month, but
his natural generosity would not allow him to retain wealth.

In 1876 he decided to restrict his operations to bonds and other local
investments sought by conservative investors, and this has been the line of
most of his subsequent ventures. He has a vast experience in the financial
and speculative sides of business, and he has often used his influence to pre-

394 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

vent poor people from speculating. During the Civil war he exerted him-
self in placing the bonds of the government on the San Francisco market.
After leaving the mining stock board in 1876 he helped organize the San
Francisco Stock and Bond Exchange, of which he was the first president and
served as such for many years.

Among all his host of acquaintances Mr. Perry has always had friends,
never an enemy. He is a true philanthropist, and much of his wealth has
gone for countless charities. As one of the founders of the Unitarian
church in San Francisco he contributed liberally to its funds and served as
treasurer. He paid many of the bills out of his own pocket, and at one time
advanced sixteen thousand dollars for its use. He has served on the city
council and on the board of education, and for over fifty years has been one
of the most public-spirited citizens of San Francisco. He had no children,
but at the death of his wife he adopted her niece, Miss Laura Kimber, and
she is now living with him.

CAPTAIN ZEPHANIAH J. HATCH.

Captain Zephaniah J. Hatch, who has been prominently connected with
steamboat building and operation in the Pacific states, was born in Monti-
cello, Sullivan county, New York, on the 15th of June, 1846. He is a son
of Cornelius and Jane (Trobridge) Hatch. The father was a native of New
Bedford, Connecticut, and was reared upon the home farm. He became a
sailor, but after sailing the deep sea for a short period he returned to the
old homestead and removed with his parents to Sullivan county, New York,
the family becoming pioneer settlers of that locality. After arriving at years
of maturity he wedded Jane Trobridge, who was a native of Westchester
county, New York, and whose parents were early settlers of Sullivan county.
Mr. and Mrs. Hatch became the parents of seven children, four of whom
reached years of maturity.

Captain Hatch was reared in the usual manner of farmer lads of the
period. He early became familiar with the labors of field and meadow,
assisting his father in the operation of the home farm through the summer
months. In the winter seasons he attended the public schools and later he
profited by a course of study in an academy at Monticello, New York. He
also benefited largely by instruction from his father, who was a very highly
educated man, and thus he promoted his intellectual development until at
the age of twenty-one years he became a teacher, and was principal of the
public schools of Ellenville. New York, until 1871. He then retired from
the profession of teaching and became a bookkeeper in the First National
Bank at that place, while later he was made assistant cashier, serving in the
latter capacity until August, 1872.

In that year Captain Hatch resigned and removed to the northwest,
settling first in Portland. Oregon. Soon after his arrival he entered the
engineering department of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company at Kal-
ama. In June, 1873, he removed to Oldtown, Tacoma, and was bookkeeper
and paymaster for the Tacoma Land Company: in 1S74, owing to general

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 395

business depression following the financial panic in the northwest he resigned
his position and started for the mines of Nevada. While stopping at Port-
land, he met Captain U. B. Scott, S. H. Brown and L. B. Seeley, who were
associated in the building of the steamer Ohio to operate on the Willamette
river, between Portland and Eugene, Oregon. Mr. Hatch was engaged to
act as chief clerk of the boat, and during the absence of Mr. Brown he also
served as its manager, filling the position until 1875. He then retired from
that position and, associated with Messrs. Scott, Brown, Seeley and M. S.
Burrell, he organized the U. B. Scott Steamboat Company, which built the
steamer City of Salem, which it operated in the same route between Eugene
and Portland. Mr. Hatch served as purser on the City of Salem until May,
1876, when he became agent for the company at Portland, occupying an
office on the Pacific wharf. In 1878 he personally leased the dock and
warehouses and conducted a general wharfage business until 1879, when he
sold his interests and turned his attention exclusively to the handling of
wheat.

During the first winter in which he was engaged in that enterprise
Captain Hatch furnished part or all of the cargoes of thirty-three ships.
He also bought the steamboat A. A. McCully and operated it in connection
with his wheat interests. During the fall of January, 1880, disaster over-
took him, for he lost four thousand tons of wheat by a sudden rise in the
river. This was a hard blow to the captain and he retired from the wheat
business. He continued, however, to operate the steamer McCully with
good success, and in 1881 he built the steamship Yaquina to run from Port-
land to the coast cities of Oregon and Washington and to ports on Puget
Sound.

In the same year Captain Hatch returned to Monticello, New York,
and there on the 15th of March, 1881, he married Miss Adeline Tremain.
He returned with his bride to Portland and then for a time his business
.history was filled with disaster, for the Yaquina was destroyed by fire and
later his warehouses were burned. The steamer McCully was all that was
left to him, but it served to bring him out of his financial troubles. This
boat, however, was finally destroyed by fire in the spring of 1885. Captain
Hatch then operated the Albina warehouses for J. B. Montgomery until the
fall of 1886, when in partnership with F. E. Smith he purchased the steamer
Fleetwood, which they operated on Puget Sound between Olympia and Se-
attle. In 1890, Avhen the Columbia River and Puget Sound Navigation
Company was organized, consolidating the interests of the steamers Fleet-
wood, Bailey Gatzert, Telephone, City of Frankfort and the Flyer, Cap-
tain Hatch took charge of the Bailey Gatzert, continuing until October,
1S90, when he sold his interests and retired from the company. About that
time he built the Monticello, which is one hundred and twenty-six feet
long, with eighteen-foot beams and nine-foot depth in the hold. This was
launched on the 25th of April, 1891, and operated between Seattle, Port
Townsend and Port Angeles until the fall of 1893, when he began running
the Monticello to Whatcom and Olympia and continuing thus until 1895.

In that year Captain Hatch brought his boat to San Francisco and

396 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

began operating between this port and Vallejo, making the first trip on the
ioth of August, 1895, an d continuing until 1901. In 1900 he built the
steamer General Frisbee. and after retiring the Monticello he operated the
General Frisbee in her place, the boat making three round trips daily, carry-
ing passengers, perishable and express freight, with headquarters at Vallejo
city dock, foot of Virginia street, also with headquarters in San Francisco at
Mission street dock, pier No. 2. Captain Hatch retired from the Pilot
House in 1898 and has since devoted his time to the management of his
business from his offices. He is associated with his brother, C. N. Hatch,
who has the active management of the office work. The General Frisbee
is one hundred and seventy feet long, with twenty-seven-foot beams and
twelve foot in the hold, and a capacity of six hundred passengers and a ton-
nage of five hundred and fifty tons.

Captain Hatch has met with reverses that would have discouraged and
disheartened many a man of a less resolute spirit, but with determined pur-
pose he has continued actively in the line of business which he chose as his
life work, and is now meeting with good success, which he certainly well
deserves. To him and his wife have been born five children : Allen T.,
Louise T., William, Ferry and Adeline. He belongs to the Masonic fra-
ternity and he and his family occupy a residence in Oakland. This is one
of the choicest suburban homes of the city and stands in the midst of beauti-
ful grounds covering five acres.

D. F. RAGAN, M. D.

Dr. D. F. Ragan, M. D., occupies the very important position of health
officer of San Francisco. Than the health department of a large city there is
no division of municipal government affecting more closely the well-being
and actual safety of the people. As the executive officer of the board of health
Dr. Ragan must be on the watch against adulterated foodstuffs, impure milks
and .unsanitary conditions of all kinds. It is his duty to see that persons af-
fected with contagious diseases are isolated and that they may not be per-
mitted to mingle socially until all danger of infection is past; that strict quar-
antine is enforced about all patients with the measles, mumps, whooping-
cough, scarlet fever, diphtheria, typhoid, yellow fever, plague, leprosy,
smallpox, etc.. and, more recently, tuberculosis. In San Francisco the health
department often wrecks and destroys entire buildings in such unsanitary
quarters as Chinatown. The crusade for health with which Dr. Ragan has
been specially identified and in which he has accomplished inestimable good
for all persons, but in particular the children, has been his relentless warfare
against impure milk, and it is highly creditable to his efficiency that the sup-
plv of wholesome milk has visibly increased and that it is now very difficult
if not impossible for an inferior quality to be foisted upon the innocent public.
In these and in many other ways Dr. Ragan has been of great service to his
city, and his career as medical practitioner in San Francisco during some
seventeen years has brought him to notice as one of the foremost physicians
of the Pacific coast.

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 397

Dr. Ragan was born in Placer county of this state, April 21, 1861, being
a son of Dennis and Catherine (Downey) Ragan. His father was born in
Ireland, and when very young came to the United States, locating in the
south, and in 1854 followed the westward trail of civilization to California,
where he spent the rest of his life. He was a farmer for many years, and
in this state was a miner, both making and losing money at this occupation.

Dr. Ragan was educated in the common and high schools, and, like so
many who seek professional life, was engaged in teaching school during his
younger years, being a successful instructor for ten years in Placer county
and in San Francisco. He studied medicine in the Cooper Medical College,
from which he was graduated in 1887. In a competitive examination with
twenty-seven others he received an appointment as interne at the city and
county hospital in San Francisco. From 1890 to 1894 he was chief of clinic
of nervous diseases in the Cooper Medical College, which place he resigned in
order to take the office of United States pension examiner, which he still holds.
He is secretary of the board of pension examiners. He has also been a mem-
ber of the city board of education. In addition to all these duties and his
engrossing work as city health officer he carries on a large private practice
in the city.

Dr. Ragan was married to Miss Mary E. Sweeney, a daughter of M. H.
Sweeney, and they have five children. Mrs. Ragan is an active worker in
religious affairs and is grand president of the Young Ladies' Institute.

JAMES A. CLAYTON.

James A. Clayton was for many years a leading and influential citizen
of San Jose and his activity in business affairs, his co-operation in public in-
terests, and his zealous support of all objects that he believed would con-
tribute to the material, social or moral improvement of his community kept
him in the foremost rank of those to whom the city owes its development and
present position as one of the leading metropolitan centers of California. His
life was characterized by upright, honorable principles, and it also exemplified
the truth of the Emersonian philosophy that "The way to win a friend is to
be one." His genial, kindly manner won him the regard and good will of
all with whom he came in contact, and thus his death was uniformly mourned
throughout San Jose and the surrounding district.

Mr. Clayton was a native of Derbyshire, England, born on the 20th of
October, 1831. He came to the United States in 1839 with his parents, John
and Mary (Bates) Clayton, both of whom were natives of New Mills, Derby-
shire, England. The family home was established in the lead-mining regions
of Iowa county, Wisconsin. The father had engaged in lead-mining in Eng-
land, and he followed the same pursuit in this country in connection with
agricultural interests during the greater part of his remaining days. He
lived upon a farm near Mineral Point, Wisconsin, up to the time of his
demise, which occurred in 1857, when he had reached the advanced age of
eighty years. His wife also attained a ripe old age and passed away in 1853.

James A. Clayton was the twelfth in order of birth in a family of thir-

398 HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.

teen children. He pursued his education in the common schools of Wiscon-
sin, but his opportunities were somewhat limited, owing to the financial con-
dition of his father, who found it somewhat difficult to provide for his large
family. In consequence Mr. Clayton left school at an early age and came to
California with his brother Joel, arriving in this state in the spring of 1850.
They were pioneer settlers here, and the brother afterward died in Clayton,
Contra Costa county. He had been manager of a train of emigrants that
crossed the plains in 1850, the number including James A. Clayton.

In 1846 Charles Clayton, another brother, had first made his way to the
Pacific coast, settling in Oregon, where he remained for about two years,
when he came to California. As the years advanced he took an active and
helpful part in the work of improvement and was a factor in municipal and
state affairs. His ability well fitted him for leadership and his devotion to
the general good was one of his strong characteristics. He served as a mem-
ber of Congress from California, was surveyor of the port of San Francisco
and held many prominent positions in that city. For a quarter of a century he
ranked among the leading Republicans on the Pacific coast, and his labors in
behalf of the party were far-reaching and effective. In the early territorial
days of the state he was prominent and influential and served as the alcalde
under the Mexican territorial government. This office gave him the power
to issue grants of public land, to pass upon the subject of corporal punish-
ment and, in fact, to act as judge upon many cases. During the period of his
residence in Santa Clara county he engaged in conducting a flour mill and
bought and sold grain on quite an extensive scale, but after a few years he
removed to San Francisco, where he operated largely in the market. He was
also the president of the Produce Exchange in San Francisco, being identi-
fied therewith up to the time of his demise. He died October 4, 1885, and
thus passed away one of the pioneer settlers who had aided in laying the
foundation for California's present greatness and prosperity.

James A. Clayton and his brother Joel were eighty-seven days in making
the journey from the Missouri river to Placerville (then called Hangtown).
In the spring of 1850 the former arrived in Santa Clara and was employed as
a clerk by his brother Charles, who had been a resident there from 1848. He
also engaged in mining for some time, from 1850 to 1852. hoping that the
gold fields would more rapidly yield him a fortune than he could obtain in
other lines of business, but after a number of months he became convinced that
a more congenial field of labor could be found elsewhere and he returned to
Santa Clara valley, locating in San Jose. He then engaged in merchandising
from 1852 until 1859, thus becoming a representative of the earlv commer-
cial interests in the city. Here he purchased a photographic gallery, which
he conducted for thirteen years with excellent success. In the meantime he
was elected county clerk of Santa Clara county in 1861 for a term of two
years, and was then re-elected so that he was continued in the office for four
years. After his retirement he established a real estate office in 1867 and con-
tinued operating in land until his death. During this period he sold every
piece of titled land in the county and some many times over. He thoroughly
informed himself concerning realty values in this part of the state and nego-

HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA. 399

tiated many important real estate transfers and did a business which brought
to him very gratifying success. In 1887 he admitted his sons Edward W. and
Willis S. to a partnership and upon his death in April, 1896, they became
successors to the original firm and have since dealt in real estate in San Jose.

Mr. Clayton was a man of resourceful business ability and carried his
efforts into other fields of activity. In 1872 he assisted in the organization of
the First National Bank of San Jose and was one of its directors for many
years, while for two years prior to his death he held the office of president,
and under his administration the bank was on a most solid financial basis and
was carried forward to still greater successes. For many years Mr. Clayton
was also identified with horticultural and agricultural interests of California,
and was a firm believer in the future of this part of the country, so that he
made investments in property here and put forth most earnest effort in behalf
of public improvement and for the substantial growth of the state.

In March, i860, occured the marriage of Mr. Clayton and Miss Anna L.
Thompson, a native of Indiana and a daughter of Robert P. and Amy F.
(Brown) Thompson, who came to California in 1857. Seven children were
born to Mr. and Mrs. Clayton, of whom five are yet living.

Mr. Clayton was a firm believer in the principles of the Republican party,
supporting its men and measures from the time of its organization until his
demise. In 1864 he was elected a member of the state legislature, and while
serving in the house he gave to each question which came up for settlement
his earnest and thoughtful consideration. He was always interested in local
and state politics and his labors in behalf of the party were attended with
excellent results. He was frequently a delegate to local and state con-
ventions and attended the national convention of the Republican party
held in Chicago in 1888. At all times his citizenship was characterized
by a public-spirited devotion to the general good, and his co-operation in be-
half of any public measure that promised to be of value was never sought
in vain. He belonged to the Masonic fraternity, and in his life exemplified
its beneficent principles. In 1857 he became a member of the Methodist Epis-
copal church, was a liberal contributor to the cause and an active and co-
operant factor in its upbuilding. He likewise served as a trustee of the Uni-
versity of the Pacific. Mr. Clayton always read extensively and became a
well informed man. His educational privileges in his youth were very limited,
for he attended school only a few months during the winter seasons. He had,
however, a faculty of retaining a comprehensive knowledge of whatever he
read and using it to the best possible advantage. Experience, reading and
observation continually broadened his mind and so enriched his conversation
as to make his companionship most desirable. He was noted for his genial
manner, affability and his generosity. The poor and needy never sought his
aid in vain, and "his liberality at times amounted almost to a fault, but of him
like the village preacher it could be said "E'en his failings leaned to virtue's
side." While he established a good business that indicated a life of a